OH BOY- I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE.
Maybe, Jim is not a "villian" per se- but
He was the antagonist of Douxie's story.
An antagonist refers to a person, group, or force that opposes the main character. Often called “the rival,” their narrative function is to create the central conflict that drives the story and forces the main character to grow.
With that clear, I kind of like to overanalyze characters. That was my favourite part of the fandom, just overlook how they acted with one specific person, or their reaction to some specific topic.
In trollhunters, I overanalyzed Douxie's point of view from the story.
Let's talk about the bits of history and canon we know about the characters from “Wizards.” Personally, I like to consider the HCs made by the visual development and character design artists as canon, because they were the ones who knew and created the characters before the budget cuts, and I find them much more interesting than the versions we saw on screen —especially since, given the limited time they had, it wasn't enough to fully develop their stories—. Yeah, maybe it’s not the “right” thing to do; oh well, it’s just my opinion.
Now then. What do we know about Douxie?
- We know very little about his past.
- If he could remember anything, it would be “fragments of screams, crying, and fire.”
- We know he lived in a caravan when he was little.
-He lived with his mom; we have no information about his father. A single mother, perhaps?
-He loved traveling the world, and he was very curious
-He liked to visit the little girl who lived on the outskirts of town and help her pick flowers
-He’s known Archie since he was a child, but after he was separated from his mother.
So, with this in mind, we need to put the pieces of the puzzle together. He lived with his mother, but his village was attacked; somehow, he managed to survive, but his mother did not (much like in *Kung Fu Panda* or *The Bible*). Later, he meets Archie, a dragon who becomes his familiar and forms a bond with the wizard. Very few dragons—and even fewer after the Age of Dragons, when they went into hide in the Hidden World—show themselves, let alone form a bond with a human. And after years of surviving on his own, he is “saved” and adopted by Merlin.
Yes, maybe Merlin isn’t the “Father of the Year” in 2026, but— it’s a medieval story. He gave him a roof over his head, clothes, food, and an education. He kept him alive, which is saying a lot for that era *stares look at the high death rates from simple illnesses*. Anyway, obviously, what’s considered acceptable treatment today won’t be the same as it was in the Middle Ages. In fact, perhaps he couldn’t even consider him his father, but he could consider him his mentor.
Let’s remember that magic was a crime, and that Arthur hated magical creatures. He only accepted—and barely—Morgana’s magic because she was his sister, and he tolerated Merlin solely for the power he granted him. But there are no other wizards, despite it being called “the age of wizards.” Now, Merlin brought a street kid to the palace—a young wizard, I should point out—and Arthur not only didn’t kill him, but he let him live in his palace, under Merlin’s protection.
It’s a “kids’” show, so they don’t show all the atrocities that clearly took place in the palace. Obviously, but we know they happened. I’m not going to make excuses for it, but I can’t say they didn’t happen—unfortunately, it was very common back then. What’s more, even today it’s very common for parents to raise their children in ways that aren’t… appropriate… The clearest example: *Ahem.* LA CHANCLA.
Now—back in medieval times—ugh… that was on a whole other level. But Douxie wasn’t a slave. He enjoyed a great many luxuries; yes, he cleaned, but that doesn’t mean he was part of the servant class—he pretended to be one to keep a low profile. Merlin had him clean and do chores so he could learn the value of work. Maybe he had to do some physical labor on occasion, or one of the knights did, but let’s not forget that, first of all, IT WAS A ROYAL COURT, and second, IT WAS THE MIDDLE AGES.
If we look today at how children were raised in the ’60s, we think, “That’s outrageous.” If we see that in ancient times, Coca-Cola was considered “medicine,” we say, “How is that possible!” But it’s just a product of the times.
Sopa, you’ve told me a lot of nonsense—what does that have to do with Jim being an antagonist?
That’s what I’m getting at—wait.
Douxie fought side by side with Merlin in the war, helped him create the Trollhunter’s amulet, and watched as Morgana lost herself to magic. He was young, he was foolish, and he lacked the power to intervene. His master, his world, everything he had, left— disappeared.
In his final wish, Merlin entrusted Douxie with building his tomb, inscribing the legends of his prophecies on its walls, protecting the magic, telling the story of his name, and caring for the world and humanity.
If you ask me, that’s too much to ask. But oh well. Douxie did— at least, he did what he could.
He built Merlin’s tomb, had to move every 9–13 years (I don’t remember the exact number of years a creator had mentioned), and maintain a low profile. All on his own, he found IMMORTALITY—without Merlin’s help, thank you very much. He survived hundreds of wars, world conflicts, the plagues (yes, plural), witch hunts, the conquest of new worlds, climate change, and made his master’s name a legend.
That’s quite something, if you ask me. Yes, maybe he didn’t become a “master wizard,” but he waited 900 years for his mentor, like a faithful little dog who just wants his master to come back. No matter how abusive their relationship may have been, it was his mentor who gave him a task, and no matter how much time passed, Douxie did that task to the best of his ability.
Now—
You’re going to tell me that, after 900 years, Merlin wakes up and leaves with Jim? I mean, yeah, I get it— the war with Gunmar and all that, stop Morgana, blah blah blah.
But not even a “Hey, Douxie, thanks— it didn’t go very well, but nice try.” Or “Douxie, I just woke up; we’re at war again; come find me here.” It’s something they mention— and the problem is that after the war with Morgana and Gunmar— MERLIN WENT OFF WITH JIM TO EMBARK ON MORE ADVENTURES.
HE LEFT HIM; HE LITERALLY WENT AWAY WITHOUT CONTACTING HIM FOR MONTHS. AND IT WASN’T UNTIL LITTLE JIM HAD AN ACCIDENT THAT “Oh, I remembered you exist, btw— hey, come help me with Jim; he’s more important than you— you know, ‘main character syndrome.’”
The kid who gave Douxie dirty looks just for existing and being nice? Oh, right, he used to leave him tips, so we can excuse his bad treat to the service, just because he has money. But that passive-aggressive vibe from a 16-year-old?
Well, whatever, Douxie’ll help you. It’s recent, after all, right?
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’VE BEEN AWAKE FOR MONTHS, AFTER THE WAR AGAINST GUNMAR?!
AND IT NEVER OCCURRED TO YOU TO TELL HIM?
No, no, it’s fine—Merlin needed to go through the protagonist’s trauma arc. At least it served a purpose—it’s not like Douxie wanted to spend time with you, after spending his whole life serving you.
Yeah, Merlin wasn’t a father figure to Jim— he already had Blinky and Strickler. Merlin’s a jerk to him. Oh no, his Vespa. Poor thing.
But Merlin spent so much time with Jim that he barely had time to see Douxie. And when he does, it’s only for:
*Merlin dies dramatically in Douxie’s arms and leaves him his only prized possession, so that now he can carry on the mantle of master wizard and have the power to save the world* No big deal—it’s not a burden that’s going to affect him psychologically. After all, it’s nothing compared to turning a teenager into a troll; other people’s problems can wait—other people’s trauma isn’t important when the protagonist is here.
LET’S GET BACK TO YOU, JIM! GIVE HIM MORE SCREEN TIME!
Douxie has to protect Nari and help everyone save Jim, because... why not? That selfless little guy DIES while trying to do so, and not only does he wake up after being in limbo, but he hops on a plane and gets out of there, because he needs to escape as fast as possible so the Arcane Order doesn’t find him—literally becoming a target to buy the others time to escape and survive.
Okay, so we’ve laid the groundwork for the story. Douxie is strong enough to take on Bellroc and Skrael one-on-one and save the world, just as Merlin asked him to. After all, a trollhunter’s job is to take care of the trolls, and a master wizard’s job is to take care of the world and magic.
HOW THE HELL IS JIM THE PROTAGONIST AGAIN IF HE DOESN’T HAVE AN AMULET? THAT GUY ALREADY SERVED HIS PURPOSE.
JIM, YOU SHOULDN’T GET INVOLVED IN THIS—LEAVE THIS TASK TO THE ADULTS.
JIM, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THERE!
I get that you want to help, but this is a fight between WIZARDS. THE TITLE SAYS SO.
DIDN’T ANYONE GIVE YOU THE SCRIPT?
HOW THE HELL DID THEY CHANGE THE SCRIPT? WHO APPROVED THIS!
No problem, Douxie still has all the tools to guide everyone—after all, he’s the one who knows the most about this. He’s been studying it for a while and knows what they’re up against. Right...
WHY THE HELL DOES BLINKY HAVE MERLIN’S BOOK? HE HATED IT. IT’S LITERALLY THE ONLY THING HE LEFT DOUXIE.
JIM, WHY ARE YOU TELLING EVERYONE WHAT TO DO—no matter how much I love you, this fight isn’t yours.
It’s like Aja fighting Krel’s battles against racism. Krel is a character designed to tackle those story arcs. Douxie was literally created to fight the Arcane Order. We don’t need another Trollhunter.
Excalibur is going to be claimed by Douxie’s magic; he’s so worthy that Nimune gave it to him, even when she no longer trusted Merlin. He has a pure heart.
Oh, no, well. Another one of Jim’s stories… yeah…
At least you’ll have a plan that works, right?
Well… no, but that doesn’t matter. Douxie trusted him; he let him play the hero—again—and let whatever happens, happen. Just, please, take care of Archie; he’s Douxie’s only family. Make sure he comes back—after all, it’s an easy mission.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN EVERYONE MANAGED TO GET OUT AND ARCHIE GOT TRAPPED FOR ETERNITY IN A TROLL MARKET THAT’S INACCESSIBLE BY MAGIC?
AND HIS ONLY FAMILY WAS A CAT.
AND THEY COULDN’T SAVE HIM, BUT THEY COULD SAVE THE PROTAGONIST’S LOVE INTEREST!?!?
Well, never mind. Douxie still has one reason to live: to fulfill Merlin’s new, final request. To keep Nari safe.
Oh, shit, the titans battle between Nari and Skrael.
And that really bugs me, because Douxie is strong enough to step in.
He was literally running, on his way to help Nari, to save her, and get her out of there. But NOOOOO, Jim had to grab him by the hand, stop him, and force him to stay behind because—because he just felt like it! Jim, nobody stops you when you want to jump right into a fight that’s none of your business, but you stop others when they do? Double standards.
Nari died. Just because Jim didn’t let Douxie intervene.
Douxie would have died happy knowing she’d gotten Nari to safety, but no. If Jim can’t jump into the fight, nobody can.
Literally, Jim’s job was to make Douxie’s life miserable, without even realizing it.
And they don’t give him time to process the death and loss of his loved ones. Douxie has to keep running and keep his head up, because Jim needs his background characters. Ah, but when Jim loses Toby, then they can do whatever they want to change the plot to their liking.
Jim didn’t deserve Excalibur. And yes, maybe he’s not a “villain,” but from Douxie’s perspective, he’s just a problem—one who, time and time again, robbed her of time to be with his family.
BUT THAT’S THE BEAUTY OF THE CHARACTER. You know a character is well-written when someone hates him for good reason, because stories are experienced differently through everyone’s eyes.
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