History TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot / Saw

* The film's director's cut includes, to date, the series' only [[TheStinger post-credits sequence]]. It concerns a guilt-ridden Amanda going to Corbett's cell and warning her through the keyhole not to trust the man who will rescue her. The scene loses much of its impact with its placement at the very end of ''Saw VI'', when it's already been established beforehand that the FBI (and eventually the local police in ''3D'') no longer trust Hoffman. It would have had much more dramatic effect if it had occurred at the end of ''Saw V'', as that whole movie had been establishing that A) Hoffman was seen as a hero by law enforcement for "surviving" the onslaught at the Gideon Meatpacking Plant and saving Corbett; and B) by ''V'' the FBI was buying into the notion of Strahm being the new killer much more so than they did Hoffman, and thus would have a little thread for them to pull at and foreshadow Hoffman's eventual unmasking in ''VI'' (and explaining why Perez taunts Hoffman that "everyone" knows about him in her last words); and c) it would have been one hell of a vindication for [[DownerEnding Strahm's unfortunate fate]] given Hoffman is a downright KarmaHoudini (and quite literally so, managing to "magician" his way out of the crushing trap) at the end of the movie. Granted, it may have been a scheduling issue if they couldn't have secured Creator/ShawneeSmith to film the scene in 2008, but regardless. Hooray for fan edits!

* The film's director's cut includes, to date, the series' only [[TheStinger post-credits sequence]]. It concerns a guilt-ridden Amanda going to Corbett's cell and warning her through the keyhole not to trust the man who will rescue her. The scene loses much of its impact with its placement at the very end of ''Saw VI'', when it's already been established beforehand that the FBI (and eventually the local police in ''3D'') no longer trust Hoffman. It would have had much more dramatic effect if it had occurred at the end of ''Saw V'', as that whole movie had been establishing that A) Hoffman was seen as a hero by law enforcement for "surviving" the onslaught at the Gideon Meatpacking Plant and saving Corbett; and B) by ''V'' the FBI was buying into the notion of Strahm being the new killer much more so than they did Hoffman, and thus would have a little thread for them to pull at and foreshadow Hoffman's eventual unmasking in ''VI'' (and explaining why Perez taunts Hoffman that "everyone" knows about him in her last words); and c) it would have been one hell of a vindication for Strahm's unfortunate fate given Hoffman is a downright KarmaHoudini (and quite literally so, managing to "magician" his way out of the crushing trap) at the end of the movie. Granted, it may have been a scheduling issue if they couldn't have secured Creator/ShawneeSmith to film the scene in 2008, but regardless. Hooray for fan edits!

* The film's director's cut includes, to date, the series' only [[TheStinger post-credits sequence]]. It concerns a guilt-ridden Amanda going to Corbett's cell and warning her through the keyhole not to trust the man who will rescue her. The scene loses much of its impact with its placement at the very end of ''Saw VI'', when it's already been established beforehand that the FBI (and eventually the local police in ''3D'') no longer trust Hoffman. It would have had much more dramatic effect if it had occurred at the end of ''Saw V'', as that whole movie had been establishing that A) Hoffman was seen as a hero by law enforcement for "surviving" the onslaught at the Gideon Meatpacking Plant and saving Corbett; and B) by ''V'' the FBI was buying into the notion of Strahm being the new killer much more so than Hoffman, and thus would have a little thread for them to pull at and foreshadow Hoffman's eventual unmasking in ''VI'' (and explaining why Perez taunts Hoffman that "everyone" knows about him in her last words). Granted, it may have been a scheduling issue if they couldn't have secured Creator/ShawneeSmith to film the scene in 2008, but regardless. Hooray for fan edits!

* The movie also begins with a new concept: A trap appearing ''in public'', where three victims are sealed behind bulletproof glass in front of a busy street. This could have been a very intriguing subplot (how does the crowd react, the societal impact, the added difficulty of setting these traps up without being discovered, etc.). Sadly, it's never followed up on besides WordOfGod confirming that the two pig-masked men who helped Lawrence kidnap Hoffman were Brad and Ryan, the survivors of the aforementioned trap.

* The film's posters and viral marketing campaign would have you believe it deals with the lingering influence the Jigsaw games have had on society, with the antagonists being a cult-like group who are carrying on their "savior's" work. Instead, this is only mentioned once as a fansite on the dark web, and the ending is basically a repeat of previous entries, with the reveal of yet ''another'' apprentice, who somehow used to work with John before any of the other apprentices on top of that. The twist that the main game is a StealthPrequel to ''the entire franchise'' also renders the whole thing inconsequential, and can make you wonder if this is really a story that needed to be told.

* The film's posters and viral marketing campaign would have you believe it deals with the lingering influence the Jigsaw games have had on society, with the antagonists being a cult-like group who are carrying on their "savior's" work. Instead, this is only mentioned once as a fansite on the dark web, and the ending is basically a repeat of previous entries, with the reveal of yet ''another'' apprentice who somehow used to work with John before any of the other apprentices (they parted ways at some point before that). The twist that the main game is a StealthPrequel to ''the entire franchise'' also renders the whole thing inconsequential, and can make you wonder if this is really a story that needed to be told.

!All spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!

* ''Saw V'' sets up an interesting, potential arching rivalry between Strahm and Hoffman as the former begins to unthread the latter's involvement in past crime scenes of Jigsaw murders, which could have fit well as a final main StoryArc spanning over the following films. The moment Strahm gets his first direct confrontation with Hoffman, however, he's quickly killed off in a way that didn't have much impact story-wise. It gets easily infuriating because Strahm was the most competent protagonist by then and could have easily served as an antithesis and major opponent to Hoffman. Judging by the announcements given for ''Saw VI'''s greenlight, it appears that the production staff were meant to follow on a "Strahm vs. Hoffman" plotline, including the confirmation of a potential ending where Strahm killed Hoffman, but for some reason they didn't go with it.[[note]]Patrick Melton was the only person who spoke about this so far, claiming that it turned out to be too complex to be set in motion.[[/note]]

* Some fans felt it would have been a far better ending if Jill had actually succeeded in killing Hoffman, then decide to take over the VillainousLegacy of her late husband once and for all and emerge as the final BigBad of the entire series. Instead, Hoffman escapes the Reverse Bear Trap 2.0, which admittedly serves as an awesome moment for him, but results in the next film being a far more standard-issue entry with Hoffman as the villain yet again.

* Unlike previous and future protagonists, William seems to have made a genuine HeelFaceTurn by the time he enters his final test. In an opportunity to give a fresh resolution where a Jigsaw game ''actually succeeded'' in its goal to rehabilitate the subject for once, William instead gets [[ShootTheShaggyDog brutally killed]] just because [[DiabolusExMachina his survival wasn't up to him to begin with]].

* Unlike previous and future protagonists, William seems to have made a genuine HeelFaceTurn by the time he enters his final test. In an opportunity to give a fresh resolution where a Jigsaw game ''actually succeeded'' in its goal to rehabilitate the subject for once, William instead gets [[ShootTheShaggyDog brutally killed]] by other circumstances because [[DiabolusExMachina it wasn't up to him to begin with]].

* Unlike previous and future protagonists, William seems to have made a genuine HeelFaceTurn by the time he enters his final test. In an opportunity to give a fresh resolution where a Jigsaw game ''actually succeeded'' in its goal to rehabilitate the subject for once, William instead gets [[ShootTheShaggyDog brutally killed]] because [[DiabolusExMachina it wasn't up to him to begin with]].

* Unlike previous and future protagonists, William seems to have made a genuine HeelFaceTurn by the end of his test. In an opportunity to give a fresh resolution where a Jigsaw game ''actually succeeded'' in its goal to rehabilitate the subject for once, William instead gets [[ShootTheShaggyDog brutally killed]] because [[DiabolusExMachina it wasn't up to him to begin with]].

* Some fans felt it would have been a far better plot twist if Jill had actually succeeded in killing Hoffman at the end, then decide to take over the VillainousLegacy of her late husband once and for all and emerge as the final BigBad of the entire series. Instead, Hoffman escapes the Reverse Bear Trap 2.0, which admittedly serves as an awesome moment for him, but results in the next film being a far more standard-issue entry with Hoffman as the villain yet again.

!!''Film/SawV''

* ''Saw V'' sets up an interesting, potential arching rivalry between Strahm and Hoffman as the former begins to unthread the latter's involvement in past crime scenes of Jigsaw murders, which could have fit well as a final main StoryArc spanning over the following films; the moment Strahm gets his first direct confrontation with Hoffman, however, he's quickly killed off in a way that didn't have much impact story-wise. It gets easily infuriating because Strahm was the most competent protagonist by then and could have easily served as an antithesis and major opponent to Hoffman. Judging by the announcements given for ''Saw VI'''s greenlight, it appears that the production staff were meant to follow on a "Strahm vs. Hoffman" plotline, including the confirmation of a potential ending where Strahm killed Hoffman, but for some reason they didn't go with it.[[note]]Patrick Melton was the only person who spoke about this so far, claiming that it turned out to be too complex to be set in motion.[[/note]]

* ''Saw V'' sets up an interesting, potential arching rivalry between Strahm and Hoffman as the former begins to unthread the latter's involvement in past crime scenes of Jigsaw murders, which could have fit well as a final main StoryArc spanning over the following films; the moment Strahm gets his first direct confrontation with Hoffman, however, he's quickly killed off in a way that didn't have much impact story-wise. It gets easily infuriating because Strahm was the most competent protagonist by then and could have easily served as an antithesis and major opponent to Hoffman. Judging by the claims given for ''Saw VI'''s greenlight, it appears that the production staff were meant to follow on a "Strahm vs. Hoffman" plotline that had the potential ending of Strahm killing Hoffman, but for some reason they didn't go with it.[[note]]Patrick Melton was the only person who spoke about this so far, claiming that it turned out to be too complex to be set in motion.[[/note]]

* ''Saw V'' sets up an interesting, potential arching rivalry between Strahm and Hoffman as the former begins to unthread the latter's involvement in past crime scenes of Jigsaw murders, which could have fit well as a final main StoryArc spanning over the following films; the moment Strahm gets his first direct confrontation with Hoffman, however, he's quickly killed off in a way that didn't have much impact story-wise. It gets easily infuriating because Strahm was the most competent protagonist by then and could have easily served as an antithesis and major opponent to Hoffman. Judging by the claims given for ''Saw VI'''s greenlight, it appears that the production staff were meant to follow on a "Strahm vs. Hoffman" plotline that ended with Strahm killing Hoffman, but for some reason they didn't go with it.[[note]]Patrick Melton was the only person who spoke about this so far, claiming that it turned out to be too complex to be set in motion.[[/note]]

* ''Saw V'' sets up an interesting, potential arching rivalry between Strahm and Hoffman as the former begins to unthread the latter's involvement in past crime scenes of Jigsaw murders, which could have fit well as a final main StoryArc spanning over the following films; the moment Strahm gets his first direct confrontation with Hoffman, however, he's quickly killed off in a way that didn't have much impact story-wise. It gets easily infuriating because Strahm was the most competent protagonist by then and could have easily served as an antithesis and major opponent to Hoffman.

* ''Saw V'' sets up an interesting, potential arching rivalry between Strahm and Hoffman as the former begins to unthread the latter's involvement in past crime scenes of Jigsaw murders, which could have fit well as a final StoryArc spanning over the following films; the moment Strahm gets his first direct confrontation with Hoffman, however, he's quickly killed off in a way that didn't have much impact story-wise.