Thursday, February 28, 2013

"Soneome make a note of that Man's Bravery"

How much do you know about Theodore Groves?  You actually probably know a lot more about him than you think you do.  He's a very minor character but he actually appears in all of the movies.  He's a member of the British Royal Navy and serves first under Commodore Norrington, the under Beckett, and then under Barbossa.  He's one of the few characters who are actually in all for or the movies.  A lot of the dialogue that you remember between Jack Sparrow and Navy members, Norrington and Navy members, and almost any one and Navy members involve him.  He actually has some of the most classic lines of the series.  For example, when Jack and Will first work together to take the Interceptor out of the bay, they land on the boat called the Dauntless.  However, through quite a bit of genius scheming, they find themselves upon the Interceptor, an even better boat.  Pretty impressive if I do soay so myself.  
Out of anger, Norrington commands them to open fire on the ship.  Norrington: "Set topsails and clear up this mess."   Groves: "With the wind at quarter astern, we won't catch them."  Norrington: "I don't need to catch them, just get them in range of the long nines."  But Groves still doesn't understand why he would have them open fire on their own ship.  Norrington: "I'd rather see her at the bottom of the ocean, than in the hands of a pirate."  Pretty spiteful words coming out of the commodores mouth, but Groves is still obligated to obey them.  However, Jack is too quick for them and disables the rudder chain so the ship can't turn around.  Seems like that man just thinks of everything.  Earlier, Norrington had remarked after seeing Jack "trying" to set sail on the Dauntless that "That is without doubt the worst pirate I have ever seen.
Ironically enough, in the end it was actually Norrington who got tricked at Jack who sailed away happy.  Upon realizing what was happening, Groves just chuckles and says: "That's got to be the best pirate I've ever seen."  Norrington: "So it would seem."  Norrington definitely isn't about to let Jack and Will get away with this.  Now, to be fully honest, I'm not actually all that sure if Groves was in the second movie but seeing as he was in all the others, I guess you could assume that he was also in Dead Man's Chest but there wasn't much Navy action going on then and he had no real lines so I suppose I could be wrong.  Either way, he was in At Worlds End with quite a few other significant lines that you will probably know when you read them.  Jack does another one of his super genius yet impromptu escapes where he thinks of just about EVERYTHING.  
After a meeting with his long time enemy, Jack needs a quick and easy way to get off of the Endeavor and onto his own ship.  He uses a cannon to blast him off one ship and onto another.  "And that was without even a single drop of rum." Beckett, like Norrington, isn't ready to let him get away that easily.  Beckett: "Signal the Dutchman to track down Sao Feng. We follow the Pearl. How soon can we have the ship ready to pursue?"  Then the entire mast of his ship just goes crashing down, as if on cue.  Beckett just bows his head in disappointment.  He should have seen that coming.  Groves: "Do you think he plans it all out, or just makes it up as he goes along?"  It's funny because pretty much the whole audience is wondering the same question: how does Jack manage to do everything so crazily yet so perfectly?  Beckett is just so upset about the ship yet Groves is analizing Jack's actions.  
Groves stays on the Endeavor until it is sunk by the Pearl and the Dutchman at the end of the movie, killing Beckett.  As they are being attacked, it's Groves who is desperately screaming at Beckett for orders.  Groves: "Orders?! Orders, sir?!"  Becket just stares of blankly until finally telling them to abandon ship.  He must have made it out just in the nick of time because Groves is back in On Stranger Times.  This time, he takes orders from Barbossa.  He's Barbossa's right hand man and always seems to be around him asking for orders.  He takes Gibbs away, he defends the men who are potentially dying from a mermaid attack, and he keeps his job until his death.  He unties Barbossa when he's tied up to a palm tree at the Spanish camps and always is questioning where the captain is going, perhaps still suspicious of his old pirating ways.  
He is eventually shot at the Battle for the Fountain of Youth.  His final words came as he held up the Union Jack claiming the Fountain for England.  "This land is hereby forever claimed in the glorious name of His Majesty, King George—"  Then he is shot by the Spaniard and of course we never hear about him again.  He gets a few second of glory after his death though.  Spaniard: "Someone make a note of that man's bravery."  It's funny how someone who is actually in so many scenes can go by unnoticed.  Regardless, I still really appreciate his character for truly understanding the craziness that is Captain Jack Sparrow.

2 comments:

  1. Groves wasn't in Dead Man's Chest - taking that from Pirates of the Caribbean Wiki. Just thought I'd post this.

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    1. Ok thanks for clearing things up! I love that Wiki!

      -Do Something Jack Would Do Today

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