What The Green Knight Wants You To Think About

The Green Knight is probably my favorite thing I've seen in theaters so far this year, but there's a ton of amazing stuff coming up in the rest of 2021, what are you most looking forward to watching this year?

Along with the colors red and green, I loved the use of yellow in this film to illustrate Gawain's fear in facing his challenge. Gawain wears his distinctive bright yellow cloak throughout the film and the forest surrounding the Green Chapel is bathed in a sickly yellow hue. However, once Gawain sees the vision of Camelot falling to ruin under his rule, the ending of the movie shows the yellow tint of the forest is gone after Gawain has found the resolve to remove the enchanted sash and accepts his fate.

I like how at the end of the movie Gawain was like: "If that's how my life will pan out just kill me bruh"

My wife and I saw this in theaters a few weeks ago and were the only two people for our showing. After seeing the film, my wife astutely said, "There will be no middle ground on this one. People will either love it or hate it." Glad to see this film is getting some attention. It has been the source of numerous hours of discussion in our house. This video essay will undoubtedly lead to hours more. Good job!

"What else ought there be?" Was such a perfect line to sum up the themes of the film. I knew I was going to enjoy the movie, but I didn't anticipate just how much I'd love it.

There's an aspect of the game you've overlooked here. Gawain chose, when presented with the rules, to deliver a fatal blow. He COULD have opted to simply give the Green Knight a minor wound, but he felt compelled to prove his 'worth' by killing him, and in so doing demonstrating his preparedness to die in turn. He CHOSE to opt for the risk of death because he felt that valor demanded it. He was interested in establishing his own legend, and given a year to stave off consequences, was irresponsible enough not to worry about the costs, again emphasizing his immaturity and ill-preparedness.
I also think the shot of the medallion was not as you took it. Asked what he saw around the table, he responds that he sees legends. I think the views of the knights at that point, and their various trophies and adornments, was simply to evidence an implied history behind them - there's a story behind how the knight acquired the medallion, and we don't need to know what it is.

Have been dealing with a degenerative illness I can totally relate to this. It has taken up my respiratory system and breathing has been getting harder and harder.. When I prepare my meals at night I do it with all the love I have as if it is my last night on this earth. Accepting death brought me peace and I'm smiling again since then. It can happen to all of us, at any time, any age.. Gotta enjoy the show before the curtain closes, right? =) Thanks for this video!

The Green Knight is a treasure map that requires "keys" to reveal particular ideas. The one line that defined the lens through which I saw the events in the film was said by Essel in the forest before the quest..."Why greatness? Isn't goodness enough?".

To me this movie is about accepting the inevitability of death and the importance of living your life truthfully. The ending is wholesome, at least to me. The Green Knight is gentle in a brutal kind of way. I have a soft spot for this movie.

It’s so interesting to me the way Gawain in this adaptation stands in direct contrast to the original story. In the original Gawains struggle is that he doesn’t live up to his own standard. He faces his death but he flinches when the ax is swung at him, he gives the lord of the castle the kisses he took from his wife, but doesn’t give him the sash. The green knight ultimately spares him, because despite these failures he ultimately still possessed a knights Valor. He doesn’t loose points for being human. The movie doesn’t make it explicit that these were tests he was facing, but it’s very clear that he fails them all. I saw his vision of running away as a realisation of what his life would be if he gave up hope on Valor. All that misery and cruelty just to end up with ultimately the same fate.

The connection to Ingmar Bergman is on point.

I remembering going into the theater the first day this film came out and I was the only one in the theater. I walked out of there and one of the workers asked me what I thought of the movie and I honestly couldn't give him an answer. Despite how much I loved it, It took me a day or two to really process it.

Interesting take but I feel it leaves some things out.
"The Christmas Game" is conjured by his mother.
What is a mother's duty? To see her beloved son grow from a boy to a man. The film is about Initiation.
Gawain is a typical manboy, into alcohol and fornication and unsure if he wants to be a knight. When the King asks him his deeds he has nothing to share of import. He is envious of the legends of the Round Table but uncertain he could live up to their deeds. Uninitiated.
The Green Knight is his opportunity. The Legends in the room stand back from the task. They are Initiated and have no need to prove themselves. The call was always to Gawain.
As others have pointed out, he makes the most dire cut he can -- and is celebrated. Severing the head from the body can echo circumcision or the painful detachment boys must go through to "kill the boy" inside in order to give birth to the mature man. The Initiated men would have scorned him if he'd just given the Knight a tiny scratch. He understands the challenge and is accepting getting as good as he's given.
A year passes and we see Gawain has not matured much. When is lover asks to be his lady, to be accepted as his full bridge and transition from Princess to Queen, he does not answer. The anger in her eyes tell us all. She loves him but cannot stand his immature, un-Initiated self.
Gawain is a reluctant adventurer and has to tell multiple character he is NOT a Knight, despite them mistaking him for one. He is unkind to strangers, takes advantage of them without considering their needs, has to be cajoled into the tiniest kindness, and tries to transact with a dead girl -- when an Initiated man would have just fetched her head without complaint, knowing he'd already benefited from the shelter of her house. His reluctant agreement to complete her quest is the bare minimum effort and so he gets the Axe and his Cloak back to return to his Quest.
So close to the end of his journey, he is seduced into Comfort and Pleasure at the Lord's castle. Elle, the Lady, easily seduces him to climax and gives him his security blanket / apron strings to momma back. She lets him know he failed the test once again by telling him "You are no Knight."
He rushes from the Castle immediately, realizing he is derelict in his duty. This is what gives him the motivation to enter the Yellow Wood.
His mother watches him through the familiar fox, and tries to scare him off the Final Initiation, back into a life of comfort. But his experience with the Lady has given him the courage to see it through.
He waits patiently at the feet of the Green Knight, displaying the patience that is necessary to persist through challenges (Initiation is not Immediate). Finally we see the final drama unfold in his head and he answers the call that the Queen gave him and that his Mother so hoped he would answer: he has courage. When he finally removes the sash, he faces certain Death with a clear and calm mind, and he is Initiated.
His life or death at the chronological end of the film is irrelevant which is why we never see the axe fall (or be stayed) -- Gawain has become a Knight. The tale of Initiation is complete. Roll credits.

My husband and I went to see "The Green Knight" when it was first released in theaters. There were only four people in the theater. When the film ended, my husband and I were the only ones left. The visuals were stunning, and while neither of us understood everything about the film, we enjoyed it just the same. When the 4K became available, we bought it, and discovered that it was even more striking on 4K. We watched it again and were mesmerized, and found ourselves picking up much more of the film's meaning in repeat viewings, which we thoroughly enjoy. We are having our adult son and daughter and their mates coming over for a special screening of the film, as they were not able to see it in the theater. We are eager to share the film, as we cannot compare it to any other film experience we've ever had. It is visually arresting and feels like a series of paintings placed in motion. Thank you for sharing your insights. The film may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for us, this was one of the very best films of 2021 ... original, bold, dense with meaning and insight and told with incredible visual style. And the use of CGI is so subtle as to be perfectly rendered with the outstanding production design. Looking forward to Oscar nominations for a truly worthy film.

damn this is some of your finest work

This is the vid I was waiting for

Interesting. My take on the film is that it's about learning to face the hardships of life head on and not taking any shortcuts/easy ways out. You won't always have a magic belt/mommy to help you - you need to learn how to overcome things on your own. That's how I read the fake ending where he goes to be a king. His rule ends badly because he got to that point cheating as much as he could. When he decides to take off the belt he actually takes the first step to becoming a real knight.

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” - Mark Twain

The Green Knight was one, of if not my favorite movie theatre experiences ever. Such a strange movie with so much beauty and rich sub text.

The Green Man is truly ancient and he represented the cycle of life and death to our ancestors. Most English towns had a pub named The Green Man and his face was carved into the fabric of many churches by the masons and carpenters.

It's really cool how this version of green Knight looks like a anthology of poems

I really appreciate this sort of criticism, because I didn't read the movie through this lens at all. For me, the journey was about his maturing into being a good man; a knight. He's constantly faced with challenges that test him on the honourable attributes a knight is supposed to represent, and in all of them he fails. It's only when he's confronted with the Green Knight's axe that he sees what it is to live his life dishonourably, to embrace fear instead of virtue and to rise as a knight. Both readings fit comfortably inside of each other - it's the depth and the quality of your analysis that I really appreciate for making my own viewing more expansive.

What do you make of the final line, "Now, off with your head"?
I took it to mean that accepting and embracing ones mortality is a first step towards ego transcendence. Gawain is now on that path.

“When Gawain finds the courage to face his death, he finds the courage to live his life.” This line… The ending where he is decapitated as king never made sense to me until I watched your video. What an incredible analysis and video essay. Well done 👏

One of my favorite movies ever! The explanation of mortality and death was the missing piece from what I got from the movie. I felt like the message of the movie was outright said at the beginning. Garwain’s freaking out at the Green Knight just presenting his neck with no fight. He screams “WHAT MUST I DO!?”, to which Guinevere says under her breath “show courage!”. Showing courage in the face of death, and in the face of all of his challenges and encounters would’ve given Garwain a much different outcome.

I think the ultimate way of winning against the green knight was forfeiting in laying down the sword and realizing it was an inevitable battle against death itself, also paying attention to the fact that it was game for green knight. Death has nothing to lose but Life itself is too precious to wager with

It's not very subtle but I love how every scene of Gawain in the chapel is completely bathed in yellow, the color of cowardice. And it only goes away when Gawain removes the sash.

The moment I finished watching the movie, I made my own interpretation of what it meant. As I was watching the ending segment, I thought it was about the duality of the truth behind the legend.
Legend is always based on one or more facts, in one way or another. On one side, it's a fantastic interpretation of a true story of virtue and valour, enhanced into the mystical. On the other hand, it can be a misunderstanding, a false rumor, or the subjective understanding of events, which lead into an inspiring lie.
So, as I watched the ending segment, with Gawain running away, returning home, I assumed it was a case of the latter. We see him living his life, receiving empty honors and hollow joys, betraying his own, and suffering major losses. All without a single grin or smile in sight, and a dull grey painting the scene. And always with the enchanted sash on his waist, never removing it. I thought at the moment that he still feared the return of the Green Knight, so he always wanted to have it by him, as the coward he still was.
And then, the moment where everyone leaves his side, while his kingdom collapses. For one reason or another, he looks tired of living his live, and willing to give it up. He removes the sash from beneath his clothes, making visceral sounds as if they were part of his entrails, since he had it on him for so long that it almost became a part of him. And as he removes it... his head rolls off. "So he returned his blow, after all" I thought, as I compared the sash to a band-aid, placed over a wound that would never heal, and would still bleed after removed.
And then, the vision ended. It was all in his head. As the Knight was about to land the blow, I think Gawain realized that, in the end, his fate would be final, always the same, the fate that awaits every man, and that would meet him in every outcome. So, with courage, he embraces his fate, and truly honors his promise, by removing the thing that, allegedly, could possibly protect him from that blow. And thus, he passes the test. Gawain the Fool perishes, and Sir Gawain is born, in green, a personification of life and death. The Green Knight smiles upon him and, playfully, "slits" his throat. 'twas just a Christmas Game, after all.
Or, so one could think. Because remember, there's two sides of the coin of the truth behind the legend. Maybe the vision was his imagination, and what followed was what happened. Or maybe the vision was what actually happened, and what followed was just the end of the tale that he told to his peers. We may never know... but personally, I'm on the optimistic side 😉

I needed this LMFAO because I felt like I was on acid trip the whole movie

"Is there a chapel?"
"You're in it"

i interpreted "the green knight" as a movie about generosity.
throughout the film, gawain is selfish and reserved. he is given to vices, cannot commit to relationships, and almost refuses to help others on his quest. this selfishness is a way of life, and those two slow, 360-degree pans show us the consequences of it. a life of selfishness is one of decay. it forces one to close oneself off from the world, leading to the slow death of isolation.
however, gawain's quest cuts to the core of his selfishness by forcing him to give up the most valuable thing in his possession: his life. at first, he refuses, and the cost of his refusal is high. but in letting go and giving up his life, he is able to avoid that fate.
he clung to life, and so he died. he gave up his life, and so he lived. throughout the entire movie, he was destined for the fate we see in his final vision, but he was able to avoid it by learning generosity.
i think your interpretation is much better. i admit that mine feels like a stretch and leaves a lot of loose ends (like that entire conversation on primary colors). but i think mine puts a very slightly positive spin on an overwhelmingly negative story. either way it's a great movie, and i guess i'm due for a rewatch.

I've been watching for you for a long time. Your analyses have become more concrete and accessible over time, without losing any of their nuance, and I am very happy to see you develop

I absolutely loved how you imbued this particular essay with yet another personal perspective (the Appalachian Mountains). Watching the Green Knight, for the first time was an unforgettable experience, and very personal for me. The slow double pan in the film was a part of the film that I couldn't get over and sunk into the idea that I believe Lowery was aiming for, for the audience, and that same idea that you laid out in this video. When the final scene came, I cheered quietly for Gaiwain to remove the sash, (even already knowing the outcome the story) and was invigorated to tackle goals in my life fearlessly because of Gaiwain's decision to remove it. True courage of a Knight.

I really like this take! I find 'the green knight' a really fascinating "experience" film, which, to some degree, is extended to its takes, too. so, I'm really glad you did an essay on this one!

I've never seen this movie, but I love how different people attempt to decode it in their own way; from some saying that it's about meaning/nihilism, others that it's about accepting death, others that it's about Gawain's journey to become a true man, & yet others saying it's actually a critique on masculinity with how confusing the Quest is ("What does society want of me? Am I doing this for myself, or as a performance to please others?") and the fact that killing the Green Knight is the only time he hurts someone, and it's portrayed as questionable. Yet the highest men there celebrate it, as their version of righteousness stems from not actual virtues, but from who is stronger. The journey is the opposite of becoming powerful, the point of every film like it- and accepting powerlessness.
I like this theory & the theory of Death the most. But the fact that this film has many interpretations that can all be correct, just like a painting, shows that it really is art even though I haven't watched it.

on seeing it a 2nd time, I think the protagonist's first lines inform us his dilemma and perhaps flaw. he believe he has time and lots of it (to be a knight). and when demanded to hurry up and get to his next destination, in this instance, literally to goto church, he responds, "I'm not ready." and therefore his collision with time and death.

My interpretation of the ending was that the green knight DOES behead Gawain after he removes his sash, however I do agree with you that it doesn't seem to matter what choices he makes - his own death is inevitable. Great video

Excellent video! I haven't seen it since my time with it in the theater and I think I came out of it really liking the visuals but a bit vacant on what I had seen. The more I thought about it, as immediately as the walk back to my car and the ride home, I started to piece together more of what I liked about it. And this video really brought some more texture to some of the loose thoughts I had as well. Definitely enhanced my thoughts on the film overall! Great. (Also, mad you brought back Talking At the Party Guy from Ghost Story. THE WORST! -- but def proved your point)

Absolutely thank you for this coverage, amazing work

I love this interpretation! THANK YOU!

Sometimes you watch a movie and you’re so charmed by it, you nearly consider it a masterpiece. But as you think about it over time, you slowly become disenchanted. Well, for me, The Green Knight is the opposite case. I wasn’t sold on it at first viewing, but weeks after I still keep thinking about it and reading articles, watching video essays dedicated to the movie, etc. It is truly outstanding! Thanks for the video, Thomas.

As a student of stoicism, I appreciate your take on this film! You brought to my mind comparisons that I hadn’t thought about before. Love the film, love your essays. Keep up the incredible work!

appreciate this video since just watched this recently and the different themes this movie brings up around legacy, time and death are so intriguing and a lot to reflect on.

I'am a french amateur of cinema. I have to say, your text is very precise and rich when you summon other films in your video. And above all, you have a very good voice for these kind of videos. Well done !

Good video! I would also say that the Green Knight is a kind of ecological fable, where the titular Knight represents nature itself, and the game that he plays is the give and take dynamic that exists between humanity and nature. What you take from nature, it will take from you.

Personally I believe that the sequence near the end where Gawain becomes king and his life is played out is the best and strongest. It’s on the nose but it’s a fantastic show of the moral: immorality and dishonesty will leave you un whole. The whole purpose of the green knights challenge was not to pick up a sword and cut off a man’s head but to instead make peace. He shouldn’t attack and harm but defend and protect. Time is precious and spending it in aggression and violence brings only suffering and death, which eventually will be lost the the green of the earth.

"The attitude in the face of your own death" is a perfect phrase of my impression of the Green Knight's lesson.

Fantastic video essay. Keep up the great work!

Love this movie, specially the colors and some beautiful scenes that are practically paintings. And I love this take too, you have a new follower! :) i would like to add a tought that i had while watching both the movie and your
review: i think that the green in the green knight not only simbolizes the life that comes after death, but the meaningless of this self-importance we feel as humans. The green knight comes to remind us that no life is more important that the one that comes after. And i think that's why it's an unpleasent thought, nobody likes to think that we are not really that special. For me it really breaks some tropes of this kind of epic adventure stories, were "the protagonist"/"chosen one" is seen as some perfect hero with no vulnerabilities. In this case the lack of vulnerability doesn't do Gawain any good, nor doesn't make him any stronger, only colder and less human (clearly shown in the scenes when we can see his "future"/bad ending). For me, him realizing he doesn't have to be this important character and embracing the meaningless of life liberates him and allows him to find courage and purpose from a differente (more genuine) perspective. Or gets him decapitated idk haha

I read the original 14th century work in college, so I was so excited for this film. Seeing The Green Knight in theaters was one of the most immersive experiences I’ve ever had in cinema. I felt like I had been taken to that world they had created.

Thomas, you are truly blessed with understanding and the ability to help the rest of us "get it".

Thank you, that was really a sweet in-depth ride putting into words what i just saw and understood in part.

I think a lot of people miss on , what I think is, one of the key aspects of the plot itself, which is that of the value of knighthood and what exactly does knighthood represent in a reality where laws and honor seem to hold less weight when seen within the larger scope of the world - in this case, a world full of magic, giants and chaos. Gawain's tale is that of a man becoming a knight by enacting an act of violence (one which is itself played as a game, and one for which he gains the title of a knight among the common folk of the kingdom) and that same violence getting back to him in return. Gawain could have scratched an arm, merely strike with the handle, or even try to talk with the Green Knight about the purpose of the game, but instead, he let himself be driven by the idea of valour and courage which he is shown to admire and that in turn becomes possibly the worst decision he will ever make in his entire life.
Yes the story (both in the original poem and in the film) is about masculinity, but it's also about the structures which keep said masculinity in place. Things like honesty, gender equality, or kindness are seen as bothersome, unnecesary, unremarkable or trivial... until they're part of chivalry, or a game, or a quest.

I personally interpreted the last scene as The Green Knight beheading Gawain anyway - so, his death was inevitable and the moral of the story was to face it with courage. Then again, I've never read the poem, so idk if that holds up with the original text or if that was Lowery's intention when directing it or not.

👏👏👏 Brilliant explanation Thomas... Thank you

thank you for great explanation

Nice, I'm going to watch this film later this day. I haven't seen your video but it will be the first thing I do after watching the film!

I need to see this movie more than ever, now that you have made an essay on it!

Excellent essay, Thomas. Thank you.

That was exquisite. The visuals Mr. Flight chooses paired with his voice makes his meditations on film an incantatory experience.

In the vision at the end, Gawain did not die of old age. He was about to be killed by the enemy soldiers battering down the door. But before that happened, he removed the green sash, his head fell off, and he died.

Thanks for this! I was left a bit underwhelmed by this movie, I don't know if I was expecting too much (I had heard great things about it from many people I admire, like Edgar Wright) or because I didn't see it in theaters. This is such an "experience" kind of film. Maybe in a theater I would have liked it more. But your video really helped me to see so many great things I hadn't noticed before. As usual!

Great video and analysis of such a beautiful story! Side note: the pendant wasn't put into focus for no reason, it was a reference to the original text in which Gawain's shield had a gold pentangle on his shield, representing the endless connection and knot between the important five fives in the story: "the five wounds That Christ got on the cross", "he was faultless in his five senses", "Nor found ever to fail in his five fingers", "That all his force was founded on the five joys" (Annunciation, Nativity, Resurrection, Ascension, and Assumption), and finally "beneficence boundless and brotherly love And pure mind and manners, that none might impeach, and compassion most precious".
"These peerless five were forged and made fast in him, foremost of men."
I love this story! Glad to see such a fun analysis of it.

Brilliant commentary. Thank you for sharing thiis.

His mother conjures the "game".
Was that aimed at Arthur? The fact Gawain played means it backfired?
The "side quest" to retrieve the woman's head. Where does that fit?
He never confronts the robbers, but the axe and the horse are returned to him.
The green Knight's demeanor is puzzling. There's no urge to kill Gawain. He finds the man's reluctancy strange.
One line that carries a lot of weight:
"a hundred years wouldn't make a difference". The moment we have to face death is always hard no matter what.

Good to see conversations being held over this film; such an immersive and experiential film. Excellent video, m8!

Well done dude thank you for this 👍

This was excellent. Great work.

I really enjoyed your essay! And this film for that matter.
I think the new life stemming from decay is symbolised in the second death as well, when we see child wearing the crown, I can’t remember if it’s still green or it’s back to gold. I didn’t get that the green knight spares Gawain in the end though, the ending is left ambiguous for sure, but I took him gesturing and saying “off with your head” as what is about to happen, albeit in a “friendlier”, “warmer” way instead of the stark execution Gawain was facing before accepting his own mortality. Accept your fate and greet Death as a friend, basically.

I don't understand what you say at 11:33. Doesn't the Green Knight say something like "Very good. Now, off with that head" when Gawain removes the green cord? I thought the point was, it's too late for Gawain. Even Gawain removing the cord and facing his death isn't enough for the Green Knight to spare him. Gawain made the choice to cut off the Green Knight's head. It's only fair the Green Knight removes his. I honestly love that final line, it made me smile and laugh in the theater, actually.

love your stuff bro keep at it

This is exactly what I took from the film. I loved it very much. Thank you for creating this essay.

Can we all just agree that A24 is the best company for film out thete right now!!!their list of films is amazing and just continue to have banger after banger and everything everywhere all at once is no exception. I know it's off topic but I had to say it

Excellent breakdown. I felt myself become very engaged with this film about a quarter of the way through. I believe someone said "it demands something of the viewer and then it delivers." It's not an escape; it's a meditation. Can anyone recommend more movies like this one, films that require engagement, filling in the details yourself, allegories, metaphors, etc?

I saw this in the cinema a few days ago and i haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Weirdly wonderful and wonderfuly weird, this film will be talked about for many years to come! Great essay and thoughts as usual!

Beautiful video man!

I wonder if it had any ecological reference, regarding how the green knight acted as nature or the earth itself, you can cut as many "heads" of nature (like trees), but it will always come back alive and ready to cut humanity's head, but we (as single humans) don't grow back like nature does, maybe it was the reason to choose green?

I've always heard Gawain pronounced, 'G'wayne;' not _Gowan,_ the Canadian 80s pop singer of _Strange Animal,_ and _Criminal Mind._

Masterful. Well done. Thank you.

Great video, as always, Thomas

Definitely the best movie of the year along with Dune, amazing video!

I think that all the GK's philophy is pretty platonic, with the aparent World, a weak reflection from Gawain's real one, about the real ideas. He is walking in all that pale line, in the frontier between the reality and the unreal. Is all about destiny what would happened to him or not based in his choices around his full quest

I just watched this last night and the more I think about it the more I loved it. This is a fantastic video and just made me love the movie more.

Fantastic video!! I especially love the ending of this film.

I made a mistake watching this with my parents, my mother was willing to at least give it a chance to understand but my father gave up
Both complaining about my taste for movies every second

This is the type of film which can only be appreciated through its cinematography and editing, because the rest, my goodness..

Watched several of your videos before but wasn't sure if I wanted to subscribe to the channel in all honesty. This one definitely made mr want to subscriber for sure. Please keep bringing us gems like this! Thanks, all the best !

I had trouble finding a deeper meaning to this film. I knew there was something there, but it escaped me. I love your take on it. Beautiful as always man. Good job.

"...the Green Knight allows him to go free without taking the blow in the chapel"
Did he, though? It really is up for interpretation, I guess.
My take is that the Green Knight was all like: "Nice, kid! So glad you are now enlightened. I'm very proud of you... You still gotta die, though".
Which I think is sorta funny in a morbid kind of way.

The Green Knight has the same central themes as The Lion King, the circle of life and honour, but the films couldn't be more different. That's the power of cinema.

Excellent work Thomas. I’m also thankful for the discussion in the comments because of the different interpretations that everyone has. This isn’t an easy movie to consume but you’ve made it easier. I’m debating a re-watch after this video.

bravo sir, well done

I just realized that there's green in every Gawain's deaths

Great analysis! I love this film. Saw it twice and was mostly thinking about how it critiques and reverses the virtues of knighthood and the so-called manly attitude of the time (and now still to some degree). But time is definitely a key theme as well.
Did anyone else watch all of the credits and the very small scene at the end? Thought that was a curious choice by Lowery and a little on the nose.

Just... brilliant! I never comment, but this required one! Great Job! x

Thanks for the vid

To me the green knight is a fun fantasy piece we've been missing for years. People are too used to the stories being broadly told them in a way that mocking so means they're dumb. This movie does tell you what's going on yet in a way that a lot of people don't like it. This is a character piece within Arthurian Mythos so you gotta expect some sort of magic at play. This story also played into the anger that some people felt that wanted this to be more. Gawien on the throne is how they wanted to story to go. Yet he still died, he was never truly happy.

I loved this movie so much, glad to see you discuss this!
"In finding the courage to face death, Gawain finds the courage to live his live." is such a great summary of it.

What struck me about The Green Knight is similar to what stuck with me in Shazam. Gawain categorically fails all of the classical knightly virtues (represented in the 5-pointed pentangle medallion), just as Billy Batson uses his newfound powers to indulge every single one of the Seven Deadly Sins, but ultimately each hero proves themselves worthy in spite of their failures.

You gave the best explanation of the movie. Especially the ending....thanks