| “ | Storian: And so it was that Evil had finally won true love’s kiss, condemning both schools and all those within their walls, Good and Evil alike, to perish in agony, allowing Rafal’s Evil… Rafal: Yes! Storian: …true Evil, to overtake the world. Sophie: What have I done? Why does anyone have to die? I thought you wanted Evil to win. Those are my friends. Rafal: They are merely fairy-tale Evil. We must wipe the slate clean to make way for true Evil. Welcome to Never After, my love. Sophie: No! I didn’t want to hurt them. I thought you said we’d just rule them. Rafal: And we will rule Never After, where every one of those students, every professor, anyone who could challenge us, is dead. Including… your nemesis. Sophie: Oh! No, Aggie! This is not what I wanted! Rafal: Oh, it’s too late for that now, Sophie. You’ve driven away everyone, lied to everyone, betrayed everyone. You’re all alone now. That’s why you’re mine. |
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What's the Work?[]
The School for Good and Evil is a 2022 action-fantasy movie based on the book series of the same name, starring Sophia Anne Caruso, Sofia Wylie, Laurence Fishburne, and Charlize Theron among numerous other actors and actresses. Focusing on two girls named Sophie and Agatha, they are enrolled into two different schools meant to suit one topic: the first: good. The second: evil. It's up to them to survive in their new environment and reunite while a darker subject slowly begins to loom over both.
Who is Rafal Mistral and What Has He Done?[]
Rafal Mistral is the twin brother of good-natured Rhian. Becoming twisted by arrogance and a desire for power, Rafal one day spars with his brother and blatantly disregards the rules by using magic. Rafal convinces Rhian to do another round, which he reluctantly agrees to. Rafal then reveals that he's using blood magic that he founded a day ago, which was strictly prohibited. Rafal states that he's been growing tired of managing the school constantly and seeks to conquer the world, grabbing a sword. Rhian however then drags him off the cliff. Rhian is seen getting up and looks at his brother's deceased body in sorrow.
In the present day, "Rhian" continues to run the two schools as the headmaster. "Rhian" makes his first entrance at the orientation to inform the new students, which include Sophie and Agatha, about the purpose of the school and when they ask respective if they were dropped at the wrong school or going back home, "Rhian" brushes it off and cheerfully tells them to have a nice semester. But then Rafal sends a message to Agatha, telling her that she belongs to him and to stay away from her. Agatha rushes to Sophie and they both enter "Rhian"'s office. Sophie and Agatha plead their case to "Rhian", who explains that the graduates such as Hercules, Snow White, Cinderella, El Cid, Sinbad, Jack, etc. were all real people who have shaped history in the past. "Rhian" also details that Sophie can only go to the school of good if she performs a true love's kiss. It also turns out that if the students fail they are turned into different creatures, as shown with a wishing fish that Agatha rescues, who manages to turn back to her original form and peacefully disintegrates into dust as well as the poor Prince Gregor Charming who becomes a stymph and dies via Tedros.
Rafal then appears as a colony of bees to seemingly save Sophie from Hester and tells her she's doing a excellent job at villainy. Rafal shows up in a mirror and persuades Sophie that she can be the key for evil winning over good and that he's the only one who can trust. When the staff notices Sophie falling in love with Tedros, they confront "Rhian", who proposes a Trial by Tale to determine if Sophie can switch for good, starting at sundown. Sophie however cowardly backs out when Tedros is confronted by a Pumpkin knight and Agatha instead rescues him. Sophie has a falling out with Agatha over this and Rafal smirks at Agatha before disappearing. Rafal continues to play with Sophie's emotions and feelings, showing her what Agatha told Dovey. Rafal succeeds in corrupting her into becoming the most powerful being that the world is capable of and she accepts his gift. Agatha goes to the faculty and Dovey angrily confronts Lasso knowing that Rafal's presence was there all along. Lasso says that Rafal's goal for Sophie is to use her as a tool so that evil can win.
However, Professor Emma Anemone shuts her down: saying the truth that Rafal's plan is to annihilate both the good and evil schools and keep the magic to himself. "Rhian" conveniently makes his entrance, revealing Sophie has gone missing and that Rafal will indeed kill everyone if he gets to Sophie. "Rhian" has the staff look for her and then Agatha to take Sophie to him if she appears in the Evers' Ball. Lasso is horrified at what Rafal had turned Sophie into, Sophie proceeds to mock Lasso about her backstory and love for Rafal, who had coldly tossed her away as "not evil enough". Sophie then uses the blood magic to transform Lasso and Dovey and hijacks the Evers' Ball while her appearance changes into a witch. The rest of the students discover that Sophie had turned the staff into inanimate dolls and vow to end her life. Agatha crashes the Never Ball only for the students to shift into their opposite roles. The students then combat each other much to Agatha's dismay. Sophie goes to "Rhian"'s tower, only for him to shapeshift to Rafal.
Sophie asks why he tricked her and posed as his brother, and he explains his full backstory, showing that he had stabbed his brother to death, and justifies it as just who he is, having tempted both schools to slowly fall into ruin. Rafal then kisses Sophie so that she can rule together with him, which causes both schools to start coming apart. As a shocked Sophie witnesses her new friends perish by being crushed by debris, Rafal cruelly taunts her by brushing them off as "mere fairy tales" and that he must "wipe the slate clean" to reshape the world in his own image: Never After, where all who could pose a threat to him are gone forever. Sophie cries that she didn't wanted this to happen, and Rafal bluntly states he's hers. Agatha arrives in the nick of time and declares that good is better than evil and that as long as she's around, he'll never have Sophie. Rafal casually attempts to use his lifesize pen to impale Agatha, but Sophie gives up her life instead. Rafal screams in defeat as Sophie's heroic act reverses everything he had been working on. Rafal spitefully tries to murder Tedros, but Agatha steps up to the plate with a mortally wounded Sophie's help and rams Excalibur's blade in the middle of Rafal's body, which kills him for good.
Heinous Standards?[]
Easy, easy pass. Rafal's work of vileness has led to him wickedly stabbing his brother in the back, driving dozens of teenage students into hatred and punishing them when they don't do their tasks one too many times by agonizingly turning them into beasts with the process ending their life eventually, all with the intent of ultimately wiping out all in both schools and let evil reign in on the planet. While his true goal doesn’t have much weight, the steps he took to get there definitely does. Along the way, he tempts Sophie to dispose the teachers, threatens Agatha with death in order to ensure that nothing could beat him, and ruthlessly attempts to finish off Tedros out of sheer pettiness.
Mitigating Factors?[]
Rafal's turn to evil is because he grew disillusioned with having to oversee the balances of good and evil, but it's hardly sympathetic. In the end, all he is looking after is to seize dominance: having willingly tapped into blood magic after decades of looking for it, and being more than ready to kill his brother to win. Rafal also pretends to care for Sophie with a promise of sharing the world together, but it's all lies and shows absolutely zero remorse/concern when she's caught in the crossfire. So having taken everything to account, he has zero redeeming traits.
Final Verdict?[]
Easy yes to our second Laurence Fishburne!