Ray Butts is one of my favorite episodes (definitely in the top 2). At the end of the episode McQueen had the galley make pancakes for the returning 58th. I think I understand that as a memorial. What I don't understand is why everyone thought it was honoring him to dump them down the vacuum chute. Can someone explain that to me?
shareI am going to guess that it's about as close to where he is, as they can get. Since he died out in space and they weren't able to recover his body that was their way of sending them out to him. Kind of like pouring alcohol on a grave of a friend/loved one... only Ray Butts final resting place was out in the vacuum of space.
"That's it man. Game over man. GAME OVER!" ~Pvt. Hudson, Aliens.
Yes, absolutely - thanks! Now I can see that it wasn't coincidence that the garbage chute happened to dump right to the vacuum of space and the closing shots of the pancakes floating into the void.
shareI always thought they were a bit disgusted at the thought of eating pancakes. For the longest time they hated Butts, they only felt close enough to him once he talked about why he brought them on that assignment, which quickly formed that bond as with most military forces, a closeness that you don't get anywhere else...then to have McQueen offer pancakes as a memorial, just kind of weak.
Maybe I read to much into it, but I disagree that they dumped them because Butts got black holed.
(speaking of which, if present theories hold true, then technically Butts might not be dead, what with black holes and time etc)
I don't think McQueen knew that Ray Butts was gone before he had the galley prepare the pancakes. Even when they were docking, Vansen was saying they were returning minus 1, then like 5 seconds later when they're in the hangar McQueen is telling them there's something special waiting in the galley already.
I think the memorial to honor Ray Butts is more accurate.
al baby, I cant believe you had to ask that...
and Ghosthunter, you're straight up one of the dumbest people I've come across on here. Is that really your theory?
Butts kept saying "it's as easy as eating pancakes", but of course that mission / the war wasn't / isn't, so they ditched the pancakes to show that.
shareBut at the end as he was being sucked into the black hole he told them that he had eaten his last pancakes. Dumping the pancakes may have been a tribute but it still doesn't look that simple.
He rubbed the 58th the wrong way from the start. Next he lied to them about the real purpose of the mission. They then learned that he left his men behind, a violation of one of the Marines most sacred creeds. Even though he just saved their lives, did that make everything all fine and dandy?
If the show continued, I could see Butts returning in a future episode.
I'd find that unlikely, Butts is probably in limbo for eternity :(
They could have just sorted of said "I don't know how I survived" and just left it at that, wouldn't be the first sci-fi show to do it, or even tv show.
But generally his character seemed to be there simply to rock the boat a little bit. With that purpose complete what else could he have added to the series?
They didn't have the stomach to eat them so the next best was to jettison them into Space for the memory of Ray Butts.
"As easy as eatin' pancakes!"
I always thought they hated Butts and the dumping of the pancakes into space was their rejection of him. Just my 2 cents worth.
shareI don't think they hated him at the end...I think they understood who he was, what he did and why he did it....IMHO.
shareYour two cents is f*(&ing retarded, as are you. In fact, it seems practically everyone on this board is. The scene wasn't the kind that required analysis. You're all looking waaaaay to deep into it. Ray Butts died and the WIld Cards dumped the pancakes in his honour. Nothing more than that.
shareExactly!!!!! No secret symbolism, no coded rejection, just a simple salute to a fellow marine/pilot who had been lost.
shareAgreed. It's very similar to customs in some cultures like the Chinese and Serbians. They leave food when they visit the grave sites of their ancestors so that those in the afterlife have something to partake of. That's not disgust. That's respect and love.
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