I like to think of that end of Act 2 “all is lost” reversal as posing an existential question of the Protagonist: “Who am I?” Are they the individual who is becoming a New Person, a Transformed Individual, and thus willing to take on the Big Challenge against all odds… or will they refuse to go forward and return to their Old Self. It was an inauthentic existence, but at least they know what it is and it’s safer than confronting what lies ahead if they choose to go forward.

In almost all movies, at least commercial ones, the Protagonist responds to that existential question by going forward… and if they lean into their emerging Need, embracing it as part of their New Consciousness… if they truly ‘get’ the emotional wisdom imparted to them in their relationship with the Attractor and the intellectual wisdom learned through their relationship with the Mentor… if they put all *that* together… maybe with a surprise assist from a Trickster turned ally like Han Solo in SW:IV… just maybe the Protagonist can pull off the against all odds victory over the Nemesis.

The inevitability is as much if not more about the Protagonist becoming who are supposed to be than vanquishing the Nemesis. The audience experiences the thrill of the Hero capping off their transformation journey, a satisfying emotional end point to the story.