Why Characters have archs
And no, we are not talking about a huge boat! *lol*
Character Archs is something that is natural to writing. I've never been able to see a character that hadn't grown in some way through something that I read or wrote. It's a natural progression, as people, we learn all the time, we grow and we make different decisions based on our past. Or we don't think at all and the consequence of that is disasterous.
I'm going to talk Supernatural - if you haven't seen it, I will be nice to put it under an LJ cut - that way, no spoilers. If you have all ready seen it, then go ahead and read the rest of this post.
Supernatural is a new fandom of mine, and yet I think the character archs have to be some of the best I have seen. We start in season one with a twenty-something year old Sam who's in college. He has a girlfriend who very encouraging and that's just about all we know about him. Next, we meet Dean Winchester, older brother and Hunter. And that's when the character archs start. They're young and impressionable. They have been seperated for about three/four years and now Dean is in need of Sam's help.
Next we see Jessica, Sam's girlfriend, die ont he ceiling and by this time I'm thinking this is all very hokey. But, from my perspective, Season 1 is about Sam and Dean finding their places with each other, again. We don't know much about their lives before we meet Sam at college. All we know is that they annoy each other and are trying to find their Dad. Sam would much rather find Dad than defeat the evil, but ya gotta do what-cha gotta do.
This is the introductory character arch. We don't want them to change drastically in the first season. We want their character's to become lovable and something the audience can relate with. We'll leave all the changes for later seasons. That is, if the show is renewed.
Thankfully, the new season airs on the CW on the 24 of this month.
Season 2 - we're still on the hunt for daddy, and the plot gets intricate. The lose ends from season 1 are finally beginning to fall together. Sam learns of his demonic powers, which to me sound pretty natural and aren't as evil as people seem to make it out - and Dean is just trying to do what he's always done. John died to save hid kid - I guess he had to have some sort of redeemable value to us - and Dean and Sam are on their own, again.
Through this, their relationship not only becomes a burden but also something that neither can give up. Dean sells his soul to regain Sam and through Season 3, Sam is trying to see a way to break the deal. In season four we get an out by an Angel. Of course they couldn't just leave Dean in hell, that'd suck and he's also the better looking brother - though I can't make up my mind. Basically, these guys are only HOT when I am some what drunk - and we get to learn what the writer's think of religion.
I however, ignore all that crap about God not caring and inch. If these guys read the Bible, they'd know differently. But that's not something I am going to discuss here, so just ignore that tanget.
From here, Dean is messe dup from all that torture. Sam is messed up because he didn't know what to do with himself without Dean. Bobby is just trying to manage the both of them, and we find out that Sam and Dean basically doomed the world. Now they have to figure out a way to save the world, but more importantly, each other.
Damn, character archs like this suck! I mean, honestly, they go through so much angst it makes me wish for a malet. Just hit the two of them over the head and get them to work!!!
Season 4 and 5 are filled with various plots to get own the boys - not in naughty ways either, sad to say - and finally.....we don't get that kick ass fight at the end. Only Sam going all Jesus-on-the-cross, which pissed me the hell off, but lets not get into that, and Dean...bloodied till Castiel comes back to fix him and Bobby.
Next he's at whats-her-face's house and its cute and all, but that just can't last.
From history, we see that Dean and Sam's life has always been full of disaster. Some they brought on themselves and some they haven't. It seems that someone always has their fingers in the apple pie and the boys just can't give it a break.
From what I see in the trailer for season 6, Dean's angsting because he can't be with what's-her-face and Ben. Sam's pulling Dean back into the darkness and Grandpa makes an appearance. Funny that, he's supposed to be dead, right?
Well, anyway we look at it. They've grown from season 1 to season 5 and maybe its for the better. Sam is probably a friggin homecidal maniac and maybe Dean will have to kill him, for good this time! *rolls eyes* - or maybe this is just Sam's way of dealing with the few short whatever-ya-wanna-call-it when he was in that cage with Michael and Lucifer. Then we have to ask whatever happened to Adam, but I never did like that brat. He seemed to think he was entitled. As if! @_@
Yeah, character archs are hell. Just ask the Winchester brothers.