by Kallo » November 5th, 2017, 1:30 pm
[quote]Well O.K. maybe excuse is the wrong word, but to go the route of having (these are the only names we have for them at the moment) Ahadi and/or Uru intentionally mistreat and neglect Scar. It makes one of both of them very stupid, if they adore Mufasa so much then than doing wrong by the son is supposed to have your favored son's back. Only places the favored son in danger.[/quote]
I don't think it makes them out to be stupid. It's just a very realistic mistake you could build a classic emotional story on. Just like Simba made paternal mistakes with Kiara, that would be their mistake. You don't necessarily have to have them absolutely HATE Scar, but some type of neglectance would be in order. I think the strongest way to do this would be to show Scar have a very strong connection with his mother, but have their father be so focused on making Mufasa the next great king, that he completely neglects Scar (maybe because he, in turn, is trying to follow the footsteps of his own father too closely. It would kinda bring the circle to a close, because Simba did the same mistake in TLK2, but he learned it was the wrong way to go. That'd be a very cool connection; having Simba be put in the same situation that started the whole mess, but being wise enough to end it). Maybe the neglectance would be to the point when Scar becomes the leader of the Lion Guard, he'll still see it only as a stamp of "second best". This would explain Scar's extreme jealousy towards Mufasa very well. Come to think of it, this could also make for a great story with Kion having to learn the lesson that being the second-born and the leader of the Lion Guard DOESN'T mean he's second best to Kiara.
[quote]The other hang up here is if this does not excuse Scar's actions, it kind of makes him an innocent victim. If Scar was pushed toward his evil path, I think takes a lot of his evil away. Scar is an awesome Villain (Disney's best in my opinion). Part of why he is so great is because he is so very evil. If said evil was not his choice it lessens his impact as a villain. While acting out of jealousy and a lust for power is not the most original backstory ever. It is a very believable reason for an evil individual to act on and Scar pulls it off like no other. There in lies his greatness as a villain.[/quote]
It doesn't make Scar innocent, because he still did something horrible. Scar chose to do what he did, and that's a decision you can only make yourself. Sure, it would explain WHY he did it, but I think that'd be important. And it wouldn't be the same as making him innocent. He could've chosen to deal with his trauma and anger in a different way, by becoming even closer with his brother, or by choosing to do his best as the leader of the Guard. No backstory can make you innocent after you kill your own brother and try to kill your own nephew. Jealousy and lust for power is all well and good. It's a very classic villain backstory, but we need to know WHERE that jealousy and lust for power came from. There needs to be a deeper hurt there for him to go THAT far. Otherwise it's simply "The plot demands me to be jealous just for the sake of jealousy, so I can be the bad guy of the movie". It's just a case of "I'm evil". The biggest mistake The Lion Guard has made is literally calling Scar an "evil lion" on multiple occasions, and been making him such an obviously clear villain/bad guy. Even the other BAD GUYS call him "evil", even though they're supposed to believe in their own cause. That ruins an otherwise good villain, and makes him very cartoonish. At least with the original movie, you could build your own headcanon about what happened with Scar. With The Lion Guard, it's just a case of "he's an evil lion". That, if anything, weakens him and is why we desperately need the show to give him a good backstory.
[quote]Although if they actually went this route. Scar needs to narrate his version of his cubhood, but the viewers need to be shown what actually happened. I'm not saying that Ahadi And Uru need to be portrayed as perfect, but if you try to show that they had faults. You must not vilify them, because if you do that you make Scar less of a villain in the process.[/quote]
Again, I don't think giving Scar a cause-and-effect backstory makes him any less a villain. It'd just make him greater as a written character. I can't see at what point doing what Scar did becomes okay or less evil, no matter what backstory you give him. And I don't think Scar needs to narrate it. I think it'd be best if Mufasa told the story to both Kion and Simba. He could, in the most unbiased view possible, explain the story so that everybody would be shown their good and bad sides. It would show Mufasa's compassion and understanding of the situation, by explaining that he still loved/loves Scar very dearly. But he could also explain their parents' good side. Mufasa was a very loved and wise leader of the Pride Lands. His wisdom would be a sign that despite the parents making some poor decisions, their efforts on Mufasa didn't go to waste either. Y'know, they did raise a great king which was a good thing, but it came at the price of their other son, which would be their flaw.