Woompfy but call me wooms

Hey tysm I'm happy you like them qsmp designs. You're right I always like to take the inspiration of historical and cultrural outfits and use my creative freedom to combine them with other pieces of clothing^^ For example Graf's design is heavily inspired by actual Hussaria soldiers armor while his pants are inspired by the national polish attire trousers

What I also like to do is include patterns in the character's designs that represent the content creator's culture and inheritance.

Without further redo let me start with my good old boy Hugo aka William. (I always wanna call him Wilhelm cuz I believe in the german dub that was his og name lol)

If you have read one of my reviews on the show before you’ll know how unsatisfied I was with him as a main character. I really like him but the show makes it difficult for me to love him. Like let’s be real, Hugo is such a bad main character and I’m saying that as a Hugo fan. He doesn’t even have the basic characteristics for a protagonist. 

Let’s go through it shall we: if you think of a protagonist what do you want that character to have to make them interesting and compelling? You probably want to care about that character enough to follow them through the story, right? That means the character either needs a relatable motive, unique/interesting personality, moving backstory, flaws or the ability to grow and his relationship with other characters. Having at least 4 or more of these traits executed well can help provide an excellent protagonist to lead the story. So let’s check off what Hugo’s traits are to make him worthy of a protagonist. 

His motive: 

The first episode does a good job of giving us a clear motive of Hugo’s character. After losing his mentor, father and mother he has to hide as a peasant for his own safety Hugo, understandably, worries for his mentor whose last moments were at the start of the episode. He wants to rescue him after discovering that Ulrich has Osbern's ring, either indicating that his mentor may still be alive or dead. That in itself is a good motive: that he wants to save his tutor and take his revenge on Ulrich, which later becomes a flaw of Hugo’s which I will have a take on later. Later in his story, as Hugo discovers more about the fantastical threat that is Loki and his destiny to defeat him, his motive also switches to save Normandie from Loki. What I’m glad the show does is further support that motive emotionally by having Hugo focus on it actively because he has a found family to do it for, he won’t only kill Loki just because of his future heir but also for his family and friends. Generally not that bad of a few goals that Hugo wants and that we can watch him achieve (even if they were achieved awkwardly). What I would’ve liked though is some more selfish motives, for example maybe searching for his mother because he misses her, just wanting things to be back to normal like they used to be, maybe he wants to improve himself with the use of his magic or he wants to know more about his family’s history: did his father or mother also have these powers? Why haven’t they told him? Are there secrets he doesn’t know, will that impact him positively or negatively? Just things that give us more insights on who Hugo actually is as a person and what he thinks of himself. Other than that his motives are very solid and relatable!

His personality:

Motives good and all but personality helps understand why Hugo has them and how he might go on about them later in the story. Is he careful, does he think through a plan first before taking action? (kinda) Is he sloppy because he is so eager to get it over with? Does he take it seriously or does his age of twelve years get in the way because he is still a child figuring things out? Does he joke a lot, humorous or does he rather stay straight to the point? Is he shy, or more outgoing, closed off, open?

Because if you’d ask me what his personality is I wouldn’t be able to tell you accurately because his personality is just so generic. He’s as flat as a piece of paper one could say because I cannot name you anything unique about his personality. He cares about people, he's nice and mindful, brave and smart, just a sweet angel that has no negative traits whatsoever, he’s Mr.perfect. So all the cheesy generic main character stuff and he’s so underdeveloped it makes me cry. You can compare him to Ray Skywalker who has no personality traits that she needs to improve on whatsoever. That issue also arises in the other characters which is a general problem in the show. I think the only unique(?) personality trait I could think of is that he's a bit awkward, but getting used to peasant life with a loyal background and hiding your past life is obviously awkward and later on he grows out of it. He gets frustrated easily (like getting frustrated of not casting a runes spell right) which may get in his way of objectives and could help him in his development but that frustration is never used that way. Hugo just becomes immediately leveled in important moments like he’s already got it all figured out. The writers make him Mr. perfect when they need him to and never allow him to show the negative flaws of his character. He's a child, I remind you, there is no way he is able to be the ideal person adults are expected to be while even adults are still flawed. 

(The only time I can think of his personality trait becoming an obstacle is his misjudgement of being able to save Osbern on his own. He runs off recklessly into the forest making him and Alice end up in danger or when he gets consumed by rage he almost kills a man)

It’s not a bad thing to have some generic personality traits but it’s so boring if generic is the only thing memorable about the character. It should be balanced out with flawed traits or unique ones that stand out! Personally I would’ve advanced Hugo’s already existing trait of being someone who thinks a lot before he acts, like slightly used in the show, which can be a good thing of him going at things with caution and going through moments carefully but it also be a problem for him because he probably overthinks too much which could cause him having doubts and getting too emotionally overwhelmed (that would also support his trait of being very awkward and frustrated easily). Additionally, having his emotions get the better of him easily would have also countered his thoughtfulness and also gotten in his way of his magic since the stones are driven on his emotions, having him become reckless like in episode one. He can have those two traits be the centre of his personality while also having the generic ones as subtraits like, braveness, kindness etc. maybe add and explore some whimsy childishness and curiosity in the mix to make him feel more dimensional. After all he IS still a child and children are still at a stage of life where they are developing as a person. 

Or make him a coward at the start of the show and make him overcome that trait, or perhaps make him a closed off child that has never seen the outside world besides his royal environment and let him discover and learn from the characters around him. 

Or make him irresponsible and let him BECOME responsible throughout the story. 

There is so much you can do with him that is interesting to utilize and develop. I cannot understand why we ended up with the generic character trope.

“But It’s easier to work with that sort of protagonist, making him more complex is hard” If you want to go the easy way, fine, but then you have also decided to fail your protagonist and eliminate your character as a whole by not at least trying to make them complex and interesting. 

Also the show DID develop parts of his character in one episode where he attempts his revenge on Ulrich. It is the only episode where we see him have an intense emotional struggle and it wonderfully develops into a lesson for Hugo to not let his negative emotions get the better of him. 

So I know that the writers are able to give him a personality because they very much succeeded at that in episode 8 and by introducing him to me in the very first few episodes, making me invested in his character. We got to see where he is coming from, where he stands and who he is and he was also flawed like in episode 1-3 and 8. But later in the story he gets watered down into male Rey skywalker and becomes a picture perfect figure the writers can push around with so that the plot can continue. That’s what a protagonist’s role is obviously but not seeing that protagonist develop with the plot is generally so boring to watch. I want to know how he changes! I want to know if his personality becomes worse or better! How do situations that happen to him impact his views? Give me something!!! BUT WE GET NOTHING. 

And I do believe the writers have thought about his character carefully before production and they did make a decent character out of him. I just wished they expanded on him more and actually gave us more time to explore who he is and who he becomes so that he doesn't feel forgetable. 

That brings me to my next point that is an issue in Hugo’s character

His general development of overcoming flaws:

Having a character be imperfect opens your story to include plots that develop the character or the relationships they’ll form with other characters too. That can also help you, the viewer, relate to the character more. It makes you excited to follow that character, how they learn and change for the better or for worse. Flaws are a key tool for a believable character that feels real. Just like in real life we all have struggles and flaws. That’s what makes us human and going through those imperfections builds character. So does Hugo have any difficulties like you’d expect a child to have who has lost his loving family and mentor and is now expected to be the savior of a land he’s not even old enough to rule over while learning the magic spells of your ancestor and being cursed with the responsibility of everyone's and your friends lives?

Little to nothing. At the start the writers do touch on tiny struggles but that isn’t further explored for the rest of the show. They did explore his mourning of his tutor and revenge for him but I’m so confused as to why they didn’t also use the pressure of killing a god? He’s the only one with magical powers and the only one that has a chance to defeat Loki. That responsibility could have weighed on his shoulders so heavy that it makes him doubtful about his ability of defeating Loki. Hugo could’ve felt a sense of guilt throughout a group of episodes about being scared of failure that could lead him going through a harsh journey of lessons that encourages him to get over the fear of letting everyone down.

(Added Note: He kind of did have that exact struggle in that show in episode 15 where he spills out what he had to go through and where he gains more courage, growing out of the fear of failing the others. My problem though is that it was TOLD and not shown to us. How doubts and feelings build up and if he deals with it or not. Showing nightmares before that episode could have been an easy solution to that. Maybe when he froze into that spirit world it could be interpreted that he was going through a physical and mental struggle but that was so unclear even I didn’t catch that in my third watch)

But instead he’s kind of a nothingburger. He’s good with the bow, he’s smart, courageous and helpful etc. Ok cool, but isn’t it boring if he doesn’t go through any inner struggle at all? (big ones at least, small hardhips like feeling scared or being frustrated for a few seconds in a episode is just including basic human emotion, it doesn't really impact his character as a whole)

He has no major flaws that could hinder him or the plot. I guess him being a bad liar could be a flaw, which causes him to reveal his secret identity pretty early in the story but it never gets used later on and isn’t an important weakness that helps his development. But other than that he doesn’t have a physical flaw either other than not being able to use a sword but that gets resolved after one episode without a major struggle. He also doesn’t struggle with his powers that the plot literally GIFTED him without earning it. While yes, being the chosen one trope is not inherently bad and yes he might’ve struggled to cast rune spells at the start he learns extremely fast without a satisfying payoff by watching him actually struggle with it. It doesn’t feel earned. Take Luke Skywalker for instance, he might be the chosen one with extraordinary powers to end the evil Empire once and for all but he had to EARN the experience and strength to achieve the level it takes to defeat the greater enemy. Once he got through that struggle and defeated the empire the journey we watched Luke go through pays off and feels so worth it because we know how and WHY Luke was able to defeat the antagonist. 

Unfortunately the same can not be said about Hugo. His success feels given and not earned. We never watch him go through anything seriously struggling to get him to the stage where he was able to kill Loki.

(I admit there are still some moments in the show where we actually see Hugo struggle, and saying there is no attempt of showing Hugo has weaknesses would be wrong of me. What I’m saying is though, is that these weaknesses he goes through, which would resolve in one episode btw, doesn’t add as one of the reasons why Hugo was able to defeat Loki. That case was only an emotional fight to develop his character (which btw I greatly appreciate them doing but it will take more than that to help me feel satisfied with where he stands as a character at the end of the series).)

I will give great kudos to episode 8 though where they did a good job at showing Hugo’s process in becoming a better person. In short they touched on Hugo's emotions getting the better of him and getting overwhelmed by the will to avenge his tutor, after finding out he’s “dead”, having him use dark magic to attempt Ulrich’s death. He LEARNS that what he was about to do is wrong and letting his anger get over him can be dangerous, just like Algite warned him about. But like I’ve discussed before, that is one of the character development Hugo gets and is probably one of the only episode where he gets to be seriously flawed. And I'm not saying he should have devolopment in every episode but he's the main character of a 26 ep long series, he could've really used some more episodes for exploring his flaws.

But I loved episode 8 so much (one of my favorite episodes by far) and I genuinely wish there was more of that, even for other characters too, because the flaws he has in the show don’t feel real enough to become a problem later on and seeing him learning nothing is just generally boring. Let my boy grow and learn, let him make more mistakes so we can see him think things over. And that also goes for every other character.

Now on a lighter note I’ll discuss his relationships with other characters quickly because this is already long enough. 

I really liked Hugo’s relationship with all the characters and I generally have nothing much to criticize about it. I really really liked Alice's and Hugo’s relationship despite the romantic hints. I’d rather see them as platonic siblings but I can also try to get into their romantic potential later. I just find it so gold of how the progress of their friendship plays out, Hugo being a terrible liar and Alice being onto him and feeling annoyed about him being untruthful to her and then turning into a strong bond of trust, Hugo finally opening up to Alice and her reassuring that she’ll keep the secret proving to him that he can trust her, is so satisfying to see. They have become each other’s closest friend they can safely open up to and the other will not be hesitant to support the other. They go through everything together, they talk things out without judgement, are honest with each other (well Hugo still lies sometimes to not make Alice worry but that is a good problem to resolve that can also build their friendship more) and they care for the other. I cannot deny that I really feel with the bond that they have. As much as I love them I wished that they’d have some more fights and get over them to further reinforce their closeness. 

And while we are at it, closeness doesn’t necessarily have to turn into romance, even friendships are important to be emotionally intimate and should also be as cherished as romantic bonds are. And gender should not matter in this case, because I feel like the romance the show wants to lead is only for the sake of the tradition that the male protagonist gets the girl. It’s boring because it has been done so many times you grow tired of it. I feel like valuing friendships between boys and girls, that are deep and close as well as platonic, should be shown more and represented. So I’d rather see their relationship as platonic, but I can also see them romantically since they do have what it takes to be healthy unlike other ordinary pairs in shows. Sometimes treat your friendships romantically and your partner platonically as they say. 

There are some dynamics I would’ve loved to see though like Hugo and Ulrich. Their interactions had the potential of a harsh but slowly respectful uncle/new mentor and son relationship after potentially setting aside their differences and agreeing on a greater enemy. Unfortunately the story wouldn’t let them develop this way (and a certain character Osbern grr) but it would’ve been cool to see. A friendship between Hugo and Neèl would’ve also been so sweet to see, and I was (desperately) rooting for that to happen on my first watch. Neèl, a boy so out of touch with the outside world with no friends getting acquainted with a peasant boy Hugo, who is secretly the heir of Normandie that his mentor is sworn to find and kill, who might understand Neèl struggle of proving himself as a proper lord, helping him out of his insecurities. That would’ve been so cute not gonna lie. And generally I would’ve loved it if the series showed more developments of other general relationships with Hugo, like Turstin, Little Goles and Wace. Maybe have subplots in episodes where the group separates and lets two characters interact more, like Teen titans did with their main cast, exploring all the character’s dynamics with each other.

In conclusion, Hugo is a very underdeveloped protagonist, and it’s sad to me because he has some good growth potential. His insecurity of not succeeding in his mission can push his actions and interactions in a way that is entertaining and interesting to watch and having him learn something out of the experiences he goes through will feel earned at the end. Also having him start off as a flawed kid growing into a responsible person helps the viewer feel more attached to him (any sort of change in a character does to be honest). In the end the fight off with Loki would’ve also felt a little bit more satisfying (and could've given an explanation why Hugo became so weak after the fight) but that whole climax is a conversation of its own. Even though his writing is very tasteless I still kinda enjoyed his character, he has a good motive, understanding struggles, (potential) flaws and intriguing background that interested me and I wish to find out more about his family's background too if there is ever going to be a second season. (though I highly doubt it, but that’s why the free will of writing fanfiction exists) He is fun to follow and likable, I just wished he had a bit more of an inner struggle and more time to develop him further. He’s good but he had  the potential to be great.