Unlike her alter ego, the Lady is a beautiful young woman. Her appearance is reminiscent of the sea. She has green skin and dark green hair gathered in a voluptuous ponytail. The Lady's lips are purple and her eyes are gray. Wearing a necklace with a starfish and two shells. She does not have many clothes, only one-leg, turquoise slip and a pink stole on her chest. She is always barefoot. In an illusion created by her, she appears with the classic tail of the mermaids. Her beauty is such that it is recognized by Popeye himself.
Unlike all the other characters in the film, the siren has a more realistic and less caricatural design, with a body that is not disproportionate. This is because her job was to play the role of the enchanting mermaid. Role not suitable for a character with a comical or clumsy appearance. In fact, she's probably the most beautiful being in Popeye's universe.
Personality[]
Before her true identity is revealed, the Lady of the Depths acts like a classic tempting siren, trying to seduce Popeye with her irresistible appearance. She proves to be very confident of her beauty, even asking Popeye if he found her beautiful, sure that the sailor will answer affirmatively, which then happens.
After failing to kiss Popeye, she calmly observes his leaving ship.
Unlike her counterpart Sea Hag, she is a refined and elegant woman who always shows her class in every gesture. Even after failing to kiss Popeye, she shows demeanor and composure. Even if she lets out a grimace of disgust when Popeye tells her that Olive is important to him, probably because she didn't expect to be contradicted.
With Popeye, she behaves in a sweet and caring way, trying to comfort him as the latter is sad. In reality, the Lady just wants to take advantage of Popeye's pain to get into his graces, succeeding. With Popeye, she shows a certain lust, as she is often seen delighting him with caresses or sweet scratches under the chin.
She also has a vindictive and sadistic side, which is shown when she throws a lightning on the boat because Poodeck Pappy and the others have interrupted the ritual or when she is taken on arms by Popeye to humiliate the crew even more. She also proves to be rather arrogant, claiming victory too soon. This is noticed when Popeye and she are about to kiss each other for the first time: on that occasion the Lady speaks inappropriately, adding that in addition to the two of them nobody is important. This unnecessary remark causes Popeye to dare to reply, making her miss the chance to kiss him.
Powers and Abilities[]
Its main capacity is hypnosis. With this power she managed to bring Popeye to her feet, twice. Her control over Popeye's mind is very strong. Another sense power is the illusions she can create. She is also able to throw thunder and call a green fog.
Physical Strength[]
The Lady proves to have proves to have extraordinary physical strength. When Popeye is blocked by the lifebuoy, the woman manages to keep him on the dolphin's back, proving to have more strength than Brutus. She managed to hold Popeye even when the whole family came to pull the rope, but only for a brief moment.
Subsequently, she takes Popeye in her arms without the slightest effort, then put him effortlessly on the back of the dolphin.
Siren song[]
Like most sirens, the Lady also uses singing to attract the victim to her. This ability is used twice during the movie, every time she was about to appear on stage.
Popeye attracted by the Lady's singing
Although singing is the means by which mermaids usually attract their victims to them, that of the Lady does not seem to create any form of hypnosis or mind control in Popeye, but a simple curiosity. Although it should be noted that Popeye was strangely interested in singing as soon as he started hearing it, to the point of almost showing a sort of obsession with it. To the point of walking over Olive to reach the source of that sound.
The singing can only be heard by Popeye, in fact Olive, to the surprised reaction of her boyfriend, replies that she didn't hear anything. This means that the Lady can decide the target of her singing and make it audible only to him. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the singing is actually heard by Popeye or is a simple mental illusion of the Lady and therefore transmitted telepathically to him.
Hypnosis[]
The hypnosis of Lady of the Depths is her main skill. Not even one as strong as Popeye is immune from it, falling victim twice. Popeye's state of mind affects its effectiveness, making hypnosis more or less powerful. When the siren bewitches Popeye with this spell, he loses his cheerful and playful personality. The spell shows itself visually like a red spiral, which turns without stopping on Popeye's good eye. The only thing that can break the curse is a person's voice that Popeye loves, like Olive and Swee'pea.
It is not very clear what activates hypnosis; the first time, Popeye is bewitched after making an appreciation to marine woman, after she had asked him if he found her beautiful. Maybe, the Lady of the Depths, with her question, has cast the spell which Popeye activated by responding affirmatively. The second time the hypnosis is activated when the siren points out to Popeye that he is not alone, because she is there for him. When he tells the Lady that nobody needs him, she corrects him by saying she needs him. At that moment on the sailor's eye appears the red spiral, a sign that now is under the control of the siren.
Hypnosis does not completely deprive Popeye of his will, showing that the sailor still possesses a certain independence. In fact, he doesn't hesitate to contradict the Lady when she proclaims herself to be the only woman in his life, replying that even Olive is important to him.
This happened because, most likely, Popeye's will was still firmly aimed at saving his father and the bond of love he had with Olive was still strong. This prevented the spell from manifesting itself to the full of its effect. But this, however, has not prevented Popeye from trying to kiss the siren. Even after naming his girlfriend, Popeye returns with his lips turned to the woman, revealing that his intent has not changed, even though he replied to her an instant before.
The spell shows its real power the second time Popeye falls victim to it. He, disowned by his father and ill-treated by Olive and Brutus, highlights his insecurity and his emotional weakness, leaving the field open to the Lady of the Depths and her magic. In the state of depression to which he is, Popeye fails to make any resistance to the siren, which easily conquers him. Full-power hypnosis allows the Lady to make Popeye believe what she wants, making the latter believe that her every declaration is an undeniable truth.
The fidelity he feels towards his mistress is confirmed when his family comes to save him. A few moments before the lips of Lady of the Depths and Popeye touch each other, Brutus throws a lifebelt that blocks Popeye. The latter does not react, remaining loyal to his goal. Again, when the Lady of the Depth hurls a thunderbolt at the boat where his family is, Popeye turns to look and smiles, happy that no one will interrupt him anymore.
It is unclear whether after breaking the spell Popeye has memories of his actions while being controlled by the Lady. When he wakes up for the first time he doesn't seem to care about the kiss that she was about to give her a few moments before, just chasing her away. This is probably due to the fact that Popeye believed her Lady to be a mere hallucination, and therefore he did not give credit to what happened with her. When the Lady reappears in front of him, Popeye does not get upset, as if he does not remember her, talking to her normally. When the spell and the Lady disappear, Popeye talks to the Hag as if he knew perfectly well who she is, not mentioning the Lady and what he was about to do to please her. In the Italian version Popeye says to the Hag to mock her: "Your beauty no longer enchants me!", making a direct reference to the Lady's attractiveness and showing that he remembers her. However, this only happens in the Italian version of the movie.
Enslavement Kiss[]
This ability is mentioned by the Lady of the Depths. Not much is known about this power, but, which according to Siren, would have made Popeye her slave forever. Even Pappy seems to be aware of it, being worried when the Sea Hag hypnotizes his son.
It is not clear how the relationship between the Lady and Popeye would change once the act was consummated. In fact, Popeye already seemed completely faithful to the siren, and it is possible that the kiss would strengthen this fidelity to the point of making it absolute.
Curiously, whenever the Lady and Popeye are about to kiss each other she does not seem to activate sorceries or spells, merely making the gesture. This could mean that each of her kisses has the basic power to enslave the one who receives it.
The Sea Hag tries to kiss Popeye without disguise.
It is not known whether the Sea Hag can use this power without first hypnotizing Popeye, though unlikely given her terrifying appearance. In fact, this may be why the Lady needs to control his mind, because forcing Popeye to kiss her would have had no effect.
The film shows that Popeye, once hypnotized, does not need the order of his mistress to give her a kiss, but who can also act on his own initiative.This is due to the fact that to take possession of Popeye, the Lady of the Depths must receive a kiss from the latter and therefore probably the hypnosis produces in Popeye the desire to perform that action. The second time this does not happen for the plot needs, because the film needed to take time and give way to Poopdeck Pappy to tell his background. So it is the Lady of the Depths who orders Popeye to kiss her, after explaining her plans.
The kiss is probably a reference to the sacrament of marriage, in which the eternal union between two persons is signed with the same gesture. It is made explicit, in fact, that the two must exchange a kiss on the lips in order to complete the ritual. This could mean that, as in a marriage, they both have to be firmly convinced that they want to kiss. This could be why the Lady didn't just hypnotize Popeye and kiss him, but she always tried to get him close to her. Probably the Lady wanted Popeye to develop feelings towards her strong enough to make him want to kiss her.
The Rose of the Sea kisses Popeye, but he does not become her slave.
This ability is exclusive to the film, as in the cartoon the Sea Hag has never shown this skill. In the episodes "The Popeye Valentine's Day Special: Sweethearts at Sea" and "Myskery Melody" the Sea Hag, disguised as Rose of the Sea, kisses both Popeye and Poopdeck Pappy, without consequences for the latters.
Illusion[]
Another power of the Lady of the Depths is to plunge the target into an illusion. She's an illusion too, created by the Sea hag to hide her monstrous appearance. It's unknown why only Popeye can see the Hag with the appearance of a mermaid. It is not a power linked to hypnosis, since Popeye can see the attractive siren before being hypnotized. She has used this trick to get closer to Popeye and be able to enmesh and then control him mentally, which was be impossible if the Sea Hag had kept its original appearance.
The Lady of the Depth returns to her original appearance of Sea Hag
As soon as Popeye falls victim to her spell, the Lady of Depths uses this ability differently: she closes her eyes and opens them completely illuminated with green, while with her body she performs a sinuous dance. Accompanying the movements with a song, the Siren sends Popeye to an underwater world. In this "journey" under the sea, Popeye meets many times the siren that in every occasion always tries to make the sailor understand that now he belongs to her. When Popeye finds objects, the Lady of the Depths takes it, suggesting that man can have riches only if he will be at her side. It even refers to marriage: when Popeye takes a ring, he says it's best not to show it to Olive; at that moment the siren appears and distractedly, Popeye, puts the ring in her finger. With this symbolic gesture, the woman suggests that from now on she will be the only woman in Popeye's life.
The lady plunges Popeye into her illusion
The strophes of the song that resonates in Popeye's mind incite him to give himself to his love for the sea, represented by the Lady of the Depths, and to leave all the rest. All these temptations seem to convince Popeye, who follows the Lady on the dolphin without making a fuss. Unfortunately for the woman, the only thing most important of the sea, for Popeye, is her family. In fact, even if apparently convinced im following her, he will come back to himself thanks to Olive.
During the entire illusion, Popeye appeared normal and not mentally controlled. Perhaps because the illusion represents what happened in Popeye's mind when he was hypnotized. It is not clear if during all the time he is hypnotized, Popeye sees an illusory world or the real world. During the final confrontation, just after the siren put Popeye down and tells him that he belongs to her, we see the woman's eyes light up green, just like during the first time she and Popeye met. It is not clear if it was a scene aimed at showing the most terrifying siren or if this had a real affection on Popeye.
It is unclear whether the Lady and the Hag share the same movements. Several times throughout the film, when the perspective changes from Popeye to the crew characters, we see the Hag making different moves than Popeye saw the Lady do. For example, when Olive watches the scene from the periscope, we notice the Hag holding her arms towards Popeye as if to welcome him and, soon after, notice that the girl is looking at them, then turn to her and summon the green mist amidst laughter. It is very unlikely that Popeye saw Lady make the same gestures, but this is not confirmed.
Curiously, when Popeye is freed from the spell the first time, he continues to see the Lady of the Depths looking like a mermaid. But when it happens the second time, the illusion breaks with the spell and the beautiful mermaid disappears in his arms, becoming the old and ugly Sea Hag.
It is not clear why the Sea Hag has chosen to take the form of the Lady of the Depths and not a normal woman. Probably she chose it because the appearance of a mermaiden was the most suitable to attract a sailor.
Love Spell[]
The Lady of the Depths can use a spell that can madly make one person fall in love with another. She uses it against Olive to put her against Popeye and make him more vulnerable. This spell manifests itself as a green lightning striking Popeye's girlfriend. Immediately, Olive falls madly in love with Brutus, then going to him to declare his new feeling, much to his delight.
This spell is very powerful, managing to radically change Olive's personality. After being affected, Olive becomes completely devoted to her new loved one, and begins to despise Popeye even though she loved him deeply until a few minutes before. In addition to her boyfriend, Olive also lost interest in Swee 'Pea, not even giving him a look. Unlike hypnosis used with Popeye, this spell is not broken by the voice of a loved one. In fact Olive interacts with her ex-boyfriend without problems, declaring in his face her love for his rival and badly despising him.
Strangely, after being bewitched, a multitude of little hearts began to come out of Olive's head. This was most probably inserted for a parodic and playful purpose. Curiously, the hearts have proved tangible and real, so much so that one had slipped into Popeye's ear.
It is not known why the Lady of the Depths did not use this spell directly on Popeye. If the sailor had fallen madly in love with her it would have been much easier for the woman to kiss him and make him his slave, since Olive and Swee Pie's voice could not have made him prick himself.
Sharks control[]
The lady of the Depths controls an army of sharks, who act in her interests. They seem to be in perfect harmony with the will of their mistress, not needing a direct order to act. When the woman takes control of Popeye for the second time, we see them escorting the two out to sea. Later, one of them sank the lifeboat on which Popeye stood, to force him to join the Lady.
The dolphin's tail catches Popeye
The Lady of the Depths uses one of her sharks as a means of transport, disguising it as a docile and graceful dolphin; animal much more suited to her personality and her enchanting appearance. As with the other sharks, he also acts for the good of the siren without her indicating what to do.
When Popeye is about to be hauled aboard the ship by his loved ones, the dolphin stops the sailor with its tail, to prevent him from escaping from his mistress's clutches. A little later, exactly when his owner is denigrating Pappy for his failure, he throws Popeye towards her with a wave of his tail.
History[]
Introduction[]
"Welcome to the Sea of Mystery, Popeye!"
During his journey in search of his father, Popeye finds himself hampered by a thick green fog. He can easily disperse it and prevent his boat from crashing on the rocks. Once out of danger, he encourages Olive and tell her that from now on the journey will be quiet. Punctually an anomalous wave makes the boat unbalance and provokes to the girl a tremendous attack of seasickness, which is ironized by Popeye himself. Suddenly a sound attracts the attention of the sailor; he recognizes that it is a song and attracted by it he follows its origin up to the tip of the mast, to which it hangs upside down.
To his surprise, the figure of the Lady of the Depths emerges, who cordially welcomes Popeye into the Sea of Mystery. Surprised, Popeye asks her rhetorically if she's a mermaid, wondering later why her presence doesn't make him alarmed. The mermaid approaches him, offering to abandon everything and follow her to immerse herself completely in the freedom of the sea, concluding the offer with a gentle caress on the sailor's cheek. Popeye answers her admitting that it is a real good fortune that she is just a hallucination or he would be tempted to accept. The Lady then asks in a blatant way if Popeye finds her beautiful; however much the sailor tries to deny it, in the end he answers yes, adding that the woman is really esy on the eye. During the eulogy a sinister red spiral suddenly lights up Popeye's only eye. To this, the woman smiles smugly and then closes her eyes and opens them again, radiated by an intense green light. Then he starts to sing a song and perform some sensual movements of the belly. As a snake moves at the orders of its enchanter, Popeye begins to move in the same manner as the woman and suddenly finds himself catapulted into the ocean depths.
Illusion[]
After finding himself at the bottom of the sea, Popeye takes a couple of strokes and goes swimming towards a wreck of a galleon that on the stern has a representation of the Lady of the Depths. Incredulous of what is happening, Popeye wonders what is happening and while he finds a pearl necklace in a shell. As soon as he grabs it, the Lady (in the form of a mermaid with a tail) appropriates it by putting it around her neck; her sudden appearance baffles Popeye who flickers away. After encountering strange fish, Popeye finds himself in front of a treasure chest and by opening it he gets a ring. He examines it sparingly, thinking that it would be an excellent gift for Olive but in that moment the treasure chest disappears to make room for the siren, to who Popeye absently put the jewel on her finger.
Popeye follows the siren to the ruins, but just as he is about to open the door of these ruins to explore them, the handle disappears and the sailor grabs the thin hands of the Lady. She recites the last lines of her song, telling Popeye to leave everything and conceder completely to the sea. The two therefore begin to swim in circles in a perpetual movement, but soon it turns out that all this was nothing more than an illusion in Popeye's mind.
First failure[]
The illusion seems to have had an effect on Popeye who without problems descends from the flagpole to reach the woman on the dolphin's back. While the sailor descends he is held by the hand of the Lady of the Depths who orders him to forget all the others. As soon as he puts his feet on the animal's back, Popeye repeats the same words as he obsessively looks at her face. Immediately afterwards, he leans forward to try to kiss the woman in front of him, without she having told him anything about it. The latter begins to make him delicious caress under the chin and increasing the dose, she declares that for Popeye nobody is more important, only her! Having said that, she leans over to kiss him but to her immense misfortune Popeye finds the courage to contradict her, admitting that even Olive is important for him. This statement shocks the siren, who backs away in disgust and shaken by Popeye's inappropriate words. Incredibly, even though Popeye had just declared that he believed Olive was important to him, he was still intent on kissing the mermaid but she couldn't recover the chance. At that precise moment Olive's shrill voice called Popeye, awakening him from the state of trance in which he was ashamed.
As soon as he woke up, the sailor struck the Lady's cheek with his pipe and jumped into his boat, abruptly pushing the woman away. The Lady therefore observes her prey to leave with his ship, unable to do anything but return to the abyss to plan a new assault.
Sea Hag counterattack[]
After realizing that Olive is both Popeye's strength and weakness, Sea Hag moves against her. After having surprised her alone on the bridge, Hag throws a powerful love spell over the girl. Olive began to dot on for Brutus, Popeye's fierce rival, and this first provoked anger and then the eater spinach captain's desperation. Rejected by his fiancée, the sailor staked everything on the recovery of his lost father but when he screened him he had to swallow another disappointment.
Poopdeck Pappy, unlike what Popeye would have hoped for, treats his son badly as soon as he sets foot on the island, denigrating and insulting him. Intimidated to leave by his own father, Popeye moves away towards the beach where the Lady of the Depths is waiting for him to be ready for action.
Prophecy[]
While Popeye is at the beach and kicks a stone in the water in frustration, a familiar song is heard in the air. Popeye tells her it's a bad day and the woman asks him why, adding that it can't be so bad. Popeye starts to list the motifs on the fingers of his hand, in a very childish way. He does not know that he is in front of the true guilty of all his misfortunes, who looks at him with a tender but at the same time satisfied expression. While listening to Popeye, the siren realizes that Brutus and little Swee'Pea are coming towards them and that the time at her disposal is not much. Popeye concludes his sad list by saying that nobody wants him anymore. The woman takes the opportunity to point out to the sailor that she is there for him and she wants him. This acceptance is enough to make Popeye's eye turn on again, and without being able to do anything her falls victim to the Lady's spell. The two move away from the shore, she on the dolphin and he on a lifeboat, leaving Brutus and Swee'Pea on the beach.
Poopdeck Pappy, joined by Olive, relates that the reason he left Popeye was a prophecy announced by the Oracle of Depth. Pappy relates that this prophecy told of a sailor's son with one eye, who would be the key to the dominion of the seas. Sea Hag thought that he was Popeye and decided she would take it or destroy it; therefore Pappy decided to abandon Popeye and to remain in the Mystery Sea to keep the enemy at bay.
Meanwhile the Lady and Popeye are going offshore. The woman explains to him that, together with him, she would return to being invincible and that everyone would bow to her will. The siren's invitation surprises Popeye, since he is still convinced that nobody wants him around. The siren exploits the mood of the man, declaring that Olive, Brutus and Poopdeck Pappy are the traitors and that only she loves him. She continues, ordering Popeye to give himself completely to her and the sea and that being a sailor he must be what he is. Popeye responds by saying that this is all he is. Wondering then if his joke came as good or not.
Final battle[]
The siren is now sure of its imminent victory. He takes Popeye's hands and, looking into his eye, orders him to kiss her. Without hesitation she adds that a single kiss would make Popeye her slave forever. Popeye is not intimidated by this information and goes on to kiss the woman. The lips of the two are about to touch, but a life preserver suddenly blocks Popeye, preventing him from obeying the order.
The Lady of the Depths sees Popeye's ship coming towards them, with Pappy and the others on board. The crew tries to hoist the captain on board but Popeye does not show signs of collaboration and the siren grabs him by the face, managing to win the confrontation with Brutus. The woman is no longer able to hold back her prey when the others also cling to the rope that binds Popeye. Fortunately for him, the dolphin's tail blocks the sailor, preventing him from being taken away. Enraged by the affront immediately, the siren hurls a thunders: one on the rope, freeing Popeye. After an evil laugh, she throws another directly on the boat.
Popeye turns to the sinking ship, but surprisingly, his reaction is a cold, satisfied smile. Pleased, the Lady makes fun of Pappy and the others, declaring herself the winner and owner of Popeye. The latter is completely under the control of the woman and he defined himself as her property.
The Lady of the Depths jumps into Popeye's arms to get the long-awaited kiss, but at the last moment Swee'Pea calls his father, awakening Popeye and making the beautiful mermaid disappear in the sailor's arms.
Relationships[]
Popeye[]
The Lady of the Depths interacts with Popeye to entice him
The Sea Hag becomes the Lady of the Depths to bring Popeye to her side. For this reason with him, the siren is proving kind and loving, using his provocative appearance to seduce him. To have Popeye, she promises him the power and riches of the sea, believing that this was enough to convince him.
During their second meeting, the siren shows herself to be sweet and understanding, trying to console him. Thanks to his tender way of putting herself, she manages to bewitch him again. As they shove off from the island, she proposes to join forces to conquer the seas and the whole world, saying everyone will bend to their will. The woman speaks to Popeye with complicity, trying to make him feel appreciated, so as to conquer him totally.
Lady of the Depths beckons Popeye to come close to her
With cunning the Lady of the Depths exploits the situation to represent Pappy and the others as traitors who have turned their backs on Popeye, declaring herself the only one in the world to love him. Playing with the sailor's feelings, she makes him believe that by joining her he will never be alone again. One step away from victory, she reveals to Popeye that her goal is to make him her slave for eternity, without worrying that Popeye could opposites to her will.
In fact, she does not care about Popeye, the only thing that interests her is to dominate the seas and a prophecy has predicted that Popeye is the key to power. During the dispute with the crew, she stops acting kindly with Popeye, proving to be possessive and lustful towards him. Enraged at Pappy and the others for interrupting her, she uses Popeye to mock them, treating him like a trophy to be shown. In a moment of omnipotence, he says directly to Popeye that she cannot resist her and that he now belongs to her completely.
In spite of this, with Popeye he will never act in a violent or wicked manner, limiting himself to treating him like a puppet, but never insulting him or wounding him. Indeed, with Popeye she has always behaved in a romantic way, even after the latter has completely succumbed to her. Also, she seemed to be looking for physical contact with him, such as when she took him by the hand or occasionally delighted him with some caresses on his chin.
From Popeye's side, for most of the time they are together, he is under hypnosis, considering the mermaid as his sovereign. At first, Popeye is wary, surprising that the Lady of the Depths is interested in him. He listens attentively to the evil plans of the siren, without worrying about how wicked they are, asking her the reason for her interest in him.
Despite the initial distrust, Popeye is forced by hypnosis to believe every lie Siren tells him. When she tells him who she is the only one in the world to love him, Popeye completely loses his mind for her.
Although compromised by the spell, Popeye seems to still be able to feel emotions or act on his own. For example when he calls the siren "my queen", showing that his devotion to the woman is authentic, and that at that moment he is really convinced that she is his mistress. Popeye shows no sign of resistance to the will of the Lady of the Depths. Even when she announces to him that a kiss would make him her slave forever, he shows no complaint about the woman. Indeed, knowing what would happen to him, Popeye shows himself willing to satisfy the order. The consequences the kiss could have on Popeye are not perceived in any way as a threat by the sailor, but rather as an incentive.
When Pappy and the others arrive to save him, Popeye remains indifferent to their presence. Despite his sadness had been caused by having been abandoned by all his family, Popeye doesn't come to his senses when he sees them coming back to him. At that moment, Popeye is firmly convinced that every family member is a traitor who has cruelly abandoned him. From the sailor's point of view, Pappy and the others are not trying to save him, but they are trying to snatch him from the one person he now considers important. Plagiarized by the words of the Lady, Popeye no longer considers any of them a loved one, therefore their voice cannot make him awaken by the spell.
When the angry Lady throws a lightning bolt at the ship, Popeye shows no concern for the crew members. His only reaction to this is to turn to look at what happened. The Lady's influence on him is so strong that not even seeing his loved ones near death shakes Popeye or makes him flinch in his attempt to satisfy the woman. After seeing the ship sinking, Popeye returns to look at his mistress, shrugging his shoulders and making a chilling smile full of satisfaction. This shows that Popeye is genuinely happy with the impending death of his loved ones and that at that moment he is firmly convinced that they are his enemies. Popeye does not show any interest even for his son Swee'Pea, although he was the only one who did not abandon him and was the only one who did not describe her as a traitor.
When she orders him to give her a kiss, Popeye does not stop obeying even when he is wrapped in a life jacket or is pulled, remaining with his lips stretched forward all the time.
Although Popeye became loyal to her because she had shown herself willing to love him in a moment of profound loneliness, he did not protest at all when the Lady of the Depths began with her delusions of omnipotence. Popeye fully accepts the relationship of subordination to which the Lady binds him, putting the will and desires of his new mistress at the forefront of his happiness. When the Lady tells him in a scornful way that he belongs to her, Popeye does not perceive it as an intimidation but as an obviousness. Being treated as an object has not irritated Popeye, who responded by repeating the same words of his owner, referring to himself as her property.
When he is not under the siren's control, at first, Popeye is skeptical, thinking he is facing a hallucination. It should be noted that Popeye, as soon as he makes eye contact with the Lady, begins to take on an abnormal attitude. In fact, he calms her hyperactivity and stops talking or making jokes as he usually does, simply hanging there looking at her. The only times he speaks are in response to the Lady's questions or statements, without ever adding anything more. This probably happens because Popeye was really attracted to the Lady's fascinating appearance. The mermaid's unnatural beauty may have made Popeye meek.
In fact, as soon as Popeye sees the Lady he exclaims a surprised "Woah" as if to demonstrate his disbelief in front of such a beautiful creature. Subsequently he wonders why the presence of a mermaid does not make him alarmed, thus implying that he does not feel any fear towards him, despite the fact that mermaids are lethal beings for sailors. When the Lady offers him to follow her and pets him, Popeye states that he is relieved that she is just an illusion (Popeye was trying to convince himself that it was all a dream), otherwise he would be tempted to accept. This shows how the Lady managed, in just a few seconds, to take over all the priorities of Popeye's life, in doing so he even admits that if she had been real (she was) he would probably have left everything, including his beloved family, to follow practically a stranger.
When the Lady asks Popeye if she is beautiful, Popeye initially responds in the negative, probably due to the syntax of the question posed to him. He immediately corrects himself by specifying that he finds the Lady a stunning woman. Popeye's will to confirm the Lady's beauty is such that he makes him clearly specify that his answer was in the affirmative (answer made confusing by the double negative) and makes him add that the Lady was certainly a pleasure for his eye.
During the underwater illusion, Popeye appears to return to his usual boisterous nature. Despite his incredible interest in the Lady, while under water, Popeye acts shy towards the marine woman, even getting scared when she appears out of nowhere near him (although this was probably a simple instinctive reaction and did not have nothing to do with being suspicious). Despite a possible distrust, Popeye still does not stop following the Lady when she leads him towards the ruins of Atlantis. Enticed by what the Lady is showing him, Popeye grabs Atlandine's door handles, which immediately turn into the mermaid's hands. She recites the last verses of the song, telling him to leave everything and go with her, and Popeye follows her, almost intending to catch her or hug her. The two find themselves in a metaphorical merry-go-round, which should symbolize Popeye's willingness to go with her.
When he woke up from the spell for the first time, Popeye sends the siren off abruptly, saying he would never leave Olive. When he meets her on the island, however, the presence of the woman does not alarm him, although he knew that she had almost induced him her to kiss her against his will. The pain that Poopdeck Pappy and the others had caused him by refusing him, led Popeye to trust the only person who at that moment proved to be kind to him.
Poopdeck Pappy[]
The Lady of the Depth considers Poopdeck Pappy his greatest enemy and feels a very strong sense of hatred towards him. One step away from the victory, the siren will make fun of him, telling him that his son is her now and he has failed miserably to stop her.
Ironically, Poopdeck Pappy helps the Lady of the Depths considerably in implementing her plan. In fact, with the intention of saving him from the Hag, Pappy brutally rejects Popeye. But this will lead to the opposite effect, making his son more vulnerable to the power of the Lady of the Depths.
Popeye's crew[]
The Lady of the Depths, smiling, throws lightning on Popeye's crew.
For the Lady of the Depths, they are just an obstacle between her and Popeye. Initially she ignores them, pointing directly to Popeye, but after not being able to kiss him because of Olive, she will start to hate her. On her second attempt she understands that she has to get rid of them too and tries to put them against Popeye, then making the latter believe that everyone has abandoned him. Unfortunately for her, not when she tells Popeye that her family abandoned him did not include Swee'Pea, not calculating him.
With them she proves to be particularly aggressive, showing her most evil side. After they break the kiss between her and Popeye, she does not hesitate to strike them with a lightning and threaten them to destroy them once the ritual is completed, regardless of the fact that there was a newborn among them.
Quotes[]
Lady of the Depths Quotes[]
"I am the Lady of the Depths, welcome to the Sea of mystery, Popeye!" - Lady of the Depths introduction.
"Am I not beautiful, Popeye?"
"Come to me, forget everyone else!"
"I'm here for you. I need you!"
"Together we could rule all the waters of the world. I will be supreme again, with you at my side! All will cower our minds. All you have to do is join me!" - She tempts Popeye.
"Give yourself to me! Give yourself to the power, adventure and the sea! You are a sailor man. You are what you are!"
"Kiss me, Popeye! One kiss and you'll be mine forever! Kiss me!"
"And now the prophecy will be complete, Pappy! Your son is mine and I will rule the sea!"
"You can not resist me, Popeye! You are mine now!"
Popeye's Quotes[]
"Yes, ya are not! I mean, no, which is to say ya is! Which is to say ya sure is easy on the eye! I'm pretty positive that was one of them double negatives. That's what I think." - Popeye answers the siren's question.
"Why do ya wants me? It don't seem like no one else does!"
"And that's all what I are!"
"Did that's come out right? It sounded left!"
"I obey, my Queen!"
"I cannots resist you. I are yours now, my Queen!"
Trivia[]
Although mermaids are usually dangerous creatures to humans, the Lady of the Depths uses a dolphin, an animal notoriously known for saving sailors from drowning, as a means of transportation.
Unlike the classic sirens, the Lady of the Depth does not use the song to enchant. Hers song is heard only when she is about to enter the scene.
The first time Popeye is hypnotized, she tries to kiss the siren, without her ordering it. This is because the true identity of the siren was not revealed, so Popeye acts as if he were facing a real siren.
The Lady of the Depth appears in two episodes of the cartoon: "The Popeye Valentine's Day Special: Sweethearts at Sea" and "Myskery Melody". In both she isn't depicted as a mermaid, but as a simple human shipwreck and a lady named Rose of the sea.
In cartoons, the Sea Hag is in love with Popeye and always tries to marry him with deception. The presence of the Lady of the Depths in the film is probably a quote to the feelings that the Sea Hag feels in the cartoons. In fact the sirens are known as deceptive creatures and while Popeye is under hypnosis, he and the siren often act as two lovers who are getting married.
Even if in the credits refer to her with the noun "siren", the Lady of the Depths, during the film, never refers to herself as a mermaid, but simply as a woman who is very close to the sea; like a guardian or a priestess. In the Italian dubbing, she introduces herself to Popeye as Queen of the Abyss, alluding to her role as sovereign.
In this film the Lady of the Depths presents many similarities with Vanessa, the alter ego of Ursula (the main antagonist of The Little Mermaid). Both are originally two powerful witches who live under the sea and their role in the respective films is almost identical. Unlike the Lady of the Depths, Vanessa looks like a normal woman.
She represents Popeye's purest nemesis. She's a woman, for this reason Popeye cannot hit her directly, for his code of honor. Moreover, her weapons are feminine charm and magic, against which Popeye is defenseless.
