‘Damsel’ Ending Explained: What Happens in Millie Bobby Brown’s Netflix Movie?

Millie Bobby Brown may be a damsel in distress in the new Netflix movie Damsel, but there’s no knight in shining armor coming to save her. Instead, Damsel—which began streaming on Netflix today—gives Brown a sword and wedding dress, and lets her save herself.

Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and written by Dan Mazeau, Damsel is a test of the Stranger Things actor’s star power. Brown, who plays a medieval princess named Elodie, spends the majority of the movie alone in a cave, with no one else but a CGI dragon as a scene partner.

It’s a fun, slick fantasy flick with a straightforward survival plot. That said, Damsel, like most fantasy movies, does come with lore. Some of the mystical backstory may throw some viewers for a loop.

If you got lost or confused while watching Damsel on Netflix, don’t you worry. Decider is here to help by setting the record straight. Read on for a breakdown of the Damsel plot summary and the Damsel ending explained, for the new Millie Bobby Brown movie on Netflix.

Damsel plot summary:

Elodie (Brown) is the princess of an impoverished land. She and her younger sister Floria (Brooke Carter) do what they can to help their people, including collecting firewood and supplies. One day, Elodie’s father, the King (Ray Winstone), gets an offer from a rich, neighboring kingdom: Elodie’s hand in marriage, in exchange for a handsome sum. Elodie reluctantly agrees to the marriage, for the good of her people.

Elodie’s whole family moves to this new kingdom, where they meet Queen Isabelle (Robin Wright) and her son, Prince Henry (Nick Robinson). Elodie sees a mysterious woman in a tower across the way, but that’s probably nothing to worry about! Henry seems nice enough, and though Elodie does not love him, she tells him she’s made her peace with their marriage. In return, Henry tells Elodie that the date for their wedding was chosen because she must take part in one of three ancient rituals performed to “honor our ancestors.”

Elodie’s family is thrilled with their new fancy lifestyle—especially her stepmother, Lady Bayford (Angela Bassett). But then Lady Bayford witnesses her husband’s worrying reaction to a meeting with the soon-to-be-in-laws. The King refuses to tell his wife what the problem is. That, plus a rude interaction with Queen Isabelle, convinces Lady Bayford that this family is not to be trusted. She tries to talk her step-daughter out of the marriage.

Elodie, unfortunately, doesn’t listen. After the wedding ceremony, she and her new groom are taken to a cave by Queen Isabelle for the ritual. Isabelle explains that her ancestors tried to kill a savage creature when they first came to the island. The beast killed every man except the king. Instead of killing the king, the beast forced the king to sacrifice his three daughters in exchange for sharing the island. Now Elodie and Henry swap blood and toss a coin into the pit in honor of that sacrifice.

As it turns out, of course, Elodie is the sacrifice. Henry tosses her into the pit with a quick apology, and she tumbles down into the cave. She quickly encounters the raging, fire-breathing dragon (voiced by Shohreh Aghdashloo), who is determined to kill her. Elodie comes across the body of the girl she saw in the tower at the beginning of the movie—confirming that she, like Elodie, was one of the women who married Henry only to be sacrificed.

As it turns out, of course, Elodie is the sacrifice. Henry tosses her into the pit with a quick apology, and she tumbles down into the cave. She quickly encounters the raging, fire-breathing dragon (voiced by Shohreh Aghdashloo), who is determined to kill her. Elodie comes across the body of the girl she saw in the tower at the beginning of the movie—confirming that she, like Elodie, was one of the women who married Henry only to be sacrificed. Elodie finds other evidence of many women over the years who have been sacrificed in the cave… including a map to help her escape. Oh, and Elodie finds some gross, glowing cave slugs with healing powers.

She also realizes that the dragon is avenging her three baby dragons, who were killed by a king and his army many years ago. In retaliation, the dragon killed the king’s three daughters. Now, every generation, the dragon kills three daughters from each new king of the land.

The map leads to a dead end, but fortunately, Elodie’s father, the king, regrets his decision to sacrifice her and comes in for a rescue mission. The dragon tries to use Dad to lure Elodie out of hiding, but the King shouts at her to remain hidden. The dragon kills the king. As he’s dying in her arms, he asks Elodie for forgiveness, which she grants. He also tells her to use the rope he left to escape the pit, and that her step-mother and sister are waiting in a boat, to flee the kingdom.

Elodie escapes the cave, and the dragon follows her. While Elodie is hiding, the evil Queen Isabelle seizes Elodie’s younger sister Floria to be the sacrificial daughter instead. She performs the ritual with Floria and Henry (despite his protests) and tosses Floria into the cave. When Elodie reunites with her stepmother and hears this, she heads back into the cave to rescue her sister.

Damsel ending explained:

Elodie gives herself a sleek new haircut, grabs her father’s sword, and faces off with the dragon. She tries to tell the dragon the truth: That the humans have been lying to it. The “daughters” the dragon has been killing are actually innocent women who have no blood relation to the royal family who wronged the beast.

At first, the dragon doesn’t want to listen, because Elodie’s blood smells royal. They fight. Elodie outsmarts the dragon by getting it to breathe fire into a curved rock that (somehow) reflects the fire back onto the dragon. Just go with it! While the dragon is weak and dying, Elodie shows the dragon the cut on her hand as proof that the dragon has been tricked into smelling royal blood on non-royal women. The dragon seems to believe Elodie and asks her to finish the job. Instead, Elodie uses the healing cave slugs to restore the dragon.

Back in the kingdom, Henry is preparing to marry his third sacrifice. Elodie barges into the wedding like a badass. She tells the bride, and anyone else who wants to, to run. Then she calls on the dragon and burns the kingdom to the ground. Hell yeah!

In the final scene of the movie, Elodie reunites with her stepmother and sister, with plans to run their own kingdom together. They sail home into the sunset, with the dragon flying by their side. With that, the movie ends.

The only confusing bit here is why there are so many ghosts of women in the cave if the dragon only required three sacrifices. But though it’s not explained well, I believe it’s because the dragon requires three daughters from every new king, over every generation. The “three sacrifices” stretch back generations, meaning far more than three women have been killed. Hope this helps!