Examples of the Negative Character Arc
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- čas přidán 28. 05. 2024
- What does a compelling negative character arc look like? That's the question we're answering in today's case study. Whether you're writing an antagonist who starts the story conflicted and slowly becomes corrupted OR you're writing a side character whose fears and insecurities lead them down a path of destruction... this video will help you write a negative character arc that spellbinds your audience.
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✨T I M E S T A M P S ✨
0:00 What is a Negative Character Arc?
2:15 Case Study: Loki from “Thor”
9:39 Case Study: Elizabeth from “Poldark”
16:28 Conclusion
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My name is Abbie Emmons I teach writers how to make their stories matter by harnessing the power and psychology of storytelling, transforming their ideas into a masterpiece, and creating a lifestyle that makes their author dreams come true.
Story isn’t about “what happens” - it’s about how what happens affects and transforms the characters. I believe that there is an exact science (a recipe, if you will) behind a perfect story. And if you know what ingredients you need, you can create your own perfect story with ease and confidence. That’s what we talk about every week on this channel - and if it’s something you’re into, be sure to subscribe and join this community!
✨C R E D I T S ✨
All movie clips and soundtracks used for educational purposes under the Fair Use law. Thor (2011) copyright Marvel Studios, Poldark (2015) copyright BBC One and BBC Masterpiece Classic.
When you realize the movie THOR is really all about LOKI
Just like Infinity War is about Thanos.
Loki is the only good thing about Thor movies. That's why Thor 4 svcked, because there was no Loki
@@baeseul8185No lies detected 🧐
Thor is the main character, Loki is the antagonist.
The character arcs of both Thor and Loki are amazing and so fun to watch take place.
One becomes stronger because of his struggle, and the other succumbs.
Loki starts morally better than Thor.
Then they switch places by the end of the film. @@Iso20227
Loki is my favourite villain in the MCU. I love his character development through Thor and beyond.
My favourite negative character arc is Azula from Avatar: the Last Air Bender, especially with how it is contrasted with Zuko's.
I love Azula too!!
Loki is literally my favorite character but absolutely love that he does the right thing eventually
Feel.sorry for him
You mean he’s low key your favorite character
great video, I just wanted to say - I don't think those are the reasons for Loki's behavior though. Odin kind of sucks, a pretty terrible father. He indulges in favoritism. He is pretty mean to Loki. He never makes him feel valued or loved. So what did Odin expect? The real reason Loki, unfortunately, sees the world this villain way is the lack of his father's love. That's all he ever wanted. He never wanted to rule the worlds, it was only a "symptom" of his true motivation. He thought if he ruled the world, he would get finally noticed and loved by his father, and could finally deserve his love. But love from a father shouldn't have to be deserved. Odin is the real villain in my opinion. Even at the end, Loki screams "it was all for you", and his awful dad either still doesn't get it, or refuses to show him his love. See, I think a normal father would've cried, in response to Loki, and said something like "Son, I am so sorry I have done this to you. I love you, I always did, I am so sorry." But Odin's response was awful. It made me go "ew" when I was watching Thor for the first time (and even more so on the second watch). So I think Loki is one of the greatest villains, specifically because his character expands far beyond the regular character arch - his arch is directly affected by Odin's character arch. Odin's character is terrible in my opinion - because he never grows, he doesn't change through the movie. He doesn't come to realizations he should have. What keeps Loki interesting - is that we can see and we are shown that he is actually a very loving character, very passionate and sensitive. He cares a lot. He just wants love and connection. And the only mother gave it to him. The whole film the hope is alive, that Odin will come to his senses and treats his son differently, then none of the awful things that happened later would have happened. Thor is really an adopted and unloved child's story. Very sad.
Yeah, Loki says to Odin "I could have done it, Father. For you. For all of us." He is still holding on at this point. Then Odin just says "No." or "No, Loki." One of those. And then Loki lets go. It isn't until that moment. I know we would not have gotten pretty much any of the MCU after that, but putting that aside I always say "You couldn't have waited five minutes to have this conversation, Odin?" Honestly, did you have to just say "No." right then? Let's pull them up first, maybe?
Also, I think that it seems not to be discussed much the impact it had on Loki finding out he was a Frost Giant when his entire life he was taught to hate and fear them. Then to find out he is one of them? These creatures he was taught to hate and fear? Literally taught they were monsters? "Why? Because I-I-I-I'm the monster parents tell their children about at night?" I think it's unrealistic to think that would not take a toll.
It made me really happy to see Loki in the thumbnail. He’s one of my favorite characters in MCU.
You did such a good job breaking down his arc! See now why I love his character SO MUCH!!!
Mine too!!
Me: *sees Loki* Ooh!
I'm writing an anti hero as my main male character
that's the only kind of "hero" our modernity-blighted souls can bear to write as MC these days.
When I was watching the first video I thought of Anakin Skywalker. The short version is that Anakin falls for Palpatine's lies, misreads what the Force is telling him (in my opinion it was actually warning him that the path he was taking would lead to Padme's fall, which it ultimately did along with himself), and causes a happy child to become history's greatest monster until his redemption years later.
Question: Could there be a negative character arc that doesn't have a tragic ending, but a darker disaster that pushes them to a positive character arc? Or in other words, can or should the character redeem themselves from a negative arc?
I also would like to know that. In the series I’m working on my protagonist realises the truth too late. So only at the end of the book after all the events and tragedies occur does my protagonist realise what her misbelief was. It leaves a scar on her forever but she does learn the truth
There is one character that immediately came to my mind by your question: Kratos from God of War. He went from a cruel bloodthirsty godkilling machine to a self disciplined father and teacher. I recommend watching his entire arc.
Im literally writing a book right now where one of the side characters has a negative character arc but doesn't end up with the tragic end.
@@autisticdancer My understanding is that if they don't reach a "tragic end," whether dead or alive, then it's not a negative arc.
@@kathyl6677 Ohhhhhhhh okay
Excellent examples, Abbie (as always)! Morgana in the British tv series, “Merlin” is also another good one :)
@Amy Ray yess! Morgana is such a good example!
I adore Merlin! 💕
Merlin was my childhood 😌 one of the best series and no one can prove me wrong
I really like Merlin, but I always thought that Morgana's character arc was very forced. She goes from loving her friends (Gwen and Arthur) to completely willing to kill them without caring whatsoever very quickly... I don't want it to sound like I don't like this masterpiece though! 😄 It is defiantly up there as one of my favourite shows!
Loki is such a great example of a well written negative character arc. He’s just so well written through out the whole mcu. And just think, everyone knows Loki is dead, like for real now, ( infinity war) and yet the story continues! Great job breaking it down!
One of my favorite negative character arcs is Mr Freeze, in the animated Batman series (Mr Freeze was voiced by Michael Ansara). He does not come across as "evil"---more someone who creates disaster by obsessively chasing his "lie". His downfalls are always tragic.
My negative story arc is someone who turns from a second protagonist to an antagonist through her adventures. She starts out good, and a protagonist, where she finally has the opportunity to chase her dream but ends up being stopped by the fears she thought she lost in the first book.
Mind you an antagonist is simply just someone/something who’s an opponent of the protagonist. They don’t necessarily have to be a bad person. And a protagonist doesn’t have to be a good person either. Kind of like Light Yagami and L from Death Note in a way. Your protagonist is still a protagonist. :)
Loki in the thumbnail!! Tom Hiddleston played him so well and gave life to a more complex character than a 1-D villain. When you brought this topic up last time, Loki was immediately who came to mind. Elizabeth's arc was super fascinating to learn about! The complexity of all these characters and misbeliefs is amazing. So, so smart. This definitely gets the gears turning!
I see Loki, I click fast!! Love Loki!! Can't wait to watch this!
I actually love both these characters. You've done a fabulous job outlining how they ultimately fall, though Loki does come back for a redemption arc in his TV series.
I would not have gone to any of the Thor sequels had it not been for Loki (and Jeff Goldblum)
.
.
.
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Came for Thor. Stayed for Loki. #TomHiddleston #stunning
Was about to go write, but then Abbie uploads and I click
Productive procrastination
After i watch this i acturly could see this also kind of describes what happent with ramses from "the prince of egypt" how he kind of spyrowls down to how he is at the end of the movie. What i love about that in the cornection to this video is the brother conflict on opposite sides of there spectrum. And ramses kind of go down this negativ character arc, but hey i like different inputs on this, because maybe it dosent fit 100% but i see some of the points you describe in this video happen in that movie.
Please Abbie, I have to beg you to give us more example studies, it really helps to give a better view on what great character writing is, I’d love to see more incredibly good written characters like Loki and Elisabeth! It is so awesome
Marvel's Loki is damn near as endless a nesting doll of revelatory and deeply personal Archetypal Patterns as his mythological prototype in ancient Germanic spirituality.
They're wildly different characters highlighting wholly different angles of a Self, but both are bottomless in difficult Truths of Us...
I have never seen Poldark neither heard of it, but the way you explained Elizebeth's tragic ending made me tear up. I'll definatly add that to my list of movies to watch.
Thanks so much for this video, it helped me so much! I was debating weather or not to use a negative character arc for my story and this helped me come to a decision.
just a note on Poldark! idk what stuff you're into, but I had to stop watching Poldark because of excessive sexual content, and some nasty cases of pedophelia. just letting you know because I wish someone had told me before i watched it :)
Your case studies are so interesting! I'd love it if you made that a regular thing on the channel, like another set of both negative and positive character arc examples every so often.
I love Loki! He’s such a great villian! And another character that shares the spotlight in my fav negative character arcs is Lex Luthor from Smallville. We have all seen movies with Lex and we have just views him as psychotic, which he is. But the actor that play him in small vile does a great job onto how he became the crazy villain we know today, and we see his fears and struggles, and the small steps he takes into the darkness...he one of my faves ( alongside Loki)
OH MY GOD!!! I saw Loki and I clicked even faster than usual 😍😅
Same here lol
Ahhh Lokii! My favourite character in the MCU!
also such a good video! Editing is 🔥😅
woah this video makes me want to watch Poldark it looks so well written
Joaquin Phoenix' Joker might be my favorite negative story arc. It was just so powerful and sympathetic.
Speaking of DC characters, Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent is mine.
Wow, The way you told the story of Elizabeth, I forgot I was watching a video and got so hooked on the story lol.
Great analysis. I will say that I do think Ross is at least part to blame for Elizabeth's tragic end, though. I mean... she's right. If he'd never come to her, she would have never gotten pregnant, and would never have felt like she had to hide anything from George. The show was good, and I watched it through to the end, though I confess I liked Ross a lot less after that incident with Elizabeth, mostly because he never truly apologized to Demelza or seemed to acknowledge his grave error.
Time to write some fan-fiction!
abbie!!! your smile is so contagious, and i look forward to all of your videos!! ahh i love you hahah
Such a great video! I love when you case study stories, it is one of the best ways to learn ❤
But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is Wednesday, and Abbie is the sun! 😄🤘
This is kind of a random observation but this journey of learning the craft of writing has changed the way I watch movies now. I’m looking for the plot structure and the beats or plot points now. Some are easier to see than others but I’m getting there.
Now that I know some of the “formulas” that produce the movies (original screenplays) I’m shocked at just how LITERALLY the movies align with the concepts of the plot points!
The Matrix is the clearest example I can think of at the moment.
I won’t list out and spoil anything but one of the later beats occurs in a literal way in both The Matrix and Thor.
I’ll never look at either movie the same way again. That’s not a bad thing and I actually feel a little less intimidated to write my own stories now without worrying about whether I’m sticking “too close” to a plot structure. Apparently, it’s okay to follow closely and I don’t have to worry about doing something different. I enjoyed The Matrix immensely and I liked Thor just fine. I really enjoyed Thor Ragnorak where we start to see the shift in Loki.
And I enjoyed the first season of Loki as well. It’s a really interesting character.
You are Obviously Very Talented and Bright...
Love Your Energy and Approach, Please Keep It Coming, Love!!!
WOW! So much information! I'm going to have to watch a zillion more times. And take as many notes.
your videos are always so helpful, clear and engaging! Thank you for doing what you're doing! xx
Yes! I’ve been waiting for this for a week😆
I love this video!! I love the writing in Poldark and I'm so glad you used it as an example!
All of this is so freaking organized THANK GOD FOR ABBIE
LOVE all of this!!
Wtf I came here for a case study but now I'm crying?? I haven't even watched Poldark but I feel so sad about Elizabeth.
What if a character passively benefits from the 'active villains' actions, while doing nothing evil in themselves? do they count as a negative character arc or just a side tragedy of the main villains actions?
Amazing explanation as always, thanks Abbie, i'm learning a lot.
Loving your hair these last videos!! 😍😍😍
My favorite negative character arc is shown throughout the "Star Wars: Clone Wars" animated series - the downfall of Anakin Skywalker. Although I wasn't a big fan of the Star Wars movies Episodes 1, 2 & 3, Clone Wars the animated series takes place between Episodes 2 & 3, and is a much more compelling line up of stories and adventures I think are missing from the films. They show the amazing skills, power and heart of Anakin and his relationship with his padawan Ahsoka Tano, giving us greater insight to Anakin's internal conflict, along with his secret marriage to Padmé Amidala. Because the Jedi Counsel betrays Ahsoka, which causes her to be banished, Anakin loses faith in the Jedi order, and his decision to embrace the dark side in Episode 3 is all that more compelling. We understand why Anakin became Darth Vader, and I'm hard pressed to wonder if I would not have made the same choices he did, had I been in his shoes.
Thank you for ANOTHER amazing video on crafting stories! By the way, what programs do you use to create and edit your videos? They're so well composed!
Great video with a great breakdown. Thanks for the great work. 😎
currently working on my antagonist so this video came in the nic of time. Thank you!
This is always my favourite part of Wednesday!!!❤️Thank you Abbie !❤️
Absolutely brilliant!
Big sis thanks for your help and all your tips!!
Great stuff!
Wow, this is really good.
I find the negative character arc very interesting. I would want to do it with a character but I don't think I can leave my character with a sad ending.😅 Love your videos ❤
Anskin Skywalker is also a prime example of a character with a negative character arc (especially in the Clone Wars series)
Macbeth can be an example as well. Great videos, Abbie. Thank you for this channel.
re: loki:
what "courageous decision" is he avoiding? what is "the truth"? how is making rash and aggressive decisions easier?
Talented Mr Ripley is another good example.
i can't get over how GORGEOUS your EYEBROWS are!
oh yeah and your videos are pretty good too. :P
Gosh Loki. His story is amazing. He goes down so far but ultimately finds his glorious purpose and it's so satisfying!
You used Loki as an example!!!
Do you have an Audiobook because I could listen to it all day 😍
Would love thoughts on Harvey Dent’s negative character arc (specifically as portrayed in The Dark Knight). In light of this video and the comment she makes about it being impossible for someone to go right from positive to negative is clicking. The character has to be conflicted to go to negative.
It’s subtle at first but Gothams DA exhibits some very dubious behavior way before he has the “excuse” of being driven to the dark side by grief.
I’m still in the very beginning stages of learning the craft. If only I could see Christopher Nolan’s notes for how he crafted this story because there’s a lot going on in that movie.
As self assigned homework, I think I will watch TDK and try to identify these aspects of his arc. Besides Loki and Anakin Skywalker, Harvey Dent in TDK (the way he’s written in that movie) is the first character to jump in my head for this type of character.
I'd love to hear you break down the story arc of Gul Dukat from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine! Maybe even compare and contrast him with Garak, if you like.
what if someone embraces a truth, but it doesn't make them a better person, actually a worse person. But like not necessarily becoming the villain or anything? Just kinda finding freedom in rebelling a bit.
Hi Mam, I am a 16-year-old Writer and learnt a lot from your channel.
I see Loki, I click. Period.
Hey @abbieemmons I've been loving your videos and finally joined your CZcams club thingy (sorry can't remember the official title 🤦♀️), and I have a question for #askabbie . So today I published my first book *pop the champagne* and I'm wondering what to do now? I published through Ingramspark and since you published through them as well, I was hoping you could give some tips on how to market and just the inside knowledge of how all of the details work out. I'd also love to know how you set up your book signing because that be super awesome to be able to do as well 🙃 Thank you!!
I'd love to see an addendum to this now that the Loki series is out!
A really good and my favourite example of a character arc is azula from avatar the last airbender
I don't think I'm going to write a negative arc, but you know for later, who knows 🤷🤣
me: sees loki
also me: clicks on video in 0.0001 seconds
Man on Infinity Train Season 3 clearly Simon has followed all the points here. Even embracing the lie that the higher you're number on the train the more powerful you are, becoming a worst person after that.
Question: Can a character with a negative character arc start out as one number on the Enneagram Model and then move to another number as more of their character is revealed under stress?
One thing I've been trying to figure out is how to figure out your own writing process or a process that works for you. I don't know whether I like plotting or writing but discovering the story as I go. All I know is whenever I do one or the other i can never finish or my writing quality is terrible. If anyone has any tips or help I would gladly accept.
Hey ! Unfortunately the only thing you'll have to do is keep on writing until you find your own writing style. Took me more than 6 years until i found the right balance between pantsing and planning. If you're anything like me you'll eventually switch from one technique to the other: 1 planning the world and the general story (know where you start and where you'll land without much details on the characters. More like: world building and identifying your characters), 2 outline the general structure of each chapter with the 3 arc structure (know where the destination and spot the highlights that will lead your character there) 3 then you'll switch to pantsing when actually in the writting process, using your previous work but allowing your characters to develop and eventually take the lead. That will serve as your first draft!
Thank you so much I'll try that out.
My favorite negative character arc is Londo Mollari from Babylon 5. His ambition and desire to restore his home world to its former glory almost destroys it, and in the end is emperor, but powerless.
*Me:* *just finished watching another of your videos
*Me:* "hmm what video should I watch next?"
*Me:* *sees the thumbnail of this video
*Me:* "WhAaAaAt Oh My GoD iT iS LoKi I NEED TO WATCH THIS VIDEO RIGHT NOW AHHH OH MY GOD"
Can you go over passive vs active voice in writing?
Could you make a video about how to write a morally grey character? Using the story case playlist, could you add in Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter?
I love poldark. Is a masterpiece
I’m bought your book and am about 1/3 done. Did you base this off of Me Before You or is it coincidental that it is so similar?
hey can you do "how to use motifs in writing"?
Wow! Great content, well presented and GREAT production values, esp. the editing of the examples.
Your "arc" is still not at its peak. May it never reach one!
Gon has got a subtle and one of the best negative character arc
Help, I signed up to the patreon and cannot figure out how to find the Negative Character Arc template.
You know... it's interesting but I feel like Zuko's arc, from Avatar: The Last Airbender completely subverted this formula. I mean, he made a lot of good choices, but he made a lot of fear-based choices, and at the end, he makes the fear-based choice that ultimately gets him what he thinks will make him happy. But it doesn't. And that's completely explored in season 3.
Just some food for thought. :3
Now that I think about it, would loki’s character arc be better if he tried to reunite with his family and feel like he belongs there while feeling conflicted because of his love of thor. It might lead to less murder because he does not want to hurt either side. Either way, I will always love MCU’s version of this character.
They don't give a battery replacement and trying to convince people that we are just protecting the environment. The more problem in environment is the increasing number of dump mobile phones because the phone has poor battery life and the batteries are not easy to replace. If they already decided not to give a charger but at least should give an extra battery instead of chargerﾅ
Thank you,
From: Rohan Rahman
I can't be focus, Abi.
Loki is so handsome
I'm going to have to watch poldark before I watch the rest of this video
Good example characters of this: Eren Yeager the GOAT, and Lelouch V Britannia
Funny. I never saw Loki as a villain. Even though the plot sets him up as such, I always saw him rather as some misguided lonely and unhappy loved one who I would forgive almost anything, even though it didn't make me happy.
Can you break down Paul Atreidis’s character arc in the dune films, not the books
One inconsistency that I see with the author’s timing of Elizabeth’s death: why does she want to deliver EARLY by taking Bella-Donna? If she was with Ross before her marriage to Warleggin, wouldn’t she want to deliver as LATE as possible to prove to Warleggin that the baby is his and not Ross’s? Reply if you have any insight to this.
Suppose Elizabeth was with Ross in January, and didn't marry Warleggin until February, one month later. Pregnancy usually lasts 9 months. If Elizabeth gives birth in October, this would be 9 months after Ross slept with her. For the child to belong to Warleggin, the baby would be born premature, at 8 months. I haven't seen the show, but I'm guessing that Elizabeth wants the next child to be premature to show that there is a pattern. If a woman had a child less than 9 months after she married, people would question whether the baby was premature or if perhaps the woman hadn't waited until marriage.
One of my favorite character arc examples is Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter. Another example is Lila Rossi from Miraculous Ladybug.
Is a redemption arc quite similar to a negative/positive character arc? Does the redemptive moment/character's turn around come at the "game-changer" moment?
Hey Abie, I was wondering if William Turner from the pirates of the Caribbean franchise has a negative character arc or not.
Can you show to use this negative arc alongside with the actual story? I'm getting a little confused here, heh
I wish I could subscribe again and again
Can a negative character arc be one where the character was happy with their decisions and ends up happy, but leaving the main characters unhappy with that person's decisions?
It can, yes.