Line #3 Fridge/EverAfter


1	!!Fridge Brilliance
2	* One has to wonder how Danielle managed to create wings for the masquerade ball. But then you remember what Leonardo said about "giving her wings". Looks like his flying machine can be used for decoration among other things.
3	** Not to mention it's a Callback to what she told Prince Henry what she couldn't do: "Fly!" Guess she can do that too now.
4	* If Rodmilla is a Baroness from a previous marriage, wouldn't she have a barony in Ghent to look after? Why is she slumming it in Danielle's father's manor? (Both by marrying him, then sticking around after he's gone?) After Auguste dies, we learn that her FatalFlaw is that she is a LazyBum: She wants to enjoy all the perks of nobility with none of the work, and allows Auguste's manor to decay in favor of selling household possessions [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil and servants]] (Pierre Le Pieu notes that their province has the best soil, but is poorly tended) and trying to scheme Marguerite into a more advantageous marriage. So, a barony would obviously be much bigger and troublesome to run than a manor, so one of the reasons she married Auguste might have been to have a husband around to run a household and finances so she wouldn't have to... [[FromBadToWorse only to get stuck in a much smaller manor and plot of land than the one she left behind when he dies that she has no choice but to run.]]
5	** Alternatively, baronies and other such titles tend to pass down the male line, especially in the France of this period, where Salic law was upheld. The land would've gone to her first husband's nearest male relative, not Rodmilla. After her second marriage, she technically isn't even entitled to be called 'Baroness', but likely maintains the style for social-climbing reasons.
6	** Rodmilla is remarkably naive on how royal marriages work. A crown prince like Henry would marry a foreign princess or a very high-ranking local noblewoman which Marguerite is not. The daughter of a duke would be the best option, but the daughter of a marquis or a count would not be so bad either. When Danielle is borrowing her mother's name the queen refers to her as Comtesse Nicole de Lancret. The queen of course would have verified that there actually is a count family named de Lancret. Danielle being able to marry the prince indicates that her mother was from a noble family, even if she was a distant relation. It is possible that the royal family pressured the Comte De Lancret to acknowledge his relation to Danielle to make her more suitable for Henry.
7	*** England has precedents of a crown prince or king marrying a commoner. King Edward IV married Elizabeth Woodville. While Woodville's father was just a landed knight, her mother was a very well-bred and well-connected noblewoman Jacquetta of Luxemburg. The same happened with Anne Boleyn. While Anne's father was fairly low ranking, Anne's maternal uncle was the Duke of Nordfolk.
8	* When Danielle's father dies, Rodmilla wails, [[ItsAllAboutMe "You cannot leave me here!"]] While it is good {{foreshadowing}} into her selfish and materialistic nature, it might also shed light into why she sticks around despite being a baroness. If we go by early 16th century French history, Rodmilla would have given up her station to take her new husband's (but, [[SmallNameBigEgo knowing Rodmilla,]] [[AuthorityInNameOnly would have insisted on still being called "baroness"]]) and thus forfeited her right to her previous husband's barony. She gave up her higher social caste and wealth to be with Auguste, then he died very shortly afterwards, and left her in an even smaller estate and social caste than she liked.
9	* It is well-established over the course of the film that Henry's FatalFlaw is an inability to empathize with or even consider the plights of those less fortunate than himself until Danielle points them out. Naturally, when he is made aware of [[MistakenIdentity Danielle’s deception,]] he immediately lashes out at her and wallows in his own hurt over the situation without pausing for even a second to consider her [[DisproportionateRetribution very good reasons]] [[StockPunishment for not telling him the truth about who she is.]]
10	* On close examination, we can see how various details of the folktale of ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'' could have emerged after Danielle and Henry's marriage. Danielle's entrance at the ball and Henry's hurrying through the crowd to meet her was a dramatic moment witnessed by dozens, but most of the guests had no idea that they were already acquainted, so naturally this would have led to rumors that it was LoveAtFirstSight. And since no one but the people directly involved knew that it was Leonardo da Vinci who brought Danielle to the ball, it's easy to imagine rumors flying that she had magical help.
11	!!Fridge Horror
12	* Even if Danielle's father hadn't died of a heart attack, what would the Baroness have done in his absence? Would she have made Danielle a slave and kept her silent with [[AbusiveParents emotional abuse]]?
13	** Interesting, but unlikely considering how close Danielle was to her father. Moreover, Danielle only endured her miserable life in the hopes of gaining affection from her only surviving (step)parent.
14	** It's probably more likely that Rodmilla would have continued to act the way she does during the brief time that Auguste is alive: hidden her jealousy and resentment behind a charming smile, acted more doting to try to get her husband to love her, and only acted mildly cold and passive-aggressive to Danielle when Auguste wasn't around.
15	* Did Rodmilla whip Danielle herself? Or did she make [[ParentalSubstitute one of the servants]] do it?
16	!!Fridge Logic
17	* Instead of saying he'll live forever, why doesn't the king just say he will step over Henry? Even if this movie isn't the most historically accurate, if Henry is a young man when he shouldn't be born for another seven years then by all logic Francis' younger son Charles must also exist and if he doesn't then what about another male member of the House of Valois?
18	** Honestly it's because we have no idea which Francis and which Henry this movie is referring to.
19	*** For what it's worth, the novelization sets it in 1512.
20	*** Thomas More's ''Utopia'' was published in 1516, so 1512 can't possibly be the correct date.
21	** It's also clear that he's so angry that he's just not thinking clearly. He impulsively declares that he'll simply deny the crown, struggles to think of how, and very weakly flounders that he'll "live... forever...!" Clearly realizes how dumb it sounds the second his words come out, but sticks to his guns. Not the smartest thing to say when he's angry, but few people do.
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Context Fridge / EverAfter