Damsel ending explained: Did the dragon take revenge from Elodie?

Netflix's Damsel is a fantasy film where Elodie, played by Millie Bobby Brown, is a princess who finds herself in a perilous situation.

As Elodie's town is in dire need of money, her father finds a prince to be a match for her. Although reluctant to the idea of marriage, Elodie does so for the sake of her town and family. Moreover, she wishes for the prince to be "well-read and kind."

Disclaimer: The article contains major spoilers ahead.

As Elodie's family visits the palace for marriage talks, Elodie's stepmother, Lady Bayford, is suspicious of the Queen's intentions.

Therefore, she warns Elodie not to marry Prince Henry. To Elodie's fear, her stepmother's prophecy comes true, as she's thrown into the chasm by the Prince soon after marrying her.

In the chasm, Elodie's survival journey begins. Thereafter, the plot involves her saving herself from the dragon who is hellbent on taking his revenge. However, by the end of the movie, the dragon spares Elodie. So, he doesn't take revenge on Elodie.

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Damsel ending: Why was the dragon not able to kill Elodie?

A still from the Damsel movie. (Image via Netflix)

The dragon's desire to kill Elodie stemmed from revenge. As depicted in Damsel, centuries ago, three newborn daughters of the dragon were killed by the then-ruling king. When the dragon found out about the murder of his daughters, he killed all the kingsmen.

Following this, as the dragon was about to kill the king, he offered his three daughters to it. The dragon agreed to it because he believed that the king would know his pain then. Thereafter, the king’s daughters met their end in the belly of the beast.

Before Elodie married the Prince of Aurora, Queen Isabelle (his mother) told the story of their land and how it was built on sacrifice. Moreover, they celebrated the sacrifice every generation as a tradition. To commemorate the tradition, every generation three daughters are sacrificed to the dragon.

Therefore, the process of marriage involved bruising the palm of the prince and damsel to exchange blood. By doing so, any damsel becomes that of the royal blood. As soon as the marriage ended, the Prince threw the bride into the chasm for the dragon to feed.

When Elodie confronted the dragon to meet her grim fate, she explained to him that the Queen had fooled him. She also reiterated that she didn't belong to royal blood, which means the dragon's revenge motive is still unquenched.

With a strong fight, she cripples the dragon, who isn't able to burn her. Moreover, Elodie also saves his life with the help of magic creatures in the dragon's cave.

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Damsel ending: What happened to Elodie's father?

A still of Elodie's father from the movie. (Image via Netflix)

Elodie's father, Lord Bayford, knew about the Queen's intention from the very beginning.

Moreover, even when his wife had tried to interrogate him, he didn't reveal Elodie's fate. So, he sacrificed his daughter to save his people, but he couldn't live with the guilt for long, as he made it to the dragon's cave to save her.

As he confronted the dragon, it asked him to apologize to Elodie for his actions, who was hiding from the dragon. Following this, Lord Bayford met his murky fate, as the dragon killed him.

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Damsel ending: What happened to the palace of Aurora?

A still from the movie. (Image via Netflix)

At the end of Damsel, Elodie's revelations to the dragon opened his eyes to the truth. Therefore, instead of killing Elodie, it burnt the palace and the people of the kingdom. So, by the movie's end, the dragon extinguishes the kingdom.

The movie concludes with a feminist message that Elodie, a woman, needs no man to rescue her. Thereafter, she leaves for her home with Lady Bayford and her sister Floria.

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Damsel is now streaming on Netflix.