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CUT SCENES

Sorsha's Father

When Cherlindrea talks to Willow in the movie, she tells him that he must take Elora Danan to Tir Asleen, where a good king and queen will take look after her. Some sources render this line a bit differently. In the graphic novel, nonspecific "rulers" will take care of the baby. In the junior novelization, it's a good king. In the novelization, Cherlindrea doesn't say who's going to take care of Elora, but she tells Willow a long story of how Bavmorda duped the crown prince of Tir Asleen into marrying her, gave birth to Sorsha, offed her husband's parents so that she and her husband became king and queen, extended her dominions, moved to Nockmaar and put her husband and his kingdom under an evil enchantment on her way out. This backstory is true to the original concept for the movie; the poster magazine's The World of Willow article (in the Articles section) tells the same story, although in much less detail. In the sources that are most faithful to the movie, the subject of Sorsha's father is not touched upon until Sorsha captures Willow and his companions. As they march toward the snow camp, Raziel talks to Sorsha about her father, to Sorsha's great annoyance. In most sources, the subject is then dropped until the battle of Tir Asleen, when Raziel recognizes the king among the ensorcelled people there. Not long afterward, Sorsha recognizes him too. This series of scenes would have added a lot of depth to the character of Sorsha. As it is, we have no idea who her father is. It presumably isn't Kael (when Bavmorda tells him to help Sorsha find the baby, she says "my daughter," not "our daughter"), but it could well be someone who's as evil as Bavmorda is. But if Sorsha's father is a good man, it's implied that she has inherited both good and evil tendencies from her parents. Her decision to join the heroes at Tir Asleen is partly prompted by her recognition of her father, which touches her deeply and stimulates the emergence of the good side of her nature. Without this plot element, her defection appears to be self-serving, prompted by her desire for the studly Madmartigan. Traitor child, indeed. And the waters are muddied elsewhere, too. Who are the good king and queen of Tir Asleen that Cherlindrea is talking about? Is this some kind of prophecy, in which Sorsha will be the queen and either her father or Madmartigan will be the king? Or are they just a couple of monarchs with no relationship to Sorsha? Other notes related to this scene: the sources say that after Madmartigan falls from the Eborsisk's head, he is approached by Nockmaar soldiers who intend to kill him. Sorsha slays these soldiers, then kisses Madmartigan. In the movie, her sword is bloody as she approaches Madmartigan, but there's no explanation of how it got that way. Originally, it was Madmartigan, not Willow, who says that he hates trolls at Tir Asleen. Willow clearly expressed his opinion earlier, and I like this non-redundant version of events better than what happens in the movie. The multiple components of the Sorsha's Father plot element are documented below, separated by asterisks.

Late Script Excerpt

Sorsha rides up alongside the prisoners, patrolling her troops, confidently in command, controlling her horse magnificently. RAZIEL: Sorsha, you remind me of your father. SORSHA: Don't insult me. He was a weakling. RAZIEL: He was a warrior, and a great king. SORSHA: He was a traitor, an enemy of Nockmaar. RAZIEL: Your mother has poisoned you. Somewhere up ahead the baby cries. WILLOW: Elora's cold and hungry. She knows me. Please, let me take care of her. * * * * * MADMARTIGAN: Get your hair out of my face or I'll chop it off. He bats her hair away. But it won't go away, and it's so beautiful, it's a nuisance. SORSHA: What are you gonna do to me? MADMARTIGAN: I'm taking you to your father. SORSHA: I don't even remember my father. He means nothing to me. MADMARTIGAN: Raziel says he's a great king. SORSHA: You'll never find Tir Asleen. They ride along in silence. MADMARTIGAN: Did I really say those things? * * * * * MADMARTIGAN: Safe?? Look at these people. The place is cursed, and it's falling apart and -- (he steps in something) Trolls? I hate trolls. They approach the statue of the KING. Raziel lands on the King's shoulder. RAZIEL: The king! MADMARTIGAN: Sorsha's father? RAZIEL: This is the work of Bavmorda. Madmartigan squats down and looks at his dagger. MADMARTIGAN: This isn't going to be easy. Raziel flaps her wings. RAZIEL: Willow -- the wand! Willow looks at her in disbelief. WILLOW: Are you sure? * * * * * Madmartigan throws a broadsword to Willow. Willow lifts the sword over his head and its weight carries him backward. But luckily it clunks a troll behind him. Madmartigan leaps over and kills the first troll. INT. COURTYARD As the army battles the Eborsisk, Sorsha sees the statue of the king, her father. Inside the statue, her father appears to move slightly. KING: Sorsha...? SORSHA: Father... KING: Sorsha... I'm alive... help me... help me... helllpp me... His pleading, muted voice moves her almost to tears. By contrast she sees Kael, driving his own men toward death. She looks up at the bridge. UP ON THE BRIDGE In his handsome suit of armor, Madmartigan battles attacking minions. From below, the army fires arrows. Some hit the Eborsisk. The angry monster turns to attack Madmartigan and Willow. Madmartigan jumps onto its head and drives his sword through its skull.

Graphic Novel Illustrations

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Novelization Excerpt

[Cherlindrea's story of Sorsha's birth and her father's fate is summarized at the top of this page. The full text is not reproduced here.] * * * * * Locktwarr, locktwarr..." Willow murmured, eyes shut tight. "Look out! Quiet!" Willow opened his eyes to see Sorsha approaching, riding beside the file of soldiers. Beyond her, only a few miles ahead, rose the snow-capped peaks of the mountains. She rode calmly, confidently, her red hair free, surrounded by her own frozen breath and the horse's. "Witch!" Madmartigan said. "Quiet!" The sergeant jerked the rope, suddenly efficient in Sorsha's presence. "Young woman," Fin Raziel squeaked as Rak [Sorsha's horse] came alongside the mule, "you reminded me of your father just then. He, too, was a..." "Silence!" Sorsha's riding crop cracked across the bars of the cage. "You insult me! My father was a weakling! A fool! An enemy of Nockmaar!" Raziel cringed but continued. "So your mother says, but it was not true, Sorsha. Enemy of Nockmaar perhaps, but fool and weakling? Never!" "Princess Sorsha," Willow pleaded, "please, let me help you with Elora. She needs food. She needs warmer clothes in this cold." * * * * * "I'm sorry. Cherlindrea said we'd be safe here." "Safe! Do these people look safe to you? Besides, look at that! Troll dung! There are trolls here! Probably watching us right now. Bah! I hate them!" Madmartigan fingered the hilt of his sword and peered up at the towers. Again Raziel cried out, this time as if her heart was breaking. They hurried over to a staircase where she had found yet another of the quartz blocks. Inside this one was a handsome man of perhaps thirty-five, with bright red hair and calm, wide-spaced eyes. He had been calling greetings to someone across the courtyard when Bavmorda's spell had struck, and his hand was half-raised. "The king!" Raziel wailed. "Sorsha's father?" Madmartigan leaned close. "Yes. Oh Willow, draw the wand. The wand! You must transform me now!" * * * * * She staggered up a flight of stairs as the dragon died, and came face-to-face with her father. She knew him at once, although he was encased in the crystal cast by her mother's curse. His hair was hers. His frank and broad-spaced eyes were hers. And in his voice, very faint and distant though it was, the princess heard her own. "Sorsha..." "Father..." She laid her hand on the stone, beside his cheek. "I'm alive, Sorsha. Help me. Help me..." "Oh, Father!" Her knees went soft. Memories came flooding back that she had not dared to recall all her life - her father laughing, running beside her while she rode her first white pony through the orchard; her father holding her hand while he accepted the acclamation of the multitudes in the broad flowered valley of Tir Asleen; her father teaching her to row her own little boat in the upper reaches of the Freen [River], so quietly that she disturbed neither the water birds, nor the frogs drowsing on their lily pads, nor the speckled trout suspended in their dark pools. She remembered her father's compassion, his generosity. She remembered his laughter and his love. In one great rush of emotion she remembered all that had been, and might have been, and might still be... She wept. "Sorsha, only you..." She turned back to the slaughter. She saw the little Nelwyn clinging to the burning and collapsing bridge. She saw Kael striding across the charred bodies of men toward the gate-tower where the cries of a terrified infant rang clear. And she saw Madmartigan in her father's golden armor, hard pressed by a knot of troopers flailing at him with swords and spiked maces. Even as she looked, he went down. Suddenly, things clarified and changed for Princess Sorsha, as a troubled sky might clear at evening, or a lake grow calm after a storm. She hefted her sword. She strode forward. She loosed a high-pitched battle cry to warn the trooper assailing Madmartigan of her intent. And then she gave no quarter. Two of the troopers ran away from her immediately. Two others offered token resistance before fleeing. Two more turned to confront her, and as they turned, Madmartigan twisted catlike and cut their legs from under them. His sword and Sorsha's sliced across their throats together. She offered her hand to lift him; silently, Madmartigan took it.

Junior Novelization Excerpt

"Here," Cherlindrea said, "take my wand to the sorceress Fin Raziel. She will help you take Elora Danan to the kingdom of Tir Asleen, where a good king will look after her." * * * * * "Locktwarr," Willow repeated with fresh determination. "Locktwarr..." Sorsha rode up beside them, glowing with the confidence of command as she controlled her prancing stallion. She slowed its pace to match theirs. "Sorsha, you remind me of your father," Raziel said. Sorsha frowned. "Don't insult me. He was a weakling." "He was a warrior," Raziel answered gravely, "and a great king." "He was a traitor, an enemy of Nockmarr." "Your mother has poisoned you," Raziel said. Somewhere up ahead the baby cried again. "Elora's cold and hungry," Willow dared to interrupt. "She knows me. Please let me take care of her." "I don't need help from a Peck," Sorsha sneered. * * * * * Willow shook his head. "But Cherlindrea said we'd be safe here." "Safe?" Madmartigan waved his hand at the statues and began to pace back and forth. "Look at these people. The place is cursed, and it's falling apart, and --" He looked down suddenly as his foot landed in something soft and odoriferous. "Trolls?" he said. "I hate trolls!" He wiped his boot on a patch of weeds. Raziel landed on the crystal block imprisoning a tall, bearded man. "The king!" she exclaimed. "Sorsha's father?" Madmartigan asked, staring at him curiously. "This is the work of Bavmorda," Raziel said, flapping her wings. "Willow," she called, "the wand!" Willow looked up at her. "Are you sure?" he asked. * * * * * In the courtyard below them Sorsha battled the Eborsisk with the rest of Kael's troops, forgetting Madmartigan and everything else - until suddenly she found herself standing by a strangely familiar figure encased in enchanted crystal. Then she recognized her father. She stared as the figure seemed to move, turning toward her. "Sorsha--?" he whispered. "Father..." she murmured, horrorstruck. "Sorsha..." he gasped, "I'm alive...help me...help me...he-lll-p me..." Tears filled Sorsha's eyes as she heard his agonized plea. She turned back and looked toward Kael. She watched her mother's general drive his own men to death in a futile battle against the Eborsisk, all because her mother was obsessed with capturing and killing a helpless infant. She looked up at the bridge then and saw Madmartigan, his golden armor shining in the sun as he fought on against impossible odds to protect that child. As she watched, the Eborsisk turned aside from the arrows of the Nockmaar troops to take out its rage on Madmartigan and Willow. [Several paragraphs describe the actions of Willow and Madmartigan, ending with Madmartigan's attack on the Eborsisk.] Behind them the Eborsisk's wounded head exploded in a ball of fire; its other head screamed with pain. Nockmaar soldiers surrounded Madmartigan, who lay dazed on the stones below, and raised their swords and spears to finish him. He waited grimly for the final blow to fall. But instead the soldiers around him suddenly began to fall dead at his feet. Madmartigan looked up in disbelief. Sorsha stood in front of him, her sword still raised. She pressed its tip against his throat, her eyes burning...and lowered it again. She reached out, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him to his feet, into her arms. In the middle of the battle's chaos, she gave him a passionate kiss.