My personal favorite thing about ACOWAR was Tamlins ingenuity. Like holy shit.
He started with weakened forces due to Amaranthas deal killing off his men. Then Feyres *~* boss bitch*~* plan to turn the rest of his court against him. By the time the war comes around he does not have an army and he still pulled more than his weight.
Tamlin obtained a STACK of information on Hyberns plans down to where exactly they were keeping the feybane. How, when, where, what, all of that shit and shared it with all of the High Lords. Didn't keep it a secret (like RhySAnd does with most shit) cause that would've been dumb. He got actual useful information on how to bring down Hybern in half a year, RhySAnd didn't get any information standing by Amaranthas side for 50.
He blew his cover and saved Feyre, Elain, Briar and Azriel using his wind magic to get them airborn and his brute strength to fight off the hounds. They would be dead without Tamlins help. All of them.
And THEN HE SHOWS UP DRAGGING BARON BY THE SCRUFF OF HIS NECK. He commands BARONS SONS (who fucking listen to him) where and how to destroy the feybane caches. And commanding BARONS ARMY.
This man will figure. it. out.
While most of RhySAnds plans end up only barely working out by sheer luck, Tamlins just fucking work. Like hate him all you want, but without him yall would've gone into that war relying on nothing more than RhySAnds inflated sense of self worth. Tamlin delivers results, every single time.
ACOWAR was Tamlins redemption arc from MAF. And everything else forward is just a testament to RhySAnds insecurity.
The NC was out here playing checkers, while Tamlins playing chess. Do you realize how bad you have to be when you have a full board and the guy you're playing against starts off missing his rooks and bishops and you still lose?
Tamlin let Feyre go because he loved her and feared for her safety. Sacrificing himself and his court for her.
Rhysand did not let Feyre go and forced her into a magic bargain/ and justified his SA and abuse towards her.
Tamlin has hobbies as in playing the fiddle, writing dirty poetry, and is a lover of art.
Rhysand has no hobbies unless you count being an asshole and taking joy in hurting others because he can.
Tamlin opened up his court for refugees.
Rhysand closed his favorite city while ignoring Hewn City and Illyaria except for when he needs to scare, threaten, or use them.
Tamlin told Feyre to dance and encouraged her to express herself in dancing.
Rhysand sexually assaulted Feyre forcing her to dance, drugged her, and paraded her barely clothed body in front of people.
Tamlin warned her family of the dangers of Prythian and made them wealthy saving them.
Rhysand threatened Feyre's family and doomed them to their fate when he didn't fulfill his promises to keep them safe.(exposing them to dangers and essentially letting them get kidnapped.)
Tamlin is loved by his people and only when Feyre manipulated everyone against him did they turn on him.
Rhysand is hated by 2/3rds of his court and most people other than the citizens of Velaris and the IC.
Tamlin tried to keep Feyre safe by locking her in his mansion.
Rhysand used Feyre as bait for the Attor.
Tamlin apologized to Feyre, learnt from his mistakes and tried to make amends with her.
Rhysand never apologized to Feyre and continues to lie and manipulate her even though he said he wouldn't.
Tamlin became a double agent of Hybern, gathered intel, saved Feyre and Co, and fought against evil without harming innocents.
Rhysand played the villain by terrorizing, hurting, and killing innocents, gathered no intel, and basically didn't do anything good while "playing a double agent".
Tamlin saved Rhysand's life and told Feyre to be happy.
Rhysand after returning to life promptly went to Tamlin's court to antagonize and suicide bait him without so much as a thank you. Only when he got called out by Lucien did he stop doing it.
Tamlin was never as bad as SJM tried to portray him and despite her trashing Tamlin he still is a better man than Rhysand. In fact going into Acotar I was spoiled that Feyre ended up with Rhysand and that Tamlin was the worst and I'd hate him. Well I ended hating Rhysand which was the opposite of SJM's intentions lol.
âTamlin is so toxic!!!! He did nothing for 50yrs, put his territory and citizens at risk by working with Hybern, and was controlling and possessive of Feyreâ
You mean the territory that his pedophile predator and his former friend helped torture and destroy for 50yrs? You know Amarantha captured most of springs citizens, locked them into tiny cells in the deepest areas under the mountain and then starved them forcing them to resort to extreme means to survive. And Rhys helped.
Rhys did a lot to help Amarantha for those 50yrs just to protect a hidden city and his family. Family who are actually not affected by the power binding spell Amarantha put on everyone else. So family who are pretty powerful enough and well connected to help maybe overthrow Amarantha. And for 50yrs Rhys family didnât do squat with Velaris citizens to get them ready to maybe one day try to end Amaranthaâs reign or to maybe be ready to go help the rest of Prythian if Amarantha finally did lose power. No Rhysâ family just hung around for 50yrs in his townhouse, going to Ritaâs and the theaters, and fucking in alleys. Velaris still has no army to go to war with, to help fight for their freedom. Velaris knows of the destruction and suffering the other courts went through and yet theyâre not sending monetary aid or going to help these courts rebuild. They didnât even open their boarder till Rhys promised safety, to anyone who can make it, at the high lord meeting.
Also Rhys hunted down and executed any Illyrians who bent the knee to Amarantha, you mean like you did?!?!? Or how about Amarantha knew nothing about Cassian, Az, Mor, or Amren even though 2 of those people are their Illyrian general and Illyrian Shadowsinger so those Illyrians who bent the knee never once talked or delved secrets of Rhysâ court to Amarantha but Rhys executed them for doing the same thing he did.
But yes letâs be mad at Tamlin for being strategic in working with Hybern. Hybern was going to invade spring no matter what. Tamlin striking a deal with him allowed Tamlin time to prepare his people and lands. Tamlin using the deal to get Feyre was him rescuing her from an evil tyrant. Yes the readers know that Rhys is a âgood guyâ but Tamlin and Lucien have no clue.
Rhys for 50yrs tortured and killed people for Amarantha. A Daemati killed 12 children in winter court, there was only 1 known Daemati at the time in Amaranthaâs court. This same man spent 3months drugging and sexually exploiting Feyre. This same man put a bargain tattoo on Feyre that allows him to own her 1 week a month. This same man rules over a dark court that lives under a mountain. This same man is a Daemati who has the ability to mentally control and manipulate peopleâs minds. I am sorry but no 4 sentence note is going to make me believe that the woman who I love, the woman who spent 3 months of hell trying to save me, that the woman who died for me is safe and happy and doesnât want me to look for her.
"Do you think she will ever forgive me?" The question was a rasp. As if he had been screaming. I knew whom he meant. And I didn't know. I didn't know if her wishing him happiness was the same as forgiveness. If Feyre would ever want to offer that to him. Forgiveness could be a gift to both, but what he'd done... "Do you want her to?" His green eyes were empty. "Do I deserve it?" No. Never.
This scene enraged me the first time I read it. Sarah really is the original gaslight girlboss queen. As if we could ever forget what Rhys has done to Feyre UTM and she would have us believe that Tamlin is a monster who doesn't deserve Feyre's forgiveness.
Tamlin the High Lord who opened his court to refuges. Tamlin who let Feyre go because he's a good man. Tamlin who crawled on his knees for her. Tamlin who knelt at at Rhysand's feet to spare Feyre. Tamlin who begged the high lords to help bring back Feyre. Tamlin, who despite getting fucked over by Rhysand and Feyre, sent wind to help Feyre, Azriel, Elain, and Briar escape. Tamlin, the last High Lord to give a kernel of his power to save Rhysand's wretched ass. The man has been dragged through the mud, ruined, had his court decimated, suicide baited, broken down and he wants forgiveness.... That broke my heart. I need Tamlin to get up pls. Stand up. Because why would after everything does he love Feyre still?? Sarah tried and failed to make him the villain. Tamlin, I will never hate you the way Sarah tried to make me.
Todayâs look back: the âback offâ conversation between Lucien and Tamlin:
In ACOWAR, Feyre says Tamlin told Lucien to back off because he was jealous (she had shirked Tamlin to go out riding with Lucien before this), and because Lucien doing so was getting in the way of his plans.
Nice try.
Unless that was to purposely show Feyre misremembering, itâs a blatant retcon to make Tamlin seem (even) worse. Iâll go with the former to make the story consistent.
But the conversation starts (the part Feyre hearsâand therefore the part she is reacting to in ACOWAR) with Lucien castigating Tamlin for, as he says after, âjust sulking and glowering.â Tamlin gets defensive and says âwhat are you doingâ in response. Which may be meaningâwhy yell at me when you are out spending time with her. Or it just may have been a general âno, youâ rebuttal. But he is clearly not interested in wooing her, and when he says back off, Lucien responds from his meaningâhe wonât back off from pressuring him because of whatâs at stake. On the next page, he volunteers Tamlin to spend time with Feyre, and Tamlin gives him a look of disdain.
Also keep in mindâFeyre has only been there a week at this point; Tamlin notes her eavesdropping in their ensuing conversation:
And then at the last trial:
Now Tamlin very well may have been/may be jealous of Lucienâhis effortless charm, his ability to talk to people. Similar to how Rhysand expressed jealousy of Tarquin because âit would always be easyâ for him. Butâ
That is clearly not what is going on here. Lucien never wanted Feyre there; Tamlin broke down and agreed but quickly regretted it; Lucien tells him itâs too late for that. And since they wanted Feyre to hear, who knows how much of the argument was manufactured (it does seem at least somewhat genuine). These are not Tamlinâs plans. He hates all of it.
This is Feyreâs justification for using Lucien as she did. When the simpler explanation is Tamlin was unstable and he would have been set off by her display anyway; and in the end it seemed to have more effect on Ianthe.
I cannot stop thinking about the complexities surrounding Feyre and Tamlin's relationship at the beginning of ACoMaF. I find it such a shame that it gets boiled down to "Tamlin was abusive"
I'm going to tackle that first, actually, because, despite having a lot of parallels, I don't think that's right. What Tamlin did was misguided and harmful, but it's missing too many elements of abuse for me to consider it such
Obligatory link to Lundy Bancroft's Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men
Abuse is a pattern of behavior that enforces a parasitic power imbalance. There is obvious benefit for someone to abuse their partner, namely free emotional, physical, and/or sexual labor; and the reason the victim is most often a woman is because we live in a patriarchal society that views women as commodities. These men internalize the message of their biological superiority and seek to establish a natural order of female subservience through any means necessary
That is not what Tamlin is doing. When Tamlin overrides Feyre's wishes to go to the village or follow him into dangerous territory, it's not because he wants to make her submit to his power. His reasoning is perfectly clear in every move he makes: keep Feyre safe no matter what. To do that, he has to make Prythian safe. The human lands aren't a refuge for her anymore now that she's Fae, so Prythian is her only home
Given that there are a lot of people that want her dead for breaking Amarantha's curse or could want to use her for her newfound powers, Tamlin's rejections to her desires to roam make sense. They hurt, but he's not doing it out of malice. Even Feyre understands it at times before the narrative makes her forget again
Tamlin isn't oblivious to this, either, nor to the many mistakes he makes along the way - a trait that is not shared by abusers as they will justify each and every one of their actions until the cows come home. They do not try to get better or make amends. Instead, they love bomb via gifts or sweet, romantic gestures in order to make themselves feel better about "losing control"
Abusers don't lose control, though. They may make it look like they explode out of nowhere or react badly to their partner's "provocations", but these are excuses. They know what they're doing, even if only subconsciously, which is why they need layers and layers of justifications. And they'll always snap right into their role as the grounded, loving spouse the moment someone walks into the room
In that infamous scene, Tamlin genuinely does lose control. When Feyre tells Tamlin she feels he is drowning her, Tamlin's body shuts down ("Nothing in those eyes, that face") but his magic reacts to his impending panic attack by eviscerating the study. This is different to his reaction after Rhysand took Feyre from the wedding
And then [I] noticed the study wallsâthe claw marks raked down them. All over them. And the table theyâd been using ⊠that was new. âYou trashed the study.â
âI trashed half the house," [Tamlin] said.
One was a deliberate destruction of the study, the other an uncontrollable reaction to stress. In fact, Feyre has a similar episode several chapters later where she wraps herself in darkness and melts Tamlin's mother's ring by accident. She hadn't even known if she'd hurt someone in the process or not. Magic reacts to negative emotions quite often in the series, as Rhysand also has a bad reaction to Feyre bringing up his treatment of her UtM (though, he controlled himself right as Mor showed up. Which could mean nothing)
Tamlin hadn't meant to hurt Feyre. Not once in either of the books has he physically turned his rage towards her, nor has he ever intentionally intimidated her with his superior strength and abilities. I don't think he even raised his voice at her. All of Feyre's fear of him in TaR came from their bad first impressions and his being a Fae, not him showing signs of being an abuser
In my opinion, the key ingredient of abuse is isolation. This could be a total physical isolation, such as being in a remote location with few to no neighbors, or a social isolation, where your social circle comprises entirely of those who approve of and have been approved by your abuser. Either way, having no support system is critical for an abuser to keep his victim in line
With Feyre, this gets a little tricky because she isolates herself by nature. In her human life, her only real non-familial interactions were with merchants and Isaac Hale, her fuck buddy. And, let's be real, her relationship with her family wasn't that great either. After turning Fae, Feyre isolates herself due to her depression, and her only meaningful interactions are with select few people: Tamlin, Lucien, Alis, and Ianthe
To be fair, part of that lackluster social circle is due to seemingly all of Prythian treating her more as a symbol than a person, so let's turn to Tamlin's behavior. Does he embarrass her in front of people to make her dread social interactions? Does he forbid her from talking to her family or friends without his supervision? Does he grill her about any and everything she and another person have talked about?
Aside from the post-Night Court interrogations, Tamlin does none of those things. He introduces her to people - his friends and his entire court! - and gives her the space to be with others or to return to her room as needed. Feyre may be lonely in Spring, but she is not isolated
Frankly, I think most of the confusion can be summed up by the book itself:
Feyre: I don't want to marry a High Lord. I just want to marry [Tamlin].
Lucien: One doesn't exist without the other.
Tamlin's status as a High Lord is an insurmountable power gap between the two. He was chosen by magic itself to command the Court and everyone in it. That includes Feyre, no matter what shallow garbage Rhysand spouts. Being a subject to a lord does not automatically mean inferior, and Tamlin has proven many times throughout his reign that he does not see his subjects, be they native or refugee, as inferior. He does not see Feyre as inferior. However, Feyre is his responsibility, as both lord and lover, to protect from the threats he knows are coming for her. He already lost her once, and he's willing to do whatever is necessary to protect the one he loves, even if she hates him for it
So, I fully believe that Tamlin's actions were that of a man under a fuckton of stress from every direction and unresolved trauma rather than that of an abuser
~If youâre someone that doesnât like critical posts about the Acotar series/Feyre please just scroll~
Just my musing for today đ but why do we blame Tamlin for not rescuing Feyre UTM?
Tamlin did his part and sent her back to the human lands in order to protect her, sacrificing himself and the freedom of his court because he couldnât bare the thought of her being harmed even for the benefit for his people. âBurn the world for herâ type action right? Very romantic we all love to see it.
Okay so then Feyre decided to go after Tamlin to save him from the âblightâ (and then getting the WHOLE RUNDOWN of the situation from Alis now that the curse was over) and then deciding to go and rescue him regardless. Very girl-boss (if a little naive) for her to want to be the Hero Warrior Savior (gender swapping the âtypical rolesâ). Very cute we love to see woman empowerment. Buuuuut she didnât really have a plan and got captured almost immediately. Very unfortunate wrench in the âplanâ for the Hero Warrior Savior.
Now how is she going to save the Damsel in distress (Tamlin) from the evil sorceress (Amarantha)?
Aweee she makes a bargain (not a very well thought out one--with a very glaring loophole) in order to free him and his court. Very Noble, Very Hero Warrior Savior, having to compete in trials to prove her love and save them. This is pretty common in fantasy books.
So how then does it turn out that the Damsel should have somehow saved the Hero Warrior Savior? Like it was very clearly stated he had no freedom of movement UTM, couldnât show her any attention or else Feyre would be tortured and kil*ed for Amaranthas enjoyment.
Further, Feyre was magically bound by the bargain to complete her trials (or die trying). She could not be âsavedâ, she would have had to return in order to complete them (or die most likely because she didnât complete/fulfill the bargain). So her only option was to survive completing the trials. Which is why Lucien was helping/healing her in order to try and ensure she survived.
So how does it become the fault/duty of the Damsel to then save the Hero? Feyre was not the âDamselâ of the story, it was not up to Tamlin to save her. She was on her âhero questâ so to speak. And then afterwords it became âlook at all I sacrificed to come save youâyou owe me now, I did this for youâ like we would never say Snow White owed anything to her Prince because he saved her. Same with Sleeping Beauty, he fought Maleficentâs dragon and saved her from the curse, but we donât end the story with her feeling indebted to the Prince.
Musing over~ thank you if you read till the end
Not really sure if this is Feyre critical or maybe more an observation/criticism of fandom opinion/interpretation of the events from UTM
Yall..It is literally canon Lucien and Tamlin had nothing to do with the sisters being turned. The villian himself even says this.
You can dislike both characters as much as you want but that doesnât change canon.
ACOMAF
âWhy did you think I asked my dear friend Ianthe to see who Feyre Archeron would appreciate having with her for eternity?â Even as horror filled my ears with roaring silence, I glanced at the queens, the question no doubt written on my face. The king explained, âOh, I asked them first. They deemed it too ⊠uncouth to betray two young, misguided women. Ianthe had no such qualms. Consider it my wedding present for you both,â he added to Tamlin. But Tamlinâs face tightened. âWhat?â The king cocked his head, savoring every word. âI think the High Priestess was waiting until your return to tell you, but
ACOWAR
âWell if tamlin didnât align blahhhâ bruh, they never ever truly aligned w Hybern. Hybern was taking over the spring court regardless this is all explained in the books. They were always using Hybern. Always working for the courts. Feyre even realizes this later onâŠ.
âWe were backed into a corner with no options. None. It was either go to war with the Night Court and Hybern, or ally with Hybern, let them try to stir up trouble, and then use that alliance to our own advantage further down the road.â
Those glacial eyes hardened as he again took in Tamlin. âAre you here as an ally of Hybern or Prythian?â The mocking, hateful gleam faded into granite resolve. âI stand against Hybern.â âProve it,â Helion goaded. Tamlin lifted his hand, and a stack of papers appeared on the little table beside his chair. âCharts of armies, ammunition, caches of faebane ⊠Everything carefully gleaned these months.â
Tamlin. His actions would cover Jurianâs betrayal. I had no doubt Tamlin hadnât gone back to Hybernâs army after the meeting to betray usâbut to play spy. Though after last night ⊠it was unlikely heâd get close to Hybern again. Not when the king himself had witnessed everything. I didnât know what to make of it. That heâd saved meâthat heâd given up his deception to do so. Where had he gone to when heâd winnowed? We hadnât heard anything about the Spring Court forces.
You know who told ianthe about elain and nesta? Feyre. You know who connected Elain & Nesta to the human queens who were working w Hybern? Feyre and the inner circle.
You canât sit here and blame Lucien & Tamlin but not hold feyre just as accountable since she is the one who got the sisters involved and no one else.
For the record I blame none of them. It was Hybern and ianthe. Iâm just so tired of ppl twisting canon bc they donât like Lucien or tamlin while simultaneously leaving feyre out of the equation.
It turns out not to be the way she wants to be protected. But, he genuinely believes that he's shielding her, keeping her safe, and removing pressure from her so she can rest and heal. Especially with Rhysand looming around (even showing up unwanted at their bedroom door) to take her at a moments notice.
Rebuilding of the Spring Court:
Heâs handling court politics and border tensions, including concerns over close neighbors who'll most likely be contentious over Feyre's new fae powers. Heâs also managing the fallout from Amaranthaâs reign and trying to stabilize a broken court.
âMeetings. Inspections. Rebuilding. Tamlin rose before dawn and returned after nightfall.â
Still Trying to Break the Bargain:
Tamlin follows through on the promise he made in ACOTARâ as he actively works to nullify Feyreâs bond to Rhys. He's so committed to keeping his promise and truly believing that he's helping Feyre, that he even seeks help from Hybern, after all help in Prythian is null. Because from his POV, heâs rescuing her from being forced into a bargain she doesnât want.
Grieving With HerâEven When She Doesnât Know It:
Unable to sleep at night. Pacing, standing guard in beast form throughout the night.
Sends Lucien After Feyre:
When Feyre doesnât return from the Night Court, he sends Lucien, his most trusted friend, to track her down and bring her home. Since he believes Feyre is being manipulated or controlled by RhysandâHe chooses someone gentle who cares about her, who might be able to persuade her to return; not a rough soldier to drag her back.
Fought Against Hybern for Forcing Nesta and Elain into the Cauldron:
Despite aligning with Hybern in a desperate attempt to get Feyre back from a daemarti, who to his knowledge kidnapped her Against her will, he still doesn't hesitate to correct the wrong of Nesta and Elain bringing brought to the Cauldron. He demands they stop. Yells that the deal never included this. Tries to fight Hybern. Even surrounded by enemies, he tried to stop it.
Continued Loving Her and Openly Brought her Back to His Home without any Reservations.
Iâm sorry, but Rhysand saying âneither side was innocentâ during the conversation with the mortal queens in ACOMAF, when the subject of fae enslaving humans was brought up, is one of the most egregious lines in the series â and itâs rarely discussed with the weight it deserves.
Letâs unpack that: he is speaking to a group of human women, representing the very group of people who were enslaved by fae for centuries, and when they bring up this long history of subjugation, torture, rape, and death, his response is to essentially say, âWell, both sides were bad.â
That is victim-blaming. That is revisionist history. That is colonialist rhetoric.
Itâs no different than saying, âWell, the enslaved people fought back sometimes, so it wasnât just the slavers who were wrong.â Rhysand, who wants to be painted as this morally enlightened, progressive High Lord, essentially minimizes the suffering of an entire speciesâthe one his mate used to be a part of, no lessâbecause acknowledging that the fae were uniquely cruel would be an inconvenient truth. He doesnât show remorse. He doesnât even offer an ounce of compassion.
Instead, he offers the oldest excuse in the book of abusers and empires: âIt was mutual.â
No, it wasnât. The fae were the enslavers. The humans were enslaved. Power imbalance matters. Scale and systems matter. And for Rhysand â who was alive during that time â to not only fail to acknowledge it, but dismiss it outright, is a massive moral failing.
What makes it worse is how it lines up with everything weâve come to understand about how he views humans. Rhysand might love Feyre, but he doesnât love humans. He doesnât mourn their culture, their history, or what was taken from them. In fact, he only seems to acknowledge humans when itâs politically convenient (like trying to leverage Feyreâs mortal roots or the war). Otherwise, theyâre an afterthought at best, disposable at worst.
And the fandom justâŠlets him get away with it.
There is no growth. No nuance. Just a man who calls himself âfeministâ and âprogressiveâ while upholding the very structures that oppressed entire peoples â and gaslighting them about it.
So yeah, âneither side was innocentâ? Iâm sorry, but what the actual fuck.
To me he feels like just as much an asshole as the rest of the Inner Circle
Did he have a terrible childhood? Yes, and he's got a right to have trauma from it and mental and psysical scars, but he got out, very early on found friends of one of their mom's adopted him and got a new family that he's still with 500+ years later.
Like the rest of the IC, he seems to believe they're the only ones who suffered in their lives and everyone who doesn't worship them is evil and in the wrong, or at least he doesn't really speak against the mentally when the others act like that.
He also needs to get over the "i'm so unworthy of everything"-victim mentality, cause that's what it is. Just a victim-mentality. You've gotten friends and family who have your back for 500+ years, but you're constantly feeling sorry for yourself because the slutty bimbo from the group isn't fucking you.
And regarding Mor, let's be honest, it's never been love, but more so simply obsession.
He's a creepy stalker who spend nearly their whole lives fantasising about her, never even got the hint that she doesn't like him and while I get wanting to defend Mor, h literally can't hold himself back and attacked Eris at a High Lords meeting and ignored everyone including his own lord telling him to stop. He even ignored Mor herself being uncomfortable cause he only cared how he feld.
And if you supposedly "love" someone, you don't suddenly forget that as soon as another pretty girl shows up and right away hyper-focus on her, especially when it's been implied theere have been a bunch of girls interested in him through the years.
And with Elain, he's literally said that since her sisters are with his brothers, he "deserves" to get "the third" hand over to him. He's literally admitting he feels entitled to her and objectifies her, not caring how she'd fel about that.
He EVEN admits when Rhys asks that he never even considered a real future with Elain and only ever thought about fucking her.
Yet, he acts all casual about the idea of killing Lucien who has never done anything to him, simply to fuck HIS mate.
He's also racist against his own race the Illyrians, where while Cassian at least wants them to improve, Azriel openly hates them and acts like he and the other two are the ONLY good ones and it's impossible for there to be other good male illyrians.
Azriel is just as bad, if not worse than the rest of the inner circle and honestly disgusting
Because Iâm in my safe space, I can say that this does all sorts of things for me. This scene always did all sorts of things for me, even when stans use it as irrefutable canon proof of how little Tam respected Feyre.
Because forced roofie nudie lap dances scream respect.
And whoâre we kidding Iâd say this gives me pants feelings in any space. If Rhys doesnât respect safe spaces I think I should get a free pass too.
While the fandom is discussing favorite ACOTAR scenes and the conversation has shifted somewhat to focus on Azriel/Elain moments, I just wanted to take a moment to reiterate that Azriel does not seem focused on these moments at all. The exact opposite, in fact. His POV in ACOSF tells the reader everything they need to know.
Azrielâs actions and thoughts regarding Elain during his POV are the manifestations of self-loathing (of himself), jealousy (of his brothers), and surface-level lust (for Elain, as a result of the first two).
Azriel isnât recalling any of the previous âimportantâ moments between him and Elain once we finally get his POV because they are not important to him in the ways that should matter in that moment. He has nothing of substance to convey as it pertains Elain and their shared history. He does not admire or acknowledge any facet of her beyond her physical appearance.
I absolutely love Azriel. But this moment is him at an incredibly stark low point â on purpose. SJM is very intentional about this. She uses Rhys (who likely knows Azriel best) to underscore the wrongness of Azrielâs thought spiral and the acknowledgement of Azrielâs unhealthy emotional state. This is a male who is clearly struggling with his own worth and selfishness, ready to burn it all to the ground. And for what?
Azriel has nothing good to think or say about himself in this chapter, and only thinks about Elain in terms of physical attraction and how sheâs âthe third.â Ouch.
BUT THAT IS THE POINT. It is meant to establish how Azriel truly feels about Elain and how low he finds himself near the end of ACOSF; mainly, how much trauma, grief, and self-reflection he needs to work through ⊠almost like SJM is setting up a main character arc. đ
And I will save it for another post at another time, but the structure and symbolism of the bonus chapter is primed for literary analysis as we compare the Elain/Rhys half of the chapter with the Gwyn/Clotho half. Again, SJM is intentional with all of this, setting up a contrast where readers are meant to feel that shift.
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