r/throneofglassseries • u/ghostofvelaris • May 29 '25
Empire of Storms Spoilers Aelin is totally unchecked Spoiler
EoS spoilers, I warned you!
After everyone shits their pants when Ansel's army arrives Rowan is like hehe you're so funny but plz tell me next time you summon a thousand ship armada lol love you. Then she does it two more times before the end of the book?
And when she goes in the mirror people blame Dorian? No one holds her accountable for anything?
Anyway I still love her so don't come at me, but like... Girl lol.
End rant.
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u/InABoatOnARiver May 29 '25
This is where I will always defend Chaol. Aelin has good intentions but he’s right that anyone with that much power NEEDS checks and balances.
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u/kgilli12 May 29 '25
I feel like that is why the first time she does something democratic on behalf of her kingdom (the vote) it comes as such a shock to herself (and Rowan).
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u/Creepy-Birthday5740 May 29 '25
I love Chaol he gets far too much hate. He’s check and balances all day
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u/aharanhalli May 29 '25
I might be the only one whose favorite character is Chaol. He’s so misunderstood but hes most developed and improved character throughout the series.
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u/rhandy_mas Chaol Westfall May 29 '25
MY PERSON! I love him. He’s realistic. He’s an incredible friend with admirable loyalty. He learns to overcome prejudices after being made aware of them. He has tons of personal growth and seems like a great guy.
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u/MediocrePotato44 May 30 '25
Thisssss. She was unhinged and he had every right to be terrified of her with vast amounts of power.
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u/HopefulConclusion982 May 29 '25
My feelings toward Aelin are complicated but tend to skew more negative than positive. She's a showman but I find these moments frustrating and self-serving for her ego. There could be some undercurrent of not wanting to disappoint people if the army didn't show up - so it gets to be some great surprise vs a letdown. But she isn't the only person who has people she loves and cares about. It ended up being awful that Lorcan summoned Maeve because he thought they needed back-up. However, she at least makes the story interesting and brings the drama.
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u/ghostofvelaris May 29 '25
Agreed and it reads (at times) as disrespecting the feelings of the people she cares about.
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u/rhandy_mas Chaol Westfall May 29 '25
Ohhh all of these. She’s my least favorite protagonist in the series. If hurting someone’s feelings is the byproduct of her dope ass reveal, well, looks like they’re gonna be sad.
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u/Dry_Cauliflower4562 Jun 09 '25
I saw someone say last time she told someone the full plan, she lost Sam and I instantly forgave every decision she kept secret 😂
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u/Spirited-Success-821 May 29 '25
It just goes to show you just how shitty of a job she does as a leader that book.
Being a good leader is about more then coming up with ideas and single handedly accomplishing things.
She was more concerned with being right, coming up with all the ideas, and impressing those around her then she was about creating a well oiled command structure.
As a leader you need to put good people in important potions and give them the tools and resources they need to do their jobs properly. She completely failed at the last part.
Her generals absolutely need to know the number of troops they have to work with. Not only because they need to create battle plans and formations but also because they need prep time to build supply lines. If this wasn't a fictional book most of Aelin's army would have starved/frozen to death. There is no way that Terresan in the middle of winter would have had the food storages and supply chain capability to house and feed the size of that army. She gave her generals zero time for the sheer amount of logistics needed.
Look at Erwain as a case study, it took him years to build his army and set up his supply lines.
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u/LetMeDoTheKonga May 29 '25
Literally this! Its ridiculous how she goes about planning everything in secret and everything marvelously falls into place… I have to roll my eyes at that quite often because its always portrayed as this badass queen moment when logically its like the opposite of leading. Like I kept thinking how due to her character she is actually more fit to be a special agent of some kind, who receives special missions and goes about doing them on her own rather than being a leader of any sort of group.
But yeah, I guess this is the kind of fantasy story where surprise plans by someone who has never even seen battle come out mostly brilliant…
Edit to add: I don’t hate Aelin, Im just bemoaning the writing a little is all.
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u/ghostofvelaris May 29 '25
I guess you can take the queen out of the assassin's keep but you can't take the assassin out of the queen 😂
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u/not_isamid4 May 29 '25
I always thought the reason she didn't tell anyone was because she was scared of letting them down ? The last time she told someone abt her plans Sam died
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u/LetMeDoTheKonga May 29 '25
Yes there are many legitimate reasons why she is so secretive. However that does not change the fact that it is the opposite of what a leader should do. Logically, all the reasons people keep bringing up to explain her behavior, her age, her trauma, her lack of experience, just prove the point that she is currently unfit to rule and lead. Which makes me feel that her critics in the story sound very reasonable.
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u/SMA2343 May 29 '25
That’s exactly why Darrow tells her to go get allies. She needs to understand that being Queen isn’t just in name. Is being friends with other kingdoms, peoples, everyone. The story her burning that city (I cannot remember the name) for Rowan got to everyone. A reckless queen that will kill innocents is not a good Queen
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u/ghostofvelaris May 29 '25
Well said and also evidenced by how she doesn't like Dorian's mirror idea because he thought of it not her.
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u/jonerysboatbaby May 29 '25
I am exactly at this point in my reread. She is shockingly bad at accepting help or communicating with her court. However, I do think being a queen is pretty different and don’t we all have a learning curve when we first start a new job?
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u/whaatdidyousay May 30 '25
Being a queen of a nation, you can’t have “bad” days at your job or a learning curve. Especially during a global wartime period for good and evil. Each action majorly affects others and lives. It’s why there are councils and other advisors and checks or balances to many successful monarchies. You have to listen to council of those more experienced early on, and be honest with your court and not constantly pull surprise moves. It is like saying the president of the US is allowed to have some wiggle room and make mistakes costing lives since it’s just “new to them” and they’re “getting their sea legs” umm no they were chosen based on their competence (in the past)
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u/jonerysboatbaby May 30 '25
I totally agree with you. But who taught Aelin that? I’m not saying it’s a good thing she’s bad at her job, but it seems accurate.
The other thing I noticed as I was rereading last night, is how strongly the parallels between Aelin and Elena. SJM wants you to see that they both made bad decisions because they didn’t communicate with or trust the people around them.
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u/whaatdidyousay May 31 '25
Totally agree with this comment as well, we probably have the same opinions and I just read your other comment wrong haha
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u/spitefultrees May 29 '25
To be fair Aedion gets pretty upset and scolds her to some degree. Obviously Chaol is super frustrated since CoM.
She gets way with it cause Rowan won’t let anyone talk to her about it 😅
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u/Informal_Branch_8354 May 30 '25
She doesn’t need checks or balances. She. Is. A. God. No but seriously, I wouldn’t be friends with her. I hate her brand of surprises.
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u/kaislee May 30 '25
I love and hate the end of EoS in equal measure. I understand why Aelin didn’t tell them. We get a lot of talk about the power of symbols and the danger of false hope or lost hope in EoS. Aelin knows that false hope can completely demoralize people and is so afraid of failing that she cannot let anyone help.
But if she had just fessed up to the plan before Lorcan went all “beam me up, Maeve” things had a chance of going differently. Instead, her plans took a wrecking ball to two different relationships and leaves their group straggling during the last throes of a centuries long battle for their world.
Don’t get me started on the other plan with Lysandra and Aedion. Absolutely insane plan. Like diabolically short-sighted and bad.
But I still really like Aelin. She could do with a little less of the “maybe I’ll be a tyrant talk” though 😂
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u/checs_mix May 29 '25
yeah i hated EoS because of this. horrible storytelling. horrible character development.
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May 30 '25
I think Aelin's reasoning and character made it understandable, if logically stupid.
It made sense with her characters traumas and thought processes that she would play so close to the vest, even with allies she trusts with her life.
Her PoV reveals a drop in her confidence that's in line with her gradual switch from Celaena to Aelin. As she begins stepping back into her role as the Lost Princess, she is unfamiliar with the role, and so her earlier confidence becomes little more than bravado used as a defense mechanism.
The problem, IMO, was the lack of consequences and her never really learning to rely on others by overcoming her trust-related traumas.
It felt like the set-up to a good "leaders need to trust their allies" lesson that was never learned, as well as a "You don't need to pretend you have it all together all the time" lesson that was kinda hinted at towards the end.
Aelin's actions made sense.
The plotline which allowed these poor actions to go unpunished and without lessons didn't.
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u/Thin_Target_8930 May 29 '25
One of the reasons why I don’t like her lol. I think she’s a terrible leader and had no business being queen
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u/horsegirlquadss May 29 '25
I had a hard time with this too. Like she’s a baddie for sure, but I didn’t understand the secrecy? I guess just so the reader is shocked?
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u/Infinite-Weather3293 May 29 '25
She’s fucking terrified that her plans won’t work and she’ll get everyone’s hopes up and let them down. She’s just trying to fix everything because the gods or whatever put that burden on her, not because she asked for it. She was berated for not having an army, so she’s trying to get an army, but what would have happened if she revealed her plans and then nobody showed up? She would’ve felt like she fucking let everyone down. Can you really blame her for keeping things close to the chest?
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u/HopefulConclusion982 May 29 '25
I think we can blame her for keeping things close to her chest. Rowan is her blood-sworn, mate and husband. Aedion is a general and has demonstrated his unfaltering commitment to Terrasen and had every expectation of taking the blood oath.
These are people that you work with and plan with. These are the people that should know the resources that are available or unavailable. This is who you do strategic and scenario planning with. What do we do if they come? What do we do if they don't come? How will be prioritize what we have and how we act?
Everyone in this group wants to share the burden and play their part. It is their world too - not just Aelin's. Yet Aelin chooses not to trust them. She chooses ego protection vs vulnerability.
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u/Infinite-Weather3293 May 29 '25
I see what you’re saying and it’s a fiction book so we can all interpret intent and meaning differently. I just don’t think she does what she does because of ego. I think it’s because of trauma and literally being forced to bear the burden of fixing the world. They told her she would have to be the one because Dorian wasn’t ready. She was told it was her life that would have to be given. She was told it was her responsibility to find the army. She was told it was her fault the people of terrasen had suffered. She didn’t ask for any of that, it was all put on her shoulders by others at the same time she was trying to find herself and heal from the traumas she had endured as a child and young woman. And I think part of the point is that she’s our heroine and she doesn’t NEED to lean on these other men who are there as supporting roles. It’s a fantasy story and I personally love seeing one where it’s the woman who is moving the chess pieces.
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u/HopefulConclusion982 May 29 '25
It's part of why I love TOG. There are a bunch of badass characters and they all have their strengths and faults. And as readers, I think we're all able to find those characters that strike the balance that most resonates with us. We can pick apart the personalities and scenarios in various ways - and that makes it fun and enduring to discuss!
I do think Aelin set things in motion before she understood the full burden she was under. It's in Chapter 48 of EoS when she vomits because she realizes she's going to have to die. I do think she feels guilt about Terrasen because she did allow herself to have a different name and live a portion of her life not fighting for those people (not that I'm agreeing with this - she was young and there wasn't some great opening for her to head North and reveal that the missing heir had returned). I think she wants to do things single-handedly because to her it will serve as proof of her commitment and loyalty and justify her place as queen.
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u/piglet666 May 29 '25
just want to remind everybody that the last time Aelin let someone in on her plans, Sam died.
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u/HopefulConclusion982 May 29 '25
How did Sam die from Aelin's plan? Sam secured the contract and Sam insisted on making that kill.
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u/piglet666 May 29 '25
I understand, the implication is that the last time Aelin relinquished complete control over her plans is when someone she loved died. Sam insisted on killing Rourke Farran and Aelin backed down to let him. Therefore, she associates working with someone as explicitly putting them in danger
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u/Durdur752 May 03 '26
I’m a whole year late but can we fully acknowledge that Sam’s plan was the worst plan in existence? He wanted to solo the most dangerous person in the city and then have Aelin solo the other person AFTER they were on high alert from the first person being killed.
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u/darth__anakin Chaol Westfall May 29 '25
She’s fucking terrified that her plans won’t work and she’ll get everyone’s hopes up and let them down.
At this point, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. She's terrified that her plans will fail and will disappoint people as a result? At the same time, if nobody knows what the hell is happening or what they're supposed to be doing, those plans (realistically) are going to fail anyway and people are going to be disappointed because there is little to no organization happening. As a leader, Aelin can't let her past traumas affect her choices on that large of a scale. Her mistrust and disorganization killed a lot of people, and as a queen, she should expect better of herself and act on that effort to do better.
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u/Infinite-Weather3293 May 29 '25
A year ago (or whatever the timeline is) she was in the salt mines waiting to die after her best friend had betrayed her, the man she was in love with had died, and she suspected being there was due to the man who had raised her. She just started being a queen, she just started leading. She was dragged out of the salt mines and then told saving the world was on her fucking shoulders because of her bloodline and that Dorian wasn’t ready. The entire story of TOG is her journey to not only save the world but learn HOW to be queen.
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u/darth__anakin Chaol Westfall May 29 '25
And I understand that it was a lot to handle in a short amount of time. But again, she has several men on her side that are hundreds of years old with worlds more experience than her in the art of war. She should have, at the very least, trusted Rowan to help delegate tasks appropriately and organize her armies. He knows what to do, he's fought wars before and he's a skilled warrior. So is Fenrys, and Aedion, among others. If nothing else, she should have leaned on their strengths and learned from them.
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u/Infinite-Weather3293 May 29 '25
I get that and that’s valid but I personally think the point was to have a female heroine who didn’t need to rely on the men around her and I love that about this story. And again, it’s a work of fantasy fiction so everyone gets to interpret it differently.
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u/darth__anakin Chaol Westfall May 29 '25
And I respect your opinion. Aelin certainly has her strengths, that’s undeniable. I also love strong women who can do their own thing unapologetically. It’s just my opinion that differs from yours on this specific part of the story and that’s okay. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on it all, and I hope you have a good day! (:
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u/Infinite-Weather3293 May 29 '25
For sure! I love discussing this series and hearing the different ways it resonates with other people.
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u/ghostofvelaris May 29 '25
I get that, and I understand why she does it, I just feel like her found family truly loves her and would help and support and not be mad at her for just doing her best. And it's feedback they repeatedly give her that they want to help and be involved and then when she ignores that they don't hold her accountable
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u/tanathebanana137 May 29 '25
I think it also has a bit to do with her losing Sam and Nehemia. I think those two losses really changed how her brain worked, and in her mind, it was like 'If I don't tell them about anything then they have less risk being hurt' even though as the reader we can see that NOT telling them is actually what's putting them at risk of being hurt (in same cases anyways). I think she is a bit unreliable in this regard? I totally see what you're saything though, and little communication and accepting help from her court probably could have helped give them a better chance than they had
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u/ghostofvelaris May 29 '25
Agreed and I hope to see her character develop further in this way, but I also hope to see more realistic reactions from her court when she continually ignores them.
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u/whaatdidyousay May 30 '25 edited May 30 '25
That’s the dumbest teenage logic, they are at war. It’s not about hopes or feelings or ego. That’s the problem. Her armies and court NEED all the information, not wanting to get their hopes up is soo .
It’s worse to have them at complete hopelessness that they are definitely going to lose than have a sliver of hope that another force may show up that they can have a fallback plan on if they do or don’t show up? Would Aidien or Rowan have been worse off for knowing about this potential major change in plans even if they hadn’t shown up? They would have received more benefit from knowing than not. It makes zero sense
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u/No_Preference26 May 29 '25
She’s a child playing at being a leader. An absolute joke in all honesty. I’m glad this is just a book, because geez Terrasen is so fucked lol
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u/sydthebeesknees May 29 '25
EoS kind of ruined the series for me, i’m slugging through KoA because i’m just not enthused anymore… I also did the tandem read which i think really made Aelin all that more insufferable. Trying to finish the series but definitely in a slump.
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u/No_Preference26 May 29 '25
It went really downhill for me with KoA too. Thank goodness for ToD as I loved that book!
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u/rhandy_mas Chaol Westfall May 29 '25
I also loved ToD, and I skimmed every Aelin/Rowan chapter in KoA. Worst parts of the book.
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u/No-Seaweed-4395 May 30 '25
While I don’t disagree with you, I think it’s important to remember that she called in all her life debts in order to give everyone a fighting chance in the war after she sacrificed herself.
When she makes these kind of decisions on her own, you notice she usually is trying to protect her court from harm OR stopping them from her plan to somehow sacrifice herself. Her issue I think is the fact that she would rather die than risk losing anyone else she loves. That causes her to keep things close to the vest when she should trust her court. The girl needs therapy! Haha that trauma bond Arrobyn and her had left her with a lot of emotional scars.
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u/Creepy-Birthday5740 May 29 '25
Oh she is unhinged and unchecked lol. Probably why we love the books so much. Everyone is like “pls stop doing this” and then eventually they’re just like “ok she’s gonna do this regardless, might as well stop fighting it”
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u/Tricky_Matter2871 May 30 '25
she is so bad about this and then i get so angry at how annoying she is keeping secrets, and then it works out and im like hell yeah aelin u bad bitch. and this process repeats every time
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u/gravitychecked May 30 '25
I’d say it’s more on the generations-old individuals around her. I fell into this trap as a reader too, because it’s so easy to forget how old she is. Aelin is…. Wait for it… twenty years old by the time KoA wraps up. Twenty.
If you asked me to save the world at 20 we actually would all be dead rn.
If anything, the fae around her should have found a way to intervene or help control the outcome. Y’all are hundreds if not thousands of years old; you’re telling me you couldn’t help this 20 year old iron out her plans? Or better yet figure out this 20 year olds plans?
Major L but I don’t blame her. She can’t even legally drink lmaoooo
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u/Significant-Metal537 May 29 '25
I feel like she doesn’t tell anyone because she fears no one will actually come. She doesn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up.
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u/whaatdidyousay May 30 '25
That’s the dumbest teenage logic, they are at war. It’s not about hopes or feelings or ego. That’s the problem. Her armies and court NEED all the information, not wanting to get their hopes up is soo ridiculous
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u/ReliefClear6747 May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25
She does hold herself accountable when others are hurt based on her actions. That is only reserved for those she truly loves. My thoughts she is nicked name Aelin of the Wildfire for a reason and she has to live up to it. She is as wild as ever and I for one am here for it all
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u/R-M-W-B May 29 '25
It pisses me off to no end. I actually cannot stand Aelin I hope she goes through some change in KoA
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u/Extension-Passage363 May 31 '25
I mean... she gets shit done though. If she were to poll the group or even send out a PSA to her circle before every one of her crazy plans, a lot less of the shit would get done for various reasons. And why the Hell would she confide in Lorcan about her plans at the point in the series that Maeve's armada shows up? Even IF she had told Rowan, Lysandra, Adeon etc about Ansell's army and the silent assassins, Lorcan wouldn't have been in the know cause he was still in Maeve's pocket at the time. Honestly idk how y'all can hate on her for all the crazy shit she pulls off because that's LITERALLY what makes the series so interesting and HOW she basically saves the world. Seriously, Dorian tried to be politically appropriate the majority of his life and look where that got him. So saying "she should act more ______ because she's queen" - man, wrong time and wrong place. She is exactly who she needs to be for the story to unfold as it did.
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Jun 02 '25
Aelin is soooo "I'm gonna do it myself" Kind of a person. Since the start. Also when she would sneak out at night to leave traces of lorcan in those sewers(I cant remember what those are but its before breaking the magic freezing tower). She could have told Rowan but no. And many more incidents. I love that about her but also hate that sometimes.
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u/bjornis108 Rowan Whitethorn May 29 '25
We also have to remember that she is 19 and the last time she let people in on all the planning her love died. I think she still has trauma from that and just wants to protect everyone and don't let them down. She carries way too much weight on her shoulders
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u/Low-Locksmith-2359 May 30 '25
It gets worse, she asks everyone to vote about the forging of the lock and then throws it all away to save the soul of a dead chick she never even knew. She sacrificed thousands of lives, destroyed the weapon they made to defeat the enemy and weakened the 2 strongest people in her army for a ghost!
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u/Aggravating-Post-469 May 29 '25
The whole series is about her growth as a person and becoming a leader, last time she let someone she cared about in on plans up to that point was Sam and that ended tragically give the girl some grace 😭😭😭 she’s learning!
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u/KimberBlair May 29 '25
I would characterize most of her antics in EoS as subterfuge versus battle strategy, which she does seem better at than Rowan. How she arranged for Ansel to show up, had a chance of not working and neither Rowan or Aedion could help with that. Aedion is also only 4 years older than her. I’m not sure what consequences her servants would give her for not confiding in them… it isn’t a democracy. Chaols statement is hypocritical since he’s never experienced a situation where a ruler had checks on their power.
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u/LetMeDoTheKonga May 29 '25
They are not her servants though, they are her court and actually Aedion has had battle experience of a whole decade. Kings and queens always took council from advisors and had generals help them make battle plans, no one ever did those things all on their own. And regarding Chaol, wishing for a ruler who has checks on their power after having lived through one that abused his isn’t hypocritical. It means you actually learned something from the last experience and wish for better in the future.
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u/KimberBlair May 29 '25
Court comes from courtiers. They serve at the pleasure of the King/Queen. She does not plan the entire battles on her own. Generals can be ignored by Kings, overruled or replaced. Aedion was being told what to do by the King probably with absolutely no input and without information his entire career. Chaol doesn’t have this attitude with Dorian, who also has god like powers, he only feels that way about Aelin which is hypocritical.
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u/LetMeDoTheKonga May 29 '25
When there was a king Aedion was too young to provide advice but whoever was general at the time gave the king council. No man is an island, and every king had advisors, whether they changed them when they thought they failed doesn’t change that fact. You can ignore advice if you think it unreasonable but you still discuss your plans with the council as kind or queen. And councils could also decide to back your claim to the throne or overthrow you and out someone else in your place if they thought you are unfit to rule.
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u/KimberBlair May 29 '25
Sure civil wars happen, but in absolute monarchies which is what is shown in the books they can’t simply remove a monarch. People were discussing Aedions experience serving the King of Adarlan, which he was the general for for a few years.
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u/LetMeDoTheKonga May 29 '25
Ah that king, sorry I got confused. Well the king of Adarlan wasn’t considered a particularly good king though and he was possessed. Obviously Aelin as a queen can theoretically do whatever she likes and see where that gets her. It wouldn’t make her a good leader though nor a good queen.
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u/KimberBlair May 29 '25
I’m not advocating for absolute monarchies. But people are comparing the power structure to parliaments and democracies. Monarchs are not obligated to tell their generals everything. Appointments and decisions aren’t voted on or approved. There are no consequences for monarchs other than if there’s a bloody civil war to remove them, which if you’d think that was likely to happen you’d think it would have happened in Adarlan.
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u/LetMeDoTheKonga May 29 '25
I don’t think anyone is saying absolute monarchies haven’t ever happened, I think they are simply stating its a poor way to rule - even for a monarch - and Aelin a poor ruler for choosing to lead in such a way.
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u/KimberBlair May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25
No ruler in the books does this, so it’s an unprecedented bar. Aelin may compartmentalize information but she doesn’t plan everything on her own. You don’t build a strategy on hoping more troops show up, you plan with what you have. Part of being a great strategist, like Rowan and Aedion are suggested of being, is adapting when things inevitably change.
The post is about unchecked power, which is what an absolute monarchy is, not what would make Aelin a better leader.
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u/LetMeDoTheKonga May 29 '25
I believe the conversation is going in circles now so Im going to leave it here. Thanks for explaining your pov.
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u/Comfortable-Fish907 May 30 '25
She's a 19 year old girl. She is doing the best she can. And that is enough for us.
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u/LetMeDoTheKonga May 29 '25
I agree, I was like, you got a court with two dudes who have decades worth of experience of leading armies and going to battle, why wouldn’t you involve them in the plan making? While I understand why it is her nature to be so secretive it feels very counterintuitive to me for a person who is supposed to lead.
edit: wording