MovieChat Forums > The Adventures of Tintin (1991) Discussion > "The Broken Ear" problem (SPOILER!)

"The Broken Ear" problem (SPOILER!)


In the broken Ear episodes, something doesn't make sense.

Lopez stole the idol form the museum, made Jacob Balthazar carve a copy of it, killed him with a gas leak, and put the fake idol back in the museum.

Later, when Lopez is thrown overboard by Ramon and Alonzo, they take what they think is the real idol, but they are caught by Tintin and the ship crew. Tintin discovers the idol Lopez had was a fake as well.

Here's what I don't get: why did Lopez make Balthazar carve TWO fake idols? Why would he bring the other fake to San Theodoros? His motivation is not fully explained.

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My guess is that Balthazar figured out the idol was in some way valuable when he was asked to carve a copy of it, so he made two fakes without Lopez knowing about it. Balthazar then gave the two fakes to Lopez, while stashing the original in his apartment. Later on, the original was found by Balthazar's brother, who proceeded to make even more copies of it.

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