“The Game” Darwins Evolution

The show, The Game, is centered around the lives of fictional star athletes. These athletes live the glamorous life with nice cars, big houses, and living the night life. One of the main characters Darwin Davis started off as a humble rookie trying to make it big in the NFL. He was honest, loving, and always did things for other people. As his career progressed he becomes a better player as well as becoming one of the leaders on his team which ends up bringing him lots of fame. As he got more famous, the morals he once stood for started to fade. Once seen as a hero but now the fame has turned Darwin into a villain.

The Hero

In the first season of “The Game”, Darwin Davis was just getting drafted into the league. He and his girlfriend Melanie moved into a new apartment together in San Diego. He was excited that all of his hard work paid off and that he made it to the league. He was made out to be a hero throughout the first parts of the series. The producers do a good job of writing the script so Darwin possess many hero qualities.  James Ladd, a life coach says, “a hero is a man or woman admired for his or her achievements and noble qualities, one who shows great courage, has wisdom and fortitude to do what is right, possesses and displays the highest level of charity, selfless dedication and a willingness to put others first while seeking no attention for him or herself”. He goes on to say, “a role model is considered to be a person who serves as a model in a particular behavioral or social role for another person to emulate. A person who is unusually effective or inspiring at some social role, job, etc. and so serves as a model for others, in fact very similar or synonymous with a hero” (Ladd 2010). He’s admired by Melanie and many viewers for being a humble guy who has made it to the big leagues, where many of the other guys have become cocky and selfish. As a viewer, I like the fact that he was humble and the noble qualities that he possessed. This was unexpected when I first started watching the show because many athletes that are portrayed on TV are selfish and think they are better than everyone. Darwin also showed courage and the willingness to do the right thing when faced with a problem. In one episode the San Diego Sabers bring in a new defensive lineman. This guy tried to bully other players, specifically the offensive players, by taking over their weight sets. Darwin steps up and tries to protect his friends on the team by showing the new guy that that’s not how they do things on the Sabers team. He also shows his selflessness by paying for Melanie to go back to medical school. Growing up she wanted to be a doctor but her parents stopped paying for her school because she move to San Diego for Darwin. Darwin wanted to help her achieve her dream of being a doctor so he tries to help her out by paying for her school. Darwin was also very religious and referred to the Bible many times throughout the season as well as attending church regularly. Many people would see this as a good quality in a person and adds too what the producers we're trying to make Darwin out to be.

The Villain

During one of the games a starting receiver that Darwin backed up has a season ending injury. Darwin was sent in to replace the injured player and took advantage of his opportunity, he makes some big plays for his team and wins the starting position. This is when his fame began and things start to turn for the worst in Darwin’s life. The producers progress his character into the villain. He goes through moral decay of the Anti-Hero. The Trop says that “moral decay of the Anti-Hero, as in Shakespeare's Macbeth or Coriolanus, or the modern equivalent of Walter White in Breaking Bad. In each case the protagonist's growing vices are timidly concealed at first but then openly displayed” (Trop 2013). Because of the fame Darwin starts hanging out with Hollywood stars and begins to lose the morals he once stood behind. Once an honest guy Darwin does stuff behind Melanie's back and cheats on her with a famous singer named Drew. He starts telling Melanie lots of Lies and no longer is seen as a noble character. As the Sabers season goes on Darwin keeps making plays and starts acting like the other players on the team, he becomes selfish, dishonest and not the team player he once was. The producers do a great job slowly changing Darwin into the villain of the show. He slowly stops going to church and referring to the Bible like he was in the beginning of the show. He is not seen as a role model like he once was at the beginning.

“The Games” producers do a good job developing Darwin into the hero of the show when it first starts. He is humble, honest, selfless, and a team player. He goes out of his way to help the people around him and is always there for his girlfriend Melanie. They also do a great job in slowly transforming him into the stereotypical professional athlete and villain. Darwin becomes a self-centered guy and begins to lie to the person he is in love with. The producers make him slowly lose the morals he had at the start and give him the morals that we would consider to be valued by a villain.