Royal Sword Academy (RSA) Theory and Analysis: Plot points and Questions
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done any analysis/theory work for Twisted Wonderland, but here I am in the wake of the teaser for the Royal Sword Academy (RSA) characters. I’ve got several thoughts and curiosities regarding upcoming writing/overall plot themes and how they’ll be handled that go beyond the potential inspiration behind the teased character that I’ve already discussed here. I’m going to put the rest under the cut for the sake of length and any potential spoilers, so be warned.
Alright, so Twisted Wonderland has always dealt with our villain-inspired guys at Night Raven College (NRC) with the RSA characters only being mentioned or appearing in reference to varying NRC characters (i.e,. Rielle and the Octavinelle trio and/or Neige with Vil and Rook). Due to this, I expect that stepping into dealing more heavily with RSA characters is quite likely going to require at least a slight pivot in regard to themes. And, to make a long story short, I really wonder how the writer(s) are going to handle this. Please note: I’m not saying I don’t have faith in them. I am curious, though. After all, there is a lot to juggle here. I’m going to divide the rest of this into sections based on thoughts I’ve had with regard to this expansion to the Twisted Wonderland cast and plot. And, while I’ve already said it, fair warning: This is probably going to be fairly long because I’ve been rolling this around in my brain for a little bit now from the perspectives of a character analysis fan, a writer (if only a fanfic one), and a fan.
Characterization:
Firstly, there’s the matter of what Disney characters are going to be twisted into varying Twisted Wonderland characters for the RSA cast and what that will look like in regard to world-building and characterization. My primary curiosity here is how the writing is going to differentiate them from the NRC boys as strong characters in and of their own right without relying on associations to pre-existing characters as a crutch. For instance, Neige has thus far been almost intrinsically tied to Vil and Rook as the antagonist (note: NOT villain) to Vil’s scenarios regarding acting and fame.
What I really want to see here is for Neige and any other characters tied to already pre-existing NRC cast members to have characterization that separates them from their corresponding NRC cast so that they can stand on their own two feet as characters. And I want this not because I have beef with the NRC cast or the idea of an RSA cast, but because I want them to be able to believably oppose yet not outright crush our already existing characters. Simply put, I like the NRC guys, but I think it would make for a compelling plot point for the RSA cast to be just as vibrant and strong of characters as those we’ve already met.
Now, there are several ways this can be handled, and I certainly don’t think I can cover all of the options here. Nonetheless, one of the things that comes to my mind here is that argument can be, and has been, made for the idea that our villain boys have already drawn inspirationally from the heroic characters in their associated Disney film a little bit. And in many ways, this isn’t surprising considering there is a certain basis for heroes and villains mirroring one another. Anyhow, perhaps the easiest example of a character that is twisted from a villain but draws from heroic characters is Jamil. Jamil is, obviously, twisted from Jafar, but his situation regarding being trapped in a situation that keeps him from living out his dreams/reaching his full potential is reminiscent of both Jasmine and the Genie’s stories. Vil can also be taken as an example since the trait of being hardworking really goes more with Snow White than the Evil Queen (though I will admit this can be debated a bit). Another good example is Malleus. The whole matter of him being isolated from the world for his ‘protection’ in a manner similar to that of Aurora’s situation living in the woods with Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather at the start of the Sleeping Beauty film. And that isn’t even getting into the connections between Silver and both Aurora and Philip.
My expectation for them balancing this characterization point is that the RSA characters will draw more heavily from the heroic characters than any of the NRC boys have. And that’s fair. The NRC cast pulls most heavily from the characters they are most directly twisted from. The characterization features and plot points they share with heroic characters from their Disney film largely pad the character already present to add depth, and they were obviously selected carefully if not being wholly accidental since some of these character notes are highly common. Keeping with this idea, I do think it would be interesting if the RSA characters similarly pull from the villain characters they aren’t directly inspired by.
Overblots:
Beyond this matter of characterization is the plot point of the overblots. Thus far, we’ve seen one of our villain guys from each NRC dorm overblot and do some truly horrible things that include, but are not limited to, almost killing other students/individuals, taking over the world, and endangering everyone in a variety of new and exciting ways. And this keeps very well with the idea of them being villains even despite the fact that they were arguably not themselves at the time due to the nature of the overblot being a highly unique occurrence that seems akin to a magically-fueled psychotic break under varying pressures. (Note: What might not stress one person can utterly destroy another. Even if the reasons may not make sense to any other given individual, it is evident that they were distressed. Potentially due to information we may not be privy to, such as in the case of Riddle and Idia’s trauma having a hand in their overblots. This does not excuse their actions but does indicate a deeper issue reminiscent of a psychotic break under pressure.) Simply put, I cannot see the writers abandoning the overblot plot point. Not when so much effort has been put into it, and with the overblot having been a hallmark scene for each individual book. After all, a lot of fans look forward to seeing what each character’s overblot design looks like, and now there’s the overblot card series. My question is, if the writing takes a pivot as we start exploring the stories of the RSA cast, how will the writers handle the overblot plot point for characters inspired by heroes, though? Having these characters break under stress makes sense, of course. That can happen to anyone, whether hero or villain. But what are the writers going to do about the typically horrific acts committed during the overblots with regard to ensuring the character remains perceived as a hero?
In this matter, it's possible that the plot could subvert expectations and show us a darker side of the heroes. With the NRC boys, the writers took pains to show that the Disney villains have some traits that might be regarded as positive but can still be used for nefarious purposes (i.e., Azul with hardwork and tenacity in the form of the raw amount of effort Azul puts into putting together his study guides and tricking people into contracts.) The same could be done for the hero characters. Great harm can be done even when one has good intentions, and there is the proverb: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” In this way it could be framed as the hero/RSA characters genuinely trying to do good, but when their good intentions eventually do harm, they crack, crumble, or break in the form of an overblot. Notably, this isn’t an odd plot point in any story. Typically a hero has to stumble at least once and make a mistake before saving the day or reaching the finish line. Similarly, there is the option that these characters might exhibit a certain unpleasantness that stems from being too good. I’m going to use Kalim as an example here. Kalim is a great and truly sweet guy who frankly shouldn’t be at a school for villains. But, there is no denying that he did worsen Jamil’s situation by being blind to the negative possibilities in Jamil’s life. Floyd even highlighted it. For all of Kalim’s innate goodness, Kalim can be kind of annoying depending on the perspective you're using. “Goody-two-shoes” would be the line of emphasis here. The idea of the hero characters being blind to the plights faced by villains is a fair one. And, assuming these heroes are genuinely good, the idea of them being horrified and overblotting under the realization that they might have made the situation worse or fundamentally misunderstood the situation is completely fair. After all, loss of faith in others after learning how someone else has suffered in some way can truly hurt a person. But those are just a few options for how overblots with heroic characters could be handled without losing the heroic quality of the character. And there is of course the option that these characters won’t be strictly heroic and can do bad things just like out the NRC boys can do good things (i.e. Deuce and Ace rushing to Prefect's aid and bussing their way across who knows how far during the Scarabia episode).
Balancing respect for RSA writing and the pre-existing work:
Now, a final, third point I’m very curious about is how the plot is going to get us (i.e., Prefect/Yuu) involved with RSA. The obvious opening is the spelldrive competition, but are they going to pick up Prefect and shift them to RSA, or what? Bluntly put, I can’t see that going over too well with the notably competitive boys at NRC. Furthermore, keeping with this same matter, how is Grim going to be handled as we deal with these RSA? Will he somehow end up being the introducing factor, or will something else happen? I will be honest and say I don’t have too many thoughts on how this might play out, but I am very intrigued to see how this little plot point will be handled.
And, even beyond the point of how they are going to adjust to focus on/include the RSA cast, I dearly hope that they don’t harm or disrespect the already pre-existing cast or writing. Unfortunately, there is no denying that RSA and NRC have a competitive relationship, and we know that at least a good portion of the NRC boys do not like RSA. My concern here is that writing for one or the other will damage the other one. Even now, I can say I am biased towards NRC simply because I know those characters and have been with them since the start of the game. From the perspective of someone who plays the game, is part of the fandom, and enjoys the already existing characters, I do not want the NRC cast to abandon it. In fact, I’m even wary of the idea of Prefect going to another school at this point. Simply put, Prefect has made a life for themselves at NRC and has found a group of friends. Moving now would involve uprooting them from that fragile life and disrespecting all the effort put in throughout the plot thus far to make Ramshackle liveable and to find a place in Twisted Wonderland, to just name a few plot points.
In this case, I think an exchange program could be really interesting where a few RSA characters (i.e., the silhouettes and possibly some friends) are sent to NRC while a few NRC students (playable or NPCs) are sent to RSA. It wouldn’t disrespect the pre-existing plot, would pay respect to the typically difficult position Disney heroes are put into with villains in at least one scene (i.e., Simba surrounded by the hyenas and having to flee or Jasmine being held hostage at least briefly by Jafar), and would allow the NRC characters to remain current in the plot.
With all that said, though, there are a myriad of plot and writing choices that can be taken going forward with Twisted Wonderland. My biggest hope is that everyone enjoys the writing, and, for me, that would involve not relocating Prefect and separating us from our pre-existing characters, along with the RSA character being given the same depth and some solution for the matter of the overblot plot point that doesn’t leave it forgotten or abandoned with no explanation. I imagine what each person in the fandom wants is different in at least minor ways, though. Either way, it’ll be really interesting to see how this expansion to the game will be handled. And for now, I’ll just sit with my fingers crossed and with interest in seeing how all this goes.