Recently I rewatched the original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy (if you haven’t noticed from my latest posts), and it really holds up: complex and sophisticated plotting, iconic characters with sturdy arcs, and nuanced themes about honor and freedom.

This trilogy did so many things right. It’s no surprise it was a huge hit. (Do they even make movies like this anymore?)

While I could go on long about everything that it does right, today I actually want to zoom in on what I consider its weakest element: Davy Jones’s Locker.

This is one (1) scene in the whole trilogy, but it’s always felt off and just . . . weird to me. To the extent that it sort of taints my memory of the last film (which, revisiting it again, is actually quite well written).

Don’t get me wrong–I get it’s meant to be weird.

But it’s weird in the wrong way.

It’s weird in a weak way.