Unclear Description: The Chosen One

Go To

shiro_okami Since: Apr, 2010

#1: Dec 21st 2015 at 4:48:48 PM

There exists a discrepancy between The Chosen One and The Chooser of the One.

->"It's one thing to think that you're the center of the universe — it's another thing entirely to have this confirmed by an ancient prophecy." —>— Douglas Adams

There was an ancient prophecy that foretold one day a very special troper would Describe The Chosen One Here.

The ultimate victim (or beneficiary) of Because Destiny Says So.

This is how the trope description for The Chosen One starts out, associating the trope with prophecy and linking it to a trope that consistently is all about destiny. However, at no point does the trope description for The Chosen One explicitly say that an example must include destiny or a prophecy, the rest of the trope description does not mention destiny or prophecy again, and several of its examples make no mention of either. However, it is not very clear that a destiny/prophecy is simply optional, either.

Sometimes, the Chooser isn't charged with finding the One, so much as finding a One. The Chooser essentially looks for someone with the skills to fill a job description (defeating the Big Bad, saving the world, etc) and goes with their gut rather than on divine mandate. A knight searching for someone to Take Up My Sword may simply look for anyone who has the right amount (get it?) of pluck and decency.

This is an excerpt from the description of The Chooser of the One. It clearly states that The Chosen One does not have to have a destiny or fulfill some prophecy.

The question is: Is a destiny/prophecy a requirement for both tropes, or simply an optional associated element that is sometimes present, but not always?

This could be fixed in one of two ways:

Revise the trope descriptions of both tropes to explicitly state that a destiny/prophecy is a requirement for examples, and remove the existing examples that do not meet this requirement. This would be the most labor-intensive fix.
Revise the trope description of The Chosen One to explicitly state that a destiny/prophecy is an optional factor, and that an example does not have to require one if it meets all of the other qualifications for the trope. This would be the least labor-intensive fix.

edited 21st Dec '15 4:50:43 PM by shiro_okami

shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk

#2: Dec 21st 2015 at 8:12:11 PM

The TRS is currently closed until January.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

Add Post

Back Top

Total posts: 2