TheKnives Outfranchise contains the breakout films of the mystery movie genre. WithGlass Onionmaking a big splash, everyone is excited to see the next sequel in the series of films. But one thing remains apparent aboutKnives OutandGlass Onion: nothing really connects them.
There isn’t a lot of drama in Benoit Blanc’s personal life outside the mysteries he’s hired to solve. We know he hasa husband, and he gets terribly bored when not solving a mystery, but so far, Mr. Blanc literally has no life outside of being a detective.
In other great detective stories, there always arises a nemesis. Sherlock Holmes had Moriarty and Hercule Poirot had Mr. X. Both of them orchestrated devious cases around their opposing detectives’ lives and became the antithesis of the intelligence that both those men used for good. There’s very little we know about Benoit Blanc personally, but he fits this profile of genius, world-famous detective, and in this type of story, one would expect a Moriarty to appear.
Though it might be a bit of cliché, there’s something irresistible about a hyper-intelligent antagonist, having organized his criminal practice in the shadows, finally revealing himself to this man who we thought could not possibly be out-witted. It’s time for Benoit Blanc to meet his match.
Benoit Blanc’s Nemesis Is Behind It All
Knives Outdoes an excellent job of finding popular tropes in the mystery genre and purposely using them to mislead the viewer. The “criminal mastermind” as it were, is an extremely common trope in the genre, and it’s one used quite often to great effect. InSherlock Holmes, Holmes eventually discovers that the crimes he has been solving are all connected by a single criminal enterprise. It’s always possible Rian Johnson could use this approach. There could be some as yet unseen thread connecting these murders which leads to a single person.
In the firstKnives Outmovie, Harlan Thrombey’s (Christopher Plummer) death may have been cleverly orchestrated. He may have known something about our antagonist or may have been about to publish a book that revealed something about hisgrand scheme. Blanc may have stumbled backward into the crime accidentally and changed the outcome somehow. It’s how Moriarty became aware of Holmes.
Related:Glass Onion: Every Cameo in the Knives Out Sequel, Explained
Glass Onionwas interesting in that we were made to think that perhaps Miles Bron (Edward Norton) was some kind of mastermind, but he was actually just a rich idiot. In that, we discovered Blanc’s weakness. He himself said that when a puzzle was too simple it might slip right by him. This might be our hero’s eventual downfall. But theGlass Onionmystery contained many opportunities for a big-picture type of manipulation. Perhaps ourmysterious antagonistwas the Norwegian scientist that first introduced Bron to this miracle fuel and was planning a much bigger explosion than just the one that happened on a small island in Greece.
It’s possible that all of these crimes are just smaller pieces to a bigger puzzle, organized by a huge criminal enterprise with this genius criminal at the center. But that all seems a bit too obvious forKnives Out. It is, after all, famous for being a very self-aware mystery movie. If Blanc were to have any kind of nemesis, fans of the franchise would expect something different from your average Napoleon of Crime.
We’ve Already Met Blanc’s Moriarty
The big reveal for a franchise antagonist might come in such a way, that he’s been a part of our hero’s history all along. Though we’ve only seen two mysteries, Blanc was famous in this universe before the originalKnives Outmovie. Characters in both films have recognizedthe detectiveas having already solved a famous case, although they were both broad and nondescript in mentioning which case. InKnives Outa character had heard of Blanc from solving some kind of case involving a tennis court, and inGlass Onion, it was something about a ballerina. His nemesis might have something to do with that.
Related:Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Cast and Character Guide
But inKnives Out, there are only two recurring actors: Daniel Craig and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Daniel Craig’s Blanc is obviously at the center of the story, but Joseph Gordon-Levitt sneaks in with just a small audio cameo in each film. InKnives Out, he is the voice of the detective show that Marta’s sister is watching near the beginning of the film, and inGlass Onion, he appears as the hourly dong on Bron’s island.
It’s not a significant cameo, in fact, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is secretly in all of Johnson’s movies, snuck into the background somehow. It may not be a narrative decision to put him there, but wouldn’t it be outstanding if he has been meddling with Blanc this whole time. Johnson may decide to write off the entire idea of a nemesis for Blanc. But hopefully,byKnives Out 3, some sort of pattern will start to emerge, and maybe we’ll get to know Blanc a little bit better.
