Ha! So someone edited this together in linear order, huh? I've been meaning to spread the script out all over my floor in linear order in one room and the way it was presented in another room and track all major plot points, character intros, and important exposition with poker chips, then stand in the middle of the two and see how they cluster. (I've just been bouncing around so much I haven't been able to get two rooms next to each other with big enough floors!)

Really nice and enlightening analysis, Scott. Thank you for that. I just watched the chronological version on the YouTube. The non-linear, original version most definitely packs a stronger emotional punch exactly because of the reasons you mentioned. This movie sure spawned a lot of copycats, didn't it. The great thing about Tarantino is that he really develops his characters. They all feel real. Even supporting roles and minor characters like Fabienne (Bruce Willis' girlfriend) has depth. Her talking about how she wants a potbelly and the fact that she's French is just great. It doesn't feel out of place. It actually adds to Butch's character as a reason why he's retiring. She is his way out of a life he's grown to hate. And their relationship is so European! “Will you give me oral pleasure?” “Will you kiss it?” What other American action/thriller has dialogue like that? And casting Maria de Medeiros from Henry & June is brilliant. Love it. Vincent is callous and a cold-blooded killer that not only acts tough, he is the real deal. But his bad-ass-ity doesn't mean much unless we see how vulnerable he is in the company of Mia. That's what makes him a great character. He has depth. Tarantino is not afraid of showing that. Jules is bad motherfucker indeed, but coupled with his philosophizing and doubts about his path in life makes us like him so much more and actually care about him and the choices he makes. Mia with her failed acting career backstory, Jody and her piercings, even Zed the rapist is a security guard wearing a uniform, that makes him much more memorable. This is what was lacking in many of the copycat movies that came after this one. Yes, Tarantino himself is guilty of copying other filmmakers, but there is no way that this film would hold up after so many years if it didn't have these well-drawn characters.

I believe Linda Aronson has also done this and uses Pulp Fiction as one of the case studies in her book 21st century Screenplay. I have not yet read the book, but I saw her lecture where she presented this case - arguing that the plot points are actually quite confirming to a formula ;)