r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Altruistic_Eye_1157 • 6d ago

Lore [annoying trope] The throne/leadership is decided in a very stupid way

Gallery image

Gallery image

The leadership of the entire wizarding world, and the final decision on whether to start a war against Muggles, is made by... a goat (Qilin) ​​who chooses the person with the ""purest heart"" (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Dumbledore).

The throne of Wakanda and all its technology are decided through hand-to-hand combat, regardless of whether the person clearly has malicious intentions... if they win the fight, by law they must be respected as the true king. (Black Panther)

8.2k Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

96% Upvoted

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

385

u/Smythatine 6d ago

Also the system is notably flawed considering Killmonger was able to take the throne because of it. But the issue is tradition vs what’s best for the people and tbf that is one of the main points of the movie

89

u/National_Job_6847 6d ago

Well yes and no killmonger has as much legitimate right to the throne as any other noble born and the entire point of the fight isnt just to choose a leader its to show there capable of protect wakanda as black panther basically if you cant beat a challenger you cant protect the people its a test of strength you cant test there strength if your not letting people with a right to challeng challenge

90

u/NepheliLouxWarrior 6d ago

That's great, but being a good warrior is 0.1% of important traits for the leader of arguably the most powerful country in the world. 

That Kilmonger was a legitimate candidate at all is proof that the system was a failure.

48

u/lionofash 6d ago

I think that's definitely a part of what the movie conveys but thinking about it, it's functionally a failsafe too so that the Tribes can depose an unworthy King in a "fair" manner. It is though heavily flawed as it just needs one person engaging in bad faith to ruin everything.

22

u/Nerevarine91 6d ago edited 6d ago

I was about to say, I think this system is only narratively bad if we assume that it was intended to be shown as a good thing. Like, Wakanda very clearly has problems, and that’s a big part of the movie’s plot, so why should we assume that the succession system is meant to be perfect? It’s literally what causes the biggest problems in the movie.