How to Write a Character Arc - "Positive Change" Character Arcs Explained

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Download FREE "Endings & Arcs" Worksheet ►► bit.ly/bs-end Chapters: 00:00​​ Intro - The Four Endings in Every Film 00:32​ Protagonist "Wants & Needs" 02:45​ Overview - The Semi-Sweet Ending 03:54​ Introducing Charlie Babbitt 05:01​ What is a Character's "Ghost?" 08:18​ The "Impact Character" Explained 08:42​ Charlie's Need 12:35​ Charlie Achieves His Need 13:45​ Charlie Establishes a New Want 14:47​ Charlie Sacrifices His Want 15:40​ Get Your FREE Screenwriting Worksheet

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You know, as a writer working on a novel, these are still very helpful.

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I'm an author too and yes these are very helpful in writing characters and building stories.

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Puss In Boots 2 - The Last Wish, is a great example of this ending. Puss in Boots, Goldi, and Kitty Softpaws, none of them get what they wished. However, they do realize and achieve what they need. Puss learns to value his last life, Goldi sees that she had a great family all along, and Softpaws finally open her heart to others, and falls in love with Puss again. 😺⭐⚔

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I have some things to say: - I am also autistic in some way; therefore, "Rain Man' is one of my favorite films where I actually empathize with the characters - With the Oscars coming up, I truly am looking forward to who wins in the categories they were nominated in - The music, editing, animations, and diagrams (the entire mise-en-scene) of these videos truly are the fuel to the filmmakers inside of us. :-)

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[@yasinzekikaskaya5361]

Cars 1 is an example of semi-sweet ending right? Mcqueen can't win the Piston Cup, but he finds real friends.

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I think cars 3 is

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I argue that there is also 5th ending. The unresolved ending, the cliffhanger. Where the climax of the film ends the film. This helps to leave the ending ambiguous for the viewer and allow them to interpret what the overall message of the film is.

[@Dayvit78]

If you're going to do that, I recommend you make it distinct from a cliffhanger which simply sets up the sequel (essentially 1 double or triple length movie).

[@markparkinson6947]

@@Dayvit78 What’s an example of this distinction from a cliffhanger you refer to? I ask so I can get a clearer meaning of what you said.

[@IvanKasic]

@@markparkinson6947 If you've seen Whiplash (2014), there are different ways to interpret the protagonist's arc, whether you think he underwent a positive or negative change. Tyler Mowery has a few character arc videos that detail how protagonists like these have open-ended or interpretable arcs. Try "How to Create Character Arcs"

[@markparkinson6947]

@@IvanKasic There we go! That’s a great example of the cliffhanger ending, as the film cuts out right when Andrew (Miles Teller) finishes his drum solo, which cut out the reaction from the other characters, making the ending more ambiguous. And I have seen some of Tyler Mowery’s videos before. He is extremely concise and direct in his teaching style, which is great. A downside, however, is that he does tend to think his teachings are the only way to approach writing a story, but I guess that’s what you need to do in order to be persuasive when you are trying to teach. You need to be able to convince your students to listen.

[@IvanKasic]

@@markparkinson6947 I totally agree! He's a great teacher for sure, but he can be a bit too sure that his way is the only way; I suppose it works anyway. Happy to help! :)

[@officegossip]

This just makes me wanna rewatch Rain Man again. What a fantastic movie. Tom Cruise was killing it in the 80s, he’s one of the great in my eyes alongside Dustin Hoffman. Awesome video. I’ve been thinking about development arcs for my characters in my comic and this was just the thing I needed to see. I think any creative that writes for a passion no matter the medium could learn from this. Thanks a lot.

[@Link-ji7kx]

In a Christmas Carol, Scrooge doesn’t get what he wants (money, to be alone) but he gets what he needs (love, community). So, I guess thats a Semi-Sweet ending. But a very happy one. But Bob and the community get what they want - Scrooge to be good.

[@ajkonecny6830]

I really enjoyed the way you explained on how to write a semi-character arc like that. Since I've been more brainstorming my sci-fi story/whole series idea(s) one of the things I've been thinking about is writing character arcs. I'm glad I found this video and I'm also glad that you provided a sheet to fill out for how to write your character arcs. Both positive and negative arcs.

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As great as StudioBinder is, what they don't go into is the politics and minutiae of how films are produced at the million dollar studio level. Meaning, all of these theories and elements of story telling are great on paper, but when you have million dollar contracts, egos and more than one cook stirring the pot, things get muddied and that's putting it lightly. I've worked around the industry and can tell you tales of how common sense goes out the window when money is involved... And there is money to be made at every step of the process. Hence, why everybody wants a hand in making the stew even if it ends up being something nobody wants to consume at the end, but all the chefs got paid to make it.

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2:00 That’s not a need that’s a realization. His need was to be loved. His realization was that he already was.

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Just watching these clips from Rain Man brings me to tears. That movie was so good.

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I looked at my local theater to check out movies this morning before watching this video, and Rain Man just happens to be playing in theaters today to celebrate its 35th anniversary! 🎉

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4 minutes in and I've already learnt something significantly helpful. Thank you.

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Hello! If you liked this, then check out our video on character arc in Bollywood film 3 Idiots! - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJ6loYlqnalljqs

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This is such an understated channel. This ending series is so insightful!!!!

[@alfie4234]

Great video, I wish you talked more about ‘impact characters’ maybe brought up some more examples, including examples how they can negatively, positively or fail to change the main character.

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I really wished so too

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[@FelexAndVirginia]

13/01/2022 How to Write a Character Arc ? Four ways to end a story 1. Sweet ending main character has 2 things a want (known to character , external to character ,specific to the character ) and a need (internal to character, unknown to the character, drive the story) character will achieving his wants and needs. 2.Semi Sweet ending character achieves what they want but not what they need in opening scene introduce the character ghost(something they did in past but haunts them now) can be an event, break up, betrayal and this shaped our our character to whom his now . also you need an impact character who neutralize the character and has impact on character life and proceeds to change him and to try achieve his want. he is presented with his want but he has changed he want to achieve his need and new want which is impossible hence semi sweet ending story end with positive change arc

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I have never seen rain man but this video had me(a grown man) tearing up at work WTF those scenes are so impactful and i didnt even watch the whole film. Excellent video as well and perfect examples

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So I subscribed, gave a thumbs up, made a positive comment and had tears in my eyes. Is that what you want? Or what you need?

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That would be a sweet ending for us

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Studio binder being awesome as usual. Great essay.

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Can't wait for The Social Network episode.

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Another fantastic ending explainer video! I love how I'm getting so many reference points for my novel with these!

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Awww I’ve never seen Rain Man, but have seen references to it in other movies. I wanna watch it now.

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Inspiring as always, thank you! Rain Man holds up so well, such a beautifully crafted film.

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I really enjoyed the video it will certainly help me with the stories that I pursue to tell, and also made me understand what is my real life character arc for the moment

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What does mean in the captions?

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Bro this is really really good content, Im a film student but I've never learned this things.. thank you so much!

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Wonderful breakdown. Thanks.

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absolutely great movie as always great video very insightful! you have always been a great inspiration to make video essays and learn more about cinema

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Great video, very clear explanation

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[@masseffectmafia]

The scene where Charlie discovers his need is a bit deeper. In my trash opinion. At the end of the scene he discovers that he himself was always good enough for his father so his "ghost" is now extinct. Kidnapping Raymond led to him discovering how their father sent Ray away soon after the death of their mother. This is the inciting incident that frees Charlie so he can lose the chip on his shoulder of always needing money/material possessions to be seen as worthy in his own life. After he talks with Raymond, he realizes their father is a very flawed individual. After their mother died, he decides he's not going to invest the time/energy into raising Raymond in his own home. He sends him away, but always making sure the funds are there for his care. Charlie realizes that he himself was never the problem. It was their father. Their father had emotionally failed them both. After their talk, he empathizes with Raymond. Now Charlie realizes he's free from his father's ghost and his resentments of him. He can now give (and receive) his brother what each of them never had in their own lives from their living family members: love. Not just love, but unconditional love. That also translates into his personal relationships. Charlie was very cold and aloof from his girlfriend (like his father was with him) and after these realizations he's now able to love himself, thus translating into loving Raymond and his girlfriend. There's a lot packed into that scene which unfolds throughout the rest of the film. Absolutely brilliant writing.

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I'm from tamilnadu but the video is easy to attendance 👍👍👍👍

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You're right on time :)

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This video is so amazing for the real life too 🙌

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Just perfect teaching 🙌🏻👍🏻

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I love the voice of the announcer

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[@johndododoe1411]

In High School, they explained character arcs very differently, as the series of events that shape a characters personality or destiny; Classic examples include the hero's arc as featured in Homer's two classic stories about Achilles and Odysseus, and in the classic athenian stage plays. These standard arcs are also found in much more recent media, such as the original Star Wars Trilogy (which actively sought out well established types and structures), the Back to the Future series where each of the recurring characters evolve fundamentally. A character isn't as much shaped by wants and needs, but instead forms them.

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That's what makes him the best narrator haha

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Can we get a spoiler alert list of movies in the description of the videos?

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I find myself lucky that I found this channel

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Welcome!

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Hello Sparsh! If you liked this, then check out our video on character arc in Bollywood film 3 Idiots! - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJ6loYlqnalljqs

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fantastic analysis

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Hello, i want to ask you, what is the best colour that can be use in film for expression of gambling and hazard?

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Our video on color theory in film should help you! kzbin.info/www/bejne/onqxh6F3aNeJf6c

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Absolutely. Added to description. Here you go! bit.ly/weilandarcs

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I got roses, didn't I? I definitely got roses I mean those are roses!

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if possible please do a video on background music, when to use it and when not.

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Please make a video on how to write good cliffhanger ends and how to create mastermind suspense

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Learning is a Never Ending Journey.

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check that off the list off of corny things literally said by everyone

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Words of wisdom

[@ReySkywalker2]

This is a fantastic video. I would love for you to do a video on Rey from the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy. She is one of the most underrated and misunderstood characters. She has a fantastic arc of overcoming her toxic and false core belief of self-worthlessness (her flaw) that was born out of her childhood parental abandonment (her character ghost/wound). This core belief of self-worthlessness causes her to feel completely unworthy of her own personal greatness, to the point where she rejects the call to adventure, tries to pass off the role to others (Luke and Ben Solo) and, once Rey is the last hope for the Jedi, continually doubts her worthiness and chronically feels unworthy of this personal greatness. Finally, however, at the climax of The Rise Of Skywalker, Rey rejects her character flaw, her core belief of self-worthlessness and accepts her character truth, that she is worthy of being a hero, of achieving personal greatness, hence Rey pulling the Skywalker Lightsaber to her and proclaiming herself “All the Jedi” A video on this character arc would be able to perfectly demonstrate how nuanced and subtle character arcs can be when they’re done well, as many people cannot see or understand Rey’s character arc in the films, due to a lack of understanding of what character arcs are and an inability to analyse them.

[@Butterfly1025A]

The audience’s lack of appreciation for Rey’s arc doesn’t come from ignorance or idiocy, and it’s pretty rude of you to say that. The audience isn’t a sea of vacuous morons unwilling to see depth and uneducated about basic storytelling tropes; plenty of them know just as much as you and plenty of them know more. Rey’s character arc is missed because the films are narrative garbage: poorly paced, poorly plotted, poorly managed. They were juggled between directors and mutilated by studio demands. The last film is more plot hole than plot. Make all the character analyses you want, but don’t insult the audience for not liking what you liked. They have reasons, just like you do.

[@emhu2594]

Rey wanders around aimlessly asking a bunch of men who she is and what she should do, falls in love with an abusive genocidal maniac because he's a bad boy, and then she takes the name of a man who refused to train her that she knew for a day. Wow so empowering and feminist. What you wrote in your comment was way deeper than what they Intended. Rey was 100% wasted potential.

[@ReySkywalker2]

@@emhu2594 That’s all objectively false. Everything I wrote was what is in the films. Rey wasn’t wasted except being wasted on the likes of you - mindless fools who can’t actually understand or analyse writing, character arcs or storytelling. Rey has an incredible and deeply complex character arc of overcoming a toxic core belief of self worthlessness and suffering from, dealing with and ultimately ridding herself of the negative effects that her core belief of self worthlessness causes: her shame, self blame, unworthiness, denial, anger and rage, validation seeking, etc.

[@ReySkywalker2]

@@Butterfly1025A You’re wrong my guy and here’s why. Let me educate your ignorant and uneducated brain. First, what is a Character Arc? Character arcs are specific changes a character goes through, usually through overcoming an irrational and toxic core belief. There are typically three types of character arcs: positive change arcs, negative change arcs and flat arcs. For this piece, we will only be discussing positive character arcs, as they pertain to Rey. Positive change arcs are the most common type of character arc. It involves a character suffering from a false, toxic core belief and how they overcome this belief to become a better person. A character overcomes the core belief in the climax of their story, when they reject said false core belief and embrace a new core truth. Overcoming an irrational and destructive, unhealthy core belief is the basis of all good and complex character arcs. This may make character arcs seem to simple and basic but this is merely an outline for character arcs. What the core belief is, if/how the characters overcome it and how it effects the characters are all free to the writer and audience/reader. Core Beliefs To understand how they work in character arcs, one must understand what core beliefs are. A Core belief is a real, psychological concept, within the field of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: a CB (Core Belief) is an abstract, mental concept and idea that one holds to be true, which exists, only within the unconscious mind. In simple terms, core beliefs are beliefs that are unconscious, rigid and, due to being held within the unconscious part of the mind, are free from the person’s knowledge or awareness. This is to say; they’re strong belief that people hold without even knowing it. Core beliefs are formed from once conscious beliefs that have become internalised during early childhood. As children, humans learn about the world and about themselves, forming mental constructs and beliefs (regular, conscious beliefs), from observations, parents teachings and their own conclusions and logic. These beliefs are conscious but, due to them being formed at such a young and immature age, are susceptible to irrational logical and often are irrational, illogical, toxic, unhealthy and simply false.. As the child grows, with this belief now formed, it becomes internalised, becoming a solid core belief, set in stone. As an adult, the person now suffers from an irrational core belief about themselves (or the world or others) without even knowing it or having any memory of forming it. Core beliefs affect and influence the behaviour, emotional well-being and thoughts a person has, as we will explore later. Examples of common core beliefs include: a Core Belief of self-worthlessness, a core belief of self-incompetence and a core belief of self-unlovability. Core beliefs, like the ones above, are caused by some traumatic event someone experiences in childhood, which caused the child to come to an irrational conclusion and form the belief. To overcomes a core belief, the person must first acknowledge the core beliefs existence and understand it. Then, they must consciously reject the core belief and finally form a new core belief as a replacement. Example A) A 6 year old boy, named George, is abused by his parents and neglected, often being ignored and left alone. George then, irrationally, comes to the conclusion and forms the belief that “me and my problems don’t matter.” As George goes through adolescence, this belief becomes internalised, as a core belief. As an adult, George finds it very difficult to speak about his own problems but is also extremely clingy and needy. Example B) Amy, a 5 year old girl, tragically lost both her parents in a car crash. Amy then formed the irrational belief that “the world is a dangerous place”. This belief became internalised as a core belief so, as an adult, Amy finds it very difficult to take risks or try new things and is content in a job she doesn’t like. Example C) Billy is a young, 5 year old, boy. Throughout his childhood, his parents often made promises they couldn’t keep and let him down a lot. Billy came to the conclusion that this meant that “people will always let you down” and “you cannot trust anyone”. As an adult, Billy is often extremely paranoid and finds it difficult to make friends and trust people. Core Beliefs in Character Arcs So what does all this have to do with character arcs and Rey’s character? Well, just as Core Beliefs exist in real life, within real people, so too do characters have core beliefs. In fact, all character arcs are, at their core, characters suffering from, dealing with, acknowledging, overcoming and finally replacing a toxic core belief. This is why character arcs are able to be so relatable and useful for personal, real-life growth: because characters, such as Rey, grow in a realistic and human way from realistic and human flawed core belief. Core Beliefs in character arcs are sometimes known as other things, such as “character lie” or “character flaw”. These terms are valid but the most accurate term is a core belief, due to this being a real psychological term. Rey’s Core Belief So then, finally, what is Rey’s core belief? How does her toxic Core Belief hold her down, how does it affect her and how does she overcome it? Well, first, let’s look at what Rey’s core belief isn’t. Rey’s core belief and arc, in my interpretation at least, are not about parents or her family, despite what it may seem on the surface. This is one of the biggest misconceptions and misunderstandings of Rey’s character and arc. Yes Rey does gain a found family with her friends, Finn and Poe, the Resistance and her surrogate mother and master, Leia, but this is not her character arc, just a brilliant part of Rey’s story and development. That’s not to say that Rey’s family and parents aren’t an aspect of her character arc, they are, but they are not the core of it. They are just a branch. Rey’s true, actual core belief is a very common core belief, in fact. Rey’s core belief is a: Core Belief of Self-Worthlessness Many people may not understand this at first. They may think things like “Rey seems pretty confident and self assured, how can she believe she is worthless?” This is true. Rey has a lot of self confidence. She believes she is a good fighter and pilot and is confident in her abilities. She knows that she can achieve things, if she tries hard enough, and believes she is capable of achieving things like becoming a Jedi. This is because Rey has self confidence. This is not the same as self worth. The reason why people seem to get confused here is because they believe self-worth and self-confidence are the same thing. They’re not. They often share a correlation but can be and often are separate. Rey’s core belief is that she is worthless. This doesn’t mean she can’t believe she is capable and be confident in herself. Her core belief makes her feel undeserving of being who she wants to be but it doesn’t make her feel incompetent. The difference between low self confidence and low self worth is the difference between believing that you are ABLE to be/do something and believing you are DESERVING/WORTHY of being/doing something. Furthermore, some people don’t understand that a toxic core belief is irrational and rigid. As we found out earlier, core belief are formed in early childhood (4-8yrs old) and, once they become internalised and unconscious, they’re firm and rigid - stuck. Rey’s core belief that she is worthless persists, regardless of how capable, strong or powerful she may be. That’s the worst part about core beliefs. You cannot fight them with proof, you must defeat them at the source. So, now that we understand that Rey’s core belief isn’t contradicted by Rey’s confidence and self belief, we can get into the real psychology of Rey’s core belief. The cause of Rey’s Core Belief As stated earlier, all core beliefs are formed in childhood. Positive childhood reinforcement creates positive core beliefs. A negative childhood, with trauma, neglect and abuse, will cause negative, irrational and unhealthy core beliefs. It’s stated through the Sequel Trilogy that Rey experienced severe and traumatic childhood trauma and abuse. Her parents, in the small and short flashbacks in TROS, seemed like nice and caring parents and they did abandon Rey with good intentions but - technically speaking - childhood abandonment is neglect and neglect is abuse. Rey was left, alone, on Jakku at the age of 5. For a child, this would be like your whole World (or Galaxy) collapsing around you and the only thing a child can think - the only thing a child will think, - to rationalise this strange event is to come to the irrational conclusion that they must be, absolutely, 100% worthless.

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@@Butterfly1025A After all, only worthless people are abandoned by their parents - the people who are meant to love, care for and protect you. Rey’s core belief of self-worthlessness was formed during her childhood, during an extremely traumatic event and time in Rey’s life. Rey’s abandonment, by her parents, at such a young age for Rey, caused her to come to the irrational and incorrect conclusion and form the belief that she is worthless. From that moment, Rey’s belief was reinforced everyday when her parents never return. Throughout the years, from being 5 (the age Rey was when she was abandoned) to around 14-15, the belief festered within Rey’s mind and slowly become internalised until it finally sank to Rey’s unconscious mind. Here, forgotten by Rey consciously, the belief exists still as strong and influential as it would be if it were conscious but invisible and free from logic and conscious reasoning. That’s the true reason why CB’s are so dangerous. On top of being so impactful on a person's emotions and mind, they’re completely hidden, with only the effects being visible. The effects/evidence of Rey’s Core Belief At this point you may think: “Ok but this is all conjecture. Yes it’s possible that such an event would cause Rey to form this believe but actual evidence must be shown.” To that I say, absolutely. So, here is a list of the common symptoms of someone with a core belief of self-worthlessness: Chronic psychological and emotional pain Rey is stated to have “pain” inside her, by Kylo Ren. Rey Feeling unworthy to be ones ideal self The “ideal self” is just a fancy term for who/what/how you want to be. Rey shows clearly that her ideal self is not a scavenger living amongst the sands of Jakku but to be a Hero. We see her wear the Rebel X-Wing helmet, we see her doll that she played with as a child, acting out the legendary stories she’s heard about and, most importantly, she looks up to the legendary hero’s of the Jedi - namely, Luke Skywalker. However. Rey holds a definite feeling of unworthiness to be her ideal self. It’s made clear, within Rey’s introduction scene alone, that she doesn’t like being a scavenger, we see how she looks at the old woman cleaning her scraps, just as Rey is, with sadness and a hint of worry and fear. We know Rey wants to be more than what she is, yet she doesn’t. She wants to be something, her ideal self is a Jedi, a Hero: despite this, Rey runs away from the call to action, when the lightsaber calls to her; then she tries to displace this role to other people and, once she has finally been forced to take the mantle or being a Jedi (the last Jedi), she states that she feels unworthy and undeserving of it (“I will earn your brothers saber…”). It isn’t until Rey stands against Palpatine and is guided, and motivated by the Jedi of the Past, that Rey destroys her core belief of self-worthlessness and, with it, no longer feels unworthy of becoming and being her ideal self, the thing that she wants to (and the Galaxy needs her) to be, all the Jedi - hence Rey declaring “I’m all the Jedi.”, pulling the Skywalker saber to her (the physical symbol of a Jedi and Rey’s ideal self) and destroying Sidious. Rey declaring herself “all the Jedi” is (in a perfect way) demonstrating Rey’s defeat over her core belief of self-worthlessness - as she finally feels worthy and deserving of being her ideal self, “all the Jedi”. Misplaced and inappropriate outbursts of anger Rey consistently shows excessive and inappropriate aggression and anger. One example is how she struck a defenceless and unarmed, elderly Luke Skywalker on the back of the head. Another is when she stabbed Kylo Ren, whilst he was unarmed and defenceless. Excessively aggressive behaviour Overcompensating by trying to show their worth Rey often tries to prove herself to others and puts on a mask of confidence. When speaking to Luke, Rey states “You didn’t fail Kylo, Kylo failed you. I won’t.” Flashbacks of repressed traumatic memory Fear of responsibility and importance Hasty formation of attachments Validation/Approval seeking Chronic feelings of irrational loneliness Very self-critical (wrongly blames oneself) Denial of trauma that caused core belief to form Need for approval is easily manipulated Emotional fragility (overly emotional) Sense of aimlessness/not having “a place” Inappropriately and unhealthily altruistic Self Destructive behaviours Every single one of these symptoms can be clearly and distinctly applied to Rey across the Sequel Trilogy. With actual, proper analysis and a real understanding of both Rey and this human/character psychology, it’s almost impossible to not see how Rey definitely holds a Core Belief of Self-Worthlessness. Core beliefs have two types of “side-effects” or impacts on a person/character. The core belief: causes related feelings and emotions to arise in the person (i.e. Rey’s core belief that she is worthless causes Rey to have a chronic feeling of worthlessness, sadness and pain (which is shown throughout the trilogy with her crying, short-temper, temptation to the dark side and rage)); and causes the person to unconsciously act out coping mechanisms to help deal with the painful emotions and feelings that the core belief causes. The feelings and internal pain that Rey’s CB causes her are feelings such as chronic unworthiness, inadequateness, loneliness (feeling like nobody understands you), general sadness and anger. Because of the nature of film, a characters emotions cannot be told directly to the audience, like they can be in novels, however these emotions are shown, indirectly, in characters through their actions, dialogue and acting, such as Rey throughout the sequel trilogy. It’s important to notice that it’s not the presence of these emotions that supports Rey having this belief, but it’s the presence of these emotions in Rey, despite having no reason to. Rey feelings worthless and unworthy of being a Jedi (TROS), despite showing capability and having support from Leia, the Jedi texts and Luke. Rey feels feelings of loneliness, despite having many friends around her. Rey has “...such pain in [her] - such anger…”, despite having no reason to, other than a deeper, unconscious Core Belief, being the only explanation. The coping mechanism we see Rey use are text book for someone with this common CB. She suffers from psychological denial and repression, as we come to learn that Rey knew all along that her parents abandoned her and had been killed, she just hid it from herself. Kylo Ren tells Rey, multiple times in both TLJ and TROS that she has “just hidden it [the truth of her parents] away” and she “knows more that [she] says”. She also uses validation and approval seeking tactics to try and push back against the conscious feelings of worthlessness and valuelessness, but, of course - as all coping mechanisms, they don’t address or help against the core of the issue, only it’s effects. She seeks approval from Han and Luke, as Kylo Ren says himself in TLJ and then turns to Kylo Ren himself to find some solace and approval that she isn’t worthless, when Luke wouldn’t give it to her. Here is a list of all the key pieces of evidence for Rey having an unconscious irrational belief that she is worthless. Rey willingly spends 14 years as a scavenger, despite knowing, deep down, that her parents are dead and gone. (Self-Sabotage/Self-Deprecation, Denial and Repression) Is extremely emotionally fragile, breaking down into tears when confronted with any criticism or comments of her worth. “You come from nothing. You’re nothing.” Such emotional fragility shows clear low self esteem, which is a sign of this core belief of self worthlessness. (Emotional immaturity, emotional displacement and misplaced, internalised anger) Searches for approval, validation and affection from others, like Han, Luke, Leia, Ben Solo and her parents, possibly to make up for her own lack of self-value. (Validation/approval seeking) Forms attachments incredibly quickly, as an act of desperation and necessity. (Attachment disorder) Consistently mentions feeling alone, lost, confused or scared (“I need someone to show me my place in all this.”, “[What are you most afraid of?]” - “Myself”, “I’ve never felt so alone.”, etc.) (Perceived inadequacy and feelings of being alone)

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