The Shannara Chronicles: Twisting Stories

*This post is about twists, so unmarked spoilers all over the place.*

Remember all the furor over the end of Game of Thrones, over The Last Jedi, over a hundred hundred sequel flops? Why do these controversies happen? is it just because white men can't handle a story that breaks the mold? While that is a component of the rage, it isn't the trigger. The story of Rey's parentage was badly mishandled in the Star Wars franchise.  The movies set up one thing, and then delivered another. 

But wait, you say, is that bad? Lord of the Rings sets us up to believe Gandalf is dead, and then he suddenly reappears not only alive but more powerful than before! At the end of the Fellowship of the Ring, it seems like Sauron has already won: having killed both Gandalf and Boromir (in the original British version, which the movies follow as well). The reader is questioning whether they want to read the second book, but of course you have to know how it ends.  You have to keep reading to know whether, and how, the unlikely heroes will beat the horrific odds. I've seen several commentators make a list of the "rules for good twists".  Now, I'm not going to say that making these rules is a bad thing: but when it comes to writing, rules exist to be broken. A twist that breaks all or most of the rules is not necessarily bad. There is however one important rule for a twist: it has to be earned. 

The reason why the ending of Game of Thrones was so hated is simply that they ran out of time. They'd committed to eight seasons of a certain number of episodes: and then wrote a script that took longer than that. Here's the thing: it could have worked. See, it's not as if Danaerys' madness wasn't foreshadowed to some degree: it was. When she crucified the Masters in Meereen, she took her crusade for the liberation of slaves too far. It had seemingly not occurred to her that justice and revenge are not the same thing. As the old saying goes: an eye for an eye, makes the whole world blind. So, the "Dany goes mad and kills everyone" twist was earned. 

The part that wasn't earned, was the part before that. The part where Dany, for some inexplicable reason, can't wait for Jon to show up and ride Rhaegal. It's sloppy, it looks like they finished the Battle for Winterfell (episode title: The Long Night) and then realized "wait a minute, we didn't kill Rhaegal!" You know bro, he's CGI.  You could just change the episode so that he doesn't take off, without reshooting any footage (and then cut that nonsensical line about how Jon isn't going to ride him). You could have him and Jorah Mormont both expire at the same time, so that Dany can't run to save her precious child because she is in mortal danger.  You know if you really wanted to twist the knife, which you should since this is GoT and everything. The Battle would honestly have felt better if Rhaegal had died. It didn't quite feel devastating enough because virtually all of the major characters were alive at the end. Rhaegal's death wasn't earned, and so everything that proceeded from that event didn't feel earned either. 

So finally, that brings me to the quirky Kiwi-made Shannara Chronicles. Now, they're based off a book series which I haven't read: so keep in mind that I'm solely analyzing the tv show here. The show is mediocre, but not on account of it's writing. It has some questionable cinematography choices, and the acting is a bit inconsistent. The plot is essentially a series of twists, most of them devastating.  One of the best, is when Cephalo saves the group from cannibalistic trolls at the cost of his life. Cephalo, up until this point, has been a self-centered swaggering rogue. 

Or at least, that is what all the characters think. But, this isn't the whole truth. Cephalo isn't truly selfish in the conventional sense, he's concerned for the welfare of the group over that of any individual member. He's a leader in a cutthroat world of thieves and killers. Would he sell Eretria into slavery? absolutely. Not however, for his own benefit. He would do it only for the benefit of the group.  He hasn't yet, because he sees that having her in the group benefits them more than selling her would: she is, after all, an excellent thief. He doesn't care very much about abstracts like "all of humanity". But, if he's a member of a group then he will do whatever it takes to see them through. When the heroes start to treat him as a proper member of their group, despite all the times he has betrayed them, he responds by dying for them. The twist, serves his characterization.

A second rule for twists, is that they must support one of the story's themes.  Cephalo's sacrifice underlines the message of the show: which is that the way people act, is partially a mirror of how they've been treated. This is what the show's hero, Wil Ohmsford, knows that other characters do not. He realizes that the only way to expect others to be good, is to treat them as if they have the potential to be good. This is an extension of his deepest desire, although he doesn't realize it: to be a healer. It also makes him stand out from everyone else in the world. Other people treat each other with suspicion, with the expectation of being hurt. And so, all the races hate each other. And so, Rovers prey on the innocent travelers and nobody can stop them. And so, the vaunted cities of elves and humans crouch in fear behind their walls. What they all don't know, is that this fear and this attitude was the very thing that destroyed the great civilization of old. 

Now the idea of an ancient advanced and glorious Empire is a cornerstone of medieval fantasy: and medieval fantasy is very much what the Shannara Chronicles is. After all, in the real Middle Ages there was indeed an ancient advanced Empire: the Roman Empire. But in the Shannara Chronicles, that ancient advanced and glorious Empire is America. It's not completely clear how long ago the apocalypse happened, but it can't have been that long. Exposed metal hasn't yet rusted, so it was less than a thousand years. It was a man-made apocalypse too, that much is clear. The degrading remains of unused chemical weapons still litter some areas. Though the show was shot in New Zealand (same place where they made Lord of the Rings, you can even recognize a few locations), the landscape is clearly intended to be the Western United States. 

Thus, unavoidably, the theme of this show speaks directly to a modern audience. Cephalo sacrifices himself because he cares about the group, but also because he has been treated like he was capable of that by Wil. The second season (spoilers) reveals that Wil is not just any random kid. He is a member of the titular Shannara bloodline, which means that he has powerful magic within him. The most powerful magic in the world, in fact: the sole force capable of destroying demons (rather than just sending them to hell) or of resurrecting the dead. And indeed the force that protects and enables all life in this place. But this show avoids the usual problem with this sort of character construction: which is that the audience feels like "oh, so Wil was just that way because he was magic".  

Another character in the show, one who is not special at all, really takes Wil's philosophy to heart. A character Wil met only once: Ander Elessedil, King of the elves. Facing the existential threat of the demons Ander decides to reach out to the gnomes even though they are traditional enemies of the elves. Slanter, the gnomish leader, has been imprisoned in the castle since killing Ander's brother Aine a few years ago. Ander decides to use him as leverage to get the gnomes' help against the demons. As Ander takes Slanter back to the gnomish lands however, they run across some gnomes killed by demons. Slanter asks to be unchained so he can perform last rites. Ander decides to allow it. Slanter takes the chance to escape. But, a day later he shows up again with an army in tow. Having been treated with grace by a man he wronged, Slanter decided to help against the demons of his own volition: and indeed, becomes devoted to Ander. 

With this philosophy of treating others as though they have the ability to be good, along with a healthy dose of canny diplomacy, Ander successfully unites the gnomes, humans and elves. This despite the machinations of General Riga and the magic-hating Crimson cult, which ultimately cuts his reign tragically short. Yet even in such a short time, he truly undid the decades of emnity between the races and proved himself a greater King than his father. How? Ander convinced them all it was in their personal interest to work towards a safer and more tolerant future together. They do so, even in his absence. Indeed, Ander's death ensures that his dream will come true: because the elven throne passes to Mareth, who chooses Wil as her partner. 

Twists can be hard to do. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do them. It means you should edit after you write. You can easily fix a bad twist in the edit. You should also be more careful what you commit to when making television. Despite the fact that The Shannara Chronicles ends on a cliffhanger, it is a much better ending than Game of Thrones. The cliffhanger-twist ending feels earned: and so it is satisfying even though it creates curiosity. I actually want to read the books to find out what happens (and if the story is vastly different in the books, I might actually be disappointed).  That's a pretty good recommendation for what is obviously a low-budget show aimed at teenage girls.