Benraianajones
New member
Niteshade007 said:I didn't say she was well written.
I see your point. When she's first revealed to be a "baddie," she's an out and out baddie. Total b*tch. But after that scene, she is never shown to be like that again. She is shown to be compassionate, perhaps even in a little bit over her head. The desert scene gives me that impression. When she sees Kazim dead, she seems to be upset and truly concerned.
Her character makes too many transitions for me to like her too much. She starts off as a smart, beautiful archaeologist, then smart, beautiful villain, then a smart, beautiful depressed woman, then a smart, beautiful cunning woman, then a moron who ignores a specific warning, walks slowly backwards out of a collapsing temple and ignores yet another warning from someone trying to save her.
Like I said, not very well written.
I don't think it is especially a matter of not being "very well written" - there are some complex people out there, and bare in mind, here we have a young woman, torn between rights and wrongs, but with the legendary grail in her hands. I think Elsa was meant to be a bit of an enigma to be honest. Elsa does seem upset as Kazim's death, and when Henry is shot. I don't think she especially believes in the killing for the grail aspect - minus at the end where she takes revenge on Donovan, she knows he is truly bad and wants him gone. Elsa on the other hand, is as greedy as Donovan is, but I don't think she intends to be especially bad with the grail, other than perhaps fortune and fame. Both her and Donovan plan betraying the Nazi's - and Donovan and her didn't want to share the grail together truly. All of them were having a bit of a "fight" towards the end.
Also, you probably notice, when Elsa picks up the grail, I believe it is the first time she has actually held it for herself in her own hands. She goes totally crazy that she has this "magical" thing within her hands. Until now she has seen others hold and use it - but this is her first experience holding it. Her personality totallly shifts, she really can't believe what she is holding.
She has seen the magic surrounding the area (the false grail, the real ones healing properties), she has even opted to forget warings not to pass the seal. Even at the point the fissure begins to open up. The only explination is she can't grasp what is happening, she is greedy, but also deluded by this point.Now she has the grail IN HER VERY OWN HANDS. She decides to remember the grail is magical (her eyes are glowing when she holds it) - but opts to forget the negative effects surrouding the grail. She just wants the grail, simple as that.
As for her compassion when Henry is shot, and "Indiana its ours! Yours and Mine!" and her constant personality shifts throughout the film. Well, I think Elsa did have somewhat of a softspot for the Jones' at the end, she wasn't totally a bad person (re: upset at kazim's death). She had used Jones to get to the grail, she even betrayed Donovan after he had assisted her to reach it. She was even using the Nazi party to reach her gial of course, hence her sobbing away at the book burning, she isn't a believer in it all. She just sides with whoever gets her closest to ger goal (and I assume she was willing to act as evil or nice as she needed). By the end she was more stable to decide which side she felt for most - with her now at her goal of the grail's temple, she didn't need to use people any further...apart from rid Donovan, as she saw the bad in him, and didn't want to share the grail with him. I believe at the end, she genuinley felt something for Indiana and his dad.
There is a chance Elsa really did want to share this grail at the end with Indiana, but I can't help but deep inside the "ours" actually means "mine".
As for her crossing the seal slowly even as the warnings are yelled at her as it crumbles - I just think that simply goes to show her desperation and lack of ability to comprehend what she is doing and holding.
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