For the question of the day, yes I would go, my life contains little adventure. And I think chosen ones can be useful and good when used right, but you can't just say that someone is the chosen one with no background or reason to why.
Hello Future Me ohh hell yes I would I’d love to forget the struggles of the real world and fulfill my fantasy on the chosen I kind of think they’re overused but with good writing they can be really good character even more so if you can get attached to them
I'd love to see a story where the main character is the antagonist to the chosen one protagonist. I mean I'm technically writing one for RWBY maybe but..... I'm not fully sure where I want to take it. (My character is kinda not on the villains side but wont be accepted by the heroes)
Another rare scenario: The fact that there is no chosen one at all, but the protagonists are continually convinced (by others or even by themselves) that they are chosen.
Or, the chosen one was destined to return, so, when crisis came, everyone sat around and waited for him to return... but he didn't. The next hero of the story has to prove to everyone that he can save the day. That's also rare; in fact, I can only think of two stories that did this: Aang in ATLA to some extent, and Link in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
I think this also applies to your character in Dragon Age Inquisition, where everyone is convinced that they are some kind of divinely chosen one due to random circumstances that put them in the middle of the events
The Percy Jackson series “chosen one” plot was pretty good. Characters that were potentially as powerful like Thalia, Nico, & Bianca could’ve very well been the chosen one. The prophecy was worded in a way it had a different meaning in each book. In the end it made perfect sense why the villain was in fact the chosen one.
I really like how Rick Riordan continually reintroduces the readers to the ambiguity of prophecies, and sets up the characters' presumptions about them to manipulate the readers'; this all makes that final "Ooooh!" moment much more satisfying. But seriously, in over 70 years, not *one* person considered that the Great Prophecy never explicitly mentions the 'half-blood of the eldest gods' and the hero who's 'soul, cursed blade shall reap' being the same person?
There is also a since of claiming the chosen one title in Percy Jackson that I liked as well. In the third book, Thalia gives it up. She passes the weight to percy who then takes ownership to not pass it on to Nico. he refused to put it on Nico's shoulders.
@@KarenGomez-iv7bh at first it sounds like a copout so that the plot wouldn’t be so predictable, but with the chosen one itself flipflopping between multiple plausible characters and Percy’s role in the story being built pretty well, it actually became quite the stake to base the final conflict off of because it’s been implied from the VERY beginning. It built it up so well that you actually get invested the longer it goes.
Hermione: She only likes you because she thinks you're the chosen one! Harry: But... I am the chosen one (grinning) Hermione: *Slams 500 page book on Harry's head*
I have seen Avatar five teams at least but only listening this I realized that there was poetic justice in Soka destroying the fire nation air fleet since he was one who helped creating them.
Personally, I like how The LEGO Movie subverted the "Chosen One" story, where it's revealed how the entire concept of "The Special" was completely made up.
I really love the way J.K. Rowling handled the chosen one thread. There was never anything special about Harry that made him stand out. In fact, the one wizard who really was that gifted and powerful, Dumbledore, himself knew that he could only ever guide Harry and would never be the one to end the conflict. Instead, what made Harry the chosen one was... Voldemort. He hears an incomplete prophecy naming a boy who would have powers he knows not, who could bring his end. What he doesn't hear is that he himself will choose him. Two boys meet the criteria, and Voldemort's murder of Harry's parent and attempt on harry himself, turn harry into the unintended 8th horcrux, giving him power to rival Voldemort. And his mom's sacrifice imbues Harry with the capacity for the power Voldemort knows not... love. Here we have a chosen one, completely created by the actions of the antagonist as a way of showing that in the end, all tyrants, themselves create the tools by which they are brought down.
erzan Harry isn’t Gryffindors heir. Also, just because he inherited the Invisibility Cloak doesn’t mean he’s special. It’s just that he was lucky enough to to be born in the Potter family. Imo Dumbledore is more of a chosen one than Harry.
>The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... Harry being the 8th Horcrux is also the unknown power because Voldemort also never saw it coming.
"I am the Dark Lord!" Oh... another Dark Lord? *rolls eyes* "I am the Chosen One." Third one I heard about today alone. *Eyes rolls harder* Darth Vader: "I am a Dark Lord AND the Chosen One." That doesn ....uck...rrrck... khkkk
I do like Merlin's approach, where Merlin is the powerful chosen one to help the chosen one king Arthur. We see Merlin struggle with this as Arthur is an ass and the very kingdom Merlin is trying to save persecutes people with his powers. Also we see that some times we bring about the very thing we were trying to stop. So if a golden dragon tells you to let the kid and the witch die, let them die.
But then they became evil because the dragon told Merlin they would, causing him to hesitate to help them at key events. If Merlin just didn't listen to the dragon and did things a little differently, Mordred at the very least would probably have remained good and magic wouldn't be outlawed anymore, and there were paths he might have been able to take to help Morgana. It has been a really long time since I had watched the show, so I'm a little fuzzy on all the details.
Honestly, I feel like Merlin shouldn't have trusted the dragon as readily as he did. Throughout the show, we see that the dragon has some ulterior motive and at times, it seems like he only helps Merlin because it suits his needs (disregarding the fact that Merlin only used his commanding powers on Kilgharrah twice in all of their doze s of interactions and both times, the dragon was explicitly against whatever Merlin told him to do). The whole thing with Mordred and Morgana was ultimately a self-fulfilling prophecy, like the showwriters also explicitly show (the episode where Merlin makes Morgana fall down the stairs because he saw a possible version of the future, worked to combat it and instead caused it). Also, the show makes a point about not trusting too much in destiny and be completely passive.
It so clearly stopped having a main story to work out from..Like they had told their story and it was more or less perfect but it was way too populare to stop at that moment so they had to come up with some other bullshit plot..Really freaking sad!
The creators even said around the season 3 time frame at comic Con that they only wanted to do 5 seasons. Which is why it would have been a perfect ending. Alas greed and/or pressure from producers was too strong. In my mind the show stopped 5 seconds before season 5 did
Mmhm. I dont believe that. The face-to-face conversations betweeen both God and Metatron and God and the boys are some of the best words in a script. Plus the idea thatbgodncould also be afraid being vs nothingness.
partypiano0 I actually do like some of the newer seasons and ideas that you mentioned, but as stated by others, everything just feels like add-on content not original story. Also if you need proof that it got bad after season 5 sometimes one word ... leviathans.
Jessie Ward yeah but if you gave up on "Dick" you wouldnt have seen God vs Human Metatron. I dont own shares in the network, so it cost me nothing to hang and wait for the good bits.
Except when it is, in which either the character is incredibly badass to be able to _force_ the Powers That Be to make them the chosen one, or things get really, _really,_ complicated.
@@philltheotherguy1868 well it’s not always anyone’s choice. Sometimes it’s just magic related, where no one but the chosen one has the abilities to do the thing.
Vicente Ortega Rubilar I liked the lego movie...until the end,i feel like the end just ruined it as it made it one of those "it was just a dream" stories which destroys the hopes of children.
wolf forces That's not what it was. As cynical as this sounds at first, The LEGO Movie was basically a commercial for LEGOs. Fun for all ages? Check? Brings the family together? Check? At the end, when Will Ferrel sees all the cool shit his son had made by not following the instructions, remembers all the cool shit he used to do, changes his mind about gluing it all in place, and just decides to have fun. So, as cynical as it sounds to say it was just a big LEGO commercial, you can see that I mean that in a good way.
One element that I think would be useful in a Chosen One story is exploring the situations when a Chosen One buys into their own hype, when they get it into their head that their Choseness makes a victory guaranteed and then, naturally, having that cost them when their cockiness causes them to fail at a crucial moment result in Bad Stuff.
That actually happened in Ben 10....somewhat. He became intergalactically famous and reveled in it, his overconfidence caused constant problems that he was too cocky to admit was his arrogant fault. Until things got really bad and he had to admit he was being pompous and learned from it.
Personally I like the idea of the chosen one being genre savvy on how vague and twisted prophecy tend top be so they ignore they prophecy and focus and doing what they must and figure it will work out in the end. In the mean time the the details fall into place as the world building unravels.
I take a little issue with putting scenes from Eragon at that point in the video. One, because while he was indeed 'chosen' - it its emphasized that he was one of many possibilities - it was emphasized that there wasn't an outside-reality force keeping him alive and his sub-par quality and failings are indeed pointed out. Also Roran's storyline (much stronger than the main one, tbh) did a great job subverting the necessity of being a 'chosen one' pretty well as a side thread. Two, and far more importantly, because that movie doesn't exist so how the hell did you get clips from it?
In ASOIAF books, George Martin is creating three kind of Chosen Ones, The last hero of the First Men, The prince that was promised and Azor Ahai, and all of them has mistery about who is "The Right Guy" and many characters fit into this archetype.
Alberto Carlos part of that too is the fact that multiple characters fit all of the Chosen One prophesies, meaning there's doubts on if it's multiple people saving the world in different ways, or if they're all referring to one character.
What do you think will happen with that though? GRRM knows the chosen one plot and hates it. He may do it with Dany and Jon and Aegon. I see those characters becoming religious figures And eventually wars because of them. I doubt there is an Azor Ahai or a prince that was promised because its lazy writing. Or maybe it's all time traveling Bran screwing with everyone.
Morgan Turner well I don't honestly believe Aegon is who he says he is. From a narrative perspective seems a little off the wall to invest us in Dany only for someone else to come in and take her place in the story. But I will admit I have no idea who he is. Not sure if you watch the show but the fact that it doesn't ever bring him into the story is enough for me to feel like he doesn't play a significant role in the endgame, however wrong I may be about his identity. On the subject of Azor Ahai and/or the prince that was promised, I believe GRRM is setting us up to believe that either Jon is one and Dany is the other, they are one and the same, or they both fit parts of each prophecy. I believe that the 3rd option is more likely, as it would fulfill the prophecies in a way that subverts the Chosen One trope by not having either fulfill either purpose alone. Again, I could be wrong because, let's face it this is GRRM we're talking about, but that does seem like the most satisfying conclusion from a narrative standpoint.
Aegon just took over Stormsend and has a massive army behind him. He has a part to play. Same with Doran, Stoneheart or Victarion. The show has a limited amount of resources, characters and time they can't shove a huge character like Aegon in 2/3s through the story. I agree Aegon most likely isn't Aegon because of the Golden Company Bittersteel's sellsword company's support. GRRM subverts expectations so do you really think he will have Jon or Dany the most obvious of obvious characters be Jesus and Luke Skywalker? No, no he won't.
Morgan Turner I'm not saying that Aegon doesn't have a role to play but I'm saying his role is different than what has explicitly been stated in the novels. Upon his introduction, his motivation is to marry Dany and use her army and dragons to conquer Westeros but that essentially takes her story and plants it onto him which makes no damn sense whatsoever. Even with his penchant for subverting expectations, I don't think it's in Martin's wheelhouse to give 5(ish) novels worth of story to Dany and her quest to reclaim her "rightful" kingdom just to have it stripped away from her as she is about to make her move west. And yes, I know Aegon went to Westeros instead but his motivation is still the same, which means that, to me at least, his role in the story remains generally the same. And since he wasn't important enough to introduce into the show, he probably isn't super important in the novels. To reiterate my point above, I don't know what Martin is going to do with the prophecies and I don't much care. From a narrative standpoint, it makes sense for Jon and Dany to be the ones to lead the living against the armies of the dead and the White Walkers. We've kind of come full circle where the story is becoming a bit more of a traditional fantasy story (basically all living people against the armies of evil monsters for the future of their world) and it's becoming harder and harder for Martin to avoid the narrative tropes involved in telling that sort of story. He isn't going to sacrifice sense for the sake of subverting expectations so while my argument for Jon and Dany may be wrong, he has to make something else make sense.
I think Rand Al'Thor from the Wheel of Time has a very interesting "Chose One" Arc. Essentially it revolves around having to lose himself and become a villain in order to be what he needs to be. The central tension is not just whether or not he will succeed, but more importantly whether or not he can do it and remain sane/good.
Supernatural seasons 1- 5 are absolutely the very best of the series. I still watch the show and enjoy it to a degree BECAUSE those five seasons managed to invest me so deeply in the story of Sam and Dean and the mythology of their world that I can't bear the thought of not knowing what's happening with them while the show is ongoing despite the, quite frankly, significant drop in quality in the later seasons. So, yeah, definitely #thebestseasons Also this was such a great video! You were right. There was actually quite a bit that I hadn't really thought about before when reading or even discussing this trope. So thank you for an enjoyable and informative essay! ^_^
Narita Zaraki I think that while Seasons 6-9 weren't nearly as perfect as 1-5, they're still very good. However I think our patience was rewarded because seasons 10-13 have so far been of the quality of Seasons 1-5. I honestly believe SPN is THE best tv show on the air right now, bar none.
First off, so sorry about the late reply! I somehow only just now saw your message. Sorry! (^_^") I'm glad that we agree that 6 - 9 aren't as bad as advertised especially seasons 6 and 7, which in my experience with the fandom seem to be the most hated. Definitely not as good as 1 - 5 but still enjoyable. *BUT* I wholeheartedly disagree that 10 - 13 are as good as the earlier seasons. For me, they're not even comparable. S11 is still my favorite from the later seasons but even then I have quite a bit of problems with it. And I've actually found myself struggling the most with S13. I don't want to be the jackass who ruins something you love for you but personally, the writing this season frustrated me to no end. I'm a huge fantasy fan, half the reason why I started watching the show before I even knew anything about it is because it's titled "Supernatural", I love stories that spend time world-building and enriching the mythology of the world our characters inhabit. In short, canon matters to me. A lot. And S13 spent almost it's entire runtime gleefully breaking and trampling all over established canon and the world's mythology. To the point that I'm honestly wondering if the new writers have actually watched all the previous seasons. I'm not saying that to hate on them or anything but I just honestly don't understand how they could've possibly written the season's major plotlines in a way that directly contradicts previously established canon unless there is a great deal of the show they haven't watched. Like the whole "angel grace recharges given time" bullshit that completely negates Castiel's storylines in seasons 8 and 9. That is one example among too damn many. The season was also cluttered with unnecessary resurrections - rendering death completely meaningless on the show - that went absolutely nowhere and unimaginative recycling of old storylines. Gabriel was brought back only to have his S5 storyline repeated almost beat by beat right up to his death that held no emotional weight whatsoever because it was simply done so much better the first time around. Gabe's story and how it was concluded was perfect and heartfelt but by bringing him back only to recycle the same storyline they did his character a massive disservice. Same with Ketch who in S12 was actually an interesting villain, brought back for no reason with a recycled Mick Davis storyline which again, is a disservice to both characters and the interesting impact they had in the previous season's arc and on our protagonists. Asmodeus could have been interesting if they had simply focused on him changing hell after Crowley's reign, raising his scarier than regular demons hellspawn, making them an actual force to be reckoned with like in the days of Azazel, Alistair and Lilith but instead they made his whole storyline about Gabe, which in turn made his storyline a complete waste of time with no impact on the major plots of the season. There is so much more that I hated about S13 but I'm gonna stop here and spare you because this rant has already went on for far too long and I'm honestly sorry if you actually read through all this. You did not deserve that. (^_^") That's not to say that there aren't things that I loved about the season like Jack, Rowena, doing a better job of showing and balancing Dean POV and Sam POV compared to S12, THE DEATH OF LUCIFER - yet another character who had a perfect completed arc brought back and ruined - regardless of the utterly embarrassing way it was executed etc. But overall ... yeah, S13 was a let down for me. And I'm genuinely worried about S14. Once again, really sorry about the long-ass reply.
Narita Zaraki Hey dude no worries about the long reply. It sucks to hear you don't like season 13 as much. I agree that season 11 was great but for me 11-13 are season 5 level good, though season 13 is slightly waning now because I completely agree that they fucked up by killing Gabe for no reason. All this trouble to come back for a meaningless sacrifice that's barely acknowledged? Come on. So don't worry, I get you. I still love the seasons because I actually think there's been some amazing character development and storytelling but Yes, some of the character's have definitely been mishandled. I still have to watch the final episode of the season but I'm hoping Bobby and Charlie get to stay. I still wish they hadn't killed Kevin again since I really liked him too. Anyway, hope you have a good day my dude! I appreciate the reply.
Replying really late like a douchebag again! I'm so terrible at checking my notifications it's not even funny. T_T Ah shit! I spoiled the finale for you! Sorry! We were talking about all the seasons in general so I just assumed you must've already seen everything. Really sorry man. I hate spoilers so much. Hope I didn't ruin your experience watching it. I agree there was a lot they did right but for me, the bad out weighed the good this season so ... yeah. I'm honestly glad you like it though. And I really hope I haven't ruined your enjoyment of the show with my bitter rant. (^_^") Let me know what you think about the finale. Would love to discuss it. :D
I feel like Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time deserves its own video on the topic, seeing as the core premise of the series is what it would be like to be chosen to save the world, but potentially go crazy and kill everyone you love in the process.
I completely agree. WoT's take on the chosen one, and destiny in general, is great. It doesn't hit all the points in this video perfectly, but it does a pretty good job at most of them. It is easily my favorite take on the idea because of way it delves into just what being the chosen one would mean and what effect that prophecy could have on a person and the people around them.
+Morgan Turner I wouldn't say WoT is happily ever after. Everything in that world will start again some day. The 4th Age might be peaceful, or mostly peaceful, but it won't last forever. By the end of the 4th age or maybe into the 5th that peace will be long gone and the Dark One will be influencing the world again. Its all part of a cycle. The 3rd age begin with a time of great peace and prosperity, which then came crashing down due to the War of Power. The victory Rand and the forces of light achieved is only temporary and who knows what will cause the next collapse. Rand has fought the Dark One over and over and over across many ages as he is reborn into each age and he will do so again in another age. Or maybe he will end up joining the forces of evil the next time and bring about an age of death and darkness. WoT's ending is only "and they all lived happily ever after" until you actually take a moment to think about what the books have been saying about time from the get go.
Look at the potential future seen by Aviendha , one that is never actually confirmed to have been altered, and tell us it's all happiness. Heck, look at the main cast. Egwene is dead, mat is leading an empire that he doesn't understand, Rand can never go home, even if he has the ultimate out on child support payments, he has no way of enjoying it, and perrin is still married to faile. None of that constitutes what most would consider happy.
av willis LMAO at your take on the three farmboys' fate. Especially Perrin. I'm torn about how I felt about Egwene's death: she went out like a boss over a few books, but she has gotten way to high and mighty by that point and definitely needed to be taken down a peg. Which is odd, I started the series feeling that way about Nynaeve, but ended up loving her by the end.
I personally love a good prophesy plot twist. Good examples would be Anakin from Star wars and mr.Smith from Matrix. In Anakin's case he is destined to "bring balance to the force". All of the jedies thought that would be a good thing but in the end balance meant the balance between dark and light which was better for the sith than it was for the jedies. In Smith's case we think Neo is the chosen one to make the world "better" but in the end mr.Smith fits the prophesy a lot better then Neo ever did. No one expected the villain to be the chosen one.
Or the first arc/five books of Wings of Fire, where [SPOILERS] The prophecy the group of main characters are in is revealed to be entirely fake. It was created by the NightWings to become more powerful and control the rainforest.
I blame Mattpat for this but Neo is the chosen one, not smith. The oracle herself told Trinity that she would fall in love with the One who is Neo not fucking Smith
One thing I like about the Star Wars chosen one, who would bring balance to the force, is that it was done by becoming evil and killing a lot, so that is something I like to try and include.
anakin kinda reminds me of those end time apocalypse predictions (which i’m sure was intentional since george lucas was super inspired by religion, especially things like a messiah wiping everyone out but the true believers that are super common between many religions). he brings balance by killing every force user but his son and daughter (and ig in the new stuff, his apprentice too, even if ashoka’s not in the movie.)
One of my favorite "Chosen one" twists growing up comes from Dragonfable (Yes, that point-and-click RPG). Your character, proclaimed as a Hero in the first scene of the game, and the villain, who isn't trying to hide his evil because he knows, we know and everyone knows, both have a dragon egg which hatches at the exact same time. We learn that the dragons hatched from these eggs are both chosen ones; "One destined to destroy the world, the other to save it". But the villain, right after the birth of his dragon turns it into an undead, a dracolich, which means he's taken away its free will and now control all its power himself. When the two of you meet, you learn that the dracolich (Which is called Fluffy) is the dragon destined to save the world. Which means, as the villain say: "Now there is one dragon destined to destroy the world, and one to help it".
I would love it if you did a video on writing sibling relationships. I think it is important because Avatar and Full Metal Alchemist place it in a central point of the story.
Hey! You mentioned one of Rick Riordan's book series. :D He makes good books. Wait now you mentioned Spyro?......... Okay now I am beginning to wonder why I haven't subscribed to you yet. ........... and now you referenced American Dragon: Jake Long. Okay you may not have brought up Yugioh or Danny Phantom, but I think this plus other videos you did made you earn a subscription from me.
I like that Eragon and every Dragon Rider before and after him is a chosen one, but chosen by their dragon. Brom claims if Saphira didn’t like him, she would’ve hatched for someone else. It also creates a many chosen one situation and a chosen one among the chosen people. Eragon is the Varden’s best chance against Lord Galbatorix and the Riders’ chance at resurrection, but he is never guaranteed a victory.
To be fair with Boromir, the ring was effecting his mind... making him think that way... Frodo was the chosen one because he was one of the few that could handle it... and Sam was the second because unless if he held the ring for a while, he wouldn't be affected being near Frodo. If anything, Frodo was a twist. His role was nothing more than to carry something. It was everyone else that had to carry him...
I remember an interesting take on the Chosen One theme from the 2002 hack-and-slash game, The Bard's Tale. In it, the (otherwise nameless) Bard is told by a cryptic old man outside a tavern that he is the Chosen One, destined to free a fair and magical maiden from her dreadful imprisonment. He promptly tell the senile old codger to buzz off, and only shown any interest in the Quest after being assured that said maiden is not only incredibly rich, but will likely reward him quite... vigorously for freeing her. The twist is not the fact that he is not the only Chosen One, though along the way he does encounter a number of bright young lads of pure heart and poor sense, claiming to be the Chosen One who shall rescue the maiden because it is their Destiny! (the only ones who aren't dead by the time you reach them have all been locked up for their own safety) The actual twist is that ('SPOILER WARNING!') the criteria for being the Chosen One turns out to be "anyone who we can dupe into going for it," because the maiden in question is getting impatient and wants to get on with tearing down civilization in an orgy of blood and fire already (also, she's actually an evil demon). The Bard can either go through with the job anyway (and she does reward him quite... vigorously), turn on her and kill her, thus saving the world (he gets a pat on the back), or wash his hands of the whole ordeal and go party with the zombies (they're surprisingly good dancers).
"Avatar the Last Airbender: The Godsend of Storytelling." I'd watch that documentary. You mentioned one of my most favourite cartoons: Jake Long: American Dragon. Thank you! And I didn't know that bout the VA's. That's cool! Thanks for your note on Frodo. It made the Mordor scene at the climax of the trilogy when he temporarily kept the ring to himself have me burst into tears yelling, "No!" Not because it was anything to do with his 'powers' but because it had everything to do with what made a Hobbit 'human'.
Thanks so much for this video! I'm currently trying to write a story about a chosen one character and I know I can trust the quality of your videos! Keep it up :)
If anyone is interested in reading The Dresden Files, which is worth a read, I would suggest actually listening to the audio book. It is read brilliantly by James Marsters who you most likely know as Spike from Buffy and Angel. It is probably the best audio book performance I have heard.
I don’t know if you’ve seen the show before, but I like the way they do the Chosen One element in “Voltron: Legendary Defender.” The Paladins are chosen not because they’re just “destined to.” They become the Paladins because the Lions deem them worthy. They demonstrate these qualities that each of the Lions look for in a pilot. Theoretically, anyone could be a “Chosen” Paladin if they demonstrate those qualities
4:38 An interesting way to subvert this without subverting this is to basically have the outcome come about in a weird, and unexpected way. My favorite example comes from Star Wars (not the Anikan prophecy). In the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on Xbox, there is a Gray Jedi you can recruit to your team. One of his dialogues is a story about a chosen one who was meant to defeat an Alien Warlord. Due to this prophecy ensuring that the CO will dfeat the AW, the Chosen One didn't prepare or even train all that hard since he was told from the beginning he would win. So when he faced the Warlord he got his ass kicked and was killed and tossed down the ships reactor port. Which caused it to explode, thus killing the Warlord. Thus fulfilling the prophecy. This was meant as a warning that one's destiny, although set, may not end as one thinks. Edit: Ok then, I should really wait till the video finishes before opening my mouth
One idea I had for a story was where a chosen one dies in the final battle but it’s their supporting cast who finishes the job. The one did bring the evil to an end by bringing all their friends together who can take up the torch.
Can you make a Merlin Review? man I love your videos and you have such a great taste in tv shows and movies. Also please Watch Monk (TV show about an OCD detective) you will love it if you like Avatar, Harry Potter and Merlin. Merlin and Monk are so underated and you can show loads of people how good they are. 😁
You just gave me an idea (most likely not original, but hey, I have a world for it so I will try to make something of it) and that is killing the chosen one, starting the story, and never reviving him, with the right wording it can be right.
I think the two most interesting variations of this are 1) having the chosen one be a villain, and 2) having the chosen one fail, meaning the task needs to be accomplished by someone else.
One thing I always felt was important with the Chosen one was making sure the relationships even the attention out, because those typically tend to grab attention. One that I really like was the Hermoine/Ron relationship. If Hermoine were to be in a relationship with Harry, he’d get the chosen one focus AND the relationship focus, which would make Ron a distant third. But instead, they take the 2 lesser characters and out THEM together, so the two of them can clearly be less important than Harry in the story’s eyes-but be almost equally important in the audiences eyes.
Great vid, but my favourite kind of “chosen one” is the kind that earns being chosen (only halfway through the vid so not sure if u mention it). Think of Kaladin Stormblessed. He wasn’t chosen from birth and was destined to be a chosen one, but became a chosen one due to his honourable actions. My story will be based around that kind of thing, but the chosen one will just be dancing to the tune of the gods the whole time. Anyway, I feel that you need to read Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time. Maybe you have but you haven’t mentioned it in my experience on the channel. I understand that it is a 15 book commitment, but that is the story you need to mention for “the chosen one. Rand Al’Thor is probably the best character ever written, and is a perfect example of a chosen one done right. Haven’t finished it but I already see it and hear the praise.
In my fantasy story, the prophecy of the story is centered around one character who has been given great power from being born on a certain day and year. While the MC was born on the same day but in a different year, he can resist the powers of the other and can keep the other in check.
i feel like the best chosen one stories are when the person is the chosen one but they arent nessicarily the chosen one. like you werent the chosen one but you stepped up to the role
The Mistborn Saga has a good twist on prophecy and The Chosen.... [SPOILER] In that story, the main character comes to believe that she is the Chosen One, and devices to do what the prophecy says. However, she finds out too late that the villain has twisted and altered the prophecy over a thousand years, and following the prophecy actually sets him free, where he promptly starts the end of the world.
In the Bionicle books,the 8th one,we find out Toa Likhan was influenced to give the Toa Stones to a different set of Six Matoran. So Makuta caused the Toa Metru.
Finally someone else who has read The Wind on Fire books. Can you please do a video on those. It was my favourite book series as a child and I feel they don't get enough publicity.
Its really ironic, that Anakin and Luke were real chosen ones (at least one of them was), but they didnt feel like ones, they had character arcs, they had personality, they werent the most powerful ever, they got their asses kicked, and one of them even became the evil, he was supposed to destroy. And at the same time Rey is a nobody, she isnt the chosen one, but writers of the new movies gave her every single trait of the chosen one.... in the worst possible way.
Just wanted to say that you are fantastic. I share your videos on this writer's server all the time and they've really helped me and other beginning writers. And you're so funny, my friend. I think "A WIZARD DID IT," all throughout the day. I'm so glad that you exist in this form.
Another twist you can add to a Chosen One (CO) story is a switched at birth plot. You spend the majority of the story following the supporting characters and the CO, only to have their super special powers not work, and have a twist where one of the other supporting characters, perhaps a cousin or childhood friend is revealed to be the real CO. You can play it out as a deep conspiracy meant to protect them from the Big-Bad-Evil-Guy, or in instances where the CO would become a BBEG, stopping that prophecy from coming true.
When writing The Grey Following: Lady of Balance, I went with the idea of The Chosen One being selected by a specific entity, with her own motivations, personality and such, to take it from being a distant cosmic prophecy to more of a 'This is a set of parameters that determines whether an individual is right for this task', and simply waiting around until those parameters are met to reappear and start guiding them towards the general goal. That and I'm a bit of a sucker for the lead arguing with higher beings about being selected, putting a face on the other side really opens it up from just yelling at the sky effectively.
I'm not sure I would. After all, history is written by the victors, and what happens if the world you so cherish is nothing like you thought it was? What if you went to the Avatar world expecting to be a bender and then you're not? What if you went to Harry Potter's world and you were a muggle? (ah who am I kidding HECK YES I WOULD)
Shining Dawn even worse...what if you went to Berk and you became Ruffnut's chicken... Oh wait he's secretly the Bewilderbeast so that would be awesome!
A really good example of a chosen one separate from movies and books, is the chosen undead in the Dark Souls games.There are many "chosen undead" but the one that struggles to the end sets their fate and becomes the greatest undead. A similar outcome with the ashen one, though they weren't chosen, but they were brought back from the dead for a reason.
I waited so long to hear at least one Buffy reference...I'm hurt. lmaooooo She's an interesting subversion of the trope because she fully understands her power and destiny as a slayer and she knows she's more than capable of handling nearly anything thrown her way in a demon fight. She's trained for a shorter time than typical slayers, but her doubts come from a combination of decisions she has to make a slayer and is typically mirrored by situations she's facing as a young adult in her day-to-day life. So Buffy's complications actually come more from her human side which made her SUPER interesting and relatable.
The loss of Monty can be felt more and more the further they get, atleast it is still his story outline and even though the smaller things can really make you feel his absence, I have faith that they will pull off what Monty intended.
Dude, I was referring to all of RWBY. To be fair, I'm pretty sure this was the same writing situtation even when Monty was still alive. Monty...is a crap writer. There's no going over that. He's admitted that himself and it's why he got Miles and Kerry involved in the first place to help him create and develop RWBY. Monty, Miles, and Kerry each have an equal role in the creation of RWBY. I mean literally, try listing any of Monty's previous original works that had an actual plot to it. Pretty much his most popular works like Dead Fantasy and Haloid can be summed up as "Hot Girls With Superpowers Fighting Each Other Fueled By Rule of Cool". RWBY is basically that with an actual Plot. Sure he also wrote for Seasons 8-10 of Red vs Blue but who do you think wrote all the drama heavy, emotional parts of the story, Monty Oum or Burnie and Matt, the creators of RvB? From what I can guess, all of Monty's writing contributions for RvB were basically in how to set up cool action scenes. And that's why so many people revere the Red Trailer. They never seem to realize that it has NO plot and is just a crazy, all flash and little substance fight, the type of thing that Monty has always been known for. From what we've seen from interviews and Production Diaries, Monty never had a clear or definite direction on where he wanted RWBY to go writing wise. He was the guy who just came up with ideas, some good, some bad, some cool but impractical, and some that were just random. Miles and Kerry basically served as the guys who had to hammer out a story and plot and character personalities from Monty's crazy ideas, some of those ideas being inserted by Monty in the last minute with not so great effect. Relics and the Two Brother Gods were concepts that were created and approved by Monty since Volume 1. The Maidens, on the other hand, was an idea that came to Monty between Volumes 2 and 3, and Miles and Kerry felt obliged to insert them into the story out of respect for Monty because at the time, he had already passed away and they felt it would be disrespectful not to include it in. To be fair, Monty was not the sole creator of RWBY; beyond the inital concepts (the naming and colour convention of Team RWBY, fighting style), RWBY was built and written by Monty, Kerry and Miles. Monty made the trailers. He animated the fights. He randomly made up ideas like Neo, Maidens and the Dance Arc. And he was loved for them, because RWBY was young and indy and you could add in whatever you like. And he loved to put more and more "awesome" inside it too, to the exclusion of everything else. The Breach, Food Fight, Neo, Penny's appearance in the docks.... You get the idea. But this would not possibly have lasted if he was doing it alone. V1 was...mediocre by most standards, and only got away because it was the first season. V2 was better but had a not so great ending. The first half of V3 is pretty much filler, it started to be finally going somewhere in the second half, and it really hit its stride in the last quarter or third. Look at mediaocrity4's "An Honest Look At The Vytal Festival Tournament" to see what I mean by the first half of Volume 3 being filler, with the Vytal Festival honestly being one of the most barebones and half-baked Tournament Arcs ever. Because you see, he didn't know when to stop. After a while, it becomes mundane. The enemies fall too easily (Breach), the abilities are too inconsistent (food fight) and the Plot is going nowhere. The Power Levels are all over the place and there's no real stakes or danger in the fights for the Main Characters and there wasn't any real *_struggle_* in their fights. It's fun for the first viewers, but only children will never slow down on the adrenaline. The Rule of Cool was oversaturated at the cost of consistent power scaling and stakes. Monty's fights were pretty high in technical narrative but emotional narrative? Almost non-existent. In addition to Super Eyepatch Wolf's video on what makes a good fight scene, I'd recommend mediaocrity4's videos "An Honest Look At RWBY's Fight Scenes" and "An Honest Look At the Vytal Festival Tournament" to show you what I mean by most of RWBY's fights lacking emotional narrative. Although in Volume 4, the Qrow vs Tyrian fight and the RNJR versus Nuckelavee fight were two fights that actually had some substantial emotional narrative in the form of actual danger, stakes, and emotional significance. Same thing for Blake vs Ilia in Volume 5 for emotional significnce. However, with Oum's passing, Miles and Kerry had to steer the series to a more story-based one instead of the more hectic and roundabout, focused-on-fights-over-story direction that Monty initially led. And Volume 3 is proof enough that Miles and Kerry had what it takes to make a truly great Volume 3. Volume 4, while not as liked as the previous and from which suffered some pacing issues among others, was still pretty stellar when it came to character development and fleshing out is honestly my second-favorite Volume behind V3. We saw the art and the special effects and lighting drastically improve compared to Volume 4, including the facial animation, crowd animation, and running animation as well. The fights, while not spectacular, were still pretty good, especially the Qrow vs Tyrian fight. But most importantly, there was a lot more focus on story and character development. We got a really good dramatic and tragic backstory for Ren and we see him and Nora and a lot of people really get fleshed out. Some of the best moments like this were the Night Training Scene, the Ren's Flashback scene, Ruby's Monologue, and the JNR bonding scene at the end where they were thinking about Pyrrha. Volume 4 wasn't really about reaching Haven. It was about getting the characters _mentally ready_ to reach Haven. All in all, Volume 4 was pretty satisfying. Because unlike Volume 5, Volume 4 has main characters who DO something, don't wait 10 episodes for the plot to happen, actually fleshed out their world and cultures, provided some profound character development and emotional moments (rather than V5's token moments), the villains didn't need to get nerfed just so the good guys could win, and they gave meaningful exposition and only focused on it in one episode. And that episode "A Much Needed Talk" made sense because the main characters really DID need to have some questions answered and the exposition in particular was something new that _we were learning alongside the MCs_ . It wasn't characters expositioning about basic concepts that everyone should know about and makes no sense in explaining it out loud. So yeah, the exposition makes sense. And not only that but they did more than just give us a 10 minute exposition scene based around the campfire. No, they actually went the extra mile and provided a 2D animation sequence that expanded and *_showed us_* the Tale of Two Brothers. And that's the perfect combination of Show and Tell that you could achieve. It made the exposition interesting and engaging. Volume 5 lacked all of the above paragraph. Volume 5 is where they dropped the ball and it's where they had no more external factors and excuses that could be used to cover up their flaws. It had its good emotional moments and a strong start but it seems that after Volume 5 Episode 4, things went downhill from there with the main characters having little agency and there being exposition dump after exposition dump. People claim that it was after Monty passed that RWBY started to show its cracks and seams but the thing is that they were always there. People just found their tolerance for the series' flaws thinning after 5 years invested into it. Yes, Monty was talented, but to say the show started faltering after his passing is kind of a lie. The show got engaging by Volume 3 in my opinion. Then fell apart after Volume 4. I don't even know if Monty's talent of fight scenes may have truly helped at times. (Probably for the terrible battle royal in Volume 5), but I think it's ignorant to say the success of a show depended on one man. So, I hope I've made my point clear.
Ajith Thomas Personally I was disappointed with volume 4 in terms of in-depth character exploration. Now I'll be the first to admit that I was asking alot especially as I'm still turning over in my head how to show what characters are dealing with internally. Plus if they had gone the route I was imagining, there's a high chance it would have extended the team RWBY seperation by another volume.
Theres still a drop in quality overall I attribute to the loss of Monty's characteristic, according to the podcast stories back then, of going over something and scrutinizing it to the point he has a list of potential improvements. I remember a story where Monty had taken over a beta 3D printer and had a list of things he called and talked to the 3D printer company. Im just saying that the lack of his oversight is felt in several ways, not that everything would be perfect.
I don't really know what 3D printing has to do with anything involving 3D animation production other than the both of them having "3D" in the name. So I don't know how that translates to something about RWBY. But honestly, V1 and V2 were kind of shit in quality, with the only thing "redeeming" it was the fight scenes and the soundtrack along with its potential and world. But that was all. He also had a habit of inserting stuff in the last second that more often than not ended up causing plot holes or inconsistencies.
There's an incredible book series called "Traveler's Gate" In which the chosen one is the main character's friend. The main character then goes on a quest and becomes as strong as him through intense labor and suffering, and the narrative follows them throughout a war that's going on and shows what kind of people they become, with one having life handed to him and the other having life thrown in his face. It's by Will Wight and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND EVERY BOOK SERIES BY HIM. Especially one called Cradle. Cradle is incredible.
Divinity Original Sin 2 has a small part that gives a nice addition to this idea. In the starting area there is an arena that speaks of "The One". This chosen one is not intrinsic, but deterministic. You can become "The One" by winning in the arena. You are not chosen because you are you, you are chosen because you are good at fighting. If you win the arena fight, many treat you as if you are chosen despite the fact that you would have lost if you hadn't grinded enough. You earn the title. The other story arc revolves around all your character being conflicted around whether you want to fulfill your destiny of being god woken or fulfilling person aspirations like trying to recover their lost empire or discovering where the rest of your species are.
A good example for the chosen one is the Lego Movie, where anyone can be/ is the chosen one. Being "the Special" only makes you feel like the chosen one, but is not real thing.
One of the things I love about asoiaf is that there are prophecies, there is magic, but who the chosen ones are and what they are actually supposed to accomplish is not clear. Like Danny fits all the descriptions for Azor Ahai, but her storyline has not touched on anything to do with that destiny. The person who is actually trying to deal with the threat of the Others is Jon, yet he doesn't seem to fulfill the criteria set up by the prophecy, or at least far less obviously, but even if he does turn out to be Azor Ahai, he already is working on that mission from his own personal motivations, not some prophecy. Also regardless of any chosen one arcs, asoiaf is wrapped up in conflicts that are much more mundane, with all the POV characters having their own arcs and plots. Not everything is interrelated and but at the same time actions and events have consequences and cause ripples.
A fantasy story I am working on right now has the main character be revealed to be a "chosen one", but one of the main sources of drama comes from the fact that the MC is resistant to accept her destiny (she wants to remain a normal person), and the fact that her "chosen one" status means she can create fire...which, she is afraid of, so that's a big deal when she finally overcomes that fear. The status of her "chosenness" forces her to face her own fears and insecurities, so...it kinda helps her develop as a person. Of course, I've always been a fan of the "unwilling hero" trope, which definitely is why I also prefer Aragorn in the LotR films than in the books. It just makes the hero more relatable, IMO.
Mark Lawrence's The Red Queen's War had a great subversion on the chosen one trope. There is supposed to be a chosen one, who will save the world, but she was killed in the womb, so they have to make do without.
If you want a great example of the “Chosen One” story you should check out the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. Each book subverts the chosen one theme while still making sense. Even in the description of the first book it says the chosen one failed and that is the reason for the conflict in the first book. Fantastic trilogy.
About the idea of destinies neither good or bad, the book Carve the Mark has a group of people called "fated" who receive some vague sentence about their future, but they usually don't hint at good or bad with some exceptions. (ex: you will cross the divide)
@12:28 That is possibly the best appraisal of Rey as a character I have seen, and it is in a second long block of text as an aside in a different video.
I'm planning on writing about a chosen one! His brother discovered this world changing thing and will have to travel across the continent and dimensions to get to it. His brother *chose* him to join him on the adventure.
Wheel of Time. Multiple "Chosen" but one who is the actual world saving chosen. Other characters have massive character arcs and important roles to play, including those who are not chosen in any way. The chosen one must work for his abilities--he has potential, but he has to work for it. He also undergoes significant interpersonal struggles. Series drags at the middle at times, but still a great set of books.
I'm a writer, and I've had an idea for a fantasy series since I was a child, but I've struggled with how to make my chosen one subplot stand out. I had a few twists in mind, but I wasn't sure how I could make them work. After watching this video (and taking good notes), I spent most of the night typing up a detailed summary of my chosen one subplot and what (I hope) will make it stand out. I made a lot of progress, even though I haven't actually started the series proper. Thank you so much! You've helped me feel more confident about a story I want to tell one day. Thank you
One variation I don’t recall seeing used (or at least I haven’t heard of any stories that use it, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was at least one out there) is making it ambiguous whether the Chosen One is even a thing, if destiny is even actually involved at all or it’s just pure coincidence that a character is fitting the vague details of an old prophecy (which, in turn, may have gone through more steps of translation than the King James Bible fed through Google Translate a couple of times). Or where the villain has several aspects of the Chosen One, such as special powers and a strong connection to destiny, but where there’s no actual prophecy or the like that they’ve been chosen for. I’d go into more detail on the ideas, since I’m using both in a story I’ve been working on, but a lot of it’s still in the formative stages, so still pretty malleable at point, and also because the full extent of this wouldn’t be cropping up until the later half of the story (and I’m planning for this to be at least a trilogy, with these details not really being fully revealed until the third book) so it would also be pretty massive spoilers. And every vague, non-spoilery description I can think of doesn’t work because the whole thing hinges on a pretty massive spoiler. All I can really think of that isn’t a spoiler is leaving it ambiguous whether the protagonist even was a Chosen One or not, leaving it an unknown even after the series has concluded.
Your videos are incredibly well thought out. I love every one of them, especially all the ATLA theories! I don't know if you're a Heroes fan, but I would love to hear some Heroes stuff in any of your vids! Just throwing that out there. Keep up the awesome work!
![On Writing: magic systems and storytelling [ Avatar TLA/LOK bending analysis ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1fUKBrkDsOw/mqdefault.jpg)
![On Writing: magic systems and storytelling [ Avatar TLA/LOK bending analysis ]](/img/tr.png)
![On Writing: How to deliver exposition PART ONE [ Avatar l Matrix l Game of Thrones l Harry Potter ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/iq5A5bppyUg/mqdefault.jpg)
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GET ON WRITING AND WORLDBUILDING VOL II (the book with ALL the discussions we've had + tons of extra depth and detail) I linktr.ee/timhickson
~ Tim
I tried vrv once, it was really good but my phone has 0 storage so I deleted it
All hail MISHKA Kawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
For the question of the day, yes I would go, my life contains little adventure. And I think chosen ones can be useful and good when used right, but you can't just say that someone is the chosen one with no background or reason to why.
Hello Future Me I would. Fantasy worlds offers so much, and are so awesome! :)
Hello Future Me what about thor in Thor ragnarok
Hello Future Me ohh hell yes I would I’d love to forget the struggles of the real world and fulfill my fantasy on the chosen I kind of think they’re overused but with good writing they can be really good character even more so if you can get attached to them
I've just started writing a story where the main character is the Chosen One's bodyguard.
I've always wanted to a read a story where the main character isn't the chosen one.
~ Tim
poor guys XD
Everyone's the main character in their own lives.
Once I actually have the dang thing finished and selected a publisher, I'll be gushing about it constantly on my own channel, so stay tuned. ;)
I'd love to see a story where the main character is the antagonist to the chosen one protagonist. I mean I'm technically writing one for RWBY maybe but..... I'm not fully sure where I want to take it.
(My character is kinda not on the villains side but wont be accepted by the heroes)
Another rare scenario: The fact that there is no chosen one at all, but the protagonists are continually convinced (by others or even by themselves) that they are chosen.
Or, the chosen one was destined to return, so, when crisis came, everyone sat around and waited for him to return... but he didn't. The next hero of the story has to prove to everyone that he can save the day. That's also rare; in fact, I can only think of two stories that did this: Aang in ATLA to some extent, and Link in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
Kung fu panda does this one already
Why does that make me imagine Don quixote? Lmao
Game of throooones
I think this also applies to your character in Dragon Age Inquisition, where everyone is convinced that they are some kind of divinely chosen one due to random circumstances that put them in the middle of the events
The Percy Jackson series “chosen one” plot was pretty good. Characters that were potentially as powerful like Thalia, Nico, & Bianca could’ve very well been the chosen one. The prophecy was worded in a way it had a different meaning in each book. In the end it made perfect sense why the villain was in fact the chosen one.
Also the prophecy didn't say he would save the world, it said his choices would either save or destroy it, which i loved
I really like how Rick Riordan continually reintroduces the readers to the ambiguity of prophecies, and sets up the characters' presumptions about them to manipulate the readers'; this all makes that final "Ooooh!" moment much more satisfying.
But seriously, in over 70 years, not *one* person considered that the Great Prophecy never explicitly mentions the 'half-blood of the eldest gods' and the hero who's 'soul, cursed blade shall reap' being the same person?
There is also a since of claiming the chosen one title in Percy Jackson that I liked as well. In the third book, Thalia gives it up. She passes the weight to percy who then takes ownership to not pass it on to Nico. he refused to put it on Nico's shoulders.
@@KarenGomez-iv7bh at first it sounds like a copout so that the plot wouldn’t be so predictable, but with the chosen one itself flipflopping between multiple plausible characters and Percy’s role in the story being built pretty well, it actually became quite the stake to base the final conflict off of because it’s been implied from the VERY beginning. It built it up so well that you actually get invested the longer it goes.
Hermione: She only likes you because she thinks you're the chosen one!
Harry: But... I am the chosen one (grinning)
Hermione: *Slams 500 page book on Harry's head*
Tbh I thought the title was referenceing the fifth torchwood episode in season 1
I loved this lol
The Anti-Christ lol I loved that part
Book Harry would never have checked her out in the first place even if he could have made the comment.
The most savage Hermione moment in that book.
I have seen Avatar five teams at least but only listening this I realized that there was poetic justice in Soka destroying the fire nation air fleet since he was one who helped creating them.
Personally, I like how The LEGO Movie subverted the "Chosen One" story, where it's revealed how the entire concept of "The Special" was completely made up.
I love the Lego movie as well 😍😍😍
and he still saved the universe even if he wasn’t “chosen” to
@@wren_. You don't need a prophecy to do good, you just need a will to do it.
I really love the way J.K. Rowling handled the chosen one thread. There was never anything special about Harry that made him stand out. In fact, the one wizard who really was that gifted and powerful, Dumbledore, himself knew that he could only ever guide Harry and would never be the one to end the conflict. Instead, what made Harry the chosen one was... Voldemort. He hears an incomplete prophecy naming a boy who would have powers he knows not, who could bring his end. What he doesn't hear is that he himself will choose him. Two boys meet the criteria, and Voldemort's murder of Harry's parent and attempt on harry himself, turn harry into the unintended 8th horcrux, giving him power to rival Voldemort. And his mom's sacrifice imbues Harry with the capacity for the power Voldemort knows not... love. Here we have a chosen one, completely created by the actions of the antagonist as a way of showing that in the end, all tyrants, themselves create the tools by which they are brought down.
Yep. The equivalent to the "you just played yourself" meme.
Ordinary? He was still dressed in typical choosen one tropes. He's an Heir to Gryffindor and inherited one of Invisible cloak.
Thats why he is boring, If I were tô choose a better characters, would be dambledore
erzan Harry isn’t Gryffindors heir. Also, just because he inherited the Invisibility Cloak doesn’t mean he’s special. It’s just that he was lucky enough to to be born in the Potter family. Imo Dumbledore is more of a chosen one than Harry.
>The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...
Harry being the 8th Horcrux is also the unknown power because Voldemort also never saw it coming.
"I am the Dark Lord!"
Oh... another Dark Lord? *rolls eyes*
"I am the Chosen One."
Third one I heard about today alone. *Eyes rolls harder*
Darth Vader: "I am a Dark Lord AND the Chosen One."
That doesn ....uck...rrrck... khkkk
"Destined to kill.... MYSELF!"
@@pissedoffturtle7333
he did indeed
As abridged Frieza: "One thousand two hundred and eighty six. Can't you at least come up with something original before I reduce your planet to dust?"
Hugh Mann “Imma deck you in the schnoz!”
If you think about it... the Original Trilogy was just Luke making his dad complete his destiny...
I do like Merlin's approach, where Merlin is the powerful chosen one to help the chosen one king Arthur. We see Merlin struggle with this as Arthur is an ass and the very kingdom Merlin is trying to save persecutes people with his powers. Also we see that some times we bring about the very thing we were trying to stop. So if a golden dragon tells you to let the kid and the witch die, let them die.
But then they became evil because the dragon told Merlin they would, causing him to hesitate to help them at key events. If Merlin just didn't listen to the dragon and did things a little differently, Mordred at the very least would probably have remained good and magic wouldn't be outlawed anymore, and there were paths he might have been able to take to help Morgana.
It has been a really long time since I had watched the show, so I'm a little fuzzy on all the details.
Honestly, I feel like Merlin shouldn't have trusted the dragon as readily as he did. Throughout the show, we see that the dragon has some ulterior motive and at times, it seems like he only helps Merlin because it suits his needs (disregarding the fact that Merlin only used his commanding powers on Kilgharrah twice in all of their doze s of interactions and both times, the dragon was explicitly against whatever Merlin told him to do). The whole thing with Mordred and Morgana was ultimately a self-fulfilling prophecy, like the showwriters also explicitly show (the episode where Merlin makes Morgana fall down the stairs because he saw a possible version of the future, worked to combat it and instead caused it). Also, the show makes a point about not trusting too much in destiny and be completely passive.
Avatar?
Merlin?
Supernatural?
Harry Potter?
The Lord of the rings?
Damn right I'm gonna watch
Sadek Miah well, first five seasons of Supernatural. Rest of the seasons are just horrendous.
Can Coşkun Ikr but I can't help but watch even the SFX and acting has got worse.
Yes, it's terrible. But I guess I turned out to be a fan, so I can't just stop
Darllington Wesley Same
100th like and same
Shrek is the pinnacle of character development smh
A fully developed and LAYERED character like no other
Meh, he un-learns a lot of his lessons between films. But I suppose old habits die hard.
Chosen-ness has a lot if layers, like an onion
Random Commenter like an onion!!!
@@torredurant1523 Why not a cake?
If Supernatural had only ended after season 5 it would have been the one of the best TV series ever.
It so clearly stopped having a main story to work out from..Like they had told their story and it was more or less perfect but it was way too populare to stop at that moment so they had to come up with some other bullshit plot..Really freaking sad!
The creators even said around the season 3 time frame at comic Con that they only wanted to do 5 seasons. Which is why it would have been a perfect ending. Alas greed and/or pressure from producers was too strong. In my mind the show stopped 5 seconds before season 5 did
Mmhm. I dont believe that. The face-to-face conversations betweeen both God and Metatron and God and the boys are some of the best words in a script. Plus the idea thatbgodncould also be afraid being vs nothingness.
partypiano0 I actually do like some of the newer seasons and ideas that you mentioned, but as stated by others, everything just feels like add-on content not original story. Also if you need proof that it got bad after season 5 sometimes one word ... leviathans.
Jessie Ward yeah but if you gave up on "Dick" you wouldnt have seen God vs Human Metatron. I dont own shares in the network, so it cost me nothing to hang and wait for the good bits.
The best subversion of the Chosen One is when The Guy dies less than a minute after we meet him in Spy Kids 3D.
Ironic that being the Chosen One isn't a choice.
Except when it is, in which either the character is incredibly badass to be able to _force_ the Powers That Be to make them the chosen one, or things get really, _really,_ complicated.
How is that ironic? That’s exactly what the phrase means. Someone else chose for them, they never chose.
@@philltheotherguy1868 well it’s not always anyone’s choice. Sometimes it’s just magic related, where no one but the chosen one has the abilities to do the thing.
I mean, it was an external choice.
The whole point is that someone was given such a role. Though sometimes the character's own choices do play a part.
The lego movie is my favourite the choosen one history.
Vicente Ortega Rubilar I liked the lego movie...until the end,i feel like the end just ruined it as it made it one of those "it was just a dream" stories which destroys the hopes of children.
wolf forces I understand that. But for me it was more like an history that existed in two different planes of existence
Vicente Ortega Rubilar fair enough,we all have our different views😆
wolf forces
That's not what it was. As cynical as this sounds at first, The LEGO Movie was basically a commercial for LEGOs. Fun for all ages? Check? Brings the family together? Check? At the end, when Will Ferrel sees all the cool shit his son had made by not following the instructions, remembers all the cool shit he used to do, changes his mind about gluing it all in place, and just decides to have fun. So, as cynical as it sounds to say it was just a big LEGO commercial, you can see that I mean that in a good way.
Joshua Caine it may have been a big commercial, but I really felt like the writers and animators put a lot of heart into it
One element that I think would be useful in a Chosen One story is exploring the situations when a Chosen One buys into their own hype, when they get it into their head that their Choseness makes a victory guaranteed and then, naturally, having that cost them when their cockiness causes them to fail at a crucial moment result in Bad Stuff.
Didn't Digimon try that a few times?
That actually happened in Ben 10....somewhat. He became intergalactically famous and reveled in it, his overconfidence caused constant problems that he was too cocky to admit was his arrogant fault. Until things got really bad and he had to admit he was being pompous and learned from it.
Personally I like the idea of the chosen one being genre savvy on how vague and twisted prophecy tend top be so they ignore they prophecy and focus and doing what they must and figure it will work out in the end. In the mean time the the details fall into place as the world building unravels.
I take a little issue with putting scenes from Eragon at that point in the video.
One, because while he was indeed 'chosen' - it its emphasized that he was one of many possibilities - it was emphasized that there wasn't an outside-reality force keeping him alive and his sub-par quality and failings are indeed pointed out. Also Roran's storyline (much stronger than the main one, tbh) did a great job subverting the necessity of being a 'chosen one' pretty well as a side thread.
Two, and far more importantly, because that movie doesn't exist so how the hell did you get clips from it?
In ASOIAF books, George Martin is creating three kind of Chosen Ones, The last hero of the First Men, The prince that was promised and Azor Ahai, and all of them has mistery about who is "The Right Guy" and many characters fit into this archetype.
Alberto Carlos part of that too is the fact that multiple characters fit all of the Chosen One prophesies, meaning there's doubts on if it's multiple people saving the world in different ways, or if they're all referring to one character.
What do you think will happen with that though? GRRM knows the chosen one plot and hates it. He may do it with Dany and Jon and Aegon. I see those characters becoming religious figures And eventually wars because of them. I doubt there is an Azor Ahai or a prince that was promised because its lazy writing. Or maybe it's all time traveling Bran screwing with everyone.
Morgan Turner well I don't honestly believe Aegon is who he says he is. From a narrative perspective seems a little off the wall to invest us in Dany only for someone else to come in and take her place in the story. But I will admit I have no idea who he is. Not sure if you watch the show but the fact that it doesn't ever bring him into the story is enough for me to feel like he doesn't play a significant role in the endgame, however wrong I may be about his identity. On the subject of Azor Ahai and/or the prince that was promised, I believe GRRM is setting us up to believe that either Jon is one and Dany is the other, they are one and the same, or they both fit parts of each prophecy. I believe that the 3rd option is more likely, as it would fulfill the prophecies in a way that subverts the Chosen One trope by not having either fulfill either purpose alone. Again, I could be wrong because, let's face it this is GRRM we're talking about, but that does seem like the most satisfying conclusion from a narrative standpoint.
Aegon just took over Stormsend and has a massive army behind him. He has a part to play. Same with Doran, Stoneheart or Victarion. The show has a limited amount of resources, characters and time they can't shove a huge character like Aegon in 2/3s through the story. I agree Aegon most likely isn't Aegon because of the Golden Company Bittersteel's sellsword company's support. GRRM subverts expectations so do you really think he will have Jon or Dany the most obvious of obvious characters be Jesus and Luke Skywalker? No, no he won't.
Morgan Turner I'm not saying that Aegon doesn't have a role to play but I'm saying his role is different than what has explicitly been stated in the novels. Upon his introduction, his motivation is to marry Dany and use her army and dragons to conquer Westeros but that essentially takes her story and plants it onto him which makes no damn sense whatsoever. Even with his penchant for subverting expectations, I don't think it's in Martin's wheelhouse to give 5(ish) novels worth of story to Dany and her quest to reclaim her "rightful" kingdom just to have it stripped away from her as she is about to make her move west. And yes, I know Aegon went to Westeros instead but his motivation is still the same, which means that, to me at least, his role in the story remains generally the same. And since he wasn't important enough to introduce into the show, he probably isn't super important in the novels. To reiterate my point above, I don't know what Martin is going to do with the prophecies and I don't much care. From a narrative standpoint, it makes sense for Jon and Dany to be the ones to lead the living against the armies of the dead and the White Walkers. We've kind of come full circle where the story is becoming a bit more of a traditional fantasy story (basically all living people against the armies of evil monsters for the future of their world) and it's becoming harder and harder for Martin to avoid the narrative tropes involved in telling that sort of story. He isn't going to sacrifice sense for the sake of subverting expectations so while my argument for Jon and Dany may be wrong, he has to make something else make sense.
I think Rand Al'Thor from the Wheel of Time has a very interesting "Chose One" Arc. Essentially it revolves around having to lose himself and become a villain in order to be what he needs to be. The central tension is not just whether or not he will succeed, but more importantly whether or not he can do it and remain sane/good.
Supernatural seasons 1- 5 are absolutely the very best of the series. I still watch the show and enjoy it to a degree BECAUSE those five seasons managed to invest me so deeply in the story of Sam and Dean and the mythology of their world that I can't bear the thought of not knowing what's happening with them while the show is ongoing despite the, quite frankly, significant drop in quality in the later seasons. So, yeah, definitely #thebestseasons
Also this was such a great video! You were right. There was actually quite a bit that I hadn't really thought about before when reading or even discussing this trope. So thank you for an enjoyable and informative essay! ^_^
Narita Zaraki I think that while Seasons 6-9 weren't nearly as perfect as 1-5, they're still very good. However I think our patience was rewarded because seasons 10-13 have so far been of the quality of Seasons 1-5. I honestly believe SPN is THE best tv show on the air right now, bar none.
First off, so sorry about the late reply! I somehow only just now saw your message. Sorry! (^_^")
I'm glad that we agree that 6 - 9 aren't as bad as advertised especially seasons 6 and 7, which in my experience with the fandom seem to be the most hated. Definitely not as good as 1 - 5 but still enjoyable. *BUT* I wholeheartedly disagree that 10 - 13 are as good as the earlier seasons. For me, they're not even comparable. S11 is still my favorite from the later seasons but even then I have quite a bit of problems with it. And I've actually found myself struggling the most with S13. I don't want to be the jackass who ruins something you love for you but personally, the writing this season frustrated me to no end. I'm a huge fantasy fan, half the reason why I started watching the show before I even knew anything about it is because it's titled "Supernatural", I love stories that spend time world-building and enriching the mythology of the world our characters inhabit. In short, canon matters to me. A lot. And S13 spent almost it's entire runtime gleefully breaking and trampling all over established canon and the world's mythology. To the point that I'm honestly wondering if the new writers have actually watched all the previous seasons. I'm not saying that to hate on them or anything but I just honestly don't understand how they could've possibly written the season's major plotlines in a way that directly contradicts previously established canon unless there is a great deal of the show they haven't watched. Like the whole "angel grace recharges given time" bullshit that completely negates Castiel's storylines in seasons 8 and 9. That is one example among too damn many.
The season was also cluttered with unnecessary resurrections - rendering death completely meaningless on the show - that went absolutely nowhere and unimaginative recycling of old storylines. Gabriel was brought back only to have his S5 storyline repeated almost beat by beat right up to his death that held no emotional weight whatsoever because it was simply done so much better the first time around. Gabe's story and how it was concluded was perfect and heartfelt but by bringing him back only to recycle the same storyline they did his character a massive disservice. Same with Ketch who in S12 was actually an interesting villain, brought back for no reason with a recycled Mick Davis storyline which again, is a disservice to both characters and the interesting impact they had in the previous season's arc and on our protagonists. Asmodeus could have been interesting if they had simply focused on him changing hell after Crowley's reign, raising his scarier than regular demons hellspawn, making them an actual force to be reckoned with like in the days of Azazel, Alistair and Lilith but instead they made his whole storyline about Gabe, which in turn made his storyline a complete waste of time with no impact on the major plots of the season. There is so much more that I hated about S13 but I'm gonna stop here and spare you because this rant has already went on for far too long and I'm honestly sorry if you actually read through all this. You did not deserve that. (^_^")
That's not to say that there aren't things that I loved about the season like Jack, Rowena, doing a better job of showing and balancing Dean POV and Sam POV compared to S12, THE DEATH OF LUCIFER - yet another character who had a perfect completed arc brought back and ruined - regardless of the utterly embarrassing way it was executed etc. But overall ... yeah, S13 was a let down for me. And I'm genuinely worried about S14. Once again, really sorry about the long-ass reply.
Narita Zaraki Hey dude no worries about the long reply. It sucks to hear you don't like season 13 as much. I agree that season 11 was great but for me 11-13 are season 5 level good, though season 13 is slightly waning now because I completely agree that they fucked up by killing Gabe for no reason. All this trouble to come back for a meaningless sacrifice that's barely acknowledged? Come on.
So don't worry, I get you. I still love the seasons because I actually think there's been some amazing character development and storytelling but Yes, some of the character's have definitely been mishandled. I still have to watch the final episode of the season but I'm hoping Bobby and Charlie get to stay. I still wish they hadn't killed Kevin again since I really liked him too.
Anyway, hope you have a good day my dude! I appreciate the reply.
Replying really late like a douchebag again! I'm so terrible at checking my notifications it's not even funny. T_T
Ah shit! I spoiled the finale for you! Sorry! We were talking about all the seasons in general so I just assumed you must've already seen everything. Really sorry man. I hate spoilers so much. Hope I didn't ruin your experience watching it.
I agree there was a lot they did right but for me, the bad out weighed the good this season so ... yeah. I'm honestly glad you like it though. And I really hope I haven't ruined your enjoyment of the show with my bitter rant. (^_^") Let me know what you think about the finale. Would love to discuss it. :D
Personally Season 10 is tied for my favorite season with 5. And I enjoyed Season 11 I suppose but so far Seasons 12 and 13 have fallen short to me
I feel like Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time deserves its own video on the topic, seeing as the core premise of the series is what it would be like to be chosen to save the world, but potentially go crazy and kill everyone you love in the process.
I completely agree. WoT's take on the chosen one, and destiny in general, is great. It doesn't hit all the points in this video perfectly, but it does a pretty good job at most of them. It is easily my favorite take on the idea because of way it delves into just what being the chosen one would mean and what effect that prophecy could have on a person and the people around them.
I didn't really like it considering what happens in the end, it's too happily ever after. The Chosen One thing is lazy and terrible writing.
+Morgan Turner I wouldn't say WoT is happily ever after. Everything in that world will start again some day. The 4th Age might be peaceful, or mostly peaceful, but it won't last forever. By the end of the 4th age or maybe into the 5th that peace will be long gone and the Dark One will be influencing the world again. Its all part of a cycle. The 3rd age begin with a time of great peace and prosperity, which then came crashing down due to the War of Power. The victory Rand and the forces of light achieved is only temporary and who knows what will cause the next collapse. Rand has fought the Dark One over and over and over across many ages as he is reborn into each age and he will do so again in another age. Or maybe he will end up joining the forces of evil the next time and bring about an age of death and darkness. WoT's ending is only "and they all lived happily ever after" until you actually take a moment to think about what the books have been saying about time from the get go.
Look at the potential future seen by Aviendha , one that is never actually confirmed to have been altered, and tell us it's all happiness. Heck, look at the main cast. Egwene is dead, mat is leading an empire that he doesn't understand, Rand can never go home, even if he has the ultimate out on child support payments, he has no way of enjoying it, and perrin is still married to faile. None of that constitutes what most would consider happy.
av willis LMAO at your take on the three farmboys' fate. Especially Perrin. I'm torn about how I felt about Egwene's death: she went out like a boss over a few books, but she has gotten way to high and mighty by that point and definitely needed to be taken down a peg. Which is odd, I started the series feeling that way about Nynaeve, but ended up loving her by the end.
"...it can add layers-
*mini Shrek appears*
-to the narrative..."
I personally love a good prophesy plot twist. Good examples would be Anakin from Star wars and mr.Smith from Matrix. In Anakin's case he is destined to "bring balance to the force". All of the jedies thought that would be a good thing but in the end balance meant the balance between dark and light which was better for the sith than it was for the jedies. In Smith's case we think Neo is the chosen one to make the world "better" but in the end mr.Smith fits the prophesy a lot better then Neo ever did. No one expected the villain to be the chosen one.
Or the first arc/five books of Wings of Fire, where
[SPOILERS]
The prophecy the group of main characters are in is revealed to be entirely fake. It was created by the NightWings to become more powerful and control the rainforest.
I blame Mattpat for this but Neo is the chosen one, not smith. The oracle herself told Trinity that she would fall in love with the One who is Neo not fucking Smith
Why didn't Hello Future Me just make the whole video on Lord Mishka's life story?
SINCE MISHKA IS CLEARLY THE CHOSEN ONE!!!
One thing I like about the Star Wars chosen one, who would bring balance to the force, is that it was done by becoming evil and killing a lot, so that is something I like to try and include.
anakin kinda reminds me of those end time apocalypse predictions (which i’m sure was intentional since george lucas was super inspired by religion, especially things like a messiah wiping everyone out but the true believers that are super common between many religions). he brings balance by killing every force user but his son and daughter (and ig in the new stuff, his apprentice too, even if ashoka’s not in the movie.)
One of my favorite "Chosen one" twists growing up comes from Dragonfable (Yes, that point-and-click RPG). Your character, proclaimed as a Hero in the first scene of the game, and the villain, who isn't trying to hide his evil because he knows, we know and everyone knows, both have a dragon egg which hatches at the exact same time. We learn that the dragons hatched from these eggs are both chosen ones; "One destined to destroy the world, the other to save it". But the villain, right after the birth of his dragon turns it into an undead, a dracolich, which means he's taken away its free will and now control all its power himself. When the two of you meet, you learn that the dracolich (Which is called Fluffy) is the dragon destined to save the world. Which means, as the villain say: "Now there is one dragon destined to destroy the world, and one to help it".
I would love it if you did a video on writing sibling relationships. I think it is important because Avatar and Full Metal Alchemist place it in a central point of the story.
You should do on writing about weapons of power like the 1 ring and mjoilnier and king Arthur`s sword
#macguffin
@@hirosmirnov8287 the ring has very specific powers so he's not a McGuffin
Hey! You mentioned one of Rick Riordan's book series. :D
He makes good books.
Wait now you mentioned Spyro?......... Okay now I am beginning to wonder why I haven't subscribed to you yet.
........... and now you referenced American Dragon: Jake Long. Okay you may not have brought up Yugioh or Danny Phantom, but I think this plus other videos you did made you earn a subscription from me.
I feel so enlightened after watching your videos... Maybe it's just your voice 😂
I think it also has something to do with the low-key soundtrack.
He does have a great voice.
Zippy DaFish no,it must be the short clips of Mishka, once you see the magnificent Mishka you must feel enlightened!
This youtuber should read a book aloud I'd listen xD
wolf forces so true
I like that Eragon and every Dragon Rider before and after him is a chosen one, but chosen by their dragon. Brom claims if Saphira didn’t like him, she would’ve hatched for someone else. It also creates a many chosen one situation and a chosen one among the chosen people. Eragon is the Varden’s best chance against Lord Galbatorix and the Riders’ chance at resurrection, but he is never guaranteed a victory.
I can never get enough of these freaking fantastic On Writing videos!!! :)
Agreed 100%!
YOU MENTIONED PERCY JACKSON!!!!!!!! OFICIALY MY FAVOURITE CHANEL (of the week if I know my chaotic self)
To be fair with Boromir, the ring was effecting his mind... making him think that way... Frodo was the chosen one because he was one of the few that could handle it... and Sam was the second because unless if he held the ring for a while, he wouldn't be affected being near Frodo.
If anything, Frodo was a twist. His role was nothing more than to carry something. It was everyone else that had to carry him...
“Love conquers all but I swear we’re not gay” bUT THEY’RE BROTHERS
Oh my gosh, I laughed for a whole minute at the Who's Line clip! Everything is better with more Colin!
I remember an interesting take on the Chosen One theme from the 2002 hack-and-slash game, The Bard's Tale. In it, the (otherwise nameless) Bard is told by a cryptic old man outside a tavern that he is the Chosen One, destined to free a fair and magical maiden from her dreadful imprisonment.
He promptly tell the senile old codger to buzz off, and only shown any interest in the Quest after being assured that said maiden is not only incredibly rich, but will likely reward him quite... vigorously for freeing her.
The twist is not the fact that he is not the only Chosen One, though along the way he does encounter a number of bright young lads of pure heart and poor sense, claiming to be the Chosen One who shall rescue the maiden because it is their Destiny! (the only ones who aren't dead by the time you reach them have all been locked up for their own safety)
The actual twist is that ('SPOILER WARNING!') the criteria for being the Chosen One turns out to be "anyone who we can dupe into going for it," because the maiden in question is getting impatient and wants to get on with tearing down civilization in an orgy of blood and fire already (also, she's actually an evil demon).
The Bard can either go through with the job anyway (and she does reward him quite... vigorously), turn on her and kill her, thus saving the world (he gets a pat on the back), or wash his hands of the whole ordeal and go party with the zombies (they're surprisingly good dancers).
"Avatar the Last Airbender: The Godsend of Storytelling." I'd watch that documentary.
You mentioned one of my most favourite cartoons: Jake Long: American Dragon. Thank you! And I didn't know that bout the VA's. That's cool!
Thanks for your note on Frodo. It made the Mordor scene at the climax of the trilogy when he temporarily kept the ring to himself have me burst into tears yelling, "No!" Not because it was anything to do with his 'powers' but because it had everything to do with what made a Hobbit 'human'.
The footnote you flashed at 12:22 is absolutely brilliant. I love this thought about Frodo so much.
Thanks so much for this video! I'm currently trying to write a story about a chosen one character and I know I can trust the quality of your videos! Keep it up :)
And thank you for watching!
~ Tim
No one:
Not a damn soul:
Hellofutureme when writing a script:
*AVATAR*
If anyone is interested in reading The Dresden Files, which is worth a read, I would suggest actually listening to the audio book. It is read brilliantly by James Marsters who you most likely know as Spike from Buffy and Angel. It is probably the best audio book performance I have heard.
nateslovebug Currently working on those myself. James does such a good damn job.
I don’t know if you’ve seen the show before, but I like the way they do the Chosen One element in “Voltron: Legendary Defender.” The Paladins are chosen not because they’re just “destined to.” They become the Paladins because the Lions deem them worthy. They demonstrate these qualities that each of the Lions look for in a pilot. Theoretically, anyone could be a “Chosen” Paladin if they demonstrate those qualities
4:38 An interesting way to subvert this without subverting this is to basically have the outcome come about in a weird, and unexpected way. My favorite example comes from Star Wars (not the Anikan prophecy). In the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on Xbox, there is a Gray Jedi you can recruit to your team. One of his dialogues is a story about a chosen one who was meant to defeat an Alien Warlord. Due to this prophecy ensuring that the CO will dfeat the AW, the Chosen One didn't prepare or even train all that hard since he was told from the beginning he would win. So when he faced the Warlord he got his ass kicked and was killed and tossed down the ships reactor port. Which caused it to explode, thus killing the Warlord. Thus fulfilling the prophecy. This was meant as a warning that one's destiny, although set, may not end as one thinks.
Edit: Ok then, I should really wait till the video finishes before opening my mouth
One idea I had for a story was where a chosen one dies in the final battle but it’s their supporting cast who finishes the job. The one did bring the evil to an end by bringing all their friends together who can take up the torch.
Can you make a Merlin Review? man I love your videos and you have such a great taste in tv shows and movies.
Also please Watch Monk (TV show about an OCD detective) you will love it if you like Avatar, Harry Potter and Merlin. Merlin and Monk are so underated and you can show loads of people how good they are. 😁
You just gave me an idea (most likely not original, but hey, I have a world for it so I will try to make something of it) and that is killing the chosen one, starting the story, and never reviving him, with the right wording it can be right.
I think the two most interesting variations of this are 1) having the chosen one be a villain, and 2) having the chosen one fail, meaning the task needs to be accomplished by someone else.
That blurb you inserted about Rey is 100% where I am on the subject. Well done.
#chosenlivesmatter
"Love Conquers All But I swear we're not gay"
Might want to check with the fanfic writers
Can you please do an on writing involving science, like teleportation, dimensions, aliens, and stuff like that. Pleaseeeeee
Love your vids btw
YOU MENTIONED THE DRESDEN FILES! I'm so happy. You've earned yourself a sub sir.
Isn't Shrek kind of a story about a chosen one, in terms of him being the true love? Also Layers.
One thing I always felt was important with the Chosen one was making sure the relationships even the attention out, because those typically tend to grab attention. One that I really like was the Hermoine/Ron relationship. If Hermoine were to be in a relationship with Harry, he’d get the chosen one focus AND the relationship focus, which would make Ron a distant third. But instead, they take the 2 lesser characters and out THEM together, so the two of them can clearly be less important than Harry in the story’s eyes-but be almost equally important in the audiences eyes.
Great vid, but my favourite kind of “chosen one” is the kind that earns being chosen (only halfway through the vid so not sure if u mention it). Think of Kaladin Stormblessed. He wasn’t chosen from birth and was destined to be a chosen one, but became a chosen one due to his honourable actions. My story will be based around that kind of thing, but the chosen one will just be dancing to the tune of the gods the whole time. Anyway, I feel that you need to read Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time. Maybe you have but you haven’t mentioned it in my experience on the channel. I understand that it is a 15 book commitment, but that is the story you need to mention for “the chosen one. Rand Al’Thor is probably the best character ever written, and is a perfect example of a chosen one done right. Haven’t finished it but I already see it and hear the praise.
In my fantasy story, the prophecy of the story is centered around one character who has been given great power from being born on a certain day and year. While the MC was born on the same day but in a different year, he can resist the powers of the other and can keep the other in check.
i feel like the best chosen one stories are when the person is the chosen one but they arent nessicarily the chosen one. like you werent the chosen one but you stepped up to the role
The Mistborn Saga has a good twist on prophecy and The Chosen.... [SPOILER]
In that story, the main character comes to believe that she is the Chosen One, and devices to do what the prophecy says. However, she finds out too late that the villain has twisted and altered the prophecy over a thousand years, and following the prophecy actually sets him free, where he promptly starts the end of the world.
In the Bionicle books,the 8th one,we find out Toa Likhan was influenced to give the Toa Stones to a different set of Six Matoran. So Makuta caused the Toa Metru.
Finally someone else who has read The Wind on Fire books. Can you please do a video on those. It was my favourite book series as a child and I feel they don't get enough publicity.
Its really ironic, that Anakin and Luke were real chosen ones (at least one of them was), but they didnt feel like ones, they had character arcs, they had personality, they werent the most powerful ever, they got their asses kicked, and one of them even became the evil, he was supposed to destroy. And at the same time Rey is a nobody, she isnt the chosen one, but writers of the new movies gave her every single trait of the chosen one.... in the worst possible way.
i love that in many on writing videos avatar is the first one that stands in the list of films/series
I did not expect you to use Spyro and Dresden Files in a video but it is SO welcome
Just wanted to say that you are fantastic. I share your videos on this writer's server all the time and they've really helped me and other beginning writers. And you're so funny, my friend. I think "A WIZARD DID IT," all throughout the day. I'm so glad that you exist in this form.
Another twist you can add to a Chosen One (CO) story is a switched at birth plot. You spend the majority of the story following the supporting characters and the CO, only to have their super special powers not work, and have a twist where one of the other supporting characters, perhaps a cousin or childhood friend is revealed to be the real CO. You can play it out as a deep conspiracy meant to protect them from the Big-Bad-Evil-Guy, or in instances where the CO would become a BBEG, stopping that prophecy from coming true.
Totally agree that Supernatural 1-5 was the best. I pretend anything after that didn't happen.
To be fair, Luke wasn't a chosen one... his father was.... Luke just had his dad complete his destiny.
The best but rarest chosen one is the self chosen, chosen one
Overly Sarcastic Productions also did a video on this trope.
OSP ❤️
When writing The Grey Following: Lady of Balance, I went with the idea of The Chosen One being selected by a specific entity, with her own motivations, personality and such, to take it from being a distant cosmic prophecy to more of a 'This is a set of parameters that determines whether an individual is right for this task', and simply waiting around until those parameters are met to reappear and start guiding them towards the general goal. That and I'm a bit of a sucker for the lead arguing with higher beings about being selected, putting a face on the other side really opens it up from just yelling at the sky effectively.
I'm not sure I would. After all, history is written by the victors, and what happens if the world you so cherish is nothing like you thought it was? What if you went to the Avatar world expecting to be a bender and then you're not? What if you went to Harry Potter's world and you were a muggle?
(ah who am I kidding HECK YES I WOULD)
Shining Dawn even worse...what if you went to Berk and you became Ruffnut's chicken...
Oh wait he's secretly the Bewilderbeast so that would be awesome!
A really good example of a chosen one separate from movies and books, is the chosen undead in the Dark Souls games.There are many "chosen undead" but the one that struggles to the end sets their fate and becomes the greatest undead. A similar outcome with the ashen one, though they weren't chosen, but they were brought back from the dead for a reason.
I really like the way you worked that add in. It felt more natural.
Me: *watches video*
Me: ... WELP TIME TO GO REWRITE MY WHOLE STORY WHOOP DEE DOO
I waited so long to hear at least one Buffy reference...I'm hurt. lmaooooo
She's an interesting subversion of the trope because she fully understands her power and destiny as a slayer and she knows she's more than capable of handling nearly anything thrown her way in a demon fight. She's trained for a shorter time than typical slayers, but her doubts come from a combination of decisions she has to make a slayer and is typically mirrored by situations she's facing as a young adult in her day-to-day life. So Buffy's complications actually come more from her human side which made her SUPER interesting and relatable.
Now if only RWBY had the writing to actually back up it's potential.
The loss of Monty can be felt more and more the further they get, atleast it is still his story outline and even though the smaller things can really make you feel his absence, I have faith that they will pull off what Monty intended.
Dude, I was referring to all of RWBY. To be fair, I'm pretty sure this was the same writing situtation even when Monty was still alive. Monty...is a crap writer. There's no going over that. He's admitted that himself and it's why he got Miles and Kerry involved in the first place to help him create and develop RWBY. Monty, Miles, and Kerry each have an equal role in the creation of RWBY. I mean literally, try listing any of Monty's previous original works that had an actual plot to it. Pretty much his most popular works like Dead Fantasy and Haloid can be summed up as "Hot Girls With Superpowers Fighting Each Other Fueled By Rule of Cool". RWBY is basically that with an actual Plot.
Sure he also wrote for Seasons 8-10 of Red vs Blue but who do you think wrote all the drama heavy, emotional parts of the story, Monty Oum or Burnie and Matt, the creators of RvB? From what I can guess, all of Monty's writing contributions for RvB were basically in how to set up cool action scenes.
And that's why so many people revere the Red Trailer. They never seem to realize that it has NO plot and is just a crazy, all flash and little substance fight, the type of thing that Monty has always been known for.
From what we've seen from interviews and Production Diaries, Monty never had a clear or definite direction on where he wanted RWBY to go writing wise. He was the guy who just came up with ideas, some good, some bad, some cool but impractical, and some that were just random. Miles and Kerry basically served as the guys who had to hammer out a story and plot and character personalities from Monty's crazy ideas, some of those ideas being inserted by Monty in the last minute with not so great effect. Relics and the Two Brother Gods were concepts that were created and approved by Monty since Volume 1. The Maidens, on the other hand, was an idea that came to Monty between Volumes 2 and 3, and Miles and Kerry felt obliged to insert them into the story out of respect for Monty because at the time, he had already passed away and they felt it would be disrespectful not to include it in.
To be fair, Monty was not the sole creator of RWBY; beyond the inital concepts (the naming and colour convention of Team RWBY, fighting style), RWBY was built and written by Monty, Kerry and Miles.
Monty made the trailers. He animated the fights. He randomly made up ideas like Neo, Maidens and the Dance Arc.
And he was loved for them, because RWBY was young and indy and you could add in whatever you like. And he loved to put more and more "awesome" inside it too, to the exclusion of everything else. The Breach, Food Fight, Neo, Penny's appearance in the docks.... You get the idea.
But this would not possibly have lasted if he was doing it alone. V1 was...mediocre by most standards, and only got away because it was the first season. V2 was better but had a not so great ending. The first half of V3 is pretty much filler, it started to be finally going somewhere in the second half, and it really hit its stride in the last quarter or third. Look at mediaocrity4's "An Honest Look At The Vytal Festival Tournament" to see what I mean by the first half of Volume 3 being filler, with the Vytal Festival honestly being one of the most barebones and half-baked Tournament Arcs ever.
Because you see, he didn't know when to stop. After a while, it becomes mundane. The enemies fall too easily (Breach), the abilities are too inconsistent (food fight) and the Plot is going nowhere. The Power Levels are all over the place and there's no real stakes or danger in the fights for the Main Characters and there wasn't any real *_struggle_* in their fights. It's fun for the first viewers, but only children will never slow down on the adrenaline. The Rule of Cool was oversaturated at the cost of consistent power scaling and stakes.
Monty's fights were pretty high in technical narrative but emotional narrative? Almost non-existent. In addition to Super Eyepatch Wolf's video on what makes a good fight scene, I'd recommend mediaocrity4's videos "An Honest Look At RWBY's Fight Scenes" and "An Honest Look At the Vytal Festival Tournament" to show you what I mean by most of RWBY's fights lacking emotional narrative.
Although in Volume 4, the Qrow vs Tyrian fight and the RNJR versus Nuckelavee fight were two fights that actually had some substantial emotional narrative in the form of actual danger, stakes, and emotional significance. Same thing for Blake vs Ilia in Volume 5 for emotional significnce.
However, with Oum's passing, Miles and Kerry had to steer the series to a more story-based one instead of the more hectic and roundabout, focused-on-fights-over-story direction that Monty initially led. And Volume 3 is proof enough that Miles and Kerry had what it takes to make a truly great Volume 3. Volume 4, while not as liked as the previous and from which suffered some pacing issues among others, was still pretty stellar when it came to character development and fleshing out is honestly my second-favorite Volume behind V3. We saw the art and the special effects and lighting drastically improve compared to Volume 4, including the facial animation, crowd animation, and running animation as well. The fights, while not spectacular, were still pretty good, especially the Qrow vs Tyrian fight. But most importantly, there was a lot more focus on story and character development. We got a really good dramatic and tragic backstory for Ren and we see him and Nora and a lot of people really get fleshed out. Some of the best moments like this were the Night Training Scene, the Ren's Flashback scene, Ruby's Monologue, and the JNR bonding scene at the end where they were thinking about Pyrrha. Volume 4 wasn't really about reaching Haven. It was about getting the characters _mentally ready_ to reach Haven.
All in all, Volume 4 was pretty satisfying.
Because unlike Volume 5, Volume 4 has main characters who DO something, don't wait 10 episodes for the plot to happen, actually fleshed out their world and cultures, provided some profound character development and emotional moments (rather than V5's token moments), the villains didn't need to get nerfed just so the good guys could win, and they gave meaningful exposition and only focused on it in one episode. And that episode "A Much Needed Talk" made sense because the main characters really DID need to have some questions answered and the exposition in particular was something new that _we were learning alongside the MCs_ . It wasn't characters expositioning about basic concepts that everyone should know about and makes no sense in explaining it out loud. So yeah, the exposition makes sense. And not only that but they did more than just give us a 10 minute exposition scene based around the campfire. No, they actually went the extra mile and provided a 2D animation sequence that expanded and *_showed us_* the Tale of Two Brothers. And that's the perfect combination of Show and Tell that you could achieve. It made the exposition interesting and engaging.
Volume 5 lacked all of the above paragraph. Volume 5 is where they dropped the ball and it's where they had no more external factors and excuses that could be used to cover up their flaws. It had its good emotional moments and a strong start but it seems that after Volume 5 Episode 4, things went downhill from there with the main characters having little agency and there being exposition dump after exposition dump.
People claim that it was after Monty passed that RWBY started to show its cracks and seams but the thing is that they were always there. People just found their tolerance for the series' flaws thinning after 5 years invested into it. Yes, Monty was talented, but to say the show started faltering after his passing is kind of a lie. The show got engaging by Volume 3 in my opinion. Then fell apart after Volume 4. I don't even know if Monty's talent of fight scenes may have truly helped at times. (Probably for the terrible battle royal in Volume 5), but I think it's ignorant to say the success of a show depended on one man.
So, I hope I've made my point clear.
Ajith Thomas Personally I was disappointed with volume 4 in terms of in-depth character exploration. Now I'll be the first to admit that I was asking alot especially as I'm still turning over in my head how to show what characters are dealing with internally. Plus if they had gone the route I was imagining, there's a high chance it would have extended the team RWBY seperation by another volume.
Theres still a drop in quality overall I attribute to the loss of Monty's characteristic, according to the podcast stories back then, of going over something and scrutinizing it to the point he has a list of potential improvements. I remember a story where Monty had taken over a beta 3D printer and had a list of things he called and talked to the 3D printer company. Im just saying that the lack of his oversight is felt in several ways, not that everything would be perfect.
I don't really know what 3D printing has to do with anything involving 3D animation production other than the both of them having "3D" in the name. So I don't know how that translates to something about RWBY. But honestly, V1 and V2 were kind of shit in quality, with the only thing "redeeming" it was the fight scenes and the soundtrack along with its potential and world. But that was all.
He also had a habit of inserting stuff in the last second that more often than not ended up causing plot holes or inconsistencies.
There's an incredible book series called "Traveler's Gate" In which the chosen one is the main character's friend. The main character then goes on a quest and becomes as strong as him through intense labor and suffering, and the narrative follows them throughout a war that's going on and shows what kind of people they become, with one having life handed to him and the other having life thrown in his face.
It's by Will Wight and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND EVERY BOOK SERIES BY HIM. Especially one called Cradle. Cradle is incredible.
Divinity Original Sin 2 has a small part that gives a nice addition to this idea. In the starting area there is an arena that speaks of "The One". This chosen one is not intrinsic, but deterministic. You can become "The One" by winning in the arena. You are not chosen because you are you, you are chosen because you are good at fighting. If you win the arena fight, many treat you as if you are chosen despite the fact that you would have lost if you hadn't grinded enough. You earn the title. The other story arc revolves around all your character being conflicted around whether you want to fulfill your destiny of being god woken or fulfilling person aspirations like trying to recover their lost empire or discovering where the rest of your species are.
I FREAKING LOVE RWBY. How have I been watching your videos for so long and only now heard you reference it??
A good example for the chosen one is the Lego Movie, where anyone can be/ is the chosen one. Being "the Special" only makes you feel like the chosen one, but is not real thing.
One of the things I love about asoiaf is that there are prophecies, there is magic, but who the chosen ones are and what they are actually supposed to accomplish is not clear. Like Danny fits all the descriptions for Azor Ahai, but her storyline has not touched on anything to do with that destiny. The person who is actually trying to deal with the threat of the Others is Jon, yet he doesn't seem to fulfill the criteria set up by the prophecy, or at least far less obviously, but even if he does turn out to be Azor Ahai, he already is working on that mission from his own personal motivations, not some prophecy. Also regardless of any chosen one arcs, asoiaf is wrapped up in conflicts that are much more mundane, with all the POV characters having their own arcs and plots. Not everything is interrelated and but at the same time actions and events have consequences and cause ripples.
I can't believe you talked about the chosen ones and didn't mention the 4 kings and queens of Narnia!! It's the best chosen one story and super epic.
A fantasy story I am working on right now has the main character be revealed to be a "chosen one", but one of the main sources of drama comes from the fact that the MC is resistant to accept her destiny (she wants to remain a normal person), and the fact that her "chosen one" status means she can create fire...which, she is afraid of, so that's a big deal when she finally overcomes that fear. The status of her "chosenness" forces her to face her own fears and insecurities, so...it kinda helps her develop as a person. Of course, I've always been a fan of the "unwilling hero" trope, which definitely is why I also prefer Aragorn in the LotR films than in the books. It just makes the hero more relatable, IMO.
Did you just recommend RWBY as a good example? Jeez
Ayyyeee love that Dresden files reference. Love those books. Great video dude! 😁
Mark Lawrence's The Red Queen's War had a great subversion on the chosen one trope. There is supposed to be a chosen one, who will save the world, but she was killed in the womb, so they have to make do without.
If you want a great example of the “Chosen One” story you should check out the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. Each book subverts the chosen one theme while still making sense. Even in the description of the first book it says the chosen one failed and that is the reason for the conflict in the first book. Fantastic trilogy.
uncle rick has been mentioned!!!!
About the idea of destinies neither good or bad, the book Carve the Mark has a group of people called "fated" who receive some vague sentence about their future, but they usually don't hint at good or bad with some exceptions. (ex: you will cross the divide)
@12:28 That is possibly the best appraisal of Rey as a character I have seen, and it is in a second long block of text as an aside in a different video.
I'm planning on writing about a chosen one!
His brother discovered this world changing thing and will have to travel across the continent and dimensions to get to it. His brother *chose* him to join him on the adventure.
All Hail Mishka👑👑👑👑👑
KAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
So it's like being told your Future from an Oracle. You consciously deciding to fight against it. Ends up making the Fortune come true. cool
Wheel of Time.
Multiple "Chosen" but one who is the actual world saving chosen.
Other characters have massive character arcs and important roles to play, including those who are not chosen in any way.
The chosen one must work for his abilities--he has potential, but he has to work for it.
He also undergoes significant interpersonal struggles.
Series drags at the middle at times, but still a great set of books.
I'm a writer, and I've had an idea for a fantasy series since I was a child, but I've struggled with how to make my chosen one subplot stand out. I had a few twists in mind, but I wasn't sure how I could make them work.
After watching this video (and taking good notes), I spent most of the night typing up a detailed summary of my chosen one subplot and what (I hope) will make it stand out. I made a lot of progress, even though I haven't actually started the series proper.
Thank you so much! You've helped me feel more confident about a story I want to tell one day. Thank you
Katniss is my favorite subversion of the chosen one. She becomes important specifically because she wasn't chosen, she volunteered.
One variation I don’t recall seeing used (or at least I haven’t heard of any stories that use it, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was at least one out there) is making it ambiguous whether the Chosen One is even a thing, if destiny is even actually involved at all or it’s just pure coincidence that a character is fitting the vague details of an old prophecy (which, in turn, may have gone through more steps of translation than the King James Bible fed through Google Translate a couple of times). Or where the villain has several aspects of the Chosen One, such as special powers and a strong connection to destiny, but where there’s no actual prophecy or the like that they’ve been chosen for.
I’d go into more detail on the ideas, since I’m using both in a story I’ve been working on, but a lot of it’s still in the formative stages, so still pretty malleable at point, and also because the full extent of this wouldn’t be cropping up until the later half of the story (and I’m planning for this to be at least a trilogy, with these details not really being fully revealed until the third book) so it would also be pretty massive spoilers. And every vague, non-spoilery description I can think of doesn’t work because the whole thing hinges on a pretty massive spoiler. All I can really think of that isn’t a spoiler is leaving it ambiguous whether the protagonist even was a Chosen One or not, leaving it an unknown even after the series has concluded.
Your videos are incredibly well thought out. I love every one of them, especially all the ATLA theories! I don't know if you're a Heroes fan, but I would love to hear some Heroes stuff in any of your vids! Just throwing that out there. Keep up the awesome work!