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destiny: a look at the charmings

written 09/19/2020

The concept of ‘destiny’ is one of the most important in Ever After High. Yet for something so crucial to the plot, its definition isn’t the most specific. For some characters, it's obvious what their ‘destiny’ will be: Apple White is the sole offspring of Snow White, so her destiny is to follow in her mother’s footsteps. But for other characters, like the Charming siblings, it isn’t quite as clear. Daring and Dexter know they will become heroes of some sort, but there’s no real indicator of what story they’ll end up in. Daring and Apple both think he will be her hero, but that’s just a guess, probably formed by their parents when they were younger. Nothing ever specified as such. Sure, Apple sees Daring in the Storybook of Legends, but that was her projection of the story, and we later find out that that wasn’t the real book anyway[1]. As for Darling, her parents believe she is to be some undescribed damsel, but the evidence points otherwise. Much of what is painted as ‘destiny’ turns out to be projection on behalf of the parents of Ever After, fed to their children when they were younger. Apple’s destiny is to be the next Snow White, but there’s nothing saying part of that destiny is her ending up with Daring; that’s where projection and assumption come in.

Of course, a major part of the plot is that half of the students at Ever After High don’t want to follow their destiny, and that’s fine. But right now, we’re talking about what their destiny is. Whether they follow it or not is up to them. Many of the students seem to have quirks that reflect their destiny. Numerous are related to their “magic touches”, the destiny-related powers mentioned on the back of doll boxes, but they aren’t quite the same and other quirks vary completely. For example, Raven’s official magic touch is that she can cast spells, but her ‘destiny quirk’, as we’ll be calling it, is that sometimes her powers backfire if she tries to use them for good, as her destiny is to be the Evil Queen[2]. On the other hand, Darling’s magic touch is that she can freeze time when she flips her hair[3], but her destiny quirk is pretty much completely unrelated.

If we go by the narrative that Darling is destined to be a damsel-in-distress, her magic touch doesn’t really make sense. Why would a damsel, meant to spend all of her life waiting for a prince to save her, need to be able to freeze time? And what would her destiny quirk even be? Darling does a good enough job of being a proper princess to please her parents and teachers, but it’s made clear that her heart isn’t in it. It’s possible that her destiny quirk could be that most boys who see her instantly fall in love with her[3], but that is more her effect on others than destiny’s effect on her. Possible, yes, but not entirely plausible.

Now let’s entertain the idea that Darling’s destiny is to be a hero like her brothers. Already, it seems to be a better fit as this is a destiny where her magic touch could actually come in handy. There are countless scenarios where a hero could benefit from being able to freeze time for everyone but themself. Finding a destiny quirk can be a bit more complex, as we see Darling do many brave and heroic things. Let’s look at her brothers: both of whom are destined to be heroes, though it isn’t initially specified which story they’ll each be in. Daring is a cookie-cutter Prince Charming - strong, brave, and a little cocky. Dexter is quite the opposite, much more a fan of the adventure in books and video games than that of real life. There’s no saying that their destiny quirk will be the same, but for the sake of this article we’re going with that concept. In the first webisode, we see Daring catch a falling Briar without warning[4]. He just happens to be standing in the right place and is able to catch her without dropping her from the impact. It’s, for lack of better words, a little magical. It fits the ‘quirk’ category, too - not too shocking or powerful, not just a regular trait anyone could have; just a small, slightly out of the ordinary reminder of what your destiny is meant to be.

We’ve established that catching falling damsels with no preparation or warning could be a destiny quirk, but does it hold true for the other two Charming siblings? Dexter can barely ride a horse with armor on, so it wouldn’t make sense for him to be able to catch someone randomly falling, much less with no warning, right? All signs point to ‘no’, yet in one of the first webisodes he catches Cupid, who fell off a stack of items, as if he’s used to it[5]. And it’s no surprise Darling can do the same, given her history of secret exercise and scaling walls[3]. Her catch happens in the third episode of Dragon Games[6], and while it’s not as dramatic as the other two (Harelow is only falling from a tree, not a high-up balcony), it’s an unexpected catch nonetheless. Darling, like her brothers, is naturally in the perfect position. If catching falling damsels out of nowhere is a destiny quirk, all three of the Charmings have it.

Clearly, against the odds all three Charming siblings are destined to be heroes in their own stories. And that’s without factoring in that Darling is already the White Knight of Wonderland[2] or that she was able to break Apple’s magically-induced coma when Daring couldn’t[7] (more on both of those in later posts!). Darling may think she’s rebelling from her story, but in reality she’s following her destiny closer than most. As for Daring and Dexter, they’ll both still be heroes, it’s just not clear of what.

sources

[1]. Thronecoming
[2]. Darling Charming’s Doll Diary
[3]. A Semi-Charming Kind of Life by Suzanne Selfors
[4]. “Apple’s Tale: The Story of a Royal” webisode
[5]. “Here Comes Cupid” webisode
[6]. Dragon Games Episode 3, Escape the Forest
[7]. Dragon Games Episode 4, Battle the Queen

as always, visit the 'works used' page to find out more about the sources listed

the white knight: a deep dive

written 09/26/2020

One thing a lot of fans question is how Darling became the White Knight of Wonderland. Because it’s never addressed in the cartoons or books, many assume that it’s one of the many things left unresolved. However, Darling’s doll diary is actually centered around that very topic. Essentially, Darling asked Raven to teleport her somewhere, but the magic backfired and she ended up in between Ever After and Wonderland. Darling finds the White Knight stuck between the two worlds, and helps him get back to his Wonderland home, where he goes to ‘rest’, though it’s somewhat implied that he passes away, leaving Darling as his successor[1]. We know how Darling becomes the White Knight, but there’s something else missing from the story.

In Way Too Wonderland, Raven, Maddie, Kitty, Lizzie, Apple, and Briar all end up in Wonderland thanks to another backfired spell on Raven’s behalf[2]. Obviously Darling has to have gotten to Wonderland too, as she’s there as the White Knight and assists the girls on their journey. But the passage to Wonderland is [almost] entirely sealed, and unless Darling has a map of the Well of Wonder like Lizzie’s, she shouldn’t be able to get in. Looking frame-by-frame during the moments Raven casts the spell, it’s clear Darling is included in magic, unlike Bunny and Alistair, who aren’t affected and stay in Ever After. However, she doesn’t appear at all in the transformation sequence when the other girls’ outfits and hair change as they float down to Wonderland. The girls land in Wonderland, have some dialogue, and then head off on their merry way. A few seconds later, Darling pops out of the same area the others had, but her appearance is unaffected. This raises a few questions: how did Darling avoid getting transformed, and why was her arrival delayed?

It’s still very possible that as the official White Knight of Wonderland, Darling has other means of traveling between Ever After and Wonderland. At the end of her diary, she asks for directions back home and the resting knight tells her that she’ll figure it out. In Spring Unsprung[3], the White Knight is under Wonderland to see the Cheshire Cat switch the Storybook of Legends, and she then is able to climb up into the Mad Hatter’s Tea Shoppe (in Wonderland, not Ever After). After helping Ginger in Wonderland, the White Knight also brings the both of them back home, so she definitely has a way around the Evil Queen’s spell. However, if she was included in Raven’s magic it doesn’t make sense for her to have used her own method.

More likely is the possibility that she used her magic touch to slow herself down so she wouldn’t arrive at the same pace as the others. If she arrived with the others, she would be expected to join them on their trip instead of going off to put on her White Knight armor. With a flip of her hair, Darling can freeze time for everyone but her (and anyone she’s touching). Factor in Wonderland logic, and this could work a few different ways. If her magic touch works like normal, she could simply move in the opposite direction so that the girls were ahead of her and she would therefore be delayed. Another possibility is that because they’re in between Ever After and Wonderland, Darling’s magic has the reverse effect (freezing time only for her), therefore delaying her transport. Either way gives the same result, so it doesn’t feel worth looking further into.

As for her lack of transformation, the only explanation possible (given what we know) is that Wonderland magic recognizes her as the White Knight and understands that changing her appearance into some large, flashy outfit would be detrimental to her service. It’s not the most satisfying answer, but it’s all we’ve got. This explanation could also cover her delayed arrival (maybe that was on Wonderland’s behalf, not Darling’s), but it’s just so mundane of an answer that it felt necessary to explore some other options. Unfortunately there’s no one clear winner as to which option is the truth, but at least there’s some more reasoning, and a better explanation of Darling’s job as the White Knight overall.

sources

[1]. Darling Charming’s Doll Diary
[2]. Way Too Wonderland Episode 1, Card Tricks
[3]. Spring Unsprung

as always, visit the 'works used' page to find out more about the sources listed

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as always, visit the 'works used' page to find out more about the sources listed