Can Secondary Characters be LESS useless? Case Study of MF, Fiora, and Taliyah

I finally got around to reading Taliyah's preview lore and Fiora's long lore. While I liked certain aspects of Taliyah's lore and I couldn't find much to like in Fiora's long lore, I'm going to focus this post solely on the topic of secondary characters.

In short: every secondary character introduced so far is_ trash_. Utter _trash_.

**First Look: ** 's Rafen

Rafen probably has the most lines out of all the secondary characters I'm going to looking at today, but what infuriates me about him is how much Riot attempts to use him as a jobber and failing poorly in that. In case you're unaware, in Pro-Wrestling (WWE, John Cena, Hulk Hogan, The Rock) a jobber is a wrestler whose job is mainly to make other wrestlers look 'strong'. Basically these guys tend to have one-dimensional personalities and serve little more than being another notch under one's belt. Now, this can be done successfully to catapult certain wrestlers into uber-tier strength (like Brock Lesnar's win over Undertaker) or horribly (Roman Reigns v anyone) or just plain damn cool (Ambrose vs Triple H at Roadblock).

But here, Rafen fails horribly at being a jobber.

>“I have faith in these and in us,” she said. “What else are you carrying?”

>“This cutlass has kept me safe through six Harrowings,” he said, tapping its pommel again. “I offered up a bottle of ten year old rum to the Bearded Lady and this knife here was sold to me by a man who swore its edge was purest sunsteel.”

>Miss Fortune glanced at the scabbarded knife, certain without even seeing the blade that Rafen had been swindled. The workmanship around the quillons was too poor to be Demacian, but she wasn’t about to tell him that.

In this instance, you see Rafen being proud of his purchase of a sword. Okay, that's cool. This is probably one of the few instances we see of Rafen where he actually has some agency outside of MF's lackey work. The problem? MF basically shoots down her subordinates success by saying he got scammed.

So how exactly are we supposed to feel confident in this guy's strength? Every scene Rafen is in basically has him asking 'well as you...'-type questions to forcibly advance the plot of be generally useless.

Rafen - Example #1:

>“You know any secret ways out of here?” asked Rafen.

>“No,” said Miss Fortune. “I want to fight that bastard.”

>“You want to fight the Shadow of War?”

Rafen here isn't being a character, he's being a plot device. He doesn't have his own motivations or agency. He's literally there to ask MF what the writer at the time needs explained.

Rafen - Example #2:

>“Cutpurse Square?” said Rafen. “How did we get here? I ran this place as a wharf-snipe. Thought I knew every way in and out like any good little thief.”

>“Not every way,” said Miss Fortune.

>The counting houses on either side were silent and dark, and she resisted the impulse to look through the torn sheets of flapping canvas nailed over porthole windows.

>“How do you know these routes and I don’t?”

>“Lady Bilgewater and I are two of a kind,” said Miss Fortune, her gaze narrowing as black mist seeped into the square. “She whispers her secrets to me like an old friend, so I know her every hidden wynd and jitty like you never will.”

Here we are shown again how Rafen isn't as good as he thinks. MF simply outshines him everywhere. There's nothing in anything from the two stories in Shadow & Fortune or Burning Tides to suggest Rafen is notable at... anything.

He's a weak jobber because he hasn't been built up to have any strength or agency on his own. He has no distinguishable characteristics. He has no hallmark moments. He's just... no better than a nameless grunt.

Second Look - 's Brother Ammdar

>“My lady,” said Ammdar, her second older brother, handing her a mid-length rapier with a bluesteel blade upon which light moved like oil. “Are you sure about this?” >“Of course,” replied Fiora. “You heard the tales Umberto and his braggart brothers were spreading in the Commercia?” >“I did,” confirmed Ammdar. “But is that worth his death?” >“If I let one braggart slide, then others will think themselves free to wag their tongues,” said Fiora. >Ammdar nodded, and stepped back. “Then do what you must.”

Yet again, we see a secondary character doing little more than ask questions to the champion of the moment. Ammdar has no agency. He's just there to pad and fluff up Fiora and give her an excuse to explain whatever the writer needs explaining at the time. The dialogue is horrendous in that respect. It's not about two characters going back and forth - it's just one fluffing up the other.

It's boring and painfully cringey when you notice this.

>“How many is that?” asked Ammdar, coming forward to collect her sword. “Fifteen? Twenty?” >“Thirty,” said Fiora. “Or maybe more. They all look the same to me now.” >“There will be more,” promised her brother. >“So be it,” answered Fiora. “But every death restores our family honor. Every death brings redemption closer.” >“Redemption for whom?” asked Ammdar.

No lie, but I think Ammdar asked more questions than he had_ actual statements_ in this lore.

Final Look: Taliyah's ???

Okay, it's .

Honestly, he was cooler when he didn't have a name. I thought we were getting an actual secondary character that wasn't a useless bum. But surprise surprise, the moment we realize he's a champion he slice and dices some stooges like nothing.

tl:dr - There isn't a secondary character that has survived the Retcon with any personality, agency, or abilities. They're all champions or about to be.