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Stories That Shape Us: Crown of Midnight and the Hero’s Journey
17 Plays6 months ago
Hello, beautiful souls! In this literary December episode of Growing with Sol, my bestie Priscilla and I take a deep dive into Crown of Midnight, the second installment of Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series.
Major spoiler alert!
We’re dissecting every twist, turn, and heartbreak, so make sure you’ve read the whole series or proceed with caution.
We also discuss the broader themes of identity, trauma, and resilience woven into Maas’s storytelling and how they mirror real life mental health struggles and triumphs.
If you’ve ever found yourself in the thick of your own hero’s journey, there’s a takeaway for you here. And of course, we’re leaving no stone unturned when it comes to the series’ messy (and magical) relationships.
What did Crown of Midnight teach you about mental health, growth, or grief? DM me or share your thoughts on socials!
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See you in the next one, where we’ll be diving into Heir of Fire! Until then, keep growing.
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Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
Bye!
Introduction to 'Crown of Midnight' Discussion
00:00:05
Speaker
Hello beautiful people and welcome back to another inst installment of Growing with Sola. I am very excited today. Like I mentioned, I think in the last episode, this is a literary December and I'm very happy to be talking about the next book, the second installment of the Throne of Glass series, which is Crown of Midnight. So I'm going to be taking a deep dive with my bestie, talking about Crown of Midnight and major spoiler warning right now.
00:00:31
Speaker
We are going to be talking in detail about the book. We are going to be referencing books later to come, I'm sure. um So if anything has taken place within all eight books of this series, it is liable to be brought up on this podcast. So if you've not read all eight of them, shred carefully or come back later once you finish reading all the books.
Spoiler Alerts and Romantic Elements
00:00:52
Speaker
um Additionally,
00:00:55
Speaker
I don't have any spice on the outline that I made. There's very minimal spice in this book, but it is subject to come up. We might make a joke or two. it Just beware in case you're listening to this out loud, it might come up because a little romance does it happen in this novel. um So additionally, um if you have been following along, if you've been listening for a while,
00:01:22
Speaker
ah Definitely go ahead and give a little like, a little review of the podcast as it does help spread the word about it. And naturally, don't forget to follow along and subscribe.
Summary and Key Plot Points
00:01:32
Speaker
So to begin, I'm going to give a little rundown of the book, a little refresher, reminder of what took place.
00:01:40
Speaker
So, Crown of Midnight, the second installment of the Thunderglass series, begins with Selena out on assignment to dispatch one of the King's foes. We see, however, that she is faking their deaths and allowing them to escape. From there, Selena is avoiding going into the tomb and possibly even talking with Elena. Her romance with Dorian fizzles out, her love for Kale blooms,
00:02:01
Speaker
is reciprocated and then quickly withers away with the death of Nehemia. Spurred to action, Selena seeks revenge, kills Archer Finn, and oh yeah, she's part fae and has been searching for those pesky word keys.
Selena's Emotional and Mental Growth
00:02:15
Speaker
So the main purpose that I really wanted to like hone in on when it comes to these ah deep dives and just exploration of the text with all the books is really looking at the main characters and the journey they go on both mentally and emotionally, especially given the fact that this podcast is growing with soul.
00:02:37
Speaker
I like to look at literature for like the lessons that they bring and sort of the little nuggets of life and wisdom that they provide for us. And given Sarah J. Mass's works in total, all of it, I feel like she brings mental health and those journeys into her works really well. So that's what I really wanted to like look at, seeing how these characters develop over time.
00:03:01
Speaker
With Selena, I definitely see her development go from resignation to determination and to like a newfound purpose throughout this book. And that, I mean, there's so much that goes on with her like mental and emotional state throughout the entire thing. But I feel like the under-arching aspect of her mental and emotional state is that resignation in the beginning. And then that determination by the end of the book, even though she is sent away to Wendland afterwards, which kind of, in her opinion, is missing with her plans. um But Priscilla, what did you think about c Selena overall and her development?
00:03:43
Speaker
I think in this book specifically, the reader is reminded that she's 18 and that she's gone through a lot of trauma. And I really both enjoyed and got annoyed in a good way to ah seeing the struggle between her just wanting to leave everything behind and go with Kale, her lover.
00:04:08
Speaker
ah or um you know staying and being a heroine. So that reluctance I kind of liked because it shows that she was growing. It shows that once she kind of accepted that she was the champion, she had to make a decision of what road to take. So that was interesting to me to see. But then her actions, again, reminded me that she's an 18-year-old.
00:04:36
Speaker
So it was at times really frustrating as a reader that's not 18 and not in their early 20s to kind of see that development in the main character.
00:04:50
Speaker
Yeah, that's definitely I think part of her journey as a well, especially when seeing like how I guess like how almost like petulant a little bit like which is almost like throwing the tantrum and sexual resistant to the overall like like what is happening in her life where you have these major forces telling you that like hey these are things that like need to be done especially if you want to overthrow the king and like all these things and she's just like no I just want to run away far far away end up in a different continent and just forget that Adderland even exists.
00:05:26
Speaker
um So I definitely think that like ah that stems from being resigned to the fact that anything could even possibly be different because she has been through so much. like know Her entire family was murdered and by this king. She even mentions at one point that every everyone that she has ever loved has been killed. Like they're all dead. They've all passed it away. And like she refuses to have to be in a position where that's going to happen again. Now that's one of the reasons why she does want to escape and eventually with K.L.B.'s kill just say that he will go with her. um And we see the resignation as well where she's constantly resisting Elena.
00:06:09
Speaker
and then eventually even resisting Nehemia where they have a huge fight. And Nehemia, like, Lehemia's last words, basically, were calling Selena a coward. Yeah. And like then Nehemia dies, unfortunately.
00:06:23
Speaker
and i think that's and like i I did mention where I think that's part of the rising action, but that resignation is so huge because she's so content to be the champion yeah for her freedom. like Do that four-year contract and then run away.
00:06:40
Speaker
And you see that when she's spending all the money that she's supposed to be saving to run away with Kale on getting custom dresses and um the books and the fact that with her free time, she's like ordering like her food, like breakfast in bed. And when she before the fight with the haemia, like acting like ah an actual teenager. So yeah we do see that struggle in her finding her identity and deciding what she actually wants to do. And that is like a petulant child because again, she was forced to grow up because she was trained as an assassin, but she never really went through puberty and that maturity that a lot of normal kids go through. So then when she's 18 and has, she ah literally goes from being a slave to living in the castle and having all of these resources and having all of these privileges.
00:07:39
Speaker
So then the her struggle between who am I, what do I want to do is really, really apparent. And you do see that, which again, as a reader, it kind of is annoying when she's like talking about leaving. And I think it was like during the birthday dinner, right? But it's like, why? But you have no money because you have all these custom gowns.
00:08:01
Speaker
I think that's really true, though i I do want to say that she was used to that opulent lifestyle because she had that with Erebin. Erebin is extremely wealthy. like We can't forget that. and Then on top of that, she was his protege.
00:08:17
Speaker
so he would just like give her all that opulence pretty much anything she ever wanted he would give to her because she was the protege and as we will see like he was just really creepy and I think there was some ah Attraction on his part to Selena as well. So I think even more he would do it on her Yes, and maybe the shock of like going from that to the salt mines back to that opulence did create that
00:08:49
Speaker
inner turmoil and resistance and then the resignation of well, maybe I should just stay and see um You know do what I need to do Resist in my own way. I mean not killing The targets but then just leaving But she was to me at least yeah, I definitely oh go ahead I Oh no, to me, um as annoying as I thought of her in the first book,
00:09:23
Speaker
moments of ah of being annoying, I did like her gross in this, because it it it seemed a little bit more natural. What didn't seem natural was the intensity of her and Kale's relationship though, because then I had to remind myself, what was it, like seven to 10 days?
00:09:42
Speaker
Like that was a relationship or like- Officially. Yeah, officially. The kill, like my, my yeah, Ayl are completely separate.
00:09:54
Speaker
who will We're gonna get to kill we're definitely gonna get to kill and the relationship and all that um I think in terms of um Like rising action because when we're talking about like the hero's journey Like literally in terms of like of the literary device. There is that ultimate like call to action She's ignoring it and then there's like something that spurs the character into action whether they want to or not And I definitely think that Nehemia's death was
Critique and Analysis of Nehemia's Role
00:10:22
Speaker
that moment in this book?
00:10:25
Speaker
and and as a plot device I I see that like okay, it's like that's what it was and all that grief all that emotion that Selena had is what catapulted her like into the revolution and I think in terms of in terms of the book itself and how it was used fine like that's what I the author, the narrator deemed as important to be the inspiration for Selena to finally do something that she was kind of tiptoeing around the last like book and a half. yeah However, i in terms of
00:11:06
Speaker
it being problematic. There have been a lot of people online talking about it being this problematic thing, which I completely agree is why I do think that ultimately it was problematic. And what makes it even more problematic in my opinion, is that I don't think it was necessary. I don't think an anhemia needed to die. And if anything, I think an anhemia would have been an asset to Selena and the overall plot if she would have lived.
00:11:31
Speaker
So in terms of it being problematic, like you've probably heard the term frigine. And essentially, like that's what this is, just within a different lens. So for those listening, frigine, as it was described and back when it first became a term, I think in the 1990s,
00:11:50
Speaker
So, the name, Women in Refrigerators, usually shortened to Frigine or just Frigged, was coined by comics writer Gail Simone in 1999. The name was inspired by a storyline in 1994's Green Lantern, in which Kyle Raynor, the Green Lantern, arrives home to find the dead body of his girlfriend, Alex Dewitt, stuffed inside his refrigerator.
00:12:09
Speaker
That thing goes on to spur him into action to do whatever he does in that story So that's where the term comes from clearly This is like a like a feminist critiques of feminist lens when looking at literature and media But I think that we could apply it here within like a critical race lens as well seeing that Nahima is the only main character of color or like prominent character of color in this book and then Her sole purpose in the plot is to just die to drive forward the plot line of the main character who's white. So that's why I think it's problematic, especially because I don't think that she needed to die for Selena to be pushed into action for the revolution. I think if anything, since Selena feels so upset and so
00:13:02
Speaker
And I'm angry that she's lost so many people. I think that she would do anything to protect her friends and the people she loves. So finding out that Dorian has magic, I think would have been enough to spur her into the revolution, to protect him from her dad, knowing from his dad. I agree. And I think she would have trusted Dorian a little bit more with her secret because he would have had to keep a bigger secret or just as big because of the status quo regarding magic there. But I think it should have been chaos.
00:13:32
Speaker
And so if we had to have like a death to kind of spur her on and um like the call to action death, I think it should have been kale. This is to say within the framework of these two books, not commenting on the rest of the series. I think because the fact that she had this relationship with him and it's, I mean, it's been told and people think that there was a physical, um,
00:14:02
Speaker
aspect to Kayle that reminded her of Sam, I think it would have been a bigger catalyst, especially with how intense theyre their relationship turned out to be and how short. So having that happiness be ripped from her could have been that push again if she wanted that storyline and Nehemia again like you said could have made a bigger she could have made a bigger difference i mean she had a little kingdom behind her that could have that she could have wielded almost like um the same level as other female characters that that are to come and she didn't have to be cruel yeah i i think that
00:14:49
Speaker
Oh, and she did. What do you mean? Do you think Nehemia was cruel? Like, at the end, like, why did she have to call her a coward? Like, why were, like, her last words so negative? Like, couldn't they have? but Oh, I think, like, maybe, I don't know, maybe this is reading too much into it, but if she were to be dying, and this is going to be the catalyst to her,
00:15:17
Speaker
getting involved in the revolution, it could have been a little bit more heartfelt. Like why did it have to be someone calling her a coward? Like I understand it and I agree that it it it hit the point and it was true because we did see that struggle that Selena goes through internally with like do I just stay, accept being the champion, do what I need to do and then leave or do I you know, do what I've wanted to do since I was a child because this king killed my family.
00:15:52
Speaker
To answer your question about the the whole, like, Nahimi thing or to address that, um I think it's easy so to, and like, I don't think it was surprising that Nahimi was so mean to Selena. Like,
00:16:08
Speaker
I mean, i don't I don't know about you, but maybe maybe you too, like in my own personal life, looking at um like social change movements, like following people who are like activists and like people who are in that activist space, like in real life, just since college until now, especially when I was younger, like in college, freshly graduated from undergrad and you're in those activist spaces, like people are
00:16:38
Speaker
Justifiably angry because when you're looking to create some sort of societal political change and there It's because there's injustice happening. There's something going on That's like royally fucked up and you're trying to make that change and maybe you've been a victim to that injustice that's taking place so rightfully people are very angry and especially I think when we're that young like in our early 20s like late teens and We don't really have, most of us have that like experience in the emotional regulation when it comes to like expressing ourselves.
00:17:15
Speaker
maybe like feelly like fully feeling the anger and injustice and and all that, but expressing it in a healthy, productive way. Yeah. So I can definitely see Nehemia just like blowing up and like being mean and straight up like calling her a coward, even though it's harsh, even though it's mean, maybe even cruel.
00:17:39
Speaker
um But I think that's totally believable. I think if she would have lived, then they would have been able to talk about it. And with Nahimia's influence, Selena would have been brought over, I think, ultimately into the revolution with Nahimia's influence. And in finding out that Dorian has magic, I think that would have been enough. yeah And then Dorian would have had somebody to help him basically control his magic as well.
00:18:07
Speaker
Yeah, I think missing that conversation might be my discontent regarding that because it would have been nice to see how Zelina would have responded to her anger and what kind of conversation that would have come out come up because they were very similar in that in their responsibilities, their need to like save their kingdom. So they have a lot in common. And I don't think Selena would have had any excuse not to have that conversation with her.
00:18:43
Speaker
because it would have been really hypocritical. So I would have loved to have had that conversation and the fact that it was her only strong relationship with another female character.
00:18:58
Speaker
about Selena and Nehemia. Eventually, if Nehemia would have lived, then she would have had that conversation with Selena. Yes, so I would want to hear that conversation. Yeah, I would have wanted to hear it because it would have been nice to have Selena be called out like she was called out by Nehemia before she died being called a coward. I would have been really interested to see how she would have responded and justified her actions or lack thereof. So it would have been a nice conversation. And I feel like we were robbed of a potential strong ah female friendship.
00:19:33
Speaker
I 100% agree. That's one of my biggest issues with the mass verse in general. And I don't want to give any spoilers for any other series, um but i I would love to see a female friendship, like through and through.
00:19:53
Speaker
And I think that we had that opportunity here in Throne of Glass with Selena and Nehemia, and we were robbed of it. And on top of that, I already have a lot of feelings about their friendship because I feel like it was very one-sided, at least on the surface, because even though they had decided that they were not gonna keep secrets from each other, they both kind of did. yeah But the one secret that Selena was keeping was that she's actually Aylin, which like,
00:20:22
Speaker
I get. I would get why you wouldn't be comfortable to just like spill your guts about that yet. yeah But Nahemia kept so much information that could have been so vital to Selena in helping her with so many things. And that just pisses me off.
00:20:40
Speaker
Yeah, even if like they had to separate and like she didn't directly, um you know, because I think if she would have helped her would have changed the the plot. Having her be there and having them reconnect at the end would have been really nice and kind of like a full circle moment.
00:20:57
Speaker
um But I have to agree, like if we would have seen dorian's like if she would have seen Dorian's magic and then connected with Nehemia a little bit more with that uncomfortable conversation, it would have been the last push for her.
00:21:17
Speaker
Definitely. So let's go ahead and talk about Kale because I know we both got opinions about this man.
Kale's Loyalty and Emotional Complexity
00:21:22
Speaker
um In terms of my analysis, I'm just looking at Kale and really taking the time to analyze his character and not just have my little feelings about him because I do love him.
00:21:35
Speaker
But I think throughout this entire book, we see Cale being really confused, we see him being in love, and we see him questioning a lot. And in terms of his journey, I see his journey in this novel as the radicalization of Cale Westfall, because he goes from being extremely, like he's the captain of the guard, like he's very loyal to the crown, um if not the king, but I think he's more so loyal to the crown and not so much the king of Adderland himself.
00:22:03
Speaker
But still, he's doing the King's bidding within his role. We see him going from that to being willing to give everything up just so he can be with Selena. And we start to see him also questioning his role as captain of the card, what his duties are, and wanting to seek revenge for the pain that Selena has experienced. Like he even tells, like he's speaking in the very beginning of the novel, he even says that like Dorian and the keen were where his load his leg without his loyalty. He was no one without it. He'd give up his family. He'd given up his family his title for nothing. Like that's where we start.
00:22:48
Speaker
And then by the end of it, like we see Kale, like after he and Celina, Celina sleep together and they're officially in the relationship, he is thinking about her and it says, and every night since then he traced the scars down her back, silently swearing oath after oath that someday he'd go back to end of year and rip that place down stone by stone.
00:23:15
Speaker
Whereas in throwing a glass, he was like, well, what did you do to get sent to end of year? Like, right like clearly you deserved to be there. And in knowing Selena, he's begun to see that.
00:23:29
Speaker
Maybe there are people who go to end of year who don't deserve to be there. yeah And if that's the case, that fucks with that like loyalty that he has to the crown. And he tells Selena at his birthday dinner when he's like, I'll run away with you, he tells her, perhaps my duties aren't what I expected them to be. The king, and then he's thinking to himself, the king kept things from him. There were so many secrets and perhaps he was little more than a puppet, part of the illusion that he was starting to see through.
00:23:57
Speaker
The critical thinking, that's the radicalization. like that's like We're talking about someone in Kael who, he basically was, I mean, not royalty, but he was of the upper class. like He essentially owns An-Yel, but his dad does, so he would have taken over that. So he's been you know the upper crust his whole life. Clearly loyal to the king becomes captain of the guard. So he's been indoctrinated since birth.
00:24:25
Speaker
And then within the last year, we see him start to see through the bullshit and the the propaganda, basically. And that's like, I think that. So I think that with Kale, we really see someone like it's it's.
00:24:45
Speaker
it's I feel like it's the, not the epitome, but maybe like the quintessential example of someone going from or unlearning the propaganda they grew up with to finally see the truth. And it's a painful process. It's a slow process. And I think that's why a lot of people get frustrated with him.
00:25:04
Speaker
at least in the beginning, I understand that later books he becomes a total asshole and I do not excuse his assholery. like yeah he He definitely, you know I get that. But in terms of this book, i we're in the beginning stages of seeing him become radicalized and I think it's overall a very beautiful thing. Does he need to take time to process things?
00:25:23
Speaker
Yes, he he definitely needs to, like, pause, let me process and come back to you, because eventually he is, like, Ital Selena, like, fae, assassin, no matter what you are. And he's going to say, I love you, but she's like, don't. Don't say anything. And then she peaces out to Wendland. But overall, in terms of his development as a character in this book, it really is the radicalization of K.O. Westfall. And I love it.
00:25:51
Speaker
I agree that it is him being radicalized, but i don't I didn't buy his love for Selena because in the beginning, he I think he is in love with the idea of her because she's a beautiful girl.
00:26:11
Speaker
but it was crystal clear to me when she went in like with the head and he was like clutching his pearls and Dorian was as well and it's like who did you think she was? I mean this the whole first book was you being judgmental against her and calling her an assassin and saying she's not a good person because she's killed people but then he got swept by like the person under that and then he chose to forget who she was so I felt like he was starting to be radicalized and I think the fact that it was Selena that had him realize everything made him create an image of what a relationship with her would be like.
00:27:04
Speaker
One, I mean, I understand they're both really young. It was like a two week fling. So emotions are heightened, high stakes with like his position, her position. um But I don't buy his love and I i think it's good that like she didn't have him say it because maybe it was testament to maybe she ah she realized it as well. Because again,
00:27:28
Speaker
I definitely feel like he did grow a lot and he changed, but it was mostly about him, not his relationship to her.
00:27:43
Speaker
Yeah, I can see that. I definitely i agree in that. he didn't fully love Selena for who she was in actuality. I would even say the same about Dorian. I think the internet's going to hate me promptly for saying that because everybody always talks about how Dorian loved every version of Selena and Aylin and all of that, yeah which I can see, but you even pointed out where like she came in with um Grave's head and they were both completely disgusted and were both like, who is this person? This is not the Selena I know.
00:28:20
Speaker
which like
00:28:23
Speaker
is like, are you stupid? With the both of them, especially in that scene. Because she's talking to the King, she's like, here's Graves' head. It's Mullison who did this. like I figured it out. Here's the information. And she has to put on that mask of, quote unquote, Adderlyn's assassin, of being ruthless, of being cold, of being cutthroat, especially when she's dealing with the King himself. like It's all a mask.
00:28:52
Speaker
who And they don't see that. They don't see that it's a mask and that the Selena they know is the true Selena deep down inside. Does she have this side of her? Yeah, and because she's had to. Yeah. But it's not who she is at her core. And I think that's where they they both make that mistake. Yeah, because they had this image of this beautiful girl in like custom gowns frolicking around the the castle and they turned a blind eye. But I think um in terms of if we have to say who actually loved a more realistic version of Selena it's definitely Dorian because from the beginning he wasn't judgmental from the very start so he did yeah 100% I definitely think it was
00:29:44
Speaker
Yeah, I think it was a bit of a retcon on Sarah J Maas' part to say that it had always been about Selena and Cale and that they were this great love. When clearly in Throne of Glass, like the first book, Dorian and Selena were heavily set up for them to be like the main love interest, the main romance when clearly other plans happen, especially with Rowan yeah coming up in the next book. Do you think she knew then? like she Like at what point did was it no longer Dorian and Selena?
00:30:20
Speaker
I don't know, but like, I know that people have talked, I haven't looked it up, but people online have talked about how originally throwing a glass was queen of glass when she released it like online when she first wrote it. And in the queen of glass, Dorian and Selena end up together and they're the main romance. Yeah.
00:30:39
Speaker
but I mean, after getting picked up and being published, I'm guessing that's where the change happened or perhaps because it got picked up by a larger publisher, she had to put more thought into the series as a whole and what's going to happen throughout the whole series and not just like that one story, I'm assuming. Yeah.
Dorian's Journey and Character Development
00:30:58
Speaker
But speaking of Dorian, because you know, yes a lot of love for Dorian. What did you, what did you think of him as someone that loves Kale?
00:31:12
Speaker
I don't think you hate Dorian. Oh my God. I don't hate Dorian. I like Dorian. I am one of the crazy people online who like secretly believes that Dorian and Kayla are gay for each other. Like just admit it. Just kiss already. And they probably had a moment and then decided to not go there with each other. Huh? I think you probably had growing up.
00:31:41
Speaker
Right? Because they were such close friends, their whole lives. Or at least as teenagers when Cale first came to Adderlyn. But I mean, obviously like love between like men and their friendships is something that I think we as a society and as like writers and readers like definitely would benefit from seeing more. like So definitely like them having a platonic love and being affectionate with each other and expressing that love for each other is a beautiful thing.
00:32:10
Speaker
But given that this is like a, at least in the beginning of the series, like a semi-romance, we can't help but think that like maybe there was a little bit of something more between the two of them. But um overall in terms of like Dorian in this novel, I felt so much like compassion for him because we see him, especially in the first, not even the first half, I would say for the majority of Crown of Midnight, Dorian just seemed so lonely to me.
00:32:40
Speaker
who because he was so smitten with Selena, and then she ends things with him. And even in this book, he was like, do you want me to fight for you? And she was like, no, like, do not do that. So then he has to choose to let her go. But in doing so, he sees that his best friend, slash maybe ex, is falling for Selena. And then he's just like, well,
00:33:07
Speaker
who do I have now? Like, obviously he still has kill as his closest friend, of course, of course. But there's still that like awkward, like growing pains period between the three of them. And then we then see him get caught up in this whirlwind of, holy shit, I have magic. And him having to deal with that reality, given his overall context of being in Adderland, which I saw his journey in this book being from or essentially going from a position of privilege as essentially like his head white man, he's the crown prince. like He has all the power except for his dad yeah and he's beautiful and all these amazing things like no struggles in life except that you know his he thinks his dad hates him. huh To then figuring out, finding out that he has magic and is now essentially part of a persecuted class.
00:34:02
Speaker
yeah And then having to deal with that repercussion, especially the repercussions of that, especially when he has no one to talk to because the one person who said that she would help him has been murdered. Yeah. I don't know, Dori can do no wrong. And the fact that both him and Kale went through similar
00:34:25
Speaker
periods of like needed growth based on the circumstances and the fact that he was much more mature and responsible. um I just loved Dorian so much. And it was really um interesting to see, again, like how you mentioned that he he's like the number two person in this kingdom. He's beautiful. He's never had to struggle apart from his daddy issues, which are very much warranted.
00:34:54
Speaker
to like having to hold the secret and be careful. Whereas before he was so carefree, even if he had a persona that he showed the public, even then it was an added layer of stress and he didn't at any point lash out to Selena. I really appreciate it. Right. Like,
00:35:18
Speaker
Like he genuinely just like as a person, as a character, it's just a gem. Like he's so lovely and charming, but also I feel like the charming part is definitely like part of the facade. He shows the public. And then when you finally get to know him, like you you recognize that not only is he like beautiful physically, but just a beautiful human being and genuinely cares about his people or recognizes that the things his father has done are horrible.
00:35:49
Speaker
And he feels so much compassion for Selena and for Nehemia as well. And that, like, you can see that one slash, like, ah and like in this book, if Dorian world were to rule, it would be a different kingdom altogether.
00:36:09
Speaker
and perhaps even like we could see him like completely end slavery, we could see him close down Andover, close down Calacalla, and like allow sovereignty to like the other kingdoms that his father had eventually originally taken down and conquered. And I just feel like
00:36:32
Speaker
Dorian doesn't really see that in himself in this book yeah because he is so isolated from his closest people yeah and then eventually even more isolated because he doesn't even, he doesn't tell anybody. Like the one person he would have trusted with his magic is dead. He doesn't tell Cale at all in this book that he has magic. Cale assumes that because he thinks, Cale thinks he saw Dorian use magic, but he's kind of in denial about it.
00:37:02
Speaker
Dorian doesn't outright tell Kael, the only reason Dorian says it like directly to Selena is because she witnessed him use magic in like the dungeons underneath the library, because he had to use magic twice to save their lives. And then he had to use magic again to close the portal to that hal dimension.
00:37:21
Speaker
So then afterwards when Selena was like, oh, yeah, like the thing you didn't witness when you were knocked out because I had to go save Kayle and Fleetfoot is that I'm Faye, by the way. And then then Dorian was like, oh, you're part Faye and you saw me use magic. By the way, like, yeah, I have magic now. And like, that's the only reason that he actually told somebody about his magic because he felt that one, like,
00:37:48
Speaker
Selena kind of already knew, but also she's in a vulnerable position because she's parfait. So they kind of had that in common. Why do you think he did not tell Kale if they're so close? What does that say about Kale?
00:38:04
Speaker
I think that he didn't tell Kale because a lot of the buildup in this book is that there is a wedge between the two of them. That is ah blonde way because of Selena.
00:38:19
Speaker
A blonde one. Yeah, exactly. like Dorian began to isolate himself and just like allowed them to have the space for their romance. But then in doing so, their friendship kind of got difficult. And then on top of that, Cale had that whole plot to send Aylin away, to c send Selena away to Wenlin. And obviously Dorian was pissed. And the last words that we see Dorian and Cale have in this book was a fight about that. So even more so, now they're both angry at each other. So even more so, Dorian wasn't going to say anything. like
00:38:52
Speaker
And they don't even know what who she's about to meet so that that's funny knowing what's gonna happen
00:39:01
Speaker
Definitely something to talk about because at the end of the book, like I do believe that Kayle is still very much in love with Selena. And even at the very end, when he discovers that Selena is Aylin and he stole a shock literally on his knees, like, how could this be? I just sent Aylin Ashford, Rick Elathenius to her fucking cousin. yeah like I think knowing Kayle's process, he would have needed time to process the information and then be like, no, I actually do still love her even afterwards.
00:39:29
Speaker
so i will talk about this more but the fucking like a painful irony is that you do this to save the woman you love to get her out of harm's way but then you just end up setting her to her fucking soul mate like Yes, the iron is not locked. It goes back to my point where like he, okay, sure, he he may need time to process, but he's supposed to be in love with her. And the first thought is I'm sending her to her cousin who might, you know, they'll team up and then come back and attack us. So then it goes back to his loyalty to the crown um and not the love for her. So that's, that's the
00:40:11
Speaker
I think Kale's in this position of being, we can talk about this this more because we are almost at time, yeah but Kale is caught in this position of being in love with Selena and being loyal to the crown, which ultimately for Kale is being loyal to Dorian. yeah So I don't think his concern necessarily is them coming over to attack his country. It's them coming over to attack his country and potentially kill Dorian, who's the heir to the crown.
00:40:41
Speaker
But do you to but so then he think Selena would do that?
Conclusion and Teaser for Next Discussion
00:40:48
Speaker
I think that's a fear that he has, yeah, which we could definitely get into a little bit more next time. So guys, if you're listening still, we appreciate you and and tune in for the next one. We're going to be reading Arrifier next and then talking about that one as well. um I know it's a little out of order for some people since they tend to read um Assassins of Blade 3rd. We read it 4th, so that's how we're going to talk about it here in our podcast episodes.
00:41:14
Speaker
But if you stuck around this far, I appreciate you so much. You're a real one If you enjoyed the podcast, give it a thumbs up. Give it a like share it out if you have people in your life who love throwing a glass and to this day ugly cry about the series because I do every time I'm on tik-tok I ugly cry because somebody points out something about Sam share it with them because I'm sure they'll like this podcast too. Leave a rating, a review because it helps. And of course, don't forget to follow along and um I'll be seeing you in the next one. And also check the show notes for all of my social stuff as well. Definitely tag me in any postings you do about the episode. Again, I'll see you in the next one. Bye.