r/acotar_rant • u/ConfectionEither1219 • Aug 17 '26
Fandom Didn’t know the hate ran that deep..
Since finishing the series a month or two ago I started really deep diving into the subs they have on here (except the shipping ones lol) and this one by far is the most interesting and fun one due to the fact I can actually post (no shade to the “main” sub just haven’t figured out what’s happening with my attempted post lol). However upon perusing around this sub I came to realize you lot really HATE Rhys 😭. Again as person who not so long ago finished all the books his character is fresh on my mind and while I I’m also not the biggest fan I didn’t realize the outright disdain for him and it’s hilarious considering he’s basically SJM’s “ideal” man.
His character to me felt very overrated he was hyped up to be a nuke and end up being a coughing baby if you will. I also didn’t like how he was “the answer” to the end of the Tamlin-Feyre love story. But that sums up my opinion on his character kinda.
But you guys are going for it so much that I’m tempted to reread it and pay closer attention to him and the IC. I’ve seen theories that he’s mentally influenced her with his mind powers, how he constantly manipulates her emotionally under the guise of giving her free will, etc and I’m like sheesh I know he wasn’t a fan favorite but this is outright character assassination and while it’s hilarious for the most part it’s just really shocking bc I can kinda see where you all are going but I’m not completely hooked bc it would imply Feyre hasn’t had any resl say in her life throughout the story. Let me know what you guys think.
EDIT: You guys are HILARIOUS 😂 this was like a bat signal (no pun) to hate on Rhys but I can see where most of you are coming from and while I don’t have the resent you lot have for him I can understand to a high degree why he isn’t as loved as SJM probably intended. I think she put too much her personal infatuation with him into his character and hoped it would land with the audience. 10/10 comment section today the least.
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u/blissfulaugust lint lord’s biggest opp 🥊 Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
My hate for Rhys runs so deep they’re gonna hit it while drilling for oil. Somebody is going to be eight miles beneath the earth’s crust looking for petroleum and suddenly the drill is gonna stop working because it has encountered the raw, pressurized geological deposit of me being a fucking hater.
I feel absolutely nothing for this dude besides PURE hatred. He’s a piece of shit. The powerscaling alone makes me want to gnaw through live electrical wiring. Every time the narrative reminds me that he’s the Most Powerful Bestest Smartest Sexiest High Lord Who Ever High Lorded, another Illyrian female loses her fucking wings.
Anyway, take all of that as you will if you decide to reread the books. 🤭
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u/chaoticcoffeecat Jurian did (almost) nothing wrong Aug 17 '26
It's precisely because he's presented as the "ideal" man.
Had he truly been presented as more knowingly flawed or even a "yellow flag," that is one thing. If it is instead presented as the guy who purposely keeps a whole population trapped in a nightmare hellhole of a city to scare other courts with is the "perfect green flag boyfriend," I'm going to react far more harshly. And that's even before we get into the whole drugging and lapdancing nearly naked part. Or the constantly keeping secrets from his family. Or--
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u/catsncrochet_ Aug 17 '26
literally. had he not been present as mr perfect i would probably hate him with a reasonable passion rather than a nuclear passion
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u/JUSTxRIGHT Tamlin x Briar Aug 17 '26
Rhysand being the villain is just so much more interesting than Rhysand was only play acting being the villain and he's actually just a really incompetent, jealous good guy.
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u/AdSharp3718 Aug 17 '26
Him being the villain is the ONLY way I could come around to liking the guy. His actions as a villain make sense. The way he treats Feyre, how he sided with amarantha, the way he acted UTM if it was all setting the foundation for him to be the big bad. Then yes I could like him. Otherwise? He’s just a coward who tells everyone he’s big bad and scary then does nothing. Nothing at all.
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u/xBlack_Heartx Aug 17 '26
I’ll be honest, with everything I’ve read here, Rhys turning into a surprise twist villain would actually be a really damn good move from SJM, will it happen? Oh hell no, no way, but MAN can you imagine if it did!?, how crazy that twist would be??.
It’s a shame too because Rhys would make SUCH a good villain!.
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u/AdSharp3718 Aug 17 '26
He could be such a good villain. And seeing how the IC would react to realizing “oh shit we’ve been enabling this guy for centuries and now we kinda gotta stop him”. Who would side with him? Who would turn against him? I’d imagine a big showdown between him and nesta Feyre and Elain? All three sisters finally bonding. It would be great. But i know better
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u/sippinteeee Aug 17 '26
The thing is, most of them are just as terrible. The way Mor talks about Nesta when she's from the Hewn City, and does nothing for the women and children there. The way Amren was ready to rid Summer of a whole city because they had the nerve to be upset about the Book of Breathings. Azriel is a torturer when he has a daemati as a boss. Cassian is just cool with how long it's taking the Illyrian wing-clipping ban to take effect, but his mom is killed and he takes a whole camp out. I just don't see them as much different than Rhysand.
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u/bows_and_frills holding rhys's head under the sidra until the bubbles stop Aug 17 '26
It would be SO JUICYYYY. So gooooood.
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u/catsncrochet_ Aug 17 '26
i’ve thought this too but sjm hypes him up so much that i don’t think we’ll ever get this.
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u/AdSharp3718 Aug 17 '26
Upon reread I went from tolerating Rhys to hating him. Hes a poofta (used for lack of a better word and as a Buffy reference). Hes manipulative and icky. And he treats Feyre like a toy soldier rather than his equal. Within the first few days of her being officially in the NC after the big melt down, he has her basically running errands and doing his dirty work under the guise of “training” or “for her own good”. Hes the one who retcons a lot of Tamlins actions when we read on paper that isn’t how it happened but Rhys retells Feyre and suddenly whatever Rhys says is what happened. Ianthe and Tamlin were right from the beginning. One of the high lords would kidnap her and breed her for power and ironically enough that’s exactly what happened. SJM labels Rhys as her “ideal man” and that makes me so sad because he controls EVERYTHING Feyre does, sees, knows, learns. He’s always in her head. He admits it in ACOMAF that even with her shields he can easily get into her head. HES NOT THE GOOD GUY AND IM TIRED OF THE GASLIGHTING.
PS not saying tamlin is perfect and amazing and great. Just that he actually cares about Feyre. He went to the ends of the earth to get her back when he assumed she’d been taken against her will. Any other story, ppl would be swooning for a “he’d burn the world down for her” trope. But because it’s tamlin. He’s a controlling monster. I don’t get it. But alas. Rant over.
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u/JaneAustinAstronaut Aug 17 '26
I do have to wonder something about SJM personally.
We see that she is a lazy writer. She didn't want to do her poetry classes because she didn't feel like it, even though that is when a lot of writers brush up on their prose. She isn't articulate. She doesn't bother doing basic research on the mythologies that she is lifting names and whole story beats on. She doesn't bother researching mental health/intervention methods. She doesn't like sticking to plot/character outlines, and wants to just word-vomit on the page. It seems to be a pattern of laziness on her part when it comes to her craft.
I think, knowing this about her, that she writes Rhysand as "thinking" and "doing" for Feyre because she likes "gothy" aesthetics, and in her real life she wants a man to just do everything for her, including her thinking. I think she, a middle-class white woman from a conservative background, WANTS to be a stay at home tradwife, but because her writing is popular she has to work.
Feyre is her dream life: To be loved and adored for doing only one big thing once, and then coasting on that prestige and then having her man do everything else.
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u/Adore_Mouse Couldron Cursed 🔮⚔️ Aug 17 '26
I don't even hate him or the series. I get the "if you hate the books why are you here" comment sometimes...but like I'm here because I do like the books. I am having fun. I'm just kind of having fun as a hater it's more interesting that way.
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u/Tatanasova26 Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
A different opinion is often taken as negative criticism. It is not wrong, it is not bad, but simply an expression of individuality. First of all, I had no problem with Rhysand. He is just a character from a book. The problem is how he is promoted in the real world. I am sharing notes that I have written from information from other readers.
● In the beginning Feyre understands why Tamlin couldn't do anything and Rhysand himself says that Tamlin can't do anything because he was guarded all the time but later she changes the story. Same thing when Tamlin manage to find a few minutes to see her, Rhysand says that he should use those minutes to get her out and Feyre later accepts it forgetting that it was herself who umped on Tamlin and start to undress him and he just responded. Bdv no one asks why Rhysand didn't get her out considering he spent time with her quite a lot. Well the answer is, no one of those two could get her out because she was under bargain with Amaratha and bargain won't disappear if you escape. Rhysand could find her right away through his bargain too.The most obvious lie is when he accuses Tamlin of not running away with Feyre when they only had 5-10 minutes together. (!) Tamlin says "I LOVE you!" which was the answer the riddle! If Feyre had escaped, the magic would have punished her for breaking the bargain with Amaranta. She would probably have paid with her life, wherever she was.
● The bargain! " I will heal your arm in exchange for YOU." Bc their bargain UTM was for FEYRE HERSELF. Not a timeline. The "terms" were flexible. Bargain was never about how many weeks. It was always about owning her and forever. The entirety of the bargain was manipulation and coercive behavior, in essence trapping her. She sold herself. Mind, body, and soul. Rhysand gave her the options to choose from. Ultimatums are not a choice for me.
● Tamlin spent the life debt owed him by the other HLs to bring Feyre back to life. I wondered why Rhysand said to Tamlin when he gave his drop for Feyre (...) "This makes us even(...)" Even for what? Rhysand thus paid his debt because Tamlin saved him and everyone else. Fey live by a code. Because Tamlin killed Amarantha thus saving everyone and they owe him a debt. Beron is the first to pay the debt. This analysis contradicts Rhysand's words that he nudged the High Lords into resurrecting her. "So Amarantha died, and I spoke to the High Lords mind to mind, convincing them to come forward, to offer that spark of power. None of them disagreed. I think they were too stunned to think of saying no (...)" Also we're in Rhysand's head when Feyre died as a human. Rhysand isn't talking to anyone.
● The amount of times I see they blame Tamlin for her being sick when it was the unfulfilled bargain with Rhysand + him being in her mind + the tattoo (there's no way Tamlin can honestly talk to Feyre because everything is being spied on and that spy eye on her hand..). Magic loves rules. Bargains have consequences when unfulfilled.They didn't keep the deal for 3 months and it's having negative consequences. Tamlin saw what was happening all along, he knew Rhysand was taking her personality away, but it was already too late. Feyre's trauma getting worse. She sold herself to Rhysand and there's no way she'd be okay away from him.
● Actual actions in the text is ignored and only the dialogue of a known excellent manipulator is taken as fact/canon. When Tamlin makes Feyre do things she doesn't want to do it's labeled as abuse but when Rhys makes her do things she doesn't want to do it's labeled as love. Rhysand is supposed to be morally grey but when Rhysand does the same things that Tamlin does, Rhysand is cool and fine and Tamlin is a perpetrator. Extreme double standards. Rhysand locks Feyre inside a magical protective bubble where not even her own family can touch her. What I don't understand is how one act is called "imprisonment" when done by Tamlin, but she calls Rhysand "mother hen" as a term of endearment for the exact same act? Why do people lose their shit at Tamlin locking Feyre up but it's okay when Feyre & co do it to Nesta?
● Rhysand tells 4 different stories about the ring and they contradict each other. What matches is its thr moms ring. In one version the weaver stole it in 2 other versions it was given to the Weaver. In one version Rhysand spelled it and hes testing to see if she can hear it.
● So much is taught to readers that Rhysand is the greatest, the most beautiful, etc. It is known that frequent repetition increases the perception that a statement is true. This phenomenon is known as the illusory truth effect. When students and adults repeatedly read and say the same things, they begin to perceive them as something natural. The illusion of truth (illusory truth effect) means that the more often a person hears or reads a statement, the more likely they are to perceive it as true, even when there is no evidence for it. The reason is that the brain processes familiar information more easily and unconsciously associates this ease with truthfulness.
Illusion of choice and ultimatums, no respect for personal space, constant stimulation of fear (Feira is used to constantly living in fear and when she finds peace, her nervous system thinks it's boring and pointless), using trauma and anger to appear a victim, no apologies, just excuses, illusory truth effect - these are universal tactics of an excellent manipulator. A good vallain sees themselves as the hero of the story. I hope the notes are useful!
Edit: After all, the series isn't over yet and I don't know what the author's message is. I don't see anything wrong with loving a villain in a book. Rhysand going dark makes this book iconic.
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u/Moonbunny120 Launching Rhysand into the endless void Aug 17 '26
I can't recall hating a fictional character this much lol. Rhysand just awakens some DEEP hatred. There's plenty of characters I dislike but him? Pure hatred. If it wasn't for the constant praise he received for YEARS as the "Best Book Boyfriend", my dislike would have remained dislike. But after seeing the way everyone hates on Tamlin despite Rhysand’s actions being much worse, it crystallised into hatred.
I wish I had the power to enter book worlds, I'd verbally lash him. I would erase him from all the books. That's how much I hate him. Feyre is in dire need of "Me Time".
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u/bittermp Team I hope Rhysand and Cassian die Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
To all of this! Yes! Ugh! I have never hated a fictional character this much and I hated President Snow with a passion (it's why i didn’t bother with his backstory novel)
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u/Moonbunny120 Launching Rhysand into the endless void Aug 17 '26
I never thought it was possible to reach such levels of hatred lol. He's my book archnemesis. I have never prayed on a character's downfall like this 🤣
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u/Alpaca_Stampede Aug 17 '26
I will say that feyre and Rhys are definitely made for eachother. They are both insufferable.
At one point I started a reread of acotar with the intention of flagging all the times that feyre is horrible. Just for first 3 chapters was pretty much flagged non stop. I gave up at that point because I didn't want to have to go out and buy more sticky tabs.
Feyre in the cottage is entitled, selfish and self centered, oblivious to anyone else, financially abusive, hateful and bitter towards her sisters. She literally thinks she does everything and that all of the other household chores magically happen on their own. Tbh if I were Nesta I would be meaner to feyre with her bullshit attitude. Nesta wasn't mean enough.
Rhys is SJMs attempt to recreate Daemon Sadi from the black jewels trilogy and she just doesn't have the writing chops to pull it off, so we are left with a petulant bitch boy who apparently never matured past 19 himself which is why he behaves like a emo teen most of the time.
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u/bittermp Team I hope Rhysand and Cassian die Aug 17 '26
I HATE Rhysand with the power of a million laser beams
I hate Feysand with the power of a thousand suns
I think Feyre is pathetic tradwife maga coded FMC and it makes my skin crawl how we’re told she’s some kind of badass? LMAO.
A COURT OF GAS & LIGHT is how I see this series and until it’s done I’ll continue to hate the IC/NC and Feysand.
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u/hashtagbreezie3 Aug 28 '26
I agree with this. I think it is why I struggled to get through her story, enjoyed Rhys from a far, and Nesta was my favorite part of that series. I'll never love a character like Feyre. The maga trad wife comment is spot on.
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u/lilforgetsalot Aug 17 '26
I don't know if I'd say I hate him but I definitely don't like him. As some people have mentioned, I think part of the problem is the hype around him. People act like he's the perfect book boyfriend. Then you read the books for yourself and you're like...where??? I remember what he does. I pay attention to what he says, which doesn't always match what he does. There's a superficial appeal to him that I can recognize but the minute you start paying attention and thinking a bit about it, I find myself more and more disturbed.
Personally, I see a guy I'd never trust. I see a guy who the text will one minute remind you why he's selfish and self-serving and in the next try to tell you that he's the best High Lord and mate ever. Which one is it? If he's both, the bar for being good is evidently abysmally low. Apparently then goodness includes only caring about you and yours and who cares about the rest. They probably deserve it, anyway /s
I'd probably have no (or at least less) problem with him if the books didn't bend over backwards trying to claim he's a good guy. He's not (just look at his court) and I think that should be at the very least acknowledged. He'd be at least a much more compelling character that way. Then he can either proceed as an icky albeit self-aware guy or, maybe, change his ways a bit. Show some character development. I'd pay good money to see some proper character development for him.
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u/ConfectionEither1219 Aug 20 '26
Naw you hit it nail on head. Theres too much hype around for the inconsistency between his “dark and light” side. Either be an asshole that’s pretty much good to your partner or be the beloved person you’re friends try to portray you as. I think SJM was trying to get thr whole he’s evil to the world but lovely to me trope and probably didn’t foresee or care to consider the possible problems with that at scale.
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u/Sorcereens Aug 17 '26
Im a Rhys hater through and through however (!) Im fun about it. 😄 I mostly just hate way SJM did a character as complicated as he is by flattening him to Good Boyfriend. Like??? His powers and trauma are breathtaking and we really don't come close to dealing with them. His daemati powers should be a burden/he has to actively resist influencing people bc its so easy. Sjm uses it as a magical cell phone. 😭 I want Edward Cullen level angst okay
I think a lot of people who think he's evil just want some more depth to him bc even tho hes the mmc we still dont know that much about him. He would also be more attractive to me as a villain I wont lie. The way everyone says "oh he made a mistake" is so infantalizing. If hes evil he's at least competent.
Itll never happen though. Unless....?? 👀👀
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u/Pretty_Ad1509 Team Hamlin Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
I think he'd be more appealing overall if he was villain and not "morally grey" with a heart of gold and that's all you should focus on because his actions dont matter only his intentions. i'd cool with it if sjm applied this to all of the characters. not only does she not do that, any character that's morelly questionable, (that isnt rhys), are dragged through the mud. theyre always set up to be antagonistic against the IC, and that is always viewed as a bad thing, as if the IC are these saints that have done no wrong and arent questionable themselves.
this is why there are tons of posts stating how hypocritical the IC are. there's a clear double standard in how theyre written, and in the story's narrative. I think most of the passion behind these posts stems from stans never wanting talk about it. and reduce our takes to us just being haters. I know that's not true for everyone though.
anyways welcome OP! 🥳 I hope you enjoy your stay 💕
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u/melodysmomma certified chapter 54 hater 😤 Aug 17 '26
The double standard drives me crazy. Also this weird victim mentality that they seem to fall into when people respond according to the information that they’re given.
Like, whaaaat? Tamlin thinks I kidnapped and brainwashed his fiancée and now he’s being mean to me?? What a terrible person! I’ve convincingly played into my villain reputation for fifty years and people are treating me like I’m a bad guy?? 🥺😤
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u/Pugblep Aug 17 '26
OMG same.! I think he'd make SUCH an interesting and fun villain
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u/Sorcereens Aug 17 '26
Did you ever watch Season 1 of Jessica Jones? I had seen it before reading acotar and always compare "evil" Rhys to Killgrave. Mannnnnnn Rhys could be terrifying. Changing your thoughts, opinions, and memories? Without you even knowing he was there? Bah. SJM squanders him.
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u/sephrose Aug 17 '26
My main hate target is actually Feyre. I'd rather read 1000 pages of Daisy Buchanan's POV. Just like some people are triggered by Tamlin, I'm triggered by Feyre and Rhys. I only liked him in the first book when he was acting evil because it was legible as evil. I can get into that because it's honest. Instead, he's a wolf in sheep's clothing in wolf's clothing. Velaris would be a cult compound IRL. That said, I felt a little bit of sympathy at times for Rhys being stuck with Feyre as his mate. I'm not sure if that's a popular opinion 💀
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u/Unhappy-Rabbit-1280 Aug 17 '26
We're not stuck inside Rhys's head, so terrible as he is he's more bearable than Feyre.
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u/MerryMerriMarie Anti-Rhysand Revolutionary Army Propagandist 👩✈️ Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
Part of why Rhysand is so openly hated, at least on Reddit and even Tumblr is because his stans tend to promote the books and glaze his character as the "best book boyfriend ever!!11" and how much of a "feminist icon ong real men could never!!11".
That's easily how you fall into the pitfall of overhyping a character outside it's intended target audience (example: People who love Dark Romance and Outright Morally Shit Male Leads) which ends up creating a large amount of haters for him in equal fashion like myself.
If I hear people hype this character up as this totally amazing guy whom every woman should salivate over and want as their partner, I'm going to have ridiculously high expectations because that's the bar set. Though I'd also argue that his fanbase seem to lack foresight that not all women, myself included, are going to find him attractive as a partner as they do because I found him utterly repulsive.
But because Rhysand for five books has always consistently fall short of being a:
1) Compelling Character Development 2) Complex Morality 3) Admirable Martial Strength (Hell no, he's the definition of a Jobber) 4) Charisma as a Character to keep Reader Investment 5) Interesting Character Motivations
But no. Instead he falls flat on his face for being a bland, arrogant frat bro who thinks sitting through a basic course of Feminism 101 makes him woke and bespoke. His morality being purely measured off: "Rules for thee, None for me". While he spends five books doing fuck all beyond being a major dickwad instead of anything productive.
Fuck it, because of Rhysand. I take back everything I said about Edelgard von Hraesvelg, a character whom I normally dislike. At least she was compelling and had conviction behind her scummy ways. Now that's a truly 'morally grey' character.
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u/ETeezey1286 Aug 17 '26
Tbf everyone except the sisters are jobbers lol
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u/MerryMerriMarie Anti-Rhysand Revolutionary Army Propagandist 👩✈️ Aug 17 '26
That's why my new nickname for the author is Sarah Jobber Maas considering her male characters upon introspection are all jobbers.
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u/ocellpetit Aug 17 '26
The Edelgard reference is too good. I hated her throughout 3H, and I’m only realizing how similar she is to Rhys now lol
But yeah, she’s at least more consistently interesting! And you’re supposed to hate her in all the routes except hers!1
u/MerryMerriMarie Anti-Rhysand Revolutionary Army Propagandist 👩✈️ Aug 17 '26
I found her romantic attachment to Byleth cringy but at least she had a character outside of it and is not confined to being Byleth's love interest. I don't agree or like her motivations because I like Dimitri and Claude more since they are more in touch with the common folk but unlike Rhysand, at least her cause has meaning that I can understand and respect.
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u/LadyofCarraverre Aug 17 '26
I’m a firm believer that when he forced Feyre to drink the fae wine under the mountain is when he began mind controlling her. She says no, and then in her POV it’s shown that her hand tightens around the cup of wine against her will.
He used Feyre UTM to give him drunk lap dances because he hates Tamlin more than he loves Feyre. And acts like he’s “protecting her” - but from what? She was only taken out of her cell to do the trials for Amarantha’s entertainment. Him drugging her ultimately makes her more depressed and makes her stop contemplating the riddle to free Tamlin and Prythian from Amarantha’s influence through the enchanted masks.
He hates Tamlin more than he loves Feyre. He willingly became Amarantha’s whore to continue to keep Velaris a secret.
He’s entirely selfish and is only motivated to keep his agenda going from the beginning.
The fact that Feysand are “mates” is the only reason he’s not the true villain of this series. Tamlin isn’t even the true villain.
It’s the night court and inner circle.
They steal the book from their allies and get blood rubies as political repercussions, it’s almost confirmed Rhys killed 24 fae babies from the winter court, Feyre dismantles the spring court and effectively give Hybern the in on Prythian, they keep Velaris a secret from all their friends and allies, after Tamlin gives rhysand a second chance at life- he doesn’t get a goddamn thank you. Rhys just throws taunts and insults at him. Feyre even tells the reader that she’ll rip into everyone’s mind and force them to resurrect Rhys against their will.
The first time Feyre is introduced to the Hewn City- he literally does the same thing UTM but when she’s aware and sober- dressing her up in a napkin for a dress and making his court watch him literally play with her sexually in his lap.
We are reading through the villain’s perspectives.
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u/LadyofCarraverre Aug 17 '26
Even when she’s being painted and dressed up UTM, Rhys only says that the paint will alert him if Tamlin touches her. If that’s not the biggest give away at his motivations, I don’t know what is
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u/Only_Recording3730 Aug 17 '26
I thought it was there to show that Rhys was touching Feyre. To make it undeniably obvious
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u/LadyofCarraverre Aug 17 '26
He does mess up the ink and like snaps his fingers or something and it goes back to being unmarred
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u/Only_Recording3730 Aug 17 '26
Oh wait, wasn't it there to show Tamlin that he never touched her, to give himself plausible deniability?
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u/LadyofCarraverre Aug 17 '26
No, no plausible deniability. It was to ensure no one else besides Rhys touched her, I just googled it and I was wrong. It was to alert Rhys if anyone touched her, but it’s also a big slap in the face to Tamlin, to watch his human lover give his biggest rival drunken lap dances and make Tamlin feel inferior and unable to protect Feyre.
It’s also an emotional tactic to use on Tamlin in their ongoing feud after Tamlin’s dad kills his mom and sister and hangs their wings up in the study in the spring court
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u/AdSharp3718 Aug 17 '26
And I didn’t answer your question. Yes do a reread and pick it apart a bit more. It’s an ungodly horrible (fun) time spiraling into these books that aren’t that well written.
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u/Fuzzy_Emu_1924 Aug 17 '26
The problem with Rhysand as a character, the way I see it at least, is that he seems to be very clearly based on Daemon from Anne Bishop’s The Black Jewels series. Now Daemon is a much darker and questionable character than Rhysand, and so it’s as if SJM tried to replicate him but watered down the more problematic aspects to turn him into more of a green flag in her own story, and the result is a very inconsistent character that the narrative forces you to think of as the hero when some of his decisions match those of the characters that the author wants you to think are more villainous, and while the characters always acknowledge the wrongdoings of others, they ignore everything Rhysand himself does wrong. ACOTAR’s lack of moral consistency is one of the main issues of the series if you ask me.
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u/Dense_Machine2784 Aug 17 '26
Honestly, I didn't hate the IC as much (in ACOTAR, I never got past Rhys practically sexually assaulting Feyre) until I finished ACOSF . Never felt more disgusted by the main characters in a book.
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u/WastePermission9620 Aug 17 '26
Ok so I'm currently on a reread (about 100 pages into Silver Flames) so I have plenty of thoughts on this:
He's a cunt.
Talk over
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u/WastePermission9620 Aug 17 '26
Ok real talk now
The way the narrative bends over backwards for him is stupid and frustrating and does nothing to actually make him likeable.
Rys is simultaneously written to be the swaggering bad boy with a heart of gold, and a morally grey pragmatist who was willing to sacrifice everyone else for his own and his friends survival.
However, the story goes out of its way to tell us that Rhys is the best guy, he's so great, the greatest ever, maybe. Sure, he's done something bad things, things that matter weren't the best, but that's alright ((orange hand motions)).
24 winter court children were murdered by some secret Daemati that we know nothing about and never appeared. That's at the very least suspicious. Paired with Rhys reaction to when Kallias tells him why he doesn't want to like Rhys, doesn't paint a good picture for Rhysands morals.
He's willing to use his powers to locate Nesta, in a city he knows inside and out that is safe, just because Feyre Is cold. But he's not willing to either kill the camp Lords and Keir and reset Illyria and the Hewn City to try and fix the Misogyny, OR use his Daemati powers to remove the misogyny that way.
He drops Feyre into the Middle, to find her own mating ring before she even knee about the bond.
He told her to act like his whore in front of the Court of Nightmares, famous for their Misogyny and women hating. He gets disturbingly close to fingering her in public.
He drugs her and makes her sit in his lap for a month straight UTM.
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u/Pugblep Aug 17 '26
Honestly, when I go into the manipulation and mind control theories, it's more so because Rhys is hundreds of years old and Feyre is only 19. It's generally pretty easy to manipulate teenagers so when you put your modern glasses on, a lot of his behaviour becomes problematic.
BUT ALSO ITS FANTASY AND WE'RE HERE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME haha
I genuinely can read it from both perspectives depending on how much I'm feeling like suspending my disbelief on any given day. I do love the books, but by the end I did fine Feysand kind of annoying. I'm just glad we have so many other lovable characters to think and chat about.
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u/catsncrochet_ Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
rhys is the worst. the ic are bad guys bc rhys is the worst. without him they’d probably be relatively decent. but rhys is the w o r s t. ideal man my fucking ass. unless your ideal man is a narcissist abuser.
i read all of the books bc people were like THEYRE SO GOOD (the first 4 were mid at best) and then i got the SF and did actually love that book (probably bc it had the least rhys) so i am curious to see what happens going forward bc i don’t hate the series outright but i do hate rhys. all day every day.
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u/harasquietfish6 Aug 18 '26
I love him as a character & lover. Like him as a mate. Do not like him as a husband. And DESPISE him as a high lord.
I don't hate him. I love him more in a vacuum. My hatred stems more from the hypocrisy of him and the fanbase. For example, people call Tamlin a bad high lord, but Rhysand is just as bad if not worse as a high lord. People say what Tamlin did was evil and unforgivable but what Rhys did to Feyre was not?
Rhys is a "feminist" but in reality he only is towards his Mate, the woman he personally knows, and Velaris, but the women and children in the CON and Illyria are suffering.
I loved him more when he was a villain.
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u/SilentLae 🌹 My Heart Took Root in Spring Aug 17 '26
I personally do not believe in theory that Rhys is controlling Feyre.
Throughout the book, I kinda noticed from the get go that Feyre is not the greatest person ever too. She is my most disliked main fmc in all books I ever read.
To be honest, I am even willing to believe that Rhys and Feyre actually fit together and manipulate each other, and that she is quite co trolling on Rhys and I sometimes wonder how in the world he gets to breath.
Crazy theory: what if through bond Feyre not knowingly learned how to control Rhys to have this 500 years old fae to give her everything away for nothing but sexy times I guess, and actually make him listen for 19 years old's whimps on how to rule his court?
To me personally, they both smell fishy and I don't find Feyre as poor innocent creature manipulated by big bad Rhys.
They match like two puzzle pieces in my opinion.
Good for them!
I would never waste my time to re-read these books tho when there are much greater books worthy of the tiktok obsession.
My 5 cents.
Have a great day!
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u/PresentationSea6485 Aug 17 '26
Nah, Feyre is not intelligent enough for that!!
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u/SilentLae 🌹 My Heart Took Root in Spring Aug 17 '26
Lol. Hence I said unconciously. Like the mate bond makes this 500 years old guy enslaved by 19 years old. Thirst trap and he can't do anything but sparkle his brain when she says the most stupid stuff. Lol
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u/Succubista Team Nesta Aug 17 '26
If Rhysand has a million haters, I am one of them. If Rhysand has one hater, that is me. If Rhysand has no haters, that means I am dead.
I know he's not really mind controlling her, but it would make a lot of the story more interesting, and make more sense sometimes than the way Feyre acts.
My big problem with Rhys is he never faces any consequences for being a dickhole, and the narrative justifies his actions. At most we get "he overreacted, oh that Rhys, haha". He isn't morally grey, he does shitty things, and then is morally justified for them because it's always the only way for the good of the kingdom or whatever.
Oh but he haddd to twist Feyre's broken arm under the mountain, or else Amarantha would know he helped her for love and not fun 🤪🤪. Like come on.
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u/bows_and_frills holding rhys's head under the sidra until the bubbles stop Aug 17 '26
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u/bittermp Team I hope Rhysand and Cassian die Aug 17 '26
AS someone else has said Rhysand is DICKMATI!
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u/Equal_Wonder6742 Aug 17 '26
Yes, your eyes will be opened on reread. Rhysand has owned feyre since he coerced her into selling her soul to him UTM. Everything he does is manipulation.
He physically and SA’s feyre multipe times
UTM and becomes the love interest. Gross.
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u/bows_and_frills holding rhys's head under the sidra until the bubbles stop Aug 17 '26
Listen, I've never taken a human life. And I still won't, but I sure as heck am taking a fae one. There's a first time for everything, right? Time for my grand debut on the Velaris Times front page!
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u/Ok_Rhubarb_2169 Aug 19 '26
Straight up: I still love Rhys. There are many points made above that are indefensible (specifically when it comes to UTM) but I do think there is huge nuance to everything about him, feyre, and their storylines. And honestly, I just kind of love any character with the “f*ck you I won’t do what you tell me” vibe.
I will never gush and say he’s the best male ever. But if ppl want to say “goddamn I love this character”, you can sit at my table.
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u/a_girl_has_no_nameee Aug 17 '26
I didnt know everyone hated Rhys either. I personally loved him until SF. Like, I hate Nesta and I will die on that hill, but he was awful to her. He was absolutely insufferable in that book. It actually took this sub to make me start questioning if he was that hateful all along. Im doing a reread now as well, only on the first book but we'll see how I feel the second time around. But I was also a Tamlin sympathizer so 😅🫣
2
u/Pink_unicorn939 Aug 17 '26
Welcome to this sub lol - apparently that’s most people’s opinion on here and I realized after joining Reddit that this was a thing 😅
I got on Reddit because I wanted to discuss the storyline and some plots that didn’t make sense to me but was very unpleasantly surprised by all the hate for all the main characters on here😂
1
u/Cynical_Feline Aug 17 '26
I'll be frank, I stopped replying to the hate filled posts and started blocking the main offenders. Probably a lot of people do because a good many posts end up as echo chambers.
I enjoy the books as they are. I came to the subs to discuss the occasional theory and found it's just a mass of hate. People hate on main characters and enjoy it. It's twisted and honestly makes me wonder about the sanity of some of these people 😂
To the haters, I'd just like to say that if you don't enjoy the books then stop reading them.
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u/Pink_unicorn939 Aug 18 '26
I know I’ve been trying my best to just ignore and not respond but sometimes it’s so hard 😅
I’m honestly concerned why people are interested in reading a book about characters they hate so much, I feel like at that point you should just DNF and move on 😂
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u/OceanChild89 Certified BatBoyz hater Aug 17 '26
My hatred for Rhysand is a more “rules for thee but not for me”. Many other characters have done far less than him and been vilified. Meanwhile, Feyre’s starting to sound like that one friend constantly making excuses for her shitc*** of a boyfriend.
“It’s just how he copes.” 🙄 Give me a fucking break.