My Lion King Forum

I'm watching TLK as I type this, and each time I do, I can't help but get this weird feeling that Nala (much as I love her) has a certain lack of faith in Simba, and here's why:

In TLK, Nala believed Scar over Simba about who was responsible for Musfasa's death. It seemed like until Scar finally admitted that he was the one who killed Mufasa, Nala was content to leave Simba to his fate. Only after Scar's confession did Nala try to do anything. Then in SP, Nala believes Kovu's innocence over Simba's side of the story with regard to the ambush, even after her mate had been injured under very suspicious circumstances. In both instances Nala shows a lack of faith in Simba, in favour of Scar and Kovu's version of events.

Does anyone have a take on this? Did Nala lack faith in Simba? Or am I just reading the situation incorrectly? Nala and Simba are my two favourite characters, but this has always rubbed me the wrong way.

I don't think she lacked faith in him. In the first film, the lionesses didn't know Scar was blaming Simba until the final confrontation, at which point Simba said he was responsible. So, with both Scar and Simba, the only two witnesses of the event, saying it was Simba's fault Mufasa died, what was she supposed to think? It wasn't until Scar confessed that anyone, Simba included, knew to think it might not have been Simba's fault.

And in the second movie, it wasn't as much that she lacked faith in Simba, as that she knew he was trying too hard to be like his father and she could tell that Kovu was not doing the same thing. She was able to see that Simba was acting out of prejudice and Kovu out of love. And after the ambush, her opinion of Kovu isn't really shown again until after he and Kiara have stopped the fighting, so we don't know that she chose his side to Simba's at that point. She's barely in the movie, and when she is, she's used more like Simba's conscious than someone who has no faith in him.

I don't really care for Nala, so it doesn't really matter either way for me, but I'd like to think the power of love still can allow anyone to keep their faith in another.

[quote="Julie Skywalker"]I don't think she lacked faith in him. In the first film, the lionesses didn't know Scar was blaming Simba until the final confrontation, at which point Simba said he was responsible. So, with both Scar and Simba, the only two witnesses of the event, saying it was Simba's fault Mufasa died, what was she supposed to think? It wasn't until Scar confessed that anyone, Simba included, knew to think it might not have been Simba's fault.

And in the second movie, it wasn't as much that she lacked faith in Simba, as that she knew he was trying too hard to be like his father and she could tell that Kovu was not doing the same thing. She was able to see that Simba was acting out of prejudice and Kovu out of love. And after the ambush, her opinion of Kovu isn't really shown again until after he and Kiara have stopped the fighting, so we don't know that she chose his side to Simba's at that point. She's barely in the movie, and when she is, she's used more like Simba's conscious than someone who has no faith in him.[/quote]

These are excellent points.

The only thing I'm wondering is if the reason the lionesses let Scar back Simba off the edge of pride rock without doing anything to help was: a) because they didn't know that Scar was trying to kill him yet, b) because they thought Simba was a murderer and didn't want to help the lion who killed Mufasa, or c) for plot reasons.

And with regards to us not really knowing Nala's opinion of Kovu after the ambush, I guess I always thought it was implicitly stated that she still believed in his innocence, given her shocked facial expression during the exile scene.

[quote="The Spirit of Life"]
The only thing I'm wondering is if the reason the lionesses let Scar back Simba off the edge of pride rock without doing anything to help was: a) because they didn't know that Scar was trying to kill him yet, b) because they thought Simba was a murderer and didn't want to help the lion who killed Mufasa, or c) for plot reasons.[/quote]
I think it's a bit of a, b, and c, actually. This all happened very quickly, and the lionesses probably were not yet sure what to think/do and then suddenly Simba was over the edge. They were torn. And when Simba goes over the edge, Nala is obviously concerned. At this point, they know Scar lied about Simba's death, but everything is happening very quickly, and the general consensus they were given would have been a lot to take in. I mean how many people wouldn't stand there for a few minutes trying to sort out the new info before acting? "The prince isn't really dead, and by the way, he killed the king" is a lot to process.

[quote]And with regards to us not really knowing Nala's opinion of Kovu after the ambush, I guess I always thought it was implicitly stated that she still believed in his innocence, given her shocked facial expression during the exile scene.[/quote]
That look could also be shock that Kovu had done it, or at the events in general, instead of her believing in his innocence still. If someone you thought was a good person attacked or ambushed your significant other, you'd probably look shocked too.

Actually, another thought just occurred to me, which is that perhaps Nala learned from the events of TLK not to be so quick to form conclusions, because even when it seemed definite that Simba was responsible for Mufasa's death (although she still seemed to not be able to understand why Simba would ever want to kill his father, as she knew he loved Mufasa) in the end they learned that it was really Scar who was actually the guilty one. So perhaps in SP, the older, more mature Nala simply wanted to wait and hear the evidence, as in her mind, things just weren't adding up (as she saw Kovu falling in love with Kiara and couldn't understand why he'd jeopardize that by attacking Simba) and that there must have been more to the situation that had not been revealed yet. In a similar way in TLK, when Simba slipped off the edge of Pride Rock, Nala screamed out in horror because she probably knew that things weren't adding up in that situation either (not to mention that her best friend and mate was dangling high above the ground over a mountain of flames).

The only point where I consider Nala as having lost any faith in Simba is during their argument in the jungle. She had found the rightful king of the Pride Lands, as well as a lion who can take over Scar, all in one. Not to mention that said lion also happened to be her long-lost, though-to-be-dead, friend, it's easy to see how she reacted quite negatively to learn that not only does he have no interested in taking back his kingdom, but that he actively refuses to do so.

At the same time, already by the next morning, she changed her mind enough to try and look for him, and it's clear to see that when she catches up to him in the desolated Pride Lands, she once again fully trusts him enough to fight off an army of hyenas.

If anything, when Simba admitted that he was responsible for Mufasa's death, I think Nala simply realized why he was so hesitant to come back. Just look at the next few moments when it's suddenly Scar who is claiming responsibility. Not only Nala, but the entire assembled pride (Zira might not count, but she wasn't in the first movie) as well: They did not hesitate on charging the hyenas who attacked Simba after Scar's confession. This tells me that even though Simba claimed that he had killed Mufasa, they still found it absurd or at least suspicious enough not to think about it twice and change their minds about Scar being the actual murderer. After all, who is more likely to blame: Someone who was a young cub at the time of the incident, or the king's brother, who was known to hold some resentment, and neglected the kingdom to ruin post-incident?

I don't think that Nala ever lacked any faith in Simba when it was needed the most. In the jungle? Yeah. Back in the Pride Lands? Absolutely not.

Edit: Just to reply to this part:
[quote="The Spirit of Life"]
In TLK, Nala believed Scar over Simba about who was responsible for Musfasa's death. It seemed like until Scar finally admitted that he was the one who killed Mufasa, Nala was content to leave Simba to his fate. Only after Scar's confession did Nala try to do anything. [/quote]

I don't think that Nala was ready to let Simba face his fate alone, seeing as she was the one who finally warned him of the inevitable end of Pride Rock and the drop down below. I think that she simply wasn't able to do much else given the situation.

Wow, that's a great analysis, DGFone! I never thought of it that way before, but I concur 100%.

Thankfully the "Simba she remembered" came through in the end! (Of course, it's a Disney movie, so he kind of had to )

I think she may have had lacked some faith in him, but she did seem concerned when Simba almost fell off the tip.

She's not to blame. I mean Scar tricked everybody by making them think that Mufasa's death was an accident and that Simba was responsible for it and died too.