So there's something I've been wondering about for a while now.
When Simba is taking Kovu into Pride Rock that night, and Vitani is watching, it always seemed odd to me that she was surprised that Kovu didn't kill Simba right then and there and felt it necessary to run and tell Zira he'd missed an opportunity. Obviously for the plot she had to tell Zira he'd failed to kill the king when presented with a perfect chance, but was it a perfect chance?
Even as a kid I knew the lionesses inside the den would be able to see Kovu and Simba and that they would stop him if he tried striking down their beloved king. She had to know others would witness it and come to the rescue; after all, Kiara had just gone into the den herself moments before, so there would be at least one witness, and it seems reasonable to assume the rest of the pride was already inside.
So did she not think about that? Did Zira not think about that? Were they so focused on killing Simba that it didn't matter to them if Kovu got overpowered in the end? I know in nature, the females would just accept the new male after he killed the previous one, but this isn't nature, and these lions have been personified, so they wouldn't sit back and let Kovu kill Simba and then become his pride instead. So what I'm wondering is why his continuing to gain their trust for another night, as per the plan, was met with that reaction? As viewers we know he'd had a change of heart, but at that point, neither Vitani nor Zira could know that. So why did this lead them to assume he'd betrayed them?
What do you guys think?