Yeah, as a Thancred fan, watching him be harsh and emotionally distant and handling poorly everything with Ryne was difficult and made me want to shake him.
Thancred was an orphan with no context for how family works. He’s still a naturally good, caring man, and his relationship with Minfilia and the other Scions went a long way but didn’t mean he was entirely well-adjusted; one of Thancred’s hallmarks is his emotional issues, leading to his possession in ARR and then his depression in HW when Minfilia’s gone.
He wanted to do better than he did when Minfilia was young. He meant to. He didn’t know how. Intent is good, but actions are worth more. So he was harsh when he didn’t need to be, and refrained from saying what he should. In trying to respect Minfilia’s wish and let Ryne decide, he went too far the other way and almost influenced her into thinking she wasn’t worth saving.
I’d argue much of that came from Ran’jit originally, given how he always addressed her as A Minfilia, never her own person. Thancred, with his own well-documented self-esteem issues, had no way to navigate that and made it worse.
I also argue the Scions, like Y’shtola’s callout, didn’t entirely have Thancred figured out either, but as he wasn’t actually talking to anyone, there were assumptions all around.
Thancred cared about Ryne as her own person; his arguments with Ran’jit are about that, and allowing her her freedom and choice—he was again, terrible at telling/showing her that was his wish. He showed her affection plenty of times, and it’s not in his nature to be intentionally abusive and cruel. But he was bad at taking care of a young teen with her own issues and how they intersected with his own.
Ryne’s own attitude early on is a child who desperately wants acknowledgment and affection from her guardian. It’s common with kids in her position. She feels worthless and like a backup plan and not “really Minfilia” and if Thancred would just say one way or another she could have an answer.
She finds it on her own thanks to the rest of the Scions and her own experiences, and does get to live that fantasy of having her beloved guardian acknowledge her and admit all. Almost too late, as by the time the trolley happens, Thancred’s feelings are obvious (Emet-Selch even calls him out on his love for the kid and his fear for her choice) he’s just unable to say it cuz he’s a stubborn, emotionally stunted fool still.
I did expect and was bracing myself for Thancred to die in 5.0, and they certainly gave us every anime trope in the book. But narratively, it wouldn’t have worked. The resolution of the Thancred/Minfilia/Ryne emotional triangle doesn’t happen with his death, even in her defense, with their feelings unsaid. It resolves with Ryne coming into her own and Thancred making it up to her and getting his own emotional growth/turning point finally. It’s much more satisfying from a purely storytelling perspective, and fits the hopeful, redemptive themes of Shadowbringers much better than the expected grimdark trope option.
I also find acknowledging Thancred made terrible mistakes with this child, that he was wrong, that the WoL has good reason to be angry with him for it all, to be far more interesting than glossing over his actions just because he’s a favorite. It makes him a more interesting character and is far more interesting story, before and after.
Also no lie I feel weird having just posted a story about Thanced and Ryne and suddenly Hot Takes are popping up claiming he’s either a wooby who did no wrong or an abusive monser who should die, with little in between, and I guess it’s just that time in the patch lull.
