Supernatural meta analysis and discussion.
Discussion question: Redemption Arcs
Can you say more about the difference be...
Can you say more about the difference between a "redemption arc" and an "excuses arc" for villains? - Redemption: Person changes for the better, such that if you met them and did not specifically know about the history, but knew them very well, you would think they were pretty good.Excuses: Person's behavior is justified retroactively, or because they do useful things now, without actual change in persona or behavior.So, like, there was a Solomon Kane movie a while back.
So this post popped up on my tumblr dash and I quite like this definition for the difference between redemption & excuses. It got me thinking about characters like Meg & Crowley on spn, and thinking about it again it's an idea that can be applied to a bunch of other characters. God & Amara, Metatron, Cas, and if you set aside things like "but are Sam and Dean really good" because that's an full argument in-and-of itself, but you could ask about their personal redemption arcs, when they've hit low and high points.
So mostly I'm curious what other people think: If you have a different definition for a redemption arc & which characters you think are redeemed by the story vs. which ones are acting the same as they always were, but Now For The Right Reasons (tm).



