Opinion Piece: A Court of Mist and Fury (contains spoilers)

May 09, 2016 by Samantha Andrews in Journal

I kept my review of A Court of Mist and Fury spoiler free, but I found that I have a lot of opinions about the book that I wanted share without regard for spoilers. So, to be extra clear, this post has spoilers regarding A Court of Mist and Fury and you should definitely not read any more if you care about that! You have been warned!

When I finished A Court of Thorns and Roses I instantly knew there was going to be a love triangle and that angered me. I ranted to anyone who would listen that Feyre just had to stay with Tamlin. My argument was that Feyre destroyed herself and murdered two innocent people all in the name of love for Tamlin – she could not be so shallow as to fall in love with Rhys.

It wasn’t until I read A Court of Mist and Fury that I realized how blind I was to the fact that Tamlin never really cared for Feyre. Or maybe he cared ‘too much’. In the very first pages of the book, we read how Feyre is vomiting nightly from the nightmares. She’s absolutely terrified of feeling caged in and has lost her love for painting. You would think the man you murdered for would be sympathetic, or understanding, or your shoulder to cry on if you need it. Was Tamlin? No! He wasn’t any of that! He slept through all of it. Feyre ended up losing weight, getting bags under her eyes, and losing her color all because of what happened – and does he show any ounce of concern or worry? No! He tries to busy her with parties she has no interest in, cages her inside the home so she can’t go out or do anything without guards constantly around, and my favorite, lest I forget: he tries to solve everything with sex!

Sex will solve nothing, you brute! Maybe Tamlin does love Feyre, but there is such a thing as loving too much and that’s when smothering and controlling behavior comes into play. Tamlin was constantly telling Feyre ‘no’. The one time Feyre mentions how she’s feeling, he loses his temper so badly that everything in the library explodes. Okay, crazy, calm down!

There was no communication between them. I’ve been married for 11 years now and I’ll tell any couple out there that the most important thing is communication. Feyre couldn’t communicate her feelings to Tamlin without him exploding or ignoring it. As a result, he didn’t even know Feyre couldn’t stand the thought of painting anymore, as evidenced by him always pressuring her to start painting and even buying her all new paints and brushes. She doesn’t want to paint, dude!

Chapter 12 was where I said screw you, Tamlin, I am so not rooting for you. It was the point at which I decided Tamlin could go crawl in a hole and never come out. Feyre is begging, literally begging (made me cringe she was begging so much), for Tamlin to take her with him when he decides to leave with Lucien. Not only does he say no, as usual, but he puts a shield up forcing her to be caged inside! Her worst nightmare just came true because of him. The man who is suppose to love this woman and he caused her worst nightmare. Completely, and forever, unforgivable.

With further reading of A Court and Mist and Fury it dawned on me what a coward Tamlin was in A Court of Thorns and Roses. Lucien and Rhysand risked their lives to help Feyre during the time under the mountain. What did Tamlin do? What he is good at. Nothing! No, I’m sorry, that’s incorrect: the one time he does see Feyre while under the mountain, he uses that time to have sex with her, because that’s his answer for everything.

All of that is just my problem with Tamlin and Feyre. There is other evidence of Tamlin’s cowardice like him giving up the whereabouts of Rhysand’s mother and sister which lead to their death. Tamlin snitched after Rhysand befriended him and trained him with Illyrian secrets. Way to make friends, Tamlin. He infuriated me, disappointed me, and now I do not, and will not ever, like him – even if he saved a drowning dog. My conclusion is Tamlin was always a jerk. I was blinded by the fairy tale just as much as Feyre was. Rhysand said it best, “The issue isn’t whether he loved you, it’s how much. Too much. Love can be a poison.”