all I see at the end of RoW when aleks basically says that all he ever did was for ravka is a man who’s fought his entire life to make sure his people are safe and is begging for once just to not be seen as a villain and just someone who wanted to help. this poor man has been vilified his entire life because of his powers, because of who he is. I don’t understand how that was framed as a want for power, ofc he wanted power in general but that was never the goal, power was never a goal but his tool to achieve a better safer world for grisha. any minority knows that the only way to change the system is to destroy it and build a new one. Only power can bring change.
At the end all I saw was a man so desperate to be seen and known for once, not a villain that he was ready to basically sacrifice himself.
I don’t see it as desperation. He knows, who is he dealing with, the only people, who accompany him are “children”, who even right before his sacrifice think only about their inner circle and their own losses.
I read it as justified pride and spine. He’s a dramatic bitch, so there’s no way he’s leaving without a speech, so he chose simple brutal honesty for his final words.
“My name is Aleksander Morozova,” he said, his voice echoing through the clearing. “But I have had a hundred names and I have committed a thousand crimes.”
The monks placed their hands upon the roots of the tree, the trunk, the hanging boughs.
The Darkling spread his arms wide, his lean body pale in the winter light. “I am not sorry.”
The great tree’s bark began to move and shift. They’re Fabrikators, Nikolai realized, watching the monks concentrate. All of them.
“I do not repent!” said the Darkling.
One of the branches of the thorn wood began to twist, writhing like a snake, a single spike protruding from its tip. Zoya took Nikolai’s hand. Now they were all joined together: Nikolai, Zoya, and Genya.
The thorn-wood bough moved back and forth, back and forth, a serpent staring down its prey.
“All I did, I did for Ravka,” shouted the Darkling. “And now, I do this too. For Ravka!”
repent- to feel regret or contrition
He knows what he did and why. The Righteous Gang’s opinion doesn’t matter. They don’t deserve an explanation, he gives them just a summary.
Agreed in all points.
And this soooo to the point: “they only think of their inner circle and their losses”.
With the good guys, it’s always: me, my pain, my loss.
With Sasha it’s: my people.
I started crying because of it.
I feel so sorry for Aleksander. He's been a hero this whole time yet LB called him a villain.
I also feel sorry for Nikolai. He cared. It wasn't about him, it was about Ravka. And LB took his crown away for a woman who left her whole army because of a single girl.
This is just sad. This is why RoW is so bad.
