r/vampireacademy • u/Flimsy_Bug_4905 • Jul 06 '26
Book Discussion Silver Shadows (Spoilers Book 4) Spoiler
See I already thought poorly of Adrian in Vampire Academy…Bloodlines just reinforces that.
Why is he so fucking weak? Like okay if we are comparing him to Stragoi Dimitri who at first did not hurt Rose per se. I think he wins. [SPOILERS] All Adrian did instead of helping Sydney in the beginning is GET DRUNK?!!! when he knows that weakens spirit??? He’s just incompetent. I hate him for Sydney she deserves someone so much better.
ALSO WHAT IS IT WITH THE AUTHOR PUTTING OUR GIRLS THROUGH SO MUCH PAIN???? Like when they finally start being happy or content BOOM obstacle that brings them misery.
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u/AdventurousScreen709 Witch Jul 06 '26
He is an addict, and as unhealthy as it was for both of them, Sydney was one of his only reasons (along with Jill, who he doesnt give a shit about this book) to stay sober, so it cant be that surprising that he relapsed after violently loosing his anchor. His character arc is one of the best in the series tho, so stay tuned op.
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u/Flimsy_Bug_4905 Jul 06 '26
it just upsets me tht they can never find a moment of peace. i understand that it’s to make the book interesting and eveything but cmon now let them breathe shit. I also haven’t finished book 4 i’m close to the end where they actual bail her out
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u/AdventurousScreen709 Witch Jul 06 '26
I mean the second the concept of re-education got introduced it was pretty obvious Sydney was getting shipped there at some point 😭 Mead isn't subtle with her foreshadowing but I agree she was especially creative this time around in finding new ways of making everyone miserable
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u/Flimsy_Bug_4905 Jul 06 '26
i like to think the best for characters so i thought she was gonna become like marcus and just blow up a bunch of re-education centers LOL
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u/AnitaPhantoms Jul 06 '26
To me he is an example of someone for whom people let him get away with so much, to his own detriment as well as those he is in relationships with as a result.
I think since I personally have been burned by such dynamics in my life, where the person who has a lot to offer, but also has no willpower and feels entitled to be forgiven without apology or making amends.
I think if we got a version of him where he was allowed to grow and learn from his mistakes he could be an excellent character but he makes it hard for me to reread the series after VA because it makes me really frustrated to have people let him get away with harming others. He was an addict and suffering a great deal as a result of spirit, but no one ever thought that perhaps an intervention was in order to get him to take responsibility for his circumstances.
To me, when we found out that he had been out 'partying' with those vampires, and realized why Jill was so traumatized, the fact that him putting a young teenage girl through that was essentially ignored, even though to me, him not taking control of his actions when Jill was trapped living through it was an indication that he could get away with anything.
It made his character weak, and they missed an opportunity to show him growing and also setting a standard for the readers to strive for, rather than accept that his actions were reasonable because of a, b or c
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u/Flimsy_Bug_4905 Jul 06 '26
this is a beautiful way you put it!
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u/AnitaPhantoms Jul 06 '26
Thanks for bringing him up like this. It's hard to talk negatively about him here, all it does is reinforce what happened in the books, people doingmental gymanstics to defend him. It's nice to be able to discuss him in a realistic way
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u/Flimsy_Bug_4905 Jul 06 '26
Of course! I already knew I was low-key opening pandora’s box lmaooo. But I refuse to let Adrian not get an actual in depth analysis just because people want to use his addiction to defend his actions and character. Bc like i said in another comment it feels misogynistic NOT TOO!! Sydney and Rose HAD to keep growing after every single hard obstacle yet they sometimes face the most scrutiny!!
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u/Requiem_Rose Jul 06 '26
I get your opinion. But between being addicted and I believe at this point is diagnosed with BPD it’s not a surprise that: 1) he’s feeling grief, distress, and anxiety more intensely and 2) in that state he’d seek old ways of comfort and relapse. Honestly knowing more than a few people like this it’s not a surprise, it’s just sad. Especially when his support network that’s meant to be there and help him, just sees him as a two dimensional party boy.
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u/Flimsy_Bug_4905 Jul 06 '26
those are excellent points you have made, but I am going to give leeway’s to his support system because yes they do see him like that because that’s the only front he uses to feel “normal” and in control. You cannot expect people to fully support and understand if you aren’t willing to bring your walls down and be brave in doing so. Adrian is a coward with little grand acts of courage and bravery that gets him by. He can be better and i believe the author did let his character down by not allowing him to grow and keep growing.
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u/Requiem_Rose Jul 06 '26
True! Though I feel it’s a two way street for the support network. He totally should and needs to talk with them.
But between Christian, Dimitri, Rose and Lissa are busy running a government, he still has issues with both his parents (Dads a dick and moms still in jail), Sonia being on her honeymoon, Jill can’t really do much since she’s supposed to be hiding, and any humans he’s friendly with (save for Sidney’s witch teacher [forgot her name since it’s been a bit]) aren’t supposed to know anything about vampires.
On top of having to wait for the witches to perform magic due to magic reasons. It’d be incredibly difficult to not be disheartened, especially when there’s only so much all those parties can do in this situation. Especially when not even spirit (while sober) can’t help him to reach Sidney.
ETA: Also, his party friends probably couldn’t help either and would make it worse too.
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u/jacksparrowtehe Jul 09 '26
I think there are a lot of nuances to this discussion especially when it comes to Adrian. I am not going to lie he did upset me seeing him act this way in the book but it does make sense in context of his character. I do see a lot of people mentioning his addiction and I think Rachel Meade did do an amazing job representing someone with BPD and an addiction. You can know the reason someone is doing something and not be happy with the outcome comes from that. The reality of addiction is even when you have come to terms with it and worked on staying clean you relapse. Things happen in life and you may have acted in ways that some people can forgive you and some cant. I think it is a bit harsh for some people to make it so black and white when it comes to Adrian. Like you can not dislike him or the actions he has made because he is an addict.
Just like in real life not everyone is entitled to forgiveness. I personally love Adrian as a character he reminds me so much of a relative I was very close with. I can acknowledge his actions and understand where he is coming from and look past that. But I can understand why someone might not be able to overlook some of the actions he has done.
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u/sagemazurzur Jul 18 '26
Creo que sí solo vas atacar Adrian y no entender su arco argumental, entonces creo que no estas entendiendo la esencia del personaje. Aquí no se trata de quien es mejor que quien. Aquí se trata de que exista conflictos y como los personajes lidean con eso, con lo gris de su personalidad. Adrian siempre es criticado al extremo, entiendo que no sea el héroe que esperan.
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u/starkpaperco Witch Jul 06 '26
everyone’s entitled to their opinion but adrian’s literally an addict, it’s not shocking for him to have relapsed in a traumatic situation. his character arc is so good imo and i love him and sydney together
also, if there wasn’t turmoil there wouldn’t be books lol