The Princess Bride Scenes 36-40 Summary

Scene 36

  • Yep, it was Inigo. Good call. He's awfully drunk and mumbly, and he appears to be waiting for Vizzini. Apparently he didn't get the memo.
  • He's nearly attacked by a member of Humperdinck's forces, but Fezzik shows up just in time and delivers a fierce backhanded smack to the guy that would have laid out an elephant.

Scene 37

  • Fezzik starts nursing Inigo back to health, and catches him up on Vizzini's current living status (i.e. "N/A").
  • He also tells him that Rugen is the six-fingered man he's been looking for. There's a Lionel Richie song in this somewhere.
  • As soon as Inigo has sobered up, he's raring and ready to go, determined to get this murderous jerk Rugen once and for all.
  • However, Fezzik explains that the castle gate is guarded by thirty men, and Inigo decides that the only way they can overcome the odds is if they have the Man in Black in their court.
  • So, Inigo's off to find him before sundown. He seems cocky for someone who has no idea where to even begin looking. The last time he went looking for somebody it took him decades.

Scene 38

  • Yellin reports back to Humperdinck, confirming that the Thieves' Forest has been cleared. He also mentions he's the only one with a key to the gate, which strikes us as some hardcore foreshadowing.
  • Buttercup comes to see the prince, and catches him in a lie. She realizes he never sent for Westley at all, but still she seems confident that her true love will come for her before the day is out.
  • That cockiness of Inigo's appears to be catching.

Scene 39

  • Humperdinck is enraged by Buttercup's insistence that her thing with Westley is oh-so-special, so he locks her in the bedroom

Scene 40

  • Humperdinck races into the Pit of Despair, confronts Westley, and cranks The Machine all the way up to 50. By the look of shock and horror on Rugen's face, we're guessing he thought this thing only went to 11.