Unpopular Opinion
I don’t mind Helvitas’s ending in A Sky Beyond The Storm. Their relationship always made me uncomfortable considering the first time they meet is him beating her for five days and beating her so bad her father was horrified upon seeing her. It wasn’t a light beating either and her family ended up having to nurse her back to health afterwards.
“Father?” What in the bleeding hells is he doing here? Is Marcus using him as leverage? Planning to torture him until I give up information? “Your Majesty.” My father’s voice as he addresses Marcus is smooth as glass, so uninflected as to be uncaring. But his eyes flick to me, horror-filled.
“Six broken ribs, twenty-eight lacerations, thirteen fractures, four torn tendons, and bruised kidneys.”
Helene was even so traumatized by it that when Avitas so much as moved his hands she would flinch. Then as time progresses he never brings it up again. Never apologizes. Never sits down and talks about it with her. Granted that still wouldn’t magically make everything okay. I’d still find it very problematic but at the very least it still should’ve been acknowledged. That’s not to say he’s a bad guy. As all masks had to do horrific things in their life. So I don’t think Avitas is evil or anything like that. I actually think as a friend he’s fantastic. I do not hate him. He’s done many good things and has been there through some of the roughest times to help out and battle through. He clearly is kind and does believe in the cause he’s helping. It’s just this concept of their relationship is not okay to me. As well as the fact that the reason she caught his eye in the first place was because he realized that she was close to his brother so that peaked his intrigue. They just started off on the worst foot that I can’t look past it. It feels wrong to romanticize a relationship that had started with trauma and assault and try to pass it off as okay cause he ends up deciding to team up with her and be nice to her afterwards.
Its very triggering actually.
It’s just a very sensitive topic for me.
He crossed a line when he brutally tortured her and that’s something he can’t undo. The damage has been done and it took a huge toll on Helene afterwards. Both physically and mentally. It also doesn’t feel right to me that instead of talking about it together Helene just justifies the situation for him to herself so she can accept him as an ally. No matter how nice he was to her afterwards it doesn’t erase or lessen the grief he put her and even her family through. She wasn’t able to feel trusting or comfortable around him for months and not in an enemies to lovers sort of way but because she genuinely felt threatened and would remember the interrogation torture whenever she saw him. I’m not saying this means his character is completely ruined and no one should ever like him. I still like him enough. Just not as a love interest. Avitas by himself? Perfectly fine. But pairing him up with the girl he tortured, traumatized, and whose mere presence had her on edge and would make her shudder and recoil whenever he was near, not so much. So I’m satisfied with their ending and glad Sabaa ended it that way.
I feel…conflicted.
I do mind their ending, a lot. I feel like it was written badly and wasn’t believable considering the characters involved. But then again, I think the whole of Sky was a plot disaster so what’s new.
Having said that, there are really valid points here. One of the things that bothered me about Sky in particular was that the torture was never, ever brought up. It had bothered me since Torch, but I thought surely as their relationship was developing, we’d see that conversation. And we didn’t. Not even a mention of it.
Even in Torch it was mostly glossed over. There’s this moment where Avitas goes to give Helene the Blood Shrike’s ring only a few days after he tortures her, and she flinches away from him. She’s terrified, quite reasonably, because she instinctively thinks he’s going to hurt her. And why wouldn’t she? But that’s the only mention of it. It’s literally not brought up again, or not that I can remember, so forgive me if I missed a quote.
Again, it’s not brought up in Reaper and by this point they’re working really closely together. Even if they didn’t have a conversation about it, you’d expect it to at least be a part of Helene’s internal monologue, but it isn’t. And then in Sky, when their relationship really gets going again, they don’t talk about it and Helene doesn’t think about it.
I can’t believe that for one single second.
It also doesn’t seem to fit with the character Sabaa created for Avitas. He obviously feels like he isn’t a worthwhile person. He even says to Helene that he assumes his brother got their father’s better qualities. And although he supports the Empire, he’s also angry at it, as evidenced by his expression in Reaper when they’re going to fight, and Helene thinks about the fact that Avitas is Plebeian. I feel like he would have talked about it with her. Because he was carrying so much guilt around. He was so careful after that so I don’t believe that he wouldn’t have wanted to know that she was ok with the development of their relationship.
I do think we can’t apply our standards to their relationship and say it was terrible. I’m not condoning either physical or emotional abuse for one second. But the whole society they were living in was violent and terrible. It’s not like Helene hasn’t murdered people with her bare hands before. But what I do expect is that when a relationship begins, the characters at least acknowledge their past. And that torture, it was part of their past. A really messed up part of it that needed to be talked about.
I also think Sabaa has a responsibility to her readers. Many of us can look at the relationship with a critical eye and also the plot and writing in general. We can see how there are numerous faults with the book and include that along with it. But there are lots of fans of the series who aren’t critical of it in the slightest. What kind of message does this send to them?
I’m still so angry about the ending they got, particularly because I think Sabaa really just wanted to take everything from Helene and it made for really cheap writing in the end. But there are layers of issues here, and this one deserves to be acknowledged.
Honestly the more I think about ASBTS the more I’m convinced I won’t read one of her books again. Which makes me sad to say because I adored the series up until that point. But meaningful interactions were swept aside to be replaced by quite frankly laughable plot devices and ridiculous outcomes. I’m not here for it, there are better books out there.
I just personally feel that they never should’ve happened. Even if he had apologized I don’t think there’s an apology good enough to envoke the “I’m sorry I beat you up, but can we still date” concept. Helene has hurt many people and took away many innocent lives and Sabaa makes sure she pays for it and understands the loss she had done to others by experiencing it herself. I respect the brutality. Even Laia who actually hadn’t done anything wrong lost her father, mother, and sister at a young age causing her to be an orphan. Just to be taken care of by her Nan and pop and see them die in front of her. As well as her brother later. As much as it hurt I loved the suffering. And I love sabaa being able to go there for all the brown voices that never get to be heard and weave a story about trauma, assault, and mistakes and how we can rise above that. Sabaa is actually a very inspirational and important person to me as well as her books and messages and characters. My only real problem is turning Helvitas romantic. I’d be okay if Helene got romantically involved with anyone but not someone who had a hand at torturing her for five days straight and is able to say he loves her and have sex with her but not discuss the mental trauma he put her through. I know it’s touched upon as Helene says in reaper I believe that she doesn’t blame Avitas for what he’s done cause as a mask she’s hurt others too so I believe that was the mental and emotional realization for Helene not to hold it against him. Which would be fine, but HE still should’ve talked about it with her. And they still shouldn’t of gotten together after. Helene has hurt people but she hasn’t tried to shy away from it and try to engage in a romantic relationship with any of them. And those she has hurt, like Mamie Rila, let her know she fucked up and wishes not to speak to her anymore. Though even at the end Mamie eventually learns to ease up on her but their relationship clearly will never be the same. However that is just My personal opinion! Sky is actually one of my favorite books of all time!!!
@arcanaimperii Oh yes of course! I totally respect those who don’t like the books too! I think everyone’s opinion’s are valid! And don’t ever want to make anyone feel bad if they think differently<3 Like for instance as much as I love this series I wasn’t a big fan of Reaper, like at all HAHAH. And thank you for the understanding and polite convo! (:
