OK,

Warning: If you have not seen Batman The Dark Knight, then do not read this post!

I need some clarification: Batman had a choice of either saving the District Attorney or the woman; why did he save the DA?

My guess is that he was "set-up/tricked" by someone (the mayor?) to save the DA.

But I am not sure and that is why I am asking.

Thank you in advance to all of AMHD responders who will reply. You guys/gals are awesome!

Peace.

I thought that he was tricked - didn't the Joker give him the wrong address? I've seen it twice and thought both times that he gave Batman the wrong address, knowing that he would go after Rachel... Maybe I'm just plumb nuts though...

Because in the end, the Joker said that he had to corrupt Harvey Dent... I think he knew that Batman would choose Rachel, but wanted him to save Harvey...

I thought that he was tricked - didn't the Joker give him the wrong address? I've seen it twice and thought both times that he gave Batman the wrong address, knowing that he would go after Rachel.... Maybe I"m just plumb nuts though...

Because in the end, the Joker said that he had to corrupt Harvey Dent... I think he knew that Batman would choose Rachel, but wanted him to save Harvey...

Ah, so Batman was convinced he was going to the address where Rachel was being held but instead found the DA.

That makes sense to me.

That's what I thought... I may be wrong.. but I thought that's what happened.

I thought because batman said that harvey was supposed to be the answer... the face or voice of reason for the city.. that type of thing.. so there wouldn't have to be a batman or sumtin...
From what I remember batman knew he was going for harvey... but I only saw it once, and it was opening night and it was hot and packed in the theater..
But batman kept stating that harvey was the answer or sumtin like that

i thought because batman said that harvey was supposed to be the answer... the face or voice of reason for the city.. that type of thing.. so there wouldnt have to be a batman or sumtin...
from what i remember batman knew he was going for harvey... but i only saw it once, and it was opening night and it was hot and packed in the theater..
but batman kept stating that harvey was the answer or sumtin like that

Hmmm... I hope others weigh in too.

Well I think the joker tricked him to go save harvey, mainly bcuase when they told the police to go save harvy they showed up at rachels.
But I would really like to know if my guessing is true or not also hahaha

well i think the joker tricked him to go save harvey, mainly bcuase when they told the police to go save harvy they showed up at rachels.
but i would really like to know if my guessing is true or not also hahaha

Yeah, I'm beginning to think that Batman was tricked by the Joker. This seems to make the most sense so far.

Anyone out there seen this movie more than twice?

Hey! I have only seen it twice, but I believe that he was tricked as well. The joker told him where each one was and he said he was going after Rachel. The first time I saw it I thought he might have changed his mind and thought he could save both so he went after the DA first. Then the second time I realized that he must have tricked Batman so he would save The DA so his plan would work out! Hope this helps!

I don't get where you people are getting this from.

He chose the DA because he felt the DA had a chance to clean up the city. It was a greater good choice!

I'm with ScottGem on this one;

Batman wants to be the way Harvey Dent is, and understands how important he is to the city of Gotham. He realises that Dent's way of fighting crime, through law, and without a mask, is the way to save the city. He realises this, and so does the Joker. Hence why he ties them both up at opposite ends of Gotham. If this struggle wouldn't have been so apparent then Batman would have had no real decision to make and would have saved Rachel in a heartbeat.

But the internal struggle is there, and his conscience wins over. That's why he saves Harvey Dent, and that's why he takes the blame for everything at the end of the film!

Even though I want to see it again because I saw it opening night, I have to agree with Scottgem. I feel that the Joker knew Batman would make the decision of doing what's best for Gotham City than for himself. The Joker's "mission" was to create chaos. He wanted to hurt Batman by making him choose the city over his love. Batman will always choose the greater good because that is why he exists, so no other person will have to feel the way he did when he saw his parents get killed.

Comments on this postadam_89 (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/members/adam_89.html) disagrees: I dissagree because he loved Rachel and wanted to be with her. He said he was going after her!

First, may I call your attention to the guidelines for using the comments feature found here:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/feedback/using-comments-feature-24951.html

You can disagree with me, but not using the comments feature since this you are disagreeing with an opinion. Though there is a lot more factual evidence to back me and Hunter up.

Definitely tricked the Joker told him where they were but they wre in opposite locations. He knew batman would go after the girl and he ended up saving the DA instead

The reason he went to the wrong warehouse was he tricked into it .But the bigger question is ;would Batman fall into such a trick ? Batman is a bit of a detective as well as a kick the a** of the bad guys with lots of cool toys . Throughout the movie he was constantly out maneuvered by the Joker .Even in the climatic scene a more realistic outcome would've been both ferries exploding . Batman had no play in the outcome either way .

definately tricked the Joker told him where they were but they wre in opposite locations. He knew batman would go after the girl and he ended up saving the DA instead

That's how I remember it. (although now it's been awhile since I saw it) The joker said Rachel was at location A and Harvey was at location B. Batman set out for location A, but when he got there he found Harvey instead of Rachel.

Yea batman looked incredibly disapointed when he found harvey and also if I'm not mistaken Gordon said something about "going after harvey" when batman made his choice. Also batman was pissed so this may have made him make an irrational decision.

Scott I think his "greater good " choice was taking the fall for Harvey Dent's murders.

Maybe its because I'm a woman, but I saw the emotional upheaval in Batman at the moment he realized that he had rescued Harvey rather than Rachel. He "is" (as much as Hollywood "is" real) a man, submissive to passions and emotions, just the same as anyone else. I think we tend to forget that Batman is Bruce Wayne - the man in love with Rachel.

I'm not saying that I'm correct in my assumption that he was tricked into saving Harvey rather than Rachel, but at the moment of realization that one of them WILL die, he chose Rachel.

:) That's what I think, boys! Don't hate me for it! :)

Just goes to show how different people see what they want to see. The Joker couldn't care less who Batman saved. Either way he wins, because whichever dies is still going to fill Batman with angst. So there was no trickery.

Batman went for Dent because that was the Greater Good. The Batman in these two versions is conflicted about being a vigilante. He wants to stop being Batman. So saving Dent is more logical.

Agrred there tom

Agrred there tom

Yes, I agree. Saving Dent WAS more logical...

... but was he thinking of logic at the moment? If presented with saving the love of your life or your hope for a better tomorrow... that's huge...

He said he was going after Rachel!! He did not know that he was going to show up and find Harvey Dent! It was a surprise to him! I think he would have rather saved the love of his life. He said he was going to save her, and he planned on it, but oh, what do you know, he was tricked. He showed up and there was Harvey! He still had to save him thoug, he couldn't just leave.

At no point do I remember him saying that he was going after either of them!

I don't think he says anything when runs out of the interrigation room?

He said he was going after Rachel!!! He did not know that he was going to show up and find Harvey Dent! It was a surprise to him! I think he would have rather saved the love of his life. He said he was going to save her, and he planned on it, but oh, what do you know, he was tricked. He showed up and there was Harvey! He still had to save him thoug, he couldn't just leave.

You need to watch the film again. The whole point was we didn't know who he was going after until we see which warehouse he arrives at. The idea was to keep the audience in suspense. As I recall he knew who was where.

And how do you think Rachel would have felt if she knew he let Dent die to save her. Do you think she would have still felt the same about him? So, if he had gone to save her, he would have lost her anyway!

Adam West would've saved both lol.
Gordon called after him... which one he was going for? Batman yelled 'RACHEL' .That is the dialogue the way I remember it. This is a great discussion because it is plausible that Batman would've decided on the greater good.

YES! THANK YOU TOMDER55!! When he ran out of the interogation room, Gordon asked, "Who are you going after?" Batman replied, "Rachel" so there you go, he said it. Ok? Is my point proven? It is decided now, thank you!

Found the dialogue :
ONUR AYDIN: The best movie dialogue that has ever existed (http://onuraydin.blogspot.com/2008/08/best-movie-dialogue-that-has-ever.html)

See everyone? Thanks to tomder55 here, everybody can see what happened. Thanks again tom!

Well actually, neither of you are completly right!

If you have a look at the official script here...
http://joblo.com/scripts/The_Dark_Knight.pdf

... on page 107, we see Batman leave the interrogation room! He states 'Dent knew the risks' which still indicates no clear outcome!

BUT... on page 112 we are clearly told the Joker lied to Batman! Yes, that is right!

:p

Well actually, neither of you are completly right!

If you have a look at the official script here...
http://joblo.com/scripts/The_Dark_Knight.pdf

...on page 107, we see Batman leave the interrogation room! He states 'Dent knew the risks' which still indicates no clear outcome!

BUT... on page 112 we are clearly told the Joker lied to Batman! Yes, that is right!

:p

This is why I didn't admit an error yet. I don't know if that is the official script or whether the link Tomder found is.

I know I don't remember Batman saying he was going to save Rachel. And I know that it would not make sense for Nolan to have him say that. Any writer worth his salt is going to use a situation like that to heighten suspense. Make the audience wonder who he was going to save. Even if he was tricked or intended to save Dent wouldn't matter there. Any writer would want the suspense to build to see which warehouse he shows up at.

And I also recall, but can't find, a place where Batman gets angry at Gordon for not saving Rachel. Which helped give me the impression that he went after Dent.

This is why I didn't admit an error yet. I don't know if that is the official script or whether the link Tomder found is.

I know I don't remember Batman saying he was going to save Rachel. And I know that it would not make sense for Nolan to have him say that. Any writer worth his salt is going to use a situation like that to heighten suspense. Make the audience wonder who he was going to save. Even if he was tricked or intended to save Dent wouldn't matter there. Any writer would want the suspense to build to see which warehouse he shows up at.

And I also recall, but can't find, a place where Batman gets angry at Gordon for not saving Rachel. Which helped give me the impression that he went after Dent.

ScottGem, where are you from, or what stat are you in? I don't know if they might play different versions, or what might have been the original script but was modified a little and showed else where. I am positive that he said he was going after Rachel, when Gordon asked him. Also, I am sorry about using the rating system wrong.

I saw it on Long Island only a couple of weeks ago.

Yes it certainly possible that alternate versions were released, but I think its unlikely.

I guess we'll have to wait for the DVD.

Yes. I guess we will have to wait and see. I seen it in Indiana. I would like to find out.

I'm pretty sure he wanted to go after Rachel, but his needs are not as important as the city's, the city needed someone who could do so much good without the mask, thts why he went for the DA. It doesn't make sense that he was given the wrong address, if he had been tricked he would have made more of a show of being angry at the jokers trick

I'm a native Long Islander also so I will post this : I do recall hearing the phrase "Dent knew the risks" but if he had said that would that not also imply that he was going for Rachel ?

But to bolster Scott's argument Alfred did at one point in the movie say
You can be the outcast. You can make the choice that no one else will face—the right choice.”

OK,

Warning: If you have not seen Batman The Dark Knight, then do not read this post!

I need some clarification: Batman had a choice of either saving the District Attorney or the woman; why did he save the DA?

My guess is that he was "set-up/tricked" by someone (the mayor?) to save the DA.

But I am not sure and that is why I am asking.

Thank you in advance to all of AMHD responders who will reply. You guys/gals are awesome!

Peace.

Hi Helping.

When Batman "questioned" the Joker, he was told by the Joker that the two captives (Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes) were held in two different parts of the city, and that he only had time to save one. Joker told Batman that Rachel was in one location and Harvey was in another. Batman told Commissioner Gordon to save Harvey while he went to save Rachel. HOWEVER, it turns out that the Joker lied about which captive was at which location, so Batman's choice to save Rachel really led him to save Harvey. And that nearly drove Batman to insanity and murder.

The whole point that Joker was trying to make in the entire movie is that "stuff happens" and that if enough stuff happens it drives "normal" people to do insane things. Ergo, insanity is simply a force of nature, which means that the JOKER HIMSELF is a force of nature. He succeeded in doing enough to Harvey to turn him into the vengeful "Harvey Two-Face", and quite nearly succeeded in turning Batman into a killer. He made cops who would normally support Batman turn against him and call for his capture (or murder). He made the victims on the two boats nearly murder each other to save their own lives. The entire movie was an experiment by the Joker on what drives normal people to insanity for the sake of self-preservation or vengeance. The capture and murder or Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent (and switching which was was located where) was just one more element of that experiment.

Hope this helps.

Elliot

Actually that makes much more sense than my last post, it would explain why batman attempted to run the joker over but swerved at the last minute.

I don't get where you people are getting this from.

He chose the DA because he felt the DA had a chance to clean up the city. It was a greater good choice!

Sorry, Scott, but I got to disagree. Batman specifically yells to Gordon to go save Dent, he'll handle Rachel. But when he got there, Dent was at HIS location and the cops were too late to save Rachel. Joker DELIBERATELY tricked Batman, forced him to choose who lives and who dies... and then made sure that the choice was the opposite of what Batman intended. See my response to Always-Helping.

Elliot

Awesome post guys! That summed it all up. I am glad that I have more people knowing what I was talking about.

Here is a quote from the IMDB synopsis of the plot:


Batman arrives at the address that the Joker had told him Rachel was at, but when he opens the door, he finds Harvey Dent instead, who screams in despair at having been found instead of Rachel. Gordon arrives at the supposed location for Dent but the warehouse explodes and Rachel is killed. As Batman saves Dent by carrying him out of the warehouse, the explosion ignites the gas that saturated Dent's face, horribly burning it. Dent is taken to Gotham General Hospital. Batman visits Dent in the hospital, and leaves him the two-headed coin that they found at Rachel's site of death. One side of the coin is still shiny, while the other side is scraped and burnt.
Now, while that is not cannon, it certainly is a pretty decent indicator that Batman was TRICKED into saving Dent over Rachel.

Furthermore, in the Dark Knight script posted by Moomin above, we see that Batman intended to save Rachel. Batman says "Dent knew the risks." (See pages 106 and 107 of the PDF of the script.) That was NOT the final line used in the movie, but it is fairly clear that the writers and director INTENDED for us to see Batman attempt to save Rachel, but instead end up saving Dent. The actual line used in the movie was as Tomder cited:


Gordon: Hey wait! Which one of them are you going after?
Batman: RACHEL!
Gordon: We'll get Dent!
Elliot

I don't get where you people are getting this from.

He chose the DA because he felt the DA had a chance to clean up the city. It was a greater good choice!




If you watch it again, the Joker tells Batman that Harvey is at 250 52nd street and Rachel is on Avenue X. Later, you see Gordon saying all available units to 250 52nd street, verifying that they are indeed on the way to save Harvey. When Two-Face abducts Gordon's family, he tells him that he has them where his family died. 250 52nd street; thus the Joker lied about their locations.

The Joker Told Batman that Rachelle was at address 1 and that Harvey was at address 2.
When in fact Rachelle was at address 2 and Harvey address 1.


Basically The joker knew that batman would go after Rachelle and tricked him by telling him the opposite addresses.

If you re watch the movie the whole interrogation scene joker mentions how he noticed a thing between batman and Rachelle, and later when batman finds Harvey instead of Rachelle.

So to answer your question with a simple simple answer, he choose Rachelle but the joker tricked him into going to Harvey.

Yes, this was all resolved months ago. Thank you everyone for the verification!