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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/38341
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Very fun question. Is it a paradox that "the Chosen One" is the only one that can defeat the great evil they face, or are they "the Chosen One" because they are the only one that can face it? I don't know that I would call it a paradox as the two perspectives are either predictive or attributed.

One hopes because of minimal evidence that the hero is "the Chosen One" either because of a prophecy or because they have the courage to try at something that everyone else has already failed. Your audience trusts you that they are in fact "the Chosen One" because why would you tell them they could be only to have them reach the climax and fail? (coincidentally, that does happen, and makes for some excellent comedy - Take _"Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"_ for example where Zaphod Beeblebrox is attempting to find the answer to life and everything only to get the answer 42 and have no clue what to do with the answer.)

The other acts as more substantial proof that in fact the hero could be "the Chosen One" because they have overcome something that everyone else has failed at. A great example of this might be Achilles in Greek Mythology at the battle of Troy. He had already proven himself, but in the end still fails. In either circumstance however being "the Chosen One" or fate can be its own paradox in that it attributes power to accomplish something before it is done and is only proven true or false after the thing has been accomplished. Whether this is attributed to the person before or after however is just hyperbole toward the character that for readers adds an extra element of strength and power to the hero and provides an added significances to their ability to overcome.

Original score: 3