“The Chosen One”

This is a trope I’m sick of in fantasy. It’s not that “the chosen one” is bad, but I’ve seen it so much that it’s become cliche. (It’s like the spunky red-headed female lead.)

To me, making the protagonist “the chosen one” is just a reason to put them into the story. It’s a plot device. It’s a way to start a story. It’s like an excuse for them to be there. It’s become a cheap plot device.

Personally, I like a protagonist who makes their own choices which then put into motion the plot, not some “the fates have deemed” or something like that. “The chosen one” takes control/responsibility out of the characters’ hands. They become puppets to the plot. They don’t make their own decisions.

Characters should be active in the plot. Their choices/actions should determine the plot. They shouldn’t be forced into a mold to fit the plot’s demands.

I also put down Harry Potter when it came to “the prophecy” part. Because up until then, Harry had been doing his own thing. Then, it was like everything he’d done had been pre-written. The same thing happened in Throne of Glass. But, unlike other books, both Harry Potter and Throne of Glass waited until deeper in the series to throw that cannonball at readers.

Characters should not exist simply to exist. They should have a reason, a purpose, that they actively make. Even side characters should appear as real people with backstories, ambitions, hopes/dreams, and all that stuff, not robots. I like characters that shape their own destinies and save the world because they want to, not because they were some chosen individual – through determination and perseverance they did what they did.

Anyone could have done it – you don’t have to be special to change the world.

*I have also grown cold toward the “the stars have foretold” or the “the prophecy states” intro, because it takes away the main character’s choice of actively changing the world. I want my character to do things on their own, not because someone told them they had to.