In this essay, Babula dissects the play's thirteenth scene, which he sees as pivotal in providing both the characters and the audience with the possibility that hope will survive despite the play's dark tone.

In an interview soon after the original production of Saved, Edward Bond stated, "If a problem matters to you, you have a solution or at least you have feelings towards a solution." In Saved the problem is the survival of hope. The solution, or at least the feeling towards a solution, is suggested by Bond's comment in an author's note on the conclusion of his play, "Clutching at straws is the only realistic thing to do." In Scene Thirteen Edward Bond gives his audience the straw to clutch at as he gives it to his characters on the stage. It is a moment of desperate optimism and a mad pantomime of affirmation. Yet...