This is a breakdown of the final cut of the movie

We see a city consumed in urban decay and industrialization and at the center of it all is Tyrell Corporation. It’s no coincidence that the building is shaped like a pyramid making it a wonder of its time. We see the current state of the city being reflected on an eye meaning that everyone in the city is aware of the poor conditions they are living in but are unable to do anything about it.

Leon is being tested under the Voight-Kampff test to determine if he’s a replicant or not. The point of the test is to trigger emotional responses which Leon isn’t able to do, he does react in anger and kills the Blade Runner when asked about his mother as he knows he doesn’t have one.

Theme

An advertisement for off-world colonization is constantly seen running on a blimp. As the new colony promises a fresh start it relates to our characters, as Deckard no longer wants to be a Blade Runner and is trying to move away from it, while the replicants are trying to prolong their lives so that they can live among humans. Both sides are seeking new beginnings.

Set Up

It’s made clear that the city is overrun with Japanese culture but it’s only seen to have an impact in the poorer parts of the city, more on this later.

Catalyst

Officer Gaff tells Deckard that his superior officer Bryant wants to see him. He tells Deckard that he’s under arrest because he has no choice in this matter and that he’s as much a slave to the system as the replicants are. Right before their vehicle can take off, he issues a ‘purge’ command as a means of cleansing themselves from the filth of their environment and the common people around.

Debate

Deckard is tasked with killing four replicants and though he initially refuses, he agrees as he knows there’s no alternative. Bryant tells him if he’s not a cop (a person with power in society) he’s as worthless as the ordinary people and the replicants.

We learn that the replicants become self-aware and develop emotions of their own which is why they are limited to a four year life span.

Throughout the movie we see Gaff making origami figures and in this scene, he makes a chicken as a way of taunting Deckard for refusing to take the job. The origami figures are used to compare the existence of replicants as they’re also man-made figures created to give “life” to lifeless objects.

Deckard being as good at “retiring” replicants as he is probably hints at him being a replicant as throughout the movie we see them being far more advanced than humans.

Break into Two

Deckard heads to Tyrell Corporation as he’s told there’s a replicant there.

B Story

Deckard meets Rachael and Tyrell has him run the test on her. After about a hundred questions, we learn that she’s a replicant too but she doesn’t know it. Being a Nexus 6 model, she’s as advanced as the other replicants Deckard is hunting. Tyrell tells him she’s had false memories planted in her brain.

It is also worth noting that Deckard has a very black and white relationship with machines, they’re either good or bad with nothing in between. This mindset will be challenged as the plot proceeds.

Fun and Games

On searching Leon’s apartment, Deckard finds scales in the bathtub and some photos hidden in a drawer. Leon meets Roy and tells him he wasn’t able to retrieve the photos, this shows that replicants value memories and can be as sentimental as humans. Before Leon arrives, Roy seems to be losing control over his hand and as his life span runs out he loses more and more control.

Roy and Leon meet a replicant eye-manufacturer with the goal of trying to find means to extend their lives. During their encounter Roy refers to themselves as angels and tells him of all the wonders he has seen through his eyes, this again tells us that replicants aren’t mere machines and are more closer to humans that we know. They’re then directed to J.F. Sebastian.

Rachael confronts Deckard about her real nature and is unable to accept that she isn’t human. Deckard tells her that all her memories have been planted and don’t really belong to her. On hearing the truth, Rachael starts to cry and this display of a human reaction makes Decakard sympathize with her, which is the first for a person who only sees them as tools and nothing more. Furthermore, Rachael’s memories seem to have hidden meanings:

• We’re told that as children, her brother showed her his sex organ but when it was her turn she ran away. This highlights how Rachael and other replicants struggle to come to terms with their true nature.
• She says she once saw baby spiders eat up their mother. This foreshadows how the replicants kill their creator later on in the film.

Pris finds Sebastian and manipulates him into thinking she needs help. She notices the blimp with the same ad twice, once before meeting Sebastian as a means of reminding herself of her goal. However, the second time she sees it right before entering the building, the ad has moved to a lower screen and the upper screen is replaced by a Japanese ad, this shows that their goal of reaching a new beginning seems further away now and they’re stuck in the city which is filled to the brim with Japanese culture.

Sebastian is able to relate to the replicants as he suffers from a rare condition that speeds his aging process, due to which he’s stuck on Earth as well. Added to this, as he has no friends, he spends most of his time with his other creations. Later he’ll be seen sleeping with his creations surrounding him as that’s where he’s most comfortable.

Deckard is seen in front of a piano while imagining a unicorn. Later on, he tells Rachael that he dreams music, creating the possibility that the music he dreams of has been planted in his mind, along with the vision of the unicorn (which will be made clear in the end). Furthermore as he’s thinking about this, he’s reminded of the photos the replicants left behind, forming a connection between his memories and those of the replicants. He heads out to learn more about the scale he found and it leads him to Chinatown, there he’s seen calling Rachael as a way to mend things between them and he sympathizes with her more and more.

Midpoint

He finds Zhora and asks her questions about workplace abuse trying to get an emotional response from her. When she realizes who he really is, she runs away and Deckard chases after her. Eventually he manages to gun her down (this may seem like a stretch but he manages to shoot her twice in the upper portion of her back, creating the impression that she’s had her wings removed, which ties back to when Roy referred to themselves as angels)

Deckard seems uncomfortable with the act, which is probably why he’s trying to leave all this behind him. Bryant tells him that he now has to hunt down Rachael as well as she went missing after finding out the truth. Soon enough, he spots her across the street and tries to get to her but Leon gets to him first. He tells him how painful it is living in fear and nothing is worse than having an itch you can never scratch, Deckard agrees to the second statement as both parties long to be free.

The twist arrives when Rachael (B story) kills one of her own kind (main plot) to save the person who has been tasked with hunting her. This act changes the way Deckard sees replicants.

Bad Guys Close In

Rachael has a very natural reaction to killing someone as she starts shaking uncontrollably, Deckard says the same happens to him as well. An additional similarity is found between them as they’re both stuck in the business of hunting replicants, which one being the hunter and the other the prey. He also tells her that since he owes her, he will not kill her, which grays their black and white relationship.

It’s clear that she is attracted to Deckard as she watches him undress and later asks him if he’s seen her file as she’s anxious about how long she has to live. She also asks him if he’s ever taken the test himself but he doesn’t answer as he’s asleep.

Rachael sees that he possesses old photos and values memories as well even though they are far before his time. She starts playing music, showing she’s capable of creating art, something which no machine should be able to do. Deckard kisses her but she tries to leave as she isn’t sure if she’s capable of intimacy but Deckard proves her wrong (he no longer views replicants as he once did).

On the other hand, Roy and Pris are seen kissing as well and Roy expresses sadness when he tells her Leon is dead which causes Pris to express fear of death. Sebastian calls them perfect as he wishes he could be like them and not be held back by his shortcomings. Roy tells him that they’re both suffering the same fate with a short life span, which enables him to manipulate Sebastian into taking them to see Tyrell.

All is Lost

Earlier it was shown that Roy did not know how to play chess, yet he manages to learn it in no time and even manages to outsmart Tyrell, which causes him to let them into his home. They learn that nothing can be done to prolong their lives and that they will soon die. Roy kisses Tyrell due to some possible sentiment he may have for his creator before killing him. Rou is then seen looking up to the stars knowing that he will never be able to go off-world and is destined to die on Earth.

Dark Night of the Soul

Deckard is sent to investigate Sebastian’s apartment, he’s back on the job despite his new views on replicants as he knows he has no other way out. He’s reminded of this as a cop tries to arrest him again but lets him go once he finds out the Deckard is doing what he’s supposed to, like a slave.

Break into Three

Deckard sees the blimp again but this time it only has the Japanese ads on both screens showing that both parties are trapped on Earth. B story crosses over in a vague manner as Pris is seen behaving more like a robot and less human. She knows that they have no more hope, so might as well be who they were created to be.

Finale

Pris is seen blending in with the other robots before she attacks Deckard and when he manages to kill her, she’s seen vigorously thrashing around in an inhuman manner.

When Roy finds her, he kisses her and sheds tears before he realizes that being human is no longer an option for him and starts howling like a wolf. The tables are turned as Roy starts acting more like a beast and hunts Deckard down who’s forced to run away.

Roy has trouble with his hand again and knows that his time is near, he resists by stabbing himself with a nail to help him focus. When he finally manages to corner Deckard he tells him that this is what it’s like to live in fear. Despite it all, he still saves Deckard from falling to his death. This is an expression of free will as Roy was created to be a soldier yet going against his programming to save a life. He is also seen holding a dove which is a universal symbol of peace. In his final moments, he tells Deckard that he has seen unbelievable things in his life, but all of it won’t matter because he knows that his life does not matter.

With the ordeal ended, Deckard heads back to his apartment and he and Rachael profess their love for each other.

Closing Image

Deckard and Rachael decide to leave, on their way out he sees an origami figure of a unicorn and understands what Gaff meant when he said no one ever lives. He wasn’t referring to how no one in the city has a meaningful life, but that Deckard is a replicant as well. Despite knowing this, they still decide to cherish the remaining time they have and carry out their plan. This scene mirrors the opening image as it began with replicants seeking more life and ends with them choosing to value the time they have left instead, both scenes exhibit the free will of replicants.