Episode 5: ACOMAF 22-28

This week Cat and Rev deep dive into chapters 22-28 of A Court of Mist and Fury -- looking at how these chapters affect the plot development for the rest of the series, how our characters develop, and the importance of "home" in the ACOTAR universe.  Join us!!

All characters discussed in this podcast are owned by Sarah J Maas and Bloomsbury Publishing.  The music used in this podcast, Enchanted Fantasy - Long Singer by Sonican, is part of pixabay royalty free music.

https://pixabay.com/music/main-title-enchanted-fantasy-long-stinger-377726/ 

All characters discussed in this podcast are owned by Sarah J Maas and Bloomsbury Publishing.  The music used in this podcast, Enchanted Fantasy - Long Singer by Sonican, is part of pixabay royalty free music.

https://pixabay.com/music/main-title-enchanted-fantasy-long-stinger-377726/ 

Transcript

Intro

0:12

There are good days and hard days for me, even now. Don't let the hard days win. This is More to Farah on page 239 of A Court of Mist and Fury. Hi guys! Welcome back to the Massive Encyclopedia. I'm Kat. And I'm Rev. And we are your hosts through the world of Sarah J. Mass. This is the podcast where we are building a full cross-series encyclopedia of characters, world building, Easter eggs, and all the connections that SJM has been hiding in plain sight. Um before I let you get into the chapter summary, remember how Posty gave me this? Mm-hmm. This beautiful bedazzled book. If you hear the girls freaking out and hear the doorbell go off, it's because Allison is bringing me the whole

Chapter Summary

1:07

rest of the series, the other four. I can't wait to see it. I can't wait. It's gonna be because I have mine boop right up here. Yeah, you have yours right there. Yeah. Uh okay, so let's do the chapter summary for chapters 22 through 28. So we go back to the human lands, the Illyrians and Pha go to the Archeron House to see if they can use the Archeron House as a meeting point for the Fey and the Six Queen. After some convincing from Phaerah and Elaine, Nesta finally agrees. We learn that Elaine is engaged to a lord named Grayson, whose father hates the Fey, and she wears an iron ring on her finger. Phaera continues her training with Reese and is attacked by the Attor. She lashes out with her powers using talons again, and she winnows for the first time. We learn that Highburn is building an army like Reese feared, and Phaerah starts stepping into her own. We also see Azreel, the spy master in action, but it's through Reese's mind rather than Ferah's perspective. And the chapter ends with Amran revealing that the necklace slash amulet that she gave her in the last chapter chunk wasn't magic at all. Rev, why don't you get us into the

Plot Development

2:27

focus questions for this week? Yeah, let's start out with the plot development that we see happening over this big chapter chunk. Just right at the beginning, page 252, Fayra talks about having to watch her sisters grow old. We we know that she won't have to do that, but like I wonder if SJM knew where she was gonna take this when she wrote this, or if this was authentic at the time, or like supposed to be foreshadowing. I feel like she had to have known because we see so many little breadcrumbs for Cassian and Nesta in this chapter chunk that you're almost already watching the two of them specifically. So I think she had an idea. Did she know how she was gonna do it? Maybe, maybe not, but also I think bringing them back to the forefront of our pages at this point is really important for how they're gonna stay in the book and in Fayra's life. Not just that they're gonna be part of the six queens plot, that like there's a lot more happening with these sisters that we're gonna see from them. There's a two to three pages, like 278 to 279. All these pages show how close that they are. Even Nuwala and Caredwin, they were trained by Azriel. We're really furthering the plot of how tight knit this family is and like how they are going to be able to work together, how much they rely on each other for all of their different strengths and weaknesses. I feel like it pushes the plot forward because all of these people do end up relying on each other so much. It really sets the stage of like the family, the inner circle, and how they work together to achieve the goals that we are going to see in multiple books to come. Sure, I agree. I think we're establishing the family, but that's blood family and chosen family. And it all kind of meets here in the place where Farah used to call home or the land she used to call home. Uh, let's talk about Farah training. Like this, I feel like furthers the plot of where we see how strong she is going to be. We already know all these powers that she's developing. And right now we are seeing her in this transition, how she has to learn and train and start to trust some of these other characters in the book. She learns to winnow. That sets up the story for how and why we see for the rest of these books how they travel, why they have to travel in the way that they do. Well, and I feel like so. Chapter 26 is where we have the Attor and Reese and Fayra meeting. And I think it's really important this part of the chapter, or this part of the book rather, because you're right. We are we're seeing Fayra stand up and get angry at Reese. It shows a lot of trust that she's willing, maybe not willing, but she is attacking the most powerful High Lord in history, and that she's training with him, but also that she feels safe enough to let her anger out. We never saw that when she was with Tamlin. In fact, her anger was buried deep down. And I think it's also important that while she's training and we have this ator attack, we're now bringing Highburn as a main villain into this story. Before he's kind of been this innocuous person in the back, we we don't know anything about him. We we know that he worked with Amarantha, but this whole chapter and scene really set up the next book and a half. If we didn't have this scene, we would still be focusing on Tamlin, the Spring Court. SJM makes a point of them going around the Spring Court. Tamlin isn't even on page, she it's so purposeful. Yeah. And I think it's also interesting because Reese has constantly been telling Fayra, you need to fight. You need to do something. Use your powers, learn how to do it. In page 114, when he returns her to Tamlin, this is a couple chapters ago, he looks at her and says, fight it. In this chapter chunk, he says, You stopped fighting. This is the girl who fought the weaver. She has gone to the bone carver, she does all these things, and it's almost this complacent uh characterization. It's this, I'm doing what I have to do because they're telling me that this is what I have to do. As of now, she is an active participant, she is now a player in the game of Perithan. And it's exciting to see because in the next chapter chunk, we go to the summer court and we see her dealing with the consequences of being someone who has to do bad things to nice people. It's kind of like she's Reese's counterpart. Absolutely. Here's something that I have not talked with you about at all. I feel like that one quote, and I I swear I think you have written it down somewhere. Um, Elaine is like summer dawn. I think it's very interesting that term, summer and dawn. Two of our Prithian courts, right? Are we now setting up for a book that you and I have not even read yet that hasn't even been released yet? Does she get together with Tarquin? Does she go to Dawn Court? Oh, weird. Maybe. I I don't know, but I mean it's summer and dawn. Like SJM doesn't mince her words, they're purposeful. No, they are and I I this is something that I kind of focus on in our next question, which is like about the character development. But with Elaine, we get so many different clues about her. Like she's the most beautiful of the sisters, like a summer dawn in Silver Flames. When they go to the Hewn City, everyone says she's she's washed out by the blackness and the dark, she does not belong there. Nesta belongs there, Phaera belongs there. Elaine is always the odd one out. Although it's interesting because Phayrah always feels like the odd one out, and right now she is, she's the Faye, but also there's a line when Elaine or Fayra says that Elaine can get anything she wants with a couple of smiles, and that is on page 251. It's an interesting choice to describe because a lot of times when women are described as using their smiles and convincing people to do something, it's in a negative connotation. It's through seduction, it's through like they're using their wiles. Right. And Fayra's the way Faber describes it is people just want to do whatever she wants. It's a really interesting personality trait for Elaine. It kind of makes me wonder if I know Elaine's a seer. I wonder if Elaine is also. Um, there's another book series that I'm reading, um, where some people have the power of incitement, like they can incite people to do other things. I wonder if that's one of Elaine's powers, is she can incite people. Maybe. As much as we all hate her for many, many books because she's so annoying. Something that I've always had in the back of my mind for Elaine is everyone always talks about how ferocious Nesta is and how she is this fighter and she does all of these things. But because of the way Elaine is portrayed by both Phayra and Nesta, it's very easy to push her into the corner. But it is Elaine who says, yes, we will have the six queens here. She is the one who makes that turning point for the Faye and the Six Queens. She is also the one that kills Hibern. It's not Nesta. It's not Phayra. It is the little shrinking flower who everyone says, Oh, she's so sweet, oh, she's just pat her down, make sure she's she's protected. I don't think she needs protecting. She's the one who will hold up truth teller and kill the king of Hibern, something that none of the other high fe could do. Yeah, Elaine's the one that got all the money together and went around and talked to all the staff and dismissed right everyone. Like she is the orchestrator while Nesta is sitting back and brooding. Elaine orchestrated, let's make this happen. Well, and I feel like Nesta isn't so much brooding as protecting. She is right there. Nesta is the one who is standing up to these two Illyrian warriors and the High Lord with her fists bunched. She is standing in front of Elaine. We see that character from Silver Flame. She is a fighter. She might not want to do these things, and that's where I think it's the two sides of the same coin with Ferah, right? Fayrah doesn't want to do the thing she has to do, but that is who she is. That is literally my next point, and I'm just gonna read it. We're starting to see the initial building of Nesta being angry at baseline because of life. Phayra is also angry at baseline because of life. But there is a contrast between Nestra and Ferah, how different they are, and how this is setting up the plot for how they will both be critical in finding, and this is where it comes back together again. They're both critical in finding key items, right? Like they're both in charge, like their stories are so similar, two sides of the same coin, but like Elaine is so different. One of the points that I was thinking about as I was writing my notes is we've got the three sisters, the three signs of the fates, we've got the mother, the maiden, and the crone. You know, Fayra is the protector. And by the end of the series, she is pregnant. So I would say that she is the mother. Elaine is always described as the maiden. She's very innocent, she's got to be protected. And Nesta is not the crone, but she kind of is, though. She's like old and wise in her mind and her soul. And she is the one closest tied to death. She is the one that has the death trope. But also, you can think of an implication that the crone was once a mother. She's like the grandmother in this trilli this trio. Nesta changes her body so that she can have Illyrian children. She does not change Elaine's. She changes hers and Pharaoh's. Elaine is still unable to bear Illyrian children. A couple few last things about plot development. Um, we have Papa Archeron being absent, and I think this is so interesting. Not only does it set up for what happens at the end of Wings and Ruin, but it also I think is the key factor that allows everything to play out the way it does with them with the six queens. Because I think if Papa Archeron would have been there, I don't think this would have gone the same way. I don't think that it would have been peaceful. I think there would have been Reese losing his mind, Azriel trying to step in between like Papa Archeron and Reese. Uh, Fera would have been like, everyone stop. Nesta would have been even compared more to a cat. She would have been hissing more and scratching even more than she's already compared to a cat multiple times. Papa Archeron has to be gone for this plot to move forward, but it also just like sets up for Court of Wings and Ruin. It's also the significance that it is the Archeron sisters that are having this at their home with these six queens. It is all females who are doing this. If Papa Archeron had been there, he would have had a status above them as their father. I do like the idea of all the women. That is that's that's a great idea. Well, and I think it's also important that Moore and Amran are not there. Pharaoh would not have been the forefront if Amran and Moore were there. As the only female coming in from the night court and this being her first duty or her first action as the liaison between the night court and the human realm, this really gives her an agency and it shows her once again stepping forward and doing the job that she didn't want to do, but she's doing it. What

Home

16:32

do you think about the fact that Farah and Nesta do not talk at all about how there's these Faye in the house and don't readdress at any point in time how she did not fall for Tamlin's glamour, and so she kind of knows a lot more than what Elaine knows, but they don't talk about it. They have kind of become enemies again almost. I feel like when you have siblings, it's very easy to fall into the your old roles. I know what like whenever I go home, I always my brother, no matter what, we always sit in the same chairs. We have moved out of that house over a decade ago. We we just automatically fall back into those same roles. But I think also Nesta is angry. She does not want this marriage between Elaine and Grayson to happen. She says it's the the home that Elaine will be moving into is a prison. That he has built these walls so high the trees can't even be seen over them. I think Nesta has this idea of what she wants, but she is powerless to make it so. And that powerlessness is almost as breaking as it is for Phaegra. So I've I have so many notes about so many of the things that you just said. I'm really quick gonna address one. How you said you and your brother always sit in the same chairs, and you guys haven't lived there forever. What I think is really interesting, Nesta not falling for the glamour. Nesta did not make a bedroom for Phayrah, Papa Archeron, Elaine. Nobody made a bedroom for Phayra in this house, even though the story is she was supposed to just be visiting the aunt, and then potentially she's gonna come back, and and we know where the story has progressed to. So when the crew gets there, they have to ask for two bedrooms, and each of the bedrooms having two beds. This is not her home. She doesn't have there's nothing of her here. This was never her home. It's really interesting how Fayra is uh stepping forward to claim her own agency, and her next step will be deciding where she wants to stay. Does she want to stay in Valeris? The question is, what is a home? Where do we where does she feel at home? And when does she finally feel like Valeris is her home? It happens in this book. Doesn't she actually say in this chapter chunk, Valeris is not my home? She does. Yeah. I believe it is on at the end of chapter 27 when Reese says to her, Let's eat bur eat breakfast, then go home. Valeris isn't my home. But what's interesting is she's she thinks he could she thought she saw hurt flash across his eyes leading us back to my family's house. She still doesn't say leading leading us back to my home. I have had this epiphany reading through this chapter chunk. I'm just gonna read it out loud. 247 to 248. Your kind quote, Nesta says to Fayra, there will be no Faye in this house. But Nesta does give in to what works for what ends up being best for Elaine. And it's not necessarily because it's what's best for Fayra or what's best for humanity. So I want to talk about. I think Elaine is Nesta's home. Oh, okay. Like, why does she love Elaine so much when maybe it's my opinion and I only pick up the things that agree with me, maybe. Everyone hates Elaine. No, no, no, no. Readers hate Elaine. If you when we go back and read when Phaera goes to the human world for the first time in this book, everyone is doting on Elaine. All of the servants love her. When she goes to Prithian, Nula and Caradwin take her under their wing. Azreel shows a different side of himself to her. There is something very magnetic about Elaine that we do not see. And I wonder if part of that is because it's similar to how Nesta's the villain Tefera. She's not. They're very similar, but it's just the perspective that we're being shown this character. Yeah, that's what I was saying when I said everyone hates Elaine. I meant all the readers. Oh shit, Elaine. But what I'm wondering is Elaine Nesta's home because of all the characters in the book. Elaine is one of the only people in the world that doesn't. Judge Nesta. And that's her home. She does not talk to her like Cassian or Rhysan or Azrael or Ferah or anyone else. Now, I don't recall Elaine speaking to anyone negatively, right? But I think that that is why Nesta doesn't need a home as in a place. This is one of the only people that's not gonna judge her that she feels like she can be vulnerable with until we get to the end of Accord of Silver Flames and Cassian. But like Elaine's the only person that's like even remotely nice to Nesta. If that is the case, then what Nesta gives Elaine is a protection and a security to be that home. Elaine would not survive without Nesta, I don't think. I don't think she would have survived their human village in chat in book one. And I don't think she would feel comfortable enough to kind of blossom as they are here. Now, something else I wanted to talk about under home is the similarities that home is a huge theme for Sarah J. Mass in all of her series. In Throne of Glass, Aileen is always trying to get home. She is trying to get back to Terracen. And when she finally does, it is not the home that she left. It is war torn, the her castle is destroyed. It is not the home she left, but she is trying to get home to it. With Crescent City, after chapter five and the pack die, Bryce never goes home again. She has to find a new home. She has to find a new routine. And there's something about all of these female characters losing their homes and finding new ones that seems to be a core part of the SJM formula. It's this world where the ground has been shaken underneath you and you have nothing left to hang on to. So you have to build it from the ground up. Yeah. And it's interesting that the whole time Reese is under the mountain, all he wants to do is go home. And everyone else in Valeris, all of the inner circle, they got to stay at home. So like they are obviously healthier than Reese or Fayra. Maybe that's what gives them the ability to be so forgiving and understanding for what Reese and Farah go through and how they're like not the easiest people to get along with sometimes. Well, this is something that comes up later in this book. So we'll we'll talk about it later. But there is a part where Fayra and Reese Sand have this conversation about what happened to them under the mountain and what he shares with those who were not there. I also think it's interesting that Moore and Amran are charged with protecting the home. They stay in Valeris. And it's number two, which is Moore, not Amran, and number three, which is Amran, because I know you always get it confused. Um those, it's a women that are left in charge of protecting the home that Reese went to such lengths to protect while the guys are out doing their thing. Moore and Amran are left behind. I would rather say they are put in charge. And there's no question about it that they are protecting the home. It's what Amran said that they were going to do in the last chapter chunk. Their job while Reese was gone was to protect this city, was to protect Valeris, and they would kill to do so. Like Elaine is Nesta's home, but Nesta's supportive of her getting married and moving somewhere else. What is Nesta gonna do after Elaine gets married? Like in her mind. I we we never get there, but I'm really curious as to the the thinking behind that. Nesta also says to Fera, this isn't the High Lord that you left with. What happened? Like, why did you leave that guy who was supposed to be your home and end up with this one? She very much cares about her sisters, but maybe she just sees herself as removed from romance or removed from anything because she's always had to be, she's just so angry. You cannot find happiness when you are this angry. To go back to the fact that Papa Archeron isn't here, if we're talking about home, Papa Archeron is not protecting this home at all. He just left his daughters there. Now, you leave Nesta in charge. Things are gonna be handled, don't worry. But like it is interesting that this idea of home where we see Reese leaving Amran and Moore in charge of still protecting the home, no one even knows that Valeris is there, but he still thinks it's important enough to leave these two most powerful women to protect this home. Papa Archeron is just gone. Who has he left to protect? I mean, at this point, he just has left his two daughters in this home in the middle of this village where everyone has hated them for years. Farah wouldn't have been able to walk up to the door and just knock. I just hate Papa Archeron so much. Yeah, I think we all do. Also, hold on, I have to sit up because it's so good. It's so good. Is Phayrah wearing a cloak when she walks up to the door? And she is covered. Is she? I didn't look up specifically to see if it's wearing a cloak. Yes! She's wearing a cloak. I've been so excited to say this to you for like days and days and days. And it's concealing her identity. Like we've already talked about how the importance of cloaks and identity they yes. Well played. I've been so excited. It's been so hard to not say this to you for like over a week. It's been so hard. Think about it. Um, what else do you have to say about

Character Development

28:50

home? My biggest chunk was about the character development that we see in this chapter chunk. Mine was too. So let's dive in. Do you want to start or do you want me to start? Why don't you start, pick a character, and we can start doing this. I'm gonna go with Farah. Sure. Page 236, Moore and Farah. Moore is sprawled across Farah's bed. Farah wonders what it would be like to go out with all the crew and see Valeris. Moore is just sprawled across her bed. This is like me being in your house while you're getting ready and just like, what are you wearing tonight? Do you even have a bra on yet? They're becoming besties. I love this character development. What what can you tell me about more and Fayra that I have not said yet? We find out in this chapter chunk that when her power came into play, she was auctioned off, essentially, to the highest bidder. Prized mare. Yes, to be bought in the Hewn City. And this we learn later that she loses her V card. Because I don't think you can say what on YouTube. I know what that means. To Cassian as a way to ruin herself. And she goes through something very traumatic, and that's where we get our cold open of there are good days and hard days for me even now. Don't let the hard days win. But what we see is she's excited to be friends with Fay Ret. She actively tries to not let the hard days win. We always see this. And with with SJM is very particular about her verbiage. We've said this for months now. It's not don't let the bad days win. It's don't let the hard days win. When you are going through depression, it's not bad, it's hard. When you're moving from something that's traumatic, it's not a bad day, it's a hard day. And she is actively trying every day to say, I choose to have a good day. I am excited that there's another female here. I'm excited. I wonder if, with her power of the truth, if she knows Phayra is Reese's mate, before he tells her. And that is why she is so excited to see Phayra because she knows she's gonna be family. Remember in the last episode where Moore dressed up for Fayra? Yeah. And they were like, Why did you dress up? And she's like, I wanted to impress Feyrah. Guys, stop, leave me alone. Like, but but it wasn't, it wasn't like, stop, leave me alone. I wanted to impress. She was like, I wanted to impress Feyrah. What are you guys doing? Like she was bold about it. What also happens with Phaira and Moore, and this is one of the things I see throughout this chapter chunk, is the vulnerability of the inner circle to Phaera. Oh it is very, it is a very vulnerable place to say you one of your most traumatic things to a virtual stranger, but but more is already bringing Phaera in. They've all done it though. Like Cassian and Rhysand and Azreel, all of their stories. And they've all just been like, this is the really terrible thing that happened to me when I was a kid, and I still have problems with it today. So guess what? You can have your problems, Farah. But also, so we have this Moore and Faira interaction. Two pages later, on page 241, Azriel and Fayra have this very small moment where she says, I don't know where I fit in. And he says, I've been alive five and a half centuries, and I'm not sure where I fit in either. It's such a vulnerable moment that this man who's saying this, he's part of the inner circle. He is one of Reese's generals, he is the spy master, he knows where he fits in. He's an Illyrian warrior, he is brothers to Cassian and Reese, but he still has his insecurities. He still has to do the things that no one else will do. He's the torturer of Reese and Court. He's the spy master. This is the hard me that you get to see on the outside. Very few people get to meet like the little melty chocolatey inside of that. But they trust Fayra so quickly. They have to. Well, and with Amron, even she's not in this this chapter chunk very much, but we see her reveal to Phayra this is how much I trusted you, that I gave you power. And what we learn about Amran in the next few books, she is not someone who will waste her time on anyone. And the fact that she comes in and makes a point of saying, Yeah, that amulet has no power, sh what she is also saying is I will take care of you. That's what I was gonna say. What she says and what she means are two different things. She says what she says. What she means is uh I care about you. And what we see, so this is jumping a little bit ahead. So in this chapter chunk, uh Amran says to Fayra on page 280, you needed something to believe you could get out of the prison again. On 289, this is next week's episode, Reese says to Fayra when she realizes where the music came from, he says, Because you were breaking and I couldn't find another way to save you. I think Amran and Reese are two sides of the same coin. They both want to help their people and save their people, but they they don't know how to do it outside of the ways they are. Also, Amran is not their people. Amran is an entirely different being that only looks like this because she's taken this form. She's not even Faye. So, like Well, that was our opener the other we the other episode, we who were born one thing and were changed into another. Yeah. I dunno I don't even know what to think about Amran. Like, I I hope there's one more book than what we're expecting, and it's about Amran. Yes. I hope we get at least a novella about an Amran. I could see a novella versus a novel. I have one last thing I wanted to talk about on the relationship between Amran and Azriel. And how she says, Oh, I know he spies on me. I would be disappointed if he doesn't. And that Reese does not get mad at him for this because Reese wants the court or the court of dreams is founded on three things to defend, to honor, and to cherish. Azrael is defending his court because he doesn't know what Amran can do. And I just think it's really interesting that someone who's part of the inner circle is still considered spyworthy. And it makes me wonder if Azrael's watching everybody. We never really get a lot of interaction from Amran with anyone besides Reese and Vera. We don't see Amran other than like banter across the table. We don't see her interact a lot with many other people. So like she gets the boyfriend from the summer court. We see them interact quite a bit. That's not the night court though. No, and she does interact quite a bit with Nesta in Silver Flame. Also, Nesta will never part of the night court, but will always be part of the night court. Like it's it's a weird thing with Nesta because like Farah is all in to the night court. Nesta is not. Nesta is here, and Nesta is with Cassian, and she's also gonna try and protect Elaine, but she has never been like, I'm here for the Faye. Like Fay's, you know. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, one of the last things I had about Farah is we've talked about this over and over, and we will keep talking about it, is the way that she sees herself as a wolf. On page 245, she thinks to herself that they let the wolf in because she's now a Fey, she's very dangerous. Oh, like the wolf. And is that because this all started with Andris as a wolf? But I think when Valaris is attacked, she creates water wolves. I think we'll have to pay attention, but she really has embraced this as her as the thing that represents her. And you can think of it in a couple ways, right? Like the lone wolf, she is always separate from her family, she is she's the different one in the inner circle, she is separate from everything, but also part of the pack. She becomes part of that inner circle. Wolves are thought of as being feral and wild, but they are also fierce protectors. And if there's one thing Phayra is, is she is a protector. I also, if you think about it, how many times Nesta doesn't necessarily associate with cats, but she is portrayed as a cat. Like, how many times in this chapter chunk did they talk about Nesta hissing? It's like a wild cat and a wild dog, but like both wild. I said it similarly, where if Farah is the wolf, I want to see what animal Nesta likens herself. I don't remember it being in silver flames, but I want to pay attention because she is a caged animal with teeth and claws, and she has is very much able to use them. One more thing about Farah, she is unable to light a candle, but she figures out how to winnow to chase Reese because Reese decides to play with her and pisses her off, like he is wont to do, and she can figure out how to winnow, but she still can't light a candle after hours and hours and hours. That's Fayra in a nutshell with her magic. Whenever she's in the spring court, she her anger is when she's able to focus and hone and she leaves the scorched prints, her hands turn into talons, she can do it. She breaks doors, she doesn't have control over it. It's it's very similar to Tamlin, where she is just lashing out. But I think it is interesting that we get to see her winnow, and he is so excited. He's like she's in wonder, but he's excited. He's always excited when she uses her powers. So happy for her, not like, oh my god, everybody stand around. Nobody can see this. We don't want somebody else to see this, protect her. He's like, you blossomed. Can we talk a little bit about the relationship between Reese and Fayra? Yeah. Because Reese does some very red flag things. He uh makes her go into the weaver's house to get his ring. We he uses her kind of manipulative. Right, it's it kind of he teaches her to read, not uh for the joy of it, but so that she can read the Book of Breathings, and he leaves her alone as bait. As bait, and we forgive him for this. Is that because he's the hero? He's our MMC. We would not have forgiven Tamlin. We don't forgive Tamlin when he we know that he's using her as a spy. Or are we able to forgive him because these are the actions of a leader who is trying to protect his city, who's trying to protect his people, and he has said from the beginning, I will do anything for my people. I think the difference is Tamlin's actions are looking out for Tamlin. Reese's actions are looking out for everyone except for Reese. Sure. Okay. I think also Reese knows when push comes to shove. Faera has proven herself over and over again, she can use these powers. She will lash, I mean, she might destroy the whole forest, but she will come out the victor. She will destroy the weaver's house getting out. Reese might have used her as bait, but he is also the person who's been like, I am gonna help you learn how to do all these things so you are not vulnerable. The difference between Reeseand and Tamlin, Tamlin would not train Ferah. Re-Sand is actually saying, Become stronger. Let me help you figure out how to navigate this world of magic. And so you we're put in this situation where we have to judge Reeseand versus Tamlin, but we shouldn't have to judge them because even though he did do this morally possibly questionable thing, he's also said, Hey, I've done my best to prepare you for this. Whereas Tamlin has been like dampening Farah's powers, he's forbidding her to learn. So there's a huge difference between Reese San and Tamlin in that way. And like you have said repeatedly, they have a bond that Reese can feel everything. He knows the minute the Ator touches her and is there in an instant, and the power of night, like his night powers, are holding the Ator down. Like this is what changes her from being a pawn to being a player, is she realizes she can't just sit this out. But I think this is also where we see her not forgive Reese, but see him in a different light. I think she's now seeing him as high lord and willing to do. Not great things for the sake of his people and for the sake of Prithian. Because they learned so much from that Ator when Azreel interrogates him. This is also like a critical plot choice by SJM because Ferray is bait. I'm pretty sure in the future, as do multiple other characters in SJM's universe. So what we see is somebody teaching someone to be stronger, knowing that in the future you may have to be bait. So we have to make you strong so you can be the important person, whether that means defending everyone, whether that means fighting, whether that means being bait, whether it means going on recon missions, all of these things. And at some point in time, somebody's gonna come after you. And it could be planned, it might not be planned. And I think that's kind of like what you were saying. Yeah, I mean, I think this chapter chunk is where we see Fayra change. She starts putting herself out there as the one who she's gonna, she's the only one who can go and get the Book of Breathings from the uh summer court. We see later on, I think it's in book three, when Elaine is kidnapped, she's the one who goes into the camp and saves her sister. It's she has changed, and I think it's because she sees what Reese's doing, and she sees the bigger picture. It's not just about her, it's about everybody else. It's kind of like she didn't get a choice in being the provider for her family. She didn't get a choice in being turned into Fae, and she doesn't get a choice about becoming a target of Amarantha or Highburn or anyone else. You don't get a choice. You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna make you prepared for the fact that you don't have these choices, and we are gonna make you as strong as we can make you, like coming from Reesean's perspective, that you don't have a choice. I'm sorry, this is the luck of the draw. This is where you're at. You're gonna have to be stronger. So I'm gonna help you get there. Uh, I have one last topic that I'm glad we saved it for last because this is the best one in my book. Can we talk about the character development between Cassian and Nesta in this chapter chunk? It's really great. It's so good. You cannot question if it's going to uh like you can't question how they got together. I I just like want to side quest this so hard because there's a thousand things I want to say, but I will for this episode say right from the get-go, when you first hear of the first interaction between Cassie and Anesta to the last interaction between Cassie and Anesta, it is always him poking her and her being literally like a cat and just like hissing at him, and it's so apparent that he is just him, Cassian's elf, ha ha ha ha ha. But also, he's a little bit not, but he's different with her than she than he is with anyone else we see him. It's so obvious how much there is like him poking her and poking her and poking her and poking her. It's so blatant. And I think, as much as I hate to say it, I think you can see those smaller breadcrumbs for Azrael and Elaine. I know, but like, does it end up getting there? Like, I just hopefully find out in October. It's something I didn't want to bring up here because I'm like, I still can't make sense of it, but there is definitely like this one part where there's something that happened that obviously the author wrote to make the reader think, is there a connection here? But then, like, it just we we don't ever see it happen. Is this long game? I hope it's not because we well, we don't all know. You know who I want Azreel to end up with, but I don't know, maybe something happens in another book that changes my mind. We'll see. I've said what I said, and I still stand by what I say. Uh, I think that's all

Mentionables

48:47

I have. Do you want to go for mentionables? Sure. Elaine has her ring, which is a diamond and pearl ring with an iron band. We have the Illyrians being described as being born hearing the song of the wind, as opposed to what Reese says on page 275, that shadow singers speak the language of shadow and wind and stone. I just think it's interesting that they both have wind. We have their father is in Neva or Neva, so we're getting a little bit more of the mental map of the continent. And on 275, the Attor says that I received word from the king that's where you were. I don't know how he knew. I got the order and flew to the wall as fast as I could. How does Hybern know where Reese and Fera are? Is it because of the cauldron? Is there a spy in the night court? What is happening? Um Dude, can I just interrupt you real quick? Yeah. I have been thinking about that so much since I looked over our Google Doc. And I have been like, how does he know? How did he know? Why was the Attor there? How did the Attor know what he knew? How did he know to pounce on Fayra? It's not even in the Fey lands, it's in the human lands. Is there a human spy? I just I I don't have an answer, I don't have a solution. I just wanted to emphasize how much I agreed with this point with you that, like, where, how, why, who? And how does he find out that Fayra's by herself? This is the only time she's alone. On the same page, 275, Truth Teller is described a little bit more with Illyrian runes stamped on it. Where did Truth Teller come from? Who did the stamping? I want to know more. And then finally on 279, Amran describes New Lynn Caradwin as the wraiths who are nothing more than shadow mist and able to walk through stone, which is again kind of similar to Shadow Singers, the language of shadow and wind and stone. He did train them. Mm-hmm. My mentionables are a foreshadowing where Fayra talks about the food being ash in her mouth. You mentioned this one, two, three episodes ago. But I what I didn't remember is Re-Sand trying to make peace by offering to Nesta, you should come to Prithian, and at some point you'll see why and how our food tastes different. He actually tried to make it like peaceful and tried to smooth it over. Um, Illyrians are Faye. I've been wondering this for like years. And I've read it at least four times now. But it goes against what he said to what Cassian said to Fayra on page 166, right? Where she says, so you three aren't high fee? My book just opened up automatically to 166. And he says, Illyrians are certainly not high fe and glad of it, and we're not lesser fairies, though some try to call it just Illyrians. Considered expendable aerial cavalry for the night court at the best of times, mindless soldier grunts at the worst. Yeah. It is crazy that my book just opened right up to that. But like I what the well, it makes sense, I guess, why I was so confused because it's a little contradictory. Yeah. Okay. Continued PTSD on page 260. We have more Amarantha references. Also, can we just talk about how? I had to take a deep breath because it's so hot. How Azrael just disappears with the Attor and he's just like can he winnow? Can he not winnow? Apparently, I don't think he's supposed to be able to winnow. So I always thought he was able to like melt into shadows as a shadow singer. So does he take the Attor with him into the like shadow pocket realm or something? I guess, but Reese winnows them somewhere else. So I like because they like there's multiple times, even in future books, like when they're flying over to the highburn area and previously how we just got into the human lands. Like the king, he can't just winnow everyone in. So like, right, where is Azreel going? It's kind of hot. Um I love him. Who does not? Oh, there was something on two okay. Farah declares her independence, page 277. I am no one's pet. This reminds me of I will not yield. Like all of our gals get a saying, a mantra that they can just focus on. And I feel like this is starting to be hers. Mm-hmm. I do have a comparison between Akatar and Akamath on page 253. Nesta was waiting at the head of the table, a queen ready to hold court. Ironic that they are talking about having the queens come visit, but also in Akatar on page 222, it was impressive, truly impressive to see Nesta go ramrod straight to square her shoulders and look down her nose at the young acolyte, a queen without a throne. Nesta is always described as regal and a queen and above everything else. Maybe that's why she's so different from Elaine and Farrah. She is above it all. It's also like very apparent when she is the one that brings everyone to dinner, allows everyone to start eating, and calls dinner to a finish and walks away and leaves. She is literally the head of the household of the new Archeron um household. Absolutely. Well, I think that finishes up

Outro

55:25

everything I have to say for this episode. Do you have anything? I don't think I have anything else. Next week we're gonna do chapters 29 through 34, and we get to see a little bit more of Valeris and we get introduced to the summer court. Uh, Rev, do you have time to maybe go for some margaritas? Do you know what? I definitely was hoping you were gonna ask me to go have margaritas today. Thank you for surprising me. I didn't even expect it. I would love to see you in 15. I'll see you then. All right. Bye. Bye guys.