im trying to avoid election news so time to do that deep dive analysis of whatās so brilliant about the vampire academy series thatĀ Iāve always wanted to do! Hereās the thing. The Vampire Academy is by no means the most popular or most well-written ya series but in itās own way itās really kinda groundbreaking. It is the only story that I have read or watched in which the main character (from the get go) is the sidekick.Ā
Rose Hathaway is so compelling for me as a main character because she is the embodiment of the sidekick trope. She exists for the purpose of the quintessential hero character, Lissa Dragomir. This is quite literally stated by herself and others multiple times. Her unequivocal purpose/life mission is to stand by Lissaās side and to protect Lissa. Thatās her driving force for the majority of the series, thatās her purpose (in fact itās very anti-American and I think thatās what makes VA a great series for explaining the importance of cultural relativism, but thatās a post for another time). Aside from the obviousĀ āshe exists to support the protagonistā aspect of Rose, she completely embodies all the typical elements/stereotypes we have come to associate with sidekick characters. Messy homelife, feeling unwanted/neglected by her parental figures, comic relief, a penchant for sarcasm, a knack for getting into trouble, sometimes morally questionable. Sheās the Maya Hart, the Pacey Witter, the Stiles Stilinski, the Sam Puckett, etc.
Lissa, on the other hand, totally has what the tiktokers callĀ āmain character energy.ā Sheās nice, normal, relatable, morally sound. We meet her shortly after a devastating family tragedy (think about how often a heroās journey begins with some sort of family tragedy), and sheās special. She is the last of the dragomir line and therefore thereās all this new responsibility that she has to handle and a title she has to live up to. She canāt seem to specialize in anything but ends up finding out she specializes in the very rareĀ āspiritā (reminds me a lot of Tris Prior being divergent). In every sense of the word, Lissa is the chosen one. Not to mention, all the shit that happens in the first book happens to her. She gets sent the dead animals and the threatening messages and is the one thatās abducted and attracts the attention of the mysterious new guy and has a sexual awakening, blah blah blah you get my point. Lissa is the typical choice for a series protagonist and Rose, with her trouble maker tendencies and deflective sarcasm and solid comedic timing, is exactly who you would peg for the trustworthy sidekick. But Richelle Mead took the typical secondary character and made it her story. This is the sidekickās story, told entirely from the sidekickās first person pov.Ā The story isnāt about the princess, itās about her fucking bodyguard. And at the end of book 3, in what is probably one of the most satisfying moments in the series, Rose leaves Lissaās side, therefore rejecting her role as sidekick, and is honest about something that she wantsĀ that has absolutely nothing to do with Lissa.Ā Ā
(also, to be clear I love Lissa as a character, this is in no way an anti-lissa post, itās an appreciation post for someone in YA actually doing something original in a very cliched genre)
I just will never get over how brilliant and wonderful it was to see a ya author totally flip the hero/sidekick dynamic on its head. Itās why I have such a fondness for the series and Rose as a main character. Iām partial to side characters so having one be the main character of a series is really exciting and compelling to me. Hopefully, Iāll be able to say this again more eloquently and succinctly in the future but for now all you get is ineloquent rambling.Ā
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