Sidekick, or partner? How do you tell the difference?

[Guttersnipe]

Sidekicks are inexperienced in comparison to the hero(ine) and is bassically a knight's page. Partners both pose a relatively equal threat.

 

[sknox]

It's worth mentioning that Tolkien Samwise was batman to Frodo. Neither partner nor sidekick. And the mention of Blackadder brings another role to the table, namely that of fool. Fools have a specific literary tradition.

I just think "partner vs sidekick" is too narrow and not descriptive enough of the many, rich relationships between major characters.

 

[DAgent]

It's worth mentioning that Tolkien Samwise was batman to Frodo. Neither partner nor sidekick. And the mention of Blackadder brings another role to the table, namely that of fool. Fools have a specific literary tradition.

I just think "partner vs sidekick" is too narrow and not descriptive enough of the many, rich relationships between major characters.

I'll agree with you there, there are LOTS of relationships that are worth exploring, including fools, underlings, love interests, parents and child and so on, but I was just concentrating on what people see as the difference between these two specifically as I feel there's plenty of blurred lines between the two given how similar their roles are, in general.