Ranking Cosmere Dads for Father’s Day
It’s Father’s Day! In honor (?) of this holiday, I’ve put Cosmere dads into a tier list. So who are the best & worst dads in the Cosmere?
[Spoilers for all Cosmere works, including Tress of the Emerald Sea!]
S-Tier: Best Dads in the Cosmere
Lem, Rock
Here we find dads who support and love their kids, no matter what. Lem, Tress’s dad in Emerald Sea, actively helps his daughter sneak off the island to rescue the man she loves, calling in all of the favors he’s built up by being an all around great dude. Rock, from Stormlight Archive, loves his family. Even though he believes very strongly in the jobs-by-birth-order tradition, when his daughter Cord decides to abandon pacifism and join the fight, he supports her. We love dads who help realize their daughters’ dreams, even when those dreams may differ from the dad’s own worldview!
A-Tier: Really Great Dads
Wax, Eventeo
Eventeo, Sarene’s dad in Elantris, and Wax of Wax and Wayne fame, are both excellent dads. Eventeo supports his daughter Sarene as best he can, although he doesn’t always realize how Sarene is really feeling. When Sarene arrives in Arelon to find her fiance “dead,” she’s determined to stay in order to maintain the treaty that her marriage has created--but Eventeo wants her to know that if she wants to come back home, there will always be a place for her. Wax seems to be a great dad to Tindwyl and (sigh) Maxillium, and he flies his kids around! That’s pretty fun.
B-Tier: Pretty Good Dads...Most of the Time
Kelsier, Elhokar, Stormfather
I’m counting Kelsier as Vin’s dad, for the record! Elhokar from Stormlight Archive has a baby son, and the Stormfather is the father of the Honorspren like Syl. These dads definitely try to do right by their kids. Kelsier is a good dad to Vin, overall. He may not support her love for Elend at first, but when push comes to shove, he does risk his life to save Elend just because Vin loves him. And he loves and supports Vin the whole way through. Elhokar doesn’t really have much to do with his little son, but he does try in the end to rescue him and dies in the process, so that has to count for something, right? The Stormfather has, uh, trouble supporting his kids because he’s so paranoid that the oaths will kill them, but when push comes to shove, he really has no choice to accept their oaths. That’s support! Albeit forced by his nature as a spren, etc. All of these dads do intend the best for their kids, but they’re maybe a tad problematic about how they go about it.
C-Tier: They, uh, Mean Well I guess?
Dalinar, Lirin, Taravangian
Dalinar is tricky because he may be a pretty solid dad now, but hoo boy was he not such a great dad in the beginning. He barely remembered that Renarin existed, and he spent most of his time wantonly slaughtering people. So on average, I put Dalinar at C. I may get in trouble for putting Lirin so low but LISTEN. He called Kaladin a MONSTER. He REFUSES to accept his son as he is! But, like, I know he loves Kaladin and means well, etc. Taravangian may be a villain, but as a father, he does make darn sure his kids & grandkids are outside of his schemes so that they won’t be implicated and he trades the whole world for their safety. Which would be sweeter if not for the “everyone else can die for all I care” angle.
D-Tier: They Basically Suck As Dads
Charlie’s dad, Iadon, Dedelin, Tevidian, Gavilar
Now we get to dads who are lowkey abusive. Charlie’s dad from Tress of the Emerald Sea tried to force his son into an unwanted marriage, and when that didn’t work and Charlie ended up kidnapped, he just sort of shrugged and replaced Charlie with someone else. Wow. Iadon, Raoden’s father from Elantris, was paranoid and grumpy and his son was actively working to undermine him. Iadon in turn barely batted an eye when he had to throw his son into Elantris. Dedelin, Siri’s and Vivenna’s dad from Warbreaker, so favored his daughter Vivenna that he sent his unprepared and innocent daughter Siri to what he thought was her death. And finally, Tevidian (Vin’s biological father from Mistborn) was Lord Prelan. He goes into D-tier almost by default. We don’t know much yet about Gavilar’s relationship to his children, but he did try to make Jasnah marry AMARAM, and he seemed to feel scorn for Elhokar. That’s not great material for a father’s day card.
F-Tier: Actively Harmful To Their Children
Edwarn, Lin Davar, Straff
And finally, the dads who are ACTIVELY and SUPREMELY abusive! Edwarn is Wax’s uncle apparently (I thought he was Wax’s dad whoops), but I think he fulfilled the dad role. Anyway, he tried to have Wax KILLED. Lin Davar was an abusive nightmare to all of his kids (and I’m including Shallan) until Shallan had to kill him to save his brother.
And Straff. Straff (Elend’s dad from Mistborn) is the worst dad in the Cosmere. Bad to his son Elend. Bad to everyone his son loves. Bad overall. I can’t even. I’m so glad he got cut in half with a giant sword.
H-Happy Father’s Day, everyone!
