The Scariest Character in the Movie Labyrinth

 

Two things to remember: 1) the labyrinth was designed to delay Sarah. And 2) Things aren't always what they seem.

The first point is obvious. The goblin king Jareth kidnaps Sarah's baby brother Toby when she asks that he be taken away. When he shows up and she protests, he gives her one last chance to rescue Toby before he's turned into a goblin, but only if she can get to the center of a giant maze within 13 hours. He throws everything he has at her to make sure she doesn't reach the center in time to save Toby. She has to get through a labyrinthine maze filled with delusions, tricks, riddles, pitfalls, and oubliettes (a place to put someone to forget about 'em.) And plenty of goblins.

The second point comes right from the mouth of a worm Sarah just happens to meet. And I'll ask you to look at this worm and tell me, what does it seem like? If you answered he seems like a sweet little worm with cute appearance and kind benevolence, you would be correct. But... things aren't always what they seem especially in a place filled with deception and trickery.

Sarah meets this worm early after being let in the labyrinth by Hoggle, who later tentatively befriends her. He says hello and asks her to come inside for a nice cup of tea. If I were Sarah, I wouldn't drink it. Who knows what could have been in it. She is poisoned later by making the mistake of trusting Hoggle and his offering of food when she was hungry. She is given some kind of sedative and falls asleep after a brief delusion, wasting precious time. If she drank this worm's tea, she could have fallen asleep or worse. Jareth could've had an early checkmate if she took up the worm's offer for poison tea. Oh I mention her poison came from none other than a worm.

There were several wild and seemingly neutral creatures in the labyrinth. Some befriend Sarah, such as Ludo who Sarah rescues. But any one of those entities could have been working for Jareth, who would certainly have spies and saboteurs all throughout the labyrinth to trip Sarah up. Why would this worm be any different? And how could she go inside a little crack in the wall to meet mrs worm? Would she have been shrunken down, without promise of being large again? That would have delayed her for sure.

The worm proves himself a liar, when she asks upfront if he knew how to get into the center, and he responds, “I'm just a worm.” Yet after she leaves he claims to know how to get to the center, “If she just went on that way....” There is no guarantee that she even would've gone straight to the castle the way she ultimately doesn't go. What kind of a maze has such an easy route? If anything, the way the worm recommended she go would likely have been a trap, consisting of any unknown horrors.

Many characters Sarah meets show their true nature, such as the goblins, who attack Sarah. But at least you knew what you were going up against, making them easier foes. In a way, even the riddling gatekeepers who know are upfront with their sneakiness are easy to beat. But a cute worm? What a perfect way to deceive Sarah and trip her up right from the start proving things really aren't what they seem in the labyrinth. That makes him the scariest character in the whole movie.

Don't trust a lying worm, no matter what he seems like, especially if he seems like the cutest worm you've ever seen. 

Full video: https://youtu.be/P7jLZOLDPI0