Protagonists Who Should Have Been Villains by MoonTabby

MoonTabby discusses two protagonists who might have been more interesting as antagonists.

Hello, MoonTabby back with my third article! Today I’ll be discussing two protagonists who I think should have been written into villains: Ivypool and Shadowsight. They’re both interesting as they are, but they could also have turned out into great (but bad!) villains for the sake of making their arcs juicier and more dramatic. Enjoy and let me know your thoughts!

*Spoilers for OotS and TBC*

– Ivypool
I definitely have mixed emotions with the outcome of her character. On one hand, it’s refreshing to see that although she was buried pretty deep in the Dark Forest’s influence, she still was able to realize how wrong she was and turn back. On the other hand though, it’s kind of the generic “villain reform” scenario. It would’ve been so much dramatic if she’d stayed on the dark side! Her whole story would’ve been different and would’ve affected the whole series. Would’ve been cool to get another Mapleshade-like character! The Warriors books are very much lacking in female villains, which, in my opinion, are some of the coolest ones.

If I can go off track for a minute, I want to compare Ivypool to Glory from Wings of Fire (spoiler alert!). Both characters had motives that could have turned them into awesome villains. Ivypool was feeling left out in the shadow of Dovewing’s popularity; Glory was feeling resentful of being the only RainWing among the Dragonets of Destiny. They both had opportunities to be written into an alternate version.

– Shadowsight
Like Ivypool, Shadowsight had a chance to be someone else. Again, I’m just saying this for the sake of making the plot more interesting! Bad cats are bad cats, but they make the series so adventurous! Shadowsight had such a strange power to see visions, and of course no cat would ever understand him like that. The voice of Ashfur in his head might have been the closest thing he’d have to that, if Shadowsight had thought of it as such. If the plot had taken a different turn of events, maybe Shadowsight either would’ve sided with Ashfur and fought against the Clans, or after the battle spent his life yearning for vengeance on the Clans. Either outcome would’ve been very interesting!

This has been my take on two protagonists who should have been villains! Do you agree? Should they have had a different outcome? Or are you happy with them just the way they are? Thank you for reading and let me know what you think in the comments!

May StarClan light your path,
– MoonTabby