Elodie (Millie Bobby Brown), daughter of Lord Bayford (Ray Winstone), is the central figure in Damsel. Her father’s lands are going through serious famine and resource shortage. Because of this, Bayford arranges her marriage to Prince Henry (Nick Robinson) of Aurea, a rich island nation, in return for a generous dowry.
Elodie accepts her duty, but to her shock, her first responsibility as princess turns out to be being thrown into a deep chasm straight into a dragon’s den (voiced by Shohreh Aghdashloo), where the creature starts chasing her for its twisted entertainment.
A princess tossed not into royalty but into survival (Photo: Damsel/PCMA Management and Productions, and Roth/Kirschenbaum Films)With no way to reach her family, Elodie has to depend on her intelligence and hints left by past victims to not only remain alive but also to understand the root of this brutal tradition. Even with its somewhat interesting premise, Damsel did not connect well with many viewers, mainly due to its overused plot patterns and weak delivery.
There’s a richer story hidden under the surface, but it struggles to shine through the worn-out ideas. Author Evelyn Skye addressed these gaps in 2023 by writing a 300-page novel version of the screenplay.
Her adaptation added new elements, fixed many missing links in the plot, and gave more depth to the characters and the entire setting.
The book even introduced a complete dragon language. Some of the strongest improvements appeared towards the conclusion of the story, offering a much more impactful experience compared to the movie.
How Did Netflix’s ‘Damsel’ Reach Its Climax?
Rather than let Elodie escape easily, Queen Isabelle (Robin Wright), who is Henry’s mother, chooses to sacrifice Elodie’s younger sister, Floria (Brooke Carter), as a replacement for Elodie to please the dragon.
Elodie then returns to the dragon’s cave with her father’s sword, a weapon she picked up after he was killed during a failed attempt to rescue her. During the confrontation with the dragon, Elodie uncovers the background behind the tradition of human sacrifice.
It started with the very first king of Aurea, who led soldiers to kill the dragon and ended up destroying her three baby daughters. After the dragon burned his men in revenge, the king begged to be spared. The dragon agreed on one condition — that three royal descendants would be sacrificed in each generation.
While several knights had tried and failed to kill the dragon before her, Elodie managed to wound the beast multiple times with just rags and her father’s blade — striking her throat, eye, hand, and chest — before tricking her into setting herself on fire with her flames.
When Elodie finally gains the upper hand, she tells the dragon that the royal family found a way around the original deal by marrying off princesses from outside their direct bloodline, making the dragon unknowingly kill innocent girls.
After revealing the truth, Elodie uses glowing magical insects to heal the dragon, disrupts Prince Henry’s next wedding to another sacrificial girl, and supports the dragon in wiping out the royal bloodline.
With Aurea in ruins and no leadership left, Elodie, her younger sister, their stepmother (Angela Bassett), and the dragon head back to Bayford. The way the film ends reflects many of its deeper flaws — it feels dry, easily guessed, and tries too hard to show Elodie’s strength through destruction.
What makes matters worse is that Elodie does nothing to rebuild Aurea. Instead, she wipes out its rulers and leaves the entire kingdom in disorder. The story even attempts to make the audience sympathize with the dragon, though she cruelly tortured Elodie and others before her.
While it’s painful that her offspring were killed, her enjoyment of these deadly games lessens any justification for her actions. Elodie forgiving and healing her may be meant to show healing of old wrongs, but it loses impact because the dragon shows no sorrow for her brutality.
How Did the Novel Treat ‘Damsel’s Ending?
The storyline in the book remains largely the same, but many extra details help to give it deeper meaning. The people of Aurea are presented as refugees who have gone through extreme suffering. In desperation, they attack the dragon — not out of greed, but because they need somewhere to call home.
They never harmed any baby dragons, yet the dragon still attacked their camp as punishment and demanded the sacrifice of three princesses.
Initially, the king and queen wanted to escape from this demand, but their eldest daughter, Victoria (Nicole Joseph), persuaded them to accept the dragon’s condition so she and her sisters could attempt to kill it using poison.
Their plan didn’t succeed. Victoria swallowed poison herself, believing that once the dragon ate her, it would die. The dragon did eat part of her but only consumed her arm. She survived the poisoning, though it left her only able to produce dead eggs.
She continued the tradition of eating princesses based on a prophecy passed to her by her dying mother — that one princess would survive and mark the start of a new age for dragons. Elodie’s final battle with the dragon shares some similarities with the film, especially how she turns the dragon’s fire against her.
But unlike in the movie, both of them die before magical slugs bring them back to life. During the process, Elodie’s blood mixes with that of the dragon, giving her the power to become a dragon herself. The dragon, on the other hand, gains the ability to lay healthy eggs again.
Together, they defeat the royal family. Instead of fleeing Aurea, Elodie and Floria decide to stay behind and assist in rebuilding what was left of the kingdom.
The Book’s Ending Gives More Depth Than the Film
Although it’s not flawless, the novel presents a stronger and more meaningful closing chapter. The conflict didn’t start from pure wickedness but from hardship on both sides. The prophecy about a surviving princess gives a clear reason for the dragon’s long-standing actions.
Instead of seeking revenge for its own sake, the dragon was waiting to find the one who would bring her kind back to life. This reason makes Elodie’s choice to forgive her more believable and easier to understand. Even the royal family’s punishment feels more honest and balanced.
Elodie finds strength where fairy tales end (Photo: Damsel/PCMA Management and Productions, and Roth/Kirschenbaum Films)Rather than having the dragon burn everyone to ashes like in the film, the novel gives Elodie a chance to offer a way out. She offers the royal family a choice between stepping down or dying. Prince Henry chooses to give up the throne, while his parents pick death, unable to carry the weight of their guilt.
King Roderick (Milo Twomey), who lost his mind from grief, clearly wasn’t fit to continue ruling. But in the film, his role is barely noticeable, with only three lines. Although Damsel in any format won’t redefine fantasy stories, the novel does a better job than the film.
It still shares some of the same problems, but Evelyn Skye managed to expand the original plot into something more layered. Her book starts from the same point — a princess fighting for survival — but uses that as an opportunity to talk about tough decisions made for duty.
This comes out strongly in Victoria’s backstory. She wanted her people to have a home so badly that she pushed her parents to agree to the dragon’s terms, a choice that cost many women their lives. Yet, even after her death, she helps Elodie survive by leaving clues in the cave system.
The result is a tale that asks hard questions about duty and shows the strength needed to reach mutual understanding. That’s what eventually leads to peace and rebuilding.
The Dragon Is ‘Damsel’s’ Most Memorable Part
What most people will likely remember from the film Damsel, given its weak story and poor reception, is the dragon herself. Even though her motivation in the movie isn’t as deep as the book’s, she remains the most striking character on screen.
Unlike today’s usual fantasy dragons that look like four-legged bats, this dragon has six limbs and takes on a design similar to a lion. This gives her an image of strength, pride, and fierce intelligence. The way her fireworks also stand out — it doesn’t just burn but erupts like volcanic magma.
This ties her to a raw, natural force. Shohreh Aghdashloo’s voice work also helps a lot. Her deep, commanding voice brings both fear and respect to the character.
In another version of this story that follows the book more closely, this dragon could have been placed alongside well-known ones like Smaug from The Hobbit trilogy. As it is, she remains the most unforgettable part of a story that didn’t reach its full potential.
