Could Jack and Rose have survived together in Titanic?

Although exciting, the end of Titanic has already generated several discussions among fans who are unhappy with the fate of the couple.

That "Titanic" was one of the great classics of cinema, no one doubts. The film, which tells the story of the famous ship of the same name and which, on top of that, makes us root for the couple Rose and Jack, ends up without a very happy ending for both of them, since, after the sinking, Rose manages to survive by being afloat. over a door, but Jack freezes to death. Sad is not it? Very sad.

After a while since the movie was released in theaters, some people started to wonder why the hell Rose didn't make room for Jack to join her at the floating door – if that was the case, he might have survived too.

Speculation spread and got to the point where some dedicated fans of the film defended the theory that, after all, Jack was a character created by Rose's mind. Based on this theory, if Jack didn't even really exist, there's no way he could be saved – is there?

Exactly 110 years ago, the great RMS Titanic sank in the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean, east of the Canadian island of Newfoundland. Along with him, hundreds of stories were also shipwrecked, in addition to secrets and loves that did not overcome the tragedy.

Stage of one of the biggest films of the international cinema, the Titanic also had its history marked by a ravishing romance - albeit fanciful. Few couples on the big screen, after all, really won the popular appreciation like Jack and Rose, the protagonists of the feature released in 1997.

With a box office of US$ 2.1 billion, Titanic was, for twelve years, the highest-grossing production in the history of cinema. And one of the factors responsible for this success is the unforgettable love affair of Jack, a boy in the ship's steerage, with the fine Rose, inspired by Beatrice Wood.

An ungrateful ending:

In more than three hours of film, Titanic builds an unlikely love between two classes, something that could not happen outside the ocean liner. The problem is that, at the end of the film, viewers have to say goodbye to the charismatic Jack, in a tragic scene.

Although exciting, after breaking social barriers and moving a romance amidst the chaos, the couple's final scene generated many discussions. It turns out that, while hundreds of people tried to save their lives in rafts, Rose accompanied Jack to a wooden door, which was floating in the sea with water at -2ºC.

The young artist, in turn, just leaned on the improvised boat in order to hold the hands of his beloved until the end. Eventually, Jack's body gave way to the cold and thus, one of the most famous characters in cinema sank into the Atlantic Ocean.

Controversies:

For many years, then, people were frustrated by the unjust death of Jack Dawson. That's how theories began to emerge questioning the end of the plot. After all, would it be possible to shelter Jack and Rose on top of the same piece of wood?

For James Cameron, the director of the iconic feature, whose production won 11 Oscar statuettes in 1998, the plot of the beloved couple ends when the credits appear on the movie screen. For fans, however, that was just the beginning of another narrative.

Dissatisfied with the outcome and the premature death of Jack, several enthusiasts and lovers of the long decided to check if the character would have survived otherwise. Researchers and fans even reproduced the iconic door in full size, in order to prove that both Jack and Rose could have made it out of the tragedy alive.

Science explains:

Being the most famous theory, a sequence of photographs was widely circulated on social networks to support the argument that Rose could have welcomed her lover over the door. For theorists, the two young men would fit perfectly in the wood.

With a visually perfect replica of the door, respecting its true proportion, a couple of friends proved that the space available was enough. The problem is that this theory did not consider the climatic, maritime or physical conditions of the occasion.

The function of verifying the practical side of the episode was in charge of the program "MythBusters: The Mythbusters", which decided to put the test into practice. At a lake, then, the two presenters installed themselves in a door identical in size to the one in the film.

Despite being at a much higher temperature, not only did they prove that Jack's welcome at the door could have rescued him, but, if the pair were calm, they could adapt the vests as buoys at the door, ensuring balance.

In 2017, math students Abigail Wicks, Christy Zhang and Julia Damato used the argument that Jack could have been pulled out of the water as a scientific thesis, running tests with similar temperatures in salt water on wood. The result not only confirmed that the rescue would be possible, but also guaranteed the trio's first place in the national fire math competition. But the boss is in charge!

Even with so many theories building a rescue of Leonardo DiCaprio's character, director James Cameron has already joked and even got annoyed with the persistence in the question, always reaffirming that there will be no other version than the one that made the resounding success.

Refuting the "MythBusters" thesis, the director explained that Jack would hardly adapt the door with the vests having his brain affected by hypothermia. In an interview with The Daily Beast, in 2019, he explained the outcome of the feature.

"Jack's best option was to keep his upper body out of the water and wait for a boat or whatever to pull him out of the sea before he died." Two years earlier, however, Cameron had been categorical in defending his script.

In an interview with Vanity Fair held in mid-2017, the director showed that he was tired of being questioned. "The answer is very simple. The script says, on page 147, that Jack dies", explained the filmmaker, without much patience.

In contrast to the director's argument, the single "survivor" might be more empathetic to Jack's death; in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel Live, in 2018, Kate Winslet, interpreter of the eternal Rose, admitted that she could have saved her companion: "I think he would fit in that piece of door!"

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