1. The Mosasaurus Kill Is Homaging The Original's T-Rex Rescue
The Reference: After a tense showdown with the T-Rex and velociraptors, the I-Rex is eventually killed when the aquatic Mosasaurus dives out of its tank and claims the hybrid for its dinner. Although it may not be immediately obvious from the scene's blocking, the "unexpected dinosaur jumps in to save the day" ending is a direct parallel to the T-Rex appearing at the last minute to save Dr. Grant and co. from the velociraptors in the first film. What It Really Means: Many complained about the deux ex machina nature of the Mosasaurus ending, but it is very much in the spirit of the original, topping off all the visual and narrative callbacks nicely. More than that, however, it maintains an important status quo that's been held (mostly) throughout the series - the heroes never beat the big bad themselves. Dinosaurs die, sure, but the main monsters are only ever killed through the actions of other, uncontrollable creatures (the only exception is Kelly kicking the raptor onto a pile of spikes thanks to ace gymnastic skills in The Lost World, but the less said about that the better). Having the Mosasaurus, rather than the T-Rex, which Claire threw into the fight, end the Indominus is a great way for the franchise to have the dino vs. dino cake and still be able to eat it. What other obscure references were there in Jurassic World? Share any that we missed down in the comments.
