Let’s be honest—most urban fantasy heroines are dealing with some version of “I have mysterious powers and daddy issues.” But Harley from The Last Ringmaster series takes this trope and cranks it up to eleven. She’s literally the daughter of a centuries-old warlock bent on fae genocide, housing an inner demon that could level city blocks, and somehow still manages to worry about whether she’s good enough to protect her circus family of misfits. If that’s not peak Imagine Dragons energy, I don’t know what is.
The band’s entire catalog reads like Harley’s personal therapy playlist. Songs like “Demons” and “Monster” capture her constant battle with the darkness inside her—except instead of metaphorical demons, she’s got an actual serpentine entity coiled around her soul that gets hangry for darkling blood. “Believer” and “Rise Up” mirror her journey from traumatized guardian to someone who learns to channel her pain into power (literally unleashing a giant energy viper to obliterate an army, because subtlety is overrated). Meanwhile, tracks like “Warriors” and “Whatever It Takes” embody her fierce protectiveness over her found family of fae freaks who’ve made an old circus sanctuary their home.
What really sells the connection is how both Harley and Imagine Dragons refuse to let others define them. Songs like “Natural” echo Harley’s rejection of her villainous bloodline—she may be the Priest’s daughter, but she’s choosing to be the ringmaster who saves lives instead of taking them. And “Radioactive” perfectly captures that apocalyptic weight of stepping into a dangerous new world and taking control, which is basically Harley’s Tuesday. Plus, let’s face it, any character who can make peace with ghostly circus elephants while planning to storm a darkling army definitely needs an epic, cinematic soundtrack to match.
So next time you’re reading about Harley unleashing her inner demon to protect her sanctuary, just imagine it all set to that signature Imagine Dragons blend of orchestral bombast and emotional vulnerability. Trust me, it fits like a custom-made ringmaster’s coat—dramatic, powerful, and just a little bit extra.
