The ending of “Damsel” actually makes the Netflix fantasy worth watching

The last few decades have seen fairytale subversion after fairytale subversion involving a princess not She wants fancy clothes and a handsome prince and instead decides to take a sword or give her attackers a split kick. In fact, it’s a common play in the media these days “Pretty Princess Powerhouse” has become its own trope.

And Netflix maidin which Millie Bobby Brown plays a young woman who fights the dragon to which the royal family tries to sacrifice her, initially seems to fit this mold.

But director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo deftly transforms these expectations into something more. It’s not just the story of a headstrong young woman who doesn’t want an archery competition to decide who she marries, she says shoots for her own hand. Or one in which a captured princess in a high tower grabs a sword and begins stabbing everyone who has wronged her. With some more interwoven core relationships and a plot that slowly turns the usual conventions on their head, maid transforms into so much more than a typical fable twist and takes the fairytale twist to the next level.

[Ed. note: This piece contains end spoilers for Damsel.]

Right from the start the tone is a little different. The young lady, Elodie, is the eldest daughter of a lord from a harsh, barren land, and she is quite level-headed about her impending engagement. She dutifully accepts it as the best option for her own country, since the royal family’s dowry will save her people. That’s why she goes into the marriage with an open mind, even if the audience can sense something scary.

When she is thrown into the dragon’s cave, the action begins. But it’s not about her Battle the Dragon. She’s just trying to survive. It is also significant that her family does not abandon her. Her father (Ray Winstone), who originally sold her, comes back to rescue her when he realizes he’s done something wrong. Elodie and her sister have the sweetest and most tender relationship in the film. And her stepmother (played by Angela Bassett), who could very easily fall into evil stepmother tropes, especially since she and Elodie argue a bit about how to present themselves to the royal family, genuinely cares about her well-being. There is actually a beautiful, exciting family story running through the thrilling action sequences, and Elodie’s relationship with her family, including the duty to protect them, drives all of her motivations.

Elodie fights to survive, but as she navigates the caves and avoids the dragon, she soon learns that the royal family not only lured generations of young women into this fate, but also lied Why. It’s not about protecting the kingdom, it’s about keeping the dragon at bay, because years ago the kings killed the dragon’s daughters. The dragon demanded something in return from the daughters of the royal family, and so they secretly got around this by having their sons marry women they didn’t care about.

While Elodie actually gets out of the cave at the end and then returns with a sword in hand to finish what she started, she realizes that the real villain is not the dragon; It’s the cycle they’re both trapped in, set in motion by the royal family as they sit smugly in their palace. And she throws down her sword.

Sure, the metaphor about breaking the cycle of violence is about as subtle as a fire-breathing dragon, but it’s also a nice little twist on the way these fairytale subversions come about normally go. Elodie doesn’t kill the dragon in a fit of triumphant rage to blame it on a lame prince. Instead, she and the dragon team up to destroy the entire system. And it rules.

The individualistic girl power version of princess stories was once groundbreaking, as young women in fairy tales took their fate into their own hands instead of waiting for princes, be it hidden in towers or in deep sleep. But this twist has now become a liability that now affects every Disney princess has an unnecessary hobby in the inevitable live-action remake.

A return to the past, where heroines were passive and monotonous, isn’t an option, but there are only so many bold, headstrong princess stories to tell before the formula becomes boring. That’s where maid stands out and transforms Elodie’s journey from one of self-reliance and independence into one about the power of reaching out to others. Because to truly overthrow the ruling class requires more than just a cocky attitude and a sword. What matters is the bonds Elodie has with her family and the unlikely partnership she forms with the dragon. Eventually, the determined princess rises up and makes a difference in the larger world of her own story.

maid is now streaming on Netflix.