How do Cobb and Ariadne enter Limbo without having to die?
After Saito dies on the third dream level, he enters limbo. Ariadne then convinces Cobb that it is necessary for them to enter limbo to go after Saito, in order to pull him out. They do so by hooking themselves up to a dream-machine on the third level, within the snow fortress, and use this to enter limbo.
How are they able to enter limbo in this way? It had been previously explained that to die in a sedative-assisted dream would cause one's subconscious to enter limbo (and this is in fact what happened to Saito). But wouldn't using a dream machine on the third-level just cause Cobb and Ariadne to enter a fourth level? Why do they end up in limbo via this mechanism?
Best Answer
The sedative compound that Yusef creates for the job is specifically designed to keep the dream stable for three levels.
COBB: We need you there to tailor compounds to our particular requirements.
YUSUF: Which are?
COBB: Great depth.
YUSUF: A dream within a dream? Two levels?
COBB: Three.
YUSUF: Not possible. That many dreams within dreams would be too unstable.
COBB: I've done it before. You just have to add a sedative.
This means that the fourth level and beyond are still unstable. We know from other dreams in the film that when the dream becomes unstable, it collapses and the dreamers wake up. Since they are sedated, they can't wake up, so when Dom and Ariadne try to go deeper while already on the third level they instead fall into Limbo.
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How did Cobb stay in limbo?
Attempts to revive Fisher fail and Ariadne, the architect of this dream world, convinces Cobb to take her down into limbo \u2014 a.k.a. unconstructed dream space existing within untouched subconscious \u2014 to retrieve Fisher, whose consciousness would remained trapped there thanks to the drugs keeping him in this dream heist.How did Cobb and Mal enter limbo?
Cobb explains to Ariadne that he and Mal, his wife, ended up in their world-building limbo because they were experimenting with multi-dreams and Cobb pushed them too deep. He says they grew \u201cold\u201d together and eventually committed suicide on the train tracks to go back to reality.How does Cobb and Saito escape limbo?
Cobb and Saito got out of limbo by waiting until the sedative ran out (and they were normal-asleep) then they shot themselves, thus waking up. Just like how Cobb and Mal got out by lying on the train tracks. Saito grew to be an old man, and Cobb reminded them they had a mission.Why is Cobb confused in limbo?
Once Cobb dies [by drowning], he reaches Limbo for the second time (the opening scene). This time around he's died and reached Limbo, hence he has no clear idea as to where he is and how he got there. When Cobb and Mal were in limbo for decades, they didn't die, just went too deep, so they remembered (for a while).Inception (film) (2010) - Cobb and Ariadne enter Limbo scene
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