A set design mistake in Pulp Fiction made way for a fan theory that suggests it wasn’t a mistake after all, and the events in that scene happened slightly differently. Quentin Tarantino is now one of the most respected and popular filmmakers in the industry, and his career as writer and director began in 1992 with the crime movie Reservoir Dogs. The movie was a critical success and introduced the audience to Tarantino’s peculiar narrative style and trademark doses of violence, but his big break arrived two years later with another crime movie, told in a non-linear manner: Pulp Fiction.

Pulp Fiction follows different characters in different segments told out of order, but together, they form a cohesive story where different characters cross paths at some point. These characters are hitmen Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson), their boss Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), his wife Mia (Uma Thurman), and boxer Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis), all of them starring in at least one segment. Still, Vincent and Jules could be considered as the leads of the movie, and in their first segment together (chronologically, at least), they visit one of Marsellus’ business partners, Brett (Frank Whaley), who tried to trick their boss, so they had to take care of the situation.

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Once there, Jules intimidates Brett and kills one of his associates, and after Brett tells them where Marsellus’ briefcase was, Jules declaims a passage from the Bible (which, by the way, isn’t a real passage) and he and Vincent kill Brett for trying to double-cross their boss. However, there was another associate of Brett (played by Alexis Arquette) hiding in the bathroom with a gun, and when Jules and Vincent are done shooting Brett, he jumps out of the bathroom, shooting at them – but he misses, and Jules and Vincent end up killing him. Jules then attributes this to “divine intervention” because they should have been dead, but “God came down from heaven” and stopped the bullets – but there’s one detail in the background that invalidates Jules’ belief.

A famous mistake in Pulp Fiction involves the bullet holes behind Jules and Vincent at Brett’s apartment. These should be the ones from when the other man shoots at them, but they actually appear before he jumps out of the bathroom. This has been attributed to a set design mistake, but some fans believe it wasn’t a mistake at all, and they were added on purpose. A theory suggests that Brett’s associate actually had a fake gun but didn’t know it, which explains why he “missed” all his shots and why the revolver on the gun didn’t move when he shot – plus, he was too close to Jules and Vincent to completely miss them. Some fans add that the bullet holes are there to show he shot blanks, while others believe they were unrelated to this particular shooting and were there to add more confusion to the scene.

Brett’s associate using a fake gun and the bullet holes being the result of something else invalidates the “divine intervention” Jules thought had happened, which along with his partly fake Bible passage only makes this part of Pulp Fiction more ambiguous. The bullet holes are surely no more than a set design mistake, but it has made way for some interesting interpretations that might be worth keeping in mind next time you watch the movie.

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Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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