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After the wave hits on Miller's planet, Cooper asks Brand "How much is this gonna cost us?". To which Brand replies "decades".

How does the wave and resulting damage from the wave cost them decades when the entire wave scene and post wave scene is one continuous shot that only lasts a few minutes? Is there a break somewhere in the scene where at least a couple of hours could have gone by?

Adam Johns
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    I am not sure, but as I am reading this question i believe they meant not the time necessary for the wave to pass, but that to deal with damages caused by the wave coupled with the fact that 1 hour on that planet is 7 years in earth's time – yondaime008 Apr 04 '15 at 20:37
  • @yondaime008 yeah I meant the wave and resulting damage. – Adam Johns Apr 05 '15 at 18:17
  • Wasn't it that they had calculated theoretically that it would cost them 7 years per hour, but the actual results were different? ISTR they say as much when they get back onto the Challenger. – Möoz Apr 17 '15 at 02:15

6 Answers6

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He isn't talking about the wave, he's talking about the time it'll take to drain the engines of water and return to space, noting that they're in a gravitational well so large that time on the planet is passing much faster than on the Endurance:

The novelisation explains it a little better than the script;

“How bad?” he asked, thinking that he most likely didn't want to know. “Every hour we spend on that planet will be maybe…” She did the mental computations. “Seven years back on Earth.”

and

“How long to drain, Case?” he asked.
“Forty-five to an hour,” the robot informed him.
Cooper shook his head and uncoupled his helmet. The cabin was pressurized. Everything smelled wet, but it didn't smell like seawater or a pond. It smelled like distilled water that had been dumped on hot rocks—a mineral scent, but not salt.
“The stuff of life, huh?” he said. “What’s this gonna cost us, Brand?”
“A lot,” she said. “Decades.” Her voice was flat.
Cooper felt like he couldn't breathe. Decades. Tom and Murph were adults already. How old? It seemed impossible. He rubbed his face, trying to comprehend it. He watched the wave go, knowing there would be another, and soon.

As it happens, in the end it doesn't actually take them as long to leave the surface as they first feared, evidently due to Cooper's innovative idea of blowing air through the engines to clear the water.

Valorum
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  • Yeah I didn't mean he was talking about the wave directly. Just its effects (like draining the engines). But once the wave hits they actually leave the planet very shortly after that. So all the time they lost they should have already known about right? – Adam Johns Apr 04 '15 at 21:36
  • @AdamJohns - The plan was to touch down (briefly), pick up Miller and take off straight away. – Valorum Apr 04 '15 at 21:56
  • right but Cooper seems to be angry at the fact that the damage from the wave is the main reason they lost so much time. But I can't find a break in the scene after the wave that indicates the wave is what caused so much time to pass. Thus the main percentage of time loss they experienced was due to their normal wandering around before the wave. – Adam Johns Apr 05 '15 at 00:00
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    @AdamJohns - I don't think there is a editing break while they're on the surface. All of a sudden the engines are ready. I put that down to poor editing. – Valorum Apr 05 '15 at 00:18
  • @AdamJohns I believe that Coop was angry because he felt that they could have taken off and avoided the wave if Brand had just left the data behind(and the other crew member would still be alive). – Lavenchi Apr 05 '15 at 08:00
  • @Lavenchi so then they already knew before the wave came that they were going to lose decades then right? Because the wave only cost them around 5 minutes. Which would only cost them around 6 months. – Adam Johns Apr 05 '15 at 18:03
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    @adamJohns - See edit. I think he manages to clear the engines a lot quicker. – Valorum Apr 05 '15 at 18:24
  • @Richard right but then they still must have already known that they were losing decades on Miller's planet due to their initial wandering around. – Adam Johns Apr 05 '15 at 18:45
  • @AdamJohns: “they still must have already known that they were losing decades on Miller's planet due to their initial wandering around” — I think no, because their initial wandering around wasn’t a couple of hours? – Paul D. Waite Apr 06 '15 at 08:56
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    @PaulD.Waite - I'm assuming it takes at least 45 minutes to take off and land. – Valorum Apr 06 '15 at 09:32
  • @PaulD.Waite basically what I'm getting at here is that the only time unaccounted for was the time they lost from the engines being flooded from the wave (about 5 minutes = 6 months). So the other 23 years they already knew they were going to lose. – Adam Johns Apr 14 '15 at 12:00
  • @adamJohns - note my edit at the end of the answer – Valorum Apr 14 '15 at 13:56
  • @Richard but do you agree that almost all of the time they lost was not from the wave. Thus almost all time they lost was known about and should not have been a shock. – Adam Johns Apr 14 '15 at 15:09
  • @adamJohns - Yes. As far as I can tell, coop's concern was that unflooding the engines would cost them decades on top of the time already budgeted – Valorum Apr 14 '15 at 15:31
  • Yeah, but blowing cabin air through the rockets wouldn't work and wouldn't be possible. No one sane connects their air supply to a rocket combustion chamber. Plus you would need a pressure differential for this to work and they had their airlock door open just moments before, which means no pressure differential. – Jim2B Jun 18 '15 at 02:58
  • @Jim2B - Clearly they can, because they do. – Valorum Jun 18 '15 at 05:41
  • In-universe perhaps, but as an aero & astro engineer I can assure you that this is cringe worthy. – Jim2B Jun 18 '15 at 12:06
  • The landers themselves defy conventional physics. My guess is that they've got rudimentary anti-grav. – Valorum Jun 18 '15 at 12:22
  • @AdamJohns - I'm sticking with my original answer. The plan was to land, pick up Miller and take off immediately, costing them about a decade. When the wave hit it flooded the engines. Cooper was concerned that the early estimate of how long it would take to dry the engines (an hour?) would cost them decades above what was already budgeted. He then found an innovative solution (performed largely off-screen) that helped them take off much sooner, but at a risk. – Valorum Dec 28 '18 at 19:24
  • @Valorum, but after they get back to the Endurance we see that the wave did end up costing them decades... – Adam Johns Dec 29 '18 at 00:39
  • @AdamJohns - When he says "a couple of years", Brand agrees with him but she's not at all sure that her numbers are accurate. On her return she's surprised to find that the dilation was even worse – Valorum Dec 29 '18 at 00:45
  • @Valorum, now THAT would explain it. If the 1 hour to 7 years dilation was simply an inaccurate calculation. Was there any dialogue afterwards to imply that calculation was inaccurate? – Adam Johns Dec 29 '18 at 00:56
  • "Amelia found she couldn’t meet Romilly’s eyes, but she shook her head. Then she forced her gaze back up, and grasped his hands. “I thought I was prepared,” she told him. “I knew all the theory.” She paused, gathered her words. “The reality is different.”" – Valorum Dec 29 '18 at 01:02
  • @Valorum hmm that's an interesting interpretation of that line. I never considered that is what she meant. It still seems like a stretch to me that she is referencing a miscalculated time shift in that quote. I think the quote is more in reference to her losing a crew member and how she couldn't really prepare for that reality. – Adam Johns Dec 29 '18 at 16:14
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I took Brand's statement to mean that the trip itself wasted decades of Earth time. Their Ranger had just been damaged by the wave and they lost one crew member, and on top of that, they realized that Dr. Miller had died shortly after landing (only a few hours before by the planet's time) and the planet was inhospitable. They should have been able to tell that not much time had passed on the planet (see here) since Miller had landed, and Cooper had suggested beforehand that they visit the other planets first because of the severe time dilation. So the trip was fruitless, and it took them 23 years.

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KSmarts
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    But doesn't Cooper seem to be angry at the fact that the damage from the wave is what is causing them to lose so much time? – Adam Johns Apr 05 '15 at 00:03
  • Otherwise, even before the wave hits, they already knew they lost decades of earth time. – Adam Johns Apr 05 '15 at 18:15
  • @AdamJohns No: the wave(s) killed Miller, who could have otherwise signaled them not to land had he been alive. – Lexible Apr 14 '15 at 01:38
  • @Lexible ok so Cooper is just mad in general that they should have never gone to the planet. That still doesn't change the fact that all of the time he lost on the planet he already knew about before the wave hit. (Except for about 5 minutes = 6 months after the wave hit) – Adam Johns Apr 14 '15 at 11:55
  • @AdamJohns And at the loss of life of two scientists... but the time lost from the visit to the planet is decades, not 6 months. That time counts as an opportunity cost against visiting other worlds. – Lexible Apr 14 '15 at 15:02
  • @Lexible right but they lost 23 years and change on the planet. If they only lost ~6 months from wave damage then they essentially knew they were going to lose ~23 years on the planet right? – Adam Johns Apr 14 '15 at 15:10
  • @AdamJohns Nope: reread my first comment in this thread. – Lexible Apr 14 '15 at 15:11
  • @Lexible but they knew the time slippage before they started their descent right? And they knew they must have been on the planet around 3 hours when the wave came correct? – Adam Johns Apr 14 '15 at 15:12
  • @AdamJohns Not sure what axe you are so interested in grinding, but this is my last comment: (1) Miller not killed by wave(s) signals Cooper &Co => Cooper &Co do not lose decades, and do not lose a life (2) Miller is killed by wave(s) => Cooper &Co follow => Cooper &Co pointlessly lose a life and decades. The reaction of anger with the wave(s) in this situation is utterly appropriate (i.e. given that he's not autistic, etc.). – Lexible Apr 14 '15 at 15:18
  • @Lexible yeah sorry I get why he's mad now. Now I'm asking the question of weren't they on the planet around 3 hours? And wasn't most of that time before the wave hits? Yet they still act surprised that they lost 23 years or so. And that was not their initial plan to lose that much time. Maybe I should start a new question. – Adam Johns Apr 14 '15 at 15:23
  • @AdamJohns Ah I see: I assumed that travel to and from the planet's surface took most that time: recall that the ship is not caught within the deep time dilation, so they have to travel down into that, get in orbit, and then through the landing window to the surface. Time dilation does not only happen at the surface of Miller's planet. So I think that they literally had just arrived there when we see the wave scene. Most of the hours were travel time. – Lexible Apr 14 '15 at 15:28
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It's due to the time dilation effect of being so close to the black hole Gargantua.

They say before they go down to Miller's Planet that one hour equates to seven earth years. Thus, when they get stuck there (for several hours - it's not actually one continuous shot, there is a break in there) it uses up several multiples of 7 - thus, decades. When they get back up to the ship, they discover they have been there for 23 earth years (or, they've been gone for a little over 3 hours).

The Fallen
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    I understand the time dilation difference. I'm referring specifically to the scene once the wave hits. Where is a break in the scene after the wave hits? – Adam Johns Apr 04 '15 at 21:34
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    @AdamJohns - if I remember right, it's after they find out it will be 45 mins - 1 hr to drain the engines – The Fallen Apr 04 '15 at 21:55
  • I just re-watched the scene. It is definitely one continuous shot with no breaks. – Adam Johns Apr 05 '15 at 18:13
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It's 7 yrs per hour, as they calculated - however, counting from descent to arrival back at the Endurance (remember Endurance stayed in safe distance, not in the immediate orbit. Time distortion started for them soon after leaving). So: descent, landing, wave hitting, engines flooded. CASE estimates it will take 45 mins up to an hour to drain. When the next wave is approaching, the engines still need 2 minutes to drain, so around 40-60 mins have passed. Cooper sparks them and they get back. Landing, time on planet and getting back to their ship not in immediate orbit - this all took them a bit more than 3 hours in total.

Brand says "I don't know. Decades" as a desperate short reply immediately after CASEs estimation, in that moment they all don't know for sure how many hours it will take them to get back to the Endurance (will the Engines go back online immediately when drained or are there any other drawbacks ahead?). All they know is they can't start right away, it will be app. an hour at least before liftoff and the entire trip therefore longer than estimated.

guest
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Its Easy and Clear to understand this way.

Romilly Says: "If we are talking about couple of hours", I will study Means: Their to and fro journey from Endurance to Miller's planet is approx 2 hours. = 14 years (approx) on Earth

Plus 15 minutes of giant wave hitting them = 1.5 years (approx) on Earth

Plus 1 hour of water drain from Ranger = 7 years (approx) on Earth

14 + 1.5 + 7 = 22.5 years approx on earth. (approx is justifed)

Ayush Ojha
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You need to take into account the fact that it would take over an hour to descend to the planet and another hour to ascend from the planet and track down Endurance during orbit. A very broad and general understanding of basic space flight is required in order for this to make sense. Getting to a fixed point in space is trickier than movie editing makes it seem. Of course they were on the planet for longer, it takes 5 minutes just to get your gear on and open the hatch of the door.

F1Krazy
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