Netflix’s new release, Damsel, a fantasy thriller directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and featuring Millie Bobby Brown, centers around a dutiful girl, Elodie, who marries the prince of Aurea, only to find that the marriage is a trap to use her as a sacrifice to repay an ancient debt. A significant portion of the film portrays Elodie’s attempt to survive in a dark maze, where a vengeful dragon becomes the ultimate threat to her life. Let’s see if Elodie will be able to escape the dragon’s grasp or if she will find a way to put an end to the creature.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Film?
Damsel opens in a faraway land, surrounded by towering peaks and forests, where we see the king of Aurea, backed by his soldiers, try to catch a dragon to put an end to it. The dragon flew into the mountain cave to protect her nest, but the bloodthirsty soldiers of the king were hellbent on putting an end to its lineage. However, the dragon unleashed her fire on the soldiers, burning them down.
The scene shifted to a distant future, centuries later, to an unnamed land, where Elodie and Floria, two daughters of Lord Bayford, were busy collecting wood for their household. As the two of them returned to the house, they found their father, Lord Bayford, in a conversation with the red priestess. Lord Bayford read a letter sent from the Queen Isabelle of Aurea, proposing Elodie marry her son, Henry, the prince of Aurea. Elodie was initially hesitant, as she didn’t know whom she was about to marry, but she had to obey her father’s commands when Bayford told her that this marriage arrangement would improve their family’s socioeconomic status. The journey began towards the kingdom of Aurea, but Elodie was still very hesitant and nervous. Elodie and Floria had lost their biological mother at a very young age, so when Bayford married for the second time, they couldn’t become very close to their stepmother, but Lady Bayford was a kindhearted woman who always wanted the best for her stepdaughters.
Finally, upon reaching the kingdom of Aurea, Elodie got to meet with her in-laws as well as her fiance, Henry. Just like Elodie, Henry also wanted to travel the entire world, which impressed her. However, Lady Bayford couldn’t shake the ominous feeling from her mind, as whenever she tried to get to know Queen Isabelle, hoping to make a great bond with her, the Queen humiliated her, reminding her of the difference between their social status. Lady Bayford realized that this marriage arrangement was nothing but a mistake, but her husband had given his word to the Queen, and he didn’t want to back off from his promise. Nevertheless, Lady Bayford still wanted to warn her stepdaughter about the Queen’s behavior and asked her to reconsider the marriage, but Elodie was already enamored by Prince Henry’s charm and decided to marry him.
The next day, after a magnificent wedding, Henry took Elodie to a mountain cave near a desolate area instead of their palace. Henry told her that they would have to pay homage to their ancestors before starting their lives together. In the mountain cave, Elodie was told about the ancient history of Aurea, involving the blood sacrifices that had helped the kingdom rise. Elodie and Henry joined their hands and took a blood oath, but while on their way to return to the palace, Henry picked her up and asked her to close her eyes. As Elodie began to trust her husband, she did what she was told, but Henry apologized to her for what he was about to do. He threw her into a dark pit, which was nothing but the dwelling place of the dragon, previously shown at the very beginning of the film.
Why Did The Queen Sacrifice Elodie?
Even after falling from a great height, Elodie survived and was severely injured. She realized that the kingdom of Aurea didn’t want a bride but wanted a scapegoat to sacrifice to pay off their debts. Soon, she realized that she was trapped in a labyrinth inhabited by a massive dragon. This dragon had been killing innocent young women for generations to give mercy to the kingdom of Aurea. The king, who had come to attack the dragon with his soldiers, not only disrupted her peace but also killed her three newborn offsprings. The dragon couldn’t forgive the king for his brutality and killed him, and from then on, she became vengeful towards the king’s offspring who carried the same bloodline. To save the upcoming generations from the dragon’s wrath, the kings and queens of Aurea came up with a cunning solution. They chose the underprivileged families from all around the world to offer them marriage arrangements and a substantial amount of money, so that these families would hand them over to their daughters, who could be used as sacrifices. But the dragon was well aware of the bloodline, so the Queens started the ritual of making the brides take the blood oath with the prince so that their blood would mix, and the dragon would be tricked into believing that these girls belonged to the kingdom of Aurea.
Did Lord Bayford Survive?
Even though Elodie was trapped in the maze and repeatedly haunted by the dragon, she was not a damsel in distress. Instead of waiting for someone to come to save her, she decided to use her mental strength as a weapon to survive in this treacherous area. She soon realized that before her, there was another woman who had been thrown into the pit as a sacrifice. She was the second one, and after her there would be another woman who’d be sacrificed by the Queen, so not only to escape from there but also to put an end to this atrocity, she decided to get out of this place by any means necessary. After repeated failures, she finally got into a safe space where young women like her had dwelt before to hide themselves from the dragon. One of them had also made a sketch of an escape route. Elodie cut her hair with a dagger hidden in her clothes and set out on her mission to get out of there. She was finally able to see daylight, but the dragon attacked her once again. However, before she could harm Elodie, Lord Bayford entered the cave in search of his daughter. It was revealed that Bayford was already aware of this sacrifice scheme, but he still chose to give away his daughter in exchange for wealth. Realizing his mistake, he came to save his daughter, but the dragon attacked him and killed him in front of Elodie. Elodie talked to her dying father for the last time, and before he took his last breath, Bayford told his daughter that there was a rope that she could use to get out of the place. Out of the dragon’s sight, Elodie managed to grab the rope, through which she finally escaped the cave, eluding the beast. The dragon chased her, but she managed to hide under a pile of rocks.
How Did Elodie Save Her Sister?
Elodie was finally out of the cave, but on the other hand, Queen Aurea, witnessing the dragon unleashing her wrath upon the kingdom, realized that Elodie had been able to escape. So she captured Floria in order to complete their sacrifice ritual. After Floria was thrown into the pit, the dragon captured her, but she didn’t kill Floria to use her as bait to capture Elodie as well. Elodie, knowing that her sister had been thrown into the dragon’s shelter, jumped into the pit and managed to reach the cave where her father was killed. She took up the sword her father had left for her and got into a massive confrontation with the dragon. However, realizing this was an unequal fight, Elodie came up with the idea to give the dragon a taste of her own medicine. Standing in front of a billowing structure, Elodie challenged the dragon to burn her down, and when the enraged dragon unleashed her fire, the flames crashed into the structure and turned around, burning and injuring the dragon herself. Elodie was a kindhearted woman who couldn’t bear the pain the dragon had been going through, so she showed her the incision in her hand, telling her how the Queen of Aurea had been fooling both her and the innocent women. The dragon realized her mistake and asked Elodie to kill her, but Elodie collected some magical healing worms and put them on the dragon’s wound. The dragon was completely healed thanks to Elodie, and the two of them eventually forgave each other. Floria was rescued thanks to her brave sister, who fought for both of their lives. But Elodie was still not done with her quest, as she wanted to put an end to this foul game of sacrifice once and for all. So she decided to return to the kingdom of Aurea to show them what justice looked like.
What Happened To The Kingdom Of Aurea?
In the meantime, Henry was getting married to another woman, who was going to be another scapegoat for the sacrifice, but before Henry could take her to the pit, Elodie arrived there, confronting the Queen. She told the bride everything about this kingdom and asked her to run away. the Queen tried to stop Elodie, but she lost control of the situation when the dragon appeared in front of them. The dragon finally took her revenge on Aurea by burning them down with her fire and killing everyone in the kingdom. Elodie returned to her stepmother and sister, and together the three of them boarded the ship to return to their homeland. Elodie wanted to give the leadership of their house and the community to Lady Bayford and wanted Floria to help her mother, while she decided to travel the entire world, which had always been her one and only dream. However, she wouldn’t be alone in her journey, as the dragon would be accompanying her to her destinations as her friend and protector.
