Does The Bride die in ‘Kill Bill Vol. 2’?
Quentin Tarantino loves to pay homage to his favourite genres, and for Kill Bill he looked to the female characters seeking revenge in blaxploitation movies like Coffy and Foxy Brown, as well as samurai and martial arts cinema.
The result was a hugely successful film that many have labelled Tarantino’s most feminist film. While that might be debatable, the film certainly introduces us to one of the coolest and compelling women in all of cinema – Uma Thurman’s Beatrix Kiddo, or The Bride.
Kill Bill was released in two parts, and while many people consider them two separate movies, Tarantino made them to be like one big epic. Vol 2 emerged in 2004, the year after Vol 1 was released to widespread praise, and while the second film wasn’t quite as highly acclaimed as its predecessor, it still contains many iconic moments in Tarantino’s oeuvre.
In the first film, we witness The Bride awakening from a coma in the hospital following an incident that left her almost deceased. As part of the Deadly Viper assassination squad, The Bride was set to marry the group’s leader, Bill, but instead, he shot her in the head, despite being pregnant.
Luckily, The Bride survives, although when she discovers that she is no longer pregnant, she wonders what has happened to her child, and how she is going to continue with her life. There is only one thing on The Bride’s mind – revenge. So, she sets out to kill the assassins who betrayed her, resulting in her battle with O-Ren Ishii, a yakuza leader, and her Crazy 88 fighters. The Bride triumphs before discovering that her child is alive, which takes us to the next film, where her quest to kill Bill continues.
Does The Bride die in Kill Bill Vol. 2?
There are many moments where it seems as though The Bride is going to meet her demise in Vol 2, such as near the start of the film when she sets out to murder Bill’s brother, Budd. She ends up buried alive, although she’s no fool – she learned from the best martial arts master Pai Mei, after all – and has the necessary skills under her belt to escape.
As more escapades continue, including the removal of Elle Driver’s remaining eye, Beatrix manages to track down Bill, who injects her with truth serum. They have a meaningful conversation and Beatrix meets her daughter for the first time, but ultimately, she refuses to back down on her quest for revenge.
Thurman’s character whips out the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique to kill Bill, which she learned from Pai Mei, allowing her to start a new life as the mother of BB. She is given a very well-deserved happy ending, making her one of Tarantino’s most beloved characters.
So, while there are moments where it feels like The Bride could be in serious danger, Tarantino ensures that she gets the justice she deserves after going through the ringer with Bill. Thurman’s performance is simply iconic, and the fact that Tarantino was inspired by the actor’s own experience of becoming a mother as he wrote the film makes her portrayal of the character feel even more special.
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