The Last Battle | Chapter 5: How Help Came to the King

Chapter Summary:

As soon as King Tirian awakens from his dream, two children appear in front of him (Eustace and Jill). Eustace and Jill apologize for taking so long to get to him--it has been a week on earth since King Tirian asked for help in his dream, but only ten seconds in Narnian time. Eustace and Jill untie King Tirian, and they escape the opposite direction of the stable, careful not to leave any track to follow. 

During their journey, Eustace and Jill are shocked to discover that King Tirian is the seventh descendant from King Rilian, who has been dead over 200 years. Likewise, King Tirian is shocked to hear that not only are Eustace and Jill still alive, but that Peter, Edmund, and Lucy were three of the other individuals in his vision. Even more, Tirian is stunned that the other two people in his vision were Digory and Polly--the two humans who were present at the dawn of the Narnian world. 

Eustace and Jill explain that after the vision, it was decided that the only way to get back to Narnia to help King Tirian was to use the magical rings that Digory and Polly had buried long ago. Peter and Edmund had successfully dug up the rings, and they all got on a train (presumably Peter and Edmund got on one, while DIgory, Polly, Lucy, Eustace, and Jill got on the other) to meet to exchange the rings. But suddenly there was a jolt, a noise, and Eustace and Jill found themselves in Narnia without having used the rings.

Eventually, King Tirian, Eustace, and Jill reach their destination--a gray, dingy tower/outpost that King Tirian had kept up in case of war or need of shelter. They arm themselves with swords and armor at the outpost, and also gather firewood and make a fire. They have a simple meal together. 

Reflection:

Something does not add up here. If you're a fan of the TCON series, you already know what it is. In the vision/dream in the last chapter, we meet the seven friends of Narnia. In today's chapter, it becomes even more clear--no one is mentioning Susan. Susan was not on the train. Why Susan was not on the train is unknown to us, and probably always will be. Why she was not considered one of the seven friends of Narnia is also an unknown. But what is known is that this has significant implications for the final chapter of The Last Battle. I will not spoil it; we will come to that in a little over a week.

As for this chapter, which is a fascinating one, we get to experience the world through both King Tirian's eyes and through the eyes of the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve who have together seen the entire world of Narnia pass before their eyes. We get to watch in awe, like Tirian, as Tirian realizes who he is talking to--people out of his world's past--who are connected to the still-living human founders of Narnia itself. I cannot imagine it would be much different than two people popping up before your eyes, telling you that they are Mark Antony and Cleopatra, and that they live in a world where Adam and Eve are still alive. Similarly, Eustace and Jill in this chapter experience the (what must be) intense feeling of the passage of time. It has only been a year, but Prince Rilian has been dead for over 200 years. 

And of course, there's one last thing to mention from this chapter. Remember back to the last chapter of The Silver Chair and recall what Aslan told Eustace and Jill--that the next time that they returned to Narnia, they would be in Narnia for good. Forgot about that so soon? Is it a spoiler? Not really; you would know this already if you have been even reading along with my blog posts, much less the book itself. So there it is--Eustace and Jill will not be returning home. As for why, we will discover that soon. Until then, we carry on with the story at hand, and hope that Eustace and Jill are the solution to the Nazi-esque crisis that has overcome Narnia.