‘Damsel’ ending explained: Does Elodie escape the dragon?

In Netflix's dark fantasy "Damsel," Millie Bobby Brown stars as Elodie, a young woman, who marries a handsome and wealthy prince, played by Nick Robinson, to save her family from financial ruin. After the wedding, Elodie learns a dark secret about her new family: They have to feed a dragon three princesses once every generation to stop it from harming their kingdom.

With only a knife and a few trinkets to hold her over, Elodie has to learn how to survive and get out of the dragon's lair before it's too late.

During a March 1 appearance on TODAY, Brown talked about the film and said this movie is something she's never done before.

“The scary part is playing a princess that turns into a warrior,” she said. “It was really, really, something I’ve never done before and (it's) very cinematic.”

Read on to learn more about Elodie's story and how it ends.

Does Elodie escape the dragon in ‘Damsel’?

The short answer to this question? Yes ... but also no.

Once Elodie is thrown into the dragon's lair, she learns how to evade the monster once she finds a map of the cave that another princess had drawn on the walls.

Using the map, Elodie becomes acquainted with the cave. The only thing the map doesn't show, however, is the way to get out.

But then, her father arrives in the lair to save her. Though he doesn't make it out alive, Elodie uses his rope to ascend out of the cave to get herself out. Once outside, Elodie takes cover from the dragon, who frantically tries searching for her.

Meanwhile, Queen Isabelle, played by Robin Wright, watches from her castle as the dragon's lair erupts into chaos — and knows the only way to calm the beast is to give it royal blood. So she forces Elodie's younger sister, Floria, played by Brooke Carter, to marry the prince.

Once Elodie learns what Queen Isabelle has done, she returns to the cave to save her sister from being taken out by the dragon.

Does Elodie slay the dragon?

No, Elodie does not slay the dragon. In order to save her sister, Elodie cleverly wounds the dragon by using its own fire against it, as well as her father's sword that he had left behind.

The wounded dragon tells Elodie telepathically to deliver the final blow. But Elodie decides not to do it because, at this point in the movie, she already knows the truth about the dragon and how Queen Isabelle and her ancestors have been deceiving the monster for ages.

Why does the dragon target princesses?

At the beginning of the movie, viewers learn the dragon only wants to kill princesses of Queen Isabelle's royal family because Isabelle's ancestors had intruded into the female dragon's lair long ago and slayed her only three children in cold blood.

To repent for their sins, the king at the time had offered to give the dragon three princesses from his own family, every generation, so she wouldn't wreak havoc on the kingdom that he had just established.

After taking the deal, the king's family then found a way to fool the dragon by feeding it young princesses who are not related to them by blood. To do this, they lure young girls to marry into their family and then they put them through a blood ritual that will make the dragon believe they are related to Queen Isabelle when they are not.

Once Elodie learns this secret, she tells the dragon what Queen Isabelle’s family has done. That's when Elodie returns to the kingdom with the mighty animal in tow to take revenge on the royal family.

What happens to Queen Isabelle and Prince Henry?

At the end of the movie, Elodie confronts Queen Isabelle, as well as Prince Henry, who is in the middle of marrying his next victim.

There, the dragon burns down the whole castle and claims the lives of Queen Isabelle and Prince Henry. Once the royal family is gone, Elodie scavenges their supplies and heads home with Floria, her stepmom Lady Bayford, played by Angela Bassett, and her newest ally, the dragon, to help build a better home.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com