In the ending sequence of Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, the audience can tell a lot about one of the main characters, Vidal, by the way he acts in the presence of other characters compared to when alone.

During the ending scene, Vidal has been drugged with sleeping medication which has caused him to stumble throughout the scene while chasing Ofelia through the labyrinth. After shooting Ofelia, he continues to stumble out of the labyrinth until he sees the rebels (including Mercedes) and immediately straightens himself up and tries to walk straighter, taller and stronger without stumbling in-front of them.

It is to do with Vidal’s pride and ego. Even when clearly defeated, he is unwilling to show that he is beneath or even equal to them. He’s also unwilling to show that he is anything other than strong. He does this despite knowing defeat, which the audience knows that he knows due to his facial expression, which is stern yet shows defeat.  The proxemics also support this, as he positions himself directly in the centre of the rebels rather than cowering in a corner, showing that he doesn’t want to loose his title and ego/pride even when it’s already all gone. It could also have links to him being a captain after the Spanish civil war, and in charge of defeating rebels. He didn’t want to loose his reputation or job title even when all was lost, which watchers wouldn’t be surprised about. The film set after the Spanish Civil War which lasted from 1936 to 1939 but had after effects that lasted for years, these after effects were explored in the film through many characters including Vidal.

This has links to the gender representation during the film. Vidal’s character, although completely cruel and evil, is a victim of toxic masculinity that was passed down onto him by his father. The timeline of this was stopped when Mercedes decided that Vidal’s son wouldn’t even know his name, giving hope for a better future. Vidal had to live up to his father expectations and his fathers actions, his father smashed a watched before he died so that Vidal would know what time he had died; Vidal would have been cautious of how he should not only act like a man but die like one too, suggesting a reason why even in his last moments where all hope was lost he still wasn’t prepared to loose his dignity or reputation.

The aesthetics and the way it makes the audience feel can be complicated. Although all watchers will be glad that Vidal didn’t win against the rebels, he had already killed Ofelia and killing him wouldn’t reverse this act. The evilness of his character still lives on which has links to how the Spanish Civil War had lasting effects, it didn’t all suddenly go back to normal in 1939. However, the look of how Vidal is surrounded by everyone (proxemics) gives a sense of how the evilness is coming to an end, as no more evil acts can be committed by him suggesting hope in the far off future.