Tenet had a major early clue to its big revelation hidden in plain sight
Tenet spoilers follow.
As with most (if not all) of Christopher Nolan's original sci-fi movies, Tenet needs more than one viewing to fully appreciate its intricate plot.
A second viewing might not fully solve all of your time-inversion mysteries, but you do start to notice the extra details Nolan added that take on a whole new meaning when you know how Tenet ends.
Related: Tenet ending explained
And one such detail hides the movie's major reveal in plain sight, but to highlight it, we have to go into major spoilers, so look away now if you haven't seen Tenet yet.
Seriously, don't read on if you don't want to know what happens.
After they save humanity's very existence in a trippy final battle, it's revealed that Neil (Robert Pattinson) hasn't been entirely honest with the Protagonist (John David Washington).
Earlier, the Protagonist discovered that Neil had actually been involved with the Tenet organisation for a lot longer than he realised. Even before the Protagonist met Neil in Mumbai, Neil was fully aware of the whole time inversion and 'end of the world' mission.
But it's not until Neil's final scene that he reveals it was actually the Protagonist who recruited him. That's something that will happen in the Protagonist's future, but it's in Neil's past as he's been moving backwards in time to save the world.
Related: Could Tenet 2 actually happen?
It's like the Doctor and River Song in Doctor Who, with the Protagonist and Neil at different stages in their respective timelines.
And there's a telling moment during their first meeting in Mumbai that reveals that Neil has known the Protagonist for years.
When the Protagonist meets with Neil early in the movie to work out how to infiltrate Priya's home (which involves bungee-jumping up a building because, Nolan), Neil has already ordered the Protagonist a Diet Coke.
He also knows that the Protagonist doesn't drink when he's on a job, which is why that's his beverage of choice.
At the time, it comes across as a bit of spy gamesmanship as you assume that Neil has just done his research (somehow). But that scene takes on a whole new meaning when you realise Neil has known the Protagonist for years.
Of course Neil knows what drink the Protagonist prefers when he's on a mission. They've done several missions together that saw them get up to "some stuff", likely involving a drink in a bar every now and then.
On a rewatch, that scene is essentially Nolan revealing his grand plan of the true connection between the Protagonist and Neil, as well as the fact that the timeline of Tenet is one big loop.
We just don't know, at that time in our first watch, just how timey-wimey Tenet will get.
Tenet is out now in UK cinemas and is released in US cinemas from September 3.
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