A Christian INFJ Psychology Major’s Thoughts on Season Five Partially in Response to joshscorcher/Commander Firebrand’s Reviews Part 2: Redemption and Sympathy

In my last post, I talked how Mr. Scorcher’s review of the season finale inspired some deep thoughts about Starlight Glimmer as a character. Well, while I was writing the last post, I re-watched his review just to make sure I was representing his opinions accurately. While I was doing this, a statement that he made caught my attention. According to him, people only want to see characters redeemed if they are able to sympathize with them.
I could not help but question the truth in that statement. Did I only want to see Starlight redeemed because I was one of the few people who were able to sympathize her? If Starlight was more unsympathetic as a character, would I be decrying the season five finale as awful like many other bronies?
In order to answer these questions, I had to ask myself another one. Are there any villains in fiction who I want redeemed despite my lack of sympathy for them? The answer to that question is yes. Yes, a villain that I do not sympathize with but want to see redeemed exists.
“Who is this villain?” you ask. KYLO REN! However, I know him as whiny, patricidal Sith Lord wannabe. Why do I have no sympathy whatsoever for him? Well, it’s because the guy kills his own father by taking advantage of his father’s love for him. I mean, Kylo Ren’s father, out of a sense of paternal love, swallows his pride (which is kind of a big deal if you know who his father is) and risks his own life to attempt to bring him back into the light, and what does Sith Lord wannabe do? He stabs his father right in the chest with a lightsaber and pushes him to his apparent death! And no, my anger over this has nothing (well, hardly anything) to do with who Kylo Ren’s father is. I have had friends with more issues with their dads than Kylo Ren does, and they would never do something like that. (Granted, none of them are Sith Lord wannabes.) The only way this guy could be any more unsympathetic would be if JJ Abrams has plans for a super anti-climactic reveal that Kylo Ren turned dark because his dad missed a birthday party.
So, if this guy is so unsympathetic to me, then why do I still want to see him redeemed? Well, I guess it’s because it’s what his deceased father and heartbroken mother would have wanted for him. I mean, his dad died just to try to redeem him. If he doesn’t get redeemed, his father would have died for nothing. What if Kylo Ren really did turn dark because of a missed birthday party? Would I still want him redeemed? Grudgingly, my answer would still have to be yes. Regardless of how petty his reasons for joining the Dark Side might be, his father’s death would still be senseless if he stayed in the Dark Side. Besides, as I stated in my last post, being unable to realize one’s potential for good is tragic, and I believe that this is true no matter how unsympathetic the villain is.
In order to further test whether my desire for Starlight’s redemption was tied to my sympathy for her, I have conjured an even less sympathetic backstory for her. Suppose that Starlight Glimmer became a pseudo-Marxist cult leader because a complete stranger called her a blank flank in passing and was never seen by her again. Would I feel sorry for her? No. In fact, I would be shocked and horrified if Starlight had become a villain over something as petty as a passing insult from a stranger. Would I still want her redeemed? Well, having her be redeemed would definitely be less terrible than having her stay evil. I’m going to have to say yes. Yes, I would still want her redeemed. (Although, I would probably want to take her to a psychologist afterwards.)