The Maze Runner REACTION 

Nah, Tomaj getting crushed is crazy lol. The fighter in me would be clinging to life like a baby koala on his mama. 😂

I'm so excited for this, hope you watch the whole series

Here's the answer to your Gally in the Lab question. When Thomas and Minho first opened the #7 gate, they triggered a reconfiguration of the Maze and the END of the Maze Trial. The Maze was then reconfigured to funnel the Gladers to #7 gate/exit. This is what was happening when Thomas and Minho were running back to the Glade. Subsequently, all 4 Maze entrances in the Glade were opened. The Grievers were sent in to evict the Gladers from the Glade. Remember what Teresa said to Gally? The Grievers are going to keep coming back until you're all dead. In other words, it's pointless to remain in the Glade. By the way, all those Grievers would have section #7 keys. The entire experiment has been a variation on "survival of the fittest." Only those Gladers who successfully exit the Maze pass Phase I. Those who stay behind will not survive. Remember when Thomas was appointed Runner, Minho took him to the Runner's Hut. He told Thomas the "pattern" the Maze's sections follow when they opened. This is the "code" to the 8 Maze gates. Since only #7 gate is available to the Gladers after the reconfiguration, it's reasonable to assume the code begins with 7, i.e., it's 71526483. If they had opened, say, #2 gate, the code would be 26483715 etc. After Alby is stung, the other Runners quit, except for Minho, the keeper or leader of the Runners. The ex-Runners were then seen talking to Gally, and probably stayed behind with Gally after Thomas and the others left. Gally was also one of the leaders of the Glade. It's reasonable to assume Gally knew the code either from the ex-Runners or because he was a leader. He certainly knew about the "key" inside the Grievers. After Thomas and the others left, either Gally and his mates followed them to force them back or they were driven out of the Glade by a round 2 attack by the Grievers. On the way to gate #7, Gally and his mates either killed a Griever or found a dead one and got a key. Apparently, only Gally made it to the gate, everyone else with Gally was killed along the way. Since Gally had a key and knew the code, if one was still required, he was able to exit the Maze and enter the Lab. Unfortunately, Gally picked up the pistol from the dead attacker, and you know the rest. WCKD wouldn't allow aircraft to fly over the Maze. Since the Maze is huge and the walls are at least 100 feet tall, any helicopter approaching the exterior of the Maze from below 100 feet probably wouldn't be heard inside the Glade, anyway.

The "Maze Runner" films are very good, and they're a lot deeper than many viewers realize. Here's a brief analysis that helps explain things: If you know your classics, the "Maze Runner" is a pretty close retelling of "Theseus and the Minotaur," of course. Naturally, Thomas is Theseus, the hero. Turns out, Thomas, in his pre-Glade life, was also Daedalus, a creative genius. Daedalus created the Labyrinth for Minos, just like Thomas created the maze for WCKD. Daedalus also betrayed Minos, just like Thomas did WCKD. Daedalus was condemned by Minos to the Labyrinth, just like Thomas was sent by WCKD into the maze. The Glade and the Gladers are Athens and Athenian youth of the myth, respectively. The Grievers are the Minotaur, the monster that feeds on the Athenian youth who have been offered as sacrificial victims. The Minotaur is half-man, half-bull. The Grievers are half-organic, half-machine. The WCKD mechanism that's found in the crushed Griever is Ariadne's thread, the key out of the maze. WCKD, as noted above, is King Minos. In the myth, 7 youths and 7 maids are sacrificed to the Minotaur every year. This strongly implies the existence of an all-female maze. The number 7, which has significance in the film, is undoubtedly an allusion to the myth, too. The maze motif is repeated in the "Scorch Trials" and "Death Cure." The Glade's Athens is, however, more like "The Lord of the Flies (LOTF)" than classical Greece. The Glade is, after all, an island inhabited by boys in the midst of an ocean-like maze. Who can forget the pig that arrived with Thomas, either? Themes in that well-known classic include the tension between groupthink and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality. Things which we do see play out in Thomas and the Gladers. Thomas seems to be a combination of LOTF's Ralph and Simon. His Simon attribute leads us to believe that at some point in the trilogy Thomas will die. Gally, in the first film, probably represents LOTF's Jack. The Gladers eventually split between Thomas (Ralph/Simon) and Gally (Jack) just as in LOTF. Late in the film, Gally proposes to make Thomas an offering to the Grievers/Maze. In LOTF's, Jack proposes to make Ralph's decapitated head an offering to the beast, which represents darkness/fear/the innate primordial savageness of the boys. Despite his sometimes impulsiveness, Thomas represents rationality, individuality and morality. Gally denotes groupthink and emotionalism. Does Alby see Thomas as a catalyst? The significance of the names that are the closest surrounding Thomas' on the wall will become clear in the later movies. When Thomas and the others arrive in the Glade, they're essentially born into it, actually and symbolically. The water is the amniotic fluid, the glass cylinder represents the placenta, and the person is the foetus. The lift is the birth canal. Like newborns, the Gladers arrive as brand-new persons. They have no identity except a name, which they were chrisened with by WCKD. So, when Alby says that the creators only let them remember their name, he's not exactly correct. They don't remember their actual name, only their WCKD name. That's why no two Gladers have the same name. You want to be able to distinguish your test subjects for analytical purposes. Since we saw in this film that WCKD can monitor brain function of the Gladers remotely, we can conclude all the Gladers have brain implants of some sort. Clearly, they also would have an implant that would track/geolocate them. You'd want to be able to follow your subject. It's also safe to conclude that an implant is what affects their memory, and it can presumably be turned both on and off. The average Gladers is reluctant to answer Thomas' questions from ignorance and fear. The people who know answers, albeit very imperfectly, are the runners, Ably and Newt, and perhaps some of the other keepers. Alby maybe reluctant to answer Thomas because he's afraid of what Thomas might do. The runners function as a sacred priesthood in the Glade. Their map-hut is off-limits to the average Glader. Only when Thomas is anointed runner does Minho reveal to him what is known of the maze's secrets. Why is Newt willing to answer Thomas' questions? We see from the get-go, there's an attraction, a closeness developing between Newt and Thomas. Thomas and Ava Paige tell us the maze is an experiment to stress and test brain function in order to find a cure for the Flare. The "Maze Runner" trials mean to develop, isolate and produce a curative enzyme that only occurs in immune's brains so humanity can be saved, even if it means killing the immunes. The Flare is the trilogy's MacGuffin. In any experiment, you need a treatment group and a control group. The control group is the benchmark against which you compare the treatment group. The control group must be non-immunes, the treatment group immunes. Some of the Gladers are immune, others are not. The immunes are naturally immune to the Flare. The Griever sting cannot be Flare because all the Gladers have to be at risk of death for the sake of the experiment. Griever sting is similar in effect to the Flare, but it's 100% curable by WCKD. Also, it can't be communicable since WCKD would not want all the test subjects to die if one were stung. Thomas is clearly bothered by Ben being banished. He doesn't approve at all. In fact, it's a triggering event for Thomas. Our tragic hero, Thomas, is super intelligent, very curious and completely selfless. He is so selfless we might consider him impulsive. After Ben, Thomas has decided there'll be no more maze deaths if he can help it. That's why he jumps into the maze after Minho and Alby. Which brings up the question of why Minho is bringing Alby back if he's been stung. The three rules of the Glade make no reference to being stung. There is no punishment for being stung per se. We know the Gladers holds court to decide punishments since Gally prosecutes Thomas for entering the maze in front of such a court. Ben was banished by a court because he tried to kill Thomas, not because he was stung. Minho was bringing Alby back to the Glade out of duty and affection. A court would later have to decide if Alby was deserving of banishment or some other sentence arising out of the second rule. On the other hand, Minho was not obligated to commit suicide to save Alby. He should have left him when it was obvious they couldn't both make it out of the maze, but he waited too long. Later, of course, fear take over, and Minho abandons both Alby and Thomas to their collective fate. Theresa is an anomalous figure in the first film. She's a girl, her arrival is untimely, and she heralds the end of the Gladers' supply lifeline. She completely breaks the Glade's paradigm. Thomas is somewhat ambiguous, too. Is Gally right about Thomas? It's not clear what to make of his dream-visions. Is he an agent of good or evil? It's certainly in his nature to be a catalyst. We know he was WCKD's favourite, the best at solving challenges. Is that why he was sent into the maze? Also, why are he and Theresa able to recall snippets of their past? None of the other Gladers can do that unless they've been stung. Both Thomas and Theresa are clearly mysterious. After Thomas and Minho first open the #7 gate using the Griever key, they trigger a reconfiguration of the maze which will funnel the Gladers to the #7 gate. This means the experiment is entering its final phase. Common sense tells us the sequence the runners noted previously, but starting at 7, will be the correct code. Only those subjects who successfully exit the maze are candidates for the second trial. Thomas is the archetypal tragic hero. Tragic heroes are characters of elevated stature, both in birth and morality. Like most heroes, he has above-average intelligence, which means he has situational awareness; he's determined, which means he is firmly set in opinion or purpose; and he has a loyal close friend who guides, advises and helps him as he faces his trials. In the films, Newt clearly fits the role as Thomas' helper, his Ariadne. The Theseus myth also emphasizes the power of love. Ariadne helps because she has fallen in love with Theseus. Likewise, Newt is in love with Thomas. As a tragic hero, Thomas is subject to a collective fate, the will of the gods, if you will, which had precipitated the solar flares that scorched the Earth and indirectly brought about the Flare virus. A common attribute of the tragic hero is that he once held a lofty position from which he has now been cast down. Thomas' hamartia has visited his own individual fate upon himself which prompts his present adventure-journey. His moral choices while part of WCKD led him to immoral behavior, the torture and deaths of his friends. In this way, Thomas assumed the role of a god over the Gladers. That's hubris. Humans, even if they're heroes, have to be taught they are not a god. Thomas' eventual betrayal of WCKD precipitated his downfall and the tragic course his subsequent life followed. Tragic heroes suffer, and so Thomas will suffer throughout the films. Another aspect of the tragic hero motif is that those nearest and dearest to the hero often wind up either in some sort of deadly peril or just plain dead. Most often, it's dead. The trilogy manifests several themes. One that runs through all the films, and is the main theme, is the question of whether the end justifies the means. The principle is part and parcel of consequentialism, a teleological theory that says whether an action is morally good or bad depends on its outcomes. The more good outcomes outnumber the bad, the better/more moral the action. Another theme which we see in this film in particular, is the question of how do different people deal with fear/unknown? This is also very much a theme in LOTF.

Looking forward to the last 2 movies of the trilogy! 🔥 Some knowledge from the books without spoilers: many of the kids were named after great figures, like scientists and Nobel Prize winners of our time - Isaac Newton/ Newt, Thomas Edison/ Thomas, Albert Einstein/ Alby, Galileo Galilei/ Gally, Mother Theresa/ Teresa, etc. The first symptoms of the infection are: inability to think clearly and aggression; that's why Gally behaved the way he did in the end. WCKD put both immunes and non-immunes in the maze to study the differences in their brain activities. Also, WCKD controlled Chuck's action at the end and made him purposely cover Thomas from Gally's gunshot, only in order to make Thomas feel more guilty - in stressful situations and harsh environments in fact, antibodies against the virus (=the Flare) strengthen.

The whole idea behind the Trials (Phase I: The Maze, Phase 2: ?) is to create specific engrams in identified areas of the brains of immunes. These engrams, in turn, alter the brain chemistry of the immunes and results in the production of a specific enzyme which has been found to be useful as a temporary treatment for Flare in the non-immune. This enzyme can be extracted directly from the brain of an immune or isolated in his blood. WCKD has discovered that subjecting immunes to life-and-death situations stresses the immunes in ways that creates engrams that sometimes result in a more effective enzyme. In its quest for a more efficacious enzyme or an enzyme that actually cures, WCKD may vary the type of stress inflicted, its severity or lethality and/or its duration. The experiment is an iterative trial-and-error process. The dangers of the Trials are real, and test subjects can and frequently do die as a consequence. The ultimate purpose of the Trials is to find the right combination of stresses that produce an actual cure to Flare. Any experiment requires a treatment group (in this case, immunes) and a control group (non-immunes). WCKD treats all test subjects as if they were lab rats, property of WCKD. All test subjects have brain implants which are used to control memory, provide limited tracking capabilities and to provide biometric data for WCKD researchers. With the possible exception of Thomas and Teresa, the test subjects are all involuntary subjects. They did not consent to be part of the Trials. Note: The Griever sting is Flare-like but NOT the Flare. The Griever sting was 100% curable by WCKD, the Flare is not. The point is to find a cure for Flare. As remarked above, any experiment requires a treatment group (immunes) and a control group (non-immunes) for comparison's sake. So, some of the Gladers are not immune to the Flare. This needs to be remembered. Moreover, the Griever sting cannot be Flare because the immunes would be immune to it. It has to be something deadly that would affect both immunes and non-immunes because any Glader must be at risk of death from it for the sake of the experimental stresses. It also can't be communicable since if one Glader is stung, WCKD would not want all the Gladers to die.

Why do stung Gladers have so much hostility towards Thomas? Despite his youth, Thomas was a high-ranking WCKD official. In fact, he's a genius. He's a medical doctor/researcher as well. He created the Maze, and he put the Gladers into it. Most likely he was in charge of the Maze, and was a direct report to Dr. Ava Paige, who runs WCKD. Of course, Thomas remembers only a tiny bit of this, hardly anything at all. In his memories, we see Dr. Paige interacting directly with Thomas, she wouldn't be doing so with some minor staffer. She tells Thomas: "Don't be easy on them (the test subjects)." No, Thomas was important in WCKD. After Ben is stung, he tries to kill Thomas. What does Ben say to Thomas? He tells him: "I saw you." In other words, Ben remembers Thomas putting him in the Maze. Naturally, Ben feels anger towards Thomas which the Flare-like WCKD virus magnifies into murderous rage. When Thomas tries to administer the WCKD serum to Alby, Alby yells: "You shouldn't be here!" Alby knows Thomas was WCKD, he put them all in the Maze, and he ran the show. Later, Alby tells Thomas: "We can't leave, they won't let us. I remember ... you (Thomas). You were always their favourite, why did you do this? why did you come here?" Alby doesn't understand why Thomas is in the Maze, because he shouldn't be, and it doesn't make sense to Alby. Right before he's killed, Alby tells Thomas: "Get them out!" Alby knows Thomas created the Maze, ran it and should know how to get out. Finally, there's Gally, who, after being stung and while pointing a pistol at Thomas in the Lab, intending to kill him, says: "No, we can't leave. Free? You think we're free out there? No, no, there's no escape from this place." When both Alby and Gally say the Gladers can't leave and won't be free, they're remembering they're all part of the Trials, that they're lab rats, and WCKD has absolute control over them.

1st one here. I can't wait to watch this one!!

Hello, have you seen the movie Tarzan The Fearless?