While it might've seemed like the Saw series was "game over" when the seventh installment
came out in 2010, there was still a lot of bloodshed to be had on the big screen.
With a little revisionist history, some new and confusing characters, and even more disgusting
traps to behold, the eighth installment to the Saw franchise has an even more complex
relationship to the original story than the other sequels.
So, let's walk through how exactly Jigsaw fits into the overall puzzle, shall we?
Face the spoilers or click away now…
"Make your choice."
Still dead
One of the biggest questions facing the Saw revival was how the filmmakers would deal
with the demise of the franchise's primary antagonist, John Kramer, a.k.a. Jigsaw.
Unlike Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers, Jigsaw never had any supernatural powers; he was
just a wickedly brilliant guy with an axe to grind—and, eventually, a terminal case
of cancer.
So imagine the audience's surprise when John Kramer shows up to stage a new grisly test
series in Jigsaw.
Yes, it's the same guy who was laid out cold and in the buff on the autopsy table in Saw
IV, and he's definitely alive when we see him in this movie … but he hasn't magically
risen from the grave.
Instead, his newest group trap series actually takes place 10 years in the past, even though
some clever editing that suggests otherwise.
And while it looks like there are five victims to bite the dust, there is one guy who secretly
walks away from the whole thing.
Settling the score
In the beginning of Jigsaw's group trap, there's one man who's left behind during the first
test because he's not even awake for it.
But it turns out, that guy doesn't bite it after all.
Logan Nelson, who's been analyzing all the new bodies popping up with Jigsaw puzzle pieces
carved out of them, seems like a nice guy throughout the movie … until we learn that
he's actually Jigsaw's secret protege.
As it turns out, early in his career, he mis-labeled John's brain scans, which may have made difference
in his treatment and prognosis.
But even though Jigsaw's willing to put him into the group game for his mistake, he changes
his mind and decides he doesn't want Logan to bleed out over a simple workplace error
and decides to train him instead.
Whether he's ever worked with any of the other Jigsaw minions remains to be seen.
A game of his own
The new bodies that are popping up around town belong to victims of Logan's modern copycat
game, and have each escaped real punishment for their various crimes, thanks to Detective
Halloren's questionable ethics.
One of these people is Edgar Munsen, who's shot by police after claiming to hold the
lives of five others in his hands with a remote control.
He just so happens to have been the man who attacked Logan's wife, but was let off easy
by Halloren.
But it's not just his wife's fate that makes Logan hate Halloren.
He also had a girl about his daughter's age pop up on his autopsy table who was attacked
by a guy who bribed Halloren, so he wants to stop the bad cop in the worst way possible.
And all of the people who've perished in this new round of games are dangerous perps who
Halloren has let off the hook recently.
Eye on the prize
As the body count climbs, Halloren starts to suspect Logan's Jigsaw-obsessed assistant
Eleanor, and for good reason.
She's been re-creating Jigsaw's most infamous traps from dark-web-scoured blueprints and
seems oddly fascinated by his history.
Once Logan's old combat buddy Detective Hunt catches wind of her sinister little studio,
he starts to buy into the theory that Logan and Eleanor are behind these fresh homicides.
However, Logan plants some key evidence that points at Halloren being responsible for everything
and sets up for a final grudge match with Halloren himself.
A big showdown
There are only three bodies that emerge from Logan's games, which is two fewer than the
casualties of Jigsaw's original scene.
Jigsaw's final two victims' bodies have never been discovered and are still tucked away
in Jill's farmhouse.
And that's exactly where Logan wants to play in his own final game with Halloren to make
it a total of five players, with him being the sole survivor once again.
After planting clues for Eleanor to follow in the morgue, she thinks she's leading him
out to the location, with Logan knowing full well that Halloren will follow.
Once Halloren tries to nab them, he's quickly overtaken by Logan, who advises Eleanor to
make a break for it and escape.
That's when Logan seizes the chance to put himself and Halloren in one final, terrible
trap.
The voice over, which has been dubbed from old Jigsaw tapes, suggests that it's John
Kramer who's running things and demanding confessions from the two.
And it looks like Logan fails the test and is taken out first.
But once Halloren confesses to having cost innocent people their lives, Logan re-awakens,
full-on Jigsaw circa the first Saw-style, and reveals himself to be the orchestrator
of this trap.
And Logan has made a game Halloren cannot win.
An alibi
Eleanor's part in all of this is interesting to say the least.
At first, she seems to be a perfect distraction for investigators due to her extracurricular
activities.
And then she seems to be a budding love interest for the widower.
But in the end, Logan says she's just a pawn meant to provide him an alibi and support
his story that Halloren tried to kill them.
But there may be more to her than meets the eye.
After all, Logan seems to be doing this solely to punish Halloren, and now that he's brought
his targets to justice, he has a life to get back to.
But Eleanor seems just weird enough to fill the shoes of a Jigsaw emulator.
She's obviously good at building traps and has no family to speak of.
And even though she doesn't know she's just worked with Jigsaw's latest protege, she'll
probably find out eventually because Logan can't possibly explain why Halloren's head
ends up looking like an octopus in the end.
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