Story of Me

Behind the Scales of Jurassic World: Reign Part 2: The Characters

So, part one of Behind the Scales detailed the development of the story and the chapters. Part two will focus on the development of the characters, some of their traits, and trivia. I'll be putting them in different categories so it'll be easier for the readers.I'll also be listing some of the characters that weren't able to make it into the final draft.

Note: Mind you, I won't mention every character, just the ones that got the most focus.

Without further ado, here we go!

Raptor Family

Ripper:

One of the things I wanted to do with Ripper was make him more aggressive. And that was definitely seen here since he killed almost everyone he fought. The only reason he ever bothered to stop is if either he was scaring someone, or he had no intention of killing people, or if someone stopped him. But for the rest, they end up suffering a cruel fate. Like those guys in chapter 21 who were just minding their own business before Ripper mowed them down.

I thought it would make more sense for Ripper to not hold back anymore after what happened in Ripper's Journey II. If you remember what happened in that book, Ripper's family was almost torn apart because of the Ravager Squad. He only won because he tapped into his violent side. And now, in a way, Ripper channels some of his more savage tendencies everytime he goes for an attack.

The story is structured in a way to make Ripper angrier and angrier as he gets closer to Henry. Which leads to the confrontation in chapter 22 where he unleashes all of his anger upon Henry. A concept I cut out was Ripper getting more distant from his family as the story went on. The main reason why is because like Henry who is obsessed with killing Ripper, the Indoraptor is beginning to go down a similar path which worries Blue. But in the final draft, there's barely any of that left. Because as much as Ripper hates Henry, there's no way he's going to push his loved ones to the side like his creator did.

Ripper is also more suave and confident this time around. I've actually planned this out a while ago as a sort of evolution of his character.

In Ripper's Journey, he's cold and angry, but as the story went on, he began to soften up. In Ripper's Journey II, he shows more of his personality as he becomes happier after confessing to Blue and he also becomes more emotional as a result. In Jurassic World: Reign, Ripper is much more flirty when it comes to Blue, and he now knows how not to let himself be torn apart by his fears after what happened to him in Ripper's Journey II where he almost gave up on finding Fang because of the pressure he was under.

Ripper in Reign also has a little more control over his emotions than he did in Ripper's Journey II. Because when Fang gets angry at him over what happened with Krystal, he doesn't fall into a depressing spiral like he did in RJ2. Instead, he fuels himself by promising to Fang that he will get Krystal back. In my opinion, I think Ripper might be the most nuanced dinosaur character so far mainly because he tries his damnedest to learn from his mistakes. He doesn't hold back against his enemies as to not give them a chance, he doesn't let himself fall apart, he tries to fix problems that he created, and tries to become a better Raptor by understanding what he did wrong. Which is why he's seen being a mentor to Krystal during the end of the story.

The biggest redemption for Ripper is obviously him getting his revenge. Back when i wrote Ripper's Journey, the reason why Henry survived was because I wanted him to come back as an overarching antagonist. But originally, he was supposed to die during the Ultimasaurus battle. But because of his escape, Ripper feels the need to learn how to avoid a mistake like that again. Which is why he blocks Henry's only route of escape in Reign and forces him to try to circle around his lab to get back to the entrance. Because in Ripper's Journey, Henry had many options for escape. The room he and Ripper were in was a massive one with a large gate one end, and many others all over the room. But now, he's in an enclosed space where he only has one exit. It's almost like Ripper lured him into a kill zone without doing anything.