Rewatching the 1988 movie Willow scene-by-scene. Why? Because it’s freakin’ Willow! Our heroes are in chains, and we get to know Sorsha a little more, 1:05:18 to 1:06:29 on the Blu-ray.

Our heroes have been captured by Sorsha and a whole bunch of NockMaar soldiers. The scene opens with Raziel’s lake still in the background, so we haven’t gone far. As the NockMaar ride past, we see that their armor and especially their helmets come in all shapes and sizes. This is no doubt meant to represent that the NockMaar lands were home to roving bands of criminals and barbarians before Bavmorda gathered them all under her leadership. One of the soldiers is holding a bundle, which I believe is supposed to be baby Elora Danan.

We then see Willow and Madmartigan following behind a large wagon, both chained to it with long chains so they have no choice but to walk behind it. Madmartigan’s been given a change of clothes, an all dark blue number with pale yellow boots. Fin Raziel, still in the body of a muskrat, is in a cage hanging off of the back of the wagon. The baby can be heard crying, and Willow says she doesn’t “sound good.” Because he has two kids back home, I guess we can trust Willow’s diagnosis. Either that, or Elora Danan’s supernatural awareness of what’s happening is letting her know things have gotten bad.

Raziel says to Willow, “Hurry, practice the chant I taught you.” When did she teach him? On the island, in the rowboat, or just now in their captivity? We don’t know. Willow chants, “Tanna, tuatha,” and then he can’t remember the third word. This is the first time in the movie we’ve heard “Tanna,” so perhaps that’s one Raziel taught him. Raziel says the third word is “Locktwaar,” adding, “That’s the word that pleads for change.” Not many fantasy adventure stories give specific meaning to magic words, so good on Willow for this glimpse into whatever magic system is at work.

Sorsha rides up next to them and glares menacingly. “Elora’s cold and hungry,” Willow says. “She knows me. Please let me take care of her.” Sorsha answers, “I don’t need help from a peck.” So, there’s that word again. This time, it’s Willow’s turn to glare menacingly at her. Madmartigan also glares at her, but in a different way. She asks, “What are you staring at?” He says, “Your leg. I’d like to break it.” Not fazed, she responds, “You might find that difficult, slave, while I’m up here and you’re down there.” She rides forward, and Madmartigan utters, “I hate that woman.”

At this point there is the first of many deleted scenes referencing Sorsha and her father. Raziel says, “Sorsha, you remind me of your father.” Sorsha says, “Don’t insult me. He was a weakling and a traitor to NockMaar.” Raziel says, “He was a warrior and a great king. Your mother has poisoned you.” The official lore doesn’t say anything about Sorsha’s father betraying NockMaar, so we can assume this lie is the poison Raziel is talking about. There are more deleted scenes about Sorsha’s father coming up, so I’ll save more details about him until then.

There’s a shot of the soldiers riding forward, towards snow-capped mountains, signifying we’re about to start the snowy part of the movie.

Next: Winter of our discontent.

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