Much of Damsel’s story was given away in the trailer. The question for the ending was whether Elodie would survive or not.
Of course, this is a movie that focuses on a young woman fighting for survival. It’s a break from the traditional fairytales where a man comes to rescue the woman. Elodie is no damsel in distress waiting for a prince to rescue her.
Throughout the movie, we watch her use her wits to remain alive. She finds out that the glowworms offer another purpose other than to show her the way. She finds a map and figures out a way out. She even figures out what is really going on with the sacrifices, helping her to figure out a better way of survival.
Elodie realizes the dragon has been lied to in Damsel
The movie initially opened with the king and his army going in to hunt the dragon down. The dragon kills all of the king’s men, but she allows him to survive. It looks like he makes a deal for his daughters—and future royal daughters—in exchange to keep his people safe.
However, a comment from the dragon gives Elodie a deeper understanding of everything that happened. The king and his men had killed the dragon’s three daughters as they hatched. She took three royal daughters as punishment to make him feel her loss.
This was when Elodie managed to help the dragon realize that she had been tricked. The girls on offer weren’t of royal blood. It was due to marriage and a blood ritual that led to women of lower status seeming like royalty for the dragon to devour.
Elodie goes back to save her sister
Elodie does manage to escape the cave in Damsel. At first, it looks like her fight is in vain. She finds the exit on the map, only to realize that it is a small hole in the side of a large wall of stone. There is no way out.
However, Elodie’s father comes into the cave with his men. He regrets the decision to allow his daughter to be a sacrifice. He did it to help the people of his nation, who were starving, but he couldn’t go through with it in the end. Her father is killed by the dragon, but Elodie is able to escape.
The queen of the land took Elodie’s sister, made her a royal daughter, and threw her in the cave. The dragon wanted Elodie, though, and took the sister to where the bodies of her daughters still laid in their just-hatched eggs. Elodie goes back into the cave to save her sister, and that’s when she is able to tell the dragon the truth about what the queen is doing. The dragon had tried to kill Elodie but ended up burning herself, but Elodie used the healing glowworms to save the dragon.
Elodie and the dragon team up to take down the royal family. It’s just in time, as well. The prince was marrying another young girl, who would become the third daughter to sacrifice.
At the very end, Elodie is now in charge of her kingdom, which is now flourishing. She leaves her stepmother and sister in charge, as she sails off with the dragon flying beside her. They will now look out for each other.