I personally hate it based on how it’s done in media. All too often a show or game (looking at you, Halo: Infinite) where some nobody comes out of left field and beats down the badass protagonist off screen.
You don’t pull some random nobody from left field after all this investment the story puts into the protagonist. There needs to be some development for the new villain, or the “badassery” of them is unearned.
And that fight needs to be on screen. Otherwise it looks like the writer is just a hack that can’t actually imagine a plausible fight where the protagonist loses.
I prefer to use the Worf Effect
I personally hate it based on how it’s done in media. All too often a show or game (looking at you, Halo: Infinite) where some nobody comes out of left field and beats down the badass protagonist off screen.
You don’t pull some random nobody from left field after all this investment the story puts into the protagonist. There needs to be some development for the new villain, or the “badassery” of them is unearned.
And that fight needs to be on screen. Otherwise it looks like the writer is just a hack that can’t actually imagine a plausible fight where the protagonist loses.