Reservoir Dogs introduced viewers to Quentin Tarantino’s visual and narrative style, along with his way of approaching foreshadowing moments and details, and fans have found that the opening scene secretly reveals the movie’s ending. Quentin Tarantino is now one of the most popular and respected filmmakers in the industry (and also one of the most controversial), and it all began in 1992 with the crime movie Reservoir Dogs. The movie was praised by critics and has become a classic of independent film, as well as a favorite among Tarantino fans.
Reservoir Dogs centers on a group of thieves whose planned heist of a jewelry store goes terribly wrong, and to make it worse, there’s an undercover cop among them. The team is led by crime boss Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) and his son Eddie “Nice Guy” Cabot (Chris Penn), and is formed by Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), Mr. Blue (Edward Bunker), and Mr. Brown (Tarantino). Many details of Reservoir Dogs have been the subject of countless analyses and debates, including its iconic opening scene that many often use as an example of Tarantino’s mastery to write dialogues, and some fans have noticed that in it, Tarantino subtly teased the ending of the movie.
The opening scene of Reservoir Dogs takes viewers to a diner in Los Angeles, where the whole crew, including Joe and Eddie, are having breakfast and chatting about different things before their carefully planned heist. They go on to talk about the true meaning behind Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” and why Mr. Pink doesn’t believe in tipping, and while their conversations might seem too casual, there are actually a couple of hints throughout the scene that subtly foreshadow the rest of the movie and the roles of the characters. Starting with Mr. Pink’s refusal to tip the waitress, which shows that he only looks out for himself, and that’s exactly what he does when the heist goes wrong, while Mr. White doesn’t back down and shows more compassion than the rest, just like he did with Mr. Orange for the rest of the movie.
Speaking of Mr. Orange, the opening scene in Reservoir Dogs has the first hint at him being the rat of the team, as when Joe asks who didn’t tip, he’s quick to tell it was Mr. Pink because he doesn’t believe in it. Mr. Blonde barely speaks, and when he does take part in the conversation, it’s all about violence, pointing at him being the cruelest one (and also the most loyal one to Joe). Others have found that the scene also foreshadows the roles of Mr. Blue, Mr. Brown, Joe, and Eddie – Mr. Blue is barely on screen, showing he won’t be a big presence in the story, Mr. Brown’s babbling also points at his role not being a major one, Joe’s aggressive personality shows he’s quick to react violently, and Eddie isn’t exactly the smartest but he’s as aggressive as his father, though a bit slower than him.
In the end, none of them survived the events of Reservoir Dogs: Joe and Eddie died during a Mexican stand-off at the warehouse, Mr. White was shot by the cops, Mr. Orange was shot by Mr. White after revealing he was the undercover cop, Mr. Blonde was killed by Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink’s fate is left ambiguous but is generally assumed he was killed by the cops waiting outside the warehouse, Mr. Blue was killed in a movie theater, and Mr. Brown was shot in the head during the heist. The opening scene of Reservoir Dogs is memorable for many reasons, and all these hints at the roles and fates of the characters make it even more unforgettable.