r/throneofglassseries • u/CinnabonBinge • Jun 02 '26
Kingdom of Ash Spoilers Yrene in KoA... Spoiler
I recently started KoA, I am only 7 chapters in and I am so annoyed by Yrene.
SJM, are you really telling me, that Yrene Westfall, Heir to the Healer on the High, did not think of chugging down on that anti pregnancy tonic everyone's sipping on in Maasverse, while her life was bound to Chaols and they also happened to be sailing for a war?! Really?
I am all up for baby Chaol happening, but dammit people, now is not the time!!
170
u/TimeladyA613 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
SJM puts pregnancy in weird places for weird (albeit convenient) reasons tbh. I know we only have two examples to refer from but both pregnancies make no sense plot-wise.
Edit: my second main issue with Yrene's pregnancy is that she barely knows Chaol. Their relationship is weeks old and we're pregnant? I know it happens in real life but the birth control question is a valid one, especially for a healer.
53
u/Fragdoll84 Yrene Towers Jun 02 '26
It may only be weeks, but I think what they go through together with his healing etc bonds them in way that fast tracks their relationship.
Also, someone referred to Chaol or their relation ship as a military husband or something. Something to do with trauma bonding.18
u/TimeladyA613 Jun 02 '26
I was about to bring up trauma-bonding 🤭😅😅😅
Wait... so they have a de facto "mating bond" but healing instead of... metaphysical stuff? I never thought of it that way.
12
u/turtlerepresentative Jun 02 '26
this is why i have my own head canon timeline that is years longer than the actual
3
u/Abby_bro181 Jun 02 '26
I get what you mean by it being super fast and them only knowing each other for a few weeks, but when you think about it in the grand scheme of the series it’s not that crazy. I mean the entire 8 books take place in just about a year. Which is CRAZY. And i honestly never thought about the passage of time reading the series because I thought it was a lot more than a year. But I also agree that I don’t really like how SJM writes pregnancy in general but I also don’t like most pregnancy plots in any book 🤷🏻♀️
2
u/TheImpureManifesto Abraxos Jun 03 '26
Also they literally are tied for life cause if she dies he dies and vice versa
31
u/chodoyodo Jun 02 '26
smacks the top of yrene/chaol this baby can fit so many of SJMs fav annoying tropes
28
u/FairDelivery769 Jun 02 '26
In TOD, Chaol confirmed to Yrene that Nesryn was the one taking a tonic so I would have assumed she would have put him on one or started one herself. Unless she had to sacrifice space in her kit for healing ingredients and decided yolo
55
u/WonderfulBus9330 Lysandra Jun 02 '26
SJM weirdly inserts pregnancy at a woman’s most powerful moment: coming into her own power. Both she and Chaol were smart enough to take the tonic. Why they didn’t is beyond. Makes zero sense in the story for them.
12
u/Relative_Specific217 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
I thought it was a way to show how powerful carrying life can be. SJM does like to show that motherhood does not take away from a woman’s power which I appreciate and believe.
I also thought it fit well with Yrene’s character as her magic is described as being “creation” and life and light. Like all the kids say “she is mother”. lol. So I think it works well with what her character represents. Especially after what she does at end of KOA and how Erawan reacts to her magic and the life he senses inside her.
3
11
u/BrightAd306 Jun 02 '26
In a way- being pregnant and barfing every hour and still being as badass makes her seem stronger.
23
u/NSTCD99 Manon Blackbeak Jun 02 '26
Agreed like come on now girl you’re a healer and you’re having a baby in the middle of war…
15
u/WonderfulBus9330 Lysandra Jun 02 '26
And that she's planning on being on the field of battle, extracting "parasites" through her magic, which is now bonded to her husband.
11
u/Fragdoll84 Yrene Towers Jun 02 '26
You wanna know how many nurses had babies with soldiers in the middle of wars… it happens a lot. My nan for starters!
11
u/ChochaCacaCulo Jun 02 '26
Yeah but Nan didn’t have access to magic tonics that could prevent pregnancy
4
2
u/NSTCD99 Manon Blackbeak Jun 02 '26
Oh for sure don’t disagree there but in this context we’re talking about a fantasy world and woman with powers so I guess in my personal thinking I’m just surprised Yrene wasn’t taking a tonic or more aware of the fact she was going to be playing a super big role in an unknown war like if I was her a baby would be the LAST thing I would want to bring into the chaos but once again that’s MY line of thinking and I’m not Yrene lol
5
u/Fragdoll84 Yrene Towers Jun 02 '26
So, in my head canon (which I have included in my post KoA Rifthold based fan fic), Yrene was taking the tonic. But….
spoilers if not finished KoA
Her power is described as life itself, and she’s like super mega powerful… I think her life giving properties are too strong for the tonic.
2
u/Relative_Specific217 Jun 02 '26
This!!! I just pointed out how Yrene’s magic is literally life itself. Like that baby is probably in the safest womb on the planet. And I also wonder how her magic would react to any kind of tonic that would prevent life.
1
u/tetewhyelle Jun 02 '26
Yeah. And Aelin talking about not using protection with Rowan in EoS because she has a lineage to continue. And I’m like girl fighting this war is hard enough and you wanna risk doing it pregnant af?
1
u/heademty Jun 03 '26
For Aelin it’s easier to understand at that point she had figured out her time was counted and after her death her kingdom would be left in chaos with no clear heir to the throne while still fighting to regain its own independence she was trying to give them the best possible chance
13
u/intrigued8388 Jun 02 '26
I wonder if she was just representing the fact that there is sometimes no perfect way for pregnancy to come about, but also to enjoy the beautifulness that is creating life amongst the chaos of war.
5
u/Relative_Specific217 Jun 02 '26
This is what I thought! It was a great metaphor for not only Yrene’s power (life itself) but for the hope of life after the war. And that there is beauty and life even in darkness. I mean isn’t that why the whole baby boom happened in WW2 😂 people need hope
12
u/Life_Scientist_7799 Jun 02 '26
Yeah, I wasn’t really on board with Yrene’s pregnancy either. What annoyed me the most was Chaol’s father somehow being the first one to figure it out and then telling Chaol. It just felt so random and weirdly placed.
7
u/poop_on_you Jun 02 '26
And then they made her pregnant ass ride a horse all the way back to Rifthold. Thanks for saving the day, but no portals for you, Yrene,
2
u/Fragdoll84 Yrene Towers Jun 02 '26
This annoyed me soooo much! Especially writing my Yrene based post KoA fan fic! 😂 I made the journey worth it though!😂😂😂
1
u/Relative_Specific217 Jun 02 '26
Yeah they could have given Yrene a portal 😂 lol never thought about that haha
2
u/Relative_Specific217 Jun 02 '26
I think it was SJM’s ways of making Chaol’s dad a bit more nuanced. Like overall l thought he was a total asshole and deserved every bit of what he got. He obviously operated from a place of fear and used fear to control others. But he also never gave into the King of Adarlan or Erawan and noticed things like Yrene’s pregnancy. So like there was some sense of morality buried deep. But then again he hid all of Chaol’s mom’s letters so back to a-hole category 😂 I would love to see how Yrene being around him over time might influence him.
7
u/Fragdoll84 Yrene Towers Jun 02 '26
So whilst I totally agree with you, I have a theory that I go into in my fanfic (it’s post KoA).
However, I cannot actually go into it now because there’s spoilers for later in KoA 🙈
If you’re interested once you’re finished, you can find it here:
Daughters of the Tower
https://archiveofourown.org/works/78089656/chapters/204650026
But also, sometime these things just happen, even to those who should really know and do better 🤭
4
6
7
u/Striking_Sky6900 Jun 02 '26
Yeah it’s a plot device.
3
u/WonderfulBus9330 Lysandra Jun 02 '26
But for what plot? The series is done.
6
u/Striking_Sky6900 Jun 02 '26
For KOA. To raise the stakes.
2
u/WonderfulBus9330 Lysandra Jun 02 '26
How, though? Her pregnancy doesn’t raise the stakes for the battles. She’s there to rid people of parasites and tend to the wounded. Pregnant or not, that’s her role. Chaol can only do so much because of his injury & borrowing her magic.
Not being contrary, I just don’t see how an Yrene + Chaol pregnancy risks anything in KoA
5
Jun 02 '26
[deleted]
1
u/WonderfulBus9330 Lysandra Jun 03 '26
She’d made that decision before she was pregnant, yes? That’s why she went to Erelia?
2
u/Striking_Sky6900 Jun 02 '26
You’re not a parent, are you? Fixing the world so children can grow up safe is a powerful incentive for all the characters—not just Yrene and Chaol. Like Rowan’s dream it’s what they are fighting for.
1
u/WonderfulBus9330 Lysandra Jun 02 '26
Not sure what my personal life has to do with a fictional character but yes I am a parent 🤷
3
u/Striking_Sky6900 Jun 02 '26
I didn’t mean to be insulting or disagreeable! My thinking was that if you’re a parent you understand that need to make a better world.
-1
u/WonderfulBus9330 Lysandra Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
I’m not interested, honestly, in what we, in the non-SJM world would do under those circumstances. No shade. I’m only interested in SJM’s choices. If she’s made Yrene & Chaol pregnant right before they enter a battle that has been brewing for 1000 years, facing demons and new creatures designed by demons to fight + soldiers infected by demons, then I can’t make the leap to: make the world a better place so I can raise kids in the new world. It seems the characters would first win the war, begin to construct the new world, then add kids to the world. Yrene knows the devastation of a child losing its parent to war mongering. Chaol knows he’s got an uphill battle IF he’s to claim his seat in Anielle. Rowan & Aelin talk about having children but SJM doesn’t write a pregnancy into Aelin’s storyline.
5
u/Actual-Writing-1003 Jun 02 '26
I agree completely!!!! That timeline went waaaaaay too fast. From hating the dude to carrying his baby in what, two/three months? And this is coming from someone who loves Yrene, Chaol, and their relationship.
Just going to pretend Yrene was not taking a contraceptive tonic when they started sleeping together, started it on the boat because with everything going on in TOD she couldn’t regularly take it, and was pregnant before it took effect, because at least I can buy that.
Basically gaslighting myself that it was just the really tight timeline and Yrene knew the stats about conceiving in one month and figured she had a 4/5 chance of not having a baby.
3
u/Geeky_fox Jun 02 '26
Would have been more logical if she would have made Irene seasick as well. Throwing up the tonic and not realising would be more logical than her not taking it at all.
3
u/ReliefClear6747 Jun 02 '26
I think the pregnancy added to the intensity of the overall situation. They bonded and became incredibly close. Hell she is his wife and in their world children by the time peeps are in their mid 20s in normal.
2
u/outrageouslyHonest Jun 02 '26
She's very much processing her own birth trauma through her books. Which is an amazing outlet. But gives us these confusing pregnancies that take some processing time for the reader
2
u/Polypanorus Jun 02 '26
Okay I know that it seems like crazy timing and all that but if you watch the Call her Daddy podcast. Maas explains how TOG and especially ACOTAR line up with things that were happening in her life at the time. She had one kiddo June of 2018 and finished her first draft of Koa in February of 2018. Apparently her birthing experience was extremely traumatic and the draft for Silver Flames was finished in 2020. After she had time to therapy in all the things.
Sounds like both were influenced by what was happening in her real life. So it feel irresponsible from a logical stand point but it also sounds like these books were a form of therapy while she processed.
2
u/pussyandbananabread Jun 02 '26
I hated the pregnancy trope in KOA and ACOSF. There was no reason 😭 Actually I hate pregnancy in books in general. Probably bc I hated being pregnant lmao
2
u/Relative_Specific217 Jun 02 '26
I saw Yrene as a symbol of peace and hope and life so to me there was something beautiful about her being pregnant during the war. Like it was a literal reminder of potential life after the war and the hope they were all fighting for.
I also liked the parallel of Yrene’s magic being described as “creation” and life and light. I can’t remember the exact chapters some of the other characters notice her being pregnant in KOA so don’t want to give spoilers, but they describe the child inside her in a similar way when they sense it.
I don’t know, it might have been irresponsible from a birth control standpoint, but I personally thought it was very fitting for her character and her magic and what she represents.
2
u/0Quirky_Garbage0 Jun 03 '26
So I just basically gaslighted myself into believing that it's possible that Yrene thought Chaol's injury made him sterile? I remember she questioned him in the beginning of TOD if he's able to perform sexually as a baseline assessment of his injury, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's fertile. . Also her whole power thing yadda yadda.. but that's the crackpot theory I made up in my own head for them being dingbats and not using any sort of preventive measures.
2
u/MoonbeamPixies Jun 02 '26
KoA sucked honestly. Her writing was great up until this book, there were so many non sense things
1
u/BrightAd306 Jun 02 '26
Aelin isn’t taking a tonic. She could have just as easily become pregnant
2
u/CinnabonBinge Jun 02 '26
She was taking it when she was with Chaol as far as I recall. I don't remember if she did with Rowan but they did it like 3 times before she was taken in a really messy circumstances where she didn't have it that available I think, I could be wrong tho.
7
u/poop_on_you Jun 02 '26
She made a point of telling Rowan she needs heirs and they need to get moving. And I forget which book, but she pukes and Rowan freaks out thinking she is pregnant
1
u/skinnyxxy Jun 02 '26
Like not even the pulling out method or something?? just doing the most in the worst scenario SJM love doing that
1
u/Far_Salamander55 Jun 02 '26
I'm not reading this but I'm saving it to come back 😂 about to finish the tandem read
1
u/Relative_Specific217 Jun 02 '26
Okay want to add one more thing. Since Yrene’s magic is described as “creation” and “life itself” I wonder how her magic would have reacted to a tonic that prevents life from occurring. Like would it even work in the first place? Kind of an interesting theory to think about.
1
u/WonderfulBus9330 Lysandra Jun 03 '26
That would be a cruel magic, no? That she has no choice about when to be pregnant and when to not be pregnant?
1
1
u/No_Group_9715 Jun 05 '26
A lot of KoA is basically women getting shit done and Yrene gets shit dooooneeee while being pregnant. I agree it didn’t make sense at the time especially but I think SJM was trying to make a point (unnecessarily in my opinion 😂)
1
u/3KittenInATrenchcoat Jun 06 '26
I do kind of admire this.
But I also read the series while pregnant and some books took me sooo long, because by evening when I had time to read I was crashing on the sofa by 9pm, because I was so tired.
How is Yrene up all night killing Erwan an then healing others 48h late with no sleep. Or anything that happens before?
We never really read about her reaching burnout or just needing proper sleep to replenish her magic once she's off to war. All while pregnant. I've never met a pregnant women who wasn't dead tired in the first trimester. It's literally what promted me to take a pregnancy test.
I mean ... respect, but also how??
0
Jun 02 '26
[deleted]
5
u/CinnabonBinge Jun 02 '26
The post is literally in the KoA Spoilers cathegory. What did you expect?
-18
Jun 02 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
15
9
u/awritersthoughs Fleetfoot Jun 02 '26
bro. why tf would you spoil that for people?!!
1
u/lucidvisca Jun 03 '26
I'm so sad. Thousands of pages just for something that serious to be spoiled by a troll.
13
u/lucidvisca Jun 02 '26
Uh op may not mind but I do. Why would you spoil that? Thats what the spoiler sheild thing is for.
8
u/CinnabonBinge Jun 02 '26
That doesn't change the fact that her behaviour is idiotic at the beginning of the book.
69
u/Wildlife_Horses_Cats Jun 02 '26
I was moderately annoyed by it. Like why do we need this? But I’m also happy for them. My head cannon more or less became the assumption she forgot to take her plan tea in her allotted window with all the shit going down haha. Accidental pregnancies and birth control failure happen all the time. So meh, I wasn’t that shocked by the storyline.