Analysis / Knightriders

• Knightriders is heavily inspired by Arthurian Legend. Some clear major character parallels include Merlin with Merlin, Billy with King Arthur, Linet with Queen Guinevere, Alan with Lancelot, Julie Dean with Elaine, and Morgan with Mordred. One could also argue that Pippin parallels Bedivere and that Rocky’s personality is similar to Gawain’s, but YMMV. Ban, Bleoberis, Bors, Ewaine, Kay, Marhalt, and Pellinore are all named after Knights of the Round Table. Little John and Tuck, on the other hand, are named after characters associated with Robin Hood, and Tuck has Friar Tuck’s traditional outfit and personality.

• The young man with the black bird on his shield (listed in the credits as “Indian” but commonly referred to by fans as the Blackbird Knight) functions as a psychopomp for Billy. Due to Billy’s recurring dreams about a blackbird, Billy sees the Blackbird Knight’s arrival as an omen of his impending doom. The knight accompanies Billy on his final motorcycle voyage. Shortly before Billy dies, he goes to a diner to beat up the policeman, and the knight gives the diner’s cashier a medallion before they leave, which parallels Charon claiming a coin as a fee for a soul’s passage across the river to Hades.