A Viper in Your Midst
There’s a strong tendency in modern tv/cinema for allegiances to shift between “good” and “bad” as seasons move on. I suppose it adds to the melodrama to have characters betray one another, then join forces against a common foe, then return to betrayal; but I’ve always struggled with the concept.
I get that dramatic changes in the story might force enemies to work together for a common cause, but I find the constant to and fro of the arrangement a little trite. I don’t think humans accept alliances with enemies that readily.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for rich, multi-hued characters; particularly villains that love their children, or killers who murder in the name of hope and love etc. I think that’s much more believable than a character that switches allegiances every season. Give me a badass killer who slaughters whole villages, but then tucks his kids into bed at night with a kiss and a bedtime story. That’s the complexity that echoes real life. That’s what makes a villain interesting.
I’m facing a character twist at the moment in a future book within the Rust Chronicles universe where a loved character is displaced by an “evil” newcomer. Essentially the book’s protagonist and his companions have to decide whether having the newcomer in the group (a character who has effectively killed their friend and now inhabits his body) is worth tolerating because they bring strength to the group.
What makes the problem even trickier is the fact their enemy is staring at them through the eyes of their deceased friend. Ultimately I want this new character to continue on with the heroic group, even though they are essentially “evil”, but I’m wrestling with how to do this without making things too easy.
Two questions emerge; 1. Why do the group keep this bastard figure around? 2. How does the group have any cohesion while there is a viper in their midst.
Not the most novel idea, but it raises some interesting problems.
Of course, I could always kill the problem character off and tie it all up in a bow with a nice “I realised it was all a dream” sequence?
-MQ
I get that dramatic changes in the story might force enemies to work together for a common cause, but I find the constant to and fro of the arrangement a little trite. I don’t think humans accept alliances with enemies that readily.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for rich, multi-hued characters; particularly villains that love their children, or killers who murder in the name of hope and love etc. I think that’s much more believable than a character that switches allegiances every season. Give me a badass killer who slaughters whole villages, but then tucks his kids into bed at night with a kiss and a bedtime story. That’s the complexity that echoes real life. That’s what makes a villain interesting.
I’m facing a character twist at the moment in a future book within the Rust Chronicles universe where a loved character is displaced by an “evil” newcomer. Essentially the book’s protagonist and his companions have to decide whether having the newcomer in the group (a character who has effectively killed their friend and now inhabits his body) is worth tolerating because they bring strength to the group.
What makes the problem even trickier is the fact their enemy is staring at them through the eyes of their deceased friend. Ultimately I want this new character to continue on with the heroic group, even though they are essentially “evil”, but I’m wrestling with how to do this without making things too easy.
Two questions emerge; 1. Why do the group keep this bastard figure around? 2. How does the group have any cohesion while there is a viper in their midst.
Not the most novel idea, but it raises some interesting problems.
Of course, I could always kill the problem character off and tie it all up in a bow with a nice “I realised it was all a dream” sequence?
-MQ
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