Man Tries to Ruin the Titanic Movie for His Wife. She Thinks He Lost the Plot: ‘You’re Distracted From the Main Story’

Easter eggs are often a delight to find in movies. These small “if you know, you know” bits of information can make the discerning fan giggle. But Carlo Ritchie (@carloritchiecomedy), a comedian from Australia, got a bit distracted after he pointed out an interesting detail in the Titanic movie to his wife.

In a TikTok clip titled “Ruining the Titanic for My Wife,” the comedian wanted to tell his wife about a particular Easter egg that was barely touched on by the film. Ritchie approached the screen excitedly, prompting his wife to pause the movie just right after the ship launched its emergency flares.

“It’s the Californian. It’s another ship,” Ritchie said, pointing at the smaller, yet visible, figure at one side of the Titanic. It seemed like it was a bit further away.

The only ship visible to the Titanic on that fateful night

“Those are the mast headlights of another ship called the Californian, which was a ship only twelve nautical miles away from the Titanic from the night that it sank,” Ritchie explained. Although it seemed like just another movie tidbit, the SS Californian existed in real life, just like Ritchie said.

“And they had tried to warn the Titanic. They had sent a whole bunch of ice warnings, saying that there’s ice,” he continued. The Californian even warned the ill-fated ship that there was an iceberg in their direction.

Ritchie said that the Titanic ignored the Californian’s warnings, with their radio operator telling the Californian to “shut up.”

In reality, Jack Phillips, the radio operator of the Titanic, told Cyril Evans of the Californian to “Keep out; I am working Cape Race.” Evans did not take offense to the message but would later switch off his wireless equipment. and head to bed.

“And so, they turned their radio off, and James Cameron actually filmed that scene,” the comedian claimed.

A distracting, yet interesting subplot

“But he decided to cut it because he said it distracted from the main story, but you know, that’s the main story for me right there,” he added.

“I think you’re distracted from the main story,” his wife finally spoke up. Perhaps Cameron’s decision to cut the subplot wasn’t ill-advised. Ritchie himself was engrossed by the Californian, proving Cameron’s point. There are enough theories of Jack surviving if he had just stayed on top of the door with Rose. If the director had put in the Californian side story, fans might’ve drawn even more tangents.

“I cannot disagree more,” he insisted. It seems that TikTok users were also interested in learning about the other ship.

One social media user wrote, “No, let him cook. This is more interesting than the movie plot.”

Another said, “The Californian is my Roman Empire because HOW DID YOU IGNORE THE FLARES?!!”

Someone else wrote, “People really still say it was a tragedy when it was just an avoidable incident ignored by incompetence.”

Meanwhile, one joked, “My grandad knew the titanic was going to sink, he tried to warn everyone but no one would listen. And then he got asked to leave the cinema.”

Other social media users even hoped for a movie involving the SS Californian and the RMS Carpathia. The latter rescued 710 passengers from the Titanic, with the Carpathia’s captain skillfully dodging icebergs. When the survivors were on deck, both the crew and passengers of the Carpathia helped in every way they could. There’s room to make a different movie for these two other ships. With the undying fascination over the Titanic, there’s definitely a market for it.

(featured images: Carlo Ritchie)

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