Hey so I finished CC and am thinking about how Maas has changed love interests for her mc before, but I really like Hunt and Bryce. A lot. Hunt is very different from any character we've seen from Maas, and he's just so fucking good. Idk, thoughts?
Oh man Nonnie. I’ve only read through the book once, but I don’t currently think Hunt is endgame. AT LEAST NOT YET. (Oh heeeeey Aidas!)
Their relationship was great but there was a LOT of baggage and life experiences that Hunt missed out on, so I can’t imagine he’s normal after being freed. Like. He’s always existed for a cause or because he had to exist for a cause. (Idk if that makes sense?) But now it’s like he has been newly discharged from the military. Taking orders are all he knows how to do. Now he has to make decisions for himself. And idk if you know anyone who gets out of the military after doing that kind of structured “obey orders” kind of job for so long, but it can be rough.
And I know he was a slave, but the same idea applies. Someone told him when to wake up, what to eat, where to go, what time to be there, and what to do. He hasn’t made his own decisions since BEFORE his dead lover was around. (And that relationship didn’t sound healthy to me.)
ON TOP OF THAT, Hunt fucking threw his friends under the bus when he got caught by Bryce and Micah. (Can we argue that they’re not his real friends? Sure. Go for it. But he trusted them enough to plot against Micah.) Sarah J Maas VALUES THE EVER LOVING SHIT out of friendships. She did not just throw that scene into the book for no reason.
And she did not leave out a sex scene for no reason either.
Now. Where I WAIVERED on this was toward the end when Hunt CLEARLY had a dramatic “shift” of SOME KIND. Now, again, I’ve only read the book once, so this opinion could TOTALLY change. But there was a moment when it felt like Hunt honestly loved Bryce. And cared for her. But intertwined in that was a sense of unchecked/runaway devotion. And THAT struck me. Because that’s not healthy. And that’s what he spent a lot of time explaining to us he did in the past with his first lover (even though he didn’t seem to see it that way). So. I’m torn.
On one hand I want them to have lots of therapy and growth and to probably spend some time apart so that Hunt can discover who he is OUTSIDE of following someone/a cause. (Bryce kind of became his “cause” at the end a little bit to me. He was suddenly super devoted to her and got blown up. That can be a decision an act of love, sure. But it can also be a decision made out of a lot old festering wounds you don’t realize you have.) I think if they’re going to work out, then Hunt has a journey of self discovery ahead of him. And that kind of journey you have to have space to do alone. Whether that’s a break up or just travel time alone—idk. I just don’t think he has an identity outside of taking orders and being Mr. Lightning for someone else. And that means he’s likely in the near future going to start to feel inferior or worthless or not whatever, and he’s going to take that out in someone else. (If he doesn’t get help.)
Also. Very early on in the book, when the princes of hell were randomly mentioned, I said to myself “LOL if one of those princes ever shows up on page, then it’s anyone’s game.” Then Aidas showed up. And then we found out that he and Bryce have an odd history that has resulted in her feeling he’s trustworthy to some extent. And then he showed up again at the end. So IDK.
Another thing. I can’t get over how Hunt acted when Bryce confronted him on the boat. He spent a lot of time lying to her before that moment. You can certainly change in a few days and I’m not saying he didn’t love her. But his love for her didn’t outweigh his need to find a way to be free. AND IT SHOULDNT. But when you love someone and you want to be with them, you consider their feelings and how your actions effect them. Hunt realized too late that he didn’t do that (and he kinda course corrected to an extreme at the end). And lying to her by omission was not love. That was selfishness. All he had to do was tell Bryce what he knew, let her process it, then they could have planned to get a hold of the Synth and try it or not try it. OR ASK HYPAXIA WHO HAS CLEARLY BEEN PLANNING A REBELLION OR SOMETHING WITH THARION FOR A WHILE NOW. I mean Hypaxia STRAIGHT UP let them both know she could get rid of his dark mark. WHY DIDNT he try to exhaust that potential avenue?
(And as I type this I’m reminded that what Aidas said about Hunts halo sent my spidey senses tingling. If hunt and Bryce are endgame I wonder if there will be a journey that has to do with that “mark” thing he said. I need to reread.)
So yeah. Those are my current thoughts. Sorry they’re kind of jumbled and crazy. Haha.
