- "Careful, these pools run deep. If she escapes, all is lost."
- ―Blackbeard
The Jungle Pools were pools in the jungle on an island in the Caribbean. Here, mermaids were cruelly staked, bound, and harvested for their tears, so that immortality seekers could perform the ritual for the Fountain of Youth. Twisted skeletal remains seen among the pools reveal the many pitiless murders already committed here, where mermaids were left to die by their captors.
The pools had played a pivotal role during the quest for the Fountain of Youth. During the quest, Blackbeard was able to get a tear from Syrena, whom he left to die at the pools until she was rescued by Philip Swift. Using the pools to briefly escape, Syrena returned to help a fatally wounded Philip.
History[]
Legend[]
- "Look. Look! Staked out to die, to dry in the sun. Only half in the water, not enough to live, but just enough to make the dying slow. Think on it, your people, murdered, harvested for their tears. Syrena. Won't you cry?"
"All die. Even you. Soon, I hear."
"Listen. Listen. Can you not hear your sisters scream? Do you not hear them? We need but one tear." - ―Blackbeard and Syrena
Over the years, waters from the Jungle Pools have been used to trap mermaids in their marine form, while their captors attempt to harvest their tears, which were an important item of the Profane Ritual used for the Fountain of Youth. Tying mermaids within reach of water, yet leaving their bodies to slowly dry out, is a cruel torture often seen at the pools. When the creatures die, they leave behind the remains of their marine form. The pools are also connected by tunnels that mermaids could have escaped out of to freedom.[1]
As time passed, more and more mermaids were killed for their precious tears to where the entire area was filled with their skeletal remains, some still bound to stake by wrists. Marine skeleton and dead scales show body was left partly in the pools. Remains of rope and hair reveal a mermaid's death was in recent times. Twisted skeletons among the pools reveal the many pitiless murders already committed by tying mermaids within reach of water, which slowly dries them out.[1]
Quest for the Fountain of Youth[]
- "Let her go. You don't need her now."
"Let her go? No. Secure her bonds. We leave her with her own." - ―Philip Swift and Blackbeard, concerning Syrena
During the quest for the Fountain of Youth, Blackbeard and his crew journeyed to the pools to attempt to get a mermaid's tear. A mermaid named Syrena was put into one of the pools while Blackbeard tried to force her to cry by showing the remains of her fellow mermaids and telling her of how they were left to die a slow, painful death. However, Syrena would not yield. So Blackbeard, upon learning that she and Philip Swift fancy each other, decided to use Philip. Realizing that Syrena would remain strong, Blackbeard ordered the Quartermaster to kill Philip, although in reality he only sedated him with a dart. Syrena was seemingly left to die while Philip's body was dumped nearby. Blackbeard and his crew waited until Philip regained consciousness and managed to make Syrena cry with a tear of joy when they were reunited. After getting Syrena's tear in a vial, Blackbeard ordered Syrena to be secured and left at the pools to die, as the mermaids before her.[2]
After escaping from Blackbeard's crew at the Fountain of Youth, Philip went to save Syrena at the pools, and she was able to escape. After Syrena used the pools to enter the Fountain, where she gave Jack Sparrow the Chalices, Syrena returned to an injured Philip and made amends as Philip asked Syrena for her forgiveness. Bringing him underwater, Syrena kissed Philip to heal him and give him the ability to breathe underwater. They swam off together through the pools to freedom.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
- For filming On Stranger Tides, scenes from the Jungle Pools were filmed on the Turtle Bay Resort in Oahu, Hawaii.
Appearances[]
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (First appearance)
- LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)
Sources[]
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide
- The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide, p62-63: "The Jungle Pools"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides