I know that I wasn’t the only one with watery eyes as I saw Jack Dawson in the ball room waiting for his beloved Rose Bukater. The beauty of the Titanic being shown after it was at the bottom of the ocean and the scene with Jack waiting for Rose was overwhelming and perfect. After all, the movie had to have such a great ending to be the second top grossing film in history.
Still, even though I considered it perfect, I found myself wondering “what if?” It’s a terrible habit to wonder “what if?” when you watch as many films as I do, but I like to embrace that question. I’m sure many of you wondered what would have happened if the ship didn’t sink, if Jack didn’t fall victim to the Atlantic Ocean, or even what would have happened if Jack and Rose never met. These movies are reality to us, even for a moment. So I find it only natural to think of alternate endings. My alternate ending is in no way better than the original, and would even be considered rather cliché with all the love stories that have been developed throughout the years. Never the less, I would still like to share it with you.
If you haven’t seen Titanic, not only are you missing out on a bare necessity of life but this paragraph will be a spoiler for you. So please take this spoiler alert as a sign telling you to go watch the movie. The original ending involved an iceberg interrupting the smooth voyage across the Atlantic. The iceberg tore the ship at its base and the water started rising through 6 of the 16 “water tight” compartments. Slowly but surely, every passenger on the ship joined in on the panic frenzy.
The scene started with people running to life boats and the officers guarding them saying “women and children only”. There were not enough life boats for half of the passengers on board so half of the passengers were doomed. Caledon ‘Cal’ Hockley (the antagonist) paid his way into a lifeboat but when the anarchy started on the ship, the officer denied the payment and gave Caledon’s spot to another person. Caledon left Rose and snuck onto a lifeboat. Meanwhile, Rose went looking for Jack who was handcuffed by himself in a room. Rose found him after going through gallons of water and she helped him break free. As they struggled to get to the boats deck, they had to overcome almost drowning.
Once they reached the boats deck, it was too late. Rose refused to leave on the lifeboats without Jack and went through the Titanic’s sinking. After the boat fell to the bottom of the Atlantic, people were left to fend for themselves in the ice cold water. As the noise and yelling faded away into the night, so did the victims of the ships sinking. Rose was left freezing on a floating door and Jack was holding her hand while he stayed in the water.
After Jack said his goodbye’s to Rose, he let go of her hand and slowly drifted away. Rose survived and made it to the mainland where she slipped away from Caledon. The scene skips to when Rose is an old woman and she is done telling her story about the Titanic. She walks to the edge of the ship she is on and drops a necklace that was a gift from Caledon in her youth.
As the necklace fell to the bottom of the sea and re-entered the Titanic’s ruins, the ship began returning to the way it was before it sank. The camera guided the viewers through the ship and stopped in the ballroom where Jack, in a tuxedo, was waiting for Rose. This is the moment where tears climbed out of people’s eyes and the audience felt forever attached to the film.
My alternate ending is similar but a bit less saddening. I imagined Caledon paying an officer to put Jack on a lifeboat, as a prisoner, simply to reassure Rose and to get her on a lifeboat as well. The ship still sinks but Rose and Jack do not suffer the tragedy and instead make it to the mainland with Caledon. Caledon makes sure that Jack is sent away and Rose still hides from Caledon, but neither Rose nor Jack find each other.
Years pass and they live their separate lives while the necklace and a painting of Rose rest in the Titanic’s grips. Divers find both objects and news of the find goes out into the public. Jack hears of the painting and Rose hears of the necklace and both step forward to claim their piece of history. When they go to find the divers, they find each other and fall in love all over again.
I know that this ending is a bit of a reach and a cliché, but it speaks of the immortality of love and destiny. I would have enjoyed seeing it this way, but still love the ending in the original film. Titanic is beautiful and also a must see. If any of you have any comments, alternate endings, or questions, please don’t hesitate to voice your opinion on this blog. Thanks again for reading and I’ll see you next time.
A fellow blogger,
Wordfix.
