The Seladon Issue

Seladon's Redemption: How Would it Go?

Last chapter, I mentioned all of Seladon's moments that remind us she isn't just an evil older sister. Why? Because part of Seladon's redemption comes in her setup, and her backstory, as well as her actions while "evil." If one's backstory is that their entire world fell apart around them, causing bad, impulsive decisions, and they came back to fix it, they are not beyond redemption. If you decide to strip people of their individuality because one friend moved away, and after seeing the devastating consequences of trying to undo your plan being foiled, you still decide to try and undo it, you are too petty to be redeemed. The first example is Hollyleaf- everything she ever valued was faltering in front of her, and that's why she killed Ashfur, told the secret, and exiled herself before coming back and sacrificing herself. The second is Starlight Glimmer, who had a friend move away getting his Cutie Mark (in turn having a once in a lifetime opportunity), ran a village that stripped people of who they are, went back in time to prevent the Rainboom, saw that the world would be destroyed if she didn't stop, and still almost destroyed the spell to ruin any chance of fixing the damage. I find it ridiculous that characters like Hollyleaf and Seladon are treated like they are irredeemable (Seladon much more than Hollyleaf) but then half of MLP's redeemed villains, Mapleshade, and Ashfur are totally justified. While you can make an argument for Mapleshade (we can have this debate another time), Ashfur, Starlight, POS (Pony of Shadows), Tempest Shadow, and Sunset Shimmer arguably did not deserve the forgiveness they were given. Sunset's post-redemption scenes actually handled it better than anyone else, because Sunset did have to earn back the trust of everyone she knew. Yet, people become frustrated with Seladon and absolutely hate her when characters with worse motives and backstories are completely fine. And I just realized I just went on the longest ramble. Main takeaway is her redemption is set up even before she turns evil, and have them spread throughout the Bad Guy phase with her moments that show she is not a cardboard cutout. So, Seladon's redemption: what is Step 1? That would be for Seladon to face Gelfling being disapproving of her. Confused, Seladon would ask Brea why they were totally fine with her when they were training, yet now they seem uneasy around her. Brea would have to explain that they were training for war, and had no time to be focusing on issues with fellow Gelfling. Now the battle is over, and they don't fully trust her. Maudra Laesid should even accuse her of murdering Maudra Fara and taking Baffi her captive, sowing more distrust. Brea would defend her sister, but the Gelfling would either watch Seladon cautiously or side with Laesid. And, personally, I think Laesid should challenge Seladon, and be antagonistic towards her. Then, there's Gurjin. Laesid's son, bold enough to hug an Arathim, and acted like he hadn't seen Seladon for many a trine, hugging her and calling her name like he'd been waiting for a reunion. This strange, unknown connection has lead to shipping (of course), and while they have very little scenes together, the dynamic could work. Seladon is All-Maudra, the ruler of all the Gelfling, and Vapran royalty. Gurjin is a Drenchen soldier. They seem like opposites. But Gurjin could show Seladon a world she hadn't gotten to see before, when she was raised to be All-Maudra. He could help her on her journey to being a force for good, and could force Laesid to stop antagonizing Seladon by showing that she has changed. If only Netflix didn't CANCEL IT IN FAVOR OF CUTIES WTF NETFLIX HOW DO YOU MESS UP THAT BADLY?? So, yeah. If you gave them some chemistry, maybe a backstory to show they did know each other prior to the first episode, then Gurjin and Seladon could work. They'd have a pretty good dynamic.
What other characters could help Seladon in her redemption, whether that be making her have to earn it to show the Gelfling and viewers she has changed? Brea, Baffi, and, if it is indeed Brea carrying Kira in Deet's vision, Kira. Brea is obvious- she'd encourage her sister to keep proving herself, and believe in her. Baffi? We could get some really wholesome scenes of Seladon and her new pet fizzgig, Baffi, that would make her hard to hate. And Kira... we'll get to that later.
Visually, Seladon still looks like a gothic queen. She needs a new design. Here I will provide a drawing I made of Seladon, conceptualizing what she could have looked like if TDC was never cancelled.

New crown, New dress in more traditional Vapran hues, and new boots. This redesign symbolizes a new Seladon.

The Crown: Seladon's new crown, that I am dubbing The Crown of Unity, is six pieces like The Living Crown, for the other six clans to give their blessings and join their pieces of The Crown of Unity with the base. The gem is representative of unity, rulership, and peace, and is held up by two of the pieces, meant to show that these three qualities require the Gelfling to all cooperate and work together. Bonus, the base is like a helmet.
The Dress: Seladon's dress comes with two things: a show of change, and space for her wings. The colors are traditionally Vapran colors, but also lighter to show a change in her. The Skeksis Cosplay dress was symbolic of her political stance, being that she sides with the Skeksis. This new one shows that she has changed sides, and is ready to stand with her Clan, and more importantly, her people, the Gelfling. As for wing space, flight was utilized in the first battle, so a dress that more easily allows Seladon to fly will help her a lot.
The Boots: Resilient footwear is the best choice for battle. Seladon is prepared to go to war, and so she wears thick charcoal-black leather boots.

The final thing for Seladon: her death. Yes, I know. Seladon has to die for her redemption? Well, all the Gelfling are going to die, so, it should matter. If Brea is Kira's mother, then Seladon's death should have to do with that. Specifically, while Brea is running from the Garthim to hide her daughter, Seladon would buy her the little bit of time she needs to save Kira by sacrificing herself, fighting off the Garthim. Her attempt is weak, as they are Garthim, but she would distract it for a few moments, being just long enough for Brea to hide Kira before being taken herself. It would be the ultimate sacrifice, but it would mean that Seladon has saved the most important Gelfling to ending Skeksis rule. Jen may have been told to go find the shard, but Kira was the most important. Jen gave up many times, and Kira was the only one that kept him going. So Seladon's death would have inadvertently saved Thra.

What do you guys think of this? Is this a good redemption arc for Seladon? Or would you do it a different way? Let me know in the comments!