Aslan Returns, Part IV: Caspian

The first question that will appear in many minds is "why on earth is she looking at Caspian before finishing the Pevensies?!?!?!?"

I have a reason, and, hopefully, after reading this, you will understand why.

Andrew Adamson's Caspian, and Ben Barnes, have had an uphill battle with me. When I first heard who, well, after I first saw a picture of who, would be playing Caspian, I had a very cynical outlook on the entire film, which was, in part, justified. Being a die-hard C.S. Lewis fan, and having been very happy with the first movie's adherence to the books, I was unhappy with the difference in the age of Caspian in the book and Ben Barnes, and I was also unhappy with how different he looked from Peter. C.S. Lewis had specifically noted that Caspian was a boy like Peter. In fact, I even quipped to one of my buddies that it wouldn't have been bad at all if Ben Barnes and Orlando Bloom were cast as Caspian and Peter, which shows my utter dislike of the differences. While I did not expect Disney to come up with a carbon copy of William Moseley for Caspian, I still wanted something a bit closer.

But then I sat down in the theater.

Ben Barnes' performance blew me away.

Everything I had ever expected in Caspian was there on the screen before me. He was a young boy, but he was also a man. He was fighting for a throne, yet he knew how inadequate he was to hold it. I was so stunned that someone had to point out to me how his accent came and went before I realized it.

My skepticism about the differences between the book and the script was pretty much completely healed with Caspian. The writers had reached into the book and pulled out the heart of what C.S. Lewis had written about in Prince Caspian, and they built a story around it. This covered a multitude of sins, including the romance angle between Caspian and Susan. But even with the heart of the book in their hands, the movie would have been terrible--except there were some actors who understood the spirit of the story.

The Caspian that Andrew Adamson built had the spirit of the books, even though it lacked the exact details that were given by Lewis. Caspian is at the same brink in life as Peter is: he is no longer a boy, but he is not quite a man. Yet, he reacts in a much different way than Peter. Instead of looking inward and trying to use his own strength to conquer, he looks out, first to the Narnians, then to the ancient kings and queens, and then finally to Aslan himself. When he does try to work in his own strength, during the night raid, the raid is botched, but he seems to slowly begin to understand that it was, partially, his fault, and that he can't control everything by himself and still make out alright. In fact, he even trusts Peter and Edmund so much with the outcome of the duel that he is gone for a large portion.

Caspian's growth and change mirrors that of Peter's. The power play is truly a power play. Caspian knows that the kingship is his by right, and the concept of having a high king over all kings is foreign to the Telmarine mind, however different Caspian's personal views may be. While Peter is fighting the fact that he will not be returning to Narnia, Caspian is fighting for his rights. As Peter begins accepting the fact, Caspian begins to realize that a kingdom is not a right, even for a prince. It is something to be earned, and even then, the kingdom is not his--he is only the steward.

A steward is much different then a king. A king rules supreme. A steward is entrusted with duties, but is accountable to the king. Caspian first understands being a King of Narnia as something where he is the only ruler--a Telmarine mindset. As he watches the Narnians and the ancient kings and kings, he begins to understand that the Pevensies were untrusted with their rule by Aslan, and just as Aslan called them into Narnia, he called them out. And he begins to wonder if he has that sort of strength, to be Aslan's steward for so many people. But he begins to understand. A mark of his understanding, as well as his respect for High King Peter, comes just before the Pevensies leave.

Peter gives Caspian his sword. But Caspian does not take it as a gift. He simply says "I will keep it for you." He claims it not as a king, but as a steward.

It is then that he becomes the true King of Narnia.