Queen Isabelle’s Plan In Damsel Explained (& Why It Doesn’t Make Sense)

Damsel’s Elodie (Millie Bobby Brown) was tricked into a deadly plan by Queen Isabelle (Robin Wright), but when looking into the terms of the plan and how it developed, it doesn’t make much sense. Millie Bobby Brown continues to be one of Netflix’s biggest stars, and she’s now leading the fantasy movie Damsel. Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo from a story by Dan Mazeau, Damsel introduces viewers to Elodie, daughter of Lord Bayford (Ray Winstone), lord of a northern land struggling to get food and more.

One day, Bayford announces he has made a deal with Queen Isabelle of Aurea for Elodie to marry her son, Prince Henry (Nick Robinson), despite never having met him and Elodie not being interested in getting married. After meeting Henry and bonding with him over their shared desire to travel the world, they get married, but Elodie quickly learns it was all part of a plan that involved sacrificing her to a dragon. Elodie learns the truth about Aurea’s past, the deal, and how the dragon had been tricked by Queen Isabelle’s family, but not all of it makes sense.

Queen Isabelle & Bayford’s Deal In Damsel Explained

Queen Isabelle & Bayford got what they needed.

As mentioned above, Lord Bayford’s land was facing poverty, and struggled to get food and more, with Elodie and her sister, Floria (Brooke Carter), shown chopping wood to distribute it among their people. This made Bayford and his family vulnerable, and Queen Isabelle seized this for her awful plans. Bayford was initially excited about having made a deal with the kingdom of Aurea so that Elodie married Prince Henry, as he would get a lot of gold in exchange. Unfortunately, the deal also included sacrificing Elodie to a dragon, who, according to Queen Isabelle, required three human sacrifices.

By giving the dragon these sacrifices, the royals of Aurea ensured that she wouldn’t destroy their kingdom. After Elodie was thrown into the cave and left to fight for her life or die, her father returned to rescue her. It’s unclear what his plan truly was, as he was aware of what was going to happen to his daughter yet proceeded with their deal, and given the large amounts of gold he received, it’s unclear if he would have given it back or not. Bayford’s return to rescue Elodie would have complicated everything, but in reality, it was all Queen Isabelle’s fault.

Queen Isabelle Ruined Her Own Plan Before The Wedding

Queen Isabelle made a mistake.

The most nonsensical part of Queen Isabelle and Lord Bayford’s deal in Damsel is that the former told the latter what was going to happen to Elodie. After a private meeting with the Queen, Bayford came out of the room visibly disturbed and refused to tell his wife, Lady Bayford (Angela Bassett), what they discussed, only assuring her that they would receive a large amount of gold. It’s understood that Bayford was told about the other part of the wedding ceremony and Elodie’s sacrifice, yet he didn’t back down and carried on with the deal.

However, there was no reason for Queen Isabelle to reveal that part of their plan. The deal between her and Bayford was completed once Elodie and Henry got married, and whatever happened after that would have had nothing to do with it. Queen Isabelle and the rest could have simply let Bayford and company leave and later explain Elodie’s disappearance and possible death as an accident. By revealing their real plan to Bayford, Queen Isabelle not only made her intentions known to quite possibly other lands and kingdoms, but also prompted a bigger mess with Bayford returning to rescue Elodie.

The Dragon’s Deal In Damsel Doesn’t Make Sense Either

The dragon didn’t need to stay in the cave.

Queen Isabelle’s deal with Lord Bayford (and everyone else, supposing she also revealed the sacrifice to them) isn’t the only one that doesn’t make sense in Damsel. Aurea’s deal with the dragon also leaves a lot of questions that Damsel fails to answer. As mentioned above, three princesses from the Aurean royal family every generation are sacrificed to the dragon so she won’t destroy the kingdom – the problem is that the girls being sacrificed aren’t born into the Aurean royal family, and instead are made princesses through marriage and a blood ritual right before being thrown into the cave.

It’s later revealed that, centuries before, the first king of Aurea led an attack on the dragon inside her cave and ordered his men to kill the dragon’s three babies, ending her bloodline. After the dragon killed his men, the king made a deal with the dragon to give her three princesses from his family every generation so they would be even, but the dragon didn’t know she was being tricked.

However, the dragon had already seen how merciless, ruthless, and cruel humans were and that they were liars, so it doesn’t make sense that she agreed to the deal when she could have just left her cave and gotten her revenge. In the end, being tricked by the same people is what helped Elodie and the dragon understand each other and join forces at the end of Damsel, but that doesn’t make up for all the flaws and holes in Aurea’s deal with Bayford and the dragon.