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voidnoidoid · 7 months ago

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Donald Na Character Analysis: Undefeated Emperor

I genuinely thought I posted this analysis on tumblr already months ago... but apparently I didn't? Or maybe I did. I don't know anymore. This was written before the webtoon's completion so keep that in mind. If you've seen this already then oops read it again. If not, enjoy! MAJOR WEAK HERO SPOILERS AHEAD. (24/6/2024)

After reading the conclusion of the Eunjang v Union fight, I had some thoughts about who Donald is, why he became the way he is now, and more thoughts about how the fight ended and his parallels with Gray. Apologies if this becomes rambly im just writing off the top of my head. To begin with,

Who Is Donald?

From the very beginning of Weak Hero, Donald Na has been set up as the big bad, the final boss, the overarching antagonist. He is the sole mastermind behind the Union, controlling it from above in his luxurious office, only descending to force rebellion back in line much like he did with Ben and Myles. He was established as cruel, cunning, intelligent and menacing; but most important of all: untouchable.

Time and time again we see Donald's sheer strength forcing even the most powerful of fighters into submission. He's both the brains and the brawn, with incredible charisma to boot. He's the sovereign ruler of the Yeungdeungpo region. It's clear he hasn't seen a real challenge in some time. Until the final fight, us readers have never seen Donald so much as break a sweat, even in his (one sided) fight against Changhui Han.

He's got everything planned out, nothing seems to phase him and he is adaptable to any plan, seeing as he worked around all the setbacks Eunjang threw at him.

However, Donald's many layers have been peeled back, allowing us to glimpse moments of a troubled childhood that explain why Donald is the undefeatable monster he is now.

Why Is Donald?

Based on the short flashbacks of Donald's childhood, (as of right now more fleshed out episodes are being released but I haven't caught up yet) he grew up in poverty with an abusive father and sickly mother. He is seen wearing tattered clothes and was gaunt and scrawny. Another was of his getting his school reports scattered on the ground, meaning he was bullied by his peers despite being one of the top scorers in his class or the entire school. At one point he was driven to desperation and broke into a bakery just to eat. This explains why he likes eating bread so much.

Donald grew up with nothing. No money, no respect, no friends, no food, not even a loving family. Despite trying the best he could in school, he could never be equals with anyone, in fact the seem to look down on him more for doing so well whilst not having financial stability. Because he grew up with nothing, he strove to obtain everything.

Donald went from dressing in rags, to wearing branded goods from head to toe. He went from having no support system, to creating an army of thugs to serve under him: The Union. He went from being powerless, to having an entire region under his thumb, manipulating everyone from kids to adult business owners. No longer was he the scrawny little boy but now a powerful, cunning, imposing presence.

It was all calculated. In a recent episode, Donald himself mentioned that he did everything he could to not only look the part, but play the part of big bad mastermind. He got tattoos all over his body to seem more intimidating, he beat down every enemy to strike fear in them, he created a steady source of income to keep his goons loyal, not just by threat of violence but also money.

To me, Donald seems like someone who tried desperately to reach the top so that nobody could ever hurt him again. And he succeeded, at what cost?

Is It Lonely On the Top? Eunjang vs The Union

Now that he's gotten everything he wanted, did it make him happy? Perhaps it did, perhaps it didn't. With almost everything under his thumb, it is only natural that Donald craved a challenge, whether unconsciously or not. Hence, when Eunjang high started making a move, it became new motivation for Donald to keep going.

Of course, Donald already had plans with his many businesses but Eunjang proved to be a source of amusement, then annoyance, then rising to be a legitimate threat. As Eunjang toppled more of Donald's executives and cemented itself as a group to be taken seriously, Donald's empire began to crumble. With one single variable, many of Donald's plans had a wrench thrown in them. He grew complacent at his spot in the top. Long he had gone without a worthy challenger that he took his power for granted. Little did he know, Ben was building up strength to face him head on once more, together with a certain white mamba.

Not everything could be under Donald's control. Case in point: the Eugene Incident. Because of one careless mistake from one of the company shareholders who approved Eugene's design without thinking, the flaws in the companies Donald had a stake in were exposed and a large portion of profits went down the drain. To make matters worse, he sent Dongha out only to capture Eugene and bring the boy to him, but Dongha ended up beating him to a pulp and facing the wrath of Gray Yeon, escalating the incident further and provoking Ben's wrath even more for real. The Eugene Incident was the catalyst for the big war between the Union and Eunjang.

All this time, the Union had been weakening. Wolf and Philip turned tail and sided with Eunjang for their personal reasons, and Jake wanted to resign from the Union for good. Donald was losing more and more manpower. This escalated into the massive Union v Eunjang war to end all gang wars. However, this was all a backdrop for Donald's main fight: between Ben Park. Leader vs Leader. However yet again, Donald would not get what he wanted, all because of one of his closest allies: Kingsley Kwan.

Kingsley is a curious character who's only been shown as Donald's right hand and most trusted confidant. His backstory has yet to been revealed but clearly, he is very important to Donald and only has his best interests at heart. Kingsley is the closest thing Donald has to a friend. Yet, Kingsley unintentionally betrayed Donald by kidnapping Ben Park, taking away the fight Donald wanted most. Donald lost trust in his closest companion, and lost the chance for a fair fight with the one person he thought had a chance of taking him down.

This brings into account what Jake said at the end of the big fight: that deep down, Donald wanted to be defeated. Donald wanted someone to challenge him, to fight against his tyranny and show him the taste of failure. On the surface, it would seem that Donald only wanted to fight Ben just to crush him and show everyone who's boss, but I believe that deep down, Donald really wanted this to all end. His motives are unknown thus far but I think it has something to do with Gray.

To tie up this (kinda disjointed) section, Donald's newfound power and domination only isolated him from forming any meaningful connection with others. His desire for defeat and victory conflicted with each other, but I think he only realised what he truly wanted when he finally fought with Gray.

Donald Na vs Gray Yeon: Two Sides of the Same Coin

These two are shown to have interesting parallels with each other, going so far back as to have Jake comment on the similarities between them.

Both Donald and Gray are shown to have a lust for power and love for the thrill of fighting. Donald fights to cement himself as the strongest, and Gray fights to teach bullies a lesson, and to protect those he cares about. Gray slowly develops a dark bloodlust, which he hones as his deadly precise and calculated fighting strategy. Donald let his bloodlust consume him in his rise to power and control.

They are also similar in their intelligence, planning and problem solving skills. Both make plans and like it when events happen according to predictions. Donald makes lengthy schemes and manipulates people behinds the scenes, getting angry when things don't go according to plan. Gray only fights when he is certain he will win, with the exception of his Wolf beatdown. Gray analyses his opponents and "studies up" so he can have every advantage to beat them, making up for his lack of physical strength. Donald relies on his superior strength and cunning to carry him through fights, to which he has become complacent but he can adapt on the fly too.

The two have also battled in their academic prowess, duelling each other in creating and solving math problems. Usually, the questions are formulated by Donald, and Gray comes up with solutions to solve them. Notably, the questions set by Donald are complex and mind boggling, but Gray comes up with a creative and straightforward way of solving them. This implies that since they have a similar way of thinking, Gray could easily see a path through the problem. Or on the other hand, Gray is more innovative, creating a new way of problem solving that even surprised Donald. This battle of intellect has been Donald's way of getting to know Gray. Donald's statement at his final math problem was "this is the last time we play together, white mamba." Implying that all this time, Donald was toying with and testing Gray's capability, yet also enjoying the mental exercise and anticipating their in-person meeting.

Personally, I think that the key difference between Gray and Donald is the presence of a Stephen. Or... Friends. Gray's backstory shows that before Stephen came into his life, he was just drifting. An empty shell that kept searching for something, anything to fill the void in his heart. Gray lacked a purpose, endlessly consuming random knowledge and "studying like an idiot." Stephen was a welcome friend, a light in Gray's darkness, and became the purpose for Gray to keep living. Stephen became Gray's catalyst to change the world around him and stop standing by. Since Stephen made an effort to change his surroundings for the better, Gray decided to do the same, albeit in a more violent, cold manner.

Both Gray and Donald are connected by the concept of "absence" or "lacking". While Gray wasn't financially struggling, his parents weren't around and he didn't have friends. He lacked emotional connection with others, and lacked a purpose for living, thus creating that empty void within him. Gray became motivated by friendship to create a better environment for himself and his friends. Donald on the other hand lacked safety, security and power, so this became his personal purpose to rise above everyone and have the control he lacked as a child. However, he lacked FRIENDS, those other people he could count on emotionally.

Gray made new friends who he cares about and who care about him, but Donald sits atop a lonely throne, having nobody but himself he could fully depend on, since everyone around him disappointed him in one way or another. He has no equal, not even Kingsley. That was who Donald was looking for: a friend, an equal.

Donald made this realisation during his fight against Gray, who repeatedly outsmarted him using cunning tricks, who was the only one brave enough to take him on aside from Ben, and who was the other contender who pushed him to the brink. Ben made Donald realise the fear of losing, but Gray made him realise what he was chasing after this whole time. He thinks to himself, near the end of the fight that in another life, if things played out differently, could he and Gray have been friends? This means that Gray is the one he finally saw as equal to him, the one he wanted to befriend. He found someone who could potentially understand him, but circumstances pit them against each other. And when he beat Gray, any hope of potential connection was shattered.

Donald's Defeat: Last Man Standing

Technically, Donald won the fight against Ben and Gray, and against Eunjang. On paper, this is a huge win for the Union. Logically, this would mean that Donald could further his conquest and rise even higher on the chain of power. However... this ended up being the Union's loss overall. Donald wanted someone to beat him, he wanted someone to take him down a peg, he wanted a true equal in strength, character, ideals, which Ben and Gray had combined. (Ben's sheer power and Gray's character) But after Donald won, there wasn't any point in going on. He knew he was the strongest, but he wanted to be proven wrong. Now there is no chance of anyone who could take him down anymore.

The Union was just a means to an end, a method of accruing more power and wealth, all of which has lost its meaning for Donald. Hence Donald essentially put the Union on hold. His unrivalled might is still evident as he beat the piss out of Myles Joo and his cronies while severely injured. But mentally, he's destroyed. He's lost his purpose and meaning and snapped.

So what does he do? He tries again by seeking out Gray. In a semi-crazed delusion he calls out to Gray from below an overhead bridge for them to fight again. Only then could he relive that sense of connection and rekindle the hope of defeat. Gray and the eunjang gang are understandably shocked... but Donald is too fascinated with Gray to care. He just wants to fight again, to understand Gray even more.

Then he got hit by a truck (Donald isekai when?). The only thing that could take down Donald wasn't even a person but a whole vehicle.

In the end, Eunjang lost the fight but won the war, as Donald became demoralised and shut down Union activity. Donald lost, as he lost what he desired most (friendship) and whatever he still had didn't mean anything anymore. He was someone who lost himself in dark ambition, and deep inside wanted someone to save him from his endless spiral of violence that he trapped himself within as its kingpin.

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