"Blade Runner"

Comments:

NOTES:

Blade Runner is an example of a screenplay where character motivations and themes were largely neglected by the director in favor of brilliant production design and sensational action scenes. While not an uncommon phenomenon in the film industry, it raises some story logic questions that the studio found necessary to address with the infamous voice-over. Somewhat clearer in the script than in any version of the film are answers to:

• Why is replicant Rachael so attracted to blade runner Deckard, and he to her?
• Why does Batty save Deckard's life if he's trying to kill him?
• If Deckard is a replicant (and a combat model like Batty), why is he physically inferior to Leon and Batty? Couldn't he pull himself up from the cornice? To quote his own words, How can he not know who he is?

Director Ridley Scott, an Englishman working in Hollywood, gets in a sly dig at America -- and a little self-mockery at his own expatriate status -- with the commercial broadcast from the Off-world blimp:

"A new life awaits you in the Off-world colonies. The chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure. Let's go to the Colonies!"

ANALYSIS INFORMATION:

• General Storytelling: Complete
• Act Order Storytelling: Complete
• Character List: Complete
• Build Characters: Partial

Author:		Hampton Fancher and David Peoples.
Analysis by:		Kevin Hindley
Genre:		Science Fiction
Period:		2019
Setting:		Los Angeles
Source Material:		Based on the novella "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick.

Analysis sources:

Film, 1981. (Director's cut, 1991, on Warner Home Video, 1993)

Fancher, Hampton and Peoples, David. Unpublished 'Shooting' Screenplay, 2/23/81.

Brief Synopsis:

"Rick Deckard prowls the steel - and - microchip jungle of 21st-century Los Angeles. He's a "blade runner" stalking genetically made criminal replicants. His assignment: kill them. Their crime: wanting to be human."

--Video blurb, Warner Home Video.

Objective Character Mini-Synopsis:

DECKARD, a cynical blade runner who's the best in the game, becomes sensitized to the humanity of the replicants he kills. He's forced out of retirement by--

 

BRYANT, a sleazy cop who has no qualms about crushing those who oppose his will. His dirty work's done by--

 

GAFF, a sly little policeman who folds paper for fun. He covets Deckard's job and his talents, but not his romantic relationship with--

 

RACHAEL, the perfect woman except she's an android -- but doesn't know it. Implanted with memories, she's developed human emotions, as has--

 

BATTY, an advanced combat replicant, who values and celebrates life more than humans do. In the quest for longer life, he's escaped from Offworld along with---

 

LEON, a replicant who treasures the memories contained in his photographs; SALOME, an athletic replicant who dances with snakes, including her boyfriend Batty; PRIS, an acrobatic replicant with a killer thigh-hug, who manipulates--

 

SEBASTIAN, a fast-aging lonely guy who falls for her act. He's a genetic engineer, and leads the replicants to his boss--

 

TYRELL, the grand designer of the replicants who put ideas in Rachael's head (his niece's), but who, sadly for him, cannot extend replicants' lives beyond four years.

THE OBJECTIVE CHARACTERS

Name: Rick Deckard

Gender: Male

Description:

"DECKARD is standing near the noodle bar waiting for a seat. He's in his thirties, wiry, athletic, rumpled, used, unshaven."

(Fancher and Peoples, p.6)

Role: Blade Runner

Characteristics:

Motivation: Consider; Pursuit;

Methodology: Reaction;

Evaluation: Proven; Effect;

Purpose: Ability; Actuality;

Name: Rachael

Gender: Female

Description:

"[...] a beautiful woman in her late twenties dressed with taste and dignity."

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 22A)

Role: Reticent Replicant

Characteristics:

Motivation: Feeling; Faith;

Evaluation: Hunch;

Purpose: Self Aware; Perception;

Name: Bryant

Gender: Male

Description:

"BRYANT is sitting behind his big desk, a fat man in his fifties with grey hair, jowls and gas."

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 11)

Role: Police Captain

Characteristics:

Evaluation: Expectation;

Purpose: Order;

Name: Gaff

Gender: Male

Description:

"[...] it's the short Japanese guy next to the cop. The guy's got beedy [sic] eyes and lots of energy. His name is GAFF."

(Fancher and Peoples, p.5)

Role: Police Detective

Characteristics:

Motivation: Reconsider; Help;

Evaluation: Unproven; Determination;

Name: J.F. Sebastian

Gender: Male

Description:

"SEBASTIAN gets out, a young man with skin that is yellowing into old parchment. He's wearing a World War Two leather pilot's cap and dark goggles and carrying a pack. In spite of his youth, he carries himself like Old China as he walks toward the entrance with the gait of an old man."

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 46)

Role: Genetic Designer

Characteristics:

Motivation: Conscience; Support;

Methodology: Acceptance;

Evaluation: Accurate;

Name: Leon

Gender: Male

Description:

"The man talking is big, looks like an overstuffed kid. LEON it says on his breast pocket. He's dressed in a warehouseman's uniform and his pudgy hands are folded expectantly in his lap. Despite the obvious heat, he looks very cool."

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 1)

Role: Rogue Replicant #2

Characteristics:

Motivation: Uncontrolled;

Evaluation: Test; Non-Accurate;

Name: Pris

Gender: Female

Description:

"She strips off her topcoat, revealing a shape to pop eyes."

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 48A)

Role: Rogue Replicant #4

Characteristics:

Motivation: Temptation;

Name: Roy Batty

Gender: Male

Description:

"[...] BATTY who is standing on the sidewalk. He resembles a tradition, the gym instructor, short, cropped hair with the body of a drill sergeant but the eyes are gray and chilling. Roy Batty is a presence of force with a lazy, but acute sense of what goes on around him."

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 33)

BRYANT: It's a Nexus 6. Roy Batty. Incept date 2016, combat model optimum self sufficiency. Probably the leader.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 14)

Role: Rogue Replicant Leader

Characteristics:

Motivation: Avoidance; Disbelief; Oppose;

Methodology: Potentiality; Proaction; Nonacceptance;

Evaluation: Cause; Unending;

Purpose: Desire; Chaos; Change;

Name: Salome/ Zhora

Gender: Female

Description:

"Salome stands six feet tall in her high heels and looks down on him with haughty suspicion... a girl who knows how to handle cheap hits."

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 62)

Role: Rogue Replicant #3

Characteristics:

Motivation: Hinder;

Name: Tyrell

Gender: Male

Description:

"[...] an older man, very distinguished very well tailored has entered the huge marble office. TYRELL!"

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 23)

Role: Replicant Manufacturer

Characteristics:

Motivation: Logic; Control;

Methodology: Certainty;

Evaluation: Theory; Trust; Ending;

Purpose: Aware; Inertia;

AUDIENCE AND STORY DYNAMICS APPRECIATIONS:

• Nature as it relates to Actual Dilemma:

If Deckard's to feel more human, he must change his nature as a blade runner-- killing 'skin jobs' who want to be human-- especially when Rachael becomes his target.

• Essence as it relates to Positive Feel:

Deckard and the other policemen are constantly tracking down the replicants in order to apprehend or kill them; the replicants spend their time trying to get to their maker

• Tendency as it relates to Unwilling:

Deckard has retired from blade running, and has to be coerced by Gaff into going to see Bryant, who threatens him:

BRYANT

You know the score, pal. When you're not a cop,

you're little people. (Fancher and Peoples, p. 13)

Deckard is reluctant to kill the replicants, trying to arrest them instead.

• Reach as it relates to Male:

Men will identify with Deckard's fufilling the role society has created for him--even in the future the hunter-gatherer mentality for men prevails.

• Resolve as it relates to Change:

When Deckard is told a replicant is bad and to retire it, that's just what he does, no questions asked. But when he's told to retire Rachael, his love for her overcomes his duty and he escapes with her.

• Approach as it relates to Be-er:

When Deckard's picked up by Gaff, he goes along rather than fight; recruited by Bryant to blade run again, he adapts to the system that walks all over 'little people;' when questioning Salome, he pretends to be a petty bureaucrat, fighting and killing her only as a last resort.

• Direction as it relates to Start:

Deckard needs to start getting in touch with his emotions if he's to get past being a killing machine and become more human.

• Mental Sex as it relates to Male:

Deckard follows clues leading to the replicants in a linear problem-solving technique, and also uses binary reasoning:

DECKARD

Replicants are like any other machine. They can be

a benefit or a hazard. If it's a benefit, it's not my problem.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 12A)

• Outcome as it relates to Failure:

Deckard does not capture/kill all of the replicants. Roy only dies because his time runs out. Rachael also lives and escapes with Deckard.

• Judgment as it relates to Good:

Deckard stops killing replicants and learns to love them, which is healthy considering he may be one. The screenplay is more specific: the story ends with Gaff chasing Deckard and Rachael, with a voice-over:

DECKARD (V.O.)

I knew it on the roof that night. We were brothers,

Roy Batty and I! Combat models of the highest

order. We had fought in wars not yet dreamed of...

in vast nightmares still unnamed. We were the

new people... Roy and me and Rachael! We were

made for this world. It was ours!

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 133)

• Work as it relates to Action:

The story starts with Leon shooting blade runner Holden, demonstrating his ruthlessness; Gaff arrives to recruit Deckard; Deckard tests Rachael, showing how advanced replicants have become; Pris ambushes Sebastian to gain his trust; etc.

• Limit as it relates to Timelock:

The replicants only live four years from their incept date and their end is rapidly approaching--which is why they escaped from Offworld and came to Earth. Batty, the last of the renegade replicants, ages and dies, allowing the physically inferior Deckard to triumph and the story to end.

THE OBJECTIVE STORY THROUGHLINE:

Throughline Synopsis:

Five super-androids, called Replicants, have gone sociopathic and have returned to Earth to try to extend their life span. Deckard, a retired blade runner (one who tracks down errant replicants), is coerced back onto the police force to track down and "retire" them.

Backstory:

As Bryant explains to Deckard:

BRYANT

We had an escape from the Off world colonies

two weeks ago. Six replicants, three male,

three female. Slaughtered twenty three people

and jumped a shuttle. [...] No sign of them then

three nights ago they tried to break into the

Tyrell Corporation, one got fried going through

an electro-field but we lost the others. [...]

 

DECKARD

Why the Tyrell Corporation? Why would they

return to their place of manufacture?

 

BRYANT

Maybe they wanted to find out when they were made?

 

DECKARD

Why would they bother?

 

BRYANT

The Nexus 6 was designed to copy human

beings in every way except their emotions.

But the makers reckoned that after a few years

they might develop their own emotional

responses - hate, love, fear, anger, envy. So they

built in a fail safe device.

 

DECKARD

What's that?

 

BRYANT

The Nexus 6 has only four years to live.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 14-15/18)

• Domain as it relates to Physics:

Blade runners are in the business of tracking down escaped replicants, who in this story are engaged in tracking down their creator.

• Concern as it relates to Obtaining:

Deckard and Bryant are concerned with capturing the rogue replicants; Gaff wants a promotion; the replicants want to gain a longer lifespan; the inhabitants of Los Angeles are lured by advertising promises of a better life on the Offworld colonies; etc.

• Range as it relates to Self Interest:

Deckard comes out of retirement because unless he's a cop he has no status; as head of the corporation named after him, Tyrell lives atop a pyramid, a monument to himself; Gaff is concerned with self-advancement at Deckard's expense; Rachael wants to believe her memories are real; Deckard's intrigued by Rachael because:

DECKARD

People have walked out on me before...

but never when I was being charming.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 60)

• Counterpoint as it relates to Morality:

Tyrell believes he's doing the replicants a favor by giving them memories; Gaff proclaims society's ethic:

GAFF

To defy duly constituted authority is to flaunt the

public good.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 8)

Batty breaks Deckard's fingers--then puts his gun back in his hand; dying, Batty rescues Deckard from certain death on the roof; naive Sebastian takes in the 'helpless waif' Pris.

• Thematic Conflict as it relates to Self Interest vs. Morality:

Tyrell's gift of memory has a more selfish purpose:

TYRELL

If we gift them with a past... we create a cushion or

pillow for their emotions... and we can control

them better.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 27)

Sebastian helps Pris only to be near her beauty, and he ends up being manipulated in the replicants' interest; the replicants, created to serve society, destroy whatever gets in their way; Society, personified in Gaff, will sacrifice individuals in order to maintain itself; Deckard, perhaps realizing his own limited lifespan, deserts his job and goes North to spend the rest of his life in pleasure with Rachael.

• Problem as it relates to Control:

Society has total control over its members' lives, leading to a police state where "if you're not a cop, you're little people." Deckard feels controlled, unable to refuse being a blade runner again. Tyrell plays God, creating replicants that look and act human, complete with memories--but not emotions, which could lead to free will. He controls them with a "fail safe device," a four year lifespan.

• Solution as it relates to Uncontrolled:

Batty and company want an end to Tyrell's tyrannical control of their lifespan. Through observing their quest, Deckard comes to realize a longing of his own. Being the best blade runner's not enough -- he and Rachael head for the North, out of reach of society's and the Tyrell Corp.'s control.

• Focus as it relates to Avoidance:

In retirement, Deckard avoids blade running; the rogue replicants take regular jobs to avoid detection, and try to evade their mortality; Leon avoids his V-K test results in the manner of an engineering grad student; Rachael avoids the reality that she's a replicant; Deckard escapes from L.A. and goes North.

• Direction as it relates to Pursuit:

Deckard, Bryant, and Gaff pursue the replicants; Tyrell and Sebastian pursue perfection in their genetic engineering, personified in different ways by Batty and Rachael; the replicants pursue Tyrell in their search for longer life; Deckard seeks love and fulfillment with Rachael.

• Stipulation as it relates to Doing:

Deckard tracks down the rebellious replicants and kills them, one by one, until only Rachael is left; Batty tracks his way from eyeball manufacturer to genetic engineer to the top man, Tyrell.

• Catalyst as it relates to Approach:

Gaff and Bryant's approach of threatening Deckard brings him back into the fold and sets the story in motion; Deckard adopts the approach of a weaselly bureaucrat to question Salome, making her suspicious; Salome uses her nude bodily perfection to distract Deckard and attack him, jeopardizing his goal; Pris' helpless approach gains Sebastian's confidence and gets the replicants closer to finding Tyrell; Batty uses Tyrell's obsession with beating Sebastian at chess to impregnate his inner sanctum and demand longer life; etc.

• Inhibitor as it relates to Obligation:

Deckard only feels obligated to pursue replicants because of the negative reinforcement he'll receive if he refuses, a commitment that's easily broken when a more desirable alternative (Rachael) presents itself. Distracted from his goal, he forges an emotional bond with her, and has little motivation to retire her.

• Goal as it relates to Obtaining:

Batty and company have come to Earth seeking life extension; Bryant recruits Deckard to track down and retire the replicants, including Rachael.

• Consequence as it relates to Becoming:

Deckard's transformation into a more compassionate, loving being prevents him from retiring Rachael as ordered, and the story goal is not achieved. He becomes more human than the blade runners he works with -- a consequence of his realizing his full potential as a replicant.

• Cost as it relates to The Future:

In their search for an extended future, Batty and company lose their lives; Rachael and Deckard, in realizing their true nature as replicants, learn that their future will last four years at most.

• Dividend as it relates to The Subconscious:

Sebastian derives pleasure from entertaining the beautiful replicant, Pris; Deckard's touched by Rachael's sensitivity:

"Rachael moves forward, sits on the piano bench, touches the keys. They come alive, beautiful music replaces the hesitant stumbling of Deckard.

DECKARD

It was you... in my dream...

 

RACHAEL

I wanted to see... if I could play. If my memory

of music was my own or...

She stops, doesn't finish the thought, goes on playing for a long moment. Deckard is moved by the music. He's looking at her.

DECKARD

You play fine."

(Fancher and Peoples, p.86)

She reawakens feelings in him -- love and lust -- that he hasn't experienced since his wife left him.

• Requirements as it relates to Doing:

Deckard must perform at his best as a blade runner -- a coldhearted killer -- and execute all the replicants on Earth, including Rachael, to achieve the goal; Batty must find a way to gain access to Tyrell, the only man capable of extending his life.

• Prerequisites as it relates to Being:

Deckard must go back to his role as a blade runner, against his will; he pretends to be a "Morals Investigator" to interview Salome; Pris acts like a lost, lonely waif to ingratiate herself with Sebastian; Leon hides his identity by taking a job at Tyrell Corp.; Sebastian pretends he can play chess like a master to gain access to Tyrell's fortress; etc.

• Preconditions as it relates to Progress:

Deckard's mission is to retire the replicants who escaped from Offworld. But Bryant, checking in for a progress report after Salome's killing, ups the ante and makes it harder for Deckard to reach the story goal:

BRYANT

Could learn from this man, Gaff. He's a goddamn

one-man slaughterhouse, that's what he is.

Four more to go. Come on Gaff, let's go.

 

DECKARD

Three. There's three to go.

 

BRYANT

There's four. You know that skinjob you vee kayed

at Tyrell Corporation -- Rachael. Disappeared,

vanished. Didn't even know she was a replicant.

Something to do with a brain implant, says Tyrell. [..]

• Forewarnings as it relates to The Preconscious:

Batty's body starts to fail him, and he has to use self-inflicted pain to short-circuit his body's programmed reflex to self-destruct. Deckard denies his instincts as a blade runner, refusing to retire Rachael.

THE SUBJECTIVE STORY THROUGHLINE:

• Throughline Synopsis:

Initially, Deckard presumes himself superior to Rachael, a mere replicant. He's dismissive of her "memories" as implants. Her emotional reaction to that makes him feel guilty, more so when he's told to kill her. When she saves his life he realizes he can't kill her, as through her he's getting in touch with his own suppressed emotions and memories. After making love to her and watching Batty die while celebrating life, Deckard commits to a future with Rachael, however short it may be.

• Backstory:

The only replicants the hard-nosed Deckard sees on Earth are renegades, and it's his job to kill them. If they're good replicants, he has no interest in them. But Rachael's different. She's a new prototype, implanted with memories and developing emotions. She wants him. And he's been ordered to retire her.

• Domain as it relates to Psychology:

Deckard's assumptions and negative attitude towards replicants is constantly challenged by Rachael, a replicant who seems to be more human than he is:

RACHEL

Have you ever retired a human by mistake?

Deckard blinks... hesitates before answering the question.

 

DECKARD

No.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 22A)

 

RACHEL

That test of yours... The Voight Kampff test...

She pauses before completing the question. It's a biggie.

 

RACHEL

Did... did you ever take it yourself?

Rachael waits for a long moment in the shadows.

The clock ticks. No answer.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 82-82A)

• Concern as it relates to Becoming:

Deckard gives Rachael the V-K test, and is the first to suggest to her that she's a replicant. She finds it difficult to accept that identity, and repeatedly tries to prove she's human. She shows him photographic evidence of her past, the same kind that he has. When he lets his emotions surface and becomes more human, he realizes he's a replicant and what that implies, and he and Rachael become a couple on the run.

• Range as it relates to Commitment :

After Rachael saves Deckard's life by killing Leon, Deckard pledges not to hunt her down if she goes North, even though he's been ordered to kill her. After making love with her his commitment deepens, and he goes North with her.

• Counterpoint as it relates to Responsibility :

Deckard is recognized as the best blade runner for this mission, which ultimately involves killing Rachael. But after denying her the validity of her memories, he reneges on his position in an attempt to make her feel better:

DECKARD

Right. I made it all up. You're not a replicant.

It was a nasty joke. Go home.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 41)

• Thematic Conflict as it relates to Commitment vs. Responsibility:

Deckard's commitment to a relationship with Rachael wins out over his job responsibilities when he goes North with her, even though Bryant will surely send a blade runner after them and she may not live much longer.

• Problem as it relates to Faith:

Deckard's blind faith in his role as blade runner is questioned when the most compassionate, 'human' person he meets -- Rachael -- is a replicant with developed emotions who brings out his own submerged feelings. She calls into question his ability to differentiate between humans and replicants with any certainty, which shakes his faith in how this future society is run. Rachael's belief that she's human and Deckard's equally steadfast belief that she's a replicant causes friction between them.

• Solution as it relates to Disbelief:

Rachael's disbelief in her replicant nature forces Deckard to rethink his prejudice against replicants. Deckard's belief that replicants have no memories appears false when Rachael's mementoes and recollections seem just as real as his, and he remembers a unicorn--a beast which does not exist--and Gaff knows about it. The realization that he's a replicant himself--along with the dying Batty's lust for life--peels away his belief system and frees him to live life to the fullest with Rachael.

• Focus as it relates to Avoidance:

Horrified by seeing that Deckard has killed another replicant (Salome), Rachael avoids him by disappearing into the crowd; Deckard and Rachael escape their almost certain retirement by Gaff by going North together.

• Direction as it relates to Pursuit:

When Tyrell refuses to answer Rachael's questions about her being a replicant, she escapes and pursues Deckard for answers; when Deckard pursues Rachael into the crowd after retiring Salome, he's captured by Leon; Deckard refuses to go after Rachael if she goes North; etc.

• Stipulation as it relates to Being:

As Deckard gets more involved with Rachael, he loses the taste for blade running but continues to fulfill the role till he can escape. In the screenplay, he's sickened by killing Salome/Zhora:

"Deckard's eyes slowly follow the rivulets of blood that lead over the slope of a blacktop to his shoes. Deckard tries to supress his wince. His eyes reveal that it's getting to him."

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 68)

When fighting with Pris, he pleads:

DECKARD

Please! I don't want to kill you.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 112/3)

How far he's grown away from his role as a blade runner is illustrated in a scene with the injured Holden -- after Deckard's made love to Rachael -- that didn't make the movie:

HOLDEN

You can't make a 'thing' feel sorry, Deck.

 

DECKARD

They're different, the new ones. That big one [Leon]...

he... it had feelings.

Holden glares at Deckard for a long moment.

HOLDEN

Whaja do? Fuck it?

 

DECKARD

Huh? Wh-what? Who who?

Deckard is alarmed. The secret is out.

HOLDEN

The tit job, the one with the snake. You stuck it in,

didn't ya?

Deckard is immensely relieved and confused.

DECKARD

Uh... no... I mean... uh.

 

HOLDEN

You made zig zig, then you aired her out,

and now you got conscience, right?

 

Deckard doesn't say anything. [...]

HOLDEN

You got the feelings, pal, not her. You fucked a

washing machine... then you switched it off. So what?

You cry when you turn the lights out at night?

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 93-94)

• Catalyst as it relates to Rationalization:

After earlier telling Rachael that she's a replicant:

DECKARD

Implants. They are not your memories, they

belong to Tyrell's sixteen year old niece. He's very

proud of them. He ran them on a scanner for me.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 41)

Deckard refuses to acknowledge the truth about Rachael, as he now prefers falling in love with her over killing her:

RACHAEL

The file on me... the incept date, the longevity,

the psycho-program, those things... [...] You saw them?

 

DECKARD

They're classified.

 

RACHAEL

You're a policeman.

 

DECKARD

I didn't look at them. I didn't want to.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 82)

• Inhibitor as it relates to Attitude:

Deckard's blunt, no-nonsense attitude towards replicants (skin-jobs) as the enemy initially stops him from appreciating Rachael and keeps her at a distance; his burying of his emotions and memories impairs his ability to enjoy any relationship:

RACHAEL

I was looking at your pictures.

 

DECKARD

Me and my dad.

 

RACHAEL

Do you love him?

 

DECKARD

He's dead.

 

RACHAEL

And her?

Rachael is referring to a picture of Deckard's wife on top of the piano.

DECKARD

Wife.

 

RACHAEL

Do you love her?

 

DECKARD

She left me. Went offworld. She wanted the good life.

 

RACHAEL

You didn't?

Deckard shrugs and continues destroying Chopin. He doesn't want to answer.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 84-85)

Rick Deckard's THROUGHLINE:

Role: Blade Runner

Description:

"DECKARD is standing near the noodle bar waiting for a seat. He's in his thirties, wiry, athletic, rumpled, used, unshaven."

(Fancher and Peoples, p.6)

Throughline Synopsis:

Deckard's forced out of retirement to hunt replicants again. Faced with a new breed of replicants that seem more human than he is, Deckard finds a caring relationship with one of them, Rachael, to be more fulfilling than his career as a blade runner. Exploring his own memories and finding he may be a replicant himself, he flees with Rachael despite the fact he will certainly be hunted himself.

Backstory:

Deckard is called in from retirement by his boss, because:

BRYANT

This is a bad one, the worst yet. I need the

old Blade Runner, I need your magic.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 13)

He sends the multicultural Gaff, who envies Deckard, to fetch him:

GAFF

Wrong guy, my ass. You're known as

the Boogeyman in every mean joint in town.

[...] You were a Blade Runner in the Four Sector

and after the slaughter at the steel shop

they called you Mister Nighttime.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 8)

• Domain as it relates to Mind:

Deckard has a one-track mind when it comes to replicants:

DECKARD

Replicants are like any other machine. They can be a

benefit or a hazard. If it's a benefit, it's not my problem.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 12A)

• Concern as it relates to The Subconscious:

Deckard's inner feelings are largely dormant until he meets Rachael, his desires reduced to eating noodles and drinking hard liquor. Through her, he rekindles his passion for women, for freedom, for life.

• Range as it relates to Hope:

In a bleak future world, Deckard operated as a blade runner, removing from society those replicants who try to rise above their station. Now he's quit and hopes to stay quit, not having to do any more killing, but finds he has no status in society if he's not a cop.

• Counterpoint as it relates to Dream:

Batty and company come to earth expecting to extend and improve their short lives. Through interacting with them Deckard learns the possibility of a better future for himself--if only he can escape his job again and get out of Los Angeles with Rachael.

• Thematic Conflict as it relates to Hope vs. Dream:

Deckard dreams of a unicorn -- a creature that exists only in the imagination -- and chases a future he's not supposed to have. Though Gaff lets him know the unicorn's a memory implant, he also gives him back his gun and gives him a chance to escape. Even in a bleak future, dreams win out.

• Problem as it relates to Control:

Deckard's manipulated by Bryant into resuming his old line of work, regulating escaped replicants. He also manages to keep his emotions and feelings in check.

• Solution as it relates to Uncontrolled:

Deckard gradually moves away from his role as a controlling force of law and order. After retiring a replicant, he attempts to loosen up by drinking hard liquor. Finally, he gets out of reach of society's control by going North with Rachael.

• Focus as it relates to Feeling:

When Deckard learns that Nexus 6 replicants have implanted memories and eventually develop emotions of their own, he begins to look upon them in a new light. His own feelings develop in the form of love for Rachael and a lust for the good life.

• Direction as it relates to Logic:

The Voight-Kampff test, Deckard's acid test for detecting replicants, works on the logical assumption that replicants don't have emotional responses. He looks for a logical reason why Batty and company come to Earth, instead of hiding out. He logically proves to Rachael that her memories are implanted by reciting them and giving his source. However, by the time Gaff leaves the origami unicorn as evidence that Deckard's memories are implanted, Deckard's emotions overwhelm his rational thoughts.

• Stipulation as it relates to The Preconscious:

As a blade runner, Deckard must rely on his instincts when dealing with murderous replicants, in order to kill them first. As Deckard's emotional self develops, he becomes less and less suitable to the task. He feels guilty about killing Salome, has to be saved from Leon by Rachael, almost dies between Pris' thighs, and only the onset of senility saves him from Batty.

• Unique Ability as it relates to Closure:

Deckard is the sharpest of all the blade runners, called out of retirement when Holden fails:

BRYANT

He can breathe okay... as long as nobody unplugs

him. Not good enough. Not as good as you.

I need ya, Deck. This is a bad one, the worst yet.

I need the old Blade Runner, I need your magic.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 13)

Just how qualified Deckard is as a killer is revealed in a final voice-over from the original screenplay:

DECKARD (V.O.)

I knew it on the roof that night. We were brothers,

Roy Batty and I! Combat models of the highest

order. We had fought in wars not yet dreamed of...

in vast nightmares still unnamed.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 133)

• Critical Flaw as it relates to Preconception:

Deckard is told that the new replicants have the capacity for emotion, but refuses to believe and utilize that information to better anticipate their behavior. When he steals Leon's memories (his precious photographs), Deckard's surprised and almost killed by Leon coming after him -- expecting him to be on the run instead.

Rachael's THROUGHLINE:

Role: Reticent Replicant

Description:

"[...] a beautiful woman in her late twenties dressed with taste and dignity."

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 22A)

Throughline Synopsis:

Rachael's an advanced android, a replicant with a heart and soul. Standing out from the army of other replicants, she wants to be all she can be. Her humanity rubs off on Deckard, who comes to love her as much as life itself.

Backstory:

As Tyrell explains the new breed of replicants to Deckard:

TYRELL

After all, they are emotionally inexperienced,

with only a few years in which to store up

the experiences which you and I take for

granted. If we gift them with a past... we create

a cushion or pillow for their emotions...

and we can control them better.

 

DECKARD

They want memories? [...]

 

TYRELL

In the case of Rachael, I simply copied and

regenerated cells from the brain of my

sixteen-year-old niece. Rachael remembers what

my little niece remembers.

• Domain as it relates to Universe:

Rachael's in a predicament -- she's an android who feels like a human, and wants to be treated as one.

• Concern as it relates to The Future:

Rachael's lifespan is short -- four years -- so she's concerned with living life to the fullest, before her expiration date arrives.

• Range as it relates to Delay:

Rachael puts off dealing with the ramifications of her nature as an escaped replicant -- that she has a short lifespan, that blade runners will come after her -- preferring to stay with Deckard and forcing him to deal with the same issues.

• Counterpoint as it relates to Choice:

One of the qualities that distinguishes humans from androids is free will -- her increasing humanity gives Rachael the capability of determining her own future. She chooses to leave Tyrell, to be with Deckard, to kill another replicant (Leon).

• Thematic Conflict as it relates to Delay vs. Choice:

With her expiration date unspecified, Rachael cannot afford to procrastinate for long. When Deckard decides that he too wants to exercise his free will and not to kill Rachael, she decides to go North with him.

• Problem as it relates to Support:

Rachael functions as an assistant to Tyrell, welcoming visitors such as Deckard. Her taking of the V-K test reveals how advanced replicants have become, indirectly supporting his mission to defeat them. By not opposing Deckard's blade running more actively, Rachael passively supports his killing of replicants similar to herself. She does provide emotional support for Deckard, moving him from a cold, heartless blade runner towards a more human person. After nearly shooting her:

Deckard takes out his wallet, it drops to the floor scattering his cards. Rachael picks up the cards.

RACHAEL

Let me help you.

 

DECKARD

What do I need help for?

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 39)

• Solution as it relates to Oppose:

By running away from her surrogate uncle, Tyrell, Rachael registers opposition to his four-years-and-out policy for replicants. She represents the antithesis to Deckard's point of view, converting him to her way of thinking and escaping his cruel world.

• Focus as it relates to Avoidance:

Rachel challenges Deckard to confront questions he prefers to avoid, such as:

RACHAEL

Have you ever retired a human by mistake?

Deckard blinks... hesitates before answering the question.

 

DECKARD

No.

 

RACHAEL

But in your position that is a risk.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 22A)

 

-- and:

RACHAEL

That test of yours... The Voight Kampff test...

She pauses before completing the question.

It's a biggie.

 

RACHAEL

Did... did you ever take it yourself?

Rachael waits for a long moment in the shadows.

The clock ticks. No answer.

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 82A)

In the screenplay, Rachael can't face Deckard after seeing him kill Salome/Zhora:

"Then he sees her. Rachael is standing in the crowd staring at the dead Zhora. Rachael's face reveals her horror. She looks from Zhora to Deckard. Deckard feels her eyes burn into him. He clicks his empty pistol stupidly. CLICK CLICK. Lights from a spinner smear over the crowd, sirens whine. Deckard sees Rachael disappear into the crowd."

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 69)

• Direction as it relates to Pursuit:

When Rachael realizes she's a replicant with a limited lifespan, she pursues a longer life -- the good life -- and a relationship with Deckard. Her goal-seeking helps him realize there are better ways to live than blade running. After she saves his life, Deckard promises not to pursue her -- joining her in escape instead.

• Stipulation as it relates to Progress:

The more Rachael learns about what it means to be a replicant on Earth, the more she wants to live the rest of her life as the person her implanted memories tell her she is.

• Unique Ability as it relates to Openness:

As a sexually naive woman with the emotions of a sixteen-year-old, Rachael is receptive to the Svengali-like charms of the experienced Deckard:

DECKARD

Now you kiss me.

 

RACHAEL

I can't rely on my memory to...

 

DECKARD

Say "Kiss me."

 

RACHAEL

Kiss me.

 

DECKARD

I want you.

 

RACHAEL

I want you.

 

DECKARD

Again.

 

RACHAEL

I want you. Put your hands on me.

After this love scene, Deckard wants to retire with Rachael, not retire her.

• Critical Flaw as it relates to Denial:

Rachael refuses to acknowledge that she's a replicant, running away from Tyrell in revolt. This puts her on the hit list of Deckard, the man she wants to get closer to.

ACT PROGRESSIONS:

The Objective Throughline Act Order:

• Objective Story Signpost #1 as it relates to Learning:

Holden learns that the V-K test doesn't work too well on Leon. Deckard learns how society has a grip on him, administered by Bryant, from whom he learns about the escaped replicants. Rachael learns that she may be a replicant.

• Objective Story Journey #1 from Learning to Doing:

Deckard revives his hatred for all things replicant, even Rachael:

DECKARD

How can it not know what it is?

He starts to enjoy the challenge of the hunt. Distressed over the loss of his "precious photos," Leon teams up with Batty.

• Objective Story Signpost #2 as it relates to Doing:

Deckard investigates the clues left by Leon -- photographs and a "fish-scale" -- which leads him to Salome at Taffey's Snake Pit Bar. Batty and company follow the trail from Chew to Sebastian in order to find their creator.

• Objective Story Journey #2 from Doing to Obtaining:

As he finds and retires the replicants, Deckard starts to regret all the killing he's doing; their number dwindling, remaining replicants Batty and Pris become desperate in their search for Tyrell.

• Objective Story Signpost #3 as it relates to Obtaining:

Deckard finds and retires Salome, Leon, and Pris. Batty meets his maker -- Tyrell -- and takes his life.

• Objective Story Journey #3 from Obtaining to Understanding:

Pained by all the lives he's responsible for snuffing, Deckard becomes aware of his own mortality; dismayed that his end is near, Batty gets sentimental in his old age, letting Deckard live.

• Objective Story Signpost #4 as it relates to Understanding:

Watching Batty die, Deckard understands just how precious life is. He realizes he can't kill Rachael. Finding Gaff's origami unicorn, he comprehends that he's a replicant and hasn't much time left.

The Subjective Throughline Act Order:

• Subjective Story Signpost #1 as it relates to Becoming:

Deckard's refusal to accept Rachael's memories changes her from a complacent servant into a thinking being who questions her identity.

• Subjective Story Journey #1 from Becoming to Conceptualizing:

Feeling guilty about his treatment of Rachael, Deckard tries to justify his anti-replicant stance using logic.

• Subjective Story Signpost #2 as it relates to Conceptualizing:

Deckard convinces Rachael her memories were implanted by calling up visual images:

DECKARD

Remember the bush outside your window with the spider in it. Green body, orange legs... you watched her build a web all summer.

 

RACHAEL