Ah, Pterano. The beloved tragic antagonist. I think he believes he makes connections others don’t and the few successes that come from that lead to a positive feedback loop that swelled his ego. He wants to do great and good things but he wants to be recognized for his accomplishments, which is often what leads to trouble. Petrie’s mother seems to find that exasperating but there does seem to be some fondness still present. I surmise when Pterano does stuff like entertaining the children with stories, he does it to please himself but he also genuinely enjoys brightening the days of the young ones. Mama Flyer’s probably grateful when he does stuff like that but at the same time, she wonders, “Okay, what do you want this time?”
I do agree with others’ observations that he has a bit of a dictatorial streak and that he has trouble accepting the consequences of his actions. With the migration to the Great Valley, I surmise he thought the consensus decision making of the herd was too slow and cautious. If there was a correct decision, one shouldn’t gamble it away in the name of compromise but fight for it with your last breath. I surmise those that eventually followed him agreed with that opinion. I do like the observation of one of the other users that Pterano might have thought he saw clues he interpreted as a lead to the valley and that might have played a role in getting him those followers.
When those followers died on his watch and there was nothing he could do about it, I agree he refused to take responsibility because he didn’t want to own up to failing. I also think though that having people die because of him was too much for him to accept. Death is so massive it can be like fitting worlds inside your head. Trying to fit in the massiveness of death that’s your fault can be a whole different kind of overwhelming, so Pterano quailed away. That would force him to reevaluate what kind of person he is and he doesn’t have the mental fortitude for that.
When the Stone of Cold Fire appeared, it seemed to be an opportunity to remake the world into something better and to make a name for himself. He was more interested in doing this without notice. When Ducky accidentally eavesdropped on him, he was disquieted by the thought of using her as a hostage to hold back pursuers but his ambitions still had such a hold that he was willing to go along with it anyway. When Ducky seemingly fell to her death, Pterano was also troubled but still willing to move on to the stone. I wonder if he thought either his wish on the stone would magically undo those kind of mistakes or the wish would affect so much that his mistakes might be overlooked.
Whatever the case, the kids nearly getting killed on his watch inched him to reconsidering his values. He did object when he was sentenced into exile for five cold times, so he doesn’t completely get it. Though I think he also objects partially out of practicality, since it would be hard to survive alone for that length of time without having some backup. The valley people are understandably not as sympathetic, since he burned those bridges himself. When Petrie attempted to defend Pterano despite all the trouble he caused, that made Pterano more accepting of his punishment. It would take quite some hard work for him to move away from his destructive ambitions and put others first but hopefully he would find some value in the quiet ways of making positive change.
You know, I find it kind of interesting Pterano immediately follows Doc as a main guest character. They would make interesting foils. Doc does Good Samaritan work while trying to remain inconspicuous and has a “change what you can, accept what you can’t” philosophy. Pterano is almost the opposite. He did work for others in exchange for getting attention for himself. He wants to effect change even for things some say can’t be changed, for good or ill. It would be fascinating to have these two characters bounce off one another. I have the sense these two would have intriguing and amusing conversations that Pterano might learn from.
A few miscellaneous thoughts: I can’t help but have the headcanon Pterano’s the type to opera sing to himself while washing himself or doing other things. That might get him trouble while trying to be inconspicuous while out of the valley, so he has to do it under his breath, which displeases him. Kind of related to that, he can be a bit dramatic. He should join a singing/theater troupe, which I’m sure exists somewhere in that world. I bet that even if he heard about Ruby and Chomper even before meeting them, I can already picture his startled reaction if they suddenly come upon him and Cera’s very amused face as she watches.
Those are all of my thoughts on Pterano. There are a few things I feel shaky about here and there but I did find some of the posts on this thread informative concerning his character and hopefully it’s the same for anyone who reads this.
