There were more than a few decisions to be made by characters in the Saw series, with every trap beginning with Jigsaw telling the victims of his games that the choice of survival was theirs. Too bad, though, that almost all decisions made by the characters were the wrong ones.
In this list, we’re looking at the mistakes, bad choices, and the consequences of these decisions that led to the worst scenarios playing out. These range from the decisions inadvertently setting up other’s deaths, or even the person’s own demise. You’ll be surprised how not going through these 10 worst decisions would’ve had a vastly different outcome in the Saw series.
Adam Stanheight: Reach For The Gun To Shoot Jigsaw
We were inclined to include Adam’s dreadful acting skills during his ill-fated attempt to trick Jigsaw into thinking he was dead, but his fatal mistake was when he decided to attack the villain. When he saw the dead body in the bathroom was Jigsaw all along, Adam reached for the gun.
Not only was this a useless move, seeing as the gun had no bullets, but it also got Adam electrocuted for his efforts which incapacitated him long enough for Jigsaw to reach the door. Had Adam responded to Jigsaw that there was no key in the bathtub as the latter thought, perhaps Jigsaw might have released him.
Jeff Denlon: Gloat Before Trying To Save Timothy
In the case of poor Timothy, whose body parts were twisted till they broke, Jeff took his sweet time lording his position of power over him before he decided to help. Only once Timothy was beyond saving did Jeff act.
This led to Jeff himself dying, though, as saving Timothy would’ve meant he would’ve been with Jeff when he met Jigsaw, and there’s no way things would have unfolded the way they did after Jeff had forgiven the man who had taken his son’s life. Everyone’s lives from Lynn, Strahm, and Jeff himself would’ve been spared.
Daniel Rigg: Making Any Decision
That’s right, Rigg making any decision at all was the worst thing he did during his series of tests. In fact, Rigg had the easiest test of all, in that he needed to stay exactly where he was and everyone would’ve been released.
It was because of Rigg’s savior complex that he couldn’t leave the situation well enough alone and chose to act, but that had the impact of causing the deaths of every single person involved in the traps save for one. Rigg himself ended up getting killed, making this one of the more costly decisions in the series.
William Easton: Deny Harold His Insurance
You’d think paying for insurance would be more expensive than being denied it, yet William paid dearly for being the one to deny another man insurance. As it happened, William devised a loophole in Harold's clause as justification, which led to his death as he couldn’t pay for his medical bills.
Fast forward over to Saw VI’s events, and this was exactly the reason why William was taken captive by Jigsaw. Not only that, but William’s death came at the hands of Harold's son. So, if you’re ever in the position to decide a man’s insurance qualification, that Jigsaw might be watching.
Eric Matthews: Try To Fight Amanda
Eric’s original decision to attack Jigsaw rather than hear him out was what led to him being trapped by Amanda in the bathroom, but we can accept that since Eric was distressed for his son and wasn’t thinking clearly.
However, Eric giving away his position by attacking Amanda, after he had escaped the bathroom, was what got him not only beaten up but also trapped by Mark Hoffman for months. Had Eric stayed back, he would’ve easily escaped.
Amanda Young: Dare To Cross Hoffman
In actuality, every decision Amanda made in her life was the worst one as it was her substance abuse that made Jigsaw into the man he was since it got his unborn son killed. However, she could’ve gotten away with it had she not tested Mark Hoffman too much.
As it happened, Amanda took to mocking and belittling Hoffman for being a muscle head, and that she would prove to be a superior successor to Jigsaw. She was warned by Hoffman about it but decided to keep crossing him until Hoffman devised his plan to have Amanda killed during Jeff’s test.
Peter Strahm: Not Listening To The Tapes
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. This was a saying that Strahm should’ve familiarized himself with, and he sure got a lot of chances too. Unfortunately, he chose to go against the warning in the tapes he found by Jigsaw and Hoffman and paid for it both times.
While he was smart enough to escape the Head-in-the-Box trap, Strahm’s inability to trust Jigsaw’s word got him in an even worse trap when he decided not to keep Hoffman’s tape playing and sealed the latter in the coffin trap. As we heard next, the completed tape warned him against doing this exact thing, and Strahm was crushed to death as a result.
Doctor Gordon: Ignoring Jigsaw As His Patient
Some like to argue that Dr. Gordon had no say in him being captured by Jigsaw, but that would be an incorrect assumption. Dialogue in Saw VI revealed that Jigsaw had attempted many times to have Gordon listen to him about his cancer, but Gordon preferred his affair over his patient and had one hand on the doorknob to leave during each conversation.
Gordon choosing to go with the latter was what got him under Jigsaw’s radar, and the doctor was then put in one of the biggest traps in the series. It also led to him being brainwashed by Jigsaw into becoming his accomplice, turning the once well-to-do guy into a man.
Mark Hoffman: Openly Expose His Taste For Brutality
Although Jigsaw was a genius at reading people, Hoffman knew exactly what he was doing when he flaunted his thirst for brutality. In fact, it was his intention to show Jigsaw and Amanda how he would soon be in control, and this decision had Jigsaw come up with the plan for Gordon to trap Hoffman.
Hoffman didn’t restrict his brutal ways to his cohorts, and he got on the radar of the Strahm and his department mainly because of his aggression and his apathetic response toward victims. Ultimately, all this got Hoffman in hot water as him being a wanted man meant nobody knew he was left to die in the bathroom.
Jigsaw: The Attempt On His Own Life
Pretty much the worst decision for every character who appeared in the Saw series, it was John Kramer deciding to take his own life that played the part in making him the man called Jigsaw. Had he accepted his fate, then John would’ve died an honorable man.
Him coming upon the epiphany - after surviving the car crash - that he needed to test people with their own lives was what made him out to be ed solely as a killer and a fiend. Of course, we're also including how Jigsaw's survival resulted in hundreds of deaths.
