Listen to learn how to move an audience with a character who never changes. Do characters need to change for you to have a satisfying story? That's a question we've been asking since, like, episode five of this podcast. And we're finally talking about it! In this continuation of our deep dive into character arcs -- Stu, Chas and Mel break down MOANA, APOLLO 13 and THE DRESSMAKER to work out what carries a story when a character arc doesn't. If your protagonist isn't going to change, the drama has to come from what they do to everyone else. We do manage to figure out some tools that carry a steadfast story: doubt and wobble (a character with no doubt isn't steadfast, they're a psychopath), emotional events between characters, and a distinction borrowed from operant conditioning — additive rewards (you gain something) versus subtractive ones (something is taken away). The subtractive reward is why a happy ending can still feel like loss... and it's the thing we reckon that'll matter most when we get to negative arcs. We also wibble-wobble over WILLOW, TAKEN, FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF, THE MARTIAN, PROJECT HAIL MARY, THE GREY, ALL IS LOST, STAR WARS (as always), GREY GARDENS, PRISCILLA, and how many tampons NASA sent to space. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes. LIKE THIS EPISODE? Discuss with our Patrons on Patreon. Watch and comment on YouTube. Send us feedback. Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre & Natalie and Lily. → Read the transcript for this episode. ——— "If your characters are not going to arc, if they are going to remain steadfast, then creating multiple smaller emotional events is really important to keep the story dynamic." — Mel Killingsworth @ 02:32:01 ——— CHAPTERS 00:00:00 – Cold Open 00:00:18 – What Is a Steadfast Character Arc? 00:04:24 – › Character as habitual action and setting up payoff 00:05:56 – › Operant conditioning and additive versus subtractive rewards 00:09:14 – › Zero-context takeaways on steadfast emotional stakes 00:10:33 – The Questionnaire for Analysing Character Arcs 00:12:18 – MOANA 00:13:31 – › Credits and the hero's journey plot summary 00:16:12 – › The I Want song and being pulled versus pushed 00:20:14 – › Moana's steadfastness causes her own low point 00:22:47 – › Steadfast belief that changes others, not the self 00:25:57 – › Multiple challenge types needed to dramatize resilience 00:27:25 – › Maui's arc contrasted as genuine positive change 00:29:38 – › Skills and rewards versus true character transformation 00:36:22 – › Grandmother and father relationships deepen audience intimacy 00:41:15 – › Disney princess genre expectations for character arcs 00:45:27 – › Tracking when and whether Maui and Moana change 00:48:36 – › The reluctant ally pattern across MOANA, STAR WARS, WILLOW 00:52:10 – › Contrast, theme, and the audience's emotional event 00:53:08 – APOLLO 13 00:55:50 – › Plot summary and the docudrama's technical problem-solving 00:57:38 – › Riveting problem-solving without any character value change 01:00:56 – › Emotional events replace arcs in the Jack and Jim relationship 01:09:12 – › Emotional tension versus arc as a structural framework 01:14:42 – › Disaster movies compared across steadfast and positive arcs 01:16:23 – › Do any characters change their relationship to themselves? 01:20:02 – › Working the steadfast questionnaire against APOLLO 13 01:33:53 – THE DRESSMAKER 01:39:16 – › Debating Tilly's true objective in returning to Dungatar 01:44:51 – › Steadfastness as being the agent of change for others 01:48:37 – › Teddy's death punishes the belief that she isn't cursed 01:52:16 – › Subtractive reward and removal of burdens versus true change 01:57:00 – › GREY GARDENS as a parallel study in steadfast protection 02:02:18 – › Tilly's revenge tactic transforms the town around her 02:11:55 – › Fairy tale logic and heightened melodrama in the film 02:16:29 – › Debating whether Tilly is steadfast or an agent of change 02:20:11 – › Subtractive rewards and how the ending should feel 02:24:23 – › How the story world punishes and rewards transformation 02:27:01 – › Was this steadfast, a positive arc, or both? 02:31:45 – Key Learnings & Wrap Up FILMS MOANA (2016) — (w) Jared Bush, Ron Clements, John Musker, Chris Williams, Don Hall, Pamela Ribon, Aaron Kandell, Jordan Kandell (d) John Musker, Ron Clements THE DRESSMAKER (2015) — (w) Jocelyn Moorhouse, Pj Hogan, Rosalie Ham (d) Jocelyn Moorhouse APOLLO 13 (1995) — (w) William Broyles Jr, Al Reinert, Jeffrey Kluger, Jim Lovell (d) Ron Howard RELATED EPISODES DZ-108: The Emotional Event with Judith Weston DZ-126: Secrets and Clues DZ-128: What even is a Character Arc? ——— More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser. We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2026/dz-129/
