Assistant to the Villain relies on the subversion of fairy-tale tropes to achieve a humorous, modern-day approach. Choose three tropes that the novel subverts and explore how Maehrer changed them. Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Who is the true villain of Assistant to the Villain, and why? What specific actions does this character take that makes them villainous? If you chose a character other than Trystan, why is this person more villainous than the Villain? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Examine the novel’s various portrayals of Trystan and the king to explore how Maehrer critiques the widespread phenomenon of manipulative propaganda.