Scar's Reign: A What-If Scenario

[Chinook]

I’ve been thinking about Scar’s rule and how it came to be the way it was. Now, we all know the story of how Mufasa became king and how Scar, jealous of his brother, murdered him and took control of the Pridelands, letting it fall to ruins in the process. But, what-if, for whatever reason, Scar was chosen to be king instead of Mufasa? Would he have been a better king than we saw in The Lion King? If we study both Scar and the evidence provided by the movie, I believe that it might at least be plausible that he’d make a half-decent ruler, not necessarily better than Mufasa, but good enough and definitely better than what we saw.

Scar was always vengeful and full of hate. That was a part of who he was since it was a matter of choice to hate his brother. Like Simba said “Scar couldn’t let go of his hate,” and we see during The Lion King, the state of degeneration that he let the Pridelands fall to. On the other hand there was never any solid evidence that Scar literally caused the Pridelands to fall into disarray. It was all just implied and figuratively his fault because of Mufasa’s death. Other than the drought, the problem can be from overfeeding. At best, Scar would have to feed the hyenas we saw during the final battle at Pride Rock plus the lionesses (7 at Simba’s return unless there were some out hunting, as there are about 12 or 13 in SP), while at worse he’d have to feed all the hyenas from the Be Prepared scene; either way, he couldn’t betray the hyenas at that point as they outnumbered him. Also Scar, though unlikely, could have simply chosen to ruin the Pridelands out of hatred for his brother and nephew, not from incompetence as a ruler (though this would show a lot of ignorance on his part). Now if Scar had been chosen as king right off the bat, while he may have been an angry individual as part of his personality, he might not have directed it at his brother. This may have ensured Mufasa’s survival and he could have even helped or advised Scar since he wouldn’t be king anyway, and Scar might’ve actually listened to his brother since he would have no reason to detest him. On this point, being chosen as king, Scar would have no reason to cry foul against Mufasa or claim that he was unloved by his parents. He would be the one to receive all the special attention and training to become king. This could also have dual effects on his ego. He could become even more conceited that it was his way or the highway, or it could make him less wanting as he’d have what he’d wanted while seeing the responsibilities of being king the right way. He may have been a fair ruler, and more importantly, never have befriended the hyenas. Without a hyena army to feed, the Pridelands may have been in much better condition without the problem from overfeeding.

Lastly, and perhaps the most important, is popularity with the rest of the pride and the other animals. While Scar, may not have been overly popular, with Mufasa alive and by his side, and without the hyenas, animals that even in real life are disliked and held in contempt by lions, he may have been a far more popular ruler than what we saw, with the animals more willing to follow and listen to him; and loyalty among the pride is what could have allowed him to have the lionesses hunt and been able to keep the land green. So what do you guys think? A leopard can’t change its spots, but could Scar perhaps change his ways?

[zorayda]

If Scar hadn't had animosity towards his brother, he could have ruled Pride Rock alongside Mufasa. In the wild, lion brothers will often share a pride and mates and rule together to fight off other lions invading their territory.

So yes, I think Scar could have been a good guy if some event hadn't triggered his hatred. He would have been the intelligent problem solver and tactician, while Mufasa would be more of the 'brute force' of the pride.

[FlipMode]

First of all: That was a good little read, and quite interesting. Now in regards to the question asked... In this scenario that Scar was chosen to become King instead of Mufasa. Well it seems quite obvious that in the film, Scar's negativity seems to stem from jealousy of not being King, and further worsened when Simba is born is this means he is no longer next in line to become King either. So if Scar was already king, no I don't think he would have turned out the way he did personally. However, what is to say that Mufasa would not in turn, become jealous of his brother and plot revenge in the same way Scar did? I know that sounds crazy, but I remember watching the DVD documentaries, and it said that Lion in reality do get jealous of fellow pride members.

All in all though, Scar would have turned out better I think, and yes he might well have made for a fairly decent king. Then again, Mufasa seems more naturally wise, it may have proven too much power for Scar to keep handle of everything all at the same time.

[SummerSnowLeopard]

I would think that, if Scar were chosen as King instead of Mufasa, that he would have gotten the King training that Mufasa got. Then, Scar would have turned out better and, with all his King training, wouldn't let the Pridelands ruin. Nice read though.
And I'm also agreeing with Flip