July 31, 2026

DZ-129: Steadfast Character Arcs - Agents of Change

2 hours 36 minutes

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.

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→ Read the transcript for this episode.

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"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

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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?

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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/

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By Chas Fisher and Stuart Willis

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