Script Analysis: “The Woman King” — Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read.

Today: A scene-by-scene breakdown of the script for the 2022 movie The Woman King, screenplay by Dana Stevens, story by Maria Bello and Dana Stevens.

Plot summary: Inspired by true events, The Woman King follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca as she inspires the King to take on the enemies determined to violate their honor and destroy their way of life.

The scene-by-scene breakdown was prepared by Crystal L. Brooks.

The Woman King
 Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
 By Crystal L Brooks
 GoIntoTheStory.com

Black Screen

A text crawl sets the stage for the story. It takes place in West Africa 1823. The story takes place in the African kingdom of Dahomey. They have a new king named Ghezo. His primary enemy was the Oyo Empire. They begin to kidnap and sell his people to European slave ships. Although the Oyo Empire is larger and more powerful, he has his own secret weapon: An elite force of female soldiers known as the Agojie. They are led by their general, Nanisca.

P. 1–4 A teenage girl, FUMBE, has been captured along with other women and children. They are inside a small tent. She tends to her wounded and dying mother. Her mother tells her not to look at the men when they come. Outside of the tent are the men who captured the remaining people from her village, The Mahi. Outside of the hut are SIX MEN. They are soldiers sitting around fire, prepping their weapons. It is nighttime and they are surrounded by grassland in the moonlight.

The men are spooked. Suddenly out of the grass come the all-female AGOJIE TROOPS. They are led by NANISCA, a fierce chiseled warrior who wears a necklace of shark’s teeth. Her lieutenants are AMENZA and IZOGIE who are on her right and left. They carry machetes. They begin to cut down the guards. Nanisca is referred to as Miganon which means general.

The female soldiers slaughter the enemy. They rescue the Dahomey captives. In the morning, the women look over the village. Finding a horseshoe, Nanisca realizes that the soldiers are from Oyo. Besides rescuing the Dahomey captives, they take the Mahi men and women as their prisoners. Out of the six guards seen earlier, three remain. She examines the dead Agojie soldiers lying on the ground and tells Izogie to find her stronger warriors.

P. 4–7 We are introduced to NAWI, a 19-year-old village girl. She’s a small, skinny girl who is neglected by her parents. She is hard at work doing various duties. On top of this, she cares for her two younger SIBLINGS. We meet her mother YDANDE who showers love and affection on the two younger children but is harsh towards Nawi. She makes her go to the market.

She walks through the city of Abomey with her friend DAYO. Abomey is a thriving city. Nawi is in the open market when she learns from a vendor that her mother has found her a wedding dress. This means that her parents have found her yet another suitor. The girls hear a loud sound coming from a conch shell. The citizens gather around, cheering and singing from across the palace. Nawi and Dayo watch as the freed Dahomey women return to their families. However, two captured women, Fumbe and ODE, a Mahi, watch the tearful reunions knowing they have no families to go back too. The Agojie warriors return, and all of the citizens lower their eyes as they are not allowed to look upon them. However, Nawi lifts her eyes to get a peek at them. She’s fascinated by them. She’s never seen women be confident and powerful.

Despite the victory and the adulation of the people, Nanisca doesn’t celebrate. She tells Amenza that they do not “know an evil is coming”. Nanisca asks TANONU, the head Eunuch to speak to the king. He informs that he will only see his wives today. She tells him that she will wait.

P. 7–13 Nawi returns home to find a visitor waiting for her. Her parents have arranged for a rich suitor and recent widower named ABADE, a man in his 50’s. Her mother fawns over him while her father, MORU introduces Nawi to him. Abade is not impressed with the skinny girl. Eager to marry her off, Moru tells him that if she isn’t pregnant by the time the rains come, he can bring her back. Abade checks her over and notices a bumpy white scar on the back of her upper arm.

Her parents leave her alone with Abade. He tells her that he has 3 fields of palm trees that she will work for him. She remains silent. He slaps her across the face and tells her she will learn to be obedient. She fights back and knocks him to the ground. Her parents come in and try to help Abade who is angry. He tells her father that Nawi is worthless and that he will tell everyone. No one is going to pay him for Nawi to be anyone’s wife. Moru is angry by this and drags Nawi to the Palace walls. He knocks on the wooden gate and is met by Izogie. Moru tells her that he wants to give Nawi to them. He doesn’t care if she becomes a soldier or a slave. Nawi looks at Izogie and then lowers her eyes. Izogie is touched by this display of respect. Realizes that maybe they can use her.

Nawi follows Izogie into the palace. As they are walking Nawi takes in her new surroundings. She sees Agojie soldiers training. There are also male soldiers as well and they are training. Izogie shows her where they have dispatched the enemies of King Ghezo. Nawi sees 3 skulls impaled on bamboo poles. Izogie shows Nawi to the barracks where she will be staying. This section of the palace is dedicated to women only. The Agojie have private quarters. Nawi takes in the sisterhood that she sees. She is shown to an area lined with mats close together. There are a group of THIRTY WOMEN, including Fumbe and Ode. Izogie instructs all of them to find a mat, bathe themselves and burn their clothes. They will no longer need them.

P. 13–18 In the palace. The room is full of beautiful women, various ages and all adorned. At the end sits Nanisca in her blood smeared clothing. King GHEZO appears. He is young and youthful. He is at the beginning of his reign. The women all bow, including Nanisca. Ghezo sees her and has her follow him, much to the jealousy of the other women, including his wife, SHANTE. Tanonu reminds her that Nanisca fought for Ghezo and helped to put him on the throne while she locked herself in a cupboard.

Nanisca informs Ghezo that the Mahi tribe were helped by the Oyo in raiding their village. They have broken the treaty. Ghezo reminds her that it was his brother who made a treaty with them, not him. He recommends raiding the Oyo villages and selling off their people to the slave traders. This angers Nanisca. This will not help their people. The Oyo wish to conquer them and will eventually try to raid the capital. She tells him that they must end the Oyo tribe and end the slave trade. Not just for them, but for all of them.

At the Council meeting, Ghezo announces that the Oyo have broken the peace and that when they come for the tribute, they will not pay it. This upsets everyone including Nanisca’s male counterpart, the MIGAN. He knows this could mean war. The Oyo are twice their size with horses and muskets. They are not ready. Nanisca says the Agojie are ready. But Migan reminds her of the recent Agojie casualties against the “lowly” Mahi. Meunon is against war given their prosperity. But Nanisca states the reason for their prosperity is due to the slave trade. But it’s coming at a cost. It’s slowly killing them, and the Europeans know this. Dahomey sells captives for muskets. In order to get more muskets, they must sell more people. It’s a circle with no end. Nanisca says they can sell other things like Gold and Palm Oil. Palm oil is needed for a lot of things. They should focus on doubling the harvest. This is the advantage they have over the Oyo. Others want him to pay the tribute in order to buy more time. Ghezo is troubled and needs to think. He tells Nanisca to work on palm oil production.

In the Mahi village, the Oyo warriors arrive to survey the damage. Their leader is OBA ABUA. He is with his second in command, BOMA. Oba comes across the corpse of a dead Agojie warrior and is enraged that their comrades were murdered by women. He is upset at how bold King Ghezo is becoming. He is no longer going to keep the peace with the Dahomey.

P. 18–37 The training begins. The recruits, including Ode and Fumbe are sitting together. Ode sits with her fellow Mahi captives. She notes Nawi sitting alone by herself in her regular clothes. Nahi is focused on watching the Agojie. She’s entranced by the weapons and tries to touch a spear before she is stopped by Esi. They must never touch another soldier’s weapon. Izogie shows Nawi her machete which Nawi touches and gets cuts on. Izogie also shows her the fingernails on her hand. They are sharpened into talons. She says that you can pop out your enemies’ eyeballs. She chastises her for not being in uniform and tells her to go bathe.

Nawi thinks she’s alone in the bath when she another woman at the other end. She doesn’t realize that the other woman is Nanisca who allows her to stay. Nanisca questions where she comes from. Learns she’s only 19 and was given to the Agojie by her father. Nawi says she wants to be an Agojie because they are admired and somebody. They are unafraid. Nanisca says that many obstinate daughter’s end up failing the training. Nawi insults her by calling her an “old” woman. Nanisca is amused and says you need skill. She looks forward to seeing if she has any.

The Agojie and the recruits are in the courtyard. This is their opening gathering. The warriors are dancing. The music stops when their leader arrives. Nawi is startled to see that the woman she called “old” is Nanisca. She gives a speech to let them know what they are in for. As they will be rewarded and well regarded for their service to the king, they must understand that they will never marry nor have children. Any woman who cannot accept that is free to leave without harm or judgment. Many of the captives leave. Nawi, Fumbe and Ode stay.

The training is intense. They have running drills which is a challenge for Nawi. The trainees are watched by Nanisca and Amenza. This spurs Nawi on. Izogie stays on the trainees, challenging them. Nawi passes Ode and is excited to have beaten her when she looks back to see Fumbe far behind. The recruits receive their first weapon, which is a rope. Nawi is disappointed. They try and tie knots. Fumbe exceeds at this. Nawi does not and complains when Nanisca pulls it and it comes undone. Nawi says ropes are not real weapons. Nanisca hands Nawi her machete and tells her to chop the head off a twig dummy in the shape of a soldier. Nawi apologizes but Nanisca doesn’t accept it. She tells her to chop the head off. Nawi tries, but her machete gets stuck in the neck. Nanisca takes the machete and easily chops the head off. Tells Nawi to work on that rope.

Izogie nicknames Nawi as Tse-tse. That means “little fly”. Always buzzing around but doesn’t know where it’s going. She can’t be dumb if she wants to survive. They both have a shared history of not having a great childhood. Nawi never played as a child. She always had to work. Izogie was born in a brothel and sold by her mother. Despite their painful pasts, they have a new family now. Izogie teaches Nawi how to wrestle. Izogie is “oiled” up and Nawi can’t beat her. Nawi learns quickly and dumps oil all over herself. After that, Izogie cannot get a hold of her anymore. They laugh. The recruits learn how to wield a machete. Izogie tells them to “Be the Sword”. Nawi becomes very good at wielding the machete. At night, she watches in secret as Nanisca and Izogie practice cutting down the twig dummies with their machetes.

Nawi begins to become very good at throwing a spear and wrestling. The recruits then learn how to fire muskets. They are taught by the male soldiers. Nawi loads her musket with the gunpowder and shoots the weapon. The kick from the gun is so strong that it forces back into the arms of the male soldier. She flirts with the soldier. Nanisca sees this. Later Nawi asks Fumbe how to tie the rope. She still hasn’t mastered it yet. Fumbe tells her no as that’s the only thing she can do better than Nawi. Later, Nawi leads Fumbe, Ode and some other recruits out of the palace at night. They sneak into the training area with the twig dummies. Nawi gives them all some gun powder and they all begin to coat the necks of the dummies with it. The next morning, Izogie and Tara are going to demonstrate the head chopping technique. When the soldiers run at the dummies and chop the heads off, they explode off of the bodies. The trainees all laugh. Nanisca knows right away it was Nawi.

When the trainees are all confronted about it, they remain silent until they are told they will be punished. Nawi steps up to take full responsibility. Nanisca asks her how she caused the explosion. She tells her that you do not need a gun. All you need is a spark. Nanisca also confronts her over her flirting with the male soldier. Nawi doesn’t understand why it’s not allowed. The men have wives and children, but the Agojie cannot. She thinks it is unfair. They argue and Nanisca threatens to kick her out. Nawi does not want this and starts to cry. Nanisca hates emotion and instructs Nawi to “kill her tears”. Later in the barracks, Ode moves away from Nawi as she thinks she’s trouble. Nawi goes with Izogie later that night into the town. She shares her flask of whisky with Nawi who hates it. Nawi tells Izogie of her desire to be “seen” by Nanisca. But Izogie tells her that she has no time for that. Nanisca is focused on the world. She also tells Nawi that Nanisca may one day become The Woman King. She tells her what a legend Nanisca is and who she was captured as a young soldier by the Oyo. Left for dead. But she returned with the Oyo’s kofes hanging from her belt.

Nanisca has problems sleeping due to a dream she had. Amenza tries to help her with interpreting the dream, but she does not want to hear it. She tells her that someone or something from your past is coming. As Nanisca walks the empty courtyard, she hears noise. She sees Nawi practicing her moves with the machete.

P. 37–51 It is Tribute Day. The palace is full of people. The male soldiers and Agojie soldiers are there. So are the Agojie recruits. King Ghezo shares the platform with Shante and his other wives. Near the King are male VIP’s. One of whom is a brothel owner who glares at the former women who used to work for him. Nanisca warns Izogie that the owner is under the King’s protection. Izogie wants to know who will protect the women. Nanisca notes this but tells her that she can’t protect her from the King’s anger.

The Oyo contingent arrive. Oba’s face is covered. Nanisca stands behind the King. He unwraps his face when talking to the King. Nanisca sees his face and recognizes him. The scene smash cuts to a flashback of Oba raping Nanisca. The scene comes back to the present as she hears Ghezo talking to Oba. Ghezo announces that they have gifts and Nanisca will accompany him. However, she’s frozen, unable to speak or move. Ghezo gets her attention, and she snaps out of it. Amenza makes note of what happened.

Oba and Boma examine the gifts and are not pleased. Oba calls Ghezo out on that. Ghezo responds by letting him know that he’s aware of the Oyo raiding his village and selling his people. Oba responds by telling Ghezo he can make up for the shortcoming in the gift by giving him 40 Agojie warriors. He wants them as guards, but it’s clear he has other things in mind for them. If Ghezo refuses, then he is told that they may no longer use the port in Ouidah for trade. It used to belong to the Dahomey before Oba states he took control of it. Ghezo counters with offering Oba 20 Agojie of their choosing. They will march them to Ouidah and surrender them. Oba agrees and leaves Boma behind to oversee this.

Nanisca picks the women who will to Quidah. She bypasses Ode and Fumbe and selects Nawi. Later that night when Nanisca is alone in the garden, Amenza approaches her and asks what happened. She tells her that she was right about her vision of Nanisca’s dream earlier. Nawi dresses for the journey as Fumbe watches. She takes the rope from around Nawi’s belt and shows her how to properly tie a knot. Both become emotional and hug.

In the morning at the bay of Ouidah, men are coming in from the ships. A boat is being rowed over carrying two men. One is the ship’s captain SANTO FERREIRA, a Brazilian of European descent. The other is a light skinned black man by the name of MALIK DIALLO. They speak in Portuguese. They are friends who grew up together. Santo is clearly privileged as he is now the Captain of the slave ship. Malik is not his equal given his African blood. Santo wants to show him the city which is a bustling port. Several languages are spoken at this port (English, French, Dutch, etc). As they walk around, Malik takes in the slave market, particularly the Barracoons, which are open, pen-like prisons, full of African men and women. Malik then notes the 20 Agojie warriors coming into the town square. Malik is mesmerized by what he sees. Nawi sees Malik and thinks he looks ridiculous in his European clothing. He finds out who they are.

The Agojie warrior’s line up in a row. Nanisca sets a basket down in front of Oba. He taunts Dahomey over the fact that they have to rely on women. As Nawi notes Oyo soldiers in the distance heading their way, Oba seeks to have the women disarmed. Nanisca kicks the basket over to Oba and tells him this is his tribute. Inside are the 4 heads of the soldiers he left behind in Dahomey, including Boma. The Agojie soldiers take off except for Nanisca who draws her weapon at Oba. She doesn’t see the Oyo soldiers arriving. Nawi falls behind and help Nanisca by drawing her attention to the soldiers who are fast approaching. They fight their way out of the crowd. Malik stands by watching all of this taking place. Nanisca and Nawi escape up the stairs on the wall and jump off into the ocean below.

The Agojie are in boats and throw a rope to Nawi and Nanisca. After they are safe, Nanisca criticizes Nawi for not following orders. Nawi is angry at this because her actions saved her life. Nanisca tells her she should have followed orders and not deviated from the plan. Amenza privately tells Nanisca that she was in the wrong and was the one who deviated from the plan, not Nawi.

Oba talks to the ship captains, including Santo with Malik standing nearby listening. He tells them that he and his soldiers will march to Dahomey and take their city. He tells Santo that he will have more cargo for his ships. He says the Agojie will sell high at the markets. Santo makes haste for Dahomey and tells Malik that this will be his only chance to see it before it’s gone.

Nanisca shows Ghezo the Palm oil operation. Ghezo is impressed by what she shows him. There will be plenty of palm oil to trade instead of slaves. Nanisca implores Ghezo that they never sell any captives, even if they are not Dahomey.

P. 52–70 The Agojie including recruits are eating dinner. Izogie announces that their final test is tomorrow. Nawi sneaks out later that night to go into the jungle to find a stone to sharpen her weapon. She finds a stone near a waterfall and begins to sharpen her weapon. She hears male voices and goes to hide in the foliage.

Malik comes to the water and undresses. He goes for a swim completely naked. While he swims, Nawi takes his clothes. He gets out of the water and can’t find his clothes. He thinks Santo is playing a trick on him. Nawi appears with a dagger in her hand. She tells him to go back home. She assumes he’s a slaver. He tells her that he is not a slaver. He tells her that his mother was Dahomey. His father was white. He tells her that he plans to visit Dahomey. They talk until she hears someone coming and she runs off.

The next day, Malik arrives in Dahomey with Santo. They come bearing gifts. They are in time to see the final test for the recruits. Ghezo tells the recruits that they must pass the obstacle course that features a fence of thorns, a mud pit and a wall of soil and stone that is fifteen feet high. Santo greets Ghezo and the two men embrace and speak in Portuguese. Santo gifts him a spyglass. He then introduces him to Malik who tells him that his mother was Dahomey. The men sit to watch the games. Malik sees Nawi.

The recruits are lined up. Ode refuses to look at Nawi. Izogie gives Nawi a wink. Nawi looks up to the platform and sees Malik who waves at her. Izogie sees this. The ladies are off through the obstacle course. Nawi is in the lead and makes it to the wall. She clearly has the advantage and can win. She looks back and sees Fumbe struggling and tells her what to do in order to get over the wall. Despite the setback, Nawi catches up to Ode and ends up winning the race. She is the victor and the crowd cheers her. Malik is impressed. Nawi is presented to King Ghezo and she is given a machete with a beautiful carved handle. She makes eyes with Nanisca who nods her approval. This makes Nawi feel connected to her.

In the barracks, Izogie is tending to Nawi’s wounds. She asks her why she went back to help Fumbe. And she did it because she is her friend and wants her to stay. Nanisca approaches and tells her that Fumbe must stand on her own feet in order to be useful. She looks at Nawi’s scars. Tells her they are the mark of a warrior. She shares her own scars. Nanisca sees Nawi’s scar and asks her about it. She says she doesn’t know how she got it. She said it was there when her father chose her from the orphanage. This surprises Nanisca who did not know she was an orphan. She looks at Nawi more closely before leaving.

Nanisca is in her chambers and is distressed. Amenza comes in and Nanisca demands what Amenza “did with it”. She is stunned by the question as she reminded Nanisca that she never wanted to know and made her swear never to tell her. She tells Nanisca that she took the child and gave it to the missionaries. Amenza wants to know why she’s asking the question. She can’t possibly think Nawi is her daughter.

Ghezo and Santo talk. Santo wants to know if it is true that he seeks an end to the slave trade. He said that it was Ghezo’s wife who told him. Ghezo seeks prosperity for his people. Santo reminds him that that slave trade has made him rich. If he stops the trade, the ship captains will take their business elsewhere. He claims that Ghezo would be unprotected. Ghezo informs him that if he does not wish to trade what he wants to trade, then it will be Santo who is unprotected. Santo backs off as not to anger the King.

Malik is outside walking when he runs into Nawi. He asks about her well-being which surprises her. She is taken aback that he is so concerned about her. She tells him that they are having their blood oath ceremony that evening. He asks her to come and see him afterward. He would really like to talk to her. This makes Nawi feel wanted.

Ghezo is pacing inside. Shante enters and he is angry with her for talking to Santo. She smooth talks him and plays to his ego.

P. 70–76 The Agojie trainees are lined up with their forearms out. She examines Nawi’s face as she makes a cut in her arm and draws blood. Nanisca cuts her own arm and adds her blood with that with the trainees. Nawi looks at Nanisca but no longer feels a connection like before. Her eyes appear empty. Despite this, the trainees are now Agojie sisters. Later, Nawi talks to Izogie and they talk about love. Izogie tells her that she saw her waving at Malik. She tells Nawi that they have to be focused and have no distractions. Izogie asks her if she’s in love with Malik, but Nawi says she has no way of knowing. Izogie has never felt love as it makes women weak. Nawi takes this in.

Later in the evening, she sneaks out and meets Malik at the waterfall. They talk about their shared heritage. Malik shares with her that the Oyo are coming. And not just the Oyo, but other tribes as well. She says that she must tell Nanisca. He tells her that he will leaving tomorrow. She hopes he will return. She gives him a charm from her leather bag as a memento. In return, she takes a dagger from him as a keepsake. She kisses him which surprises them both.

Nawi finds Nanisca in the bath. She tells her what Malik told her about the Oyo plan to overthrow Dahomey. Nanisca chastises her for disobeying the rules to go out and meet with Malik after taking a blood oath. This upsets Nawi. She reminds her that she won and that she will never be captured like Nanisca was. Then Nanisca tells her about the capture. How she was raped repeatedly. When she escaped, she was with child. She tried to have an abortion by drinking this potion, but it did not work. She was still pregnant. She hid her pregnancy and gave birth in secret. In a flashback, Nanisca is giving birth while being tended to by Amenza. After giving birth, Amenza cuts the cord. It was a girl. She told Amenza to take the child away. But before that, Amenza left her to get something to help Nanisca stop bleeding. While alone with her baby, she made a cut on the child’s arm. She took a small shark’s tooth from her necklace and presses it into the cut.

Back to the present, Nawi touches her arm and says it was not her. Nanisca takes her knife and cuts the scar on Nawi’s arm. Nawi squeezes her arm and the tooth comes out into the water. They both stare at it. The truth is finally known. No words are spoken. Nawi gets up and leaves.

Nawi suffers with this knowledge alone. She feels anger at Nanisca.

P. 76–87 Nanisca, Amenza and Izogie as well as the Migan and a couple of his men are in a scouting party. They are spying on the invading army of the Oyo soldiers and their allies. Migan tells Nanisca that they are greatly outnumbered. Nanisca is not worried about their size. They are arrogant. She tells him they can’t use their gunpowder if it’s wet. He realizes that she wants to drive them back towards marsh. Nanisca looks at a termite mound and tells Migan what Nawi said to her: You don’t need a gun to use gunpowder.

While the Dahomey soldiers dig holes in the fields, the Agojie soldiers prepare for battle. Nawi is preparing for battle alone. She looks fierce and is coldly confident. Nanisca gives a speech and Ghezo sends her off. Nanisca promises him victory.

The Agojie soldiers and Dahoey soldiers attack the Oyo army. The battle is fierce. The termite mounds explode as the Dahomey soldiers had put gunpowder in them. Oba and some of his men escape to the marsh. The scene is chaotic as men are sent flying due to the explosions. The Agojie soldiers follow the Oyo soldiers into the marsh, chasing them with machetes. Nanisca and Amenza battle men in front and back.

Ode can get to an unmanned cannon. The Oyo soldiers fire upon her as she lights the fire, and the cannon explodes. The Oyo soldiers retreat and are on the run. They are outmatched.

Nawi fights fiercely before being captured by the Oyo. General Oba escapes.

Nawi wakes up to find herself in a shallow wagon with six other Agojie. Hands and feet are bound. Fumbe is also there. Nawi realizes that Fumbe is not tied to anyone. Realizing that she is at the edge, she tells Fumbe to escape.

Back at the palace, the Agojie return victorious. She accepts the praise of Ghezo. Nanisca looks over her soldiers to scan the damage. Ode is dead. Amenza informs Nanisca that the Oyo are on the run. Nanisca does not celebrate. Amenza senses that she is looking for Nawi. And she tells Nanisca that she is not there. No one has seen her.

P. 87–95 At Ouidah. Oba wants to sell off the Agojie and make up for their losses. He knows that they are dead men if they return home given their failure at the encampment.

The pens are full of captives including Nawi. She thinks she’s alone until she sees Izogie down at the other end. Her arm is broken. Nawi tends to her. She encourages Izogie. Izogie wants to gain her strength so they can slit their throat instead of being taken as slaves. Nawi will not accept that. She tells her they will escape. Izogie has Nawi push her broken arm back together. They bide their time.

Fumbe is found along the road by a Shepherd. She makes it back to Dahomey and is having her wounds treated. She tells Nanisca that she was taken captive by General Oba. She tells Nanisca there were several others including Nawi. She tells her it was Nawi who told her to escape. Nanisca realizes that she’s still alive and that they were being taken to the barracoons. This news hits her hard. The King requests her presence.

In the palace, the King is surrounded by all of his wives and Nanisca. It’s a ceremony. King Ghezo has bestowed the title of The Kpojito which means The Woman King upon Nanisca. This makes his wife Shante angry, and she leaves. After everyone leaves, Nanisca asks if she can go after the captives. Ghezo denies this request. If they were caught, it was because they were weak. Nanisca tells him that they will be sold to be used by men. He is unmoved and tells her in no uncertain terms that she is not to rescue them. Amenza is excited by the news that Nanisca is now the Woman King. But Nanisca is not happy with this latest accomplishment.

In the slave pen, Oba walks through and selects captives including Izogie. Nawi is left behind. The chosen captives are lined up against the wall. Guards untie their legs and hands. Nawi and Izogie bide their time as they clean up and put on uniforms. At the selling block, Izogie is on display. The ship captains, including Santo are trying to outbid each other for Izogie. Nawi is about to cause a distraction when Malik calls her name. He is yelling at Santo for buying slaves. They argue. Izogie bashes the white slaver and makes her escape. Nawi tries to run when Santo captures her. Izogie is almost out of the market when she realizes that Nawi is not with her. She goes back and is shot and dies. Nawi is distraught. Oba sells Nawi to Malik.

P. 95–109 Nanisca is in her room preparing to leave. She takes her machete and the small shark’s tooth from Nawi’s arm. Amenza comes in and is surprised to see her dressed for battle. Amenza warns her that she is defying the King’s order. He will expel her or do even worse. She tells Amenza that she has to do this.

Nanisa is running in the jungle. She hears other feet pounding the dirt. Behind her come Amenza and a squad of twenty Agojie soldiers which includes Fumbe. And behind them is Migan. They catch up to her and run with her into battle.

Nawi is in Malik’s room. He has kept her locked up in order to keep her safe. He tells Nawi that he will never set foot on another slave ship. He has booked passage on a ship going back to England. He wants her to come with him. She is torn. She does not want to leave her sisters, but she is drawn by her feelings for Malik. They kiss.

At the palace a feast is being prepared. Tanonu and Shante come see Ghezo. Shante apologizes for her behavior. But she informs him that Nanisca has left with her soldiers and Migan to Ouidah. She plants a seed of doubt with the King regarding Nanisca’s true motive for doing this. Maybe Nanisca cannot be trusted after all.

Nanisca and her soldiers arrive in Ouidah and kill the guards at the barracoons. The guards shout and the noise gets Oba’s attention. Nanisca frees the captives and fellow Agojie. One of them tells her that Izogie was killed and Nawi was taken not seen since. This stirs a bit of emotion in Nanisca before she hardens. She leads the captives and soldiers to the market square. Nanisca and Amenza cut down every single man that comes their way.

Malik hears the commotion, and he jumps out of bed to go check. Nawi goes to the balcony overlooking the square. She can see the Agojie soldiers fighting the slave dealers. She realizes that they have come to her rescue. She changes clothes and grabs Malik’s pistol.

Santo finds Malik and tells them they must go. Nawi points the pistol at them both and tells them to move. She moves past them and leaves. Malik calls after her but she does not stop.

In the town square the battle is fierce. Oba is on his horse and tries to get away. Nanisca catches up to him and he tries to run her over with his horse. She stands in the horse’s way until the very last moment when she moves out of the way while slicing the chest of the horse. The horse bucks and tosses Oba off. She approaches him. He grabs her and stabs her in the shoulder. Her face registers no pain. She pulls the knife out of her shoulder and plunges it into his stomach. She stabs him again and he falls over dead.

As Nanisca stares down at Oba, she hears the click of a musket. She turns to face an Oyo soldier aiming the musket at her. Then suddenly he is shot from behind. The soldiers falls to reveal Nawi. White slavers approach and Nanisca and Nawi dispatch them.

Malik and Santo are headed to their ship. Santo has captured slaves to put on the boat. Malik takes out his knife and frees them. The captives go back to shore. Santo is caught up in the melee and is drowned by the captives. Malik is rescued. On the boat, he sees Nawi on the shore and they lock eyes. She nods to him before turning to escape the town by running with her sisters.

Back home, the Agojie and Migan walk through the town to the cheers of the Dahomey people. Nawi sees familiar face in the crowd like her friend Dayo. She sees her adoptive parents who are amazed at her transformation. She sees Abade who lowers his eyes.

Nanisca comes into the palace. She lays her machete down and Ghezo speaks only to her. He tells her that she disobeyed him. She tells him that she will resign her command. Outside the palace, the people are chanting her name. He knows the Oyo empire has been destroyed. He gives a speech and gives Nanisca her machete back. He tells the people that they will no longer join in with becoming one of the oppressors. Nanisca is still the Woman King. The crowd cheers.

Later, there is a huge celebration. Nanisca stays on the sidelines while the Agojie dance with abandon. She sees Nawi come out and join in the festivities by dancing with Fumbe. Nawi breaks free and approaches Nanisca. She whispers in her ear and says “Mother. Will you dance?”

Nanisca feels Nawi’s gesture of acceptance and forgiveness. She takes Nawi’s hand and they dance.

Here is my take on this exercise from a previous series of posts — How To Read A Screenplay:

After a first pass, it’s time to crack open the script for a deeper analysis and you can do that by creating a scene-by-scene breakdown. It is precisely what it sounds like: A list of all the scenes in the script accompanied by a brief description of the events that transpire.

For purposes of this exercise, I have a slightly different take on scene. Here I am looking not just for individual scenes per se, but a scene or set of scenes that comprise one event or a continuous piece of action. Admittedly this is subjective and there is no right or wrong, the point is simply to break down the script into a series of parts which you then can use dig into the script’s structure and themes.

The value of this exercise:

• We pare down the story to its most constituent parts: Scenes.
• By doing this, we consciously explore the structure of the narrative.
• A scene-by-scene breakdown creates a foundation for even deeper analysis of the story.

You may download a free, legal PDF of the script for The Woman King here.

Major kudos to Crystal L. Brooks for doing today’s breakdown.

To check out the Go Into The Story library of 100+ movie script scene-by-scene breakdowns, go here.