The Favourite (2018) | The Definitive Explanation

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Reader Interactions

Discussion

  1. Gud

  2. Great work
    The analysis was spot on

    • Yes agreed , I did so very much want to know how the letter read , I can only assume it’s quite heavy words relating to Sarah and Anne’s relationship and its demise had made Abigail feel quite sick with herself & the way she behaved, ultimately loosing “the game “ she and Sarah appeared to be playing when Sarah remarked . “ we’re playing quite different games “ …hence the tear before burning it ….maybe acknowledging her changing into a quite unacceptable person in her own eyes eventually ! …..maybe

      • I like that reading! It makes me want to watch the film again haha

  3. That was a wonderful analysis and I feel that it was spot on. I read your article so that I could make sure my depiction was correct and it seems we were on the same page. Thank you

  4. Excellent analysis. Now in retrospect it all fits together.

  5. All the elements were there all the time, why all the confusion.

  6. i thought Sarah used Abigail to get away from Anne once and for all . I mean who wants to be around such a miserable person. Sarah knew Abigail wanted to take her place and she took advantage of the situation . At the end of movie Anne and Abigail were miserable but Sarah was happy with her husband smiling … thats just my 2 cents. it kinda make more sense to me.

    • I thought the exact same thing….

    • Interesting, especially since Sarah notices the tea is off at first sip. She seems to consider this and drink it knowing what will happen. Anyone else agree?

      • Yep. Abigail was Anne’s ticket out. She laughed at her at one point saying “you really think you’ve won?” She knew exactly what she was doing.

    • I agree because when Abigail was moving into Sarah’s room she asked her : “do you really think you won?” Which in my opinion means that Sarah didn’t lose they both won Abigail got what she wanted and Sarah was finally free from the queen which is sad because the queen thought that they both loved her when they both didn’t

      • Seems to be that she was half happy as she also sighed at the end of her last appearance (when “the mail has arrived”).

        My two cents is that there is no “main character” at this movie but more like a trio and that the story with Sarah was that she really did try to do what’s right for the country but was also relieved to get out of that (she did give a fight to stay in control and lost so it wasn’t her plan but she accepted the reality).

  7. I did not get the sense that Anne actually saw the bunny-abuse. The squealing woke her, yes, but it didn’t seem that she grasped why.

  8. I agree with the analysis. I have my own take on it as well. I noticed Abigail’s face with anguish. I felt as if she realized that now she was stuck with having to serve Queen Anne and was now forever trapped in a miserable Existence with Queen Anne. When she trapped the rabbit under her foot it was a foreshadowing of her being forever trapped to serve the Queen. The Queen was distraught when she lost her best friend and lover. She will forever miss her. She may have felt doubt about her decision to be rid of her and regret. The only thing she can do to numb her pain is with physical pleasure. She realized that Abigail maybe didn’t love her like Sarah may have. She now turns on her and lets Abigail know she is no longer looks favorably at her. She will use her as a servant and not as an equal and she let her know that will always be beneath her. When they had relations she was pleasured in bed while laying at the same level. She treated her as her equal. Now the lines have been drawn. She may also feel because of Abigail she lost Sarah. The bunnies represent all the innocent lives lost.
    Queen Anne was no longer is oblivious to her sad existence and maybe even what had transpired. She has lost so much thus all the bunnies superimposed over their faces. Death of her happiness, loves, friendship and her trust in those she held close to her heart. Lastly her ailing Heath with death at her door step. One rabbit for each of the things she has lost in her life.

    • I agree with a lot of this. I also thought going a little further, it was to make Abigail feel a little like a prostitute or make her feel like she did when she was young and had to sexually service others or was raped. The prostitution bit (the brothel) and the comment of Abigail’s sexual abuse past needs to fit into this thematically.

  9. It’s not just the rabbits, but the sound effects at the end are that of a raging fire. Abigail’s father sold her virginity to cover his gambling debts. She’s fought back more sexual harassment and is terrified of ending up as a prostitute, plying her wares to sailors returning from the war. At that moment with the Queen, she realizes that she’s willingly put herself in that same position. That last sexual act isn’t done for pleasure, but for power. Abigail did indeed end up a prostitute, and found that a woman can be just as cruel and demeaning in bed as a man.

  10. Clever, it reminds me of tactics used in murder mysteries, where the person that is guilty is hinted at throughout, but largely the focus is on those around them until it is revealed mostly towards the end the true culprit. Using this type of formula for another genre is kind of genius.

  11. Yes yes yes. Seelois and Alexis hit it on the head exactly. Abigail’s sole intention with her devious scheming and duplicity was to be her own master, control her own destiny and avoid being physically/sexually used and abused by anyone. Abigail manipulated Anne, Sarah, Harley and her eventual husband to secure her “freedom”. She broke Anne and Sarah emotionally. She tainted their love and honest feelings for one another. She used and sullied Anne’s grief over her lost children and shredded her own moral values (which were dubious from the onset) in her effort to climb her way to be in the coveted position of Queen consort. After all her scheming efforts Abigail found herself full circle back with the proverbial thin-cocked German who will treat her like a meat prize, with the added bonus that Anne now fully recognizes Abigail’s despicable nature and will pay her back in kind.

  12. Don’t forget earlier in the movie, Queen Anne says “everyone dies, now [Sarah] too”. She had no hope that any of her loved ones would actually stay.

  13. Great article and discussion! Thank you all.

  14. In addition when Anne rose from her bed she had that far off stare as she had during different time’s in the movie when she had a realization of something. Then when Abigail was rubbing her she asked “shall we lay down” Anne rebuffed the question to remind Abigail she is the Queen and she will always be in servitude.

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