Summary
Scene 17 (Hello, Beasty)
Once Prince Phillip and the fairies leave Aurora's chamber, Maleficent approaches Aurora's bed. She apologizes to Aurora's sleeping figure, explaining that cursing Aurora is unforgivable. Maleficent explains how her actions were motivated by a need for hatred and revenge and then vows to protect Aurora for the rest of her life. After, Maleficent kisses Aurora's forehead. Maleficent's kiss awakens Aurora because there is "no truer love" than their pure relationship. Aurora greets Maleficent by saying, "hello, godmother," indicating her forgiveness. Maleficent tearfully replies, "hello, Beasty."
Scene 18 (Capturing Maleficent)
Deep in the castle, a soldier informs King Stefan that Maleficent has entered the palace; excited to finally get revenge, Stefan prepares for battle. Maleficent and Aurora attempt to escape, and Maleficent promises Aurora they will return to the Moors together. As Aurora and Maleficent walk through an empty room, a net made of iron falls from the ceiling, trapping Maleficent. Soldiers swarm her, seizing Aurora and stabbing Maleficent with iron weapons. As she loses consciousness, Maleficent transforms Diaval from a raven into a dragon.
Diaval sets fire to the palace in his dragon form and frees Maleficent by lifting the net off her. At Maleficent's urging, Aurora escapes the battle as soldiers surround Maleficent and restrain Diaval. Aurora finds herself in a chamber where Maleficent's wings are kept behind a glass cabinet. As Aurora approaches, the wings begin to flutter wildly; Aurora breaks the cabinet to free the wings.
King Stefan, wearing a suit of iron armor, walks through the fire to Maleficent and knocks her to the ground with an iron chain. Standing over Maleficent, he gloatingly asks, "How does it feel to be a fairy creature without wings in a world where you don't belong?" He then throws Maleficent onto the throneroom dais, then runs at her, wielding a sword.
Before Stefan can stab Maleficent, her wings return and attach to her back, saving her life. Stefan gives the command to kill Maleficent, who fights back with her full power now that she can fly. Stefan ensnares Maleficent with an iron chain around her ankle, but her wings allow her to fly free and out of the castle, dragging Stefan with her.
Maleficent escapes Stefan's iron chain and chokes him, seemingly about to kill him. Then, her expression softens, and she drops him, declaring, "it's over," permitting him to live. However, as Maleficent turns to take flight, Stefan tackles her, knocking them both over the side of the castle. Stefan plummets to his death. Wrapped in her wings, Maleficent lays beside his body.
Scene 19 (A New Queen)
A brightly colored dawn breaks over the castle, which Aurora watches, seated on a hillside in the Moors. Flying overhead, Maleficent disassembles the wall of thorns and takes "off her crown." Flowers bloom over Maleficent's throne, and the three fairies bring a crown to Aurora. Maleficent places the crown on Aurora's head, unifying the two realms under Aurora's leadership. The narrator then reveals her identity: Aurora from the future. Prince Phillip arrives at Aurora's coronation, and Maleficent and Diaval fly through the Moors, finally free.
Analysis
After Prince Phillip fails to wake Aurora, Maleficent reveals the depth of her love for Aurora and her regret over cursing her. Through her innocent love and wholehearted acceptance, Aurora "stole what was left of [Maleficent's] heart." The phrasing of Maleficent's love confession is symbolically significant. First, by claiming Aurora "stole" her heart, Maleficent references her relationship with Stefan. Stefan was caught stealing in the Moors, which began their friendship, and eventually, Stefan exploited Maleficent's love and vulnerability to steal her wings. After this betrayal, Maleficent associates love and vulnerability with things being violently taken from her. However, Maleficent is vulnerable with Aurora, and by "stealing" Maleficent's heart, Aurora contributes meaning to Maleficent's life. Second, Maleficent claims Aurora stole "what was left" of her heart. After Stefan stole Maleficent's wings, she considered herself both physically and emotionally damaged. Just as a part of her body was missing, a part of her soul was missing.
After Maleficent's kiss wakes Aurora, Diaval comments that there is "no truer love" than the bond Maleficent and Aurora share. Maleficent and Aurora's bond is unique in several ways. First, Maleficent has no obligation to Aurora; she is not Aurora's adoptive or biological mother but still chooses to protect Aurora maternally. Third, Aurora is the child of Maleficent's worst enemy, and Maleficent initially hates Aurora for what she represents. Thus, Maleficent's genuine, selfless love for Aurora demonstrates the beauty of Aurora's personality and character. Finally, Aurora and Maleficent's bond is strengthened by forgiveness. Before Aurora learned the truth about her curse, her relationship with Maleficent was limited. However, after the truth is revealed and the curse is broken, Aurora fully accepts and forgives Maleficent, making their bond unbreakable.
The final scenes explore the symbolic weight of Maleficent's wings through visual imagery and conclusive narrative choices. First, Maleficent vows to "protect" Aurora for the rest of her life despite her lack of wings, which once earned her the title "Protector of the Moors." With this vow, Maleficent accepts her wingless future and understands the power that loving Aurora gives her. Then, Aurora finds Maleficent's wings locked in a case struggling to be free, symbolizing how Maleficent's wings, and thus her power, always belonged to her alone. When Maleficent is fully healed by receiving Aurora's forgiveness, her wings reattach to her body with a shimmer of gold magic.
The film's final shots use visual references to images used earlier to demonstrate the conclusion of Maleficent and Stefan's character arcs. For example, Stefan's armor uses the same thorny collar on Maleficent's gown when she cursed Aurora. During Aurora's christening, Maleficent entered the throne room motivated by vengeance and with the intent of causing irreversible damage by cursing Aurora. During the final battle, King Stefan enters the throne room motivated by his hatred for Maleficent and intending to kill her. Another example comes after Stefan falls to his death. Maleficent lays beside Stefan's body, wrapped in her wings. This image mirrors an earlier shot, where Maleficent, newly wingless, curls into the fetal position, agonizing over the suffering Stefan's betrayal caused her. Now reunited with her wings, she curls up, agonizing over the harm she caused Stefan by cursing Aurora. Maleficent's love for Aurora healed her body and soul, but Stefan's hatred for Maleficent resulted in his death.
In the final scene, Maleficent crowns Aurora Queen of the Moors and the human realm, indicating that through her loving relationship with Maleficent, a balance is struck between civilization and nature. Prince Phillip attends the coronation and stands on the sidelines, demonstrating that, unlike in the original 1959 Sleeping Beauty, Phillip and Aurora's romantic love is secondary to Aurora's relationship with Maleficent and her role as Queen. Visually, the coronation scene evokes the bright, whimsical lighting and set decoration used at the film's beginning, showing that Maleficent's emotional and physical healing brought new life and harmony to the Moors. Rather than end on Aurora's coronation, the final shot of the film is Maleficent flying in silhouette; the shot focuses on her winged form to emphasize that with her love for Aurora and her wings restored, Maleficent is free from the cycle of violence started by Stefan's betrayal.
