History Headscratchers / PiratesOfTheCaribbeanOnStrangerTides

* Blackbeards crew becomes a DwindlingParty, especially after the mermaid attack. By my count, only Scrum, Ezekiel (the old guy), Salaman (the Indian guy), Garheng (the Asian pirate), Cabin Boy (the kid pirate) and two extras remain. Yet when the crew heads for Tortuga, there's suddenly an entire crew of around 40 men with them. Blackbeard would leave some behind to guard the ship (Gibbs and Jack mention this in the ending), but one would think the remaining crew are composed of zombies or about 5 men, which is enough to guard the ship, but not enough to actually steal it.

* Upon discovering the Fountain of Youth, Blackbeard yells at Jack and tells him to not touch the water because only he can drink from it. But what if Jack touched the water? The water only affects you if you have the Chalices of Cartagena and a mermaid's tear. Does Blackbeard believe that if Jack touched the water the Fountain was gonna explode or what?

* Also, what happened to the zombies and British sailors? The zombies arrive at the fountain and fight the British, but dissappear afterwards. The Gunner and Quartermastrer get crushed by a pillar(as if that would be enough to kill them) while the Yeoman and Master-at-Arms disappear completely with no explanation. The British sailors were last seen carrying the bodies of their fallen comrades, but where would they go afterwards? Barbossa is once again evil and their ship is destroyed.

* After all the other supernatural things we've seen, I know we're just supposed to go with it. But did they even try to explain how Blackbeard became a powerful sorcerer?

* In ''On Stranger Tides'' we learn that Blackbeard has the power to zombify his entire crew so they won't die. Then why didn't he just turn himself into a zombie instead of looking for the fountain of youth? He could have saved himself a tiring journey and his life (umm...kinda sorta).

* OK, I think I might have found a plot hole here, or I missed something. Back in the day, it takes ships about two or three months tops to cross the Atlantic Ocean. When Jack meets Angelica five days into the voyage (he mentioned it was five days because of the smell of the crew), she tells him that Blackbeard is destined to die in two weeks. ''How the bloody hell did they cross the Atlantic ocean in two weeks!?!'' I mean, I know the Queen Anne's Revenge is magical, and if it had been the only ship crossing then that would have been a little more believable. But the Spaniards and Barbossa were right behind them; Barbossa and the British got there the day after Blackbeard did, and apparently, the Spaniards were ''already there''. Seriously, what the hell?

* So, is Angelica really the Blackbeard's daughter or not? The film didn't make it clear enough to me.

** It's teased near the beginning that she's not, but for the bulk of their interactions it's made pretty clear that, at the very least, she believes it and he believes it. I suppose it's possible that she's not, but from what I took out of it Blackbeard and Angelica are indeed father and daughter.

* Are we really supposed to buy Serena's story? Mermaids in the pirates universe are not nice girls who sing happy songs. They are such vicious killers that even bad ass pirates intentionally avoid. Sure Barbossa was there to capture a mermaid that still doesn't make what the mermaids did anything remotely close to self-defense. Regardless of what she claims it's more likely that she was attacking him and it just happened to save his life than it was that she was actually saving him. It just annoys me that they expect us to buy that the mermaid they captured happens to be the one good mermaid in all the world and not a pretty girl taking advantage of a young man's naivety.
** Well, she ''did'' cry legitimate tears of joy when she saw he was alive, which would indicate she felt real affection for him. Whether she'd honestly tried to save his life from the get-go or if it was just because he was the only person there who was remotely kind to her, we don't really have the information to say (not being privy to her thoughts and all).
** The guy falling in love with a mermaid I can understand, but a mermaid falling in love with a human, who any other day would basically be a regular food source to her? It's like falling in love with a sandwich.
*** Not ''just'' a sandwich, as they apparently reproduce by mating with humans. Maybe like falling in love with a guy who was supposed to just be a sperm donor/exploited sugar daddy.
** If all she wanted to do was eat the guy, she could've just grabbed him after he cut her free and left the other humans to kill each other. She must've had ''some'' other intention to have gone back to the Fountain first; possibly water that's spilled over its edge still has some healing power with which she could treat Philip's injuries, even if it can't extend life by years.

** I think it was just there to be eerie, mystical, and unexplained. My guess would be that he messed with the Fountain in some way and whatever god/spirit/force controls is punished him for it.
*** Fair enough, I was just wondering if I missed anything my fellow tropers picked up on.

* Something that bothered me in OST--Jack frequently speaks in the first movie about how mutiny is the worst crime any man could commit, that the deepest circle of hell is reserved for traitors and mutineers, etc. etc., and yet he goes ahead and stages a mutiny in OST. Granted, he doesn't think Blackbeard is really there, but it's still a mutiny. It just seems out of character, even for him.
** See, I didn't think it was that out of character. Consistency and Jack don't go together very well and he is ''endlessly'' opportunistic, so the way I see it is that he was just bitter about having been mutinied against and marooned, so he makes it seem like the worst thing in the history of piracy, but when a mutiny would serve his purposes, it's perfectly fine. In short, Jack is a hypocrite and a liar, both of which are very much in character.

* In ''On Stranger Tides'', why is Mr. Cotton's parrot still alive in the "Black Pearl" in a bottle? I understand Jack the Monkey, but why the parrot?

** Maybe the whole crew is alive in the bottle!!
*** From casting announcements we know Marty is returning in ''Dead Men Tell No Tales'', but no word on if that's as a living man or not.
** What I'm worried about is we don't know how long it's been like that. Jack the Monkey is undead and the parrot doesn't need as much food as a human, but how do we know the crew haven't all starved to death? They don't have unlimited stores.
*** The fact that the parrot ''is'' alive suggests they aren't starving to death, else you'd think the crew would have eaten ''it''.
*** I don't think Blackbeard would've left the crew alive.

*** As to how the latin inscription opens the door, I figured after much thought that perhaps one need only say "water of life" in some language they understand (remember, Jack knows at least a little Latin and Spanish, and probably knows something as common as that).

* Barbossa said the rigging of the Pearl tied him up, so he cut off his bound leg. Why didn't he cut the ropes? (Not to ruin a totally awesome moment for ol' Hector of course, but I'm just wondering)

** I kind of pictured the ropes as being kind of like the zombies in Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968... Mindlessly after Barbossa, he could cut them as much as he wanted, but they would keep coming till they got what they wanted (him). Barbossa had no choice but to ''give them'' part of him, at which point they left, tricked into thinking they'd killed him.

* The mermaids in On Stranger Tides don't have nipples, but they have breasts. So what are they? Mammals or fish (or something in between)?

* In the fourth movie near the end, Jack had to stand on a pirate's shoulders to reach the 'portal'. So how is it that all of the pirates made it through? (They should have had to leave one person behind...) not to mention that immediately afterwards, A small British regiment led by Barbossa comes in, then an ENTIRE Spanish army, gear and all manages to go through all at the same time.
** Who says ALL of them got through? I didn't keep a count on exactly how many they had with them before and after, but is it possible that some non-important guy got left behind and we just didn't notice because his presence didn't matter? Or, I suppose the last one could have jumped really high, or maybe found something to stand on, then jumped up from that. Or something.
*** My best guess is that they took turns helping each other up until there were only two of them left. At that point one of them gave the other a leg up... and held on really damn tight so that when guy A gets sucked through the ceiling guy B gets pulled along for the ride.

* At the end of the fourth film, the chalices are used to transfer life between Angelica and Blackbeard, so that one can live out the years of the other. But at the time they drink from the chalices, ''both'' of them are fatally wounded. Wouldn't the "years" transferred therefore be more like "minutes", since each is due to die very shortly?
** I thought it was all the years they have lived and would have lived would be transferred. So Angelica got all the years Blackbeard was alive and all the years he would have lived.

*** If I recall correctly, the person with the tear got all the years lived and all the years they would have lived had fate been kinder. Who knows how long Blackbeard could have lived if old Hector hadn't shown up with his poison-toad-sword.

So in reality, it's probably ''better'' to drain the years from someone older, because then you're guaranteed to at the very least get the 60-70 years they'd already lived--for all you know, the strapping 20 year old you'd otherwise drain might be fated to die the next day of an inborn medical condition. I don't see what was confusing about this. They state it about as clear as it could possibly be stated without Barbossa pulling out a blackboard and doing the math for you on screen.
*** Honestly I don't remember him ever saying you got the life they had already lived. It was something like "the rest of their life", which would mean she'd only be getting a few seconds. Maybe I misheard it, I dunno. However, regardless I don't think the Fountain gives one invulnerability, just extended life/youth, so she can still be killed before dear old dad's life is used up. This is made rather explicit when Jack strands her on the island with the pistol. He doesn't think harm will come to her, but it sounds like it's possible.
*** You may not remember it, but yes, they ''explicitly'' said you get all the years already lived as well.
*** If you would like a specific scene, i'm fairly certain Angelica says "all the years they have lived" when she is holding that definitely-real-and-not-CG snake.

* In the fourth film, we learn that two chalices are needed for the ritual used to make use of the fountain of youth. But why are those two specific chalices necessary? If the fountain is in the new world, then why do they have a Latin inscription on them? Where did Ponce de Leon get them?

* In the fourth film, what the hell was up with the mermaid-naming scene? I mean, it would be one thing if she told priest-whose-name-isn't-important-enough-to-remember her name in that pause, but he just up and declares that this is her name? I mean, how arrogant is that, did you consider that she might have actually had a name before you declared it?
** It's just meant to establish his attachment to her, and in all fairness she didn't speak up.
** The only named mermaid is the Queen of Mermaids Tamara. Perhaps names in mermaid culture don't really work like they do to us and only the most important mermaids got names.
** Phillip glances quite deliberately at the mermaid after saying she has a name; he names her Syrena only after she doesn't volunteer one. It's possible she simply didn't ''have'' a personal name, as mentioned above, and if she ''did'', the name of a supernatural being often carries power (usually power over the being itself) in folklore. If that's the case here, she ''definitely'' wasn't going to let it slip where Blackbeard, an EvilSorcerer, might hear.
** Honestly to me it just seemed like righteous indignation/fury made him jump the gun. She hadn't said a name up to that point and he just wanted her to be treated with kindness. Right after he said it there was a pause and I thought it would have been hilarious if he'd gone "Uh...what's your name?" but he didn't. He just ended up making up a name for her on the spot since she wasn't volunteering anything and she went with it.

* In the fourth film, why did the Spanish go to all the trouble of tracking down the Fountain of Youth in the New World if they had no desire to use it? If that *was* their plan all along, why did they bother to find the chalices? And why bother polishing them? Why not destroy them as soon as they acquired them?

** They didn't destroy the chalices as soon as they got their hands on them because the chalices weren't the real target--the Fountain was. Even if they destroyed the way to get in, as long as the Fountain itself was untouched, there was still a possibility of someone using a metaphorical back door somehow to access it. These guys were on a holy mission in the name of God and country to destroy the "pagan temple"--that's not a job you just leave half-assed, not with that level of devotion to the cause. (Though I still don't get why they were lovingly polishing the chalices up at the camp. They had Ponce de León's notes, so couldn't they have just gotten the inscription from them?)

* What happens to Jack's hat at the end of OST?
** Still on the island. He dropped it fighting the Spaniards as I recall.
** And why does he not make a big deal about it? His ''not'' going back for it was a big deal in ''Dead Man's Chest'', why not here as well?
** Actually, he lost it when he and Angelica dove into the water to escape the British soldiers. Almost as soon as he climbed back out of the water, he was hit with a dart and knocked out. By the time he wakes up on Blackbeard's ship, his hat is a long way away. For the rest of the movie, Captain Jack was hatless. I have little doubt that his hat will find him again someday, though.

* Where and when did Ponce de Leone gain access to magic? I mean, are we supposed to assume he just ''found'' a pair of fountain-of-youth chalices and a reanimating map?
** Probably around the same time he ended up getting his ship stuck on top of a cliff. As for the main point, Blackbeard has a magic sword that controls his and other ship, not to mention his quite literal ships in bottles. I think you're supposed to assume the setting is a bit more fantastic.

* I'm afraid to ask this since I think I know the answer, but... What happened to the crew of the Black Pearl after Blackbeard captured it?

* Why didn't they show us what happened to the cleric after he went with the mermaid? Seriously, I really was surprised that they didn't even give us a hint! Did she eat him? Did he turn into a mer-person? Is he doing whatever it is that Mermaids do with men to get pregnant? Is he singing annoying songs with Sebastian and Flounder? I know the guy was kind of a side character, but throw us a bone here!
** They might be setting us up for the next film - maybe he's the new king of the sea?
** Also, why did she spare him at all in White Cap Bay? How did she know he was "different" from the other men in the dinghies she had just been trying to eat?
*** Possibly she realizes Philip was "different" because, while all the other men in the dinghy were either falling prey to the mermaids' seductions or trying to kill her sisters to protect themselves, he was the only one trying to pull his companions back into the boat. He wanted to save others, not himself.
** She didn't spare him, she just said that she did. It isn't clear what she was going to do to him before Jack's explosion knocked her down. As far as I'm concerned, she dragged him down and made him a lovely dinner... if you know what I mean.
** I suspect they deliberately left it ambiguous so you could imagine the ending that pleases you most. If you're sentimental and want to believe she turned him into a mermaid and they lived happily ever after, you can do that. If you're cynical and think she was like all the other mermaids and ate him, you can do that. If you're a sucker for romantic tragedies and think she really did love him, but that her answer to his "Can you forgive me?" was "No", you can do that too.
*** I imagine this is exactly what they're going for. They didn't want to spoon feed us an answer and left it deliberately ambiguous, and I doubt we'll hear more about them in future movies. Personally I want to know how he'd survive regardless. It's said a Mermaid's Kiss can save one from drowning, but he also had a pretty serious wound to go with it, and having it exposed to swamp water probably didn't help. But then, she just said she could "save him" which is pretty vague. Maybe she can heal him somehow. Or maybe she's saving him from life and just eating him. Who knows?
** They cut off one of the pirates who was rambling about mermaids, and it sounded like one of the things they can supposedly do has something to do with saving someone from death. Or, Syrena might know where the source of the fountain is, and she might've given her life to save his.

* Why did Barbossa tear up the privateers charter at the end of OST? I understand the whole "Free men! Life on the sea! Yo-ho!" routine, but that charter gave him a free pass to do whatever he felt like, ''protected by the crown''. He could have raided ships and plunder treasure for the rest of his life, as long as they weren't English ships. Why did he destroy his GetOutOfJailFreeCard? ''They hang captured pirates'', as the films have made abundantly clear.
** Well, Barbossa didn't complete the mission he'd been signed on for- claiming the Fountain of Youth for Britain- and got a navy ship destroyed and most if not all of its crew killed to boot. I doubt he had much of a future with Britain ''anyway''. Besides, Barbossa may be willing to work with just about anyone to advance his own agenda, but he doesn't seem to have any more love when it comes down to it for the colonial powers than Jack.

* Is that hat that Barbossa got at the end of ''On Stranger Tides'' a new one? Or did Blackbeard take Barbossa's hat as a souvenir after defeating the ''Black Pearl''?

!!Fridge Logic
* Why didn't Barbossa cut the ropes instead of his leg? Short term solution, I know, but wouldn't you have at least ''tried'' that first?
** For all we know, he ''did''- but as you said, short-term solution; the whole ship was coming alive under Blackbeard's power, and we don't know how many ropes Barbossa may nor may not have cut before one grabbed hold of him. Alternatively, he simply panicked and did the first thing that came to mind- and note, he was apparently the only member of the Pearl's crew to escape that battle.
** Ships' hawsers can be ''extremely'' thick, and Blackbeard's powers might have made them more durable than normal while they were animated. Plus, if Barbossa was hanging upside-down with the rope wrapped around his ankle, jerking about so he couldn't twist his body for more than a fraction of a second, he possibly couldn't reach any higher with a blade than his own knee.

* The after-credits scene: It seems amazingly contrived that the voodoo doll would float all the way from White Cap Bay to the island Angelica was on, even more so to float directly to her. Who knows how far away they were from each other, and it would need an absolutely flawless set of conditions to do that. [[WildMassGuessing Maybe the spirit of Blackbeard from the world beyond guided it to her?]] I suppose with this franchise, that's certainly possible.]]

* At the end of ''On Stranger Tides'', why does it not occur to Jack or Gibbs to just try pulling the stopper on The Black Pearl's bottle first?

* In the fourth movie, if the Spaniards were intent on destroying the fountain from the beginning, why didn't they just destroy the chalices when they had them? They still could have gotten into the fountain, considering they managed it at the end, and destroying the chalices would have prevented anyone from using it.

* The film actually has a damn good reason for failing UsefulNotes/TheBechdelTest. Angelica never speaks with Syrena; with Syrena being the only other female in the expedition, and a mermaid to boot, one would think Angelica would be eager to get to know her. But given Angelica's background, there are plenty of reasons she wouldn't want to. In the 1600s, mermaids are still creatures out of horror stories, not yet turned into whimsical fairy tale creatures that little girls would dream of being or meeting (Hans Christian Andersen's "Literature/TheLittleMermaid" won't be written for a couple more centuries yet). Even after Syrena proves to be different from her more vicious sisters, Angelica's background gives her reason for avoiding conversing with Syrena. As a devout Catholic in the 1600s and an almost-nun, Angelica may view the mermaids as creatures of sin, since their sole purpose for interacting with humans involves tempting men's sexual desires.
** Not to mention that, until she became attached enough to Philip to talk to him, everyone including Angelica probably didn't think Syrena ''could'' speak humans' language. By the time she started demonstrating a capacity for speech, she'd already been abused enough that she wouldn't have spoken civilly with any of her captors, male or female.
*** Unlikely, as there were at least two people who could attest that mermaids can speak at that point ; Scrum and the dark-skinned zombie officer. They were both on the longboat where they were used as live bait for the mermaids and both heard the blonde mermaid speak (in fact Scrum was the one who had a conversation with her and was smitten afterwards ["I'm in love!"]).
*** That only proves that ''some'' mermaids can speak human languages. It doesn't prove that ''Syrena'' could.
** Alternately, despite her own efforts to appear tough-as-nails before Blackbeard and his crew, Angelica isn't ''completely'' heartless. She probably avoided having anything to do with Syrena because she didn't want to risk feeling sorry for the mermaid.
** Or maybe she didn't feel like sharing "girl talk" with a creature whose companions just ''ate'' a bunch of her father's crewmen, whom she'd been associating with as a ship's officer for weeks. Yes, Syrena turns out to be "different", but she ''was'' participating in the battle; Angelica had no particular reason to trust her, and she knew those drowned-and-eaten sailors fairly well.
** There's also not exactly much they ''could'' converse about; would you really expect Angelica to say, "Look, my dad's going to torture you for your tears. Just wanted to let you know; there's nothing personal"? Also, never chat to you prisoners; you'll feel sorry for them.

** Perhaps their aquatic nature is tied to them being refused sanctuary on the ark. I mean, there must be some reason mermaids can assume a human form.

** Syrena's fellow mermaids had a fucking good reason for being bloodthirsty and vicious. It's certainly possible that th

* Blackbeards crew becomes a DwindlingParty, especially after the mermaid attack. By my count, only Scrum, Ezekiel(the old guy), Salaman(the indian guy), Garheng(the asian pirate), Cabin Boy(the kid pirate) and two extras remain. Yet when the crew heads for Tortuga, there's suddenly an entire crew of around 40 men with them. I get that Blackbeard would leave some behind to guard the ship(Gibbs and Jack mention this in the ending), but one would think the remaining crew are composed of zombies or about 5 men, which is enough to guard the ship, but not enough to actually steal it.

** Jack was also the only other person who was concerned for her when she was suffocating. Given some of the things she said it's possible she can tell who someone is deep down and knew that Jack though a pirate was still a good kind hearted person and simply wanted to reward him for that. It's also possible that she knew Jack wanted the chalices to revive Angelica;

*** My best guess is that the they took turns helping each other up until there were only two of them left. At that point one of them gave the other a leg up... and held on really damn tight so that when guy A gets sucked through the ceiling guy B gets pulled along for the ride.

** Jack was also the only other person who was concerned for her when she was suffocating. given some of the things she said it's possible she can tell who someone is deep down and knew that Jack though a pirate was still a good kind hearted person and simply wanted to reward him for that. It's also possible that she knew Jack wanted the chalices to revive Angelica;

* So where was Blackbeard during the War Against Piracy? He's apparently regarded as TheDreaded even among other pirate, but he isn't even one of the Pirate Lords who ruled the seas, and he's nowhere to be found in the climatic battle against East India Trading Company's armada. The ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' and her crew would've been a valauble asset to the Pirate Fleet.

* So where was Blackbeard during the War Against Piracy? He's apparently regarded as TheDreaded even among other pirate, but he isn't even one of the Pirate Lords who ruled the seas, and he's nowhere to be found in the climatic battle against East India Trading Company's armada. The ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' and her crew would've been a valauble asset to the Pirate Fleet.

** Syrena's fellow mermaids had a fucking good reason for being bloodthirsty and vicious. It's certainly possible that th

** Jack was also the only other person who was concerned for her when she was drowning. It's also possible that she knew Jack wanted the chalices to revive Angelica; or it simply could be a tiny bit of StockholmSyndrome.

* The film actually has a damn good reason for failing UsefulNotes/TheBechdelTest. Angelica never speaks with Syrena; with Syrena being the only other female in the expedition, and a mermaid to boot, one would think Angelica would be eager to get to know her. But given Angelica's background, there are plenty of reasons she wouldn't want to. In the 1600s, mermaids are still creatures out of horror stories, not yet turned into whimsical fairy tale creatures that little girls would dream of being or meeting (Hans Christian Andersen's "Literature/TheLittleMermaid" won't be written for a couple more centuries yet). Even after Syrena proves to be different from her more vicious sisters, Angelica's background gives her reason for avoiding conversing with Syrena. As a devout Catholic in the 1600s and an almost-nun, Angelica may view the mermaids as creatures of sin, since their soul purpose for interacting with humans involves tempting men's sexual desires.

** Also, maybe Angelica just isn't the sort to be eager to forge a connection with another individual just because they happen to share similar genitalia. She's a pirate, she'd probably just rather talk to other pirates no matter what's between their legs, and likely wouldn't be in any more of a hurry to try and forge a bond with a female aristocrat, tailor, or holy woman than she would be with a mermaid.

** The simplest explanation is that Philip's a really crappy preacher.

* The simplest explanation is that Philip's a really crappy preacher.

** Perhaps their aquatic nature is tied to them being refused sanctuary on the ark. I mean, there must be some reason mermaids can assume a human form.

* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanOnStrangerTides'' actually has a damn good reason for failing UsefulNotes/TheBechdelTest. It used to aggravate this Tropper, that Angelica never speak with Syrena; with Syrena being the only other female in the expedition, and a mermaid to boot, one would think Angelica would be eager to get to know her. But given Angelica's background, there are plenty of reasons she wouldn't want to. In the 1600s, mermaids are still creatures out of horror stories, not yet turned into whimsical fairy tale creatures that little girls would dream of being or meeting (Hans Christian Andersen's "Literature/TheLittleMermaid" won't be written for a couple more centuries yet). Even after Syrena proves to be different from her more vicious sisters, Angelica's background gives her reason for avoiding conversing with Syrena. As a devout Catholic in the 1600s and an almost-nun, Angelica may view the mermaids as creatures of sin, since their soul purpose for interacting with humans involves tempting men's sexual desires.

** Philip has an obvious crush on Syrena. He says those things about her because he's trying to reconcile his feelings with his faith, not because he's trying to be logically-consistent about either.

* So, what was up with [[spoiler: Ponce de Leon anyway? Did we ever get any indication as to why he was, you know, some sort of skeleton thing?]] It just seemed sort of there.

*** This troper's idea of the scene was that [[spoiler: Ponce de Leon]] killed his entire crew and gained all their years, the gods/spirits didn't like that, and punished him with AgeWithoutYouth, and he decayed until only the skeleton was left.

** The Fountain healed Angelica from being poisoned; it clearly has regenerative properties. They probably figured that Barbossa was fated to do whatever he was going to do to Blackbeard, but that they could then ''un''do it with the Fountain.[[spoiler: Would have worked out that way, too, if Jack hadn't switched the chalices]].

* In the fourth movie near the end, Jack had to stand on a pirate's shoulders to reach the 'portal'. So how is it that all of the pirates made it through? (They should have had to leave one person behind...) not to mention that immediately afterwards, [[spoiler: A small British regiment led by Barbossa comes in, then an ENTIRE Spanish army, gear and all manages to go through all at the same time. FlatWhat ]]

* At the end of the fourth film, the chalices are used to transfer life between [[spoiler: Angelica and Blackbeard]], so that one can live out the years of the other. But at the time they drink from the chalices, ''both'' of them are fatally wounded. Wouldn't the "years" transferred therefore be more like "minutes", since each is due to die very shortly?
** I thought it was all the years they have lived and would have lived would be transferred. So [[spoiler: Angelica got all the years Blackbeard was alive and all the years he would have lived.]]
*** [[spoiler: The problem with that is...Blackbeard didn't have any longer to live. It was his fate to be killed by Barbossa, and Barbossa killed him. Angelica should have netted a whole couple of seconds of life from that exchange.]]
** Remember the part about [[spoiler:All the years he had lived? The guy has lived plenty]]
*** [[spoiler: If I recall correctly, the person with the tear got all the years lived and all the years they would have lived had fate been kinder. Who knows how long Blackbeard could have lived if old Hector hadn't shown up with his poison-toad-sword.]]

*** Honestly I don't remember him ever saying you got the life they had already lived. It was something like "the rest of their life", which would mean [[spoiler: she'd only be getting a few seconds.]] Maybe I misheard it, I dunno. However, regardless I don't think the Fountain gives one invulnerability, just extended life/youth, so [[spoiler: she can still be killed before dear old dad's life is used up. This is made rather explicit when Jack strands her on the island with the pistol. He doesn't think harm will come to her, but it sounds like it's possible.]]

* At the end of ''Stranger Tides'', why does Jack bother [[spoiler: performing the ritual as well as a pretty sweet BatmanGambit to save Angelica]] only to [[spoiler: strand her on an island the same way Barbossa had stranded him]]? Both [[spoiler: she and Blackbeard]] were [[spoiler: going to die from poison sword wounds]] anyway. Sure Jack's not the [[ChaoticNeutral nicest guy in the world]], but this felt like an excessive [[KickTheDog dog kicking]].
** [[spoiler: Weren't you listening? He said that it was a well travelled route, so ships were bound to go by. All she would need to do is start a fire to get their attention. He stranded her there because she would have killed him otherwise. So no, he is not dumping her there to die. ]]
*** [[spoiler: Yeah he gives her step by step instructions on how to survive and get help.]]

* I'm afraid to ask this since I think I know the answer, but...[[spoiler: What happened to the crew of the Black Pearl after Blackbeard captured it?]]

** Possibly they're like certain parthenogenetic lizards, and actually produce offspring which are genetically identical to themselves, but have to go through the motions of mating to stimulate the process. The male wouldn't contribute any genetic input, which would prevent them from becoming more human and less fish-like with every generation. Alternately, male offspring may simply be stillborn due to developmental errors.

* Based on what I've read about what's being planned for the fourth Pirates movie, Will and Elizabeth were never intended to be in it because their story is over. Now all the tabloids are saying "Orlando Bloom is blowing off the fourth Pirates movie to spend time with his girlfriend!" How can he blow off being in a movie he was ''never going to be in'' in the first place?!
** Simple answer is it's the tabloids. They tend to make it up as they go along and pull things out of their ass in the name of making money. Sometimes they will get it right or say something somewhat based in fact. However most of the time it's BS. Besides what do you think would sell more copies? "[=PotC4=] to star only Depp!" or "Bloom fed up with [=POTC=]! Refuses to return for sequel!"
*** Well, since I personally only really care about Johnny Depp and nothing for Orlando Bloom I guess I'll read the "to star only Depp!" copy please. When you're finished with it, of course.

* Why did Jack, the ''Queen Anne'' crew, and presumably Barbossa and his men have to go through the ceiling of the cave when there's literally an exit/entrance with stairs in the actual room containing the Fountain? Hell, the Spaniard and his men presumably found this easy route as well with how they manage to surround the pirates and privateers.

* Why did Syrena come to the Fountain at the end to give Jack the chalices? The only one who was kind to her was Phillip. What loyalty did she have to Jack?