Thoughts on The Green Knight
Warning: Spoilers about The Green Knight (2021)
After watching a movie, I write my thoughts down in a stream-of-consciousness manner. I sometimes get it hilariously wrong, but that's the fun of the exercise.
Warning: Spoilers about The Green Knight (2021)
"Why would there be anything else?"
It’s only during the last minutes that The Green Knight reveals itself as a movie. Specifically, once Gawain kneels in front of the green knight.
Before that scene, I wasn't sure what to do with this film. Sure, the shots are beautiful, there's a lot of mystery, but we’re left wondering what the hell all this is leading to. Plus, the editing is a little clumsy, and I don't like the CGI on the fox. It looks a little too Disney/Pixar.
I've never read any other Green Knight stories, so I'm sure I missed a ton of references and foreshadowing. For example, I have no idea what Morgan's (Gawain's mother's) plans were. Good? Evil? I don't know! Why would she send the Green Knight to the king and get her son killed?
Anyway, let's go back to the ending.
In the castle just before the chapel, Gawain explains to his host that everything he does is for honor. He could be chilling in Camelot, but no. He wants to face the green knight and become a hero. Then again, before crossing the stream, his fox friend tries to dissuade him, reminding him that the green knight is wild and he will have no mercy. Gawain scares the fox away.
The white knight accepts his fate and offers his neck to the green one. But he gets scared. He doesn't want to die! So he dreams of going back home and imagines a life without honor. He would become king, but an unhappy one, his son would die, his kingdom crumble, and his head would still get chopped up.
So, instead, he chooses honor. For a moment, he thinks he made the right choice, he remembers this is a game, and that the Green Knight will let him go. But no, the Green Knight is not human. It represents nature. Death. It comes for everyone, no matter how rich or how brave. It reminds us that the end is all the same for everyone. And so his finals words are: "And now, off with your head!"
The morale here: always listen to the fox.