Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘The Letter for the King’ is a fantasy drama that follows the story of a boy who has the responsibility to deliver an important letter to the king. Tackling a coming of age story with supernatural elements, the series weaves a complex tale of a warring kingdom and a prince whose bloodlust knows no bounds. Bringing more characters into the mix, the series is an overall fun watch and ends on a note that spells trouble on the horizon even when things seem to be on a brighter end. If you haven’t yet seen the show, head over to Netflix. SPOILERS AHEAD
Plot Summary
Tiuri is supposed to spend the night within the Sepulchre, but a desperate knock at the door makes him put the lives of the rest of his peers at risk. He is given a letter that he must deliver to the king. On the way, he comes across a girl named Lavinia who helps him during the journey. They come to know about a prophecy that talks of a hero that will save the world against a dark force. Clearly, that dark force is Prince Viridian and the hero must be Tiuri, an Eviellan with a shaman’s blood.
By the end, it comes to light that Lavinia is the one who truly possesses the power. She must have inherited it from her mother, who had disappeared a long time ago and was the reason why Lavinia wanted to leave her home and go out in search of her. When she discovers what she can do, she loses focus and runs away. With Viridian’s forces at his heels, Tiuri and the rest of his friends have to complete the rest of the journey by themselves.
The Ending
After facing a number of troubles, Tiuri finally succeeds in making his way to the court of King Favian. Lavinia leaves them in the middle of the forest, but with the help of the rest of his friends, he completes the task he had been entrusted with at the beginning. The letter gives all the proof that was needed to expose his treachery and now, the king has an official reason to throw him in prison and bring his barbarism to an end.
However, the Blood Moon is upon them and even if everyone knows what Viridian intended, they can’t stop him. He has the power of all the shamans that he has killed over the years and even after his brother kills him, his powers keep him alive. As the effect of the blood moon begins, he takes the monstrous form that was predicted in the prophecy. The only one who can stop him now is Lavinia.
Fortunately, she turns up in court and steps up to defeat the monster. At first, it looks like her powers won’t be enough to destroy him, but in the end, her light conquers the darkness and everything ends well. Foldo loses his life, but that is the price they know they had to pay in order to save the world.
With the kingdoms saved, Tiuri and others receive their fair share of recognition and the knighthood they had been denied earlier is bestowed on them. After the events at the court, Jaro runs away, accompanied by Iona, who had already left her friends behind. Peace is restored and all ends well. But just before the credits start to roll, we see the birds forming a pattern that resembles the face of Viridian in the sky. What does that mean?
Is Viridian still alive?
Even though we watch Viridian die, there is some suspicion on whether it really happened. The reason for this question is the power of necromancy that Viridian possessed. He practised it on the kinglet that his father had gifted him. If he can bring a bird back to life, what’s to say he can’t do the same for himself? One might ask if he is really that powerful, why didn’t he just come back and kill Lavinia and the others and carry on with the plan.
The reason might be just that he wasn’t as powerful. Throughout his quest, he had been looking for the one shaman that he was yet to cross off his list. Despite all the powers that he had absorbed, this was the one that he seemed most intent on. The reason behind this was not just that the hero would kill him. It was also because the hero would have much, much more power than any other shaman.
Viridian, just like everyone else, made the mistake of believing that Tiuri was the hero from the prophecy. But when Lavinia showed up instead, Viridian would have been taken by surprise. If he miscalculated the identity of the hero, perhaps, he had miscalculated the extent of her power as well. He needed more time to deal with her, so he made it look like he was defeated. Or, he has been defeated but not killed. Maybe, he is just recuperating from his wounds and will strike back as soon as he gets back his initial strength.
What makes us surer of his survival is another mystery that is left unattended by the end of the season? Before Viridian leaves for the court, Alianor sneaks into his camp and she finds some of his stuff. When he comes into the tent, she hides, but of course, he finds her. We don’t see what he does to her, but we do find Alianor’s eyes going black like a demon’s. Does that mean that Alianor, too, is one of the bad guys, or did Viridian do something to her? If he did, then what exactly was it? Is she his back-up plan? Did he turn her into his puppet, or has he possessed her?
Read More: Is ‘The Letter for the King’ a True Story?
