I’ve been trying to figure out how to frame this right every time I remember how irritated fictional monarchies make me. I think I’ve finally figured it out, so here goes:
So we all know a monarchical system of government is… bad, right? Like, history has countless examples of ‘hey maybe birthright rule is not the right way to run a country’ AND YET many a fantasy will not blink twice at 'the good queen of the right blood replaced the bad king of the wrong blood and everyone was happy again’ ending, despite the obvious solution of the bad king not being a thing if we just got rid of kings. So many fantasies about princes and princesses and like… man, there’s got to be other interesting fantasy characters out there not so beheld to holding up the status quo. Like, c'mon.
(Obligatory disclaimer, yes you are allowed to have monarchies in your fiction and no, you do not have to bend over backwards to point out that monarchies are bad or whatever, especially if your book is about something else. This is just my particular hill to die on.)
Let’s say we do want to point this out via a sympathetic villain character, because that’s an interesting plot development. So say your bad guy’s like 'hey, monarchies suck’ and your hero’s like 'yes good point Big-Fat-Ugly-Bug-Face-Baby-Eating O'Brien but the theme of this book is recovering from trauma and there’s just no room for the chaotic upheaval changing our entire government would cause.’
So what do you do? You can’t change the system of government overnight in any realistic or satisfying manner. Big-Fat-Ugly-Bug-Face-Baby-Eating O'Brien might have a good point, but he’s also not going to make that point by eating babies. Well, you could try:
The Killmonger Method - The movie Black Panther did a pretty good job at having a villain with several good points about how Wakanda’s society was wrong, but went about proving them the wrong way. However, at the end of the movie, T'Challa came to see the value of those points, and started taking steps to correct it. He didn’t throw out Wakanda’s entire system, but he did recognize it was time for change. Your characters could do the same.
The 'Hey, Other People Have This Point Too’ Method - How do we avoid the issue of having a valid point wrapped in the cloak of evil (therefore making that point seem bad)? By having more than the villain make it. Maybe there are several people, groups, or organizations seeking change. They don’t all have to agree, and they might not get what they want at the end of the book (especially if you don’t have the page count to overthrow a system of government), but your hero becoming aware of them and opening up to change is worth exploring.
Progress Via Contact (not Colonization) - Your character’s worldview expands as they discover other nations, other forms of governance, and other approaches to society. Forming alliances, relationships, and trading with these other nations could bring change on its own.
The Nuclear Option - You could just break everything. I know this seems like a bad idea now, but what if? What happens if the world is shattered, and has to be rebuilt? Can you find hope in that narrative? A way to make things better the second go-around?
Now I’ve made this very specifically about systems of government, but swap it out with systems of magic, societal structure, etc and it hopefully works the same. The main take away is that you don’t have to change the world, but if the bad guy is actually right about change needing to happen, you at least need to leave the door open for that possibility. Even if the main character is the only one to realize that, even if that places a mountain in front of what seemed like a smooth path to a happy ending, it is worth exploring.
(Obligatory disclaimer the second: BIPOC and other marginalized folks who are only recently getting more opportunities to tell their own stories absolutely get a pass on the whole monarchy thing. I’m very specifically talking about Generic Bland Fantasy that could take the opportunity to shake things up, but don’t. Missed opportunities, is all I’m saying.)
