The Hard Path of Redemption
Do you believe people can change for the better? I’m a glass-half-full kind of person, so I think they can. Therefore, I’m delighted to discover a good redemption arc in a story or series. By the same token, I’m kind of annoyed by bad ones.
It’s easy to find examples of people on a destructive path. Such as the addict who relapses despite good intentions, the workaholic who brags, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” or the CEO who demands respect from everyone but has respect for no one.
In space opera, this could be the politician who takes advantage of a disaster to profit while leaving thousands stranded on a dying planet, or a leader who believes that a megacity’s destruction is an acceptable loss if it stops a harmful idea that threatens the galactic peace.
Wanting to be a better person is common. Doing the slow, messy, and painful work of getting there is not. That’s why redemption arcs resonate.
Easy Path vs. Hard Path
I am less than thrilled when a character spends most of the story doing heinous things, then dies saving a child in the second-to-last chapter and is lauded for it. That’s not redemption; that’s a fluke.
And even if the sacrifice was truly a choice to be better, dying is the easy path. It lets the character avoid the hard path. Such as waking up every day for the next six days, months, or years, repairing the damage they’ve done and facing the people they hurt.
I don’t need every story to end with sunshine, unicorns, and a Hollywood-mandated happy ever after. But if a character does the agonizing, grinding work to become someone better, I want to see them earn the reward. Such as acceptance, self-respect, and the unexpected, quiet dignity of a second chance.
Slowly, He Turned
Spark Transform, book 6 in my Central Galactic Concordance series, includes a redemption arc for the character of Brenner.
He didn’t get the shortcut version. Readers first met him in Pico’s Crush as a violent, captive enforcer. However, he wasn’t an abused dog; he was a rage-filled man trapped in a corrupt system. In Jumper’s Hope, he took the first steps toward changing his life and defying his fate. And paid a brutal price for making the right choice.
In Spark Transform, where the sparks of change are coming to a galactic civilization that isn’t ready, he has to start entirely from scratch. He must figure out who he is and wants to be, now that his path is his own. And learn how to trust people again — especially himself.
Just Desserts
To me, the most satisfying redemption arcs aren’t a single dramatic choice. It’s the tedious, day-in, day-out discipline of choosing not to be the person you used to be. Brenner had to earn his peace one grueling step at a time. And after all that heavy lifting, I think he deserves the right to live and to hope for finding a purpose, a community, and love.
The Central Galactic Concordance Series
