Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies follow The Bride’s revenge mission against her former lover and boss, and through most of that journey, her name is bleeped out – and here’s why. Quentin Tarantino has earned the praise of critics and viewers thanks to his unique narrative and visual style, though he has also become one of the most controversial filmmakers in recent years due to the amount of violence and blood in his movies. Tarantino has explored a variety of genres in his movies, including martial arts in his two-part project Kill Bill.
Released in 2003 and 2004, Kill Bill and Kill Bill: Volume 2 tell the story of The Bride (Uma Thurman), an assassin described as “the deadliest woman in the world” who is on a revenge mission against her former boss and lover, Bill (David Carradine), but before she gets to him, she also gets her revenge against her former Deadly Viper Assassination Squad colleagues: O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), Vernita Green (Viva A. Fox), Budd (Michael Madsen), and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah). Although Kill Bill was very different from what Tarantino had done before at the time, both movies were critical and commercial successes, so much so that there’s still hope for a third Kill Bill movie, and many details about the movie continue to be discussed among viewers.
Like most Tarantino movies, Kill Bill and its sequel are packed with small details and references to other movies that further enhance the viewing experience, and it also has those typical Tarantino details that always end up raising many questions about why he added them. Among those is how The Bride’s real name is bleeped out throughout Kill Bill and it’s not revealed until Kill Bill: Volume 2, and while this might seem like a decision based on style, there’s a lot more to the mystery of The Bride’s name.
The Meaning Of The Bride's Different Names Explained
The Bride’s name being bleeped out in Kill Bill has seen different interpretations over the years, but it’s all about identity. Before The Bride’s mission against Bill, she was part of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad under the code name Black Mamba, as she was considered the deadliest one of the group. Her time as Black Mamba came to an end when she left the group after learning she was pregnant with Bill’s child and decided to give her kid a better life. The Bride became engaged to another man, but Bill, assuming her fiancé was the father, ordered them assassinated at the chapel where the wedding rehearsal was taking place. The Bride was shot in the head by Bill, leaving her in a coma for four years, and when she awoke, that was the birth of “The Bride”. After that, her name is mentioned but bleeped out as she’s on a mission and thus her identity can’t be revealed yet, and it’s not until she’s seemingly defeated and buried alive that her name is revealed by Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah). When Beatrix makes her way out of the grave, she’s “reborn” now as Beatrix Kiddo.
The Bride’s name not being revealed until Kill Bill: Volume 2 also added an element of suspense to the first movie, and it has also been interpreted as Tarantino’s way of making the audience part of this element of mystery while also making them detach emotionally from her. This makes sense as Beatrix’s name is revealed at one of her most vulnerable moments, which was the perfect time to fully reveal one of her biggest secrets. Of course, as Quentin Tarantino is known for “copying” other movies, it has been pointed out that bleeping out The Bride’s name in Kill Bill could be a nod to Jean-Luc Godard's movie Made in the U.S.A., which has a running gag where a character’s second name is censored with different sounds. The mystery of The Bride’s name in Kill Bill adds to the movie’s style while also being a key element in Beatrix’s journey and character development.