MovieChat Forums > Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2015) Discussion > Confused by the ending (NO book spoilers...

Confused by the ending (NO book spoilers, please)

posted 8 years ago by zack_attack120
2 replies | jump to latest

So in the final episode, Strange and Norrell try to promise all of the magic in England to the "Nameless Slave" (who they think to be the Raven King but they are not specific enough and give it to Stephen) and to kill the ruler of Lost Hope (who they think to be the Gentleman but is really Stephen, again). So Stephen gets shot but doesn't die because he has all the magic in England, which he uses to kill the Gentleman.

However, I'm confused about a few things.

1. How could Strange break the curse on Arabella when it is specifically stated earlier in the episode that the only way to break a fairy's curse is to kill the fairy? When Strange breaks the curse the Gentleman is not yet dead.

2. Furthermore, how can he break the curse in the first place when they say that magic is gone from England and placed into Stephen? Shouldn't Strange not have access to that magic, or is he using Lost Hope's magic at that point, not England's?

3. At the end we see that magic is still in England -- but again, how can this be? They transferred all the magic in England over to Stephen, so how is it back in England?

Someone is on your side,
No one is alone.

[–] HarveyMidnight 8 years ago

No book spoilers below--- I haven't read the book; this is just my own speculation.

1. How could Strange break the curse on Arabella when it is specifically stated earlier in the episode that the only way to break a fairy's curse is to kill the fairy? When Strange breaks the curse the Gentleman is not yet dead.

Well, I think you just have to buy the idea that 'love conquers all', or his own magic was strong; he kissed her and she remembered who he was.

Furthermore... technically, all Strange did was accept the Moss-Oak as his wife, and renounce all other wives. Seems that would mean Arabella was 'free', & that wouldn't count as being "sold" to the Gentleman. So maybe there was no curse on her.... she just had no memory of herself. Once she wanted to leave, she was free to leave.

2. Furthermore, how can he break the curse in the first place when they say that magic is gone from England and placed into Stephen? Shouldn't Strange not have access to that magic, or is he using Lost Hope's magic at that point, not England's?

3. At the end we see that magic is still in England -- but again, how can this be? They transferred all the magic in England over to Stephen, so how is it back in England?

Best guess; they gave Steven "control" of all magic in England-- he is, ahem, 'the boss of it'. Which doesn't really mean it would all leave England; it still exists in England, it just functions only under his 'approval' and 'indulgence', etc...

Sometimes fires don't go out when you're done playin' with them.

[–] facebook-835-889963 7 years ago

So in the final episode, Strange and Norrell try to promise all of the magic in England to the "Nameless Slave" (who they think to be the Raven King but they are not specific enough and give it to Stephen) and to kill the ruler of Lost Hope (who they think to be the Gentleman but is really Stephen, again). So Stephen gets shot but doesn't die because he has all the magic in England, which he uses to kill the Gentleman.

More correctly, Stephen Black and the Raven King are both the Nameless Slave. Stephen's role in the prophecy is to become the new king of fairieland, in essence, the new Raven King, (though that last point is never quite spelled out as such).

The Gentleman is indeed the ruler of Lost Hope. Once again, the prophecy tells that the Nameless Slave, (Stephen), will kill the king, (The Gentleman), and assume his place. In this instance, it is The Gentleman who gets the prophecy wrong, assuming that Stephen is destined to kill the King of England. Stephen is never to become the ruler of Lost Hope, but rather the King of Fairieland. Lost Hope is just a portion of Fairieland, presided over by The Gentleman, and as we see in the story, Lost Hope is destroyed with the death/imprisonment of The Gentleman.

Stephen gets shot in the material world, (England), but is not dead in Fairieland, in the same way that Arabella is dead in England but exists in Fairieland. Once again, Stephen is simply fulfilling his prophecy.

Your questions:

1. Pacing works better for Arabella to leave Lost Hope before Stephen becomes king and kills/imprisons The Gentleman. Go with the flow.

2. I think you're reading too much into that plot devise. See it as Strange and Norrell have put the entirety of English magic at the disposal of the Nameless Slave. Stephen has use of its power, but magic is not gone from England.

3. See 2. above.