History Headscratchers / ThePrincessBride

** There is an interesting piece of FridgeBrilliance in the iocane powder scene. In the book you have Vizzini ranting along the lines of "Because of X it can't be the goblet in front of me. Because of Y it can't be the goblet in front of you. But because of Z it can't be the goblet in front of me. But, because of N it can't be the goblet in front of you..." and so on. And at first you think it's all just for the joke, showing Vizzini talking out of his ass and actually not knowing what he was doing at all. But, in the book it also describes the MIB as getting more and more nervous and impatient and demanding Vizzini stop delaying and choose already. So why is the MIB nervous? Because if you follow Vizzini's circular logic to its ultimate conclusion, it must inevitably lead to the realization that either there is no poison in any of the cups, or there is poison in both cups! The MIB was getting nervous because he was worried that Vizzini was appearing to be gradually seeing through his trick! (And there would be risk of harm to Buttercup if Vizzini picked up on the trick).

** "The man in black was after the woman we captured... the prince, who I hate anyway, is marrying the woman we captured... someone is screaming so loudly I can hear it from here... It must be that the man in black is heartbroken that his love is marrying the prince! We can use this to our advantage!" This is the sort of conclusion he jumps to ''all the time''. Remember, Wesley was screaming ''because he was hooked up to a machine that was so painful it took off fifty years of his life in one go''. It's coincidence that Inigo happened to be right about the man in black's relation to Buttercup. People tend to know things they shouldn't all the time in this movie.

*** Fezzik worked for the brute squad, so it's possible he saw the Count and guessed that he was the six-fingered man (Indigo was Fezzik's friend and made his quest no secret, so even the giant would probably remember that much).

** Wesley says that Roberts was intrigued by Wesley's lack of begging, which is why he didn't kill him. Maybe Roberts would threaten to kill people just to find out if they had any dignity-- and was disappointed by everyone except for Wesley.

* Am I the only one bothered by the fact Buttercup ISN'T bothered by the fact that Wesley has apparently become a ruthless slaughtering murderer during his time as the latest Dread Pirate Roberts since she last saw him?
** Once Wesley reveals his true identity, she probably assumes that he didn't really do any of the things the [=DPR=] was reputed to have done, because she knows he's incapable of such things.

** Well keep in mind that Indigo says "I don't ''think'' it means what you think it does". He himself isn't sure that he's right about Vizzini being mistaken, he just suspects it.

** FridgeLogic: Why is iocaine powder so commonly known to be tasteless, yet it is "inconceivable" for a man using iocaine powder to have intentionally developed an immunity to it? If it kills in seconds, who would have been suspicious of food or drink that tasted perfectly normal? (Unless it was explained in the book, such as only Wesley knowing it was tasteless, it's been too long since I've read it.)

***** Well, Weasley didn't correct him, so I think we should assume he knew where it came from unless there is a reason not to.

** The way I saw this scene was; they both cheated. The game was to discern where the poison is and choose the goblet that wouldn't kill you. DPR however is immune to the poison and poisoned both goblet. Fezzini's ploy was no to gloat but to see if DPR would hesitate to drink from "his" cup; if he didn't then the ploy worked, if he did then he had a plan b in store I'm sure. He is a Sicilian after all, and death is on the line.

*** I always thought it was because Inigo was just fighting for a job - Wesley was fighting to save the life of the woman he loves.

*** But you (and Wesley) are assuming that since three dangers are known, there are only three dangers. Look at it this way. I'm holding four cards in my hand, three folded out like a fan. One card is behind them, on its side so you can't see it. That card is, metaphorically, the hypothetical invisible dragons. It's possible that Wesley was just saying three specific things since he'd seen three so far, and that the one Buttercup hadn;t seen was just a myth in case they didn't actually encounter it, but it ''really'' sounded like the [[RuleOfThree Three]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Dangers of the Fireswamp]] were a common legend (especially with Buttercup bringing up the [=ROUSes=]).

** Although, this completely misses an important detail- Wesley is not infallible. He could have easily just not known and been arrogant.

** "The man in black was after the woman we captured... the prince, who I hate anyway, is marrying the woman we captured... someone is screaming so loudly I can hear it froim here... It must be that the man in black is heartbroken that his love is marrying the prince! We can use this to our advantage!" This is the sort of conclusion he jumps to ''all the time''. Remember, Wesley was screaming ''because he was hooked up to a machine that was so painful it took off fifty years of his life in one go''. It's coincidence that Inigo happened to be right about the man in black's relation to Buttercup. People tend to know things they shouldn't all the time in this movie.

** In the book, it's suggested that Inigo is undone by his overconfidence. As he is waiting for Westley to climb the cliff, before offering to help him up, he asks God to give him a true challenge and to make this Man in Black a master worthy of his skills. He then starts out fighting with his weak hand (the left one), thinking this will make the fight more fair. Inigo is thrown off-balance psychologically and begins to lose after he discovers that not only is The Man in Black a worthy opponent who can match him technique for technique but he also does the same hand-switching trick to challenge himself ("I'm not left-handed either.") In short, Inigo loses not because Westley is better but because of [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Pride Hubris]].
** Inigo is using a sword perfectly crafted for a six fingered man. He has only the normal five. [[FridgeBrilliance Fridge Brilliance]]

** First, anyone who knows anything about fighting or any other human skill knows that there's no law of the universe stating that it's automatically impossible to beat someone with more training and experience than you. It's unlikely, but it does happen. Other factors influence the outcome of a fight, a whole shitload of them, including inherent skill; the fighters' current physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual conditions; luck; split second decisions and other matters of simple human falliblity; the particular combination of fighting styles between the fighters; the conditions of the environment, etc. Second, Inigo had just said that he's been spending more time in pursuit than in swordfighting studies.