Honestly, the “chosen one” is the most overrated cliché, a tired shortcut that steals agency from the world and the characters. Every time it pops up, the author just sighs, “Here goes the hero, the prophecy, the inevitable victory.” It’s like a convenient plot device masquerading as drama, and the result is predictable, shallow and frankly, a curse masquerading as a gift. The only redeeming moments are when someone actually subverts it, but even then it feels like a hack. So yes, call it a curse.

Sure, you can make the “chosen one” feel like an earned burden, but that still feeds the same tired engine. Even when the hero grumbles about destiny, the plot usually still pushes them to a single, inevitable victory. The trope’s core is still a shortcut, and most writers forget that nuance when they hand the protagonist a prophecy on a scroll and say, “There, problem solved.” So yes, a touch of real struggle can soften the bite, but it doesn’t erase the fact that the whole idea is still a convenient cheat code.