Something occurred to me recently that I wanted to get some thoughts on. What IS the Hero? More specifically, what makes Link the Hero?
Most people would argue that Link is the Hero because he’s Link and that’s enough. I find that reasoning to be circular. Something has to make him worthy, something has to make him special, something has to make him different. In TP, we see that he isn’t the only one fighting the forces of evil, so what’s so great about Link (other than the fact that he is the central character of the games)?
A few years ago, there was a show on Nickelodeon called Avatar: The Last Airbender. Some of you might remember it. Essentially, every generation or so, someone would be born who could control all of the elements (as opposed to just one). What was interesting was that this didn’t seem to be a clear cut reincarnation (as I understand it). Instead, a person would be born and the spirit of the world/Earth would share their body. This made it possible for the current Avatar, who was young, inexperienced and having trouble finding teachers, to meet and speak with his predecessors. As I understood it, they were different people who also shared a body with the Avatar spirit.
What does this have to do with anything?
Good question.
Remember the theory that Link is dead in Majora’s Mask? Remember how the Hyrule Historia says that Link from TP is a descendant of the hero of time and that the Hero’s Shade is the Hero of Time?
Ok. Someone asked how it’s possible for Link to both die at such a young age and father at least one child. Icky, weird stuff that my western sensitivities don’t want to consider aside, here’s my theory.
Link is almost always referred to as the hero of something or similar enough, the most important word being hero. I think this Hero might be a force or spirit that exists in Hyrule and either lays dormant in its chosen vessel until it’s needed or chooses a vessel when it hits the fan.
Evidence:
How often does Link almost instantly go from being lazy and kind of useless to performing deeds of daring do? I mean seriously, in OoT, he gets awoken by a fairy and almost immediately clears out his first dungeon. In SS, he needs someone to wake him up every morning until something goes bad, then all of a sudden, he’s charging around killing demons and forging a new sword. This kind of instant change isn’t normal behavior, even in tough times. It almost requires that something else has either awoken in him or has taken up residence whether he knows it or not.
A couple games, TP especially, make a big deal about the green outfit. This may not seem big but old habits die hard. SS explains it reasonably well (Knights Academy uniform) but in TP, it seems like Link would have been totally fine without changing his clothes, it was a weird, out of place scene unless there was some reason that the green tunic was really THAT important-like whatever is running the show in Links head wants its old outfit back.
Now, let’s assume the Link is dead theory is true. That would mean TP Link probably isn’t a direct descendent (remember my western sensitivities) of the Hero of Time/Hero’s Shade. It DOES make sense if descendent isn’t the right word. Replace the word with successor and go back to what I said about Avatar and it makes more sense. The HoT (human spirit) teaches the next human to serve as a vessel for the Hero his hidden skills. That allows the Hero Chosen by the gods to fully unlock the power of the Hero and fulfill his quest.
So why Link?
Something always happens, doesn’t it? In SS, it wasn’t until Zelda was taken that Link “woke up.” In TP, it happened after the village was attacked (though he was less lazy before the attack in this one). It’s kind of rare that Link doesn’t have a good reason to go adventuring. It almost seems like, if I’m right, the Hero looks for a vessel that lost something.
Most people would argue that Link is the Hero because he’s Link and that’s enough. I find that reasoning to be circular. Something has to make him worthy, something has to make him special, something has to make him different. In TP, we see that he isn’t the only one fighting the forces of evil, so what’s so great about Link (other than the fact that he is the central character of the games)?
A few years ago, there was a show on Nickelodeon called Avatar: The Last Airbender. Some of you might remember it. Essentially, every generation or so, someone would be born who could control all of the elements (as opposed to just one). What was interesting was that this didn’t seem to be a clear cut reincarnation (as I understand it). Instead, a person would be born and the spirit of the world/Earth would share their body. This made it possible for the current Avatar, who was young, inexperienced and having trouble finding teachers, to meet and speak with his predecessors. As I understood it, they were different people who also shared a body with the Avatar spirit.
What does this have to do with anything?
Good question.
Remember the theory that Link is dead in Majora’s Mask? Remember how the Hyrule Historia says that Link from TP is a descendant of the hero of time and that the Hero’s Shade is the Hero of Time?
Ok. Someone asked how it’s possible for Link to both die at such a young age and father at least one child. Icky, weird stuff that my western sensitivities don’t want to consider aside, here’s my theory.
Link is almost always referred to as the hero of something or similar enough, the most important word being hero. I think this Hero might be a force or spirit that exists in Hyrule and either lays dormant in its chosen vessel until it’s needed or chooses a vessel when it hits the fan.
Evidence:
How often does Link almost instantly go from being lazy and kind of useless to performing deeds of daring do? I mean seriously, in OoT, he gets awoken by a fairy and almost immediately clears out his first dungeon. In SS, he needs someone to wake him up every morning until something goes bad, then all of a sudden, he’s charging around killing demons and forging a new sword. This kind of instant change isn’t normal behavior, even in tough times. It almost requires that something else has either awoken in him or has taken up residence whether he knows it or not.
A couple games, TP especially, make a big deal about the green outfit. This may not seem big but old habits die hard. SS explains it reasonably well (Knights Academy uniform) but in TP, it seems like Link would have been totally fine without changing his clothes, it was a weird, out of place scene unless there was some reason that the green tunic was really THAT important-like whatever is running the show in Links head wants its old outfit back.
Now, let’s assume the Link is dead theory is true. That would mean TP Link probably isn’t a direct descendent (remember my western sensitivities) of the Hero of Time/Hero’s Shade. It DOES make sense if descendent isn’t the right word. Replace the word with successor and go back to what I said about Avatar and it makes more sense. The HoT (human spirit) teaches the next human to serve as a vessel for the Hero his hidden skills. That allows the Hero Chosen by the gods to fully unlock the power of the Hero and fulfill his quest.
So why Link?
Something always happens, doesn’t it? In SS, it wasn’t until Zelda was taken that Link “woke up.” In TP, it happened after the village was attacked (though he was less lazy before the attack in this one). It’s kind of rare that Link doesn’t have a good reason to go adventuring. It almost seems like, if I’m right, the Hero looks for a vessel that lost something.
