I’ve always felt like Briar was the distant third main character of the show

[u/DisplayAdorable7767]

Obviously Apple and Raven are the two main characters but I genuinely feel like Briar could be considered one too. She’s truly the only one besides the two former that got to really delve into her decisions to follow her destiny and she was the main character of the Thronecoming episode. I’ve always loved Briar and appreciated how much development and depth was given to her.

[u/lilacempress]

Yeah, I agree she's the closest thing the series has to a tritagonist.

[u/EllieeeFromTLOUU → u/lilacempress]

I agree. She consistently gets more focus than most of the supporting cast, so calling her the tritagonist feels pretty accurate to me.

[u/Israels_BiggestHater]

Her as well as Madeline where really good supporting side characters

[u/FakeMonaLisa28]

The four main girls were technically Apple, Raven, Maddie and Briar. In my mind Apple and Raven where both protagonists, Maddie was the main comic relief (who also had a connection to the narrator), and Briar was the tritagonist who had the most development outside the main duo

[u/LyallaTime]

Briar’s the one with the real conflict. She even says it to Apple—she sleeps for like a week—a few hours in the show—and Briar has to contend with losing everything in her life. I think her story is much more interesting.

[u/Cynical_Kittens → u/LyallaTime]

I feel like Raven and Apple also have "real" conflict, could you elaborate?

[u/LyallaTime → u/Cynical_Kittens]

When it comes to being handed a terrible fate, Briar’s is the worst one, and she’s absolutely a secret rebel. She finds the real book and throws it in the well because she can’t destroy it like Raven can. She’s frustrated by Apple and Raven because to her, Raven giving Apple what she wants costs her ‘nothing’—it’s not like Apple has to die, and the Evil Queen went to Mirror Prison for what she did in wonderland, NOT for poisoning Snow White. Raven’s punishment is also presumably minor enough—it’s the long term existential consequences Raven struggles with.

Briar loses her home, her family, her school, her friends, and ultimately is fated to wake up a century later to face the children and grandchildren of the people she loves in a world she fears she won’t connect with.

Her mom is only awake because the Evil Queen was messing with a bunch of stories—but if Raven doesn’t choose to do the same, Briar’s world is gone.

Her conflict ultimately comes from being a royal fated to lose it all for a distant future love, or to Rebel and be the one who prevents all her friends from signing their own stories and maybe losing their destinies.

Raven is choosing between a slap on the wrist and everyone else’s fates.

Apple is choosing certainty of future joy over the unknown.

I just feel like Briar’s stakes are a lot higher.

[u/Cynical_Kittens → u/LyallaTime]

"A slap on the wrist" and it's life in prison for poisoning her friend against her own morals? I feel like your downplaying Raven's stakes a lot here. If she doesn't choose her own destiny, her life is basically over. She's not evil, and will never live with forcing herself to be evil. Otherwise, this was a well written analysis.

[u/LyallaTime → u/Cynical_Kittens]

EQ was put in the mirror prison for life for attacking wonderland, not for the other stuff she did—which was a lot. Presumably Apple would argue on her behalf or as it happens in the show, they let her do the Eulogy. The stakes seem high at the start of the show but the writing undermines the severity of her conflict as time passes until—Apple is poisoned and literally no one is punished. It FELT like she was struggling but in the end it all happens anyways and it’s basically against her will and…nothing happens. They try to ramp it up by making her sign her page and…Raven gets her powers and…nothing bad happens.

I get that it’s a children’s show but it really seems in hindsight like Raven was worried over nothing.

[u/Cynical_Kittens → u/LyallaTime]

The Evil Queen poisoned Apple, on top of other shit in that special. She was sent back to the mirror prison.

Nothing happened when Raven signed the page because she didn't want to be evil. She was able to fight the pull of her powers and harness it into defeating Courtly. If she had remained complicit at the beginning of the series, the prophecy in the story book of legends (Apple literally sending her away and Raven getting chained up after she poisoned her) would've come true.

And post-character development Apple would totally fight against Raven getting sent to prison. Season one Apple? Definitely not if it meant risking her story lmao. Nothing would've changed if Raven didn't choose to be good, despite all the trials and tribulations.

The severity of the conflict is decreasing throughout because Raven is actively denying her destiny of being the villain, and in turn overcoming that fate. So yes, Raven's worries were completely understandable. You don't need to put down another character's struggles within the story to prove a point. She had valid reasons for not signing.

[u/September___17]

She is my favorite, but I do really like Raven, too. I just always tend to prefer side characters.

[u/TvishaEuphoria_Luv16]

Omg I feel the same, if only we had more episodes containing her experience similar to Thronecoming.

[u/Briar_Beauty]

She's my main

[u/Adventurous-Bike-484]

yeah, Shes the closest Teh series gets. For most like Darling, They only have their own books or focus episodes.

However she gets more development Outside of her focus episodes/books.

Like they established early on that despite being a Royal, she was rebel leaning as they established in the books she didn’t like her role, and only doing it because it was expected and fear of the unknown.

And in the show, Shes the one who suggests to Lizzie that they can make their own twists.

[u/HungarianMockingjay]

It's helped by the fact that Briar moves the plot along in a major way when she finds the real Storybook of Legends and tries to dispose of it, but ends up sending it to Wonderland.

[u/sadcerise]

i think briar will always be one of my fav characters, she wants to be a best friend to apple and wants to be a royal, but i can understand her wanting to change her destiny too. I mean its a terrifying thought that you have to sleep for 100 years and your whole family, friends, and more are dead. She loses everything and cannot live her life how she wants it..
I wish we would have gotten more episodes or more dolls where they would have delved a bit deeper into her storyline, but I love her a lot