Rising Like The Phoenix: The Refreshing Twist of Consistency

Excuse the drama of the title, but in joining along the bandwagon of watching and reading some popular movies and books these days, I've realized something: there's no longer drama in a classic trope that's been used for so long it's not a surprise but an expectation.

To preface: I was one of those who watched Kpop Demon Hunters when it first came out on Netflix. I am a thorough watcher of DreamWorks and Pixar and Disney movies, so I watched Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken when it first came out, Zootopia and Zootopia 2 when they first came out, and though I was late to the party I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Fourth Wing series. As I discuss these movies with friends, watch analyses of them on Youtube (Cinemawins is great), and think about just why I like them, I realize a new trope has been born.

It's been all the rage for movies and books to include the narrative trope of a betrayal in a relationship. It's the classic twist where in a subversion of expectations, the person we all thought was a friend has revealed themselves to align with the enemy. In good works of media - where through tools of the movie-making or story-telling process the audience has come to forge a connection with the protagonist - this betrayal hits us right in the heart, via the mirror neurons temporarily putting us in the skin of our main character. We gasp, we cry, we scream why or how, and we join the main protagonist on their wretched journey through acception or denial of the situation and how it affects the main plot.

But when this classic twist is used in every story, it becomes an expectation for the audience. There's no longer a subversion of expectation, because the betrayal is expected. Someone is going to turn their back on the main character. Someone is going to hurt the party, the family, the audience. It's no longer a pain in our hearts. It's an old dog's old trick. Especially when the hints are no longer breadcrumbs for us to find, but rather like big slices of cake along the road.

An example I could call upon is the movie The Incredibles 2. It's not bad, all things considered. But it doesn't stand next to the first movie in some key ways, such as the villain. Or rather, how easily it was to detect the villain.

I remember first watching it in theaters with my high school friends, and within five minutes of meeting our great betrayer, my friends whispered to me, "It's going to be her." Who's her? Evelyn Deaver. Why? Evil Endeaver.

Gold star for us! Or maybe silver, or bronze. It was so (disappointingly) easy to conclude that I suppose it wasn't us who should have the bronze prize but the script-writers of the movie. The big bad wasn't just opaque; it was wearing a red flag.

One could argue that since we were in high school, we were too old to be tricked by such movies. But I raise you the first Incredibles movie: where so many breadcrumbs were laid out, snippets of key conversation were only acknowledged through either very good ears or subtitles, and plotlines spotted on millisecond frames that when it comes time to analyze the whole production Youtubers can make hours-long videos of just how well-made this movie was to make the villain so surprising and yet so believable. The adults could be as surprised as the kids. I don't know how my parents felt, but they enjoy seeing the movie again as much as I do. The last time I saw it was in college, and with subtitles on I saw parts of dialogue that I'd missed before that really emphasized part of the movie's theme and message.

It's also part of the theme and/or message of the movie where the twist can be critical. In Zootopia 1, the twist of Bellweather being a villain as a prey animal in a world where citizens were becoming increasingly afraid of predator animals was both a commentary on racism and who can profit from racism. In Zootopia 2, the twist of Lynxley was both a commentary on family expectations and relationships as well as the power and influence of the upper class. Thematic, powerful to furthering of the plot, and hinted well.

When I say hinted well, I mean the breadcrumbs were breadcrumbs - small, thin, easy to overlook at first watch. The Nighthowlers mentioned by the otter had been assumed to be the security pack of wolves that howled particularly easily, when it was actually a certain type of plant that only the farmfolk would be familiar with. Lynxley junior had mentioned to Judy that he was "trying" to fit in with his family, which in the end meant doing the criminal actions his family had done. These clever ways of hiding the twist partly made for a good movie that one can watch multiple times.

This repeatability cannot happen so well with movies that have this betrayal trope have it set up so obviously. This happened with the movie Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken. Other than if you saw the trailers, it was obvious that Chelsea the mermaid was going to betray Ruby in the end - so opaque that youtube comments and reviews for the movie mentioned that they would have been pleasantly surprised if the plot twist was the two characters becoming friends in the end despite the rivalry of their 'parents'. In addition, it would have made for a better theme or message of the movie, which went from 'racism is wrong' to 'racism is correct, and so are narcissistic parents'.

Instead, the theme and message came hand-in-hand with the plot twist - the subversion of expectations - that through overuse was no longer a twist but a common expectation in literature and movies. In this overuse, a new twist had risen from the ashes: the twist of reliability.

This twist is just the opposite of the betrayal trope; the relationship between two or more parties stays the same or gets stronger. I argue the successfulness of this twist is evident in the movie Kpop Demon Hunters and the book series Fourth Wing, both of which have become global successes in so quick a time that it left people baffled.

And why wouldn't it? In these trying times, a betrayal from authority is commonplace. We've seen celebrities that we've loved watching as kids reveal themselves to be monsters (pedophiles and abusers), and people with immoral views who've supported immoral actions climb to power with speed and efficiency. We expect people in authoritative positions to be the betrayor; it's just a matter of time and money.

Thus it was a refreshing surprise to see the protagonists from Kpop Demon Hunters to care about their fans to the point of mirroring their expressions and reaching out to them in public. It was even more refreshing to watch these celebrities talk out their problems with one another to the point of reaching out to their audience for help, and in the end become stronger for it. There was no betrayal in the group, where one Huntryx singer turned out not to care about the others and instead just wanted the fame or the money. Yes, there was a bump in the road at one point, but it was more about the shock of not trusting enough to open up about heredity rather than the shock of betrayal.

This shock of lack of trust between protagonists was also seen in the Fourth Wing series multiple times. It was also resolved rather refreshingly, when characters revealed themselves to be trustworthy rather quickly. Comrades stuck together, family expressed love, and initial allies stayed allies despite the angst and worries of the protagonist. It was heartwarming, refreshing, and oh-so-surprising that it still becomes points of discussion between a friend and I when the book name is brought up.

And it gets brought up a lot. You see, plot twists are supposed to arouse discussion and invite analysis; they are supposed to be layered. And that discussion and analysis is supposed to bring multiple viewings and a growing, appraising audience. That's what keeps the money flowing and the movie or book stay on the charts.

The obvious and disappointing 'twists' of Incredibles 2 and Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken cause the movies to be less enjoyable on further watchings. This means the movies slip off the charts quickly and end up impeding the chances of sequels or spinoffs or what-have-you. Merchandise consumption will quickly decrease, word-of-mouth dries up, and in the end the audience is left wondering why the movie was even made in the first place.

So in the end, I ask: please stop with this narrative trope. Please stop with the plot twists of relationship betrayals. We've seen enough of these in media and reality to the point where the twist is relationship consistency or growth. In addition, give us twists with breadcrumbs, not cake.

Give us quality, or give me death.