I hadn’t watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) in quite a while. But the other morning, out of nowhere, a theory came to me that I felt compelled to write about.
The Grail knight, as seen in the grail chamber during the film’s climax, does not exist. I believe the grail knight is a projection of Indy’s belief and purity of quest. He has read the stories of the grail knights, but within his own mind, needs the support and affirmation of the grail knight.
I use the script and the direction of the actors as my supporting evidence. Allow me to explain.
Indy successfully navigates the three challenges, as laid out in Henry’s book about the grail. He crawls into a candlelit chamber with chalices scattered about and a solitary figure genuflecting away from him. They have a brief conversation in which Indy says the grail knight has guarded the grail for more than 700 years. “A long time to wait,” the knight agrees.
Also note how differently the knight is lit within the scene compared to Indy, Elsa and Donovan. The knight is lit with a very soft white light while the other characters are more reflective of the lighting and chalices in place within the room. The knight has an ethereal glow about him, which is entirely inconsistent with the lighting scheme present throughout the room.
Elsa and Donovan scan the room with their eyes, the silence broken by Donovan asking “Which one is it?” The grail knight appears to reply “You must choose. But choose wisely. For the true grail will bring you life. The false grail will take it from you.” While it appears the grail knight replies directly to Donovan, Donovan’s response is more general in nature, and he does not make direct eye contact with the knight.
“I’m not an historian. I have no idea what it looks like. Which one is it?” He is seemingly wanting to place the responsibility for his choice outside of himself. When Elsa volunteers to choose which chalice the grail is, only then does Donovan directly respond, saying “Thank you doctor.”
As Elsa makes her choice and hands the golden chalice to Donovan, she makes eye contact with both Indy and Donovan, appearing confident in her choice. Of course Donovan drinks from the golden chalice, then proceeds to age thousands of years in a matter of seconds before dissolving into dust.
Elsa then tells Indy “It would not be made out of gold,” Again, no interaction with the grail knight. Indy drinks from the proper grail and receives affirmation from the knight. “You have chosen wisely.” The knight then warns Indy to not carry the grail beyond the great seal of the temple. It is advice that, in theory, both he and Elsa should have heard.
A couple minutes later, after Indy has healed Henry with the supernatural powers of the water contained in the grail, Elsa grabs the grail and attempts to leave the chamber, seemingly ignorant of the knight’s warning. She is ignorant of it because she never heard or saw the knight in the first place. Elsa then falls to her death as the temple destroys itself.
One possible gap in my theory now comes up, but it’s one I can explain. As the heroes are escaping the temple, Henry hesitates, noting the grail knight in the entrance way to the three challenges. Indy sees the knight too before imploring upon Henry that they have to leave. The knight salutes them both as they exit the crumbling temple.
Earlier in the film’s climax, a wounded Henry speaks (to Indy) “You must believe, boy. You must…believe.” This is right before Indy crosses the invisible bridge, the third of the three challenges.
In this moment, Indiana Jones is at the absolute peak of his powers. All of his experience, education, strength of mind, body and spirit are dialed up to 100 as he embarks on his challenging journey to save his father. He takes one step, having fully given himself over to believing a path exists where he sees none. Like Henry, Indy has studied the lore of the grail. He believes in its power and in his own quest. He believes, just as his father believes.
Elsa and Donovan are not believers. Donovan seeks power through eternal life. Elsa seeks a prize. This makes them non-believers. The purity of Indy’s search allows him to believe. Note that this belief embeds itself in him before he enters the grail chamber.
If you watch the entire scene again, you won’t see any verbal or vocal interaction between Elsa, Donovan directed towards the grail knight. The eye contact from Elsa and Donovan is general, while the knight, as he exists through Indy’s spiritual projection, can see and hear what Elsa and Donovan are doing. Neither Elsa nor Donovan acknowledge the mysterious knight in any way.
So, who is the grail knight? Is he just a spiritual projection from Indy’s mind and heart? Is he representative of Jesus Christ?
Now, I don’t know for a fact that Steven Spielberg intended the knight to be a figment of Indy’s imagination. I don’t expect Frank Marshall to read this and say “Wow Brad cracked the code that remained hidden for 33 years! Wow!”
This is just a fun fan theory that came to me for no reason outside of the pure love - and belief - I have for the Indiana Jones character and franchise.
