How to Fix Angela

 So I just had an idea.

I was thinking about how Angela is a completely pointless character and how she serves no real role in the plot. Everyone who I've talked to about the rewrite is in favor of removing her entirely. And they have a good point.

But with everyone giving up on her character completely, I can't help but take it as a challenge.

And then I came up with an idea for her that could work.

 

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Seriously. She's already been established as enormously powerful and knowledgeable about secrets. Having her train Eragon in the use of spells after Brom kicked the bucket would be perfect. Basically she helps him hone his skills between Eragon and Eldest. She teaches him a bunch of tricks she has picked up over years of practice.

This could actually somewhat explain why Eragon increases in power so much between Eragon and Eldest. Thus somewhat softening the blow of his awesome prodigy skills.

 

But there is another aspect here.

 

The core problem with Angela's character is that she exists outside the overarching narrative. Even more so than Eragon. She does not have anything at stake in the war. She does not seem to be emotionally connected to anyone or anything. She just sort of hangs around for her own amusement. These are her defining features, so changing them would make her a different character.

 

So we won't change them. We'll turn these weaknesses into strengths.

 

Angela in this rewrite is one of the Gray Folk. But she doesn't have a master plan. Or even a goal. She does not care even slightly about how the war turns out. She might feel a slight sense of friendship with Eragon or other people, but if they died she's probably only feel a little sad. Not only does she exist outside the narrative in the story, but she exists outside it in universe. She's like the Joker, except instead of killing people she just sort of hangs out with the heroes as a side character.

I imagine that in her early life the Gray Folk were wiped out by the ra'zac. You know, so the villains have actually done something villainous.
 

This outside perspective could be really useful to the story. For instance, Angela likes humans because they are always changing. And dislikes elves because they are boring. She views the world simply as something to amuse herself. Since the elves are completely static she ignores them.

Which means she never helps out in battle scenes, never exerts herself to help people unless she feels like, and feels no obligation to anyone.

At some point Eragon could try to call her on this angrily, probably after a major defeat or Murtagh's betrayal. Something happens which Angela could have easily stopped, but didn't. The critical thing here is that Angela has become at least somewhat fond of Eragon. She wasn't planning to be his mentor. She just stepped in because Brom died before he could make Eragon even remotely ready and the story would end if he didn't get some guidance. The problem is that in the process Eragon regarded her as something more than a quirky side character.
But Angela doesn't want to get involved in the plot at all. She snaps and goes angry tirade about how the Varden are no better than Galbatorix, have no plan and are arguably worse people. She spells out that she does not care who wins because the end result is the same. She insults just about every single member of the Varden, calling Nasuada a terrible leader, Roran a bloodthirsty monster and Katrina a worthless pushover. She points out what an utterly shallow individual Eragon really is, and calls him out on his constant bullshit. Finally she points out that Sapphira, for all her professed wisdom, is just an idiot who does whatever Eragon tells her to. Then, in an act of well deserved spite, she reveals what he did to Sloan.

Angela snaps that if she were interested in justice, she would join Galbatorix. Then she storms off in a huff, having lost interest. She decides she'll come back in a few hundred years and hang out with the next batch of heroes. She then removed Elva's curse, which she could have done at any time, telling Eragon that if he were a hero he'd have done it himself long ago. Nasuada orders her guards to try and stop Angela, at which point Angela crushes them. She utterly defeats Roran and Eragon and blasts her way out of the camp. She effortlessly trounces just about everyone who tries to stand against her. Then she just leaves, having killed no one at all. All attempts to track her down fail miserably.


See the critical thing here is that Angela actually did become invested in the Varden emotionally. But she continued to not side with them because she realized what absolute designated heroes they were. Her conscience kept her from taking a direct hand. So long as no one expected her to take sides she was perfectly content to just watch things play out. But once they start asking her to help them, Angela more or less faces a situation where she has to help them to keep the show. And she cares just enough to not help the Varden gain victory.

The heroes are faced with the fact that Angela probably could have killed Galbatorix. If they had convinced her to help them, if they had been better people, she could have ended the war. But they didn't. They failed. This failure forces the main characters to develop. Nasuada becomes steadily more tyrannical and deluded. Meanwhile Eragon has the opposite reaction.  He goes out of his way to fix his mistakes, and works tirelessly to become a better person and make the world a better place. The other characters would undergo development of their own.
 

Eventually the heroes succeed in defeating Galbatorix. Nasuada is cut out of the succession and King Orrin put in instead. Orrin becomes a good king, and Eragon goes out of his way to repair the damage he has done. As the years ago by he succeeds in making things far better for everyone.
 

Eventually he runs into Angela. The two of them reconcile, and Angela reveals that she has decided to spend her immortal existence helping people, instead of just viewing them as playthings.

Bam. Character arc. Place in the universe. Done.
 

Anyway, these are just my thoughts.
 

In my opinion there is no character concept which cannot be made to work. You just need to come at it from the right angle.