#labyrinth 1986

Yay🔮✨️

• My favourite interpretation of the Labyrinth is that it's a direct projection of Sarah's psyche, thus it's normally imaginary. But here comes a further layer in my personal view: in the events of the movie it temporally becomes close to acquiring a physical state. It's somewhere inbetween an oneiric and a real state of existence. Its inhabitants aren't conscious about it being centered around Sarah or of their derivative nature; they have an identity and memories they believe true.

The only one who starts questioning this is Jareth. He explores her world and real life and then compares it to the elements of the Labyrinth; he observes how oddly it seems to naturally obey and oblige her needs, no matter how dangerous the situations she finds herself in. How there are so many elements in her room already that look like inhabitants or things in his realm. Including himself, who looks exactly like a statue on her makeup table.

The real struggle Jareth faces about Sarah is actually about control of his own existence. The moment he realizes the whole Labyrinth is a projection of Sarah's mind on the way to be completely real, he aims to control her totally, in order to accomplish that. Owning her means owning the Labyrinth. Jareth wants to be real, a real Goblin King on the throne of a real magic Labyrinth, he wants to exist on his own; he doesn't want his very existence to depend on Sarah's psyche. He doesn't want to be a figment of a spoiled teenager's mind. He wants to be free.

"I can't live within you".

Hence the seduction through the peach and the Ball. He already knows her intimately, he knows he what he incarnates in her unconscious. He represents her hedonism, both by being a magical creature, inspired by her child-like love for fantasy worlds and a highly sensual man, inspired by her blooming sexual desires. He's the diamond tip, the crown jewel of Sarah's inner world; that's why he's already the King in it. And she's rebelling against her own self, as her journey is actually a psychological one, where she has to find balance between her hedonistic drive and her sense of responsibility (Toby).

But that's it. By dominating her, Jareth is doing exactly what he doesn't want to do anymore. He dominates the Labyrinth and tries to control Sarah too because her hedonism already exerts that control over her psyche. He can't help being a part of her anyway. He can't help wishing the best for her. Because he is her, he is, after all, what most soothes her heart, what most brings her happiness.

But Sarah is actually undergoing through a trasformation in that very moment. Something is shifting within her: she's going to let the aknowledgement of her responsibilities take more space, and her search for Toby is just a symbolic way of representing this process. She won't just take a child who's actually sleeping peacefully in a crib in the real world; she will strip him away of all power. She will forget him, thus abandoning her own wish for fantasy and pleasure in all the form she can live it. She will be a responsible, boring adult.

So Jareth tries to keep her in her own psyche. She won't live outside of it anymore, she will become a part of the Labyrinth herself. The equivalent of losing herself in her own mind and forgetting about reality at all. Because he doesn't want to lose her. He doesn't want to lose himself. He can't live without her accepting him.

"Just let me rule you and you can have anything that you want [...] Do as I say, and I will be your slave"

But for Sarah, defeating Jareth yet still entertaining friendships with the other inhabitants means to cut that excessive edge of control whom self-indulgence exerts in her mind, but still leaving room to a healthy measure of it. Jareth only perceives existence by domination and submission. But hedonism and self-indulgence can and must be nicer and blending well with the rest of her life and her mind.

And Sarah finally seals his fate: "You have no power over me".

• In the final cut they pulled away the addictional reaction to Sarah's quote by the listening goblins from the beginning and by Jareth. They create a circle linking the end to the beginning of the journey by recreating the same reaction ("shut up, she's going to say the words!"). Jareth was supposed to concede regretfully, murmuring "No..." as a confirmation of Sarah's statement. But then he would have gracefully gave her a sad smile, calling her name before tossing the crystal ball, thus allowing her to go home. This finale can be seen in this video, too bad for the bad quality, unfinished SFX and different soundtrack.

• In my headcanon, the alternate finale is how the aventure actually ended, while what we see in the movie is what Sarah remembers immediately after. Somehow she instantly forgets Jareth's sweeter and more sympathetic reaction to her victory.

• Another headcanon of mine is that Sarah developed a passion for clay sculptures some years before the movie, in the same period she became passionate with the Labyrinth book. She created the Goblin King statue on her desk, as a way to make him more hers and express her love for him. He was her muse. That's why in her inner world he's so much more defined and complex than the rest of the characters.

I have no idea how long for, however I am working on a few new pieces to hopefully post providing I don't get too busy!

We're going to ignore all of the shitty writing I have done in the past and we will be moving on to better content!

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Sorry for being late on the 5th of July