First Thoughts
Throughout the books in Wings of Fire there are many characters in the series where they seem to change as a character and grow to be better dragons or humans. But in the next book that development disappears, I don’t necessarily believe that this is the case.
Tsunami
In Tsunami’s book The Lost Heir she seems to have become much better as a character herself improving on her self-control and justice, but for the rest of the series she seems to have reverted to her original self. However I believe that she has changed, and there is a lot of evidence towards it. The first example that comes to mind to me is of Tsunami’s reversion is that she calls Snowfall “the queen of grumps” and her kingdom the worst kingdom. after bringing 200+ strange dragons onto Snowfall’s queendom. But I would say that this level of hostility is still justified in Tsunami’s perspective. In her perspective she is rescuing 200+ dragons from an army of evil mind-controlled dragons. But then a Queen who nearly started a large-scale war on top of HER school is demanding that they leave the Ice kingdom immediately. So in the perspective of Tsunami, her reaction is completely reasonable. Another example of Tsunami’s post character development regression is how Tsunami treats Peril. She is openly hostile to Peril for trying to get closer to Clay. Clay even accepts it yet she still dislikes Peril. Although she shouldn’t disrespect and be cruel to Peril her rage is still to an extent where it’s just pettiness and not exactly hostility. She talks down to Peril not because of plain dislike but because of her days as Queen Scarlet’s champion and killer. Tsunami’s conversations with Peril are short and simple which shows how she developed which is much better compared to what she would’ve done before, such as trying to fight her.
Winter
Winter is a character who struggles with prejudice throughout the books. He gets his well deserved development in his book, learning that not all dragons are evil, and how other dragons should be listened to before they are judged for looks or crimes committed by others of the same tribe. A good example of how much he developed was how he freed Foeslayer (the mother of a supposed genocidal killer) instead of leaving her in prison. In the next books Winter shows through many actions how his development is gone, which I find untrue. A common example people bring up when talking about Winter is how he acts when Darkstalker is brought up as he gets up in a fit of rage saying how he shouldn’t be released, and when Moon says how they should hear him out he rejects the idea and says how he is a monster. I find this a reasonable reaction even if it is pretty extreme, as Winter was raised with horror stories of what “The Darkstalker” would do if he didn’t do so and so. Winter was told about all the terrible things Darkstalker did even if they were embellished. As an example what happened to Winter was akin to one growing up and being told gas was bad because of pollution and later learning society needs gas to be able to cook or drive or really do some very important things. Winter’s attitude to Moon attempting to free Darkstalker is a reasonable reaction as he truly believes that Darkstalker is evil. The issue is his growth as a Dragon is learning about how someone really is over their stereotypical titles or appearances yet he grew up learning and hearing about how evil and cunning Darkstalker is. It’s reasonable to think how Winter wouldn’t immediately think about who Darkstalker is as a dragon but he would think about how cunning he is and how evil he is because that’s what he grew up with. Winter is a case of character development where he did grow in character but the scenarios he was presented with later in the story contradicted him in such a way for him to not display the development very well.
Peril
In Escaping Peril, Peril shows an incredible amount of growth much like other dragons who have their own books. In her book she grows mentally learning to decide for herself what was good and what was wrong, she becomes her own dragon, not letting others tell her what is right and what to do and who is evil or good. But in the next book Peril completely changes, it feels as if she gets sidelined from the moment we see her again. Although in “Wings of Fire, The Talons of Power” we barely saw Peril but when we do see her she seems to have reverted back to someone who simply likes Clay. If only that were the case, in the events of book 9 when we see Peril, we see her accidently burning a student’s homework and reacting with guilt and panic at such an occurrence rather than being indifferent or proud is a clear sign that her development has not regressed in any way. Before her own book, Peril wouldn’t think about the consequences of her actions because she would be unknowing or indifferent by the destruction she causes, but this time around, she is well aware of how her actions might affect people and how she needs to take responsibility, despite the fact that she might have trouble controlling her powers. The other issue is Peril’s constant dependency on Clay that may be taken as a regression, but it is more of a phase through which she passes to establish proper relationships. Clay is the safe space for her because he provides acceptance and safety from all the negative things that happened to her during her life under the rule of Queen Scarlet. Her dependence on him may be too much, but she is currently going through a transitional period that will help her grow into a more independent dragon .
Final Thoughts
While others may argue that not all characters are like this and some do actually revert to their original self, this idea ignores how the story is written. After a dragon finishes their own book, we are no longer inside their thoughts. Instead, we see them through the eyes of other characters, who might not fully understand them or might judge them too quickly. Because of this, their actions can seem worse than they really are. What looks like regression could just be the reader not seeing their thoughts anymore. For example, a dragon who learned self-control might still act strongly in a tense moment, but without knowing what they are thinking, it can look like they are just being aggressive again. In reality, they are still growing, just in ways that are harder to notice. The idea that characters in Wings of Fire lose their development is often based on how their actions look on the outside rather than what is actually happening inside. Characters like Tsunami, Winter, and Peril still show clear signs of growth, but the situations they face and the way other dragons see them can make it seem like they have gone backwards. Since we no longer see their point of view, it is easier to misunderstand their choices and reactions. Instead of truly regressing, these characters are continuing to grow in more realistic ways, showing that development isn’t always easy to see.
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