Invisigal and Robert go through the same hero's journey arc, and here's why I think so.
Hello everyone. I'm studying to become a film industry producer and I recently completed a screenwriting course where we discussed character arcs. So today, I'd like to propose this theory, supporting it with the knowledge I've gained. I'm not a native speaker, so some things might not be entirely clear. If you have any questions or objections, feel free to write — I'm very happy to discuss!
First, let's start with what types of character arcs even exist (I'll be using the three-act structure because it's easier to understand):
Positive Arc — The hero has a false goal that they pursue throughout the first act. Between the first and second acts, the first plot point (PP1) occurs, after which the hero realizes their goal is false and finds the true goal. After the second plot point (PP2), the hero achieves their victory, reaches the true goal, and changes for the better. As an example, let's take the film Iron Man 1. Throughout the film, Tony Stark undergoes his positive arc by realizing the value of human life and desiring to protect the world, which he embraces by the end.
Flat Arc — The hero is perfectly aware of the imperfections of their world; they know the true goal from the very beginning. Both PP1 and PP2 are simply obstacles on the hero's path but do not change them. In the end, the hero achieves their goal. Again, for example, let's take the same Tony Stark, but from a different film — the second Iron Man movie. How does he change throughout that story? That's right, he doesn't. He goes through his trials but reaches his true goal. The beauty of this type of arc in the context of cinema is that the character is revealed, rather than simply growing or degrading.
Negative Arc — The hero initially knows the true goal, but after PP1, they reject it and find a false goal. They will adhere to this false goal until the end and will most likely fail.
Robert can go through any of these arcs, as the different endings tell us.
In the positive ending, even if you're romancing the Blonde Blazer, Invisigal remains on the side of good, meaning she completes her positive character arc. Robert's growth in this case can be considered his ability to accept his father's death and not take revenge on Shord for the murder. That is, achieving the true goal: forgiveness. For Invisigal, the true goal is redemption.
In the "neutral" ending (at least that's how it was in my playthrough), Invisigal remains on the side of evil, meaning she doesn't change at all, and Robert doesn't get the opportunity to achieve any goal because Invisigal kills Shord first, so he doesn't change either. There are many ways to get this ending, but overall, things remain roughly the same.
In the negative ending, Robert kills Shord, and Invisigal remains on the side of evil. Essentially, it's hard to say for sure whether she actually sees the true goal or only has a false one, but in any case, Robert undergoes a negative character arc. Therefore, it's quite obvious to me that his arc can be considered either a Disillusionment Arc, where the hero initially pursues the true goal but becomes disillusioned and finds a false one, OR a Failure Arc, where the hero pursues a false goal from the start.
The case of Invisigal becomes a bit more complicated. I lean towards the opinion that her arc possibly consists of different factors, but I'll try to outline them.
Still believes in the false goal, but after PP1 finds the true goal and tries to change.
Moves towards achieving the true goal, PP2 occurs, loses it, and returns to her NEW false goal.
Essentially, the false goal.
I assume this was done so that players understand how similar they are. That is, essentially, Robert and Invisigal are two sides of the same coin.
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