Scar (The Lion King) them think and scheme and plot is much more interesting than showing them beating somebody up." By blaming Mufasa's death on an innocent Simba, Scar ultimately triggers "a cycle of guilt, flight, denial and redemption, as the hero goes into self-imposed exile before finally reconciling with his father's memory, returning to face his wicked uncle and generally coming of age." The character's first line in "The Lion King" "essentially summarizes the entire film, providing foreshadowing. It reads, "Life's not fair is it? You see I-well, I ... shall never be King. And you ... shall never see light of another
Nala (The Lion King) University of Waterloo's Kinema, Vicky Wong believes that Nala reinforces the film's "take your place" motif, reminding main character Simba of his responsibilities. In his book "Retelling Stories, Framing Culture: Traditional Story and Metanarratives in Children's Literature", author John Stephens credits Nala with teaching Simba about responsibility – "the lesson the hero must learn before he can become an adult". Film critic James Berardinelli identified Nala as "The Lion King"'s "sole significant female character." Including Nala, "The Lion King" has only three major female characters in comparison to the film's total of nine male ones. Shepherd University's Emmylou Allen observed