In a movie filled with monsters, Juno is not one of them.
Juno is perhaps the most complex and compelling of them all.
Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) is the main character.
If you try to see things from Juno’s perspective, then you’re already doing more than the other characters in the movie.
Many viewers see this climactic moment between Sarah and Juno as one of justified revenge.
ButThe Descentis not a revenge movie.
It is a movie about one womans mental descent into becoming something like a monster.
That woman, however, is not Juno.
Juno is misunderstood and maligned by the characters in the movie, and by many viewers.
Juno Lied About The Cave
The great thing aboutThe Descentis that every character has flaws.
Juno planned the trip, but it is revealed through dialogue that Sarah asked Juno to set up a trip (though, obviously, not to lie about it). Despite this, Sarah doesn’t seem to want to be there even before she meets Juno at the cabin. If Sarah didn’t want to go, she could’ve just said so.
Humans are flawed, and the writing inThe Descentmakes its flawed characters feel like real people.
Humans can make poor decisions based on good intentions.
That doesnt necessarily make them a bad person though.
Juno cares about Paul (as shown here by holding the necklace he gave her), but the exact nature of her feelings are never expressed in the movie.
This is the worst thing she did in the entire movie, no question.
Theres no reason why anyone should disbelieve her intentions.
Still, theres no excuse for such a dangerous lie.
Juno puts her life on the line as she works her way across a huge pit to recover gear everyone will likely need since Sarah lost one of the rope bags earlier.
No, it isnt.
What Was Junos Relationship With Paul?
Another thing Juno-haters will point to as something she did wrong is her relationship with Sarahs husband Paul.
Beth knows how scary it is to have something sneak up on you in the dark, but she still decides to sneak up on Juno.
But what do wereallyknow about their relationship?
Were Juno and Paul sleeping together?
Thats what most viewers seem to assume, but we dont know that.
Sarah doesn’t want to hear any explanations from Juno. Ever.
Maybe their relationship was purely emotional with nothing physical taking place.
As viewers, we dont know any of this, because Juno never talks about it.
Importantly, the characters in the movie dont know the extent of Juno and Pauls relationship either.
This reading ofThe Descentdoesn’t take into account anything that happens in the sequel.The Descentis perfect on its own, and that’s how it is best viewed.
They, like so many viewers, just assume the worst.
Should Juno have told Sarah about her feelings for Paul?
Before his death, that talk should have come from Paul.
After his death, what would be accomplished by Juno telling Sarah about their relationship?
It would just upset Sarah even more, and it would tarnish her memory of Paul.
Instead, Juno stays silent and puts her friends feelings before her own.
But heres where I start to reveal why Juno is actuallybetterthan every other character inThe Descent.
The most important reason is this: Juno risks her life for her friends when everyone else acts selfishly.
When the crawlers first attack, one of them jumps onto Holly and mortally wounds her.
Not even knowing what this monster is or how dangerous it might be, Juno fights for her friend.
This fact holds true throughout the rest of the movie.
Sarah ignores Junos calls, focusing solely on herself.
But Juno never stops trying to save everyone.
She defends Rebecca from a crawler, again at the risk of her own safety.
However, when confronted with her mistakes, Juno puts everyone elses life before her own.
The same cant be said for most of her friends.
This happens after Juno fought two crawlers while defending Holly, and Beth weirdly sneaks up behind Juno.
The stabbing is unfortunate, but its not Junos fault.
Juno does, however, back away and leave Beth alone while shes still alive.
Its obvious that Beth is dying and there is no way to save her.
Its also obvious that Juno is in a state of shock.
Seeing what shed done to Beth, even if accidental, caused her to freeze-up and then leave.
A sad decision for sure, but an understandable one given the circumstances.
Its moments like this that make the character of Juno feel human, flaws and all.
So, Juno never intentionally tries to kill anyone.
But you know who does?
By this point, Sarah has gone through her own journey.
Sarah, emerging from a pool of blood, is now as much monster as she is human.
But her descent is not yet complete.
Moments earlier, Sarah found Beth on the verge of death.
Beth tells Sarah not to trust Juno, and Sarah finds Junos love each day necklace in Beths hand.
Then Sarah stabs Juno in the leg and leaves her for dead as crawlers approach.
The sad thing is, Juno probably would have sacrificed herself for Sarah if given the chance.
Juno repeatedly showed her willingness to risk her life for her friends.
She also repeatedly declared her intention to save Sarah and get out of the caves alive, together.
Yes, Sarah was suffering from a traumatic incident, but so was Juno.
People see Juno as a monster because thats what Sarah sees.
But Sarah doesnt see reality very clearly.
Yet many viewers take Sarahs perspective as truth.
In truth, there are no true heroes or villains inThe Descent.
I loveThe Descentand have written about it before on Creepy Catalog.
