Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 4: Called Back into Narnia

(Note: Journey through Narnia began as a review of Prince Caspian and is turning out to be something of a cross between a review and a commentary. That's why I've been putting up the spoiler warning, and that's why I'll keep on using it throughout the Journey.)

WARNING: HUGE SPOILERS!!

A train comes, and the station starts ripping apart, until the Pevensies can see a beach on the other side of the rails. When the train has rushed past, the Pevensies find themselves in a huge cave with the beach just outside, and the train fades away as it leaves.

I really like how they worked the pull into Narnia. The kids aren’t being pulled back to Narnia – they’re being pulled towards it.

And as they start to play in the water, we hear the recurrence of the beautiful song “One Day” from the first film. In Wardrobe, the song appears both in the train-ride scene and when the Pevensies enter Narnia together for the first time. In that context, this song works beautifully for this scene.

Edmund: “Where do you suppose we are?”

Peter: (grinning) “Where do you think??”

Edmund: “I don’t remember any ruins in Narnia.”

One change to the story that I really appreciate is that the Pevensies know right away where they are, and that they figure out their position at Cair Paravel quickly, too. In the book, it takes them all day to figure it out! Every time I read the book (or hear the Focus on the Family radio adaptation), I feel like saying, “Oh, come on, guys! It’s so ridiculously obvious! Where else would you be but Narnia??” If you’ve read the books, have you ever had that feeling?

The gold chess piece – a Centaur – that Susan finds is Edmund’s, and he says so.

Peter: “Which chess set?”

Edmund: “I didn’t have a gold chess set in Finchley.”

And the Pevensies also quickly work out that since their castle looks like ancient ruins, they must have been gone for centuries. These kids are really using their heads!

It’s so sad to see the kids standing where their thrones once were, looking out over what was once their throne room. Watching that, I could see in my mind’s eye where everything was supposed to be, and it was just so sad! The Pevensies have returned to find that their beloved Narnia has changed even more than they have.

Edmund inspects a remaining section of one of the stone walls. He says that the damage did not happen naturally – it was done by catapults. When Edmund said that, I had a mental shiver – this was something I’d never thought of before. The implication is that the Telmarines attacked Cair Paravel and destroyed it.

When the Pevensies are about to go down into the treasure chamber, Peter rips off part of his shirt for a torch. When he asks about matches, Edmund produces his new "electric torch" (flashlight, if you don't know). Peter laughs: "Why didn't you say so before?"

Each Pevensie has his or her own chest. Only Peter holds back at first from opening his as the others rummage through theirs. You could interpret his reluctance to open his chest several different ways, and I won't try right now.

One thing that I appreciate (another something I've always thought should be mentioned in the book) is something that Lucy says... with tears in her eyes.

"Everyone we used to know... Mr. Tumnus, the Beavers... they're all gone."

It's seemingly small tragedy compared to the bigger tragedies of what has happened in Narnia, but it really is an important one. The old Narnia is forever gone... and with her are the Kings and Queens' beloved friends.

Coming Next: Trumpkin Takes Center Stage!