| “You’re hot, but I could kill you if I wanted to. I won’t. But I could” |
| — Sara to the Huntsman |
Sara (also known as "The Warrior") is the love interest and wife of Eric the Huntsman and a warrior in Freya the Ice Queen's army. She was believed to be dead by her husband Eric in Snow White and the Huntsman, but is revealed to be alive in the prequel/sequel, The Huntsman: Winter's War, serving as the film's deuteragonist. Sara is portrayed by Jessica Chastain.
Snow White and the Huntsman[]
Sara is only mentioned in this film. Eric believes Sara to be dead and is shown to be deeply affected by this (it's implied his cynicism and tendency towards to drown his sorrows in alcohol were caused by his loss of Sara). Ravenna had at some point learned about Sara and promised Eric she would use her magic to resurrect her, if Eric helped her recapture Snow White from the Dark Forest. Eric agreed to this, but upon finding Snow White, he became suspicious and demanded that Ravenna uphold her end of the bargain first. Ravenna's brother Finn admitted that Ravenna had lied and did not possess the power to bring back the dead, prompting an enraged Eric to turn on Ravenna and help Snow White to escape.
Later, in the Sanctuary, Finn taunts Eric over Sara's death, saying she screamed his name before she died. Eric overpowers and kills Finn because of this, exacting small justice for Sara. Later, when Snow White is poisoned by Ravenna, Eric grieves over her seemingly dead body and tells her that she reminds him of Sara, as they were both good-hearted and brave, which is partly why he protected her.
The Huntsman: Winter's War[]
Sara and Eric kiss
It is revealed in this film that Sara was trained as a Huntsman from a young age, where she befriended Eric. As adults, despite their queen, Freya forbidding love as weakness, Eric and Sara fall in love. They 'marry' each other in a cave and consummate their relationship, intending to run away together. Unfortunately, Freya reveals she has discovered their relationship. Believing they will be killed, the couple flees, but Freya traps Sara on the opposite side of a wall of ice. She uses her magic to conjure an illusion that shows Eric abandoning Sara, breaking her heart, whilst Eric is shown Sara's death at the hands of the other Huntsmen, thus explaining why he believed her to be dead for years.
Sara alive.
Sara remains in Freya's army, serving as her warrior. She is reunited with Eric years later, after rescuing him from a trap laid by the Huntsmen.
She feels betrayed by Eric, until he explains that they were tricked with magic and that he still loves her. Sara reconciles with Eric and agrees to help him stop Freya. However, it is revealed that she is still loyal to Freya and betrays Eric and dwarves to her, using Eric to lead her straight to the Magic Mirror, which Freya has been seeking. In spite of her treachery, Sara seems remorseful and conflicted, due to her love for Eric. When Freya orders her to kill Eric, she deliberately aims her arrow at the pendant Eric wears - which she gave to him - allowing him to fake his death.
Later, Sara listens to Freya's speech with her comrades. When Eric's attempt to kill Freya is foiled by the recently resurrected Ravenna, Sara openly turns on Freya, attempting to strike either her or Ravenna down to protect Eric, only to be stopped by Freya's ice magic. Sara is then seized by two Huntsmen. When a seemingly horrified Freya asks why Sara betrayed her, she says nothing but glances desperately at Eric, who has also been captured. Ravenna comments that its because they're in love and that they "reek of it" before reminding Freya of her laws. Freya sentences Sara and Eric to death, though she seems reluctant. However, Eric is able to appeal to the Huntsmen, convincing them to turn on Freya and Ravenna and free themselves. When this succeeds, Sara joins the battle. She later accompanies Eric to try and stop Ravenna, this time joined by Freya, who has turned against her sister after learning that Ravenna had been responsible for her daughter's death. Sara is nearly killed by Ravenna, but Freya, despite being mortally wounded, is able to freeze the Magic Mirror, weakening Ravenna and Eric throws his axe at the Mirror, shattering it and seemingly killing Ravenna for good. Sara and Eric stand together after the battle is over, with a dying Freya saying they are "lucky" to have been reunited before passing away. Sara and Eric then kiss, whilst the huntsmen and kingdom's inhabitants celebrate.
Personality[]
Eric compares Sara to Snow White, stating that they are both kind and pure-hearted. From what we see of Sara at the beginning of The Huntsman: Winter's War, Sara is tough, but with a soft centre, showing warmth and compassion to those she trusts. She is a fearless and deadly Huntsman, but also has a rebellious streak and defies Freya to be with Eric. She also possesses a rather sarcastic sense of humour, similar to her husband's, which she retains even after losing Eric. After seemingly being abandoned by Eric, Sara is devastated. As Freya hoped, Sara swore to harden herself against love, dismissing it as a weakness and a cruel lie, and threw herself into her role as a Huntsman, caring for nothing but serving her queen.
However, it becomes obvious that Sara never truly became cold and unfeeling; she still harbours feelings for Eric, becoming angry and hurt when she sees him again, revealing her aloofness to be a defense mechanism against having her heart broken again. In spite of her loyalty to Freya, being reunited with Eric and learning that he never intended to abandon her warms her heart once more and causes her a great deal of inner conflict; Sara feels torn between doing her duty to the woman who raised her and is the only family she has left, or to help the man she loves. She also expresses remorse for the "terrible things" she has done on Freya's orders, and does not believe herself worthy of love. Whilst Sara does later betray Eric to Freya, she feels very guilty over this and it seems that any remaining loyalty she has to Freya at this point is merely the side effects of decades of training and brainwashing. Sara intentionally spares Eric's life and later risks her life to help him, finally choosing to reject her Huntsman training and embrace who she truly is.
Physical Appearance[]
Sara is tall and well-built, having long red hair with strands braided down on the sides, light blue eyes, and fair skin. Her usual outfit is a combination of leather and armor, and she was usually shown to be armed with two curved swords, and carry a bow and a quiver of arrows. Even Ravenna considered her to be pretty.
Abilities[]
- Peak of Human Physical Condition: Having trained her whole life as a warrior, Sara is in top physical condition, having heighten reflexes, speed, strength, and durability.
- Acrobatics/Free Running: Sara is very agile, able to perform multiple acrobatic movements in her fighting style.
- Master Hand to Hand Combatant/Martial Artist: Having been trained in the art of war since childhood, Sara is a formidable fighter and highly skilled combatant with a range of weapons. She is able to easily go up against and nearly best Eric, a master combatant in his own right.
- Master Markswoman: Sara is a very skilled sharpshooter, mainly with a bow an arrow.
- Master Archer: She is noted to be especially talented at shooting with a bow and arrow, claiming that she "Never misses", which, from we see of her shooting skills, may well be correct.
- Master Swordswoman: Her primary weapon are two curved swords, Sara proves to be extremely proficient in the art of swordsmanship.
- Master Markswoman: Sara is a very skilled sharpshooter, mainly with a bow an arrow.
Relationships[]
Eric[]
Eric, Sara's husband
Eric and Sara first met as children. They trained alongside each other and became good friends. As adults, Sara fell deeply in love with Eric, defying Freya's laws against love to be with him. The pair 'married' each other in a private ceremony and Sara planned to leave behind the only life she'd known to start a new one with her husband. Unfortunately, the pair were forcibly separated by Freya, who tricked Sara into believing Eric had abandoned her. Sara was heartbroken by this, feeling betrayed by Eric. When they met again years later, Sara was still angry with Eric and, out of loyalty to Freya, was willing to betray him to her.
However, upon learning that Eric did not abandon her and actually believed her to be dead, Sara's anger began to dissipate and her strong feelings for him returned (her love for Eric having never really gone away). Despite this, Sara still betrayed Eric to Freya, but by this point she seemed
Sara and Eric make love in a hot spring
extremely conflicted about it, to the point where she actually faked Eric's death rather than kill him, as she could not bring herself to go through with it. When Eric's assaination attempt failed, Sara herself tried to kill either Freya or Ravenna and seemed distressed when Eric was captured. She fought alongside him in the battle against Ravenna and, after Ravenna's defeat, she finally reconciled with Eric properly, happy that they could now be together openly. According to Eric, Sara brings out the best in him, which may be true, as Eric seems more lighthearted around Sara and her around him. Sara also sees that Eric is a good man at heart and serves as a moral guide for him.
Freya[]
Sara was practically raised by Freya and respected her as her queen but also as her adoptive mother. However, Sara's love for her future husband Eric proved stronger than her loyalty to Freya - she defied her laws to be with him. After believing Eric to have abandoned her, Sara became more loyal to Freya, hardening herself as Freya wanted and replacing Eric as Freya's favourite Huntsman. Freya placed a great deal of trust in his adopted daughter and was proud of her achievements. However, it is unclear how much of Sara's loyalty to Freya was of her own accord and how much of it was brainwashing. Even after discovering Eric still loved her and had not betrayed her, Sara was so dedicated to Freya that she was willing to betray the man she loved to help Freya, although she clearly felt increasingly confused and guilty about the situation. Eventually, Sara's love for Eric once again proved to be powerful than Freya's hold over her, with Sara defying Freya and outright rebelling against her. However, Sara seemed grateful and even sympathetic towards Freya after she gave her own life to stop Ravenna and protect the Huntsmen, showing she still had some respect for her.
Trivia[]
- The name Sara is a variation of Sarah, which is of Hebrew origin and means "princess". Sometimes, Sara is pronounced the same as Sarah, but other times, it is pronounced 'sah-ra', which is how it is pronounced in the films.
- There are some discrepancies involving Sara's character as it is portrayed in the two films. In the first film, Finn implies to Eric that he was the one who killed Sara and that she "screamed his name" before dying. However, The Huntsman: Winter's War shows that Eric saw that Sara's 'death', in which she was killed by Huntsman and did not scream his name. It is unknown how Finn knew about Sara in this case or why Eric didn't detect that he was lying; this is most likely a plot hole. However, one possible explanation is that Finn merely mentioning his wife's death and taunting Eric over it was enough to infuriate him, given his anger issues, and so it was irrelevant to him that Finn had no involvement in Sara's 'death'.