ACOTAR: Revisited Part 1

Summary

Flights of Fantasy Podcast: Episode Summary

Episode Title: ACOTAR: Revisited Part 1
Release Date: May 20, 2025
Hosts: Anna, Kim, and Kristina

---

Introduction

In the inaugural episode of their "ACOTAR: Revisited" series, the Flights of Fantasy hosts—Anna, Kim, and Kristina—delve deep into Sarah J. Maas's beloved fantasy romance series, A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR). Expressing their enthusiasm and setting the stage for an in-depth exploration, Anna begins with a warm welcome:

• Anna [01:52]: "Hi book besties. We are so excited to be here discussing the first book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas. Woo. We are so, so excited."

Patreon Announcements and Shout-Outs

Before diving into ACOTAR, the hosts take a moment to acknowledge their Patreon supporters and encourage listeners to rate and review the podcast. Kristina emphasizes the impact of reviews:

• Kristina [02:46]: "If you haven't had a chance yet, please, please, please take a moment and do so on your preferred podcast platform. It really, really does make a huge difference for the show and for us."

Kim surprises her co-hosts with a heartfelt shout-out to long-time Patreon members, highlighting the community's importance:

• Kim [03:30]: "I just felt like this would be a really sweet time to shout them out. So these are our lifetime Patreon members... Thank you guys so much."

World-Building in ACOTAR

The discussion transitions to the intricate world-building that Maas is renowned for. Anna provides an overview of the realms and the seven courts within Prythian:

• Anna [05:44]: "We have basically two realms in this book—the human realm, the mortal realm, and the fae realm. The majority of our time is spent in Prythian. There are seven courts: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Day, Night, and Dawn."

Kim adds a humorous comparison to emphasize the perpetual spring setting:

• Kim [09:15]: "The spring court reminds me of the date April 25... It's just truly."

The hosts also touch upon the book's magic system, curses, and the pervasive blight affecting Prythian:

• Anna [07:23]: "There are three things that we're referencing throughout the episode... the treaty, the curse, and the blight."

Character Analysis: Feyre Archeron

Central to the episode is a deep dive into Feyre Archeron's character. The hosts examine her role as the family's sole provider, her trauma, and her resilience. Anna highlights Feyre's relentless responsibility:

• Anna [14:01]: "The majority of our time is spent in Prythian... Her hunting has been essential for five years."

Kristina and Kim discuss the emotional toll on Feyre, juxtaposing her life with that of Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games:

• Kristina [14:18]: "This is way worse than Katniss had it."

They also explore Feyre's internal struggle upon being taken to the Spring Court, balancing her duty to her family with newfound safety:

• Christina [36:30]: "She's convinced they're going to starve without her."

Sisters Nesta and Elain: Initial Impressions and Future Arcs

The conversation shifts to Feyre's sisters, Nesta and Elain, who are initially portrayed as ungrateful and indifferent. The hosts express their frustration with Nesta's harshness towards Feyre:

• Kim [21:16]: "She is so mean."

However, recognizing Sarah J. Maas's penchant for character development, they anticipate growth and redemption arcs:

• Christina [19:04]: "She is clearly doing something... that shapes them into who we are going to have their journeys with."

Anna emphasizes the complexity of Nelain's character evolution:

• Anna [18:07]: "It says Feyre's point of view, obviously. And she says it wasn't that Elain was cruel. She wasn't like Nesta."

Comparisons to "Beauty and the Beast"

A significant portion of the episode draws parallels between ACOTAR and the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. The hosts outline similarities between Feyre and Belle, Tamlin and the Beast, and other elements:

• Anna [30:23]: "Feyre is obviously our Belle. Feyre is self-sacrificing... just like Belle."

They discuss themes of sacrifice, transformation, and the facade hiding true identities:

• Christina [33:04]: "These small, sweet, tender moments... echo the fairy tale. Like when he gives Feyre the paints and a place to create."

Plot Highlights: Feyre's Capture and Arrival at the Spring Court

The hosts recap pivotal plot moments, including Feyre's confrontation with the wolf (a disguised Fae) and her subsequent abduction by Tamlin:

• Anna [28:03]: "He is pissed. And he's here to collect on the life that Feyre took."

They reflect on Feyre's difficult decision to leave her family behind and the ensuing emotional complexities:

• Kim [29:16]: "It's crazy. She's dead to me. Like, that's gross."

Themes: Earning vs. Being, Safety, and Emotional Healing

A recurring theme in the discussion is Feyre's journey to find her worth beyond her role as the family's provider. The hosts explore how her time in the Spring Court challenges her sense of self:

• Kim [39:10]: "This is what the theme is for her throughout the series—finding worth outside of that and finding a way to balance how she can be of service, but also find that rest and safety."

Anna adds insight into Tamlin's role in providing physical safety but lacking emotional support:

• Anna [39:35]: "Tamlin provides a physical safety net, but he's not giving her the emotional work to help her heal any of her wounds and trauma."

Conclusion and Teasers for Upcoming Episodes

Wrapping up, the hosts summarize their insights and tease upcoming discussions, including a deeper look into Tamlin, Lucien, and other fan-favorite segments:

• Anna [40:41]: "We're going to wrap up this week's episode. Stay tuned for next week where we're going to chat about Tamlin and Lucien and our favorite Gossip Girl, the cereal, and our favorite segment, our Mastermind Easter egg segment."

They encourage listeners to engage with the podcast community on social media and support through ratings and reviews:

• Kim [41:05]: "Don't forget to join our book club community on Instagram and TikTok at Flights of Fantasy Podcast... If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform."

Notable Quotes

• Anna [21:19]: "She says, 'You stink like a pig covered in its own filth. Can't you at least try to pretend that you are not an ignorant person peasant.'"
• Kim [38:43]: "This is the closest thing she's ever experienced."
• Christina [31:07]: "Feyre is self Sacrificing. Who gives up her freedom to protect her family. Just like Belle does."

Final Thoughts

"ACOTAR: Revisited Part 1" offers a comprehensive and passionate exploration of A Court of Thorns and Roses, blending character analysis, thematic discussions, and literary comparisons. The hosts' camaraderie and deep knowledge of the series provide both new listeners and longtime fans with valuable insights and engaging commentary.

---

Stay Connected:
Join the Flights of Fantasy community on Instagram and TikTok to share your thoughts, theories, and favorite moments.

Support the Podcast:
Rate and review on your preferred podcast platform to help spread the magic of Romantasy to more book lovers.

Keep Dreaming, Keep Reading!

Transcript

[Ritual Ad]

You can't rely on blind faith to get the pregnancy support you deserve. Ritual's Essential Prenatal Multivitamin is the only leading prenatal backed by its own human clinical trial. Essential Prenatal is proven to deliver key nutrients including folate, biotin and vitamin D during pregnancy. Get 25% off when you visit ritual.com clinical these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Did you know that many products for pregnant women do not have their own clinical trials for safety or efficacy? That's because pregnant women are often excluded from clinical studies. Ritual is aiming to set a new standard with their Essential Prenatal Multivitamin. It's the number one best selling prenatal and the only leading prenatal backed by its own human clinical trial. Essential Prenatal is proven to deliver key nutrients including folate, biotin and vitamin D during pregnancy. Moms taking Essential Prenatal had a lower overall cortisol level during pregnancy than those taking a leading prenatal. Plus, it's designed to be gentle on the stomach. Ritual doesn't just have your back, they have the receipts. Get 25% [e-mail] clinical these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

[Anna]

Welcome.

[Christina]

To Flights of Fantasy, your Romantasy Podcast Book club. I'm Christina, joined by my book besties Kim and Anna, and together we're diving into the characters, theories, lore and magic behind all your favorite fantasy romance books.

[Anna]

Hi book besties. We are so excited to be here discussing the first book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas. Woo. We are so, so excited. If you can't tell. Yeah, and in case you missed it, we did release a super short episode a few weeks ago called welcome to ACOTAR Revisited where we tell you exactly what you can expect going forward as we tackle this series. But if you need a quick little refresher on how this will go if each ACOTAR book will be broken up into multiple episodes so that we can really take our time and work our way through this incredible story and bring you the deep dives you've come to know and love, there will be no spoilers for Sarah's other series. Now with that being said, and because we have read this series multiple times, we will be going into these Acotar episodes with the knowledge of the entire series. But before we give Our spoiler warning. Christina, do you have some Patreon announcements for us?

[Christina]

Yes, I sure do. Also, we want to give a big thank you to everyone who has already rated and reviewed the show. If you haven't had a chance yet, please, please, please take a moment and do so on your preferred podcast platform. It really, really does make a huge difference for the show and for us, and we are just so appreciative. And then, oh, Patreon guys, we are so freaking excited about what we have going on over on Patreon. As always, Tier 1 has access to all of our episodes a day early ad free, and access to all of our new and upcoming video book chats, as well as back catalog reviews. So much more. And in tier two, coming up in our SJM series, where we deep dive characters, couples, and scenes from all of Sarah J. Maas series. Oh, my Lordy. Who else are we talking about? Kim, let's talk about some patrons.

[Kim]

Oh, my gosh. Okay, so I am surprising Christine and Anna. They don't know what I'm doing, but I know. In honor of starting this ACOTAR Revisited journey, I wanted to give a shout out to our Patreon members who have been with us since. Since we started our Patreon in July of 2023. There are some people who have literally signed up the day we launched our Patreon and have never stopped supporting us. And I just felt like this would be a really sweet time to shout them out. So these are our lifetime Patreon members. Aw.

[Anna]

I know. That's. I know.

[Christina]

That's so sweet.

[Kim]

It's really sweet. So I want to shout out Allison Mortons, Andrea Caller, Emily Batesel, Erica Cattrall, Erica D, Caitlin Kramer, Reeves, Kim Young, Kristen, Krista Vertaine, Leslie Irwin, Melody Roe Rigg, Natalie Brunilovich, and Susie Glenn. Thank you guys so much. That's so sweet. I know.

[Anna]

Isn't that we recognize those names, you guys.

[Christina]

I know.

[Kim]

I feel like they're our friends in real life.

[Christina]

I love this.

[Kim]

Yeah. I just wanted to do that because seriously, we say it all the time and we say that all the time, but there is no way we would be able to continue doing the podcast without our patrons.

[Anna]

Yeah, seriously.

[Kim]

And you guys genuinely make it possible to keep doing this for as long as we have. So it's a lot of work, you.

[Anna]

Guys, and, like, it truly, truly helps us and makes it. It does not just, like, worth the while because we have so much fun doing it anyway, but it just truly means the world to us. That, like, we have people who want to hear what we have to say about books. Like, that's crazy.

[Kim]

It's crazy.

[Anna]

But we just love talking to you all, too. Like, it's really special to us.

[Christina]

It is.

[Kim]

Okay, listeners, consider this your spoiler warning for every book in the Acotar series. And we are going to start, as we always do, with some world building with Meta.

[Anna]

This is, like, such a weird world building because I know if you're here at this point, you've had your spoiler warning, but, like, this covers all the series, and normally when we do a world building, it's a new book. And, like, we're being introduced to the creatures and the magic system. And I'm like, y' all, what do I need to teach you? Like, you're putting. This is putting me out of a job. Like, you probably already know everything. So with that being said, we're going to keep it kind of brief and short because, yeah, you guys probably are like, yeah, yeah, we know, Anna. Like, we get it. It's creepy and there's seven courts.

[Kim]

Yeah, we get it.

[Anna]

So, okay. But in case you need a little refresher, we have basically two realms in this book. The human realm, the mortal realm, and the fae realm. So the mortal realm. We spend hardly any time on that side of the wall in this book. But, like, the little bit that we do get is from Feyre's point of view, and it kind of sucks. It just seems dreary. I mean, granted, we do know that, like, when she goes back, it seems a little bit more lovely, but it feels like there is a stark contrast between the levels of society in this world. The majority of our time is spent in Prythian. There are seven courts. We have spring, summer, autumn, winter, day, night, and dawn. But of course, because most of this book takes place in the Spring Court, that's really what we get to know until we move on to the next books. It's lush, it's vibrant, It's a beautiful 75 degrees. Some might call it the perfect spring day eternally.

[Kim]

That literally makes me think of Miss Congeniality when he's like, what's your perfect date? She's like, I'd have to say April 25, because it's not too hot and it's not too cold. All you need is a light jacket.

[Christina]

A light jacket.

[Anna]

I love that movie. So. Oh, God, I need to go rewatch it. I love that movie so much.

[Kim]

So good.

[Christina]

God, what a good callback.

[Kim]

And the Spring Court reminds me of the date April 25. Like, it's just. Truly.

[Anna]

It's always April 25.

[Kim]

Yes. Love it.

[Christina]

It's always April 25. That's what the tagline is.

[Kim]

It just sounds lovely. I mean, minus.

[Anna]

It does.

[Kim]

You know, the blight and.

[Anna]

I mean, minus. Like, right now with the blight and the curse. But, like.

[Kim]

Yeah, that's not, like, ideal.

[Christina]

Right. But like, you, you know, visiting, wise. Lovely. Great place to vacate.

[Kim]

Sign me up.

[Anna]

Love it.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

Have a little high tea in the garden.

[Kim]

Well, high tea with some flowers.

[Anna]

Exactly. Okay. So speaking of things we need to know.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Anna]

There are three things that we're referencing throughout the episode. I'm just going to rattle them off. We have the treaty. So after the war between humans and Fae, a magical treaty was created. If a human kills a Fae, they owe a life. Hence why Feyre is whisked away by Tamlin to the Supreme Court. Now, it is important to note, though, that we talk a lot about this treat. But then at the end of the book, we find out that the treaty is not actually real. So.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Which, you know, I forget sometimes.

[Kim]

Me too.

[Anna]

Honestly, the amount of times I've read this book. And we get to that part at the end of the book and I go, oh.

[Christina]

Oh, that's right.

[Kim]

Okay.

[Christina]

Oh, that's right. Yeah.

[Anna]

Yeah. Twas a lie.

[Kim]

Twas all a lie.

[Anna]

But it's how Tamlin's able to get her to come to the Spring Court.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Anna]

Feyre believes it's real. So we also have the curse, which mostly affects the fairies in the Spring Court. It's the. After the masquerade, they all have the masks on, Which I, like, always forget. I don't know why I forget this, but I do.

[Christina]

Well, she doesn't talk about it every scene, so you kind of like, it blends in.

[Kim]

Yeah, you forget. Right?

[Christina]

Except for some reason, because Lucian has the Go Gadget Eye. I remember Lucian being in a mask way more than Tamlin. Yeah, he's glamoured her not to see everyone else there. So it's not like she's seeing people in masks all the time. Like, she can't see all the people.

[Kim]

It's literally just Tamlin and Lucian.

[Christina]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Anna]

That's so true. That's true. All right, so we have the curse, which, like we said, has all the fairies in the mask and the Spring Court. And Amarantha has given him 49 years to break it. Of course, the key to breaking that is a human. A little old human. It's always a human.

[Kim]

Always.

[Anna]

There's also the blight. Not to be confused with the curse, although very similar.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

So they're all by Amarantha's doing. The blight is like, mostly described in this book as like, a vague magical sickness that's affecting all of Prythian and like, their magic. And that's why the scarier creatures are able to like, get into the Spring Court. Because Tamlin's magic isn't working at full capacity because of this blight. Again, all because of Amarantha. And we'll get more to that under the Mountain in part three.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

So quickly moving on. The last thing I just want to discuss is the magic system. And like all the creatures that we have in this world. Yes, we have humans, High Fae, Lesser Fae, all the little creepy creatures that we get to know. Suriel, Bog, Puka, Naga, Attar, etc. And we'll. As we come across those, we'll talk about them some more in terms of like, actual magic. There isn't a lot to break down in this book just yet because Feyre is in the dark throughout most of it. Yeah, I mean, we experience Callan May and the Great Rite. That's like a big magical moment we have. Obviously we know that the High Lords have great power. That's what Feyre is told. And although nobody's as powerful as our High Lord and Savior, no one's as.

[Kim]

Powerful as the High Lord of the Night Court. But it's fine.

[Christina]

They wish they do.

[Anna]

But most of the magic that we encounter in this book, specifically until the very end, is like typical face shit. You've got the healing, the winnowing, run of the bill, glamour, shapeshifting. Yeah, that kind of stuff. Although she doesn't know what winnowing is yet. She's just like, he appeared behind me so stealthily and I'm like, yeah, that's because he winnowed bitch.

[Kim]

That's because he winnowed bitch.

[Anna]

Yeah, get with that program. Okay. Kim, will you take it away? Set the scene.

[Kim]

I would love to set the scene.

[Anna]

Set the scene for the tail.

[Kim]

The tail.

[Anna]

Can't wait till later.

[Kim]

We love to see it. Oh my God, I'm so excited. Okay, so Feyre's family used to be wealthy. Her father was a very successful merchant. But they lost everything when his ship sank and creditors destroyed their home and reputation. Her father was beaten so badly that he never fully recovered physically or emotionally. And Feyre's mother died shortly before they lost everything, leaving Feyre with a deathbed promise to take care of the family. Now I want to note at this time the father was still a successful merchant. Was still in good physical health. So we're led to believe he had not been beaten yet. So she looked around the room room on her deathbed and said, not my husband. Not the father of my children. Not my two older daughters. The baby of the family.

[Anna]

It's the deathbed promise.

[Kim]

Guys, I have so many issues with this.

[Anna]

You know who can handle this? The eight year old child.

[Kim]

The eight year old.

[Christina]

All of you go away. Bring me Feyre. Bring me the child.

[Anna]

She's playing with her blocks. Madam.

[Christina]

Doesn't matter.

[Anna]

Leave the blocks.

[Kim]

Leave the blocks. Come to me.

[Christina]

She must feed the family now. I'm so confused. The fact that he was at his peak when this decision happened is what is so deeply confusing to me. Again, I do think this leads to. This is an interesting receipt in a lot of people's theory that the Archerons come from Fae or some sort of magical bloodline. Why would she ask Feyre?

[Kim]

Right.

[Christina]

I also do want to call back to our previous Acotar episodes in season two where we discuss this. And Kim goes on a really fun tangent where at some point she's like, friends, do not marry someone that you know cannot take care of your kids. Don't have kids with that person. If you die and you think that that person can't take care of your children. Don't have children with.

[Kim]

And I stand by that. And I stand by it, guys. Oh man. If you don't trust somebody to take care of your children after your death.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Just don't have children with them.

[Christina]

Yep. 100.

[Kim]

Simple as that. Like, guys, she's eight years old.

[Anna]

She's eight years old, y' all. That's how old my twins are. They're seven and a half. Same thing.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Anna]

That's like me turning. I would never turn to Elliot and say this because Elliot, bless his heart.

[Kim]

You wouldn't even ask Nora to do it.

[Anna]

Who is literally probably more of a grown up than I am at times.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Anna]

She is my old soul. If I turn to her, I cannot imagine turning to her and being like, Nora, it's time to pick up the bow and arrow. Mummy is dying and you must save the family.

[Kim]

Ben's like, and I'm. I'm here.

[Anna]

Ben is like, I can't. My hands are tied. I don't know how to do this.

[Kim]

And everyone's like, so not Ben then? No, no. Nora.

[Anna]

Nora.

[Christina]

I see how you would think that. But no, no. Not him. Not Nesta. Not Elaine.

[Kim]

Not Elaine also so messed up.

[Anna]

Like the fact that Feyre's like, k Mommy's dead. I must take care of the family now.

[Kim]

I guarantee you, she didn't even know what that meant.

[Christina]

No, well, she definitely didn't. Because at that time, they were successful and had money.

[Kim]

Right?

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

It was like, oh, sure, you want me to take care of everyone. That is a concept that makes no sense to me because we are rich. And like, what do you mean?

[Anna]

Yeah, what do you mean?

[Christina]

Like, what do you mean, though? And then do you think that little Feyre had this moment where then everything happened with her dad? The ship sank and then like, her dad got beaten and she was like, oh, yeah. Oh, I rem. So that's. Now it's my job, huh? You know what I mean?

[Kim]

Totally.

[Christina]

You know, at such a small age.

[Kim]

But that goes back to what you said, Christina. Like her. There has to be something more. I mean, maybe not, actually. We're so. We're so far into the series.

[Anna]

We're so far into this series. If all of a sudden Feyre's mother became a Fae, I'd be like, for why? But except for this reason.

[Christina]

I don't know. I like it.

[Kim]

I mean, it would make sense. Because otherwise, it just doesn't make sense that she would ask this of Feyre when everything was still fine.

[Christina]

Well, and Elaine becomes a Seer.

[Anna]

I don't know.

[Christina]

I think we're going to clock this as we go through the series. When there are clues for this, we will call them out and we will follow it as we go.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Okay. So where our story picks up. They live in a crumbling cottage on the edge of the woods near the wall that separates the human realm from Prythian. Feyre, at just 19, is the sole provider for her family. She hunts every single day to feed her sisters, Nesta and Elaine and their father. No one else helps?

[Christina]

Nope.

[Kim]

No one else even tries. Survival is entirely on Feyre's shoulders.

[Christina]

This is way worse than Katniss had it.

[Anna]

You know what it is?

[Christina]

It is truly Feyre wishes she had Katniss. The situation.

[Kim]

Yeah, it probably seems like a cush job compared to what she has to deal with. Like her sisters and dad are just sitting around.

[Christina]

Prim at least said thank you. Prim was thankful.

[Kim]

Yeah, she was.

[Anna]

She was.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

She was not an ungrateful little bitch.

[Kim]

Yeah. Like Nesta and Elaine. Ungrateful.

[Christina]

Can you imagine Katniss being like, I'm going to sit here while you do that? Prim.

[Anna]

Katniss would never.

[Kim]

She would Never would never. Okay, so that's basically how we enter this story. The first time we see Feyre, she is staring into the eyes of a wolf who we know is actually Andres, a Fae from the Spring Court. He is the sacrifice that Tamlin has to make to try and lure a human into breaking the treaty Anna mentioned earlier.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

It's so interesting. Every time I reread this that I always forget that she does, in that moment, actually think, is this a Fae? She isn't saying, this is a wolf. I have to protect my family. I'm just hunting. She thinks, is this creature a Fae? There's a possibility. So I better use this Ash arrow.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Anna]

She sees intelligence in it because it, like it looks at her. It clocks her.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Anna]

And then she clocks it and it's not going after the deer. And she's like, this is interesting, right? Me thinks. Me thinks.

[Christina]

But also, I should shoot you.

[Kim]

Yeah, also, I'm still going to shoot you.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

Because she has hate in her heart.

[Kim]

But guys, she has to provide for her family.

[Christina]

I don't blame her. And at this point, she is told Fae are terrible. Even if she thinks that the wolf is a Fae, like that doesn't. That shouldn't change. She thinks they're monsters, you know?

[Anna]

Wait a second. True. I'm sorry. I just thought of this. The Twilight.

[Christina]

Jacob. Jacob.

[Kim]

When she shoots the wolf, does it.

[Anna]

Not go back into its human form? So she's just like carrying around.

[Christina]

No, it's still a wolf.

[Kim]

It stays a wolf.

[Anna]

That's so wild.

[Kim]

But the imagery is gross. Like that she's skinning the wolf.

[Christina]

But you're actually skinning like a person.

[Kim]

A male.

[Christina]

Also, no wonder Lucian doesn't like you. He's like, she skinned our friend.

[Kim]

Like she's a psychopath.

[Anna]

Oh, my God. When you paint it like that, it's.

[Kim]

Like, it's not good.

[Anna]

No wonder Lucian sitting at the dinner table being like, I don't know if I want to share a meal with you, fucking bitch.

[Kim]

She's dead to me. Like, that's gross. And Feyre was like, what was I supposed to do? We needed the pelts.

[Christina]

Oh, God.

[Anna]

Sorry. Okay, sorry, sorry. Keep going.

[Kim]

And so we learn that Feyre started hunting to help her family when she was 14 years old. So she has essentially been feeding her family for five years at this point. Guys, when I solo parent for two to three days, I feel as if I run a marathon. I feel as if I've gone to war and back. I want to curl up into a ball and Sleep for days.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Oh, same.

[Kim]

This teenager has been feeding her family.

[Anna]

Adult family.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Yes, actually. Thank you, Anna. Adult family.

[Christina]

Yep.

[Kim]

For five years straight.

[Christina]

Five years. That's exhausting.

[Anna]

No wonder she's tired, y' all.

[Kim]

She's exhausted.

[Christina]

She deserves a sleep in a big bed by herself.

[Anna]

You know, the safety Tamlin provides is looking pretty appealing right now.

[Kim]

You know what? I don't blame her one singular bit.

[Christina]

Me either.

[Kim]

But really, setting this scene is so important to remember going forward into the Spring Court because the exhaustion that we just talked about is directly linked to her leaning into the idea of being cared for. And this feeds in perfectly to what happens with Tamlin. So pin that for later.

[Anna]

Okay. So Feyre does return home with the wolf and the deer. And it becomes abundantly clear pretty quickly just how truly alone Feyre is in caring for her family. And I cannot stress this enough. No matter how many times we read this book, it still shocks us just how absolutely useless Nesta, Elain and Papa Archeron are. And, like, how cruel specifically Nesta is. Which we'll get to in a minute.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Anna]

But there is this quote that Sarah has written about Elaine. Yeah.

[Kim]

So canon.

[Anna]

This is canon. This is not. We didn't make this up. It's in the book.

[Christina]

We didn't write it.

[Anna]

It says Feyre's point of view, obviously. And she says it wasn't that Elain was cruel. She wasn't like Nesta, who had been born with a sneer on her face. Elaine sometimes just didn't grasp things, y' all. I didn't say it. Kim didn't say it. Christina didn't say it.

[Kim]

We didn't say it. Do I agree with it? Yes.

[Christina]

We're reading facts.

[Anna]

There's a reason why we joke about her planting a potato.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Kim]

Because she doesn't grasp that hay instead of flowers, perchance, we might need a potato.

[Anna]

Perchance, perchance a rutabaga. Some sort of vegetable.

[Kim]

Some sort of root vegetable.

[Christina]

We don't need tulips, Elaine. We need a sweet potato. She probably had orchids or something. Yeah.

[Kim]

Oh, my God. She did have orchids.

[Christina]

Watering them with a ice cube.

[Anna]

Y' all know how much I hate an orchid.

[Kim]

I know.

[Christina]

I know.

[Anna]

I hate an orchid.

[Christina]

Yeah. It's hard because, like, this is a fun opportunity for us as we reread this series to try to pick up on clues of, like, where we're going with Elain.

[Anna]

Totally.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

She's clearly doing something.

[Anna]

I mean, look what she did with Nesta.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Yes. And I think that Nesta and Elaine were these kind of caricatures of these personalities before they went into the cauldron. And then that, like, shapes them into, like, who we are going to have their journeys with. I think totally. That doesn't change the fact that as we were introduced to Elayne, these are the facts we know, and this is how she's portrayed. Portrayed to us 100%. And therefore how we move forward, how.

[Anna]

We perceive her, how we perceive her from the get go. That's important. Right? And yes, of course, even as the series progresses, we do start to see Elaine have a little bit more of a backbone. I mean, we'll get there in Akisop, but, like, she's the one who kills the King of Hybern. Okay.

[Christina]

Which is not talked about enough.

[Anna]

It is not.

[Kim]

It's really not.

[Anna]

And I hope we talk a little bit more about that and as to why. The reasons are.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

You know, like, maybe she just literally can't cope with that. I don't know. Maybe she blacked it out.

[Kim]

Maybe trauma.

[Christina]

Trauma.

[Anna]

But, you know, this is where we currently are. She's currently a little russet potato.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

And she'll blossom into a sweet potato.

[Kim]

She will.

[Anna]

More flavor and nutrients and all of that.

[Christina]

And then maybe a turnip. We'll go from there.

[Kim]

We'll go from there. We don't know. Who's to say. Not us.

[Christina]

Not us.

[Kim]

Talk to Sarah.

[Christina]

But it'll be an interesting journey. Also tracking her throughout this reread.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Anna]

Yeah. I'm excited to keep tracking her as we go throughout this book. And I, you know, can't wait. I mean, I always love when Sarah writes these great character arcs. So it's gonna be wonderful.

[Christina]

I mean, you know, we love a female heroine who isn't the chosen one. And I love giving power and magic and a storyline to someone who isn't like the big badass person they are. A more normal person.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

I love that.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And I hope that's where we're going. And so I think that I'm excited.

[Anna]

To look out for those clues in sjm we trust.

[Kim]

Absolutely.

[Christina]

As we say. Okay, let's talk about our other useless sister. So here. It's so hard because we're going into this, of course, with the knowledge of Silver flames. So we feel like we deeply know Nesta and then we start this journey over and it's like, fuck off. Like, truly, truly, fuck off.

[Kim]

She's so mean.

[Christina]

But we do. We know this full arc. We know, like, we're climbing Back up all those steps like it's beautiful. But even with all that context, her behavior is honestly hard to read.

[Anna]

It is.

[Christina]

She not only refuses to help. Refuses to help chop the damn wood. She then has the audacity.

[Kim]

Audacity.

[Christina]

Mock Feyre. Like she's actually cruel to her.

[Kim]

Yeah, she is.

[Christina]

She says, quote, you stink like a pig covered in its own filth. Can't you at least try to pretend that you are not an ignorant person peasant.

[Kim]

Okay, Nesta, that's not nice.

[Anna]

It's so cruel. And like that line, the ignorant line is like. Honestly, it's like a slap to Feyre because obviously that's one of her biggest insecurities. We see it throughout the book and the.

[Christina]

She can't read, you know, and like.

[Kim]

Sorry, it's not funny.

[Christina]

It's not funny, Kimberly.

[Kim]

It's not. But just the way we said it was like she can't read.

[Christina]

She can't read.

[Anna]

Like Rhysand says at the end of the book, the fate of the realm is in the hands of an illiterate 19 year old. Literally. That's what he says.

[Kim]

But you know what? She's been busy, okay? Taking care of her family. There hasn't been time to learn how to read. Meanwhile, Nesta, Elaine are sitting around on their butts all day doing nothing.

[Christina]

Exactly. And I think that's where it really comes down to for me. That Nesta can be so angry and spiteful and have all these feelings of hate toward their father for not helping when she's doing the exact same thing. There's this comment in chapter 30 that she says to Feyre when you know, they're back in the human realm about their father. And she says, I wanted to see if he would ever try to do it himself instead of carving those bits, bits of wood. If he would actually go out and fight for us. I couldn't take care of us. Not the way you did.

[Kim]

But you didn't.

[Christina]

Okay, yes, fine, that's honesty from her. The bars on the ground. But like her saying I just couldn't do it is such an infuriating cop out to me. Like you couldn't even try. You couldn't even try. Like grow up. Messed up. Grow up. And you sat there not fighting and not helping and being mean to your baby sister who is the only. The only person fighting for the family. Yeah, and yes, like her trauma is valid, but does it give her a free pass to be cruel to people? It just doesn't.

[Kim]

Nesta isn't the only one going through this this happened to all of them.

[Christina]

To all of them.

[Anna]

Exactly.

[Kim]

And it's not Feyre's fault that this is happening. And I understand. Hurt people hurt people, but that doesn't make it okay.

[Anna]

It doesn't. Exactly.

[Kim]

I'm not saying I don't understand where she's coming from, but that doesn't make it okay. And we don't just get to give her a pass because she's had trauma. Feyre has gone through the exact same scenario as Nesta, and she's out here doing what she can, and Nesta's just sitting on her ass with biting comments and sneering and being a huge bitch.

[Christina]

So mean to her. And it's like, what would happen without her? Like, realistically, what happened without her? You would all die.

[Anna]

I know Sarah says she maps out books so far in advance, but it's so hard to read this knowing if she knew that she was going to do a SOF and, like, write a redemption arc for Nesta, because it's hard to read. It's hard to like her. And then we do. I mean, we go through it with her, and she might not be, like, our favorite character, but you have to admit that, like, when we get to her story, it is beautifully written. And, like, at least in our opinion, it is. But you read this and you're just like, how did we get from here to there?

[Kim]

Yeah, totally.

[Christina]

It's hard. But I do think, you know, in sjm, we trust. I think it's on purpose for two reasons. One, I think that Feyre needed to need Tamlin. Like, she couldn't have a great family life. She needed to need Tamlin. And the dynamic with Tamlin works because no one's ever taken care of her.

[Anna]

Very true.

[Christina]

And because she holds the weight and the burden of the whole family, but also us feeling this passionately about Nesta and how I feel until, honestly, like, a quarter through Silver Flames.

[Kim]

Oh, yeah.

[Christina]

The whole series pretty much then makes that arc and that journey of silver flames so much more impactful. And, yeah, God tier impressive.

[Kim]

True.

[Christina]

Because we started from the bottom, and now. And now we're here. No, we're at the bottom now. We're at the bottom now. We started here, and we're still here. But we're still here.

[Kim]

We're still here.

[Anna]

And then we get to the top. The top of the mountain.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Anna]

The blood.

[Christina]

Right. Oh, keep reaching out a hand. But it's hard right now because she's a bitch. Also, Enna, what other things did you want to note? Some Other interesting Nesta moments.

[Anna]

Oh, I was just going to say we've come through all these things. But eventually we do find out that even when Tamlin takes Feyre away and uses the glamour on the whole family, it doesn't work on Nesta. She sees through it immediately. Which has got to be terrifying to see her sister ripped away by a beast because he's in his beast form.

[Christina]

Uh huh. I'm going to say Fae bloodline. Watch here. I think this is a. Yeah.

[Kim]

It's never stated how Nesta sees through the glamour.

[Anna]

No. But they talk about it a lot throughout the series. One of the things that like Feyre says is that she's just so stubborn that literally the magic couldn't work on her.

[Christina]

She has such an iron will and it's like okay, fine.

[Kim]

I don't think that's how that works. But.

[Anna]

But she is pretty stubborn. She is.

[Kim]

But like.

[Anna]

But like I think it speaks more to then how the cauldron affects her and her powers. That she has such a will of being able to see through. Bullshit. And then being able to take on these great powers. There is such a storm inside of her that's hard to like overcome. I don't know.

[Christina]

I like that beautiful touch for her character. Something about a human just being able to be stubborn enough to see through Fae magic feels messy to me.

[Kim]

Agreed.

[Christina]

It's like. So she's just stubborn enough that the High Lord's magic doesn't work.

[Kim]

Who is Pamela is very powerful. Not as powerful as Rhysand, but very powerful.

[Anna]

He is very powerful.

[Christina]

He wishes.

[Anna]

I'm liking the magical put on the Feywatch.

[Kim]

Yep. Fay watch. Check.

[Christina]

Pin it. Fay watch.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Anna]

It sounds like Baywatch.

[Christina]

Baywatch.

[Anna]

Okay, we're going to call it. No, we're going to call it Feywatch.

[Kim]

Yeah. I love Faywatch. I love that.

[Christina]

Just picture them running down the beach.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Slow Mo. Rhysand. Cassian hair blowing in the wind.

[Anna]

Just their masks. Tamlin and his.

[Kim]

Tamlin with his long hair. And his fiddle.

[Anna]

And his fiddle. Oh God, the damn fiddle. Okay. Anyway.

[Christina]

Okay, let's move on.

[Anna]

Okay, we're going to quickly summarize this part. Moving on. So after Feyre kills the wolf in the woods, AKA the Fae, she returns home. They visit the market where they sell the pelt listeners. There is something we will talk about that happens at the market later on in our masked verse section. So just pin it for later.

[Christina]

Stay tuned.

[Anna]

We get to briefly meet her little friends with benefits. Isaac. A little romp in Zahay. Oh, Isaac could never Be us. Because hay is so itchy, y' All.

[Kim]

No, hay is itchy and sticky and ouch.

[Christina]

Really, like so itchy.

[Anna]

It's very itchy. I grew up riding horses and I would play in the hay bales and I would always come out with like a rash. And I'm not even allergic to hay.

[Christina]

And you had clothes on.

[Anna]

And I had clothes on. I had full on riding britches and long sleeve shirts.

[Kim]

Is this hay going places?

[Anna]

I mean, your butt has to be up against it if you're doing the deed.

[Kim]

I don't like that.

[Christina]

Guys. Again, I see why she liked the Spring Court. This is her one happiness. Her one reprieve is having sex with. With this average guy in a barn.

[Anna]

On itchy hay.

[Kim]

On itchy hay, guys. The bar is buried 10ft under the ground.

[Anna]

Truly?

[Christina]

Get you to the fey lands, girl.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Anna]

Okay. So that night, they get back from the market, the cottage door bursts in. A massive beast storms in and. Who is it, y' all? It's Tamlin.

[Kim]

It's Jam. Tam.

[Christina]

Tam.

[Kim]

Tam.

[Anna]

Yes. He is pissed. And he's here to collect on the life that Feyre took. I mean, I'd be pissed too if my friend was slaughtered and skinned alive by a human.

[Christina]

But you did send the friend out on purpose for this to happen, so.

[Kim]

Okay, he did.

[Christina]

Got it. Yeah.

[Anna]

So Feyre tries to defend herself with a knife, which is like, really cute and hopeless because, like, it's a massive beast with the body of a bear and the head of a wolf, in case anyone was wondering. And I think it has big horns.

[Kim]

That's not how I picture it. And in my mind, it's just not. He's the beast from Beauty and the Beast.

[Anna]

He's literally the beast from Beauty and the Beast.

[Christina]

But the new one with Emma Watson, where he's like.

[Kim]

Yeah, exactly.

[Christina]

Yeah, that one.

[Kim]

Right. Yes, exactly.

[Anna]

Okay, so instead of killing her, Tamlin invokes the treaty, which we all know doesn't really work. The ancient pact that says if a human kills a fairy, then they owe a life in return. So Feyre is given a choice. So she can either die now or come to live in Prythian forever. So she obviously chooses to go with Tamlin. No one stops her. No one bats an eyelash. Well, that's not true. I mean, they're all cowering in fear.

[Kim]

But no one stops her.

[Anna]

But Tamlin takes her away and takes her to the Spring Court.

[Christina]

I cannot handle the uselessness of this family. In this moment especially.

[Kim]

It's awful.

[Christina]

It's Enough with the not chopping wood. But like, she's literally being taken away by a beastman. And you can't get yourself up off the ground to even be like, no, don't do that, Feyre.

[Anna]

Fake it till you make it, ladies.

[Christina]

Also, her dad is like, go off and start a new life. Bye bye. Her dad.

[Kim]

Her father is like, well, what to do? What? What am I to do? Just go.

[Christina]

He literally tells her goodbye. He's like, go off. Start your new life. Like, I'm not gonna fight ya.

[Anna]

Ta ta for now.

[Kim]

It's wild in my mind. If that were happening, I would be like, well, she's going to die. He's going to kill her. Like, he's taking her for now. And like, he says he's not going to kill her, but he's a huge beast Fae who we think is evil.

[Anna]

Something bad will happen.

[Kim]

She's going to die. And they're like, well, bye.

[Christina]

It's literally as if her father's like, wow. You know, I know that I've been so shitty to you and this is my way of being like, yeah, your life here is terrible because of me. So go.

[Anna]

But like, what?

[Christina]

Get eaten by a Fae? Have fun. Maybe that'll work out better for you than how we've been treating you. You know?

[Kim]

God, but he doesn't know that.

[Anna]

He doesn't know that.

[Kim]

God just. They say suck so bad. You guys in this book, they suck so bad.

[Christina]

They do also do want to pin everyone's mindset here for three books later. How low of a low this man is. And just all of a sudden, Bebop, he's the master of the ships and sailing in with an armada.

[Anna]

Yeah. It's truly a mystery that will.

[Christina]

That's a redemption arc we don't get to see. But nope, I'm interested by it.

[Anna]

Okay, so real quick, before we move on to the Spring Court with, we want to touch upon a few little like Beauty and the Beast parallels.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Anna]

That Sarah has like woven into the story. And listeners, if you're not aware, SJM loosely based, like specifically this first book off of that classic kind of fairy tale. And it was inspo for this book sort of the same way that she used Cinderella as like the inspo for like the very first Throne of Glass book.

[Kim]

Yes.

[Christina]

Very loosely inspired.

[Anna]

Very, very loosely. But there are similarities. Especially for this book. I would say more for this than first.

[Christina]

Oh, totally. This one. More.

[Anna]

Yeah. Okay, so. So let's start with Feyre, who's obviously our Belle. Feyre is self Sacrificing. Who gives up her freedom to protect her family. Just like Belle does. Belle does it for her father. Right. She switches places. Feyre protects her family, the whole book, and goes off with Tamlin. We have Belle, who loves books, which obviously Feyre doesn't.

[Christina]

You know, guys, she might.

[Anna]

If she could read, she might give her a chance. Okay, so Belle loves books. Feyre loves a paintbrush. Yes. And she also has the bows and arrows. But both of those leading ladies are obviously extremely intelligent. I think Feyre's are more rooted in like a deep need for survival type of intelligence, you know?

[Christina]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kim]

Street smart. She's street smart.

[Anna]

She is street smart. Yeah.

[Christina]

That's exactly what it is, Kim. She's street smart. Belle is book smart.

[Anna]

Exactly. Exactly.

[Kim]

And both are valid and important in life.

[Anna]

Very much so. And also, just like Belle, Feyre is taken to live in a cursed manner against her will.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Anna]

And over time, falls in love with the Beast. Right?

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Anna]

It's, you know, where my Stockholm syndrome love started. Enemies to lovers. I love a little kidnap, but make it cute moment in my mafia little.

[Kim]

Little morally gray kidnapping situation.

[Anna]

Like, she likes that.

[Christina]

Oh, God. You know, that's where it all began. When we were children watching Beauty and the Beast.

[Kim]

This is where anna's lore started.

[Anna]

100% is like, her family sucks. In my mafia books, usually the family sucks. Christina, you read one.

[Christina]

100% sure did. Family sucks.

[Anna]

He like follows her around to keep her safe.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Anna]

So it's great. It's a win. Win for everyone.

[Christina]

It's great. We love a protection.

[Kim]

I love that.

[Christina]

Yes. So Tamlin also is just like really the Beast in every way, guys. Like, he's this cursed High Fae. He's trapped in a magical manner.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Christina]

He's like carrying this guilt and this rage and the silence. And like the Beast, he can be, quote, like monstrous. Not just physically, like emotionally. That moment at Kalanmai when he completely loses control, like, that feels straight out of the Beast. Like a moment that would happen with the beast.

[Kim]

Totally, 100%.

[Christina]

And then these. There's some small, sweet, tender moments, guys, that kind of echo the fairy tale. Like when he gives Feyre the paints and a place to create. And it's very reminiscent of when the Beast gives Belle the library. Like in both of these stories. That is a small act of kindness that makes both Feyre and Belle think. Hmm. Well, maybe there's more to him than just the monster that's trapped me in this gorgeous manner that I actually enjoy living in.

[Kim]

Oh, yes.

[Anna]

Sometimes sweet.

[Christina]

Yes.

[Anna]

And often kind.

[Christina]

He was mean.

[Anna]

And he was cursed and unread from my mind. And now he's dear.

[Christina]

But now he's dear so much. I don't know why I didn't see that before.

[Kim]

God, what a classic.

[Anna]

Sorry.

[Christina]

God. It's good. Okay.

[Kim]

It's good, guys. Oh, that's a.

[Christina]

What else, Kim?

[Kim]

Okay, so let's move on to Lucian. So sweetest. Lucian, I think, kind of is like a little broody Lumiere figure. You know, he's Favor's confidant. He's watching all the romance unfold and kind of nudging it along. Oh, I love that. Very sarcastic. He's a little bit of a flirt. Like Lumiere 100. And, you know, the spring court does not have a bunch of magical clocks and teapots, but they are all forced to wear a mask that hides their true identities, which does, of course, mimic the curse from the original fairy tale.

[Christina]

Absolutely love that.

[Anna]

I love it.

[Christina]

I love that. And I love him being that character. I think that really clocks it.

[Kim]

Really? Does.

[Anna]

It does. I love the flirty bit, too, because he is. He's a little flirty. Fun. Oh, yeah. When he wants to be. When he wants to be. Okay, so this is a little different than, like, the Disney Beauty and the Beast version that we all know and love. So if you kind of go a little more classic Grimm's Fairy Tale. Although technically, Beauty and the Beast is not a Grimm's Fairy tale. It was written by a woman. French woman in the 1740s or something.

[Christina]

Yeah, give her credit.

[Kim]

Exactly.

[Anna]

Yeah. Let's give her credit. But as we all know, like, those fairy tales from back then were a little bit more scary.

[Kim]

Oh, they're dark.

[Christina]

They're dark.

[Anna]

So Belle has two older stepsisters in the original Grimm's Fairy Tale.

[Christina]

Interesting.

[Anna]

And that's kind of. I feel like. Kind of what Nesta and Elain are. Right. They both benefit from Feyre's sacrifice.

[Kim]

Absolutely.

[Anna]

In the old version, they're, like, vicious. They're vain, and that's kind of what we're dealing with right now.

[Kim]

Yeah, for sure.

[Anna]

And obviously, in true SJM fashion, like, that whole dynamic gets subverted over time. And, like, especially with Nessa's long game redemption arc.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Anna]

And hopefully we'll get Elaine's, obviously, that we've talked about very soon.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

Fun little fact. My very first play that I ever did was Beauty and the Beast.

[Christina]

Were yubel.

[Anna]

No, I was the mean stepsister. I was like Nesta. I was like, basically became like, I like control the mask and the harp.

[Kim]

Oh my God.

[Anna]

No, I was like the mean. I was the mean older stepsister. I'm pretty sure it's Isabelle.

[Kim]

Oh, my gosh.

[Christina]

Oh, my God.

[Kim]

That's so funny.

[Anna]

The very first play I ever did on like a main stage.

[Kim]

That is so funny. I love that.

[Christina]

Love it.

[Anna]

So special place in my heart. That's this whole fairy tale.

[Christina]

Yes, it is special. And I think that's also. This lends itself or shows us like Sarah, one, is our age. And two, she was an English major with a religion studies minor.

[Anna]

Y.

[Christina]

If you don't study the Sarah lore like we do. But stuff like this really think plays into things like that. She is our age. She did grow up on this. And she's an English major. So we see these little hints to like more subtle, more interesting. Beauty and the Beast. Not just the Disney movie.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Okay. And then this one though, is not so subtle. So there's the heart of the curse. Right? We got the curse. We got the curse.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

This curse is a human girl who hates the Fae. She hates them. But she must fall in love with Tamlin, who's a Fae. And she must say it out loud to break the spell.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Christina]

And Tam Tam is given 49 years for this to. But just like the Beast with that enchanted rose. And the petals are falling.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Time is also running out here. We're getting that vibe. There's an urgency. You know, he doesn't have an enchanted rose. There's a clock.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Anna]

It's ticking down.

[Christina]

There's a clock that's ticking.

[Kim]

Yep.

[Christina]

For sure.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Christina]

It's. It's running out.

[Kim]

So.

[Christina]

Yes. All right. So we're at the spring court. Okay. Feyre arrives in the spring court. She's ready to go, friends. She's like the Dixie Chicks. Say she's ready to run.

[Anna]

Okay.

[Christina]

And she's also at the same time grieving this life she left behind. We don't know why, but she is.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

Of course. In true favorite fashion, though, her first concern isn't for herself. I don't matter. But it's for her family.

[Anna]

Right.

[Christina]

Right. So she's convinced they're going to starve without her. Which actually. Fine, that's fair.

[Kim]

I mean, that's a fair.

[Anna]

I think we've proven that they don't. They don't know quite what to do.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

I think that's actually the most valid feeling she has in this whole thing. Like what have they shown you that they're not Going to. Fine.

[Kim]

Agreed.

[Anna]

So.

[Christina]

But then Tamlin does reveal to her that they are actually being cared for. They're way better off than when she was there.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

And he's glamoured them to believe that Feyre is with a wealthy aunt, which, like, where the hell was this aunt before? But fine, fine. But yeah. So they've glamoured them to think this. They now have money. And it's a moment that is a reveal to Feyre that he actually is taking care of them and taking this burden off her shoulders. And now knowing that her family's safe for the first time since our girl was a wee eight year old.

[Anna]

Yep.

[Christina]

She is not solely responsible for her whole family. And that combined with her being like, oh, is it maybe nice here is like, we see. See her walls begin to crack ever so slightly as we go.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

And I want to talk about Feyre in the Spring Court versus the Human Realm because it's really interesting. Like you said, Christina Feyre starts this book believing that her worth is entirely transactional. If she hunts, she matters. If she provides, she's needed. Her family rarely thanks her. They never validate her pain or trauma. So when she's taken to the Spring Court and told that she doesn't need to do anything to earn her place, she doesn't know what to do with that. And she feels guilt and shame and restlessness. And she wants to paint, but she doesn't feel like she deserves it, which is so sad to see. And she is exhausted, both physically and mentally. I mean, imagine shouldering the burden of feeding your family for five years. And she was a child when this all started.

[Christina]

Yeah.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

But now she has the ability to rest and to not feel hunger and to have someone else take care of her. And she really grapples with the guilt of this. Even after she finds out that her family is cared for and not going hungry, she feels guilty still for being in the Spring Court. And Tamlin is actually the first person to offer her comfort and a place to rest. Completely unburdened by anything.

[Christina]

I love that.

[Anna]

Very true.

[Kim]

It's really no surprise to me that this is what begins to feel like love to her.

[Anna]

Yeah.

[Kim]

This is the closest thing she's ever experienced.

[Anna]

100%.

[Christina]

Absolutely. I think up until this point, survival and helping the family survive was her whole identity.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Christina]

No one praised her for who she was. No one asked her about her day. The only piece of value that she felt she had was helping them survive 100%. And that's also after her mother told her that was her whole job as a small child. If your mother tells you that's your job and all you're good for, and then she dies, and then it's all you're good for, like, of course that's gonna be your whole identity, you know?

[Kim]

Absolutely.

[Anna]

This is what the theme is for her throughout the series is finding worth outside of that and finding a way to balance how she can be of service, but also find that, like, rest and that safety. And right now, what Tamlin provides is just safety and rest, and she doesn't know how to cope, like Kim said.

[Kim]

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

[Anna]

Like, she's never been idle.

[Christina]

No, no.

[Kim]

And. And she's not content to be idle yet.

[Anna]

True.

[Kim]

But it's starting here, and she wants to be useful. And this is really a big reason why she and Tamlin would never have worked long term, because Tamlin provides a physical safety net, but he's not giving her the emotional work to help her heal any of her wounds and trauma.

[Anna]

So important.

[Kim]

And this theme of earning versus simply being is one that we will see Rhysand later pick up and help her untangle in Akoma. But it's really interesting seeing her in this early book being such a different person and having such different needs and Tamlin being able to fill those needs for her.

[Anna]

100%.

[Christina]

Yeah, agreed. And I think she is able to sense of herself that she needs the job. She needs to be like, Rhys, don't leave me behind. Like, she has those emotions and those needs because of this phase of getting to a neutral state, of this is what it feels like to take off the burden of taking care of everyone else. Now I can start figuring out what I need. And I think that we're starting that whole process throughout this whole book. But then, you know, it gets complicated turning Fay, and a lot of things happen under the mountain, so it kind of goes under the rug. We've got bigger deals, bigger issues. But, yeah, it's such an interesting juxtaposition to think about how Tamlin handles this version versus Reese and what she actually needs now versus what she needs then. Okay, well, that is where we are going to wrap up this week's episode. Stay tuned for next week where we're going to chat about Tamlin and Lucien and our favorite Gossip Girl, the cereal, and our favorite segment, our Mastermind Easter egg segment. So stay tuned for all of that next week.

[Kim]

Yay. Well, friends, that wraps up another episode of Flights of Fantasy podcast. Don't forget to join our button club community on Instagram and tik tok at Flights of Fantasy Podcast where you can share your thoughts, theories and favorite moments with us and fellow listeners. We'd love to hear from you. If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform. Your support helps us spread the magic of Romantasy to even more book lovers. Until next time, keep dreaming, keep reading, and remember, every good story deserves to take flight. RA.