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Sequels where the main character gets a new trait, but "it's always been there"

posted 3 years ago by xhonzi (133)
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Watching Aliens again last night had me thinking of Back to the Future II, and how everyone starts reminding Marty of his biggest character flaw- how impulsive he gets when someone calls him a chicken. This character trait determines the majority of decisions Marty ever makes.

He has always had this flaw- YES, DURING THE FIRST MOVIE, but it just never came up in the first one, but it will come up at least once every 25 minutes for the rest of the trilogy.

I love BTTF, but "chicken" always seems bolted on in pt 2 to me.

You remember in Alien how "Ellen" was constantly talking about her daughter and her promise to get back before her 11th birthday? Man, she wouldn't shut up about it.

Offscreen.

But her failure to keep a promise to her daughter, and the guilt and pain that goes along with that, determines the majority of the decisions this character will make (in 1 sequel (and only the extended cut)).

But I was thinking- it's far more successful (for me) in Aliens than in BTTF. It doesn't feel lazily and improperly attached so the character can overcome something in the third act- I think that though it becomes her dominant motivation in Aliens, that it blends well with her other character traits.

What other sequels try to back door character traits into the main characters, and then pretend they were always there?

Some superhero movies have:
Movie 1: Normie wants to be a hero, and succeeds
Movie 2: Hero wants to be normal, to be with the girl. Temporarily succeeds, but destiny (the villain) calls and they lose the girl and hero up again.
Movie 3: (extra credit) black goo turns them evil for part of the movie, but they eventually overcome it, fight (literally) the dark version of themselves, and win.

This isn't quite the same as "remember that temper of mine that almost completely undermines all of my positive traits", but I think it comes from a similar place- Movie 1 completed their character arch, and if Movie 2 hopes to do anything interesting with that character- they need something new to define them.

[–] wearsalan (5554) 3 years ago

Tbf, Alien doesn't go in to the back ground of any of the characters. James Cameron went in to it a bit for some of the others in Aliens and it is on screen during the inquest. He fleshed out Ripley a lot more with the daughter angle which makes sense in the whole Newt being a surrogate daughter theme. So it being in the extended cut of Aliens helps the viewer understand Ripleys motives a bit more.

[–] contreras (474) 3 years ago

Reminds me of the Godfather sequels and books where they introduce and "old friend of the family" (Hyman Roth, Don Altobello) and in the previous movies he's not even mentioned.

[–] Sidha108 (2736) 3 years ago

Another example is how Darth Vader is essentially the “head stormtrooper” in the original Star Wars movie and then made essentially the 2nd in command of the entire Empire in the Empire Strikes Back and then later expanded to be the “chosen one” in the prequel trilogy.

[–] kuatorises (7467) 3 years ago

Marty decks Biff in THE. FIRST. MOVIE. There's a big chase scene as a result. It's kind of iconic.

Failure to keep her promise, LOL?! Her ship, which she was not in command of, was attacked by a monster from space.

[–] xhonzi (133) 3 years ago

But not because Biff called him chicken.

[–] kuatorises (7467) 3 years ago

"Sequels where the main character gets a new trait, but "it's always been there""

Marty's temper wasn't new. It's always been there,

[–] xhonzi (133) 3 years ago

Yes, but that's not the trait that we're talking about:

"how impulsive he gets when someone calls him a chicken".

[–] kuatorises (7467) 3 years ago

It's not a new trait though. Marty has always had a temper and doesn't take shit from people. It's established from the very first movie. He's the opposite of his spineless father. It's a huge part of the plot that alters the course of their history.

There are so many better examples of what you're talking about.

[–] ExTechOp (2770) 3 years ago

I recall how jarring the "chicken" thing was in the theaters

But it only took me a moment to remember that Marty had in fact been impulsive and short-tempered in the first movie, so I gave it a pass (and I still do)

BUT ... xhonzi has a point nonetheless. The "chicken" thing was identified SO SPECIFICALLY in BTTF 2 & 3 that it FELT, at least for a moment, like it had been bolted on

Honestly, I think it would've been better had they taken out the line, "Nobody calls me chicken" and left everything else intact (including Jason Scott Lee making "chicken clucking" sounds with his body-mounted speaker, which was hilarious).

Then Marty would just be reacting the way he did in BTTF 1, and his general impulsiveness and pride could still be his downfall in the alternate 2015.

Same with Ripley and her daughter, BTW. There was no need to "flesh out" that trait; her being motherly to Newt seemed perfectly natural when I saw the original cut in the theater. Seeing the additional "I missed her birthday" scene in the extended edition felt unnecessary and ham-handed to me.

[–] kuatorises (7467) 3 years ago

"Then Marty would just be reacting the way he did in BTTF 1"

So his temper was already there?

Ripley wants to make sure a kid - a girl, specifically - is safe from a bunch of monsters she too encountered and cost her time with her daughter? You don't say...

[–] ADBruno1985 (3579) 3 years ago

I agree with you.

To add, I would say it's just largely symptomatic of what happens in sequels, or second seasons. The budget's bigger, or they have more time, or whatever. So we get new characters who have always been present in the larger setting, but never before introduced. Or we get more sets and wider shots and were convinced it was always like this.

I realize I'm being much more broad, just seemed related to me.

[–] sati_84 (467) 3 years ago

Interesting observation!

I'd say in BTTF 2 the chicken thing is way more pronounced and integral to the plot, whereas in Aliens, if you watch the Theatrical Cut, there is ZERO mention of Ripley's daughter. I watched the TC as a kid at least 20 times, and I always understood Ripley's actions even without knowing she had a daughter. It seemed normal and logical for her to protect Newt - yes, an impromptu mother-daughter relationship is forming between them, but given the situation, that kind of character dynamic is no suprise.

If you watch the Extended Cut, we get a brief scene about Ripley's daughter, but as I said above, even without this scene, you 100% understand why Ripley saves Newt - it doesn't require an explanation at all! I think this scene in the EC is pointless, and I would argue that all the others are as well - it's off-topic, but I could ramble on for paragraphs detailing the superiority of the TC :-)