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Domingray vs Domergue
- Why did John Ruth mispronounce her name? It seems likely he knew her relation to Jody, considering his paranoia about someone assisting her. Was it to piss her off, simply not caring on his part, or to throw other bounty hunters off the scent? (When Warren hear's Jody's name he immediately knows it, so this last seems feasible). Consider that ultimately this caused the situation to spiral out of control: if Warren had known who Daisy was sister to, he might have reacted faster.
- It's probably spelled as Domergue but pronounced Domingre, John Ruth showed Oswaldo Daisy's warrant and Oswaldo claims it says "Domergue." If John Ruth couldn't have changed her name on the warrant since he would be committing forgery. So odds are John Ruth was mispronouncing Daisy's name so Warren wouldn't realize who it is.
- It's also possible that a hastily-written "Domingre" could feasibly be misread as "Domergue". The real mystery is how Hicox knew how to mis-pronounce it without being prompted.
- If the surname is spelled "Domergue" but pronounced "Domingray", then in all probability it is consistently mispronounced in the same way by people reading it for the first time. Consistently enough that Hicox knew reading it correctly would give away previous familiarity with Daisy and/or the gang.
- It's probably spelled as Domergue but pronounced Domingre, John Ruth showed Oswaldo Daisy's warrant and Oswaldo claims it says "Domergue." If John Ruth couldn't have changed her name on the warrant since he would be committing forgery. So odds are John Ruth was mispronouncing Daisy's name so Warren wouldn't realize who it is.
Hangman
- How and why was Hicox posing as the hangman with all the accompanying paper? It can't have been to convince Chris because nobody knew Chris was going to be at Minnie's. Wouldn't it have easier to pickup Daisy in Red Rock using the cover of hangman? Is he Crazy-Prepared? If so why didn't the rest of the gang have such convincing covers?
- Most likely they knew that John Ruth would be Crazy-Prepared and Properly Paranoid, so they either stole or forged a hangman's papers. Being a hangman is the perfect cover to get John Ruth to relax his guard, considering his favorite pastime is watching his bounties get hanged. Also, just because they had the papers doesn't mean that it would let them free Daisy. Red Rock is sure to have its own armed guards, and presumably they wanted to intercept Daisy at the Haberdashery to avoid them.
- The fact that they decided to stage the rescue at the haberdashery, impersonating the hangman there instead of Red Rock is the clearest indication that the additional 15 gang members weren't real. Otherwise they would've played the charade at Red Rock where they would have the ready backup of 15 additional men.
- It could even be that Hicox was indeed living a double life as this hangman. He had the order for execution for the man that killed Red Rock's erstwhile sheriff, so beyond having cover papers he was prepared for everything the role would need. But as it seems his job was a roaming hangman for hire, it would allow him a nice cover in the long run - a reason to be travelling place to place in a crime-riddled area and inside access to law enforcement's intel. His connections may have thus helped the gang find out who was transporting Daisy, where, and when. Springing her in Red Rock though would blow his cover even if they did get away.
- I doubt that Hicox was a real hangman. Indeed, he had a price on his head and it would be crazy for a wanted man to approach the authorities. More likely, the gang came across the real hangman while looking for information (they had to find out who arrested Daisy, where she would be hanged, etc...) They killed him and stole his official papers.
- Indeed, when the 'truth' comes out at the end he says his says his real name is "Pete Hickox", and earlier Warren hypothesizes that he killed the real Oswaldo and stole his identity. While it's always theoretically possible that Pete Hickox is a fake name as well and he truly was living a double life, the odds are much greater on the team killing and taking the real Hangman's paperwork.
- Hicox was probably an actor before he became a criminal, he does put on a better facade than Bob and Joe Gage. Warren was probably right when he guessed Hicox was an imposter and the real Oswaldo Mobray is dead, and considering he had Mobray's business cards and knew everything about being a hangman, there's a good chance that is the case.
$50, 000
- I may not know enough on the subject and it's not a big issue but isn't $50,000 a little high for one guy? Jesse James was $10,000 and his brother was the only other gang member to have an equal bounty.
- It's pretty ridiculous. Highest bounty ever offered in the South at that time (well, some years after the civil war, but still) was $20,000 for Henry Berry Lowrey (and his gang), who shares a few things in common with Major Warren (and Django, for that matter). He was an Indian of the Lumbe tribe, who were taken as slaves by the Confederates during the civil war and made to build forts for them. He and some of his fellow slaves escaped and formed the Lowrey gang, who hid in swamps and survived by raiding wealthy Southern plantations for food. Like Warren, they killed all of the Confederates and bounty hunters sent to capture or kill them, until one day Lowrey disappeared- likely, he headed out West and made a new life for himself under an assumed name, as his wife made several journeys out that way (hence the Django similarities). His last known crime?- he robbed the store where his $20,000 bounty was held and took it for himself. $20,000 is about $20 million in todays money, so yeah- $50,000 is way too much. But...it's a Tarantino film; expect some anachronisms and over-the-top moments.
- Not quite. According to this inflation calculator
, $50,000 in 1870 is the equivalent to $945,762.63 in 2015 and $50,000 in 1875 is the equivalent to $1,089,534.40 in 2015. So in absence of a precise date for when the movie is set, it can be estimated that the reward for Jody is the equivalent of 1 million dollars in modern money, which would place Jody in the category of one of the FBI's most wanted in 2015.
- Not quite. According to this inflation calculator
- It's pretty ridiculous. Highest bounty ever offered in the South at that time (well, some years after the civil war, but still) was $20,000 for Henry Berry Lowrey (and his gang), who shares a few things in common with Major Warren (and Django, for that matter). He was an Indian of the Lumbe tribe, who were taken as slaves by the Confederates during the civil war and made to build forts for them. He and some of his fellow slaves escaped and formed the Lowrey gang, who hid in swamps and survived by raiding wealthy Southern plantations for food. Like Warren, they killed all of the Confederates and bounty hunters sent to capture or kill them, until one day Lowrey disappeared- likely, he headed out West and made a new life for himself under an assumed name, as his wife made several journeys out that way (hence the Django similarities). His last known crime?- he robbed the store where his $20,000 bounty was held and took it for himself. $20,000 is about $20 million in todays money, so yeah- $50,000 is way too much. But...it's a Tarantino film; expect some anachronisms and over-the-top moments.
- While the reward of $50,000 is quite high for the time period, it is not without precedent. For reference, the reward for the capture of Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was also $50,000◊.
- Also, the makers of the movie are making this for a modern audience, not an audience in the 1870s. They went with a number the contemporary audience would find large and impressive-sounding to make it clear that this woman was dangerous and wanted very much by the law, which they might not immediately pick up on if the bounty was said to be, say, $260 (which was the equivalent of $50,000 in 1870 according to the calculator above). Consider it a form of translation convention, if it helps; the characters are simply telling us that this woman's neck is worth their equivalent of $50,000.
Horses symbolism
- What do you think the symbolism was behind the use of five black horses and one white horse to drive Ruth's carriage? I've made some suggestions on the WMG page, but would love to hear more.
- I think like six horses Judi, it shows the start of a more heterogeneous era. Minnie's haberdashery is owned by a black woman married to a white man who greets even Confederates and Mexicans (though she was said to be racist by Warren) to rest. There is still a lot of hate from all sides but when it comes down to it, Ruth let Mannix in his ride, Mannix supports Warren and Daisy get treated the same way any other bounty would be treated. Difference is not as important anymore.
Cutting off hands
- Why didn't John Ruth cuff Daisy's hands and feet instead of restricting his arm?
- Being chained together to her, while putting himself at risk, also allowed him to dole out punishment at a moment's notice. He could even throttle her with the chain if he so chose. It would have helped to keep her stationary with leg restraints when she didn't have to walk, though.
- If he worked alone restraining someone's feet with cuffs can be a pain if the person doesn't comply. One wrist is easier.
- Except it's not like Ruth is averse to knocking Daisy unconscious to ensure her compliance, and not without good reason either...
- Ruth was probably only given the one set of cuffs to bring in his bounties, and restricting her movement further might've forced him to have to help her walk physically or carry her, which probably would've been too intimate for him. Plus, while Daisy was belligerent, she never became dangerously violent until she finally managed to get her hands on his rifle. Ruth might honestly not have thought that more chains were necessary.
- Except he is clearly carrying at least two additional pairs which he tries to use to cuff Warren and Mannix.
- He's worried about somebody else stealing her bounty. She was worth $10,000 even without the threat of escape he was paranoid about letting her out of his sight unless another opportunistic person attempts to make off with her.
- Cuffing her hands opens up the possibility that she could jump out of the coach and make a break for it (which would probably require him to shoot her to stop her), and they're traveling for DAYS, he wouldn't want to keep constantly cuffing and uncuffing her feet every time he took her out of the coach or she needed to use the bathroom. He wanted her alive to face the hangman, and cuffing her directly to him was most likely to be succesful.
Minnie and Mexicans
- So, if Minnie carries a prejudice against Mexicans that is so strong that it ultimately tips off Warren to Marco's lies, why is it that Minnie doesn't seem to acknowledge his ethnicity whatsoever in the flashback sequence? It's possible that Warren was exaggerating when he noted that she took down her "No Dogs No Mexicans" sign purely because she started letting dogs in, and she might have grown more accepting since Warren had last seen her. But, given how much her prejudices are touched upon and how the audience doesn't see Minnie in the flashback until after Warren has revealed them to us, the fact that she doesn't even acknowledge Marco is a little conspicuous.
- Well either A) Warren had enough cues with the other evidence and just wanted to make Marco sweat (same interpretation with him taunting Smithers even though it's clear he killed his son, but there it is to make the perp panic) or B) Minnie'll keep her racism to herself when there is 3 other guys and one of them looks like Michael Madsen who might take offense if a black woman reacts disdainfully with their friend.
- Bob looks white and only said his Anglo-Saxon name to Minnie. It's highly likely that she did not catch his accent quick enough.
- This might be why Bob is the most bundled-up of characters. His scarf, collar and hat obscure a good portion of his face. Combined with his pseudonym, we might be expected to believe that Minnie just didn't peg him as Mexican in the few minutes she knew him.
- Maybe Warren just exaggerated Minnie's hate for Mexicans and she simply didn't like them too much. Even in that case, it would still be strange to let a Mexican run her business for her while she's absent.
- Warren could have been lying, to see how Bob would react. Earlier Warren tries to catch Bob in a lie by asking about Minnie's stinky old pipe, but failed in this attempt because Bob had seen Minnie rolling cigarettes. But if Warren ups the ante and tells Bob Minnie used to ban Mexicans from the haberdashery, Bob COULD have outright denied this and cited Warren's earlier attempt to catch him, but Bob (already on shaky ground and knowing it) couldn't confidently state he knew otherwise. Which tells Warren Bob is most certainly lying, if he doesn't even know whether Minnie had a problem with Mexicans or not.
- Warren was lying, he may have been suspicious of Bob from the start, but that's probably second nature to a guy who once held a $30,000 on his head. He really did have enough evidence to prove Bob was lying (I'd say Sweet Dave's blood on his chair confirms it). Warren also knew Minnie for a long time and she probably told him she'd never trust the Haberdashery to anyone at all.
The General's son
- Where is it implied that Warren was lying about raping the general's son? I see it asserted several times in the examples and I'm wondering. If anything, the last line of his story "The worst thing that boy could have told me that day was that he was your son", or something like that, kind of confirms the story to be true. We already know he's capable of horrifying acts and that he hates the general enough he almost killed him in front of witnesses.
- Warren provided absolutely no evidence that he actually knew the general's son. He didn't even mention the kid's name, let alone any stories of his life that the kid supposedly told him. He just wanted to kill the general for being a racist bastard, overheard him mentioning that his son came up the mountain and never came down, and connected the dots. He's already been established as a liar; that was the whole point of the Lincoln letter. He'll say whatever he needs to in order to get what he wants. Multiple characters even point out during the story that he's obviously lying to get a rise out of the general.
- Unless I'm really forgetting the movie, there are two problems with that: Warren wasn't in the room when Smithers was telling Mannix about his son and he did mention the son's full name.
- Also, look at his expression and his gloating tone of voice, the way he's absolutely loving the things he's saying. There's a good chance he's lying.
- It's pretty clear he killed the son since not only is it foreshadowed by Smithers saying his son went to the same place Warren said he killed every bounty hunter coming for him earlier in the movie, but he was not present when Smithers told Mannix. But thing is Warren spent a lot of time lying about his intent and like the fake Lincoln letter he seems to exaggerate a lot in his lies.
- Warren did mention Chester Charles Smithers' name. He couldn't have heard the General say it because when General Smithers was telling Chris Mannix about his son, Warren was in the barn with Bob. So at the very least, Warren encountered Chester somewhere along the way and most likely killed him. The rape and humiliation could have been inventions Warren came up with to rile up the General, inspired by the fact that the General had a blanket on his lap.
- Warren's story lines up with what Smithers said about his son in a prior scene. Smithers claimed his son went to the mountains seeking fame and fortune, and that was stated before Warren entered the room. Obviously Chris Mannix didn't tell Warren about his conversation since they hated each other at that point. Whether he raped him is debatable but it's clear Warren killed Chester Charles Smithers.
- Odds are Warren did rape Chester Charles Smithers too, Warren claimed he "joined the war to kill white fold in any way he can." Chester Charles Smithers was infamous for killing African American soldiers, Warren probably wanted to humiliate him before he killed him.
Mannix arresting Warren
- Why did Mannix not attempt to arrest Warren (or at least threaten to do so) after he killed the general? Even if we disregard that killing as judicially ambiguous, he just confessed to torturing and killing an innocent man just because he was the son of his (former) enemy...
- Because Warren was lying, and everyone knew he was lying. Mannix even warned the general that Warren was just trying to get a rise out of him so Warren could kill him in self defense. It's not legal to shoot a man for saying terrible things about your dead son. Mannix was arguing with the others over the legality of it to see if he could arrest Warren, but in the end he lost and just had to accept that Warren was going to get away with it.
- Even if Warren is telling the truth about killing Smithers' son, there is A: no proof he actually did it except his story. If Mannix had arrested him, Warren could simply say he was lying and even if they found the man's body (massively unlikely in itself) there would be no way to show that it was Warren who killed him (there were no witnesses, after all). B: Smithers' son wasn't 'innocent', he was trying to collect a bounty put on Warren's head by an illegitimate rebel government, so even if Warren could be connected with his death, it doesn't necessarily follow that he could be convicted, especially if the rape can't be proven.
- He did try to arrest Warren, during the opening to the next chapter the narrator explains that Mannix, Mobray, and Ruth had a debate over the legality of the killing, obviously, Mannix lost that debate.
- Which means that for some reason Mobray voted against it. I wonder why, since Warren being under arrest would probably make things easier for the gang...
- It was a debate, not a vote. Ruth was presumably arguing Warren's side, and quite frankly the law IS on Warren's side, Mobray couldn't have pushed for Warren's arrest without possibly compromising his cover. As said above, nobody actually believes the story and Mannix himself openly said that Warren was a liar just trying to goad the General into going for the gun and giving him legal cause to kill him. In fact, the General tried to do EXACTLY what Mobray told Warren he couldn't legally do earlier - shoot somebody because they didn't like what they said. Warren shooting him was legal (if arguably morally wrong).
- In retrospect, it's one of those little details that tells you a lot about a character (in this case, Mannix). Warren is a black man in the 1870s; if Mannix wanted Warren to hang, he wouldn't have any trouble getting a judge and jury to lend an ear. That he accepts the outcome, even though he's very sympathetic to Smithers on a personal level, really shows how principled he is, and how good a sheriff he would've been if he'd gotten the chance.
Haberdashery Staff Residence
- Where exactly would Six-Horse Judy and the others sleep in a single floor building with only one bed and the nearest town a long ride? The barn didn't seem to have much space for several people in addition to the horses.
- They weren't (supposed to be) sticking around. When Six-Horse Judy comes in with the luggage, she mentions that it's in case anyone wants to change clothes before they get back on the road. Typically, places like Minnie's were used to give the horses and passengers a short reprieve on a long journey. Eat, hydrate, get a little warm, then back out for a full day of travel.
Domergue Gang Hesitation
- Why exactly didn't the gang immediately jump John Ruth the moment he walked through the door? He's the first to enter the Haberdashery, and he has long conversations with all the gang members inside while Warren, O.B, and Chris are busy with the horses. It's three on one (plus Daisy), they could have easily overpowered him and freed Daisy immediately. Then they'd have four guns pointed at the door against three guys coming in out of a blizzard and not expecting trouble. Every single time someone comes in during the movie they are in no condition to defend themselves (or, in O.B.'s case, even stand). I have no idea what convoluted plan the gang had, but it seems to me the simple approach would have served them much better. The latter half of the film is something of a whodunit, with the twist being that they all did it. But that means the first half of the film doesn't make sense.
- On a related note, it's remarkable how little cooperation the gang members display prior to The Reveal. When Ruth asks for Gage's gun, Oswaldo doesn't point his own gun at him and go, "I'm not letting you take that man's gun because next you'd ask for mine". When Warren goes on and on about how he can tell who made the stew, not one of the characters says, "What're on you on about, it's just stew. Stew's stew." Why the passive approach? It doesn't benefit the gangsters' plan in any way, it just means the movie isn't immediately over like it would be if they were smart and proactive.
- It would have been smarter to jump him immediately, but it's entirely in keeping with the cooperation they showed when they killed Minnie and the rest in the flashback. They waited a LONG time before they actually started shooting, and they didn't even consider starting the killing until Jody gave a blatant signal to start. Their entire 'plan' for the initial taking of the Haberdashery seemed to be to go inside together and wait for Jody to give them a signal. This is then transferred to their apparent 'plan' to ambush and kill Ruth - sit around and wait for a signal. They got rid of Ruth with the poison, but obviously didn't expect Warren to react by immediately standing them up against the wall and kill 'Joe'. They're murderers and thugs, not deep thinkers, Jody was clearly the brains of the operation.
- I know it might sound crazy but bandits don't like dying for their partner. Why didn't they try defending Marco because otherwise the three will start shooting all of them instead of Marco, why don't they just overpower Ruth? Because Ruth could kill Daisy or someone else since he already has his hand on the gun and expect shit like that. Do you think people like going We Have Reserves when they are the reserve?
- For that matter no-one intervenes while the poisoned John Ruth is trying to kill Daisy. The whole reason they're there! They couldn't know she'd rescue herself before he managed it.
- Also, the poisoning wasn't really a smart move. They should've known beforehand, that they probably wouldn't get all of them at the same time with the poisoned coffee, and that the remainders would have their trigger fingers quite twitchy after it. Also, if they only killed Ruth, the others might have decided to save themselves some trouble by making use of the "dead or alive" bounty for Daisy.
- The gang didn't immediately jump John Ruth because Jody says that Ruth will have a pistol pointed at Daisy's belly, and implies that they take extreme caution. When Ruth and Daisy enter, you can see Pete and Grouch trying to angle for a wide-open shot at Ruth that has no chance of hitting Daisy, and as soon as Daisy realizes they're about to shoot Ruth, she announces to the room that the new sheriff of Red Rock is about to enter the haberdashery. This delays the gang from taking action as they try to figure out what to make of Mannix, and then Warren, in light of their initial plan.
- This is actually explained in the extended edition. The flashback is extended and we see what happens from the gang's point of view when John Ruth first comes in to Minnie's. Joe Gage aims his pistol at John from under the table and Oswaldo gestures to Daisy to get out of the way. This prompts her to yell out that Mannix and Warren are traveling with them. Gage puts the gun away and mutters that they'll have to "do it the hard way."
- The whole "plan" reeks of two things: desperation and stupidity. It seems likely the rest of Jody's gang abandoned him when he decided to go after Daisy (a plan involving murdering and impersonating a court official and holing up in an unfamiliar location). Hickox, Douglass and Bob went with him, but considering their actions (destroying the door, leaving clues Warren would pick up on, turning the haberdashery into a bloodbath), they don't exactly seem the best of his men. Odds are they feared what Jody would do to THEM if harm befell Daisy, and were unable to improvise when Warren, OB and Mannix showed up.
- Also, we see that Jody explicitly instructs them to play the patience game - and if it's his way while dealing with John Ruth alone, It should be all the more so when it turns out that Mannix and Warren are also there. Not to mention that the gang might just be afraid to disobey Jody, even with the best intentions.
- On a related note, it's remarkable how little cooperation the gang members display prior to The Reveal. When Ruth asks for Gage's gun, Oswaldo doesn't point his own gun at him and go, "I'm not letting you take that man's gun because next you'd ask for mine". When Warren goes on and on about how he can tell who made the stew, not one of the characters says, "What're on you on about, it's just stew. Stew's stew." Why the passive approach? It doesn't benefit the gangsters' plan in any way, it just means the movie isn't immediately over like it would be if they were smart and proactive.
Confessing to additional crimes
- Warren gives Smithers a loaded gun and then proceeds to tell, in earshot of all, a story about how he humiliated, raped, and murdered Smithers' son. This is to provoke Smithers to draw on Warren, allowing Warren to gun down Smithers and claim self-defense. While the rest of the Eight argue over whether this counts as self-defense, nobody seems to dwell on the fact that Warren just admitted to rape and sodomy, themselves both hanging offenses.
- This may be an indication that nobody but Smithers believed Warren's story. Indeed, Mannix questions the story's veracity even as it is being told.
Pistol bowel movements
- Why don't Warren and Mannix keep up paranoia about the threat of Jody having more than two pistols down in the cellar? Why would you be content to trust that there aren't more down there with him. I know if I was in his shoes, going up that ladder very vulnerable in the likely knowledge that me, my sister or any of my accomplices could be dead in the very immediate future, I'd want to keep "shitting pistols out my ass". Not to hand them over, but to keep for self defence. Just to give me an ace up my sleeve. I know it wouldn't have been very funny to do a Running Gag of endless revolvers getting chucked up that hatch, but here the In-Universe questions of self-preservation kinda trump the meta considerations of humour. Also, yes the gang members couldn't endlessly arm their own person for fear of scaring off the stagecoach crew before they even got to the station. But they could have packed more in their bags they took on the trip. Come to think of it, if they had a long gun down there, maybe they could have killed Warren where he stood instead of merely blowing his nuts off.
- The way Jody acted. If he'd had 3 pistols, he probably would have thrown the 2nd up without hesitation. The fact that he risked them shooting Daisy by lying he had another pistol heavily implies it was his last gun, which is why Warren and Mannix accepted it was his last one.
- But then, it would have been the perfect bluff to lie about, then belatedly, "reluctantly" throw up the second one, keeping a third as an ace up his sleeve, and might have given at least Daisy a fighting chance of escaping if he could manage a Mutual Kill vs either or both of Warren and Mannix.
- Warren's a seasoned bounty hunter who's probably been in more than a few standoffs. He expects Jody to have a second pistol because he's used to gunfighters carrying two pistols, but having a third pistol probably seems rare or excessive.
- Revolver Ocelot would like a word with you (or Warren). These bandits are very devious, and they should have planned for this, otherwise the opposing faction easily has them dead to rights (and did, as Jody gets his brains blown out).
Hanging Domergue
- So how did Warren and Mannix manage to find a rope, make a noose, and tie it around Daisy's neck, if they couldn't get out of bed due to their injuries between time skips?
- We can only assume that somehow, Warren held the gun on her to keep her pacified whilst Mannix limped around to set up the noose and return to the bed to hang her up.
Problem with Charlie
- The gang was lucky that Charlie didn't escape during the shooting in the morning. And they actually knew about his existence. Why the hell didn't they wait for him to enter the haberdashery before starting their attack?
- Because despite the 'intellectual' and wordy veneer, Jody frankly doesn't seem to be particularly smart - he probably simply forgot about him. During the entire extended movie, Jody passed up a LOT of relatively good opportunities to spring the trap such as when Ruth uncuffed Daisy and was all the way on the other side of the room. Instead he waited until Ruth disarmed his entire crew, killed Marco, and Warren had them literally standing up against the wall with guns pointed at them to FINALLY act - and that something was to take a single shot at Warren through the floorboards and sit in the basement until they called him up with guns pointed at them. To be blunt, Jody is an idiot through the entire movie.
- Charlie probably wouldn't have been able to get far anyway, since he probably didn't know how to drive a six-horse team, and the others would've stopped him before he could escape on another horse. Furthermore, by the time John Ruth had arrived, the other three already had most of their weapons taken from them, and there was only one hidden pistol to use. Jody probably didn't have a lot of room to move around in the basement, so he would've had to wait for Warren or Mannix to get directly above him to actually act. As Warren himself said, the gang wasn't counting on either Warren or Mannix to arrive at the haberdashery, so if they tried to make a move against John, either Warren or Mannix would've acted. So their options were rather limited by that point.
- Because despite the 'intellectual' and wordy veneer, Jody frankly doesn't seem to be particularly smart - he probably simply forgot about him. During the entire extended movie, Jody passed up a LOT of relatively good opportunities to spring the trap such as when Ruth uncuffed Daisy and was all the way on the other side of the room. Instead he waited until Ruth disarmed his entire crew, killed Marco, and Warren had them literally standing up against the wall with guns pointed at them to FINALLY act - and that something was to take a single shot at Warren through the floorboards and sit in the basement until they called him up with guns pointed at them. To be blunt, Jody is an idiot through the entire movie.
Poor Prioritizing Kills?
- Wouldn't it be better for Daisy to get the gun before chopping off John Ruth's arm?
- Debatable. John Ruth is big and heavy, and it took a LOT of effort by Daisy to just move him a few feet to get the machete, she obviously thought it would have taken too long to go for the gun with Ruth still attached, and given how quickly she got through his arm with the machete, you can't conclusively say that what she did was the wrong choice.
The General Staying at the Haberdashery
- So we know that General Smithers was staying at Minnie's waiting for a ride to Red Rock to advice the stone masonry of his son's tombstone, but during the flashback to before Mannix and the bounty hunters arrived, Charlie complained to Ed and Judy that he'd been there for three days already, and even Minnie was losing her patience on him leaving. So, why did he not have a ride out to Red Rock those three days?
Jody's Plan
- Jody and his gang go to Minnies Haberdashery in order to stage an ambush on John Ruth. They have fake identities, backstories, hidden weapons, all in preparation for when John Ruth will stop there... except how did they know he would? The only reason John DID stop there is because of the blizzard, which began several hours AFTER Jody and his gang arrived at Minnies. They couldn't have known about the blizzard beforehand, meaning that for all they knew, John would have kept going to Red Rock.
- Maybe the initial plan was just to lie in ambush and attack as soon as John Ruth would be passing the haberdashery (it is on the road, after all)? If there was no other place near the road where they could lie for hours unnoticed by anyone it is actually kinda smart. And once the blizzard started it became obvious that Ruth WILL stop at Minnie's.
