Jurassic World: Dominion - Something Missing...?

Hello! It's been over year since Jurassic World: Dominion and while I very much enjoyed it, it felt like there were a couple of things that I personally felt it missed the mark on; the Giganotosaurus being an actual threat (it didn't actually kill anything, for a start), giving us the whole 'dinosaurs in our modern world' thing in the opening and closing montages and Malta in the middle for the most part instead of it being more intrinsic to the plot...

But there's no one mark for me that was largely missed than a feeling of 'coming together' for all the franchise as a whole at this point; a feeling that some kind of resolution or catharsis has been needed since dinosaurs were brought back and all the events that followed. Especially for the older characters; Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler and Dr. Malcolm.

In the film, the legacy characters all meet Lewis Dodgson, the main antagonist from the film, but also the man who, at the beginning of Jurassic Park, set Dennis Nedry up to steal the embryos from the park, for Dodgson's company (which we now know as BioSyn Genetics). However in Dominion we had no connection with Dodgson's earlier role, other than the Barbasol canister. So that got me thinking; 'what if the original trio worked out that Dodgson was the man who brought down Jurassic Park'?

Here's how I think it could have played out; imagine Claire and Ellie rushing through the facility in the third act when it's all gone down and then Ellie passes Dodgson's open office and sees, on full view, that thirty-year old can on full display...And then later she returns to the control room where the others (Grant, Malcolm, Dodgson, Owen, Claire, Maisie, Wu, Kayla) are gathered:



ELLIE

Y'know, it's funny how the memory works, even after a few decades. Remember when we were there at the Park, Alan? I went back to the control centre the night everything went to hell...There was that computer programmer who disappeared; Dan, Dennis, whatever...They said he took his Barbasol can with him, which obviously stuck with me somehow, because I remember thinking 'huh, that's weird, he doesn't look like the kind of guy that needs to shave, like, at all'...

Well, I just walked past Dodgson's office now and look what I found. A Barbasol can from the nineties. Why the hell you'd have this proudly on display is weird enough, right, it isn't exactly in collectors' condition. But you can see inside and, I'm no expert, but what I can see doesn't look like it's for shaving cream...

She BREAKS it open with effort, batting the rusty remnants away and holding up the false bottom containing vials. Wu takes particular note:

WU

Oh my...Those are the vials from the original Park. We did a clean up operation in '94. In the lab, we found several embryo vials unaccounted for. And, Dennis Nedry, I think that was the programmer's name, we tried to find where he disappeared...We found his Jeep near the East Dock. But we didn't find him...Well, not all of him...

ELLIE

And we knew that whatever he was up to, he covered his tracks so much that we had to shut down the entire Park system. So let me guess, until...right now...You haven't been able to put the missing vials and the missing Nedry together...?

WU

Now it makes sense...You (Dodgson) had Nedry steal embryos from us!

The others understand; Alan jabs a finger in Dodgson's direction:

ALAN

So you're the reason Jurassic Park went down!

Ian is glaring at Dodgson from across the room:

MALCOLM

It's...much more than that...It's all you. It all comes down to you. The Park disaster, Ludlow's operation on Sorna, the amalgam testing, the illegal cloning, illegal sight-seeing, uh YOUR (Grant) experience on Sorna, Masrani and Jurassic World, the Camp Cretaceous kids, the hybrids, saving the dinosaurs before Nublar exploded...A decision which I, of course, did not agree with, and then Lockwood...And now the rise of BioSyn...All those events, all those actions, all the causes and effects...This hurricane of dinosaurs around the world, all started with you flapping your little butterfly wings because your company wanted it all.

DODGSON

And now we got it all.

ELLIE

Um yeah, maybe, but for what? Look at this valley; this could be a perfect nature preserve; something to keep dinosaurs out of human interference, where they can flourish...Even for education, to work alongside palaeontology. But no, it's just a giant lab...A farm. You don't care about these animals, about their welfare, anymore than Hammond did. I mean, if you wanted to be on his level...congratulations; you did it...Through the mad grabs for power, control, manipulation, just like him...

CLAIRE

Even Masrani knew that you couldn't control everything.

ELLIE

Right! The only difference between you and Hammond is that he wanted to be the greatest showman, or whatever...So yeah, all those deaths from the past, what is it, thirty years...? That's on you.

Dodgson is almost dismissive, but is trying not to show that in front of everyone. Alan pulls Owen aside:

ALAN

Hey Grady, how's your throwing arm?

OWEN

Hmm...Pretty good. Yours?

ALAN

I think I got one left.

Owen clocks what he means. As Alan approaches Dodgson, Owen nudges Kayla:

OWEN

Hey, we got the door.

They move to cover the only exit from Dodgson.

ALAN

Now, Mr. Dodgson, here's the thing; I hate to say it, but Malcolm's right. You're responsible for a lot of this.

Dodgson looks at the door; like bouncers, Owen and Kayla show he's not getting out:

ALAN (CONT'D)

No, no, we'll let you go soon, but you're going to have to face the consequences of your actions, sooner or later, whether it's here, or in the courts, or maybe from one of our hungry friends out there...The T. rex especially; she likes fresh food. Just don't forget to stay still when she's close. Not that she won't smell you out and then snatch you in her mouth and shake your body until all your bones are pulverized for an easy meal, but when she can't see you; you might have a chance. The point is, whatever just desserts you get, they're on the way...But for now...?

THUMP. Grant PUNCHES Dodgson in the face, with such force, he COLLAPSES in a heap, backwards. Everyone else 'oof's at the action.

ALAN (CONT'D)

Now there are plenty of other people I could punch...Two in particular, but Hammond's dead and Wu's changed his tune a little.

Wu seems thankful...Maisie next to him sees his reaction:

MAISIE

I don't think you're off the hook, just yet.

Wu settles again, glum but all 'fair enough'.

And there we (more or less) have it! Just a little something, but the kind of thing I felt like we needed the protagonists to have with Dodgson. Especially for a sense of closure for the older characters. I can imagine from this, they'd 'let fate decide' if Dodson escapes and then the scene with his encounter with the Dilophosaurs would be all the more sweeter.

But that's just my own view. I'm sure others will have theirs, but if anything, it's a fun little writing exercise!

Thanks for reading! ^^

AM

(Admit it, you all thought I'd throw the Spinosaurus in there, didn't you...!)