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| “ | I'd rather you break down and tell me that you hated me. At least there'd be some passion in it. | ” |
— Alison argues with Lawrence.[src]
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Alison Gordon, also known as Ali, is a fictional character from the Saw franchise. She serves as a supporting protagonist of the first Saw film.
She was portrayed by Monica Potter.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Alison Gordon was the wife of the renowned oncologist Dr. Lawrence Gordon and the mother of Diana Gordon. Due to their working schedules, they often struggled to live up to Diana's expectations of being good parents. However, she and Lawrence were plunged into a marital crisis, because over time, it became unbearable for her to deal with her husband's increasingly cold and emotionless attitude. (Saw)
Captivity[]
Alison talks to Diana
One night, Diana woke up in her bedroom when she heard the sound of her wind chimes. Despite the darkness, she soon realized that someone was in the room with her. Out of fear, Diana went to her parents' bedroom, where her mother was sleeping. When she got aware of Diana's presence, Alison became concerned about her well-being and asked if she was okay. Diana then told her about the scary man in her room. When her mother believed she merely had a nightmare, Diana said that the man had talked to her. Therefore, she wanted her father to come with her to get the intruder. However, Lawrence wanted to finish his work first, much to Alison's dismay.
Lawrence eventually put her back to bed and managed to cheer her up for a moment. However, only moments later, he was paged by Carla, one of his medical students, who asked him to come to the Hotel Barfly. Lawrence told Diana that he had to go back to work. When her father was about to leave, Diana asked him if he would abandon her and Alison. Surprised by her concerns, Lawrence told her how much he loved them and would never leave them. He left the room then, promising Diana he'd read her favorite bedtime story to her the next day. As he prepared himself to leave, he got into an argument with Alison, who had been waiting outside the room. Angered by his cold attitude towards them, Alison openly admitted she wasn't happy with their marriage anymore. When Lawrence told her they'd talk when he came back and tried to kiss her, Alison turned away, telling him to leave. Moments after Lawrence left the apartment, Diana startled up from her bed when she heard a noise. The invader, covered with a bedsheet, stepped out of Diana's closet and approached the girl. Alerted by her daughter's screams, Alison stormed into her bedroom and turned on the light. She tried to protect Diana and attacked the intruder but was quickly overpowered by the man, who tied both of them to one of the posts of Alison and Lawrence's bed.
The man was, in fact, Zep Hindle, an orderly who worked at the Angel of Mercy Hospital, just like Lawrence. He had been abducted by John Kramer, better known as the Jigsaw Killer. Jigsaw had injected him with a slow-acting poison and left him an audiotape, which provided instructions for Zep and told him to kidnap Lawrence's wife and his daughter. He had to hold them hostage while Lawrence was forced to play one of Jigsaw's games. Furthermore, Zep had to kill Lawrence's family if the latter didn't pass his test by killing a young man named Adam Stanheight by 6 o'clock. If he followed the orders provided for him, Zep would eventually be given the antidote to save himself.
Alison is threatened by Zep Hindle
After tying them up and gagging them, he took a photo of them, which he gave to Jigsaw or one of his accomplices, as it would be used as a clue for Lawrence in his game. Furthermore, he anonymously called Lawrence at the hotel and told him that he knew that he had an affair with Carla, thereby luring the doctor out of the hotel to be abducted. Due to his sadistic tendencies, Zep took pleasure in mentally tormenting his hostages. When Diana cried and desperately begged him to let them go, he took out a stethoscope and used it to listen to Diana's heart tones. Alison told him to leave her daughter alone when Zep suddenly held a gun to her head and listened to Diana's heartbeat as it increased. When he was done, he gave Diana her teddy bear and stepped to the window. Unbeknownst to him, he was observed by David Tapp, a discharged homicide detective, who had rented a run-down apartment across the street to keep an eye on Lawrence, whom he believed to be the Jigsaw Killer. Meanwhile, the actual killer or one of his accomplices watched Zep from the street and took a photo of him, which was later used for the game played by Adam Stanheight and Lawrence Gordon.
Afterward, Zep set up a timer and a monitoring system in Lawrence's office to witness the latter's progress in his game, which took place in a dilapidated bathroom in an underground tunnel network. At one point in the game, Lawrence found a cellphone and tried to call the police. To his disappointment, the mobile couldn't be used to make calls but only to receive them. Shortly afterward, Zep called him and let Diana and Alison talk to him. When the doctor answered the call, his frightened daughter begged him to save her and her mother. Afterward, he also spoke with Alison, who warned him not to trust Adam as he had known him long before their game began. After that, Zep ended the call and put Alison's gag back into her mouth. When they were alone again, Alison told Diana she had to stay strong and promised that she would never let anyone hurt her. (Saw)
Escape[]
Alison holds Zep at gunpoint
When the clock eventually struck six, Zep returned to the bedroom to finish his task and execute Diana and Alison. However, before doing so, he called Lawrence again and forced Alison to tell him that he had failed his test. Unbeknownst to him, Alison had secretly managed to get free from the cords restraining her hands. Therefore, she was able to take him by surprise and wrenched his weapon from him. While holding him at gunpoint, she ordered him to shove the phone to her so she could talk to Lawrence. Unfortunately, she was distracted by her daughter, giving Zep the chance to attack her. They engaged in a fight, during which Zep triggered several shots and thereby caught Tapp's attention. Zep managed to get his weapon back but was injured when Alison grabbed a pair of scissors from a drawer and stabbed him in the leg, causing him to collapse. At the same moment, Tapp stormed into the apartment and opened fire on Zep, while Alison grabbed the chance to free her daughter and escaped with her.
Following their escape, Diana and Alison ran to a neighboring family, who immediately let them take shelter in their apartment. While his wife and daughter took care of them, the father called the Metropolitan Police Department and informed them about the events. Afterward, he went back to the others in the living room and tried to calm his guests down, assuring them that the police would find Lawrence. Diana then embraced her mother, still frightened by the traumatic experience and her anxiety about her father. (Saw)
Personality[]
Alison Gordon was a loving mother and wife who deeply cared for her family, especially her daughter, Diana. Therefore, she was willing to do everything necessary to protect her, including risking her own life. Due to her protective personality, she comforted Diana in situations of distress, such as her occasional nightmares or their captivity.
She had a strained relationship with her husband, Lawrence, due to his emotionally cold behavior towards the people around him. However, despite their frequent disagreements, Alison still loved her husband and endured his emotionally distant attitude for a long time, even though she often smarted from it.
Trivia[]
- According to the audio commentary of Saw 3D, Lawrence was reunited with Alison and Diana after surviving his game. However, the two of them were unable to cope with his newfound mental instabilility; Alison divorced him and took Diana with her.
- In an early version of Saw III, Lawrence was abducted once more by Jigsaw. He had to play another game to save his wife and daughter, who were held hostage by Jigsaw and his accomplice, Amanda Young. Monica Potter was actually approached to reprise her role, but declined due to a lack of interest, feeling that she did plenty with the first film.
- Lawrence Gordon was initially planned to appear in Saw: The Video Game. He was abducted by Jigsaw and taken to the Whitehurst Insane Asylum, where he had to play Jigsaw's game once more to save his family, who had been kidnapped as well.
Appearances and References[]
| Films | |||||||||
| Saw | Saw II | Saw III | Saw IV | Saw V | Saw VI | Saw 3D | Jigsaw | Spiral | Saw X |
| Appears | Mentioned | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Other Media | |||||
| "Saw" (2003 Short) |
Saw: Rebirth (2005 Comic) |
Full Disclosure Report | The Scott Tibbs Documentary | Saw: The Video Game | Saw II: Flesh & Blood |
| Absent | Absent | Pictured & Mentioned | Absent | Mentioned | Mentioned |