The Hero’s Quest Cycle defined what a legitimate hero was due to its requirements that the hero must encounter. Although this initially made me think that heroes were significantly less abundant as my definition of a hero, The sitcom Community in the episode Advanced Dungeons and Dragons made me think otherwise. Every character in that episode fulfilled all or almost all of the requirements stated within the hero’s quest cycle, with Fat Neil being the most obvious; I was able to almost make Chang, who dies very early in the game, line up with the hero cycle. Even the “villain” of the episode Pierce qualified as a hero due to his actions. However, that reveals a flaw within the cycle. Besides Pierce, the rest of the cast were trying to make Neil feel better and reconsider any irrational decisions. Although his decisions, in the end, were heroic, his intentions were not. Therefore, I do not consider Pierce as a hero since I think intentions matter more than the result.
However, that reveals a flaw within the cycle. Although his decisions, in the end, were heroic, his intentions were not. Therefore, I consider Pierce as a hero since I think intentions matter more than the result. The outcome was all determined by luck, chance, and the fact that it was a sitcom, which would obviously favor the high risk, high reward. Pierce’s claimed heroism was literally a dice roll; had Neil rolled anything that was not an 18 or higher, the outcome may have been favored towards Pierce’s liking. Overall, I do think the Hero’s Quest Cycle is a very good way of determining the hero/heroes of the story, movie, etc.; there just needs to be a few more details mentioned.
