My Lion King Forum

How do you think Kovu, Vitani and Kiara all reacted to/dealt with Ziras death?

I mean, for Kiara, it obviously wouldn`t have been a big deal, she and Zira didn`t know each other, though I imagine for Kiara, watching the older lioness fall to her death, must have been a scary experience that probably haunted her for a while after.

And Vitani and Kovu were her cubs, so obviously they must have had some sort of reactio/grieving process. Granted, Zira wasn`t a very loving or caring individual, but she was still their mother..

Also, I have another question, but I don`t wish to spam the whole SP board with my ramblings: Do you think Kiara suffered from nightmares after the fire?

Well, we do see Kovu's reaction to Zira's death for a brief sequence. Here's a screenshot of it:



As for Vitani, I'm sure she would have the same reaction. However, after Zira dies, she's never specifically spotted among the lionesses from that point onward to the end of the movie.

For Kiara, she appeared shocked at first, and disappointed that she couldn't save Zira. I'm not sure if her death would have traumatized her because she wasn't as personally close to her as say Simba was to Mufasa when he died. However, she did see her death really up close in front of her; it probably would have haunted her for a while, but she'll get over it in a short amount of time.

There's not to much I can say about Kiara suffering from nightmares from the fire outbreak because she seemed perfectly fine the next day with Kovu. Here's a list of the symptoms or effects of having a traumatizing nightmare: What Are the Effects of Nightmares? In the movie, there's no sign of here experienceing anxiety or losing sleep over it.

[quote="Wolf Song"]I believe it would've effect Vitani the hardest. She was Zira's second in command, her daughter and she was always by her side. While she did have a change of heart towards the end of the movie, I think she might've gone off somewhere to mourn/cry. Whether or not her mother was a psycho, she still cared for her and in the end it destroyed her. I think that really would've gotten to Vitani whether she wanted to or not.

Kovu on the other hand felt sad and remorseful, but he didn't show his emotions much. I think he finally detached himself from Zira and sighed when he realized she was gone. I think he did care for her and it saddened him to see her go the way she did, considering he is her son. ( although in my self canon he isn't )

And I don't think Kiara really cared. At first it shocked her but she seems to deal with shockingly traumatic things pretty well. [/quote]
I have to agree with this.

I think Kiara would have reacted to it quite hard to be honest. I mean someone would rather die than accept your help? That would make me feel like the most hated person in the World. She didn't seem to be too bothered by it though in the actual film lol

[quote="FlipMode"]I think Kiara would have reacted to it quite hard to be honest. I mean someone would rather die than accept your help? That would make me feel like the most hated person in the World. She didn't seem to be too bothered by it though in the actual film lol[/quote]

No one seemed to be too bothered by it. But then again, after Zira's death, we only have one short musical number. Yes, while I am sure that Disney, due to making SP a kid's movie, most likely didn't even think of the consequences of Zira's death, it can be argue that they didn't show anything for this very good reason:

It would have completely ruined the ending. I just don't see the SP production team combining "happy ending" with "traumatized" and still come up with something that the audience will accept.