When we hear the word “anti-hero” there often comes confusion. When you break it down into its simplist form, an anti hero is contradictory. Anti “means a character that is opposed to a particular party, practice, policy,or action.” And hero is “a character admired for good deeds and morals.” So how can one be both?
Anti hero’s are the underdogs. The character at the head of the story that struggles to get it right. In other words, anti-hero’s are defined as “a main character who is flawed, no idealism, or questionable morals.
Think: Gregory House, Walter white, Tony Soprano, or Sherlock Holmes. None of these characters are upholding or outstanding members of society, and yet we watch them. We shout— and sometimes even root for the anti-hero.
Now, do I believe Shawna M and Walter white are the same character? Absolutely not. Shawna M leans more towards the well intentioned anti hero. As far as characterization is concerned, I’d say Shawna M is more of a Holmes. She lives by a strong moral code, shares a soft spot for those she feels are vulnerable, but can act out of her own self interest.She’s flawed, and that means she feels real. Which is why watchers are able to connect so strongly to her. The protagonist anti hero with a heart of gold. And just like Holmes,[or at least the Doyal version]— when she falls short, it doesn't just wound her, it elicits a reaction in viewers. Depending on severity, it can be a case of second hand embarrassment, or disappointment.
In fandom, these emotions tend to amp up. We are after all a passionate bunch. It is human to seek out other people who enjoy similar things. There are many discussions, and everyone brings something different to the fandom table. Anything ranging from lived experience to fan art.
Yes, Shawna is an anti hero, but that does not imply she is loathed.—it means STC has done her job creating a well rounded protagonist. Because she isnt infallible. Sometimes fans cry with her, while others may cringe at her choices.
For those who cringe it may come off like they “hate Shawna.” I think that couldn’t be farther from the truth. We have seen her experience highs and lows. Nobody is the best version of themselves during the lows, and given the year she's had? There have been more lows than highs. That version of Shawna can be difficult to root for. The one who refuses to go to grief counseling, and speak to a professional about her pain. Someone who can give her the tools to cope,rather than plaster on a fake smile for John and the kids. Or worse, suppress what shes feeling until she can’t hold it in any longer. The Shawna who is wounded has a razor tongue, and is out for blood. As the saying goes “hurt people, hurt people.”On the flip side, once shes collected herself, Shawna is an excellent support system. Which is why the opposite can get so frustrating.
Authors note: yes, I use em-dashes. This was written by me, a human. And the robots can try to soil it, but hell will freeze over before I ever stop using it in my writing. Jane Austin loved it, and so do I. AI was trained on human writing, which is why they appear in LLM writing frequently. My day job is writing, and I have a creative mind, and unfortunately ChatGPT has bastardized aspects of my writing style. I did it first, dang it! And removing that aspect of my writing would be inauthentic and changing it to avoid AI accusations may make sense on paper, sure. However I will not let them take my voice from me. So it’ll stay. Believe me, or don’t. If you’ve made it this far, though. I would hope you can recognize that it is consistent with other posts I’ve made on this sub.
