Written by Mr. Mouseburger 21st Apr 2006

Originally submitted by Eno

Elle Driver is part of the the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, and took part in the church massacre which created the revenge-driven character of The Bride.

After murdering her ex-colleague Budd with a typically sly trick, Elle begins to pack up the money that she had given to him in payment for the Bride's Hatori Hanzou sword. As she leaves his trailer she is suddenly fly-kicked back inside - the Bride isn't dead, and Elle must face off against the deadliest swordswoman of her age.
She isn't too worried yet though, as she has a sword and Beatrix is unarmed.

Budd's filthy trailer is hardly the place for a samurai duel!

This leads into a brutal, violent battle between the two vixens. Elle wields the Hanzo katana, but she just can't get it clear of the scabbard due to the Bride's frenzied attacks. At one point she gets space to draw the blade free, only to be thwarted by the low ceiling of Budd's trailer.
During this unarmed phase of the fight, Beatrix metes out considerable damage, beating, punching, kicking, choking and at one point even dunking Elle's head down the toilet. This last attack could well have been fatal, had Elle not had the presence of mind to pull the flush, thus emptying the water for a life sustaining moment!

Neither can sustain such a vigorous pace of unarmed combat though, and they pause for breath at opposite ends of the trailer. Elle draws her weapon, and it appears this will be a decisive advantage. Amazingly though, Beatrix spots a katana innocently nestled amongst a bag of golf clubs. This turns out to be the Hattori Hanzo sword that Bill gave Budd, and which he later claimed he'd sold. The blade is inscribed with the revealing legend : "To My Brother Budd, The Only Man I Ever Loved, - Bill".

The lull in the action is about to be over, as Elle and Beatrix are face to face with two swords, Elle armed with Beatrix's sword and Beatrix armed with Budd's. Before the two are about to have their final duel, Beatrix asks just what Elle said to Pai Mei (Her old master, q.v.) to make him snatch out her eye. Elle admits that she "called him a miserable old fool" and goes on to say she also poisoned and killed him in revenge. Beatrix is now fighting to avenge her old master, although in terms of retribution Pai Mei must be fairly low down on her priorities, when set against her unborn child, fiance and years spent in a coma.

Elle: "I killed your master, and now I'm going to kill you, with your own sword no less. Which in the very immediate future will become my sword."
Kiddo: "Bitch... You don't have a future."

The two stare each other down and finally attack in a clash of blades, locking their swords together in a seeming stalemate. Elle seems confident that she will overpower her vengeful opponent until Beatrix deploys an unexpected attack; swiftly plucking Elle's remaining eye out with her free hand.

Totally blinded, Darryl Hannah now gets to pay homage to her role as Pris by re-enacting her death scene in Bladerunner as a short circuited replicant. For those who haven't seen that death, this means there is a huge amount of screaming and frenzied limb movement.

Beatrix meanwhile, has kept hold of the perfectly intact eye, and follows the twisted direction of Tarantino by dropping it to the floor and squishing it with her filthy bare feet. Tarantino evidently has something of a foot fetish, as he loves lingering on Thurman's lumpy feet in as many shots as he can get away with. This eyeball-toejam fantasy is worrying though, get some help Quentin!


Pai Mei's most hated pupil is finally crushed.

It is worth noting that once again Pai Mei's teachings are what enables the Bride to succeed. When she first meets Pai Mei she tells him she is an expert with the Japanese Sword, which he is overwhelmingly scornful of. Sure enough, it was Pai Mei's Eagle Claw technique which won her battle with Elle, not her swordsmanship - a theme that is repeated several times during this volume.

Whether Elle actually died from this encounter is not wholly clear. The implication is that she would be killed by the Black Mamba snake that she used on Budd, as it is shown hissing and guarding the exit as Kiddo leaves. She does have her mobile phone with her still, but can't very well call Bill for help, as this will expose her previous lies and he will realise that she killed his brother. So she really has been well and truly hoist by her own petard.