Jareth and Sarah Labyrinth Analysis | Was Jareth the Good Guy? | Labyrinth Movie Review

I remember when I first saw this movie it always did seem to me that the Goblin King came to teach her a lesson, and in the end she turned out to be a much better person.

"You asked the child be taken: I took him. You cowered before me, I was frightening..." plus the fact she literally reads aloud from the BOOK that the "king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl and granted her certain powers"... Then at the end it's "I can never remember that line". He is LITERALLY a book character trapped in his lines. Talk about nightmare fuel... I feel like sometimes you can read the frustration on his expressions as Sarah acts out her part, disregarding his actual feelings since he's just a book character 😭

It's refreshing to see a take that doesn't throw Jareth into the bad guy pit. I think you might have missed a few things, though.

My take on Jareth is that... he's following orders. Sure, he acts terrible to Sarah and the others, but it's not because he specifically wants to. He's playing the part of villain. The movie starts with Sarah playing out her favorite book as the heroine confronting the villain. She then has to deal with the stress of reality (family) and wishes for her biggest responsibility (Toby) to vanish.

Jareth does what she wants, and as pointed out, he doesn't have to give Sarah a chance. Except... he does. Because Sarah EXPECTS to be able to save her brother. She EXPECTS that she (the heroine) can save Toby. No matter what Jareth does, she expects to always be able to succeed. I think the peach and dancing was his attempt to change her mind and the only chance he could actually affect her resolve, which still ended up failing.

Before she confronts Jareth in his tower, she stops her friends from coming along because "that's the way it's done." She's dictating the rules. Further, when Jareth is trying to negotiate with her before the final "you have no power over me" he clearly states that he's "rewound time, turned the world upside down and I have done it all for you" and then after sighing he states, "I'm tired of living up to your expectations of me."

Her expectations of him. He's playing the role of villain for her. Because that's what she expects. She wants a challenge, an adventure and the struggle of rescuing her brother. And the romance of being pursued by a mysterious and handsome king is something almost every teen girl has in her head.

I don't think Jareth had a choice, he was created to do as she wanted, even subconsciously. And he does bad things because SHE expects it. Sarah was always the one in control.

Long story short, Jareth is not a good guy. He is a mustache twirling villain that isn't used to NOT getting what he wants because he is a king and thinks himself above mortals. He abuses his power. Is it his fault he became like this because the Underground is all he knows? Probably not, but though future adventures of Sarah visiting the Labyrinth and calling the shots he might just become redeemed and the great ruler he was meant to be.

This is why everyone loves jareth (and cause he was david bowie)

My question:

Sarah is very much implied to have some kind of magic power. From the dialogue at the start to Jarith’s song, both mention her having powers. What are these powers, and are they just another part of her fantasy world?

What always puzzles me, her dad hollers to ask her if she's home. They left her to babysit! So what has her step-mother been saying during the 4-5 hours they have been out for a date?

He never harmed the baby or her. He entertained a crying child she was neglecting, and taught her responsibility etc. making her mature a lot. Jareth did nothing wrong.

Jarith did nothing wrong I think.
He granted Sarah's wish and when she realized what she did she asked for the kid back .
Instead of saying no jarith challenged her to be better and get smarter and at the end she had the wisdom to pass the final test .
I think in that world of the movie he was in fact real and just a wise teacher.

He still did something wrong he kidnapped a baby and doesn't matter if Sarah wished it or not she's a teenager and he's a grown man knows better

Whole comment section is full of paragraphs

Actually he kinda is a villain. He's not completely all bad however he certainly isn't good just bc he kept to his word. That's like saying a manipulator is a good person bc they gave you something nice. Jareth stalks Sarah before she even wishes Tobey away. We see scenes earlier on in the film where he's watching her as a owl through her window and flying above her. This really isn't okay as he's immortal and she's fifteen. It'd make more sense to find another being like him or an adult as he seems to have stopped aging as an adult. Another thing; he did not want her to complete her trials. All through the movie he tries to get her to listen to HIS minions. He sent them and we see him say as much in the film. He also comes across as nice and sweet but also tries getting Sarah to fall victim to him and become his. He himself tries sabotaging her. Haggol worked for the goblin king and the goblin king threatened him and insulted him telling him Sarah would never want him. He's quite cruel to those who are not goblins. It's most likely he treated Tobey good bc he was relates to Sarah, the one he wanted? Tried manipulating? Tricking? Stalking?
Even in the ballroom scene he tries erasing her memory and manipulating her into believing she wants him (which is sick bc no one should he made to love someone)
When Sarah is in danger or about to be hurt he doesn't come to save her tho we know he is watching her. Which asks the question why risk her being hurt? Bc then the pain could slow her down or she could even become trapped. Like with the hands.
When she invades his city Jareth quite literally screams at his goblins to stop her and becomes quite violent when she actually passes a trial. He seems horrified she made it so far. Bc he wants her to be trapped with him. "It's only forever. Not long at all" that whole line shows how manipulative it is. "Forget about the baby" he literally tells her to forget about her brother (even tho he sees how desperately she wants him back) with the hope she'll stay with him.
When she completes the trials he looks like his ik despair. He did everything he could so she WOULDN'T pass bc he didn't want her to. That's why he's made to be (which he kinda is) the villain. Bc he's cruel, manipulative, aggressive, obsessive, little toxic, desperate for a 15 year old girls love and makes it difficult for her and her brother to escape purely bc his selfish desire. Let's also not forget he tells her he'll be her slave however she has to obey him and give herself to him. "Just let me rule you" that sounds more like she'll be his slave however in the situation you don't realize that. He says a lot more but I can't remember them all clearly. While Jareth does have his positives he definitely did something wrong. (Forcing love with an underaged girl. Manipulating her and her friends. Being cruel to others. Trying to turn a baby who didn't ask for it into a goblin why is the baby the target when the baby can't talk? Bc he has no right, no will. He can't fight Jareth back. Becoming aggressive when she'so close to success then in the final moments still tries to manipulate her before time runs out. ) he's a villain really tho he's not completely bad as he did stick to ONE thing which was the timer. We don't know if he isn't holding a grudge as he's in owl form watching her through the window like he was doing before. This could very well mean "I'll try again" he obsessive as we see throughout the film.

I will forever want a 2 movie where they end up together I know it's not the same but like I've already shipped them the moment I watch them together in the movie even if it's a povs or series I will forever want them to be together I love the this movie

But she was awake the whole time when it was going on I just want to add this to my comment so you know that she was awake the whole tire time she was not dreaming this will become as a dream for Toby but not her but she won’t remember that she’s going through that that’s why it’s known as a dreamworld in underground dreamworld that’s where the goblin kingdom lies the underground the underground with the crystals and illusions and all those themes I just want to all these things happen when she was awake she was not asleep but it’ll be as a dream for Toby because he’s way too young to know what’s going on but as for Sarah Jennifer Connelly is concerned it will always be known as an allusion to her but she will not remember that she has gone through it because everything went back to normal so you should think about that like I said this is just in addition to my comment to you that shows like the whole tire time

Why would you think the goblin king did nothing wrong when his just Gretchen a wish that should never been said and he was afraid to tell her that picture for what you wish for and yes I would agree with you that he did do nothing wrong but the thing is he’s innocent and all this just want to have some fun with the kid and mess with Sarah‘s mind with allusions and others happen to her when she was taken out of space and time thrown into a dreamworld down in the underground beyond the storm that thunderstorm that is where Toby went and wire magic rules the goblin king represents a realm of magic and with crystals down in the underground beyond the thunderstorm end it all goes down to this

Crystal room
Dreamworld
Underground
Thunderstorm
Goblin kingdom

And that is the government city where Jareth the King of the goblins and yes I agree he’s innocent but you have to understand that kidnapping is not an innocent thing to do but it’s not as bad when you just ask for something asking selfishly is wrong then yes he will be innocent it to that but he’s also guilty of trying to stop her The goblin King is a Master of illusions so I haven’t her and going and time beyond space of time where nothing makes sense that he’s back to what I said when it comes to this list

Dreamworld
Crystal room
Underground
Thunderstorm
Goblin kingdom

All this represents the kingdom all the goblins was governed by a goblin king and yes they did he use David boy as the king of the goblins but he is also the king of the Doblins is a master of illusion so what has happened to Sarah was really happening and Toby was like oh that’s no more but a dream that is the illusion so I now understand your video when he was talking about it so maybe you can go more in depth of the film itself and use my comment that I said here so well for your video so no I am giving you a video to do for free and do so be if you want to

jareth wouldent have done what he did if she didint wish toby away lol its all her fault and tbh he didint do anything evil in the movie

Now whose fault is it Toby got taken away, sarah. She's the one that goes into Toby's room, and tells the Goblins to take him away. Then she has buyer's remorse, and tries to get Toby back. And from what I see Jared loved toby. In fact he was going to make him the next Goblin king, rather than turn him into a goblin like all the others. And from what I can see, Toby wasn't scared or even afraid of jared. Jared was treating Toby better than how Sarah was. And would have been so terrible if Jared kept toby, she could go back to her old life her parents wouldn't nagger about staying home, rather than going out because of the baby. And I'm pretty sure Jared would have erased the parents' memory of ever having toby. It was a win-win situation period. And Jared gets painted as the villain, because he makes Sara go through trials just to prove her determination and love for toby. And from what I can see, Jared was only trying to teach Sarah real life lessons. Things like things are never as easy as they seem, and you can't take anything for granted. And along the way, she found herself, and friends. Before that, she was just a High School Musical girl, who happened to daydream and want to loaf off all the time in her own fantasy world. If anything, Jared the goblin king, is a twisted Good Witch or very godmother. Even at the end of the labyrinth, Jared is still looking after Sarah and toby. And as far as I can tell, he has no revenge plot, or grudge. And you think Jared the goblin king, did it all for her, because she asked. So no, Jared is not the villain, Sarah is, or perhaps Sarah's parents. After all, they put Sarah in a position of being a cinderella. Which in fact, would make Jared her very godparent.

I don't believe it was a dream.

David Bowie can never be the bad guy!

“What’s said is said”. 😂

She doesn't fall asleep in her room. She storms off to Toby's bedroom and wishes him away. Then Jareth comes and transports her to the labyrinth so she can win Toby back.