S5 : Ep 40 - ACOWAR: Revisited - Part 6

Summary

Flights of Fantasy – S5: Ep 40 – ACOWAR: Revisited, Part 6

Release Date: December 16, 2025
Hosts: Anna, Kim, & Kristina

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Episode Overview

In this emotional and in-depth episode, Anna, Kim, and Kristina conclude their journey through Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOWAR), the third installment in the ACOTAR series. The hosts revisit the climactic final battle, character developments, heart-wrenching sacrifices, and SJM’s signature mastery of “found family” moments. They celebrate epic and tender scenes, unpack character arcs, highlight foreshadowing and Easter eggs (including fan theories!), and tease the transition into Nesta and Cassian’s story. The tone is exuberant, vulnerable, and full of bookish banter—a true celebration of the ACOTAR fandom.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Setting the Stage: The Final Battle Approaches

• Spoiler Warning (03:40): The episode covers the entire ACOTAR series and references broader SJM works (Throne of Glass and Crescent City).
• Inner Circle’s Eve-of-Battle Scene:
  • The hosts break down the “night before” the final battle on the grassy knoll, focusing on emotional goodbyes and declarations of love and loyalty.
  • Quote (Rhysand):

    “I believe everything happens for a reason...But I am grateful for it, whatever it is. Grateful that it brought you all into my life...” (04:33)

    • Each inner circle member receives heartfelt acknowledgment, moving both characters and hosts to tears.
  • Kim: “God, just to say, like the great joy and honor of my life has been to know you. I don’t care. I’ll never hate you, Rhysand. And nobody can make me hate you.” (07:24)

2. Major Character Moments & Themes

• Feyre & the Ouroboros Mirror (08:08):
  • Deep dive into Feyre’s internal journey of self-acceptance—embracing all parts of herself, shadow and light. This scene is lauded as foundational for Nesta’s future arc.
  • Kim: “Feyre passes not by rejecting her darkness, but by embracing all of it…She looks into that mirror and sees every version of herself…She sacrifices her illusions, her need to be seen as good or whole. And by doing so, she emerges stronger.” (08:08)
• Parallels to Nesta and Elaine:
  • The hosts speculate about what Elain’s “step into power” might entail, noting the unique foundational trauma for each Archeron sister.
  • Anna: “I really do love this part because it’s like...we are really setting the groundwork for Nesta. And I think that I want to pin this Ouroboros mirror moment for Mastermind later, because there are some great parallels here.” (09:31)

3. The Climactic Battle (10:58–39:56)

• Battle Tactics: Feyre and Rhysand eventually reveal the Bone Carver, Bryaxis, and the Weaver—a high-stakes magical showdown
  • Anna: “Rhysand also has a little trick up his sleeve. And to Feyre’s shock and the readers, the weaver is there. And on top of her head is Ianthe’s glittering blue jewel.” (11:54)
• Unexpected Allies (12:55):
  • The Autumn Court, Spring Court, and mortal soldiers (led by Jurian, Grayson, and notably Tamlin) arrive as reinforcements.
  • Kim: “I know. God, you know what? Good for you, Tamlin. Tamlin is the one that dragged Baron out and is like, no, you’re going to fucking do this. You’re going to fight.” (13:19)
• Heart-stopping Moments:
  • Nesta’s connection to Cassian saves his life; hosts link their “mate” bond as stronger than mere friendship or love.
  • Hosts gush over "the Great War by Taylor Swift" as the perfect soundtrack (15:19).
• The Deaths That Matter:
  • The Bone Carver’s sad yet dignified end. (16:20)
• Family and Sacrifice:
  • Papa Archeron's redemption, fighting for his daughters with ships named “Feyre,” “Elain,” and “Nesta.”
  • Drakon’s words: “He told me that he’s got three daughters who live here and that he failed them for many years, but he would not fail them this time.” (21:17)

4. Sacrifice & Loss: Character Deaths and Revelations

• Cassian’s Stand:
  • Powerful scene of Cassian volunteering for a suicide mission, motivated by a debt to Rhysand’s mother.
  • Quote:

    Cassian: “You gave everything, Rhys...Let us return the favor. Let us repay the debt.” (18:44)
    Rhys: “There is no debt to repay.” (18:55)

• Nesta’s Breaking Point:
  • Papa Archeron is killed by Hybern—his final words to Nesta devastate her spirit, setting up her arc for the next book.
  • Quote:

    “I am so sorry, Nesta. My Nesta. I am so sorry for all of it.” (26:13)

    • Nesta’s promise: “I am going to kill you.” (28:23)
• Cassian & Nesta’s ‘Get Up’ Scene (28:51):
  • Raw, vulnerable confessions:

    “I have no regrets in my life. But this…that we did not have time. That I did not have time with you, Nesta.” (28:52)

• Elain Steps Up:
  • Shocks both hosts and listeners by stabbing the King of Hybern (“don’t you touch my sister”) before Nesta beheads him.
  • Anna: “Sweet potato. She saves the day.” (30:26, 30:32)

5. Amren’s True Form, Sacrifice, and Return

• Amren’s Farewell (34:30):
  • Emotional parting from Varian, her lover.
  • Quote:

    Amren: “For it has been a gift. Gift. This time with you. With all of you. It has been a gift.” (35:40)

• Biblical Angel Imagery:
  • Amren’s transformation is described in luminous, apocalyptic terms (wings of fire, crown of light), settling longstanding fan questions about her true nature.

    “She exploded from that mortal shell. Light blinding us. Light and fire...Great burning wings, each feather a simmering ember...a crown of incandescent light...” (37:54)

• Rhysand’s Ultimate Sacrifice (40:18):
  • Rhysand “dies” mending the Cauldron, and Feyre’s devastation is powerfully rendered.

    “I only leaned back into him, savoring his warmth. Even in this non place. Power shuddered through him... I love you, he said again. The third and final crack began to heal over...” (41:20)

• Revival Sequence:
  • Feyre commands the High Lords to resurrect Rhysand, even Tamlin.

    Tamlin: “Be happy, Feyre.” (44:20)

  • Amren is also revived, but now merely Fae (hosts joke about Amren resembling ‘Edna Mode’ from The Incredibles, 45:26).

6. Resolution & Loose Ends

• Post-War Meetings:
  • The courts convene to negotiate peace and a new wall.
  • Feyre for the first time shares her full story (poverty, trauma, healing) in the hopes of starting honest peace talks.
• Character Departures:
  • Vassa’s curse remains.
  • Lucien’s mysterious connection to Vassa is noted.
  • Tamlin fades into the background, receiving a thank-you from Feyre: “I hope you find happiness too.” (49:09)
• Nesta’s Downward Spiral:
  • Clutching her father's wood-carved animal, Nesta begins the internal retreat that sets up her POV in the next novel (50:56).
• Final Words:
  • Rhysand’s POV — he, Cassian, and Azriel reflect and celebrate survival:

    Azriel whispers: “It’s real. All of this is real. Like we said, survived.” (51:37)

  • The hosts are visibly affected: “It’s the perfect ending, honestly.” (52:03)

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Mastermind – Foreshadowing, Easter Eggs & SJM Multiverse (52:33)

Easter Eggs, Theories, and Cross-Series Connections

• Suriel = Caltain?
  • Parallels between Caltain’s end (Throne of Glass) and Suriel’s mannerisms and “cloak” fascination.
  • Comparison of “phantom wind” phrases in both series:

    “As warm light whisked us away, I could have sworn that the pile of ashes was stirred by a phantom wind.” (54:09)

• Ordeal Parallel (Crescent City):
  • Feyre’s Ouroboros Mirror and Nesta’s hike/stairs likened to the CC Fae "Ordeal" rite of passage (56:03).
• Winter Court Messenger Foxes = Crescent City Otters:
  • SJM’s repeating motif of small, vest-wearing animal couriers (57:28).
• Rhysand’s Mind Reading Ethics:
  • Call-out of CC3 Rhys’s actions compared to earlier books’ willingness to read minds—hosts debate internal SJM consistency (58:19).
• Starborn Fae Bloodline Theory:
  • Azriel giving Truth Teller to Elain as confirmation that the Archeron line may descend from Theia’s starborn lineage:

    The Bone Carver: “Her bloodline is long gone now, though a trace runs through some human line...” (61:40)

  • Feyre and Bryce both described as “conduits,” amplifying connection between ACOTAR and Crescent City worlds (62:46).
• Witch Mirrors & Ouroboros:
  • Parallels with Throne of Glass “witch mirrors” (60:31).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Anna (regarding SJM's found family):

  “Because she makes you go on such a journey that when you finally get there...it hits hard.” (07:56)

• Kim (on Rhys’s sacrifice complex):

  “It’s honestly probably like, a little bit of a complex at this point. And I do think we could work through this in therapy...” (40:18)

• On Elain’s “the world needs more gardens”:
  • Kim: “Don’t enable this bullshit. Like, come on. I mean, fine, do whatever you want, Elain, but it’s…The war is over. Go plant a rose garden.” (47:39)
• Hosts’ banter about Amren’s appearance:
  • “She reminds me of in the movie…The Incredibles…the little [Edna Mode] with the short, short dark hair and she’s really funny and very assertive…” (45:30)

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Important Timestamps

• [03:40] – Spoiler warning & episode start
• [04:33] – Rhysand’s iconic speech
• [08:08] – Ouroboros Mirror analysis
• [10:58] – Final battle setup
• [13:19] – Tamlin’s intervention & redemption
• [15:19] – Nesta saves Cassian (“Great War” parallel)
• [18:44] – Cassian’s sacrifice & debt to Rhysand’s mother
• [21:17] – Papa Archeron’s ships & redemption
• [26:13] – Papa Archeron's death scene
• [28:52] – Cassian & Nesta: “I will find you again in the next world, in the next life…”
• [30:32] – Elain & Nesta take down Hybern
• [34:30] – Amren’s emotional sacrifice
• [37:54] – Angelic Amren transformation
• [40:18] – Rhysand sacrifices himself
• [44:20] – Tamlin's “Be happy, Feyre.”
• [50:56] – Nesta’s spiral, setup for next book
• [51:37] – Rhysand’s POV & “It’s real.”
• [52:33] – Mastermind/foreshadowing segment
• [54:09] – Suriel/Caltain theory
• [56:03] – Ordeal parallel to CC
• [57:28] – Messenger foxes & otters motif
• [61:40] – Starborn theory

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Tone & Style

The hosts balance deep emotional resonance with irreverent, infectious humor—tearing up over SJM’s prose one minute and cracking jokes about “being a slut for peonies” the next. Nuanced critical readings combine with playful theorizing and warm, inviting book club energy. Their affection for the material and for one another shines, making this a rich experience for fans as well as those new to ACOTAR.

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Final Thoughts

This episode masterfully wraps up the main ACOTAR trilogy, providing catharsis, laughs, and thoughtful literary analysis. The hosts honor SJM’s knack for found family, sacrifice, and healing while leaving listeners hungry for Nesta and Cassian’s story. The “Mastermind” segment is a must-listen for diehard SJM fans looking for the next clue in the multiverse.

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Next up: The journey continues with Nesta’s story in A Court of Silver Flames—stay tuned for more deep dives, tears, and banter from Anna, Kim, and Kristina.

Transcript

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[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

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[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Welcome to Flights of Fantasy, your Romantasy podcast book club. I'm Anna, joined by my book besties, Kim and Christina. And together we're diving into the characters, theories, lore, and magic behind all your favorite fantasy romance books. Hi, book besties. Welcome to Acotar Revisited, our deep dive back into the series that started it all. We are excited to be here discussing A Court of Wings and Ruin, the third book in the Acotar series by Sarah J. Maas. And this is our final episode of the main trilogy that covers Feyre and Rhysand. Yeah, but just a reminder, we will be breaking up each book into multiple episodes, so we can really take our time with this incredible story. Now, with that being said, and because we have read this series multiple times, we will be discussing each book with the knowledge of the entire series. But before we give our official spoiler warning, Kim has some announcements.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I sure do. First off, we want to thank everybody who has taken the time to rate and review the podcast. If you are looking for a free way to support us, this helps helps us so, so immensely. So if you have done that already, we want to send you a big, big thank you. And also a quick reminder that if you love the pod and want even more from your book besties, we have got you covered. Over on patreon, our tier one book besties at $5 a month, get early ad free access to every episode. Plus our monthly book chat episodes where we dive into a book we're not covering on the podcast, as well as book reviews behind the scenes of our book besties reading retreat, plus so much more. And our tier two book batches at $10 a month get all of that plus the full unedited video of every episode. A free and exclusive access to our SJM Deep Dive series where we deep dive characters, couples and scenes from all of Sarah J. Maas's series. We have done everything from deep dives on more Lehaba, Starfall, High Lord's meeting, and tons of couple favorite moments, as well as our trending pages series where we spot like the hottest fantasy reads that everyone is talking about. And last but not least, our Cauldron chats where we deep dive Acotar characters, lore and world building as we go on our Acotar revisited journey. So come join our Patreon family [e-mail] Flights of Fantasy podcast. We would love to have you. Okay, let's dive in.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay, guys, so consider this your official spoiler warning for every single book in the Acotar series by Sarah J. Maas.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Let's go.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Let's do this.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

All right, so where we are picking up today's episode, it is the final battle. Basically, it's the night before, the morning of and this is honestly one of our favorite scenes. The inner circle is standing together outside on a grassy knoll. Azriel has just shocked everyone with giving Elain Truth teller.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Pin that for Mastermind, guys.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

His obsidian that was forged, you know, from the cauldron centuries ago.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And he tells her it has never failed me once. Which foreshadowing for the end of the book.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Absolutely.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And Rhysand walks up to the inner circle and he's, you know, just finished putting on his armor and it's kind of somber and a hush kind of falls over everybody. And I love this quote.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I'm just gonna oh my God.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Go ahead and read it.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Read it, Anna.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So he walks up and he says, do you want the inspiring talk or the bleak one? We want the real one, amarin said. Rhys pushed his shoulders back, elegantly folding his wings behind him. I believe everything happens for a reason, whether it is decided by the Mother or the Cauldron or some sort of tapestry of fate. I don't know. I don't really care. But I am grateful for it, whatever it is. Grateful that it brought you all into my life. If it hadn't, I might have become as awful as that prick we're going to face today. If I had not met an Illyrian warrior in training, he said to Cassian, I would not have known the true depths of strength, of resilience, of honor and loyalty. Cassian's eyes gleamed bright. Rhys said to Asriel, if I had not met a Shadow Singer, I would not have known that is the family you make, not the one you are born into that matters. I would not have known what it is to truly hope even when the world tells you to despair. Azriel bowed his head in thanks. Mor was already crying when Rhys spoke to her. As is Kim.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

So am I.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

If I had not met my cousin, I would never have learned that light can be found in even the darkest of hells, that kindness can thrive even amongst cruelty. She wiped away her tears as she nodded. I waited for Amren to offer a retort, but she was only waiting. Rhys bowed his head to her. If I had not met a tiny monster who hoards jewels more fiercely than a fire drake. A quiet laugh from all of us at that. Rhys smiled softly. My own power would have consumed me long ago. Reese squeezed my hand as he looked to me at last. And if I had not met my mate. His words failed him. As silver lined his eyes, he said down the bond, I would have waited 500 more years for you. A thousand years. And if this was all the time we were allowed to have, the wait was worth it. He wiped away the tears sliding down my face. I believed that everything happened exactly the way it had to so I could find you. And he kisses away her tears just like he did under the mountain.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh my God, it's so nice. It's so beautiful. Oh God.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

God damn it, Sarah.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, Sarah, it's so good.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Kim, you're gonna be crying this whole episode, I know.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, I am. I am. Guys, get ready. Get ready to be nothing but tears from me. Okay? So then he says we will walk onto that field and only accept death when it comes to haul us away to the other world. We will fight for life, for survival, for our futures. But if it is decided by that tapestry of fate or the Cauldron or the Mother, that we do not walk off that field today. The great joy and honor of my life has been to know you, to call you my family. And I am grateful more than I can possibly say that I was given this time with you all. We are grateful, Rhysand. Amren said quietly. More than you know. Amren.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Amren. Tiny Ancient One.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Damn it. Amren is not what I expected from you. God, just to say, like the great joy and honor of my life has been to know you. I don't care. I'll never hate you, Rhysand. And nobody can make me hate you.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

No one can make me hate you. I love you.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I love you forever.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It's such a beautiful moment. And Sarah does these in all of her books and all of her series. There's a moment where everybody comes together and sometimes there's more than one, and she just lays down the lines.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

She does.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And everybody weeps.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

And it's just good every time. You know what I mean?

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Every time. Because she makes you go on such a journey that when you finally get there and there's that found family that she writes so freaking well. Yeah, it just. It hits hard.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

It's incredible.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It's really, really incredible.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

So before we go into the final battle, we're going to talk about Feyre's journey with the Ouroboros mirror. And there is definitely an overall theme of sacrifice throughout this series. But in this particular scene, when Feyre decides to face the Ouroboros mirror, it's not about a grand external gesture. Instead, it's a very deep and internal one. She's told that no one can look into it and survive, not because of what they see and outside, but what they see within. It is the ultimate test of self knowledge and self acceptance. And Feyre passes not by rejecting her darkness, but by embracing all of it. She looks into that mirror and sees every version of herself. The frightened girl who hunted in the woods, the killer who survived under the mountain, the high lady who brought the Spring Court to its knees. She sees the monster and the savior, and she accepts them both. She says, I looked into the mirror and I didn't look away. And this moment matters because it's an internal sacrifice. She sacrifices her illusions her need to be seen as good or whole. And by doing so, she emerges stronger. She is ready to face the cauldron, to face death, to lead. And it does mirror the sacrifices made later in this story with Rhysand giving his life and Amren surrendering her true form. It's such an incredible scene.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I love this. I mean, I feel like it's especially powerful and, you know, it sets the foundation kind of for Nessa's journey. Right. In slower flames like that. Self acceptance.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, that's such a good point.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. I really do love this part because it's like we've already touched upon in our previous episode that we are really setting the groundwork for Nesta. And I think that I want to pin this Ouroboros mirror moment for Mastermind later, because there are some great parallels here.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes, definitely. It definitely is. Both sisters really have to look inward and decide, can I live with who I've been and not erase it, not excuse it, but really own it? And in both cases, acceptance of becomes the key to healing and to stepping into that power that they were always meant to claim. And honestly, this part, more than anything, makes me excited to see what Elain's story is going to be. How is she going to step into her power?

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

How is she going to step into it? Because she's starting at such a different place. Feyre was broken in two different ways. Feyre starts Acotar broken from poverty, and she's malnourished and she's taken on the burden of caring for her family. And then in Acomaf, she's broken in a mental way, in an emotional way. And with. With Nesta, we see more of that emotional and mental break for her. In Akisoff and Elain, though, she's in a very different spot. And so I'm really curious to see what it is that she has to overcome. What it is. What do we not know about her? Yeah, you know, Absolutely. So anyways, it's a great moment and it's important because obviously that's what the bone carver required of Feyre.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Bring him the Ouroboros mirror and I will come fight alongside you. I will be your monster.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

She's like, okay, bet, let's go. I've got it. Let's do this.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay, so that brings us into the final battle of the book. And I'm going to set the scene Feyre is standing on. You know, she's there. She notes that it's actually very eerily calm, but there's a charged stillness because Instead of an immediate bloodshed, Rhysand explains. Instead, each army is attacking with magic. They're testing each other's, you know, shields, magical shields. And both massive armies are facing off across, like, this great big coastal plain. Hybern has every tactile advantage he has. The high ground, the cauldron, the numbers. Feyre and Rhysand in the inner circle are standing on top of a grassy knoll, watching over everyone. And they are vastly outnumbered. It's very obvious, but.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Feyre finally drops the glamour that she has been holding. And she shows two living nightmares. The Bone Carver and Bryaxis.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yup.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

But not just that. Rhysand also has a little trick up his sleeve. And to Feyre's shock and the readers, the weaver is there.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yep.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And on top of her head is Ianthe's glittering blue jewel.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I'm obsessed at this. That she sucked the life out of Ayette and then was like, I like that jewel. I'm gonna make a crown.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I'm gonna put it on, and let's go to battle. Let's go kill some people.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I love her. She's so terrifying. But I love that moment.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

What a badass.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It's so badass. We love to see it. But what follows next is pure chaos. You know, soldiers are drained into husks. Others are fleeing the living nightmare that is Bryaxis. While Rhysand is misting everyone.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It's just swaths of red vapor.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

That's right.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Azrael is hitting the flanks with his siphon fire. Illyrians are dropping from the skies and battling against Legion of Adders. But Hybern is still fighting back because they still have the numbers.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And hope is starting to dwindle for the Night Court and their allies. But then a horn sounds from the north, and three new armies charge over the horizon. And it's the Autumn Court, the Spring Court, and what? The Mortal Soldiers, led by Jurian and Grayson.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, my God.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I love this. And Tamlin, who. Who has been absent from all of the battles so far.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Actually is the one who dragged Baron out by the neck to force him to fight. That's what Eris says.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Wow.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And then Eris appears atop the knoll, and he simply looks at everyone. He's like, we thought you might need some help.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, my God. I love this so much.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I love it. And I'm just like, I want to know more about you, Eris.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I know. God, you know what? Good for you, Tamlin. Tamlin is the one that dragged Baron out And is like, no, you're going to fucking do this. You're going to fight.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

As God is my witness, you are.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Getting out there, God damn it. But Eris couldn't do it. Do it. So that's really interesting. Like, Eris couldn't be the one to force his father to fight. It had to be another High Lord.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Another High Lord.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

And so Tamlin did that. You know what? Kudos to you, Tamlin.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

He showed up. Finally, some action.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Finally.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Tamlin not being passive.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Too little, too late. But we love to see it regardless.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

All right, so this brings us to one of our favorite parts. Or at least one of mine, right?

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes. Oh, God.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Just as everyone is arriving, Hybern starts to rouse the cauldron. And Nesta feels it first because of course she does. She's like, calls to like. And it knocks her to the ground. And then she starts screaming. But she's screaming Cassian's name over and over again.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And Cassian is flying with an Illyrian legion. And he hears her because of course he does, mate.

[Person Struggling with Budgeting]

Watch.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Because they're mates. How would he hear her otherwise? Guys, this is a huge battle. Huge battlefield. Everyone, they're screaming. There's death. There's sounds all around them. And he's like, I hear my mate.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So he pivots mid flight with his legion and he comes barreling towards her, flying towards her. And she can barely get off the ground. And she is just. I think Feyre says something like, I've never heard her scream like that before.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

No.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And she's just screaming and she saves his life. Because where the cauldron attacks first is that legion that Cassian was in the middle of. And he would have been wiped out.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And it is such a great moment. And Rhysand, actually, it's very interesting. Cause Rhysand looks at Nesta and there's a moment of both anger because he's like, oh, my God. Cassian is never going to forgive himself that his men died and he wasn't there.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

But then there's also this big moment of gratefulness.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

That Nesta saved his brother.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And Cassian came when she called.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Guys, this scene is like, Nesta's on the ground. She's on her knees, she's screaming. Cassian flies to her. And then, like, they're on the ground together. Please go reread this scene and listen to the song the Great War by Taylor Swift.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It's so good.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

You cannot tell me that Taylor has not read these books, because this. This scene fits so Perfectly. It is the most perfect visual to go with this scene. This scene is. Sarah wrote this scene incredibly well.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It's beautiful. And Cassian lands and he grabs Nesta's face. And he's looking her over, looking to see, like, where is the wound? Where is it?

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And you just know there is no wound. Her heart would have died. Her heart would have broken if Cassian had died.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Absolutely.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

But also, guys, this is also when the bone carver dies.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

This is kind of sad.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It's kind of sad. And he was kind of a creepy weirdo. But the quote is really, really sweet. It says, but the carver, I could have sworn he looked toward me as the cauldron's power crashed into him. Could have sworn he smiled. And it was not a hideous thing at all. He supposedly appears because you know how he can change his appearance? He appears as this big Illyrian fighting soldier. And it was a great moment. It was. Not everybody could survive. We chose the bone carver. I'm okay with the bone carver dying.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

But sure, it is sad.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

But I am also glad that he did not choose to appear as Nyx in this battle.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

That would have been traumatizing.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Would have really not enjoyed it.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

That whatsoever.

[Person Struggling with Budgeting]

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[Emin (Financial Advisor)]

Let me see your charges.

[Person Struggling with Budgeting]

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You spent over $600 on takeout last month.

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[Emin (Financial Advisor)]

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[Emin (Financial Advisor)]

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[Emin (Financial Advisor)]

Go to RocketMoney.com cancel or download the app from the Apple or Google Play stores.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

If objects could talk, takes art and artifacts out of the Getty Museum's vaults.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh my goodness. Can it be any brighter in here?

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And puts them in front of the microphone.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

A podcast. Oh yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Hear from a fancy Egyptian cat, a satyr who's right at home in Malibu, dudes and many more. Listen to if objects could talk wherever you get your podcasts and on Getty Edu. Podcasts Podcasts.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay, so moving on. Nesta offers to use herself as a distraction. She is going to rally her power on the opposite side of the battlefield to lure the King of Hybern out. And then Feyre and Amren are going to go nullify the Cauldron. They're going to lure the King of Hybern away from the Cauldron.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Cassian is going to go with Nesta to protect her, of course. And Rhysand is pissed because he knows it is basically a death sentence for either of them and he tries to order Cassian to stand down, but Cassian refuses. He says, you gave everything, Rhys. You went through that hell for us for 50 years. You think I don't know what happened? I know Rhys. We all do. And we know you did it to save us. To spare us. He shook his head, sunlight glinting off that dark winged helmet. Let us return the favor. Let us repay the debt. There is no debt to repay. Reese's voice broke. The sound of it cracked my heart. Cassian's own voice broke as he said, I never got to repay your mother for her kindness. Let me do it this way. Let me buy you time.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Time.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I can't reset. You can, Cassian said gently. You can, Rhys. He gave a lazy grin. Save some glory for the rest of us.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I never got to repay your mother.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Mother. God damn it.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Had nobody. He was a bastard born of nobody is basically what they say. And he was broken and he had no home and it was cold and Rhysand's mother took him in.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I love when Rhys says I can't. And Cassian's like, you can. There's something about like that I can't. Because that's what I would say too is like, I can't. I can't do this. I'm not ready.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I'm not ready. And. And guys pin that moment because that's one of the things Nesta says later to Cassian is I can't.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I can't.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh God, I love this man so much. I honestly think I'm more of a Cassian girly the more I read. I mean obviously Rhysand is everything and my end all be all. But Cassian feels More obtainable, which I realize is dulu, but, you know, I mean, there's something about him that feels a little bit more obtainable.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Rhysand is perfection, and it's hard to see yourself with somebody like that. And Cassian feels a little more human, even though he's the lord of bloodshed and like this massive Illyrian warrior.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

But I also love that about him.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

And I love the.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Grab the headboard.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

So. Oh, God, it's good.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I love it so much.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I can't freaking wait to read that.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay. Oh.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

So here we go. Kim's gonna cry again. Everybody get ready. Yep.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Things are not looking good. But hold onto your hats, everybody, because reinforcements are coming in. Just when things are looking grim, Feyre, Rhys and Cassian take to the skies because out on the horizon they see an approaching legion. But it's not Illyrians. And they panic, thinking it's hybrids. But it's Draken and Miriam who have been mia nowhere to be for a very long time. Nowhere to be found. They didn't send a little dove note or an owl.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

No, they were just like, we're coming. They're like, we're here.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

They just showed up. And everyone panics as they're like, who the fuck is this other army?

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Right?

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I mean, I would panic too.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

But not only is it Draken's flying legion, but below is an entire armada of ships, more than Hybern ever had. And among those ships are human forces from all over. And guys leading them is the last person anyone expected. But Feyre's father, the man who once turned away from his daughters now returns with an army behind him. His ships are named after them. The Feyre, the Elayne and the Nesta. And he's standing on the Nesta, by the way.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

He's sailing straight into the war for the girls he once failed. And also we have Vassa.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, she's there.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

The Firebird Queen. She's trailing sparks and flames and she cuts through the sky. And her curse has been temporarily broken. But I love that this. And I love what Drakon says this about Pauper Archeron. He says. He told me that he's got three daughters who live here and that he failed them for many years, but he would not fail them this time. And then he continues. He named his three personal ships after them. Drakin said with a smile. And they are sailing at the front. I beheld the names of those ships. The Pharaoh, the Elayne. And leading the charge against Hybern, flying over the waves, unyielding and without an ounce of fear. Than Nesta with my father, our father at the helm.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Shut up, y'. All. Come on. You're telling me that doesn't get you at all?

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Papa Archeron, who has literally been absent from majority of these books.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, God. But it's like. It just. He told me that he's got three daughters and that he failed them for many years, but he would not fail them this time. And he's on the Nesta, and the Nesta is the one leading the charge. And it's unyielding, without an ounce of fear. And it's like the fact that he chose to have the Nesta be. It's just so sad.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

The one that's leading it.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I know.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And it's a really important moment. Cause Cassian's holding Nesta in the skies, and she sees this. So both her and Feyre see his father entering on the ships and.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, God.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It is such an important moment, especially for what's to come that we're going to get to. But I think as parents, too, we're very frustrated with him in the beginning of the series. And we don't even really go on a journey with him because he's not in the book. No, but the fact that he shows up here with an army.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. And I think we're meant to infer that that's what he was away doing all of this time. I don't think he was actually just.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

He wasn't being the Prince of Merchants.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

He wasn't just working.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I think he was actually trying to gather this army to help his daughters and. Oh, man, I never thought I would cry over that, man. I thought he. I mean, he was so useless and so frustrating, but there's just something about him showing up like that and like naming. It just. It gets me. It gets me every time.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It gets us every time.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay, so here we go. Feyre and Amren at the cauldron. Take one. Because, yes, there's multiple takes. So Feyre and Amren sneakily scale up this rocky outcrop. And when they feel Nesta rally her power on the opposite side of the battlefield. And the king takes the bait and winnows away to go to Nesta and Cassian, Feyre and Amren get to work. Except our tiny little Ancient one was a sneaky little thing. And the spell she's casting, it doesn't actually nullify anything.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Nope.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, Emren. But before Feyre can figure out what the hell Amren is up to, the cauldron basically takes over her mind and body, and she's mentally thrown across the battlefield. So we're going on a magic cauldron ride, everybody. And first up on that magic cauldron ride is to see Rhysand fighting, y'. All.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, he's supposed to be terrifying, but somehow it turns me on. This was very sexy.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

This is sexy. This is the quote. I saw Rhysand in the thick of those breaking lines. Blood spattered, fighting beautifully. I saw him assess the field ahead and transform. The talons came first, replacing fingers and feet. Then dark scales or perhaps feathers. I couldn't get a look at them. Covered his legs, his arms, his chest. His body contorted, bones and muscles growing and shifting. The beast form Rhys had kept hidden never liked to unleash unless it was dire enough to do so. Before the cauldron swept me away, I beheld what happened to his head, his face. It was a thing of nightmares. Nothing human or fey in it. It was a creature that lived in black pits and only emerged at night to hunt and feast the face. It was those creatures that had been carved into the rock of the Court of Nightmares that made up his throne. The throne not only a representation of his power, but of it lurked within. And the wings. Hybern soldiers began fleeing. Helion beheld what happened in rain, too, but toward Rhys, shifting as well. Rhys was a flying terror, crafted from shadows and cold moonlight. Hellion was his daytime equivalent. Gold feathers and shredding claws and feathered wings. Together, my mate and the High Lord of Day unleash themselves upon Hybern.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I fucking love this.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I love it. This is so cool.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It's so cool. And this is a part of himself that he's always kept hidden. He's terrified of showing anybody this monster. Right. Because every high lord has a creature that they can unleash. Right. We know. We've seen Tamlin's beast form many times.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Emin (Financial Advisor)]

It makes me.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I wonder if Feyre has one. Oh, as High Lady, I wonder if she does. I mean, she can shape shift, but I wonder if she can, you know, shapeshift into anything.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

You're right.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Also, I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say that literally, I think Rhysand could play the fiddle, and I may even still find it sexy.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I think we would be into it with Rhysand.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I mean, if he can make a monster sexy.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I think I might be okay with him playing the fiddle.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I don't think I'd get the ick from Rhysand playing the fiddle. I think he could do it in a way that was sexy.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

You know, I agree with you, Edo it. I love it. We're going to go on record saying that Rhysand could make fiddle playing sexy.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes. Okay, so next up on our magic cauldron ride, Feyre gets ripped away from watching the battle unfold with Helion and Rhysand. And she's taken to where the cauldron is seeking out Nesta. So that is where it wants to go and that's where we end up.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And it is. It's not going well, you guys.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

No, it's not.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Nesta and Hybern and Cassian are there, but the King of Hybern has Papa Archer on in his graphs. I mean, he's got him by the neck and a dagger under his throat.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And this final scene is really heartbreaking and beautifully written. What the father says he's looking towards Nessa. I loved you from the first moment I held you in my arms. And I am. I am so sorry, Nesta. My Nesta. I am so sorry for all of it. Please. Nesta said to the king. Her only word. Gutteril and horse. Please. What will you give me, Nesta Archeron? He says. Nesta stared and stared at my father, who was shaking his head. Will you give back what you took? Yes, she says, even if I have to carve it out of you. Our father snarled. Don't you lay your filthy hands on my daughter. I heard the crack before I realized what happened. Before I saw the way my father's head twisted, saw the light freeze in his eyes. Nesta made no sound, showed no reaction as the King of Hybern snapped our father's neck.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Neck.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I began screaming.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, God.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

This is the moment that truly breaks Nesta.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, it is.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

This is the moment that she can't come back from at the beginning of AKA Soft.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And I think it's because it's the father she hated.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

The father who she thought never actually cared for her. Him sacrificing himself for her is really what undoes her. Because she doesn't feel worthy. She's never felt worthy. Nobody hates Nesta more than she hates herself.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Right.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

You know, exactly. And I think she's like Elaine. Yeah.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

You can sacrifice yourself for Elaine. Feyre. Absolutely. We might have our differences, but Feyre sacrificed for our family for years and years.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Absolutely.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

You could sacrifice yourself for her. But me? What have I done? I'm worthless. But Nesta. This is the final quote. Nesta. Knelt before our father, her face a void. She gazed into his still open eyes, closed them gently, hands steady as stone. Nesta leaned forward to press a kiss to our father's blood splattered brow. And when she lifted her head, head. The cauldron thrashed and roiled. For in Nesta's eyes, liming her skin, uncut power. Nesta took in his broken body, the pain in Cassian's eyes, and angled her head. The movement was not human, not fae. Purely animal, purely predator. And when her eyes lifted to the king again. I am going to kill you. She said quietly.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

This is so badass.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Point that finger, Nesta.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Point it, baby. I love it.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I love it.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay, so then Nesta goes absolutely, absolutely feral and she rages against the king. She has so much untapped power and it is truly magnificent and terrifying. Terrifying to behold, but she does lack finesse and control. And the king brutally attacks Cassian, leaving him broken and bleeding on the ground. Which brings us to one of our favorite Cassian and Nesta moments in the entire series, y'.

[Emin (Financial Advisor)]

All.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

It's a get up moment.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

To get up.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

To get up. Nesta is trying to get Cassian to get up and he's like, I can't. Oh God, I'm just gonna read this scene. Nesta gritted her teeth, trying to haul Cassian up. Once more, a broken sound. Pain ripped from him. Go. He barked at her. I can't. She breathed, voice breaking. I can't. The same words Rhys had given him. Cassian grunted in pain, but lifted his bloody hands to cup her face. I have no regrets in my life. But this. His voice shook with every word. That we did not have time. That I did not have time with you, Nesta. She didn't stop him as he leaned up and kissed her lightly, as much as he could manage. Cassian said softly, brushing away the tear that streaked down her face, face, I will find you again in the next world, the next life. And we will have that time. I promise. The King of Hybern stepped into that clearing. Dark power wafting from his fingertips. And even the cauldron seemed to pause in surprise, surprise or some feeling as Nesta looked at the king with death twining around his hands, then down at Cassian, and covered Cassian's body with her own. Cassian went still, then his hand slid over her back. Together. They go together.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Guys, I love this moment.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I do too.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It's so beautiful. I mean, I think this is them. I mean, it's not them. Accepting the mating pond but it. It's a moment where I think they both think it's their final moments. And she's like, I want to go out with you. I don't want to live without you.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, you know, Absolutely. Oh, I love the quote that he says to her. And it's such a full circle moment, because it's very similar to when Feyre and Rhysand are under the mountain together and they're facing death.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

They want to go together. And Nesta and Cassian definitely are echoing that same devotion to each other.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

And then, guys, our freaking sweet potato. Elaine.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Sweet potato.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

She saves the day.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

She does.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

She saves the day. Elaine stepped out of a shadow behind him, the king and ram truth teller to the hilt through the back of the king's neck as she snarled in his ear, don't you touch my sister.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, my God.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Elaine. Elaine.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Hello. Yes, Elaine, thanks for joining the party.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Wow. Like, you're here and you're making an entrance also. And this was new to me because I was under the understanding that Elaine was actually one that killed the king. And actually she does stab him through the throat. She doesn't kill him. Yes, she wounds him, but he's far too powerful and he has a lot of healing abilities. And it did not actually kill him. Yes, I was trying to give Elain her flowers. I was trying to say that it was Elain, but it was actually.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It's not. It's actually Nesta. He is still alive. He is blinking and looking up at Nesta. And Nesta is the one that ends it on no uncertain turns.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Right.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And she is terrifying in doing so. Yes, it says Nesta looked down at the king before she made the final pass, his hand still trying to rise to claw the blade free. See? He's still alive. And in Nesta's eyes, it was the same look, the same gleam that she had that day in Hybern when she pointed her finger at him in a death promise. She smiled a little, as if she remembered, too. And then she pushed the blade like a worker heaving the spoke of a mighty grinding wheel. The king's eyes flared. Then his head tumbled off his shoulders. Nesta. Cassian groaned, trying to reach for her. The king's blood sprayed her leathers, her face. Nesta didn't seem to care as she bent over, as she took up his fallen head and lifted it, lifted it in the air and stared at it into Highburn's dead eyes, his mouth gaping. She did not smile. She only stared and stared and stared. Savage, unyielding brutal.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Wow.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I mean, y', all. Goddess of death. Are you kidding? Is so savage.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

That is freaking savage. She scares me.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

She is terrifying.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

She is.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I feel like Cassian saying her name, like, come back to me, right?

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Nesta, Honey? Nesta, are you okay?

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It's giving Killing Kong this sense of blind rage, and she can't come out of it.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Absolutely.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And it takes her mate.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

It does take her mate.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It takes her mate. But it's very effective. I love this. This always reminds me of Princess Brad Ride. For some reason, this whole scene with the father and everything. And she's like, my name is an eagle maker. You killed my father.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

My father.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Prepare to die.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

To die.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Except that it's very heavy and dark, right?

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Exactly. But, like, make it darker.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, my God. Okay, Kim, take us back to Amaran.

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[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Way.

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[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Hey, it's Mo Ah Ri, licensed marriage and family therapist and Hinges love and connection expert. You know what I keep hearing from daters lately? You all want deeper connections, but something keeps getting in the way. Way. So our new Gen Z date report found 84% of Gen Z daters want to build deeper emotional connections. But they're 36% more hesitant than millennials to start them. So here's the thing. Vulnerability isn't weakness. It's what builds closeness. Find out more in hinges 2025 Gen.

[Person Struggling with Budgeting]

Z day report now live at Hinge.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Co. Yeah, so Amren is finally doing the unbinding spell. Okay, so she's going to be unbound from the. This body that she's chosen. And this is such a surprisingly very tender and sweet scene that she has with Varian. So it says. Amren smiled slightly. At me. At Varian. I watched them for so many eons. Humans. In my world, there were humans too. And I watched them love and hate, wage senseless war and find precious peace. Watched them build lives, build worlds. I was. I was never allowed such things. Things I had not been designed that way. Had not been ordered to do so. So I watched. And that day I came here. It was the first selfish thing I had done. For a long, long while. I thought it was punishment for disobeying my father's orders. For wanting. I thought this world was some hell he'd locked me into for disobedience. But I think. I wonder if my father knew. If he saw how I watched them love and hate and build and opened that rip in the world. Not as punishment, but as a gift. Her eyes gleamed. For it has been a gift. Gift. This time with you. With all of you. It has been a gift. And Varian is begging Amren to not do it. Because he loves her.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Loves her. It's so sweet.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

It's so sad. And Amren looks at him. I watched them most. The humans who loved. I never understood it. How it happened, why it happened. I think I might have learned with you. Though perhaps that was a last gift too, guys.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Like, who is this Amren?

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Who is this woman? And what have you done with our tiny Ancient One?

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I think Baron honestly is bringing out side of her. And I love it.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I love it.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I also love the moment when they first appear. When the Summer Court and the Night Court war camps finally join together. And it's right before the scrying, or right after the scrying.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, right.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And Varian walks into the camp and he's disheveled and he's like looking around and he's only looking for Amren. And Amren sees him and she jumps his bones.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. Yeah, she does.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Legs around the body. Arms around his neck. They are making out hardcore. It is not pg.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

No.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And I can't remember if it's Tarquin or Rhysand. One of them turns to the other and they're like, well, I will have to draw straws for who gets them at what holidays.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. I love it.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I love it so much. I love it so much because. Especially because Tarquin and Rhysand are now best friends.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

They're best friends.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

They're besties.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

That's fof canon that Tarquin and Rhysand are best friends now. Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So on this note, with Amren, we are going to go back to Sunday school. Everyone, welcome to class.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So Feyre understands that Amren has to do this, right? That she has to go into the cauldron. It's the only way to end the Hybrid and the army. So Amren throws herself into the cauldron, but before she does, she leaves these parties.

[Person Struggling with Budgeting]

Words.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

When I am free, do not run. It will attract attention.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

What?

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Which, I don't know. It's giving you in Jurassic park. When I always think of this with the T. Rex, they're like, okay, don't run.

[Person Struggling with Budgeting]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It's attracted to fast movements. And Airman's basically like, I'm gonna be a little T. Rex, and I'm gonna be really big and scary.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Well, it's like sharks. Sharks are attracted to, like, splashing and blood. And blood.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I mean, listen, Kim and I, we're not going into the water, and we're not entering Jurassic World.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

No.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Even if it became a theme park.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Absolutely not. I don't care if my kids begged and cried for years. I'm never stepping foot inside of a theme park. With dinosaurs.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Dinosaurs. I do love that movie, and it's one of my favorite movies.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

It's a fantastic movie.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I actually really love it.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I would not be attending that theme park.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Not be attending that theme park. You could not pay me.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

No, no, no.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

But we know how that ends.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Nope.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay, so I want to read this to you guys, because this is how Amren is described when she comes out of the cauldron.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And again, remember, listeners, that what SJM has said is that Amren is basically an angel of death, biblical style. Okay.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Right.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So it started far, far beneath us, as far as she had gone, to the earth's core. We had only enough time to throw ourselves behind the nearest rock when it hit us. The cauldron shattered into three pieces, peeling apart like a blossoming flower. Then she came. She exploded from that mortal shell. Light blinding us. Light and fire. She was roaring in victory and rage and pain. And I could have sworn I saw grace. Great burning wings. Each feather a simmering ember spread wide. Could have sworn a crown of incandescent light floated just above her flaming hair. She paused. The thing that was inside. Amaryn paused, looked at us at the battlefield and all of our friends, our Family still fighting, as if to say, I remember you. And then she was gone, spreading those wings, flame and light rippling to encompass her. No more than a burning behemoth that swept down upon Hybern's armies. They began running. Amren came down on them like a hammer, raining fire and brimstone.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Fire and brimstone.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Fire and brimstone, y'. All. And also, I want to note this from earlier in the book, Being. When Amren is describing Ku and what she used to be. She says, I was a messenger, a soldier, assassin for a wrathful God who ruled a young world.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yep.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Angels are God's messengers, guys. Okay? And they rain fire and brimstone. The feathered wing, a halo. She has an incandescent crown of light around her head. It is a halo.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Sarah's like, I actually can't be more clear.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I couldn't be more clear.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

No.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So I don't know what you want me to do.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I don't know what you want me to do. I've made it very clear what she is.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes. So that concludes our Sunday school lesson with Anna. We have wrapped that up.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I love it.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I'll let you know if there are more in the future books.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes. Let us know what you thought of this. I thought it was fantastic.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

But, y', all, we can't have nice things. Yes, Amren saves the day. But, oh, dear, the cauldron has been cracked in three places. And there is a lot of dark, weird shit that is leaking out of it.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Which everybody agrees is a bad thing.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Right.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So Rhysand looks to Feyre and reminds her that Amren once said she was a conduit. Pin it. Pin it for mastermind. And that she could harness magic through herself and channel it into something else. Which is exactly what Rhysand proposes. Feyre does more specifically, take his power and channel it into the cauldron and reforge and mend it. And Feyre does. Go ahead, Kim. Walk us through this final part.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay. I don't know what Feyre thought was going to happen with that. I don't know what path we thought we were going to go down with this, but she does decide to do that. And when you reread the book, it is very clear that Sarah has been foreshadowing this ending. Rhysand will always sacrifice himself to save the people he loves. I mean, it's honestly probably like, a little bit of a complex at this point. And I do think we could work through this in therapy. I think therapy would be very helpful for him to Maybe like, work through this so that we don't keep trying to kill ourselves. Yes, but that's for another discussion, another time. It's really a beautiful but very heartbreaking scene. And this is what Feyre says. He gave it to me. Rhys handed over everything. I was a bearer, a vessel, a love link. I love you, he whispered into my mind. I only leaned back into him, savoring his warmth. Even in this non place. Power shuddered through him, wrapped around the cauldron. I recited the spell over and over and over. The first crack healed. Then the second. I felt him tremble behind me, heard his wet rasp of breath. I tried to turn. I love you, he said again. The third and final crack began to heal over y'.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

All. I mean, the I love you. I think Pharaoh's like, later, she says the I love you was a goodbye, goodbye. And he won't. She actually, actually tries to turn around at Rhysand. And he won't let her. No, because he's like, I'm dying.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Slowly, he's dying and I don't want you to stop it.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And so she does. She finishes mending the cauldron. And she turns around and this is what it says, what I saw. Rhys was sprawled on the rocky ground, wings draped behind him. He looked like he was sleeping. But as I breathed in, it wasn't there. That thing that rose and fell with each breath, that echoed each heartbeat, that mating bond, it wasn't there. It was gone. Because his own chest, it was not moving. And Rhys was dead, y'. All, that's the end of the chapter. And I remember reading it for the first time, being like, mmm, pardon my French.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I'm so sorry. What now? Rhys was dead. Dead.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I like, was like, hell fucking no. And I, like turned the page. And the next page is. I had only silence in my head, only silence as I began screaming, screaming and screaming and screaming. The emptiness in my chest, my soul at the lack of that bond, that life. I was shaking him, screaming his name and shaking him. And my body stopped being my body and just became this thing that held me and this lack of him. And I couldn't stop screaming and screaming. And it's written so well because, Kim, as a first time reader, do you even remember what you thought when you read?

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I don't remember, but I think we had gone through this too many times with Harry Potter and other, yes, other various series where I was like, there's no freaking way, way that she is going to kill off Rhysand.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

No way.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

There's just no way that Sarah would do this.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

She can break our hearts.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Absolutely.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

She does. She absolutely shatters our hearts in. In lots of other ways. In various theories.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

She does kill characters that we care about. Obviously, I don't need to get into that, but I was like, no, this can't be. I was so in shock. And I was like, what am I? I don't even know what I'm reading right now. I don't even know what's happening. And I was just trying to like, read so fast.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, God, it was written so well. But I think I knew. Okay, well, we can't do that. And if you do that, I'll never read anything you write ever again. So. Mom.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Never.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

You'll be dead to me.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

That's it. You're dead to me. To me.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

So Feyre remembers what the surreal said. Stay with the High Lord. Remember when the surreal was dying? Yeah. Sural says, again, stay with the High Lord. And she does. And she feels it. Barely a whisper, but it is there, the bond between them. And she clings to it. And then she looks to every High Lord and screams, bring him back. I love that she's just ordering them around.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

She's like, bring him the back.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I'm sorry, like, excuse me, ma', am.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

But they're all like, okay, well, that was like a one time thing that we did.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

This is supposed to be like a very special thing. You saved us. You broke the curse. So, like we gave you a drop of our power.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes. Yeah.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

You can't just order us around. But we all know if the High Lords are there, then they can do the same exact thing that they did for her under the Mountain. And they can bring Rhysand back. And surprisingly, with Feyre not using very good manners and screaming at them, they do it one by one.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

They do.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Even Feyre, because she's now a High Lady. She can give a drop of her own power. And then it comes to Tamlin, and Tamlin is the lady, last one. And he looks at Feyre and he gives a drop of his power to Rhysand. And he says, be happy, Feyre.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Honestly, that's all we needed for me.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

That's enough.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

That's fine. That's enough.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I'm good with that.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I'm good with that.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I don't really need anything more. I think it was a very sweet moment.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Love it.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

So not only oh yeah, does Rhys come back, but Rhys brings back Amren.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I feel like this is a very Heavenly Fire Moment upon a reread.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Absolutely.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

The first time I read, I was Just too excited that everyone's back. But then upon a reread read, I'm like, okay. I guess.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

All right, well we're just appeasing the audience at this point.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

This is fan service.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

This is fan service.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Of course we're happy that Amren is back. We would have been really sad if she never came back. But it did kind of feel like the sacrifice was for naught because he just brought. He was like, look who I found rolling around in the cauldron. I just brought her back up.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I said, hitch a ride. Hitch a ride back. Varian's awaiting.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Varian's like, thank God. But now Amren is just plain old Fae. She is no longer this like being that she once was. She is just. She is a plain old High Fae. Her eyes. Eyes are no longer silver lined. Okay. I have to tell you, I always picture Amren as like older, old.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

That's so funny because I feel like she's like faceless in a lot of my.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I kind of agree with that in.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

A lot of my images.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Who did you say she reminded you of? She reminds me of in the movie.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

The cartoon. The Incredibles.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

The little. With the short, short dark hair and she's. Yes, and she's really funny and very assertive and.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And domineering in a weird way. Way. That is who I picture as Amren. So like everybody else is a real life person.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Amber's a scar too. Yeah, 100%. That is how I picture her. Like this tiny. You can't call her a tiny ancient one and me picture like a 25 year old. Guys, I just. I can't.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I can't.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

No, I know that that's like technically sort of what she's supposed to look like, but to me you just. I just picture her as that cartoon character.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes, absolutely. 100%.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Short little hair and the glasses and she's like walking around.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

But guys. Okay, so that wraps up the main part of it. But after all of the battle and everyone has settled and they're burying their D and they get Papa Archeron and there's, you know, little sweet moments that happen. But basically in the final chapters, the courts all gather together and try and rebuild and they actually meet, I think it's at the Archeron's household in the human realm. And tensions are high because everyone's trying to redraw lines. And you know, there's the idea that they have to build a new wall and that sparks fierce debate. But they're at least talking and they're Trying to set a foundation and lay new groundwork for how they can move forward after this war so that it doesn't happen. Sure. And Feyre also, for the first time, tells her story. All of it. I mean, the poverty, the pain, her first love, loss with Tamlin, and the love that saved her, Rhysand. And she shares what she saw in the Ouroboros mirror. And in doing so, she's opening the door for an honest conversation and having peace talks between the fae and the humans. And they finally return home to Velaris afterwards in a lake.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, God.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

This is. Okay, sorry I had to include this because it was just hilarious to me, giving how much the thrill. Three of us joke about Elain. And guys, we know we don't hate her.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

It's just.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

No, honestly, it's funny for us at this point to kind of rag on her.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

It is. But you have to agree, our character doesn't have the most depth right now. Okay, like what? It's not our fault.

[Person Struggling with Budgeting]

It doesn't.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And this literally adds to it. This adds more fuel to our fire. They get back and they have all of these. After all of this conversation and the treaty, they arrive. And one of the last things in the book is that Elaine announces that she wants to plant a garden because, quote, the world needs more gardens. And Feyre's like, yes, I think it's true.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

And I'm like, okay, Feyre, don't enable her. Don't enable this bullshit. Like, come on. I mean, fine, do whatever you want, Elaine, but it's.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

The war is over. Go plant a rose garden.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Sure. That's what the world needs, is more peonies. Whatever.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

More peonies. I love a peony.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I love a peony.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

You know what f s a peony.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

You know what? I'm a slut for a peony.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Slut for a peony.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Slut for a peony. That's something Elaine would say. I think Elaine is like, I am a slut for a peony. You guys.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

We were on our trip to see Rebecca Yarros in New York City, and we were, like, sitting down. We were so tired. We've been up since really early in the morning. And we had to stay up late to write our outline for us recording in New York City together.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. And we ordered burrata and wine at, like, 10:30 at night, which is late for us, guys.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It's very late for us. And it shows up and I just.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I just started eating.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I go kind of a slut for burrata.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

It was just so Random. It was so funny. Kim was like, what did you say?

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

For Barana.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Now we're a slut for peonies.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

We're a slut for peonies. And so is. So is Elain.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

And so is Elain. And we love that.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

We love that about her. Okay, so a few little loose threads that are left for us to kind of go through in the next book. And maybe in Elain's book.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So Vassa's curse is still there and she has to return to her lake. Lucien remains somehow, like, mysteriously connected to Vassa. I feel like there's so much more that happened in him. Going to get Vassa, and I would love to find out more about what that entails. Tamlin disappears, but not before Rhysand thanks him. And then Feyre actually sends a note with one final message, and she says, thank you. I hope you find happiness too.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Which I love that.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

That's a nice. Let's listen. It's I be happy, Feyre. And she's like, I hope you're happy too.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I hope you're happy.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Happy indeed. We're not gonna do that. No, we won't hit that.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

No, we will stop.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

We will. Yeah.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, yeah. And I think it's sacrilegious. I can't even attempt to sing.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, God, I love that.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, God, it's so good.

[Person Struggling with Budgeting]

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[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Hey, this is Sarah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Look, I'm standing out front of a.m. p.m.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Right now and, well, you're sweet and all, but I found something more fulfilling, even kind of cheesy. But I like it. Sure, you met some of my dietary needs, but they've just got it all. So farewell, oatmeal. So long, you strange soggy. Break up with bland breakfast and taste AM PM's bacon, egg and cheese biscuit made with K tree eggs, smoked bacon and melty cheese on a buttery biscuit. AM pm. Too much. Good stuff.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay, so Sarah is laying the groundwork also for Akasoff with this final quote with Nesta. Feyre's observing. And Nesta is not okay. It's already. The downward spiral has begun. Yeah, and it says Nesta. Nesta looked toward the stairs and I noticed the object she clutched in her fist. The small wooden carving. I couldn't make out what manner of animal it was, but I knew the wood, knew the work. It's their father's and it's one of the last things that they have of his, this little animal that he made. And Nesta looks up the stairs to where I think they all used to sleep, because this is at the human house. But she's not engaging. She's totally shutting herself off. I mean, we are really setting the groundwork for her book, for sure. And then the final, final bit of the book is we get Rhysand's point of view.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, we do.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And it's a really brief, but it's super sweet moment. And it's just him and Cassian and Azriel and the girls are off, I think, in the kitchen, and him and Asriel and Cassian are sharing a drink. And Rhysand hears Feyre's laughter. And he looks up and it almost seems like he's lost in thought. And Azriel just turns to him and he whispers, it's real. All of this is real. Like we said, survived. And it's such a great, beautiful. It's the perfect ending, honestly.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

It is. It really is.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay, so guys, that wraps up our final acowar episode. Yeah, I mean, really, it's the culmination of Rhysand and Feyre. And next we're really moving into Cassian and Nesta.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And so it feels. It feels kind of bittersweet, like we still have more. I don't mean more more. I mean, we have more. Yeah, we have more. We have more to come.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

But it does feel like we were saying goodbye to two characters.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

It does.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Thank you for coming on this journey with us, but we also have our Mastermind section now.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Let's do it. So.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

All right, book besties, welcome to our favorite little corner of the episode, Mastermind, where we peel back the curtain on all of brilliant foreshadowing plot threads and Easter eggs Sarah J. Maas has been planting since page one. A quick spoiler warning from here on out, in addition to Acotar, we will be referencing the entire Throne of Glass and Crescent City series. So if you haven't finished those yet, cheers and happy reading. We'll see you next time. And if you're all caught up, let's go.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Let's dive in. So we are going to start with a really fun fan theory, which is is the Suriel Caltain from the Throne of Glass series.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

A lot of people believe this. It is a little bit silly, but just fun to run through. So the cloak, obviously, Celaena's cloak is a big aspect of Caltain's character and journey. Celaena leaves her cloak for Caltain when they're both in the desert dungeons. And Caltain keeps a scrap of that cloak, and she gives it to a lead and Queen of Shadows, like, wrapped around the word key and gives it to her and, like, give this to AEN and Elite's. Like, I don't know who that is, but okay, I will take it. And we all know that a big way to trap the cereal is to give it a new cloak, right? And so people think that that fascination with the cloaks that the surreal has is because Caltain, like, held onto Celaena's cloak, and it was a gesture of kindness in a time when people were being horrible to Caltain.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay, so let's talk about the death quotes, both Caltain and the surreal. So this is Caltain's. As she brought it all crashing and crumbling around them, Caltain smiled and at last burned herself into ash on a phantom wind. And this is the Surreals. As warm light whisked us away, I could have sworn that the pile of ashes was stirred by a phantom wind.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I mean, that's like practically the same sentence.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

That's practically the same sentence.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Ash and phantom wind.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Phantom wind.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I love this. I mean, I'm not sure how it all came connects logistically, but I am very much here for this beautiful parallel. And if for some reason, Caltain died and her soul then got transported to.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Prythian and became the Suriel, Also, the.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Words the surreal says, you know, make the world a better place. It's very tog that's what Aelin's whole thing is.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Sure.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And Caltain is the stranger. You know, I think she was. She was a dreamer herself, kind of. And it caught in the. This nightmare with Barrington and.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, it's awful.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I think there's a lot of similarities.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I think there is. I do just want to note though, I did look up the phrase phantom wind.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Because we all know that Sarah, I love her, but she repeats herself a lot.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

She does, she does with stuff, with.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

The growling and the purring and the crooning and the Lynn, the flicking of the lint. She does use phrases, one might say a little too much sometimes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So I agree.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

The phrase phantom wind is used twice in Throne of Glass and five times throughout the Acute series. So more than likely this is just a phrase that Sarah likes to use. I don't even really know what phantom wind means, to be honest with you. Like either there's wind or there's not wind.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

What I think of a phantom wind in these types of situations is there's no actual wind, but yet somehow it's.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Blowing, it's windy, but there's.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

The trees are not blowing, but somehow something blows that away like a. A spirit or a being. Sure, that's what I think.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

But you know, like Anna said, I love the idea that Caltain solely lived on somehow and got to meet Feyre and have that connection with her.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. Okay. So we're gonna jump into some Crescent City tie ins specifically. So the Ordeal listeners, if you don't remember what the Ordeal is in Crescent City, it's a rite of passage for the fae. And once they come of age, they have to complete two tasks. The first one is they visit the Oracle. And the second one is they complete a task or a trial designed to assess and potentially empower them.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And it's difficulty varies based on their power and lineage. So it can be as simple as overcoming an illness. Or in Bryce's case, it's her when she. She saves Syrinx from the Nok at the end of CC1.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Correct.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And to us, Feyre facing the Ouroboros mirror is her ordeal. Absolutely. It's her looking and having to overcome the darkest parts of herself. And Nesta's in Akisoff would be her hike, I think.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, absolutely. Oh God. Oh God.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

That or the stairs. Actually, it could also be the stairs.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

You know what?

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, it could be either of those.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I don't know. Yeah, that's a good point.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Because both are symbolic for her character.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Absolutely. They're both huge moments for her.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I don't know. I can't. Maybe we'll have to. You know what? We will come back to that after we read Akasoff.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

We will.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

We can have a nice little discussion on it.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I would say that her rock bottom is the hike. Is the hike because of what she did to Feyre.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

That is her rock bottom. But I wonder. But it's supposed to be.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I think the stairs is a more physical representation of an ordeal.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

So I guess it's kind of maybe how you.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Depends. Yeah.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Depends on your interpretation.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I'm curious to see what her mental state is after each of them. Like I'm going to pay attention to that.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Let us know what you think Nesta's ordeal was. Was it the stairs or was it the hike? Yes, please let us know. Okay. There's a really cute little tie in between the winter court foxes and the otters in Crescent City. So I went and looked up the winter court foxes, and they are described exactly the same as the cutie little otters in Crescent City.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I love this.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

This is what it says. This is Acowar, chapter 66. White foxes scuttled about underfoot bearing what looked to be messages strapped to their little embroidered vests.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I love it so much. It's so cute.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

God damn it. I would never want to live in the winter court. I hate the cold. But, oh, my God, that's freaking cute.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I love that so much.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

And we know that the otters in Crescent City are the exact same way. They are messengers. They have little vests and you can, like, put messages on them. And they run around the city.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yellow vest, and they just scurry around.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

So cute.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So cute.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I love it. I am Bryce. When it comes to the otters, I'm like, I, like, have cute aggression about the otters. I just think they so freaking cute. So I thought that was really interesting that Sarah had the same kind of little messenger cutie animals in Crescent City.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And back to yes. Okay. So one final little tie in into Crescent City is Rhysand and the mind reading with Jurian specifically. Oh, y'.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

All.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

He does this in CC in the final CC book when Bryce shows up in Prythian.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And literally, I think he makes a comment about I won't read into her mind because it's a violation or something. And I'm like, is it? You have a stranger from another world.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

In your home. We would have saved us 200 pages of spelunking if you had just looked at her intentions.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

God damn it, Rhysand. We're not saying ruin her mind, like, break her.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, don't break her.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I'm just saying get in there and just see what it is around a little. Just. Come on, Rhysand, like this whole. It's so interesting, like, why are we picking and choosing when you want to be like, there's this line that you, I don't know, imaginary line that you draw. But he, like, moves the goalpost every time where he's like, no, it's okay in this distance, but not in this distance. Not okay here, Rhysand, just do it like. God, I did not want to be in those caves for as long as we were.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

No, no, absolutely not.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay, so let's move to some more tog tie ins. So when Rhys tells Feyre you do not yield before she goes to rescue Elain, this is a callback to what Aen's mom says to her when she's in the Iron Mask and she's being tortured. And I just, I love this because to me, me, Rhysand and Aelin are very, very similar characters. To me, I think that Rhysand displays a lot of the same characteristics of Aen.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, I agree. I think he really gives main character energy and I think there's a lot of self sacrificing that he reminds us so much of Aelin. You know, both of them are so fearful of losing the people that they love. And it's not necessarily that they don't trust others. It's like they don't trust themselves and what they would be like if they lost those people.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Absolutely, yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And they both have to learn how to work on with others. And Rhysands is just done on a shorter timeline because obviously with Aen, we get eight books, basically.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Exactly. So the next one we're going to talk about is. Is the Ouroboros mirror similar to a witch mirror in Throne of Glass? So this is what Manon says about the witch mirror. You can see the future, past, present. You can speak between mirrors if someone possesses the Sister Glass. And then there are the rare silvers whose forging demands something vital from the maker. Manon's voice dropped low. Dorian wondered if even among the Black Beaks, these tales had only been whispered at their campfires. Other mirrors amplify and hold blasts of raw power to be unleashed if the mirror is aimed at something. And so obviously these aren't being described as, like, physically similar.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

No, they're not.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah, but the mirrors in Baba Yellowleg's wagon look different from the one that Aelin and Manon use. So maybe the magic is more imbued into the said mirrors rather than just being forged.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I think it's interesting. And I know that the bone carver says that the weaver used to have the Ouroboros mirror. It was hers and she would look into it daily.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

True.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And I wonder if it was something that she brought with her from her home world, you know? And so where is their home world? What were they? They were death Gods. Well, we know that there were gods in Tog world at some point. So, like, who's to say? How did this magic get crossed, right?

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Oh, that's so interesting.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah. I do wonder if that'll. I don't know. I'm not saying that Ora Borosmaria is going to come back, but it's an interesting little tie in. Okay, so the last thing we want to talk about is this theory that the Archerons are from the starborn Fae lineage.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Which would make them descendants of Thea, just as Bryce is.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Exactly.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So Azrael has never given his blade to anyone before. He's never even let anyone touch it.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Nope.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

But he gives it to Elain and he says, it will serve you well. I know.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

God damn it. I know.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I hate it. I hate it so much.

[Person Struggling with Budgeting]

I hate it.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I hate it. Okay, but he gives it to Elain and he says it will serve you well.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So just keep that sentence. So then the bone carver says this to Feyre. Clever, that Fae warrior. Her bloodline is long gone now, though a trace still runs through some human line. He smiled. Perhaps a bit. Sadly, no one remembers her name. But I do. She would have been my salvation had I not made my choice long before she walked this earth.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Salvation is such an interesting word.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I know. It's such a word. Yeah. I want to remind you that the Star Sword in CC Is the sister sword to Truth Teller. Okay. Correct. But in Prythian and Acotar, it's not called the Star Sword. It's called Gwydion.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yep.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And we know that only starborn fet can truly wield the Star Sword to its full potential. Okay, so again, Azrael giving it to her and saying it will serve you well. So pin that. So who's to say that Theia's lineage didn't just disappear into Midgard? But what if there was other people that were descended of her? And they trickled down in Prythian and into the human lines, Right?

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Centuries ago. And this would then make sense if Azriel felt some pull to lend Truth Teller to Elayne. If it somehow recognized her for what she. She was.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And also, Amren calls Feyre a conduit.

[Person Struggling with Budgeting]

Yes.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

When we were going through this part in the main episode, I was like, oh my God, she's a conduit. Just like Bryce is a conduit. Come on, you guys.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Bryce is a conduit. And it's such a big part of her character. And she's Starborn Fae.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So I don't know. And I also don't know. Why is Feyre a conduit? I don't know. Who's a save? Was it just this heavenly fire moment or is there more to it? I don't know. I mean, guys, this is all just fun and spectacular and, you know, we just have fun reading into it. But it's very interesting that that's used that Elayne is given truth teller. That also Nesta and Akasoff is able to reforge and make new swords.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Right.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Very important.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And then Gwydion is a sister sword. It's a star sword.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

And Bryce is a conduit. Feyre is a conduit. There's just lots of interesting things that. And there's a magical. There is this ancient Fae whose bloodline mysteriously somehow disappeared into the human line.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Into the human. Human line.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Guys, it would be very interesting.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

It would be fun. Very cool way for Sarah to continue intertwining these worlds in a way that.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Makes sense, in a way that's also digestible and doesn't have to become this huge crossover.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

You know, it's a little callback.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yes. Which I. I like that.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

I like that too.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

I think it's a more subtle Easter egg. Which feels very sjm.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

It feels very sjm. I feel like that. That's why I liked what she did with Aylin and Lydia. Oh, that was perfection. That was all I needed.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Brennan of the Wildfire.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So good.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

So good, you guys. It's fantastic.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

Okay, guys, that wraps up. That's it.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

That's it for Acawar. We're done, you guys. Oh my gosh. This was so fun.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

So fun. So fun.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Yeah.

[Anna (Podcast Co-host)]

All right, listeners. Well, cheers and happy reading.

[Kim (Podcast Co-host)]

Bye Bye. Well, friends, that wraps up another episode of Flights of Fantasy podcast. Don't forget to join our our book club community on Instagram and TikTok 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. Sam.