The Release ARC

The Release Arc is where the PROT has unprocessed trauma and they’ve created a homeostasis where things are “just OK” or and they’re surviving “FINE!” They may have lost someone, got betrayed/abandoned, or hurt someone in the past and they’re now self-flagellating or punishing themselves inside this cage. And that’s what it really is: self-imprisonment. That is, until, a catalyst comes along to yank them out of their current existence. The catalyst can be a new character (who reminds them of their past hurt), or someone from their past who represents their past hurt, like a ghost that haunts them.

This PROG is usually one where the quest is a reflection of their past hurt, where they’re forced to face that past hurt, and/or the new character in their life reminds them of their past hurt and in saving them, they are in a way getting a “second chance” to make things right (or at least process and heal their trauma).

The Release Arc is most often a POSITIVE ARC that teaches us to let go of resentment, shame, grief, past failures.

The Emotional Arc

alt. CMX: We rarely see stories where PROT doesn’t let go. Villains and ANTGs might not. OR… we’re talking about FLAT ARC characters who change just a little bit, or have a devastating epiphany, only to fall back to status quo again as it’s a serialized, licensed IP. (Don Draper, Batman, House MD)

The Stakes

The Triangle(s)

Media

Film & TV

Novels & Literature

Short Stories

Comic Runs/Arcs

All ARCs here