Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
:: Today's soundtrack: New Order "Here to Stay" ::
As you all should know by now, I like to read me some Harry Potter novels. The series has really captured my imagination as only comic books have before. It's got me all excited over the final installment. So much so that I'm ashamed to admit I read crackpot fan theories here and there to get another person's perspective on it all. Well, one theory is that the transfigured chess match in the first book embodies how the final battle will go down, and the author illustrated this by pointing out that the first piece they lost was a knight to the opposing queen, and this could be the foreshadowing of the death in the fifth book to Bellatrix Lestrange, the villain's "queen." They elaborated to say that if this is the case, then in the end, Ron will sacrifice himself so that Harry can take the king. There were many excellent points made to back up this possibility, but it didn't matter because by that time, the voice in my head was screaming "NOOOOOOO! NOT RON!!"
I was pretty surprised at my reaction, too. Why did Ron matter so much? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I didn't mind at all if Harry himself had to die to take down the villain. It was sort of his function, wasn't it? As the "hero" of the novels, it's basically his "job" to fight the big bad guy. Ron, on the other hand, is not the champion. There are no prophecies about him, no constant death threats or weird magical scars binding him to a nemesis. No, Ron is there because he his Harry's friend, he's loyal, and it's the right thing to do. To me, all of this adds up to more of hero than Harry could ever be, and that, my friends, is why even reading about the implication that Ron will throw himself in the line of fire without any hesitation simply because he knows in the end his own life matters nothing compared to bringing down the villain, twists me up.
Yes, Harry and Voldemort must fight each other to the death. We know this because of the prophecy and the magic spell that binds them, but Ron is the bigger hero for knowing that there are indeed things bigger than himself. And you know, I've always admired that quality and those are the characters I really root for in stories. Just look at my other "love", Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Xander has always been my favourite. Yeah, Buffy is the "hero", and she's got all the ass-kicking powers, and Xander's just, well, a guy. He's just a regular guy and he's out there fighting the vampires and killing the demons knowing full well that he isn't obligated, that there is, in fact, a vampire slayer who's job it specifically is to do this, but it doesn't matter because Buffy is his friend and it's the right thing to do. There were times when he felt unappreciated and useless without a gimmick, but when it came right down to the Hellmouth actually opening, he didn't run and hide and say it was someone else's job, no, he was right on the front lines, ready and willing to do his part.
Another example can be found in Lord of the Rings with the character of Samwise. Frodo was selected to carry the ring to the fires of Mount Doom and ensure its destruction. He even tried to run off on his own from the Fellowship because he felt the mission was too dangerous. Ah, but Sam, good ol' Sam, would not be put off. He knew Frodo would need someone to help him along with such a difficult task to perform, and in the end it was Sam's unwavering loyalty that got them both to the fiery ledge. Some people would not have been so brave as to venture within a mile of Mordor, but Frodo had a mission, and Samwise would be damned if he wouldn't be there by his side to the end.
My point? I do have one, I suppose. I guess I'm just trying
to articulate that to me, the full-on, front and center "heroes" aren't always
the real heroes. Sometimes, the hero needs a hero of their own to get the job
done, and this is the character that's MY hero. I don't care who the book or
television series is named after, I know who you are, and I just wanted to say,
good show.
William (yes, we have second bananas)
