Foil

Character Role Analysis

Willie and Marion

We're going to cheat here and get half of our foil pair from another movie: Raiders of the Lost Ark. We go into detail about the tough-as-nails Marion here.

If Indy's original bae Marion is as tough as nails, then Willie is as tough as…a soggy saltine?

When talking about Marion, we state that "The filmmakers balance that toughness out with traditional damsel-in-distress stuff." And Willie? She's is the opposite. She is 95% damsel in distress and 5% toughness, like when she punches that guard in the face.

In the Indy timeline, Indy met Marion sometime before he met Willie. Maybe that's why Willie both infuriates Indy and appeals to him: she's definitely not the type of woman he's used to.