In regards to your second point, I've been wondering if they'll play up the bullying aspect with Puddleglum as well. It's clear the other Marshwiggles feel he doesn't fit in.

I wouldn't be surprised if they expanded on the relationship between Rilian and Lotgk. We aren't given a whole lot of details about their relationship in the book, so there's probably a few unanswered questions there.

1. One thought that comes to mind is that we never find out what Rilian's mother was trying to tell him as she lay dying, or why she might have had knowledge about the LotGK that every other Narnian did not.

Personally I've always thought the queen was simply trying to say goodbye to Rilian, and found it kind of heartbreaking when she dies before saying anything. I've never really been a fan of the idea that the queen somehow know about the Lotgk. The book does leave what her messege was open to the reader, so it's not impossible that she did. But I kind of hope they don't go in that direction for the movie.

There are several other relationship issues which do need clarification as well, not only what Caspian's Queen was trying to tell her son. (Beware unknown ladies dressed in green?)

1.One is why LOTGK in guise of a snake wanted to kill an innocently sleeping Queen. I'll have to get back to the reading group again, as I've forgotten who it was who suggested that LOTGK might have been snooping around as a woman in Caspian's court before the fatal picnic. It is quite a good idea, since we don't need to see her closely if the film adopts that sort of approach.

I can imagine the sort of role she might play within the palace. Maybe the sort of person the rest of the court see every now and then, and not ever where she is supposed to be? The sort of person that eventually if someone notices who she is, would probably want her to get the sack for dereliction of duty and who therefore might incur her wrath? Perhaps it was LOTGK's unseen hand which slips the Queen a sleeping draught at the picnic, leaving the Queen drowsy and vulnerable to later attack. Or maybe it just was the Queen disturbing LOTGK taking a bath in one of the fountains at their picnic ground, thus annoying her sufficiently to change into a snake form.

2. That Talking Stag. How did it get to Harfang? And for that matter, what happened to all the other disappearing Narnian champions?

3. If Caspian didn't kill Lord Drinian, how did Drinian die, many years previous to Jill and Eustace's arrival? Or do we really need to see that?

4. Were Caspian and Rilian on good terms when Rilian went off into the woodwork? Or were they both too lost in their own grief to help each other? That occurs to me because of Rilian's temptation at the opening of the Bism chasm. A certain rivalry there, methinks.

At the beginning of the SC BBC audio drama, LOTGK calls on whatever powers there be, by all fears, loves and terrors etc to enable her to fulfil her aims. But what are they, and why? Then the tapes start, with Eustace discussing his dread of going back to Experiment House with Lucy and Edmund. And then Lucy starts wondering what is happening in Narnia. Thus we see Caspian arriving back to Narnia, making Ramandu's daughter his Queen, and then Trumpkin and Drinian discussing a forthcoming "happy event". After Baby Rilian is cheerfully born and reared, the tapes then go into the story of how the Queen was killed and the ensuing heartbreak, including Rilian's disappearance.

Eustace then goes back to school, meets Jill, and then they escape to Narnia. Jill meets Aslan, gets mission and directions and then at the Owls' Parliament they both are filled in on anything else that needs to be covered. They meet Puddleglum and set off, but the Ettinsmoor giants are left out of that production entirely. They cross rugged country to the giant's bridge, and a stone of that bridge is dislodged. And then we go into what happens into the rest of the story. What does FoTF do with SC, I wonder?

I definitely agree with your points, especially Rillian's mother. There could be an interesting explanation why she needed to be killed. Perhaps it was because a mother's careful oversight would make it harder to get at the prince, and her death would throw the whole castle into chaos. But I think Drinian would have died from natural causes as he was an experienced captain while Caspian was just a boy.
FotF starts the drama with the witch seducing Rillian to come with her with the accompaniment of her mandolin. Rillian doesn't speak, so it is a bit of an evil monologue ending with an evil laugh that she has the prince in her power. Cue the theme music and introduction. Then the story starts with Eustace and Jill at school. Everything is pretty normal after that. Less well known English expressions are dropped, and Eustace and Jill call each other by their first names. The prince's voice is revealed during the flashback that happens during the Owl's tale.
I'm going to put her speech here because I rather like it. It wouldn't work for a movie though.
"My dear Prince, my poor spellbound prince, today is the day I take you to your true kingdom, away from this world of distant dreams and fantasies. Today you will join me in my world, where I will care for you, nurture you, prepare you for your true destiny. You'll fear for nothing; you'll want for nothing, for you will hear only what I tell you and act only as I decree! It's all for the best, my precious and valiant knight, for our future together where I will reign... that is to say, WE will reign victorious! Now come, my prince, come! (evil laugh)"
You can listen to the whole thing on youtube, but the audio quality is not the best, probably due to copyright.

If you've not heard it, this is a great way to whet you appetite for the movie.

Thanks, Anwinwe. I've got the whole lot, but in CD format, and at the moment the tapes of BBC audio dramas is all I can play without disturbing others in the house too much. I'm trying to do a comparison between the two as well as the BBC TV version of SC.

I like Fantasia_Kitty's idea about Puddleglum. The Marshwiggles seem to be rather dour and pessimistic people altogether, and think that Puddleglum is a bit too full of "bobbance and bounce". However, I noticed at the end that there was a Marshwiggle or two mooring the King's ship at Cair Paravel, and think that perhaps, like the Dwarfs, in particular, the Marshwiggles do a lot of the manual work to keep Narnia ticking along nicely. Especially along the waterfront and coastline.

Puddleglum may or may not be bullied by the others, as Fantasia says. But I think he also might have been the only Marshwiggle that was currently available to go on any expedition anywhere, due to the others having work commitments already. The other Marshwiggles might very well not approve of a relatively unoccupied Puddleglum, and want him to get some proper occupation or other to look "respeckabiggle".

I've got the whole lot, but in CD format, and at the moment the tapes of BBC audio dramas is all I can play without disturbing others in the house too much.

Aww, that's not fun. I hope you're able to listen soon!

I've been wondering if Puddleglum might not be younger than he has been depicted in the past. It would make sense that old and steady marshwiggles would criticize a young and "flighty" Puddleglum. I wonder if even his habit of putting the best face he can on things is considered "high spirits."

The other Marshwiggles might very well not approve of a relatively unoccupied Puddleglum, and want him to get some proper occupation or other to look "respeckabiggle".

I can see it now, the rebellious young Puddleglum who is lazy and spends his time fishing, smoking, and making eel pie.

I wouldn't be surprised if they expanded on the relationship between Rilian and Lotgk. We aren't given a whole lot of details about their relationship in the book, so there's probably a few unanswered questions there.

That's a very good point. One thing that I know that has puzzled readers, myself included, is why Rilian's participation was needed for the LotGK's conquest of Narnia. Jadis, for instance, wouldn't have cared about ruling through a puppet king; she'd have just busted out of the ground herself and taken over. The Witch's plot is so central in the story, too. I wouldn't be surprised either if they try to explain this a bit in the film, or else the movie audience might be wondering as well.

2. That Talking Stag. How did it get to Harfang? And for that matter, what happened to all the other disappearing Narnian champions?

I've always wondered about them as well! I wouldn't be surprised if the filmmakers might show their broken armor lying scattered in some upper region of Underland, perhaps; all that is left of them. (And wouldn't the sight of that make our questers feel even more despairing, too.)

I can see it now, the rebellious young Puddleglum who is lazy and spends his time fishing, smoking, and making eel pie.

@ Narnian 7: That's a very good point. One thing that I know that has puzzled readers, myself included, is why Rilian's participation was needed for the LotGK's conquest of Narnia. Jadis, for instance, wouldn't have cared about ruling through a puppet king; she'd have just busted out of the ground herself and taken over. The Witch's plot is so central in the story, too. I wouldn't be surprised either if they try to explain this a bit in the film, or else the movie audience might be wondering as well.

Yes you are right about Jadis, who came from Charn. When she got into Narnia, the apple that protected Narnia from her was planted, and by the time she was able to take it over, she did so as her thwarted right to do so. It may be that by that time there no longer remained any of Frank and Helen's descendants to rule Narnia, itself, plus the apple tree that protected Narnia had also finally gone. For Aslan, himself, appointed the Cabbie and his wife to rule Narnia, and in LWW the Beavers reiterated that it had to be humans as Narnia rulers, not the not-quite human Jadis, who had put a price on any human's head.

In PC, even Trufflehunter reinforces this idea. He reminded Trumpkin and Nikabrik that Narnia was not a place for humans but it was a place for humans to be kings of. When Aslan met Prince Caspian after the Battle of Beruna, he also mentioned that it had to be a human who was king of Narnia, and that Caspian, himself, was, like his predecessors, of human descent. Since Rilian was his son, he would also be necessary to rule Narnia, whatever his mother's human cred was.
It says a lot about LOTGK and her Narnian, and maybe non-human origins that she would need Rilian to allow her to rule, herself. Though that begs the question: Why didn't she kill the king, Caspian, rather than his mother?

I can see it now, the rebellious young Puddleglum who is lazy and spends his time fishing, smoking, and making eel pie.

I doubt that Puddleglum is lazy. Between making eel pies the other Marshwiggles might enjoy eating, not to mention the fishing, he at least does something useful. Smoking might be another thing, since habits like that might not really meet with social approval, whatever the disapprovers do themselves.

However, I think you forgot the fricassee'ed frogs and Puddleglum's penchant for nasty, alcoholic drinks - most likely spirits - in black square bottles. Given the location of his wigwam, both might explain what he knows about the Giants. Where does he get his booze from, I wonder?

Honestly, this discussion about why the Lady of the Green Kirtle needed Rilian as part of her plan makes me think of The Swan Princess film. The antagonist of that film seeks to have the heir to the throne of the land he seeks to conquer bound to him in similar fashion. He gives his justification for employing that route rather than conquering the place as "Once you steal something, you spend your whole life fighting to keep it." Though the Green Witch obviously intends to use force to take Narnia, I imagine she might think that having Rilian as her consort/slave husband might legitimize her claim in the minds of the Narnians, particularly as they find themselves bereft of Caspian.

In regards to your second point, I've been wondering if they'll play up the bullying aspect with Puddleglum as well. It's clear the other Marshwiggles feel he doesn't fit in.

Frankly, I hope not. I've always seen that, assuming the other Marshwiggles actually believe this and Puddleglum isn't just assuming because of his view of life, as the kind of thing where the other Wiggles might gossip and say, "Oh, that Puddleglum needs to grow up", but I never got the idea that they actively shunned or bullied him. (I also kind of saw that line as funny, and a way to establish that yes, apparently all Marshwiggles are like Puddleglum - in fact, they think of him as too optimistic. I didn't think it was supposed to be a sign of some kind of inner trauma of Puddleglum's or anything.)

1.One is why LOTGK in guise of a snake wanted to kill an innocently sleeping Queen. I'll have to get back to the reading group again, as I've forgotten who it was who suggested that LOTGK might have been snooping around as a woman in Caspian's court before the fatal picnic. It is quite a good idea, since we don't need to see her closely if the film adopts that sort of approach.

I also wonder if, perhaps, the LotGK was concerned about Rilian's mother, as a powerful female influence in his life, would have been a disruption in her attempts to enthrall him. Also, killing Rilian's mother was an excellent way to rattle him emotionally and get him to regularly travel alone, leaving him vulnerable to her.

There is also the question of how long Rilian's mother, as a star's daughter, might have lived. We know her father is ancient, but we have no idea what that meant for her lifetime. Perhaps, if she had not been murdered, she would have lived for a long, long time, and I'm not really convinced that the LotGK waiting to invade Narnia until Caspian was old to the point of being near death was an accident. If Rilian's mother was long lived, she could have made the LotGK's window of opportunity to invade Narnia much shorter. I suspect it was a combination of several reasons why the LotGK chose to kill Rilian's mother the way she did.

Honestly, this discussion about why the Lady of the Green Kirtle needed Rilian as part of her plan makes me think of The Swan Princess film. The antagonist of that film seeks to have the heir to the throne of the land he seeks to conquer bound to him in similar fashion. He gives his justification for employing that route rather than conquering the place as "Once you steal something, you spend your whole life fighting to keep it." Though the Green Witch obviously intends to use force to take Narnia, I imagine she might think that having Rilian as her consort/slave husband might legitimize her claim in the minds of the Narnians, particularly as they find themselves bereft of Caspian.

Welcome to NarniaWeb! And thank you for citing one of my favorite movies of all time for your example. Bias aside, I agree that I think the reason why the LotGK wants to use Rilian is to give her reign "legitimacy". After all, every successful conqueror of Narnia that we know of found some way to justify their reign in a sense of having a rightful rule - the White Witch went to great lengths to justify herself as Queen of Narnia, and the Telmarines made sure to establish their own monarchy. Even the Calormens in TLB deceived the Narnians into believing that this was the will of Aslan.

The Tisroc in HHB explicitly refers to Narnia as a country of magic, and I get the idea that all of Narnia's enemies know to fear that magic, as well as Narnia's ultimate protector. In a sense, I think that the LotGK, like the White Witch, wants to avoid directly confronting that kind of power, and instead circumvent it by finding some kind of claim of legitimacy, no matter how underhanded she was about attaining it.

Thank you for your kind welcome Ryadian. I think you have definitely hit it on the head-the Green Witch had no desire to take on Aslan, and undoubtedly she hoped that having the true heir of Narnia in her power would help keep Aslan off her back, since her sister witch’s pretense of being a child of Adam and Eve certainly didn’t. You make good points about Ramandu’s daughter as well, and I can’t help but wonder if she may have had powers of her own that the witch feared.

I find David Magee's point on "unanswered relationship questions" as referring to Jill Pole herself. If you think about it, she is the most unknowable main character in The Chronicles of Narnia books. Because she's the main protagonist of The Silver Chair movie or series, it makes sense for the [child] audience to ask questions like

"What is her relationship to other kids at school, not just bullies?"/"What is her relationship to adults in general, not just school?"/"What is her relationship to her family?"/"Does she even have a family?"

Of course most fans of Narnia don't care about concrete answers to those questions, or really want them answered. Yet when you think about it, Jill would be unknowable on screen if those questions weren't brought up at some point, and/or answered later.

That doesn't mean that Jill has to be given a sad backstory [like losing her mother during the German Blitz and/or being abused by her violent alcoholic father]. The story doesn't need it.

But the actress who plays Jill needs to know where her character is in life. What she's thinking.

"Does she feel like a failure if she has no friends?"/"Does she even want friends?"/"Does she hate her life or is she merely going through a rough patch?"/"Does she want to be a good person or does she not care?"/"Does she want revenge against her persecutors or does she want peace with her enemies?"

We, the audience, don't really need to know that. Puddleglum doesn't need to know that (I think). Eustace doesn't need to know that yet (Not until they're closer friends, I guess). But Jill's creators need to know.