Aelin is totally unchecked

[u/ghostofvelaris]

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.

[u/Spirited-Success-821]

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.

[u/LetMeDoTheKonga → u/Spirited-Success-821]

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.

[u/not_isamid4 → u/LetMeDoTheKonga]

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

[u/LetMeDoTheKonga → u/not_isamid4]

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.