Why does Deckard tell Rachael that she is a Replicant? What does this mean for his character?
In the movie “Blade Runner: The Final Cut,” Deckard, a Blade Runner, is hired to track down Replicants who have escaped their duties as intelligent slaves colonizing other planets and come to Earth. Deckard meets with Dr. Tyrell, the man who invented the Replicants, so that he can administer tests to figure out who is and who is not a Replicant. Tyrell allows Deckard to try out the test on his Replicant assistant, Rachael. Deckard’s job gets complicated because he falls in love with Rachael. Deckard’s feelings for Rachael make him question whether he should kill any of the Replicants. Deckard decides to ultimately tell Rachael that she is a Replicant so that she can run away from Tyrell and save herself because Deckard is in love with Rachael and wants her to survive. Deckard is ordered to find Rachael and eliminate her, but he knows that if he does find her, he will not eliminate her because his love for her is too strong. Deckard told Rachael that she is a Replicant to save her, but in telling Rachael, and even in falling in love with her, Deckard is proving that he has reflected upon his own humanity and sees himself as equal to Rachel, who is artificially created. Just because Rachael is a “fake” human, she does not deserve to live any less than a “real” human. Deckard’s feelings for Rachael show that he is compassionate, humble and sees Rachel as a person beyond her limits as a Replicant.
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