What are your thoughts on false/decoy protagonists?

[risingshards]

This is something I've been thinking about for a project for a loooooong while that I've been dabbling with doing something with again.

"A False Protagonist (also known as a Decoy Protagonist) is a character who claims to be the real protagonist of the story. However, as soon as he/she is killed or his/her role becomes less important, then another character turns out to be the real protagonist."

The False Protagonist: Don't Be Afraid to Fool Your Readers

The thing I have is; while it's a writing trick I want to try especially with this old/new project, it's also one that I've never been happy about when I experience it myself. And it's one I've personally seen like absolutely turn people off a thing (I have a friend that stopped a big show literally the moment a false protagonist reveal happened). I've read about production things where they thought about doing a false protagonist but decided against it, like Lost was originally going to have Michael Keaton as the protagonist but then immediately kill him off, but they were talked out of doing it because of how much they though it'd make people mad.

So it's a trick I want to try, but it's one I'm not sure of how to do in a satisfying way. Do y'all have any thoughts on this?

[MoseyP]

I think it can be used effectively if it is done correctly. Killing off the decoy protagonist for no good reason may come across as confusing to readers. In my opinion, one of the best reasons to use a decoy protagonist is in order to subvert expectations. This works well if your story is aiming for satire, a metanarrative or just to shake things up in already existing series/universe.

There's an amazing video game franchise where, in one of the later games, the protagonist is killed off within the first few hours of the game and another character who seemed like they were going to be the sidekick steps up as the protagonist. Up until that point the protagonists in this franchise have always lived until the end. Definitely shook me when it happened.

[risingshards]

If that's the game I'm thinking of (it's the third entry of a series that started on PSP that involves a school?) that's what's got me thinking of this premise/concept again because I started playing it recently and YEAH.

[HGohwell]

I think people are lot more forgiving when it's a reduced role than a death, because then the character they've become attached to is still around. Muv Luv Alternative Total Eclipse did this pretty well, especially the anime version that expanded Yui's prologue into a two part episode, so gave us a lot of time with her as the protagonist, that also gives us a clear view into her actions later once her role is reduced.

I think deaths are a bit trickier. It varies from show to show by something like Symphogear, I know people were sold it as the adventures of Zwei Wing (not entirely helped by the manga releasing a bit before and being way more focused on them) so it's quite a shock when one half of them dies. But it's vital because that death sets up the actual protagonist who is there during the event. I think it also helps that we didn't get a lot of time with that half of Zwei Wing to form too much of an attachment before her death, and that she continues to appear throughout the show in flashbacks and manifestations of her partner's grief.

Either way, I think you've got to be aware of why you're doing it. Symphogear does it because it's the foundation for our actual protagonist's way of thinking and how slightly dangerous that can be (she sees the decoy protag giving her life to protect her almost as a debt so she needs to dedicate her life to protecting others). And Muv Luv does it to explain why Yui is kinda a bitch and what she's gone through while just having her be the way she is would have her come across as cold rather than having gone through horrors and done with our protagonist being arrogant. Like everything in a narrative there should be a reason. And yeah, it's a risk, but there's a risk with every narrative choice.

[ivanskilling]

My novel has a false protagonist but the death hasn't dropped as of now. So I can't gauge what people's thoughts are on it yet. But since it's a murder mystery novel, there have been many hints to it. Plus, there are a few main protagonists.

So I think it really depends on the genre, the plot, and how you pull off the death. It has to make sense and move the plot along, instead of being a plot twist that's only there because it's a twist.

[MoseyP]

You're spot on enjoy the wild ride that awaits you

[nostalgicroxas]

I think it depends on your audience's experience with storytelling.

A prime example that comes to mind famously is Final Fantasy 12. It's protagonist is not the main character that the story revolves around. And it's why a lot of Western audiences didn't like the story, because they didn't understand it. It's also not the character that claims to be the main character: Balthier. It's a story about Basch. It's not Ashe, Balthier, or Vaan. The story is clear in showing, not telling this fact, but if your audience isn't .... shall we say experienced with looking for these leads, they won't see them?

Another example is how beloved is the character that you're murdering off? Example being Kamina from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagaan. You're taught from the storytelling that he is likely the main character from the outset, simply because he's louder, couragous, brave, and silly - he fills a lot of MC tropes. And instead he has to pass that torch to a shy character. Does Kamina himself bait you into thinking he is the main character, or does he provide stablization for the one who ultimately has been the main character since episode 1?

[Dysis]

[Legendofgenii]

I like it when we follow a protagonists child. Next gen. ️

[MaeRose]

If it's the game that I think @MoseyP and @risingshards is referring to, they way they pulled that off was amazing! I never saw it coming

I think false/decoy protagonist can be a really cool trick to surprise your readers but you have to do it right. From the game that I saw this pulled off in, they created an extremely convincing character, even if they were temporary.

[ivanskilling]

Shhhh it's a secret!

[NickRowler]

I have seen it work the most effectively is murder mystery stories where the false MC is solving a crime but is killed, and the second MC has to solve the case.

I have also seen it used in a story that was about someone who thought they were the chosen one but the prophecy was false. And the second MC had to step up and help everyone even tho it contradicted the prophecy. While I did enjoy the book, I don’t think I would enjoy if a lot of people started writing these types of stories. Sort of similar to the twist villain, it could get old fast.

[Caro]

i’ve got a comic and development right now with a false protagonist or rather... a big important protagonist shift.

Its a sorta psychological thriller where the first two acts we see this pretty meek character as the main protagonist but when its revealed something nefarious is happening and she’s not what the audience thinks she is, at the beginning of the third act it switches to the perspective of the perceived antagonist as the old protagonist hunts them down

[Llyrel]

I kinda sorta have this thing in my own comic, which pretty much starts with not one, but two false protagonists XD the first one is killed within the first few pages, while the second one makes an appearance right after, buuuuut... is not the main protagonist of the story at all.

So yep, I think false protagonists can work... though my suggestion with it would probably be "don't drag it on for too long": the longer you spend fleshing out your "false protagonist", giving them a plot, an objective and a personality your readers get attached to, the more your audience is going to feel cheated once that character gets killed off. This is especially true if the entirety of the plot you had up until that point pretty much dies with the character too.

WARNING: A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE AND LAST OF US 1 SPOILERS AHEAD.

One of the things that REALLY irked me about ASoIaF, for example, was how Martin basically spent the entirety of the first book telling us the story of Ned Stark, how he made us follow his "investigations", had him discover a bunch of things, making readers attached to him... and then freaking killed him off. After 500+ pages. Without even giving him a chance to tell anybody what he had discovered or bring the plot forward, basically. Granted, that helped setting up the mood of the rest of the series ("people die, don't get attached to anyone"), but honestly, as a reader, I felt SO cheated on. It was like all those 500+ pages I'd just read were just useless. I picked up the second book, eventually, but... still, couldn't bring myself to finish it because at this point I don't trust him as a storyteller anymore.

A case of "false protagonist" which I think worked better was the Last of Us. I didn't play the game itself, but I saw the introduction on Youtube and I think they did a pretty good job with it: you've got two characters that you start getting attached to, the game is actually very good at making you think that the plot is gonna revolve around saving/protecting one character in particular... and then BOOM, that character is killed off and you're left in tears. It was shocking, it was jarring, it was sad... but in that case, as a part of the audience, I wasn't feeling "cheated", because it was still the very first part of the game and even though I was emotionally invested, the story was still at the very beginning and I knew that a lot more stuff was going to happen anyway.

In short: tread carefully, make sure your audience doesn't get too attached to your decoy protagonist (e.g. by dragging their story for too long) and, most importantly, if you have to kill them off, make their death meaningful in some way.

[ar-ninetysix]

Only the real ones know what show you're talking about

Unless we're wrong lmao

---

Anyways, from the little I've seen of the false protagonist trope there seems to be two key elements? The execution of the change in protagonists and the tonal shift of the plot. It might differ from story to story, but I think that's a safe place to start with.

Far as execution goes, the first protagonist has to be likeable or relatable. Otherwise the swap won't have its intended effect, and it might come off as jarring or at worst, unnecessary and clumsy. Alongside that, the change shouldn't be dragged out as you'll run the risk of slowing down the pacing in doing so.

And the tonal shift further signifies the change, which you'll have to be careful about as that's what you'll be betting the readers are gonna want to stick around for. Subtly foreshadowing this to be something that might happen would be in your best interest on both fronts.

Again, I don't have much experience in this trope though I guess.. One could argue that this is what I've done in my prologue?? Regardless, everything I mentioned would be the way I would do it. The other replies might have advice that would prove to be more effective for all I know

[domisotto]

While effective, I had a really bad experience with it, because people got attached to that character a huge deal and a lot of them stopped reading the story once he’d died, claiming that other characters were not as interesting

[CttMaurice]

I've seen this done only once in real media and that was in the anime Vinland Saga. It was honestly done incredibly well and I liked the execution of it. In general, Vinland is one of my favorite anime's of all time so I feel like it was just the overall writing of Vinland that made it so that the false protagonist worked.

[DukeOfOool]

I don't like a complete "haha gotcha, lul you thought this was the mc" but generally shifting fokus can be a good tool to explore the world. In my comic for example I keep jumping from character to character, each one is a mc in their own right, well until they die or becomes obsolete.

[rajillustration]

Yeah I don't like it. I know it was popular on Game of Thrones and Psycho but like...I just don't like it. The only way I'd like it is if it were a murder mystery, because then we have to be on our toes about who dies. But if it's not, it just feels like a "gotcha!"

[therosesword]

Actually this sounds very much like the "reluctant hero" type of story. Where something happens to the person everyone is relying on and then the dweeby guy (it quite often seems to be the dweeb) steps up to the plate.