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Awesome / A Knight's Tale

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  • When Adhemar and Jocelyn are watching Will joust for the first time, Adhemar notes that, unlike most knights who will turn away their face instinctively protect their eyes from a direct hit or stray splinters, Ulrich does not take his eyes off his opponents during a tilt. We know that Will is an untrained knight, but Jocelyn also remarks that he does so because he's keeping his eyes on the target.
  • Chaucer's first proper introduction for Will deserves mention for sheer balls. He opens with the usual "My lords, my ladies," before turning to the peasants, "and everyone else here not sitting on a cushion! Today, you find yourselves equals!" While the peasants cheer loudly, the nobles are less then amused. Chaucer then talks up Sir Ulrich's amazing (and at this point, entirely fictitious) feats, and as the crowd roars in approval (and even the nobles seem interested), tells Will "I've got their attention, you go win their hearts." And Will does. Later, we hear snippet of other introductions, now including some of "Sir Ulrich's" stunning tournament victories.
  • William and Adhemar's first joust is filled with this. Their first tilt ends with one broken lance each, and Adhemar need a squire to pluck a splinter of Will's lance out of his body. Adhemar remarks that Will has no style. . . "but neither has an anvil." Cut to Will noting that Adhemar "hits like a hammer." This prompts Roland to give Will some advice to exploit a small flaw in Adhemar's technique, resulting in their second tilt earning a lance for Will while Adhemar's remains unbroken. Finally, Adhemar decided to end this upstart, striking Will in the head, scoring two lances and preventing will from scoring a third. The die is cast, The Hero and The Rival for this story are firmly established.
  • William choosing to joust against Thomas Colville, despite the fact he's just been found out to be Edward the Black Prince of Wales, Heir to the Throne of England.
  • The extended sequence of Adhemar reading through the tournament lists. Ulrich Von Lichtenstein has won every single one.
  • A subdued one, but Jocelyn calling out William for promising to win the tournament, and instead asks him to lose.
    William: No. Losing proves nothing, except that I'm a loser.
    Jocelyn: Wrong. Losing is a much keener test of your love. Losing would contradict your self-love, and losing would show your obedience to your lover and not to yourself!
    • When a clergyman approaches to shush Jocelyn, she immediately tells him off.
  • When Will is caught and put in the stocks, his friends all rally around him to protect him. Kate is wielding two hammers just daring anyone to try her.
  • Prince Edward's Big Damn Heroes moment, culminating in Sir William's Awesome Moment Of Knighting.
    Prince Edward: If I may repay the kindness you once showed me: (nods) Take a knee.
  • After William is injured by Adhemar's cheating, and Roland, Kate, and Wat work furiously to keep him in the competition, Chaucer buys time by delivering his belated introduction. What follows is the Rousing Speech to end all rousing speeches, winning over the crowd, the nobles, and giving William the incentive to finally pound Adhemar into the dust. See it here (starting at 3:00).
    Chaucer: Good people! I missed my introduction!
    (crowd goes absolutely wild for him)

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