I thought the whole 'seeing the planet die' part was a visual device, representing that Spock was close enough to feel the deaths of that many Vulcans.
As for the red matter on Vulcan, I like to think that it was a combination of:
a.) Matrix Dragon is right, and Nero was being cautious.
b.) Nero has an appreciation of the dramatic, and wanted to see Vulcan collapse inward on itself.
c.) He had the drill, the missiles, and plenty of time, so why not? It's not like anybody in that time could really stop him.
d.) On the off chance that somebody caught on to his plan, (and, if I recall, he knew young!Spock would be out there), Nero wanted to use a potentially
needlessly slow and elaborate method, just to twist the knife a little more. Obviously, destroying the planet wasn't enough.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.
As for the red matter on Vulcan, I like to think that it was a combination of:
a.) Matrix Dragon is right, and Nero was being cautious.
b.) Nero has an appreciation of the dramatic, and wanted to see Vulcan collapse inward on itself.
c.) He had the drill, the missiles, and plenty of time, so why not? It's not like anybody in that time could really stop him.
d.) On the off chance that somebody caught on to his plan, (and, if I recall, he knew young!Spock would be out there), Nero wanted to use a potentially
needlessly slow and elaborate method, just to twist the knife a little more. Obviously, destroying the planet wasn't enough.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.