INCEPTION BREAKDOWN: Hidden Details & Secret Subplot Revealed | Deep Dive 

This film along with interstellar, the dark knight and Dunkirk is why I’m confident in Nolan’s direction and vision going into Oppenheimer. Can’t wait for it.

34:00 As the crew wakes up from the dream in their plane seats, it reminds me of movie goers in their theatre seats as the film ends and the lights go on

A key line to this story that gets overlooked is when Weems says that the incepted idea has to be positive rather than negative. He thought positive ideas take root better, but I think incepting negative ideas is dangerous. For example, Cobb incepted a negative idea into Mal, that her world *ISN'T* real. It was this negation that ended up defining her. She couldn't see past the need to negate the falseness of her world. And Cobb himself couldn't get past the notion that he had caused the death of his wife. That guilt trapped him, isolated him from his reality, his children. He had to accept her death. The time they had together was all he was ever going to get, so it was going to have to be enough. By accepting that, he replaced "I killed her" with "We had our time together." And that allowed his projection of her to rest. After all, the Mal we see in this film IS his idea of her, defined by his guilt. By changing his mind, he changed her. What's so interesting about this movie is that there is no objective reality. That was literally its point. We're always dreaming a reality based on our best guess of what is real. We only have two choices, engage with the reality in front of us, or don't. We have to just hope that the reality in front of us is the one we share with our loved ones. And this gets back to the key line from Weems, that a positive idea is better than a negative one. When we define our reality through, "I want to stick it to my heartless father" or some other such negative, that's not a reality worth living in. I think we see the results of people defining their reality through negatives all the time. It makes people insane and horrible. But if we define it with something positive, "My father wanted me to be my own man and live for my own happiness," that's a path to a reality worth living in. We can't know if it's "true." But it doesn't matter.

The ending never seemed all that mysterious or ambiguous to me. They mention early on, that in his dreams he can never see the kids faces. At the end, he finally can. Plus that top is absolutely wobbling.

Cobb's totem is his wedding ring. Mal's totem is the spinning top. In the movie, it's established that Dom planted the spinning top in Mal's memories to get them back to reality.

This is the movie where one Christmas everyone in my family got a copy of it from someone else. Some versions were full screen DVD, others were widescreen DVD, and one was even BluRay. It was wild.

I like how Mal is the composer just like how the one thing that makes movies stand out than reality is a soundtrack that can manipulate emotion of a viewer

Amazing analysis. I think the time dilation in the filmmaking metaphor is meant to evoke how you can spend hours, days or even months creating what will only be a few seconds or minutes of the film (especially in today's vfx). If you don't choose to go home to your family you can get sucked into an endless pursuit of perfection.

I've been pretty busy with life lately, just now finding the time to sit down and catch up with everything I've missed here and at NR over the last two weeks. Thank you for keeping the Deep Dive going. Love the amount of passion you put into every episode, whether it's 12 minutes of 45.

The music in Inception has always been half the movie to me. As important as any of the scenes and absolutely THE atmosphere. So I really really appreciate this vid.

Love it Erik! I think Inception is such a timeless film now and that was a solid dive! I also really dig how comfortable you are on these now compared to your first couple of DD's, huge support for you man! Keep em coming 🤘

This movie’s plot is on a whole another level from practically all other movies I can remember seeing, which makes it my favorite. Absolutely stunning and brilliant film-making. This is above than world class. This is Nolan’s Crown Jewel.

The quality of the Deep Dive videos just keeps getting better. Great job Voss!

Love from Belgium 🇧🇪 ❤ Thank you so much for your dedication and all the hard work

what a beautiful episode. Ive seen so many Inception explanation videos but this one breaks it down perfectly.

Erik, I am thoroughly enjoying the content on this new channel. The Deep Dives are always interesting, entertaining, and well researched and thought-out. I look forward to seeing more videos!

Damn Eric.... You have redefined the meaning of the word "deep".... I watched the entire 36 mins if this video and at the 35:06 you delivered the deepest freakin deep dive analysis truth of any film. This video in it of itself is a work of art. Bravo sir 👏🏻

There’s one important scene you didn’t touch on that bolsters your idea that it doesn’t matter if he’s awake or not because his reality is his choice. It’s the scene with the dream shaman that Yusuf takes the group to and the shaman says a very important line that goes something like, “No. They come to be woken up. The dream has become their reality. Who are you to say otherwise? I think everything after the sedation here is a dream where Cobb came to ultimately be “woken up.” When he supposedly wakes up he goes to the bathroom panicked and spins mals totem but is interrupted and hits the top over on accident making it so he nor the audience can establish whether the rest of the movie is a dream or reality. But I think that one line the shaman says is really the point Nolan is trying to get at.

That was an amazing video man. Keep up the good work

AWESOME VIDEO ERIK!!!

As always...a great video brother.

I always thought it was still a dream because his kids are the same age as when he left.

Really interesting. Good job, Erik and the Deep Dive team.

Love your passion Erik! I watch every Deep Dive (not if I haven't seen the analyzed content, though) and I can't wait to watch the next one! Love ya bud

I love this channel with all my heart, thanks for all the research and time you put in these vids! ❤

The way you described the end made me cry from my soul and I thank you for that!!

I've always wanted a real break down of this movie . Thank you Voss !

This is the best youtube vid about Inception i've seen! Thank you

Thank you for doing this ! I was always confused and fascinated by inception lol!

That's a great deepdive 💯💯

I fall in love with nolan’s work starting from inception, and i do rewatch it almost thrice every year

Ngl I've been waiting for this one after watching your interstellar deep dive!

I love this deep dive, Inception is one of my all-time favorite movies 😊 Thank you again for another amazing video👍🏻

excellent analysis. truly gives me a much deeper appreciation for the movie and for Nolan. thank you!

excellent analysis! makes me want to do another rewatch of this movie. 🎉

This was an amazing video! Thank you

Great analysis Erik!

I’ve been waiting for this one

I’ve just rewatched the movie not too long ago, perfect timing!

Excellent analysis. Thanks!!

Oh I been waiting for this

Loved this movie, didn’t think I needed such a deep dive for it. I need a quick rewatch it’s been a few years since I saw it.

Inception breakdown again?!? YAY

I love it! I’d love to see a deep dive of Tenet!

great analysis!

So good, Erik!

Will you be doing a Deep Dive for Memento? That was my first Nolan film and was just so imaginative and interesting - I’d love to learn more about it through your awesome analyses!

Hey!!! I suggested this and remembered asking to be part of the breakdown

One of the absolute best analysis of Inception ever, on one of the coolest newer channels on RU-vid ever, by The best host, ever! ☺️ Keep up this amazing content, EV. It so mind boggling how you nail it on a lot of the same, exact threads that I’ve thought since my first time watching this masterpiece. Your deep dive makes me appreciate it even more.

I love your work Erik! It really inspiring

I absolutely LOVE your channel! I am hooked. Thank you for all of your incredible content. I have never paid attention to how many likes I contribute to a video but this is the first time I have and it put it at 10k! Keep on going my dude, these videos are very special. I love how much you tie your father into these. They really are moving and it helps me reflect on my own relationship with my dad. Thank you.

love ur vids

I can remember the first time I seen this movie, I was totally blown away . The concept was was so fascinating to me . I probably watched it 10 times. Still one of my all time favourites !

Love your work!

Thank you, Eric!!!!!!

I got a minute into this deep dive, then was like, “I haven’t watched Inception in over a decade, let me go watch it again, and then come back.” Lol. I love these videos!

Haven't started the vid yet, I just have to say, I watched inception yesterday after years. If you mentioned in a previous vid you'd be doing this, I TOTALLY forgot, but you definitely got into my subconscious and had me wanting to watch this!!

Nice can''t wait to watch

Brilliant film! Another watch always uncovers another layer and another great experience!

Absolutely incredible movie, I pick up something new every time I rewatch it

This is my favorite movie of all time … I remember seeing it in theatres and was so confused about what happened lol

Now this is a 'Deep Dive', love it!

Idk if you believe in spiritual coincidences or not but only a few moments before this video i was having an emotional breakdown bc of "past regrets" and was feeling emotionally overwhelmed. Switched to this video to get my mind off of it and then you spoke abt the edith pioff song i have no regrets. Which i love how this lil piece of sentiment connects and eerie timing of it. Thankyou for these deep dive. Much of art reflects life and vice versa and i love analysis love from India ❤

Great job.

Love the show! Great channel! (Greetings from NE Ohio)

Excellent work on this! Did you happen to touch on the naming of Mal? It’s interesting that one of the prominent lyrics in Piaf’s song is “Ni le mal” meaning “not the bad.” And her name Mal also sounds like Maul. Also, Mal is probably a nickname for Mallory. Which would make sense because Mallory means “the unlucky one.”

Great video Voss!

A big heartfelt thankyou ❤

I love your energy! 💥

hi erik! :)

new favorite channel

I love your take on this, Erik, with Inception being the roles in the dreammaking / filmmaking process. A decade before Inception came out, I took a screenwriting class, and one of things that came up in that class was that you are intentionally trying to induce a dream state in the viewer. A lot of filmmaking techniques, jump cuts in particular, are to put you in the dream state so that you suspend disbelief. I kind of felt this about the movie (it's obviously intentional), but hadn't put it together myself. However, I was really hoping you'd touch on the fact that just like Cobb is an unreliable narrator, Cobb himself cannot trust the one thing he should be able to trust - his totem. Because it's not his totem, it's Mal's. Cobb systematically sets up all the rules of this world, only to be the one breaking all those rules. You showed where they mention this, but not about the totem, specifically. Cobb says you can't trust a totem anyone else has touched, so Cobb using a totem that is not his own is a really odd rule to break, almost a tacit admission that he would prefer to stay in the dream, a dream where he's allowed to break the rules. I think this is really why he shakes his head there ... because he can't be sure, but also because he prefers the dream.

Absolutely brilliant! 😎

RIP Satoshi Kon, nice to hear a shoutout to him. Also recommend Tokyo Godfathers highly for those who haven't seen it.

This video could’ve been an hour and a half and I’d still want more! More deep dive!!

If you assume what we start with in the movie was actually the real world and not another dream layer. I still think you got it wrong. First, how long was he in exile?...Years. And young kids grow really fast. During the entire movie he keeps having flashbacks on how he remembers them from when he last saw them. And they're of identical ages of when he did finally see them at the end of the movie. They haven't aged... That is because him going back home and reuniting with his kids is all still in his mind as him still being in a dream.

His rant at the end about the bomb always makes me break out in laughter.

love it thank you erik!

Great video

This movie analysis AND this movie are so good.

Perhaps your BEST video ever

One interesting thing I noticed occurs as the top is set spinning in the safe. Quantum mechanics indicates that, since no one can observe the top, until that safe was opened, the top both was and was not still spinning. Therefore, in theory, what they were experiencing both was and was not reality.

Loved this voss Loved this breakdown to utter pieces

Thank you for mentioning the influence of Kon’s “Paprika” on this film. I truly see this as a love letter to that movie with Nolan’s signature all over it.

You get me every time ERIK. The TV will just play a random algorithm based video and I’m stuck for 30 minutes. While I’m supposed to be doing something completely different almost an hour ago. 😅😂

That last second burn on Cobb as the video ends was vicious.

Say what you want about Nolan and some of the logic of his movies, again he’s making movies, dreams, escapes that aren’t real but use some of our real world to create a fantasy world where we can dream and escape. He’s talented, smart and I enjoy the risks and challenges he takes on.

This movie was one of my most memorable theater experiences of all time.

34:02 The looks they give each other on the plane, reminds of Ocean's 11: for completing the heist

I remember seeing Inception when i was 15, 13 years ago. It did in fact change my life quite a lot.

Erik made me re-watch this whole movie just to watch this video. Not complaining though at least I got to understand this masterpiece even more😁

Incredible insight on a incredible director & movie. Please do a Deep Dive on Tenet!

Damn man. Just found you. Interstellar and now this. Subscribed.

What a breakdown!

It’s worth pointing out that the top can still stop as it has effectively lost its power as soon as Cobb accepts “reality”.

You are awsome, dude! I am a film lover, too. And most of the time when I watch your stuff, I'm like "yeah... yipp... ah, ah... nothing knew". Till the point you drop some awsome ideas or ways I haven't felt or even get. But more important, I love your passion and commitment to every film you are talking about. It gives me instand the joy why I am love the movie you are referenting, too. (Hope you get the Idea, english is not my mothertounge).

I am still fascinated by this movie

Is movie was so good, I really need to rewatch it

I just don't get why people say they still don't understand the movie this many years later. I figured it out but was unsure than finally completely understood it by I'd say 2nd or 3rd time rewatching. Great movie amazing actors and Nolan is just genius with his direction. But let's not negate the cinematography just a gorgeous movie. And those props! The whole rotating hallway was just genius!

My favorite movie of all time!!! I’ve watched it at least 100 times