* HoYay: If the lady successfully seduced Gawain -- as Lord Bertilak ordered her to do -- then by the rules of the game, Gawain would need to have sex with Lord Bertilak in return. It doesn't happen, but the possibility hangs over the story. That doesn't happen but they do kiss, a lot. And since Lady Bertilak's kisses were lustful ones, Gawain's to Lord Bertilak must be the same, lest he break the rules of engagement.
* MagnificentBastard: The titular Green Knight primarily serves as a judge and tester of knights and is tasked to either discredit the legendary Round Table or reveal the true nature of their honor. A powerful figure clad in verdant green armor, the Green Knight waltzes into Arthur's court and issues a challenge, using a sharp tongue and biting wit to bait even the king himself into an obvious trap, only for Gawain to behead the Green Knight in his stead. Disguised as Bertilak de Hautdesert, the Green Knight sets up hunt after hunt to secretly test Gawain and even uses his wife to test the knight's chastity. With Gawain's single flaw being his fleeting hesitance towards death, the Green Knight spares and congratulates him, ending the story as mysteriously but reasonably as he began it.
* ValuesResonance: When Gawain initially thinks his lesson is to not trust women, the Green Knight promptly sets him straight that it was ''his'' failure that was at fault, not Lady Bertilak's.