Full Story Synopsis: The Labyrinth

SPOILER ALERT!
The Labyrinth

Our protagonist Sarah appears in a grassy park as the sky overhead darkens. She recites words from a play but is unable to remember the last words, “you have no power over me.” Her dog watches from a distance.

When the clock strikes the hour Sarah suddenly realizes that she is late and takes off with the dog following screaming that it isn’t fair. She get’s home soaking wet to find her stepmother angrily waiting for her.

They argue about how Sarah is supposed to be watching her baby stepbrother Toby for the night while the two of them go to dinner but is late getting home. Sarah locks herself in her room while her mother complains to her father about her.

As Sarah plays pretend in her room her father comes to talk to her but doesn’t really say anything worth hearing. When they leave they tell her that Toby is in bed and that she is to look after him.

As she admirers her carefully lay out and thought out room she realizes that one of her stuffed bears is gone. Angrily she storms out finding the bear in with Toby where he is crying.

Sarah begins to cry as the storm outside gets worse. As she begs someone to take her away from her home eyes in the darkness are listening. Goblins watch her excitedly.

Sarah decides to tell Toby a story where she is the beautiful girl that the Goblin King has fallen in love with. He offers her the gift to take Toby away and the brave girl resists. But on that night when the baby was bad she lets him take the baby. The Goblins listen to the story happily.

Toby begins crying again and Sarah threatens to actually use the words to wish him away. Instead she just rambles until eventually she says the words accidentally causing the goblins to jump into action.

As Sarah leaves the room she notices that Toby has stopped crying very suddenly. Worried for him she reenters the room but finds that the lights will not turn on. When the gets to the crib she finds Toby gone and all hell breaks loose.

A white owl thumps against the window out in the storm trying to get in. All of the furniture in the room comes to life as goblins race about the room. The clock strikes 13 as Sarah’s fear grows.

Suddenly the owl breaks into the room and where it would have been stands a man (described as generally attractive but if you’ve seen the movie just imagine David Bowie). Sarah instantly recognizes him as the Goblin King and he introduces himself as Jareth. She demands her brother back. He offers her a gift instead. In his hands he holds a crystal that would show her all her dreams. She turns him down.

Angry now Jareth throws a snake at her in warning. It instantly turns into a scarf when the goes to block it. They argue a bit before Sarah guesses that there is a place where she can find Toby.

Jareth points through the window where the outside scene has changed to a landscape overlooking the labyrinth and in the center a castle. Jareth tells her that Toby is in the castle at the center and that she has only 13 hours to get to the castle or Toby will become a goblin forever.

When Sarah asks where to start Jareth disappears saying that it is a pity. Sarah quickly begins her journey down the hill to the outside walls of the Labyrinth where she looks for a door or some way inside.

She meets an odd dwarf named Hoggle, who no one can remember his name all that well. She get’s bit by a fairy and Hoggle mocks her by making it worse on her then stating that she knows nothing about that world.

Sarah eventually gets him to open the door on the outside of the wall and then enters. He mocks her again before leaving her there to figure it out on her own.

She figures out that both sides she could go simply go on forever after running for a while. She sits down to cry when a small worm comes out to speak with her. It tells her that the way to get to the next level is to go through the wall in front of her where there is a secret passage.

The worm tells her not to go the way she is going so she turns around but as she walks away the worm remarks that she had been heading straight for the castle before.

In the goblin castle Jareth sits watching Toby cry. He thinks to himself that Toby might just grow up to be a good goblin and might be able to take over for him as the King as he is growing old. He becomes sad at the thought of it and tries to find something to pass the time while he is waiting for Sarah to fail.

Back to Sarah who is making her way through the maze. Every time she has to choose a path in the road she marks the way she went with her lipstick. What she doesn’t notice is that there are small goblins following her who rub out the mark as she makes them.

As she remarks how unfair it is a voice from behind her agrees. She turns around and meets four strange little men two to a pair. They tell her the only way to move on through the labyrinth is to try one of the doors. They warn that one leads to the castle and the other to certain death. They also say that she can only ask one but one always lies and one always tell the truth.

She manages to guess the right answer but as the remarks how easy it was she falls through a hole in the floor. She falls as she calls out for help before she is caught by hundreds of creepy little hands.

They ask her which way she wants to go to which she replies down. They laugh at her as they drop her through a manhole into a dungeon of sorts.

From a distance Jareth watches in his castle through his crystal. The goblins all laugh but Jareth is upset that she has come so far without giving up. He calls on Hoggle to lead her back to the beginning so that she will finally give up before joining the goblins in a good laugh. He thinks to himself that he wishes Sarah were a little older so that he could keep her…

Meanwhile in the hole Sarah hears something moving around and demands who is there. She is greeted by Hoggle who says he has come to rescue her. She bribes him with her plastic bracelet into helping her get as far through the Labyrinth as he can take her.

On their way out they meet many stone faces in the rock that warn them not to go on. Hoggle reassures her that they are there to keep people from going any further since they are going the right way.

They stop to allow one to speak and while doing so notice a crystal ball rolling past them on the floor. They follow it and watch as it jumps into the hat of a beggar. It asks what it was to which Hoggle replies, “nothing.”

Suddenly the beggar stands up reveling that it was Jareth in disguise scaring the two. He points out that Hoggle is betraying him and threatens to drop him into the ‘Bog of Stench’ making him cower. He then turns his attention to Sarah and asks her how she is liking the Labyrinth.

When she tells him it is a piece of cake he gets a little irritated. He speeds up the clock a few hours on her and then sends a large machine with sharp bits after her and Hoggle.

They manage to get out of the way just in time and even manage to find a ladder leading out of the underground passageway. As soon as they get to the top though Hoggle declares that he can take Sarah no further causing her to steal his collection of jewels to get him to stay with her.

They ask an old man with a talking bird hat for directions but he only talks nonsense before falling asleep.

Sarah and Hoggle then go off on their own to try to find the way but get lost many times. Hoggle speaks with Sarah about how she referred to him as a friend saying that he might like that. But when they hear a tremendous roar from in front of them Hoggle books it leaving Sarah on her own. She calls him a coward.

She goes to see what is going on and finds a large furry creature being held upside down and tortured by some of the goblin guards. Sarah throws some rocks at them to chase them away before helping the creature down.

He says his name is Ludo and joins Sarah on her quest. They find some oddly shaped doors with faces on them which proceed to speak with the two. The first one can’t hear because the knocker is through his ears. The second one can’t speak because the knocker is in his mouth.

Sarah pulls out the knocker and the face tells her she has to knock on a door to enter. She tries the first door but finds that she cannot stop laughing when she walks through so Ludo has to save her. She then goes through the other door to find a swamp like area.

Ludo goes with her but they are separated quickly causing Sarah to become scared and confused. She is cornered by a strange talking creature.

Elsewhere Hoggle is still stumbling around when he hears Sarah screaming. He begins to head back for her when he runs into Jareth. They speak for a while as Jareth threatens him once again. This time he tells him to give her a peach he created. As he goes to leave he threatens him one last time telling him that if Sarah ever kisses him he will turn him into the prince of stench.

Back to Sarah, who has managed to get herself into trouble with the strange creatures called Fieries. They are wild creatures who love to party and remove their limbs to play games. When they realize Sarah can’t take off her head they get confused. They agree to lead her towards the castle and off they go.

Jareth watches all of this through his crystal ball with Toby in his hands. He tells Toby that as soon as Hoggle give’s Sarah his ‘present’ she will no longer be able to get in his way. In fact she won’t even remember to begin with.

As Sarah goes along with the creatures she begins to realize that they don’t have any idea where they are going. When they refuse to let her go off on her own she grabs one of their heads and throws it away to distract them before running off on her own.

They give chase now thinking this a fun game and wanting her head. She is saved from them last minute by Hoggle who has come back for her.

Delighted to see him Sarah gives him a kiss, despite how much he fights it. The ground beneath their feet caves in and suddenly both are tumbling through a tunnel where they manage to grab onto a ledge before falling out into a large green bog.

Sarah at once is horrified by the smell to which Hoggle informs her it is the Bog of Eternal Stench. If you get even a little of it on you it will never come out.

Hoggle and Sarah make their way across the ledge with Hoggle once trying to give her the peach. When he can’t do it the ground gives out again and they land on top of Ludo who has somehow managed to get there.

They all move towards an old bridge they see to be the only way away from the bog. Before they can cross a small fox dressed as a knight jumps out demanding that they stop. He says they can’t pass and ends up fighting Ludo when Hoggle runs across the bridge.

Ludo wins and Sir Didymus says that they are brothers now. As Sarah goes to cross the bridge it gives way on her leaving her dangling above the bog.

Ludo saves her by calling rocks, which are apparently his friends, to pile beneath her and give her space to walk the rest of the way across. The rest cross with the Knight now following them on his dog/steed.

As they make their way towards the castle all start to get hungry. Hoggle offers Sarah the peach and she eats it happily. Soon after biting into it she starts to feel weird driving Hoggle to running away, cursing Jareth.

Sarah falls asleep quickly and is pulled by Jareth into a crystal ball dream world where there is a ball happening.

Suddenly she is inside the ballroom where many people in masks twirl around the floor. She is in a puffy dress and is clearly confused as to where she is and why she is there. Eventually she spots Jareth who teases her by appearing and disappearing across the floor.

Eventually he approaches her and they dance. He tells her she looks lovely and tries to kiss her. She is confused and disgusted and pulls away when she hears the clock strike 12.

She shatters the crystal ball with a chair and wakes up in a junkyard. As she is stumbling around wondering where she is she accidentally steps on the back of a bag lady who has piles of garbage on her back. The lady asks Sarah where she is going but she doesn’t know.

She gives her the bear from the beginning making Sarah happy before leading her into a ‘junk’ room of sorts. The room turns out to be her room at home making Sarah rush to her bed. She lays down for a moment before getting up and laughing that everything must have been a dream.

As she goes to leave the junk lady from before comes rushing in startling her. She starts piling Sarah’s toys and costumes on her back remarking how she never has to leave because everything she ever loved is in that room.

But Sarah finds a copy of the play from the beginning, being the Labyrinth, and suddenly remembers why she is there. She throws off her toys and costumes calling them junk then takes off to find Toby. Ludo and the Knight find her there and help her get to the walls of the Goblin City. Sarah knows she only has a little time left and hurries.

They make it to the gates where the guard is sleeping. Sarah tries to sneak by but the Knight starts challenging the sleeping goblin to a duel. Sarah manages to silence him as they go through the door but the guard wakes up and closes the gate on them locking them in with a large axe wielding robot.

They are saved by Hoggle who jumps down into the drivers seat of the robot and manages to destroy it. He apologizes to Sarah for what he did and the group forgives him. He joins them again as they move on towards the castle.

In the castle Jareth is playing with Toby by tickling him and allowing him to smack him. A guard comes in to report that Sarah and company are getting closer to the palace. Jareth panics sending out the guard to stop her before handing of Toby to be taken away. He seems visibly upset and worried.

Back to Sarah and company as they make their way silently through the city. As they approach the steps to the castle the guards fall upon them starting to battle. The group minus the Knight hide inside a house and manage to keep the guards out while the Knight tries to get his dog to help him. Eventually Ludo calls his rock friends buying the group enough time to get to the castle.

But when the rush through the doors into the throne room they find it empty. With only one other doorway leading out of the room Sarah figures she has Jareth cornered. She tells the others that she must deal with it alone and says her goodbyes.

When she goes through the door she finds herself in a room with staircases all over the place. Jareth finds her there and she is in a race for time against Jareth to get to Toby. When at last Toby is about to fall out a window Sarah jumps seeing no other choice.

When she wakes up she is in a much older version of the castle. Jareth appears looking older as well and very worn out. He offers her the crystal again and now is very desperate. He realizes that if he loses he will be done forever. He asks Sarah to believe in him as no one else ever has.

She finally repeats the lines from the book remembering her line, “you have no power over me,” destroying Jareth and reducing him to an owl state.

The clock strikes 13 and she finds herself standing in her front hall and it is midnight now. She races upstairs and finds Toby safe in his bed. Sarah goes back to her room as her parents come home.

The book ends with Sarah seeing her friends in her mirror and telling them that she needs them. They all show up in her room saying that maybe Sarah hasn’t grown up all that much.

THE END!