Redemption Arcs

A redemption arc is a storytelling device where a character who does bad things strives to be a better person. They add another element to the traditional hero’s journey because initially; they are far from heroic. In fact, they’re often one reason your protagonist is having such a hard time. Their primary role is to add conflict before they become an ally.

Here are a few examples from films and books you may recognize.

• Naruto: Gaara
• Star Wars: Darth Vader
• The Last Airbender: Zuko
• Game of Thrones: Jamie Lannister
• She-ra and the Princesses of Power: Catra

Redemption arcs will have highs and lows where your character will have moments of success contrasting with moments of failure. Putting it simply, your character will be a flawed and complicated person who finds it difficult to leave their baggage behind and start anew.

Make your character worthy of redemption

Since the character will have a twisted world view, you should set up an interesting backstory to explain this. Think of the things that shaped them such as their family or the society they live in. This will help readers to sympathize with them because being “bad” won’t be a choice. Be sure to give your character a strong moral code and a line they will not willingly cross. Not only will this make readers believe they are worth redeeming, but you can also use this to force your character into a moral conflict when you want them to choose another way of life.

Make sure you allow your character’s inner goodness to peep through, even when they are behaving negatively. This foreshadowing will show that they are worthy of redemption if only they’re given the right push. A character that has zero redeeming qualities or has committed unspeakable crimes will probably not deserve to become a better person without it feeling forced. This is probably why Darth Vader ends up dying rather than getting a second chance.

Create another villain worse than them.

Your character shouldn’t be the only villain in your story. You need to create someone who is far worse than them and who has fewer morals. Writers often have the redemption arc character under the control of the bigger villain. Not only is this an effective way of highlighting the character’s sparks of goodness, but it’s also a good way to introduce moments of inner conflict.

Once the character has left the dark side, you can have them team up with the protagonist to fight the greater evil which is another reason to have more than one villain. Give the true villain a different and more selfish goal than the one your redemption character has. In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Zuko teams up with Aang and his friends to fight the Firelord Ozai whose goal is to conquer the other nations and become the supreme ruler of the world. Compare this to Zuko’s goal, which is to capture the Airbender and thus gain his father’s love.

Give them a turning point

For your character to leave the dark side, they’ll need to have some kind of epiphany and finally realize what they are doing is wrong. You can do this by creating a plot point that forces them into a moral dilemma which makes them question their world view. They can continue doing what they know is wrong, or they can choose another much harder path in order to move into the light.

In the manga Naruto, Gaara’s epiphany happens when Naruto defeats him in a battle. Gaara fights people because he wants to prove he is better than anyone else. Once he understands Naruto’s much purer goal of protecting his friends, even if it leads to his death, Gaara moves away from his own destructive goal and embraces a new one. Luckily, he has the support of his new friend to help him achieve his redemption and complete his arc.

This turning point is the moment your character realizes they are going to have to sacrifice something such as their goals, their relationships, or even their status. The more they have to lose, the harder the decision becomes and the greater the impact for your readers.

Make them earn their redemption

Once they have become a better person, you can make things much harder for them. They must convince people that they really want to change, and this won’t be easy. It’s important not to rush this part of the process and make your character put a lot of effort into it. They’ll need to complete the following if they are to be fully redeemed and accepted by others.

• acknowledge that what they did was wrong.
• apologize to people they hurt
• make amends
• earn people’s trust

In She-ra and the Princesses of Power, Catra is able to complete all these steps, although it takes two seasons to do so. She realizes and acknowledges some of her mistakes, and apologizes to people she hurt, including Adora. She tries to make amends by freeing Glimmer and finally earns back Adora’s trust leading to a fresh start for both of them.

Decide how you want their arc to end

Once you plan your character’s redemption arc, consider how you want their story to end. Some authors use death as the end of their character’s arc because they have too many things to atone for. This happens to Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi. He has committed genocide, murdered children, and overseen countless other crimes. He tries to redeem himself for the sake of his son, but by then it’s too late. The only option for a character this bad is to sacrifice themselves so others can live.

Your character doesn’t have to die if the crimes they’ve committed aren’t on the same level as Darth Vader’s. As long as they reach their natural conclusion and all the foreshadowing doesn’t go to waste. Jaime Lannister’s redemption arc in Game of Thrones, seemed to lead to him saving everyone by killing his sister, the evil queen, Cersei. However, despite all the foreshadowing, Jaime’s arc petered out, and he died along with Cersei under the weight of a falling building.

Final thoughts

Redemption arcs are relatable to readers. We’ve all done things we realized were bad, and we’ve had to apologize to people we’ve hurt. We understand how hard it is to make amends and earn back trust, so to see a character go through the same things draws us into the story. As long as your character is worth redeeming despite their unacceptable behavior, readers will follow their journey to the end of your novel.

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