The ending of Inception has been studied and discussed countless times since the film’s release, and the answer to whether it was a dream or not might be in a very simple detail. Christopher Nolan’s films are known for exploring concepts like time, memory, and identity in the most believable (yet exciting) ways possible, and he took this to another level in 2010 with Inception.
This psychological sci-fi action film had the concept of dreams and their structure as main themes, and starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Paige, and Tom Hardy. Inception follows professional thief Dom Cobb (DiCaprio), whose specialty is stealing information by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets, though he can also implant ideas through that same process. When he is offered a chance to have his criminal history erased and go back to his family, Cobb takes on a very complicated mission that requires the help of a full team that includes architects, chemists, and more.
The film takes viewers back and forth between reality and dreams – multilevel dreams. In order for the characters (and, in turn, the audience) to know if they were dreaming or not, each of them had a totem, with the famous spinning top being the one that got the most attention as it was the one used by Cobb, but that might have not been his real totem.
Inception Theory: Cobb’s Real Totem Was His Wedding Ring
Totems are objects used by the characters to test if they were in the real world or a dream, and they all had specially modified qualities which made them very personal. When in the dream of someone who doesn’t know the totem, its characteristics will be off, which is why it was very important that no one else touched it. Cobb’s totem was a spinning top that originally served as his wife’s (Mal, played by Marion Cotillard), and it’s the one that sparked all the debate over whether the ending of Inception was a dream or not. However, many viewers have pointed out another detail that might suggest Cobb still had his original totem, but he didn’t use it anymore: his wedding ring.
Cobb is seen wearing his wedding ring when he’s in a dream, and when he’s in the real world, the ring is gone. Fans have then wondered if the ring was Cobb’s original totem, one that he hasn’t used since Mal’s death as he started using hers. This idea is supported by the ring being an object that could have had very specific characteristics (weight, shape, etc) and it would have certainly been one that only Cobb would touch. What’s interesting about this theory is that, even if the ring wasn’t Cobb’s real totem, this detail helps give more clarity to the ending, as he’s not wearing it in the final scenes, further supporting that he wasn’t dreaming and did reunite with his children – something that Michael Caine had already talked about, saying that his character never appeared in dreams, and he shows up at the end.
Whether the wedding ring is the key to finally answering the biggest question about Inception or not is unknown, but the truth is that Nolan left a lot of small details everywhere for viewers to form their own interpretation of the ending, which is ultimately the main goal.
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