#fallen protagonist

[theantagonistfiles]

Welcome to theantagonistfiles, Eren Jaeger.

If we kill all our enemies, will we finally be free?

I just keep on moving forward, until my enemies are destroyed.

[papers4me]

The Redeemable Antagonist vs The Fallen Protagonist

Don’t we love a good Redemption Arc for an interesting psychologically tortured villain? the “more corrupted” the villain is the more we cheer for them to atone & redeem themselves when we see signs for them trying or when we see glimpses of their tutored past. we cheer for them when we see the transformation signs in their behavior, hear their internal thoughts & see them struggle to mend their ways. Granted not all villains get the audience support once their Redemption Arc starts but in general this trope is widely accepted & is one of the most successful story-telling techniques & character arcs. In general, especially in fiction, reality is unfortunately not very common, audiences/readers like to believe in the inner goodness of human nature. They like to see good prevail, even if it is only within a character’s world. That’s why writers & directors include such arcs in different scales in their stories/ shows. It is guaranteed to win the hearts of the majority of audiences/readers because they feel rewarded for all the time the spent cursing the antagonist, to see them become better ppl & strive to atone for their sins creates a feeling of relief that prompts the audience/reader to watch/read more & to cheer stronger.

However, audience reaction differ entirely when it comes to fallen protagonist. The character that started the story good or naive or weak & we saw them get stronger, understand the world’s cruelty & win their small fights here & there. we dub them the “ hero” of the story/show. The hero is good. The hero must stay good. But if we see our hero, who we have been cheering for a while now, have a change of heart/ mindset & succumb to their inner demons, if we see them commit wrong acts or choose the wrong path, then it becomes a bit personal. we feel betrayed for the time we spent cheering for the hero. We  become a disappointed parent as this hero is our virtual child whom we watch grow in front of our eyes. Such change in the hero is often accompanied by justifiable causes, not justifying their wrong action itself, but justifying the reason such change in character occurs in well- written stories. You understand why the hero became the villain but you don’t cheer for them as a hero who becomes evil often commits more horrible acts than a villain at the start of their story. The fallen hero’s actions must be more horrible because this is the morale of the story: don’t fall as hard as the fallen hero. It MUST hurt stronger because it is meant to be like that. It is one powerful story telling that can create a long lasting effect in the memories of the hurt audience. However, audiences uneasiness towards such tropes often discourages the writers/ publishers/ directors to create well-written fallen heroes. A large number of audiences often drops the show/ story or call it “ bad-writing” because their beloved hero became someone else their don’t know. In a well-written story the signs of the hero’s tragic transformation must be planted from the beginning of the show in a subliminal way, so that audiences with good eyes will catch that & those who don’t will easily be able to go back & see the signs going “ oh! why I couldn’t see it when I was at this part of the story?” There Must be many different signs scattered all over the story either in the form of thoughts. behavior or dialogue. Unfortunately such trope needs an amazing writer to sell it to the audience & a brave publisher/producer to continue support it even if the audience hate it.

a very bad example is Daenerys in game of thrones. If what I heard that her final change is the writer’s intention is correct, then I can’t help but imagine How amazing her story would be if her fall to darkness is well done? She would’ve been one of the most long lasting characters in the minds of audiences & readers & one of the best fallen heroes. sadly, her change/ transformation was so horribly done! You don’t want to aimlessly & mindlessly “ shock” the audience. You want them to understand why she became “ evil/mad” & not cheer for her but instead encourage the audience to discuss the reasons such great character fell from grace. You want your viewers engage in intellectual discussions abt the corruption of power/ absolute freedom & the injustice of the world that created monsters from good humans. But alas.. Daenerys  became the most wasted character in game of thrones, let’s hope  the actual novel does it better.

In anime, I can see a good example of these two tropes in attack on titans. Riener & Eren are exceptionally well-written & have all the signs that can create a a well-done Redeemable Antagonist & an exceptionally fantastic Fallen Protagonist. I didn’t read the manga at all. But there were so many signs scattered since season 1 that there is way more into Riener than an evil character & Eren has so many well-planted signs that could serve as a good foundation in his fall from grace moment. I could be wrong off course & it could turn into sth completely different & well-written as well. but the writer has established check points for multiple characters throughout the story that could serve as a turning point once visited again. For Riener the writing is easier, turning a bad gut into a sympathetic hero is often welcomed by viewers & I can see ppl’s reaction now in Se04. but Eren is where the hard work is at. This is where the writer must flex his writing muscles. If eren will become the show’s villain,  the writer should be aware that many viewers are bind/un aware of the many signs, so how he’ll do it can affect the whole show for better or worse. I cheer for the writer to not screw up the transformation & continue establish eren as the complex character he is. The themes of the show is embodied through him. This show is not abt winning wars or friendship prevails or peace. This show is abt the darkness of human cruelty that humans are very capable of showing. It is abt the injustice of creating horrible monsters from naive children. it aims to encourage you to ponder on how can we be different from those tragic fallen heroes. I really wonder how such story will end? will the writer achieve his goal masterfully & artistically? or will we see another “ got’s Daenerys” ?