Due to a strange blip in reality, Sir Terry Pratchett's City Watch series is more in my mind than usual. As a result of this, I wanted to share my thoughts on - my celebration of, my argument for the relevance and proper treatment of - the character arc of Sir Samuel Vimes and why it is the single greatest one in the fantasy genre.
Now, this is spoiler-tastic. I wouldn't read it if I intended to read the books myself. But for those who have read it and are perhaps reliving a few of our memories of the real thing right now, or who are wondering what all the fuss is about when they've read a little and have no particular inclination to read more, I hope this is an enjoyable read.
| This is here a) as a half-arsed measure to let people try and avoid spoilers b) because I really like cats |
We first meet Vimes in Guards!Guards! where he's mid to late 30s loser. Yes, he's a loser. Captain of the Night Watch might sound like success but it simply makes him the least pink piece of raw chicken. He's poor, he's doing a job that people despise and won't let him do seriously - there's legal guilds of thieves and assassins in Ankh-Morpok for crying out loud. How can you successfully keep the law when it's like that? He's a drunk with nobody else in his life and whose ideals are like a guttering light in the darkness, visible in bursts and about to die.
By Night Watch and Thud!, Vimes is very definitively not a loser. He's a Duke and Commander of the City Watch, fabulously wealthy thanks to his wife, and has a wonderful son who's become his world. More than that though, he has kept his ideals, strengthened them, and found ways to actually implement them. Vimes isn't just more successful, he's better.
How does this happen? Let me take us through his journey.
The most important thing about Vimes in Guards!Guards! is he just won't quit. Vetinari tells him to ignore the dragon. Lupine tells him to ignore the dragon. He's thrown in a prison. His own common sense tells him to ignore it - they've only just got a new member of the Watch because Leggy Gaskin would go and show why there's no fast old guards. Vimes' refusal to quit being himself is why he is where he is and he knows it but for once, it breaks his way. They save the city. He gets the girl - the marvellous Sybil Ramkin.
And that should have been it. He should have retired on marrying Ramkin. Become a gentleman of leisure. Left the hard times of long nights and damp boots to others and have a proper life. He would have, if not for the events of Men At Arms. Another plot against the Patrician and city is foiled thanks to Vimes' tenacity. Vimes nearly disgraces himself at the last under the influence of the Gonne but thanks to Carrot, he sticks to his ideals. You can't kill people just because you've got the chance, even if they absolutely deserve it. Because of that, and because of Carrot's charismatic leadership and loyalty, and because of Vetinari's realisation of how much he needs someone with Vimes' qualities, he is made Commander of the Watch. The Watch is given a purpose. Vimes is given a chance to put what he believes into practice.
Over the next few books - Feet of Clay, Jingo, The Fifth Elephant - we see him do so. We see him grow in cunning and audacity. He outwits the Assassins' Guild and hungry werewolves. He arrests armies, dictates to kings, and even drags in his own boss. Most of all though, he demonstrates his humanity, both good and bad. The odd occasional harmless lapse in enforcement of the law. The frequent moments of bigotry and insensitivity. Putting his job ahead of his wife.
He'd also rather risk an international incident than let people be burned. Everytime he sees people in danger, he hurtles in, regardless of the sense of it. Sir Samuel Vimes isn't the sharpest tool in the box but once he grasps the problem, he finds solutions. He's not the bravest man - after all, he survived the old Night Watch - he simply will not go down. Once he's started chasing, he's like a dog. Vetinari's terrier. Most admirable of all - he's a gentle man, a decent man. He tries to put his mistakes right and tries to be kind with those who need it.
But he reaches his peak in Night Watch. He faces his most personal nemesis in Carcer, and his most trying circumstances in being sent back in time to face the Glorious Revolution and teaching his young self. He's alone, more alone than at any point in the series, even when he finds a position of authority and power again. And he's probably more scared, because he has the most to lose.
It's never easy to stand there with a light in the dark. But, as with most things in life, it is easier when you have friends. It is easier when you have power. It is easier when you have less to lose, or at least stood directly in front of what you have to lose. To stand there alone, on your self, unsure why you're doing it except it needs done and nobody else seems to be doing it?
To do that and, while doing so, have all your faith in the present moment taken away and to keep standing there doing what you can? Nobody will ever know. Nobody will ever thank you. The only reason to do it is to stay you. To stay Vimes. To stay the Vimes that has a family and all the good things, true, but ultimately, to stay himself.
That is heroism.
All this came from a man who a bare six books earlier waited to see if his new recruit got his head kicked in inside The Mended Drum, and who was probably below the meanest beggar in the gutter in terms of social status.
There's no arc like it that I know of. And the best part? That could be any person. Vimes had no magic. There was no prophecy. Nobody came after him with death in their eyes to make him act. He chose to. He chose to say "this is how it should be and to hell with anything else". I love the unreality of fantasy but for all the fantastical people and things Vimes meets, his core story is as human as it gets. It's not just wonderful to read, it's inspiring.
Now that is my truth and any who know a better, tell me yours. But I hope I've demonstrated why Vimes is so important to so many, and why his story is one of the most compelling in fiction, and why he deserves better than what's going to come.
Hopefully that'll be put right some day. After all, if Sherlock can have a million adaptations, surely Sam Vimes can have a few?
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