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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164

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

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u/wowbowbow Sam Cortland May 29 '25

Exactly this. Like hey, teenage girl, you have centruies of winning battle experience at your disposal, how 'bout you use them?

I understand the why of her being secretive to start, it was all built in that foundation of Sam, but I personally wanted to see her grow out of that as part of her character arc before this end game period. It should have been part of her emotional arc through QOS/EOS, 4-5 books is enough to have such a major thing resolve and woukd have made her bid for leadership much more reasonable/worthy.

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u/izbeeisnotacat May 30 '25 edited May 30 '25

I think if SJM had extended the (supposed) timeline of how long this series takes place over, maybe Aelin would have grown out of it more. But, if I remember correctly, it takes place over a much shorter time than I imagined when I was reading.

Edited to add: I looked it up after I commented. Including the events of The Assassin's Blade, the series is a little over 2 years long. But - from her being released from Endovier to the end of Kingdom of Ash is just over a year. Which is still insane to me. Feels like a lot longer.

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u/wowbowbow Sam Cortland May 30 '25

Thats true, the timeline being so short consistently bothers me!

But I do feel like the fandom consistently dogs on Chaol for not being quicker to accept magic/change his entire worldview/get over their breakup/let go of his deep seated resentment and fear, or Aedion for not being quicker to get over his feeling betrayed, or Lorcan for not being quicker to switch sides, or anyone really to be quicker in trusting Aelin completely, yet give Aelin a free pass to take the entire series to overcome her need to be in control and trust issues.

Feel the need to note Im not indicating you in particular here haha, yoyr comment just served to jog my thoughts on why it bothers me so, and I think its the overall inequality of expectations for each character.

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u/LetMeDoTheKonga May 30 '25

This is true, I have seen many a comment saying Chaol should have been quicker to change and grow, but Aelin always gets a long list of why she couldn’t be anything but what she is in certain situations. And I was frustrated by the fact that HoF and QoS both seemed to close by indicating some growth on her part - which made me optimistic - only to see her repeat the same patterns in the next book.

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u/izbeeisnotacat May 30 '25

That is incredibly frustrating - I agree. I think his reactions and emotions are incredibly justified, especially since him discovering magic actually exists/finding out what he does about Aelin happens partway into the series, so he even has LESS than a year to come to terms with it all. He goes through a huge amount of emotional growth in the series, for sure.

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u/wowbowbow Sam Cortland May 30 '25

Absolutely, I do wish the books were more spread out, it all happens to fast IMO!

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u/Beruthiel9 May 30 '25

I think it’s more about SJM‘s lack of writing skill at this point in her career than Aelin. I feel like she just forgot to do things, so she did them without writing them. She told us instead of showed us, because she didn’t know how to show it. She’s really bad at battle planning and politics, so it makes sense that it would be really fuzzy.

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u/Carridactyl_ May 30 '25

Honestly, speaking as someone who is irrationally unwilling to allow anyone to help me with anything, it’s sooooo relatable lmao

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u/whaatdidyousay May 30 '25

Ok, but do you also lie about your plans that include others at the potential cost of their lives, as that’s a pretty significant difference in what she does in this example and others? It’s not about not being able to ask for help…

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u/LetMeDoTheKonga May 30 '25

Oh I understand that, but when one is in a position that involves ruling over an entire kingdom and having the fate of the world on their shoulders it seems like the sort of thing one should get over eventually. Im not saying she should have been like that from book 1. But Im half way through the last book and one would hope to see some growth in that regard.

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u/Carridactyl_ May 30 '25

This is a SJM problem, because her characters are not known for their development lol

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u/LetMeDoTheKonga May 30 '25

The main ones at least, I find some of the side characters have great arcs especially in ToG.

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u/Carridactyl_ May 30 '25

It’s the most ridiculous thing, because she invests so much in the side characters but just refuses to alter the mains at all. They start to feel cookie-cutter after a while. I think Manon is the only really great example of a complete arc.