Over the past few decades, we’ve seen fairytale subversion after fairytale subversion involving a princess not wants pretty dresses and a handsome prince, and instead decides to pick up a sword or split-kick her attackers. In fact, it’s such a common game in the media these days “Beautiful Princess Powerhouse” has become its own trope.
And that of Netflix Ladystarring Millie Bobby Brown as a young woman who fights the dragon to which the royal family tries to sacrifice her, initially seems to fit that bill.
But director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo cleverly subverts those expectations into something more. It’s not just the story of a strong-willed young woman who doesn’t want an archery competition to decide who marries her. shoot for your own hand. Or one in which a captured princess in a high tower picks up a sword and starts stabbing everyone who has wronged her. With some stronger core relationships woven in and a plot that slowly puts a twist on the usual conventions, Lady turns into so much more than a typical fable shake-up, taking the fairytale twist to the next level.
(Ed. remark: This piece contains ending spoilers for Lady.)
Photo: John Wilson/Netflix
Even from the beginning, the tone is a little different. The young lady, Elodie, is the eldest daughter of a gentleman from a harsh, arid land, and she is quite matter-of-fact about her impending engagement. She dutifully accepts it as the best option for her own country, as the royal family’s dowry will save her people. So she enters the marriage with an open mind, even though the audience notices that something sinister is going on.
When she does get dropped into the dragon’s lair, the action begins. But it’s not about her to fight the Dragon. She’s just trying to survive. It is also significant that her family does not abandon her. Her father (Ray Winstone), who initially sold her, returns to save her, realizing his wrongdoing. Elodie and her sister have the sweetest, most tender relationship in the movie. And her stepmother (played by Angela Bassett), who could very easily fall into evil stepmother tropes, especially since she and Elodie clash a bit over how to present themselves to the royal family, genuinely cares about her well-being. There’s actually a nice, close-knit family story running through the tense action scenes, and Elodie’s relationship with her family, including the duty she feels to protect them, fuels all her motives.
Image: Netflix
Elodie fights for survival, but as she navigates the caves and avoids the dragon, she soon discovers that the royal family has not only lured generations of young women to this fate, but they’ve also lied about it. Why. It is not to keep the kingdom safe, but to keep the dragon at bay, because of a time years ago when the royal family killed the dragon daughters. The dragon demanded the daughters of the royal family in return, so they secretly got around that by marrying their sons to women none of them cared about.
So as Elodie eventually claws her way out of the cave and then returns with sword in hand to finish what she started, she realizes that the real villain isn’t the dragon; it’s the cycle they’re both stuck in, perpetrated by the royal family as they sit smug in their palace. And she throws down her sword.
Photo: Netflix
Sure, the metaphor about breaking the cycles 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 usual to go. Elodie doesn’t kill the dragon in a fit of triumphant rage to keep him attached to a lame prince. Instead, she and the dragon work together to bring down the entire system. And it rules.
The individualistic girl-power version of princess stories was once groundbreaking, as young women in fairy tales took control of their own destinies instead of waiting for princes, hidden in towers or in deep sleep. But that twist has now become an obligation, one that now applies to every Disney princess has an unnecessary hobby in the inevitable live-action remake.
Going back to the past, where the heroines were passive and one-note, isn’t an option, but there are only so many punchy, quirky princess stories to tell before the formula gets stale. That’s true Lady excels, turning Elodie’s journey of self-reliance and independence into a journey about the power of reaching out to others. After all, to truly dismantle the ruling class, you need more than just an enthusiastic attitude and a sword. It comes down to the bond Elodie has with her family, and the unlikely partnership she forms with the dragon. Finally, the determined princess levels up and makes a difference in the larger world of her own story.
Lady now streaming on Netflix.