Choice Matters (Spoilers for season 6 of The Dragon Prince: The Mistrey of Aaravos)



With season 6 out, people’s perspective on Aaravos has shifted. Learning of his past with Leola, people have started talking about how Aaravos isn’t evil, he’s just broken, saying he isn’t an inherently irredeemable, but a mourning father. He’s not the first villain fandoms have forgiven because of a tragic backstory. However, this conversation isn’t that simple. Leola’s story is tragic. It broke me as well and I wish it could have turned out differently, but it doesn't and shouldn't excuse anything.

People’s posts, claiming that Aaravos is merely broken, seem to be wanting to forget and forgive all his deeds on the basis of this heartbreak. There is something, however, that they forget about. Heartbreak is no excuse for action. People always have choices. In that moment when the Startouch elves killed Leola, Aaravos had several choices. He could have chosen to die alongside his daughter. He could have chosen to go on and process her death in a healthy way. But instead, he chose to live and sow as much chaos and destruction as possible. He did this purely out of spite for his kind.

Aaravos isn't inherently evil, he wasn't born a villain. He has a tragic backstory, but that doesn't make him a misunderstood puppy-dog. He is a person with agency who CHOSE to gift Dark Magic to humans, who WILLINGLY killed people, who CHOSE to use evil and villainy, chaos and destruction, as an outlet for his grief. Leola, at this point, is an excuse. Something he tells himself and others to justify the horrible things he is doing. The revelation of his past should not be the basis of our forgiveness and it is certainly not a redeeming thing. Aaravos is evil. His past with Leola doesn’t change that.

The same goes for a lot of villains who, upon having a tragic past revealed, are forgiven by their fandom. There is nothing wrong with sympathizing with a villain’s past or understanding where they came from. But past pain should not be the reason we excuse their current horrible behavior. Every villain has a choice. It is their choices we should look at, not their past. Because most villains use their past as an excuse for their actions in the present.

Megjegyzések

  1. csulufancsi2024. augusztus 16. 9:11

    And I think Zuko is the best example of this. He's not forgiven on the basis of his backstory, but the choices he makes to make right what he messed up. Aaravos isn't irredeemable but he'd need to do a whole lot more for complete forgiveness then reveal a tragic story from his past.

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