#willow analysis

[sterlingarcher23]

Matty posted this last week and...

...Jon Kasdan, are you kidding me?

Princess Kit...ana.

Little reminder, the show was released in late '22, so I wonder how much influence the sparing scene(s) from Willow had on MK2?? Jon is allegedly an MK fan.

Also, did they swap the colors for this scene? (Neither of them seem to feel particularly comfortable in their respective dresses.)

[blissofauthenticity]

They are the same height...I've only just come to accept this, and now I'm having fun with it!

So...You're telling me they could have made Kit the taller one?!

I'd love to see that!

I'd also love to hear the conversation which must have happened prior to filming:

"You play a lesbian couple, and you're basically the same height - unacceptable!

One of you must be taller! The knight! Let's give Jade some unreasonably high-platformed boots!

The lesbians will lose their minds over the height difference!"

[teekaa-two]

Willow Month 2023: Day 1- Favorite Character

I know a lot of people will pick Kit. Honestly it's not easy to only pick one person in this series. They are all awesome. But something about Kit and her growth and her story makes her my favorite. Maybe some hidden understanding of my youth, I'm not sure.

It's kind of funny to think of her as my favorite when I really didn't like her in the first 3 episodes. On my first watch I just got a feeling of she annoys me. I thought it was a royalty thing, at first. I could understand her being bossy, but her snapping at everyone about everything was a bit much. This does not include her being beyond upset and devastated about being married off, completely understand that.

It was around the Nockmaar episode that I started to really understand why she is the way she is. Her abandonment issues in general, how no one believed in her, how everyone forgot about Arik when they found out Elora existed. So she wasn't needlessly the way she was but she had a lot of feelings and no real good way to get those out.

That's why at the end, I enjoyed seeing the sensible side come out in the last two episodes. She was trying to look out for other people and stepped up to help Elora when she was in distress. Also, her level of actual skill in sword fighting became crazy impressive. She became what she always wanted to be and probably more. I do hope to see more of her growth in the future.

[mediocre-knight]

I think that us Questies need to appreciate Boorman more. He's so loyal and caring, even though he tries to act like he isn't. Offering girl advice to Graydon even though he doesn't have to, comforting Jade when she has to kill Ballantine, carrying Kit out of the Mines of Skellin. Even his obsession with the Kymerian Curiass is because he wants to feel worthy and fix his past mistake of deserting Madmartigan. Boorman is like that goofy uncle who teases you and has a weird past, but would ultimately die to save any member of his family again and again. We need more love for Boorman.

[kenneth-the-mudmander]

Its so interesting that Kit and Jade's colors are red and blue, but when we first see them, they are wearing the opposite colors to the one that represents them. Do you think it symbolizes that they are thinking of each other? Even subconsciously?

[theghostwrites]

I love how satisfying the Willow finale was in terms of storytelling. My personal faves were Willow getting over his imposter syndrome, and guilt over past mistakes to become the fatherly figure Elora needs. He transcends the mentor archetype to become an everpresent beacon of strength and hope for her, even choosing Elora "over" his real daughter. That is not to say that he doesn't love Mims more, but he chooses the safety of the savior of the world, rather than letting his very human fear for his daughter lead him astray. It would have led him on a not less honorable (IMO) quest to save one person. And yet, by refusing himself, by assuming the spirituality of his role beyond being a mere teacher, that's what ultimately will save Mims and his people.

The second bit of imagery that made me insane was Elora's magical kiss (I don't know how else to refer to it) and how she refused to give it to Airk, parallelling episode 5. It looks to me as a representation of her connection to both of the guys. It's interesting how she refuses to kiss Airk while they are in that lovely, bright, perfect scenario where they are back to an idyllic yet completely fake past. He, who was literally Prince charming and the reason she embarks on this journey in the first place. Not bc she wants to figure out who she is or her place in the world (which happens to be its savior, no less). She even rejects who she is and tries to escape it.

In contrast to this, she actually shares the magical kiss with Graydon as a horrible, dark past is revealed to her. A version of it, in which the intimate exchange of the essence of their beings connect, but their physical (sexual/romantic) connection is strongly hinted at, but they're not at that point with each other yet.

He is the diametric opposite of pretty boy Airk. Graydon is reserved, grumpy, a pawn to his power-hungry father's schemes, and a scholar. He wears all black and has physical reminders of the evils in the world. And I'm obsessed with the fact that by knowing and accepting Graydon throughout the season, Elora shifts the focus of her spiritual quest inwards. Elora starts embracing who she is, training her magic, and LO AND BEHOLD Graydon is a sorcerer too. The animus to her anima. In knowing him, she knows herself. She comes into her power. Her relationship with Gray serves as a parallel for her self-acceptance.

Graydon says it himself, by loving her, his anima, he self actualizes into a brave, good man, even improving his magical skills. This leads me to theorize they are meant to rule together in the end, complementing each other, as equals, but that's a topic for another post.

[istopsomewherewaitingforyou]

Sorry if this has been covered already, but how old do we think Kit and Jade are?

Jade was already at least two or three years old when Bavmorda was defeated (idk just my guess, she could’ve been 1-2 years old). Then probably a year later the twins were born.

And it had been 200 moons since then…so 16 to 16.5 years? So twins are about 16 and Jade is 17 or 18ish?

I’ve also seen people say Kit is around 19. Let’s speculate!!!

This show and this couple are still taking up most of my thoughts. Can they just renew it already?

Conclusion from the comments: we think Jade is about 22 and Kit is 20? I didn’t realize it was canon that it had been 20 years after the movie. Thanks fellow Questies!!! :)

[allthefakepeople]

was the archer written about kit tanthalos? sources say "yes" (i am sources)

hi everyone

the first time i listened to the archer by taylor swift after i watched willow i blacked out and realized how it was literally written for Kit Tanthalos of Tir Asleen and after some coaxing from @spybrarian and @aro-of-artemis i have decided to share my thoughts with you all... warning: this will be long Combat, I'm ready for combat

(kit is always ready for a fight, whether that be physical or with words. she never feels like she can let her guard down)

I say I don't want that, but what if I do?

(she pretends she's not as combative as she is sometimes, but she just comes across as the opposite)

I've got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you

(she has so many things she wants to say to so many people. jade, airk, sorsha, and mostly madmartigan)

Easy they come, easy they go I jump from the train, I ride off alone

(just how she doesn't have many other connections besides jade and how that must've still been lonely sometimes. also in ep 2 when she wanted to keep moving to keep searching for airk but everyone else wanted to stop and look around for elora, including jade who i'm sure she was trusting to understand how important this is for her)

I never grew up, it's getting so old

("you've just proven to everyone in that room exactly what you are. a petulant child who needs to grow up" but also kit definitely gets tired of herself sometimes)

Help me hold onto you

(she just needs someone to hold on to, she hopes it's jade. she needs help remaining vulnerable)

I've been the archer I've been the prey Who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay?

(just this whole chorus is so much of kit's internal conflict. like she's been the one causing the pain to others, while also being the one who has been hurt. she has this mentality that she's better than others, but is that just a shield to hide behind when she's actually incredibly vulnerable)

Dark side, I search for your dark side

(there are definitely times where she wonders 1. why jade sticks around for her and 2. hopes that the reason she does, is because she also has the anger inside her that kit does. she definitely sees parts of that fire in jade and it's probably one of the reasons she was drawn to her when she was a kid. she has to find that "dark side" to encourage herself that she's not actually a bad person deep down)

And I cut off my nose just to spite my face Then I hate my reflection for years and years

(she can't look at herself without seeing the reflection of her father and her mother... she's not sure which part she hates more)

I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost The room is on fire, invisible smoke

(i'm just obsessed with the way this describes anxiety, but also this reminds me of kit at the end of ep 6 when she's truly at her low point and she goes off on elora before falling through the crystal)

And all of my heroes die all alone

(i mean... kind of self-explanatory but still... just kit and her hero worship of madmartigan)

'Cause they see right through me They see right through me They see right through Can you see right through me? They see right through They see right through me I see right through me I see right through me

(just how no one sees kit for who she truly is, not even jade, until ep 7. like they all think she's out of her depth, no one is willing to get close enough to understand every little piece of her, jade has gotten the closest but even she falls short sometimes "can you see right through me?" and that tears kit apart sometimes. especially after ep 3 because she was so sure that she and jade had an understanding and it was all blown up by the truth)

All the king's horses, all the king's men Couldn't put me together again

(ep 6 kit core. again, just how she's pulled to pieces by everything up till this point and nothing could really bring her back to who she was before she left tir asleen, maybe even since her father left.)

'Cause all of my enemies started out friends

(having to fight her own twin brother, even if he's potentially "better" now, was incredibly taxing for kit)

Who could stay? You could stay

(by the end, jade and kit have come to a different understanding about each other and "where the princess goes, i go" has a new meaning. and jade will stay if kit only asks... would kit ask though?)

basically my conclusion is somehow taylor swift wrote a song specifically for Kit Tanthalos before she was even a concept so... if you have any other contributions about this or just want to scream (or whisper or talk) about me about willow/kit/tanthamore/anything else my askbox/dms are always open