I feel like the fandom really mischaracterizes Cardan sometimes, and itās honestly frustrating. People love to paint him as weak, dumb, or completely reliant on Jude, and itās justā¦ not true.
First of all, Cardan isnāt weak. The man survived an absolutely hellish upbringingāabuse from his family, neglect, and being treated like he was nothingāand still came out on top. He may not be a sword-swinging warrior like Jude, but heās got his own kind of strength. Heās clever, manipulative when he needs to be, and knows how to play the long game. Jude might be the strategist, but Cardan is the one who can pull people to his side with words alone.
And letās talk about this ridiculous idea that āCardan probably wouldnāt be able to pick up Jude.ā I saw someone saying that under a fanart of Cardan carrying Jude. Like, have you read the books? Heās described as tall, lean, and fit. Just because heās not a muscle-bound tank doesnāt mean heās not strong. The man is Faerie, which means his physical abilities are likely leagues above a mortal anyway. Not to mention, weāve seen him hold his own in fights when it comes down to it (he killed half an army)
Here are some paragraphs where he does in fact pick up Jude.
What bothers me the most is how some people ignore the layers to his character. Heās not dumb or helplessāheās strategic and emotionally intelligent in ways that complement Judeās tactical mind. He might not plan ambushes or train for battle, but he reads people better than almost anyone.
Honestly, the whole āCardan is weak and sillyā take feels like such a disservice to his character. Heās a survivor and a very complex character, a king who learned to wield his power in his own way, and yes, I fully believe he could (and would) sweep Jude off her feetāliterally and metaphorically.
THIS ā¼ļøā¼ļø
Jude even once says that the most dangerous thing about him s how well he plays the fool to disguise his own cleverness. and the only reason she recognizes it is because she disguises her fears and is percpetive.
