In my analysis of Blade Runner, I noted that, if Deckard had done nothing, the replicants would have shut down anyway. Now, he didn’t know that, of course, but the writer did, which strangely robs Deckard of agency. He ends as a spectator to events in his own story.

Part of the reason I recognized this is because it happened to Harrison Ford before. As has been commented on many times by fans, in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones is a spectator to the climax (while, ironically, desperately trying not to look). Regardless of Indy’s presence, the Nazis would have opened the Ark and been killed.

But how could these issues have been fixed?

Blade Runner

One solution here would have been for the replicants to have converted some of their energy from lifespan to strength to achieve their escape (as they did in the past now and then to ensure success on their missions). This would mean their makers would have no idea when they’d run down, which makes it make sense that those makers would want to hire a blade runner to stop them. Discovering from Tyrell that they were close to running down takes on a more ironic tone, since they’d partly done it to themselves.

Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that Roy conveniently shuts down just when he’s fighting Deckard. So the thing to do is to have them fighting over something that humans can’t have that robots can: a life-lengthening power module. The replicants can find out from Tyrell that there is a way to lengthen their lives, an experimental power module Sebastian has in one of his toys, so back to his building they go.

Now Deckard can learn that he just needs to keep Roy away from the power module long enough for him to shut down. He might even find that Pris has shut down, hinting that Roy can’t be far behind. So the final fight is Deckard trying desperately not to get killed while running out the clock on Roy. Then Deckard can give the power module to Rachael to ensure she’ll live a long life with him.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

A solution for Raiders would be for Indy to have to goad the Nazis into opening the Ark on the island instead of waiting to get back to Berlin. This requires that their plan be to open it in Berlin but not in front of Hitler. If that plan had proceeded, Belloq and the Nazis would still have been killed, but Hitler would have retained the Ark and might have figured out a way to use its power or just shown it off as a trophy.

Indy doesn’t need to know for certain that opening the Ark will kill the bad guys; he just has to see some of their preparations and realize that their plans are crazy enough to likely get them killed. And, since it’s preferable for Belloq and the Nazis to die on the island, where Indy and Marion can retain the Ark and take it home, it makes sense for Indy to goad them into opening it right away. If it doesn’t kill, them Indy is screwed regardless of where they open it. And it doesn’t matter that the US government, once they get their hands on it, secretly hides it instead of trying to use it (a wise choice, really).

The goading can take the form of Indy acting shocked that they didn’t bring the Ark to the submarine base specifically to conduct the opening ceremony. He can say, “The Ark must be opened on a high rock outcropping in an open space for its power to access the heavens. Where will you find that in Berlin? A failure is likely to be fatal.” This is nonsense and just a way to get them to open it right there where, if it kills them, it won’t fall into Hitler’s hands.

It’s better still if Indy uses reverse psychology to make them think he wants them to open it in a building in Berlin. For example, he might agree they should open it “in a secure building” where they “have access to a group of experts” then say “just… not… in a museum.” That makes Belloq think Indy believes opening it will unleash great power, and he doesn’t want a museum destroyed, so they should instead open it outdoors on the island.