Some Of Braveheart’s Best Scenes Never Ended Up On Film

In the story of “Braveheart,” Wallace leaves his hometown as a young man to be educated abroad, leaving behind his childhood girlfriend, Murron. When he returns as an adult, William and Murron pick up where they left off, and eventually marry in secrecy. Murron is eventually attacked by English soldiers, and when William fends them off, Murron is kidnapped and executed. Murron’s death will inspire William to take up the sword and lead a revolution against the English, an old trope and one that smacks of sexism. It would be in 1994, the year before the release of “Braveheart” that author Gail Simone would coin the term “fridging” as a popular, sexist trope in fiction. In reference to a Green Lantern comic wherein the story’s female lead was killed and stuffed in a refrigerator, “fridging” is a trope that kills off a female character merely to give a male character more agency in their own story. 

Fridging was an acceptable enough trope at the time to garner Wallace an Academy Award nomination, however. And, indeed, in his vision, the cliché might have been mitigated by the inclusion of Murron in additional scenes. Wallace’s original plan was to include Murron throughout the film, appearing to Wallace in dreams to give commentary on his actions. Wallace said: 

“I originally wrote three different dream sequences where William is visited by Murron. She dies so early in the story, and I felt that would leave us wanting to feel how the person we love the most keeps coming back to us.”