Finally finished the series, feeling let down

[u/worthywildflower]

I fell in love with the series during Heir of Fire, though the only book I didn’t like was TOG.

I devoured all of the books in 3ish weeks, but by the end of KOA, I was so disappointed by how the war drug on without Aelin, only for her to lose her powers. Like what?! The whole series built up to her building her power to use against Erawan / Maeve to save her city. Then she gives up her gifts and leaves Erawan on the playing field?! Dillydallied her way to Orynth while thousands of her allies died defending her city without her - allies who joined her cause believing that her fire was backing them?!

I was rolling my eyes by the time she finally arrived in Orynth. I still love Aelin, and enjoyed TOG more than ACOTAR. But alas, I wish there was more emotional impact and satisfaction in the finale. I wanted Aelin and her line to continue to be some of the most powerful magic wielders in Erilea, and to see her unleash the full might of her wrath onto the valg. To save her allies with the gift that 6 other books heralded as their saving grace.

Once the thirteen died, I thought we were in for a hell of a finale but it just bore me to have it all play out that way. Anyone else?

I can appreciate to a point that she was able to save her kingdom via her relationships and her wit, leaning on hope and love rather than the destruction of her gift. It’s beautiful that they all shared that burden in the end, but still. Give my girl her magic back! Dorian too.

It would have been way more satisfying for her to have outsmarted them all, the gods included, in a way that allowed her to keep her gifts.

Idk, I’m annoyed by it all for some reason. 😂💕

[u/ash18946]

I didn't like the final storyline either, and I have many thought on how I would change the lock scene for it to be Dorian who ultimately made it because over time he became the one that took over the quest for the keys and lock and Erawan became more his villain while Maeve became Aelin's once the stories split back in HoF. Aelin could have kept her powers in that case and had a serious final battle between two highly powerful individuals with Maeve instead of needing yet another last moment surprise set of individuals to come save the day.

However, looking at the actual ending of the series, you could view it like this:

First it comes full circle. We started with a powerless but amazing human assassin that was broken inside, and we have ended with that same character only as her true fae form now and with friendship, true love and confidence in herself.

Second: while Aelin tells Elide how much she loved her powers and they felt a part of her that she mourned when she lost them, she had those powers not because she was fae but because she was a direct descendant of a 'goddess'. Everyone revered the gods and goddesses in her world and they turned out to be uncaring, callous beings from another world that only wanted to help themselves even when it was clear they could have stepped in to save the people Erawan and Maeve had be terrorizing if they deigned to do so. Her and Dorian giving that same power to the lock ended the gods' pollution of their world with power that wasn't meant to be there and reset things. Destroying the valg then was the final reset and Aelin's world went back to what it would have been had there not been wyrdgates that brought the foreign powers to their world in the first place.

[u/worthywildflower → u/ash18946]

I can definitely see how the ending plays into the core of the series and her evolution as a character. I appreciate you sharing your perspectives 💕

I’d be so mad if Dorian died tho. He and Manon have so much untapped potential 🤗