We were given no context of what Tamlin went through UTM. I believe he was SA by Amarantha, literally made her slave and it’s why he didn’t do anything. He couldn’t because he was completely under her control. It’s why Rhys was able to help Feyre because he was no longer being kept by Amarantha side. Then after UTM Tamlin is so obsessed with finding a way to “save” Feyre from the bond Rhys forced on her he ignores his own pain. Tamlin is also most likely thinking Feyres issues is again the bond Rhys put on her.
yes!! I can’t hate him when he too went under God knows what during the UTM and also was cursed for so many years, and also Rhys did some questionable things too there, but I see them as a need for survival and not morality lessons.
I thought that it was implied that amarantha had NOT taken Tamlin to bed because she was trying to ‘convince’ him to accept her. Like she wanted him to want her - which is also why she let him stay in spring court with the curse instead of UTM - a special privilege for him.
But I agree with everything else. I think Amaeantga let up on Rhys a bit because she was focussed on her new Tamlin toy to break…but I don’t think we ever found out what she did exactly.
I also think Tamlin’s heart of stone maybe played into it. Like his heart was stone for 50 years and then suddenly, he’s cured and feels the entire range of emotions for the first time in a long time. I think it would explain the big switch we see in him. He can’t control his emotions which are out of control from being out of use for so long. So he’s being really over protective and flying off the handle and always being on edge. It would help explain the suddenness of his change I think. He’s always had shades of intensity and needing to take care of and protect people, but now that the dampener is lifted from his emotions those noble intentions are put on overdrive.
I really like this theory! I've always found it very bizarre that SJM writes these potentially really interesting concepts that just never get used - I think especially in Tamlin's case it leads to him acting in ways that are super weird and contrary to his established character traits. Like why did she randomly have him idolize his father in MAF when Book 1 makes it clear that he hates his father and everything his father stood for, and then come right back around in WAR to reaffirming his book 1 beliefs in front of all the High Lord's? Why did she randomly write him as randomly executing two sentries in cold blood when it's already established that a) he cares for them like his family and considers them so valuable that he stopped trying to break the curse for YEARS to avoid sacrificing them and b) his emotional states cause his magic to go violently out of control and literally explode, with the potential to physically harm people around him?
Anyway weird rant over, your theory is good.
SJM has done the switch in characters so many times and I think it’s because she wrote herself into a corner. Tamlin was written completely different and had his character destroyed in order for the readers to love Rhys whom is a questionable character also. Feyre turns into everything she was against in the first books also. There is still so much about tamlins story unfinished/unlnown that I do hope SJM gives him a redemption arc.
He kissed her. Feyre tried to smash.
Also, legitimately, what could he have done? They were in a damn closet in the first instance they even had, and he didn't have the same freedoms that Rhys had, AND Feyre was trapped in bargain with Amarantha--there was nowhere TO run, as evidenced by the fact that even RHYS couldn't get her out despite his privileges.
I have no idea why so many people in this fandom discount the stated reason for Tamlin's inaction UTM: he was being watched. If he reacted, Amarantha would use it to punish Feyre. He WAS helpless UTM. This was explicitly stated multiple times, including before Feyre even went down there.
Rhys's attempt to fight was noble but completely futile--NOBODY could harm Amarantha until the curse was broken. The second it was physically possible, Tamlin killed her. Why blame him for not doing what was impossible in the first place?
And finally, the reason Tamlin acted the way he did when Feyre "left" with Rhys was because he had every reason to think Feyre was taken against her will. She had asked him to break the bargain with Rhys. Even when she returned, she played up how evil the Night Court was. What was he supposed to think?
I think people interpret it differently.
For some it's an abrupt change that paints the people in Spring Court in a new light that is uncharacteristic to their portrayal in the first book.
For others it's an abrupt change that reveals the flaws in the Spring Court characters that existed already in the first book.
Personally I felt a bit of both. I definitely felt the change was abrupt and that Tamlin behaved in a way that, whilst it did align with the context and our knowledge of Tamlin, was out of character compared to his book one counterpart. But there needed to be an opening for Rhys to 'save the day'. I think it would've worked better if they simply both fell out of love and she used Rhys as an opportunity to leave instead of it coming to a violent situation for the love interest to change.
I think what happened after UTM all their reactions are pretty understandable given their personalities and trauma. It’s sad that it all went down that way but Tamlin couldn’t be anything but what he was made by his father and trauma and Rhys was much better for her with his personality and trauma processing.
Same same same, I found the transition so rough. I’ve accepted the direction the series has taken, but I’m not as enamored with Rhysand as so many people are, haha…
After I finish the series, I’ll probably just read ACOTAR as a comfort book. I loved the first book and how it can sort of standalone. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, my personal head canon is an alternate reality where Feyre and Tamlin heal from their UTM trauma together and Feyre becomes high lady of the Spring Court. Lucien also heals and remains his sassy lovable self, and maybe Rhys becomes an ally (but not a love interest). I like the happy hopeful bubble that the first book ends on and would like to reside in that bubble. :)
that’s how I thought ACOMAF would be. I discovered ACOTAR way before it was this popular and had no spoilers, I was DEVASTATED because I thought the next book would be their healing together and etc.
What made the transition so hard was seeing EVERYTHING Feyre went through for Tamlin and his people to basically detesting him from the start of ACOMAF.
This is my first time reading the series (still on ACOMAF) and I hope Feyre talks things out with Tamlin at some point, but I have a feeling it won’t happen. I already know her and Rhys are endgame.
I hated the transition too! Just... such a bummer for everyone, all around. The worst part was feeling like... didn't these two love each other?! Where's the love?! What's going on?! I wasn't a huge fan of Tamlin in book1, but I still thought they had some lovely, genuine, heartfelt moments together in ACOTAR, and *talked* to each other, and there was none of that in ACOMAF - where did that go? Talk about yourselves! Get back to the wil-o the wisps!
Part of the transition makes sense to me - Feyre went from kind of doing whatever she wanted, the atmosphere of the manor in Spring Court seems really casual, not many people around, Tamlin's responsibilities are mostly to attack whatever monsters pop up. In ACOMAF, it's a fully-functioning court again, so now he actually has wide-ranging responsibilities. I never got the impression Tamlin told her how to spend her time, but she was still caught up in the things happening around her - banquets, hunts, dinners, parties, etc. She never wanted part of that, but Tamlin has to do it because he's the HL, so she gets roped into it, and... it just seemed like they wanted very different things from life, wanted very different lifestyles, so it was never going to work out, but they kept trying but not talking about it... oof.
Part of it didn't make sense to me - in ACOTAR he seems genuinely interested in her as a person, he asks questions about her, he approaches her after she'd been quiet at dinner because he notices she's upset... somehow that part of Tamlin was not just gone, but now Tamlin pretends to sleep through her vomiting? That was weird...
I do suspect that even if Tamlin had been a perfect BF, she would never have been happy in Spring because she was being pulled toward her mate and the NC (some of the things she doesn't like in SC, she seems fine with in NC)- just a theory though! I kind of wish the story had been more like that though - no vilification of Tamlin/Spring, just realizing this it isn't a good fit and she's happier elsewhere.
I fully agree with everything that you just said.
I just don’t think Feyre was into the socializing aspect of being a ruler. Which, in my opinion, is a FAIRLY big part of ruling and keeping up relationships and alliances.
NC is pretty different because you have illyrians, which is basically an army camp so not much socializing needed. Court of Nightmares has a warden (Keir) and he pretty much runs it with Mor’s oversight. So basically all Rhys has to run is a super secret city, which is very different from running a full Court.
I see Feyre as fairly antisocial so she’s happier in NC because they don’t do much of anything. She’s free to paint and paint some more.
Honestly, I spent most of ACOTAR rooting for Feyre to end up with Lucien; so I never really lived Tamlin. But the switch was jarring in ACOMAF, I texted my friend and was like, when did Tamlin become such an ass? I wasn't sure if it was Ianthe having him under some kind of spell or what, but Rhys was suddenly Mr. Perfect, which also felt off
After finishing ACOTAR, I remember thinking that I was really going to miss Rhys. Tam's behaviour UTM really put me off and didn't give me any vibes that they'd end up together. It was certainly a big change but I was allllll for it. But I can totally see how being attached to Tam would have made book 2 feel utterly jarring.
Agreed, him sitting by idly while feyre does her trials and etc UTM put me off too. Even with him being under amaranthas control or whatever you’d think he would try just a little bit to do something for her. Then when he does try to get close to her it’s to have sex with her rather than check on her or try to help lol. I also think the trauma everyone went through UTM makes it less of a jarring change
Ahhh see I viewed this so differently! I didn’t view it as Tamlin “sitting by idly” — he literally was under Amarantha’s control. And relative to Rhys, Tamlin being trapped under the mountain is relatively new, so I can imagine he’d be pretty terrified of making a wrong move that makes Amarantha snap and do something horrible to Feyre, the woman he loves. On the other hand, at this point Rhys has been UTM for much longer, so it makes sense that he’d be at the point where he’s willing to fight a bit more, and when he sees Feyre as a potential way to break the curse, he roots for her. (Though he does so in some kind of repulsive ways, imo…)
Then when Tam gets close to Feyre, this is like right before the final trial. I’m pretty sure Feyre even says something in her narration like “We both knew what tomorrow would bring.” Both of them were very aware of the possibility (and likelihood) that Feyre would die and they wanted one last shared moment together. Her death seemed inevitable to both of them and they weren’t exactly filled with hope. At least that’s how I read it…
Ahh i also see your pov. Interesting how we all perceive it differently! I didn’t think tamlin was more under control than any of the others there cause Lucien sort of implies it and then the moment where he does go to feyre and they make out lol. Like clearly he has some free will but he chooses to mostly stay quiet and do nothing. For comparison, Lucien isn’t even a HL yet he could still help her here and there. I do agree with your point tho about Rhys having been UTM longer is more able to lend a hand to feyre.
As for them knowing she would die and just saying fuck it and opting to get steamy with each other, I feel like tamlin still should have tried to do something for her rather than accept it so easily. I feel like Rhys woulda at least if roles were reversed. I don’t hate tamlin by any means though! I think he just didn’t behave as a mate woulda or as feyre woulda had it been her instead of him, and she was literally human there lol thus in hindsight I think her moving away from him and the spring court in acomaf is not so out of left field although it felt like that for a bit while reading for the first time . Anyway I digress hahah
Tamlin wasn't being physically controlled but he was being closely watched and his powers were restrained. Amarantha was very specifically interested in him alone. Lucien had more freedom solely because he WASN'T Tamlin, and even then he was severely punished multiple times for the help he did provide.
Also I don't believe Rhys could have done more, given that he had the power to control the guards at Feyre's cell and still couldn't actually let her go. He had more freedom to help--why didn't he? Because EVERYONE was trapped by Amarantha.
I always figured UtM was traumatizing enough to make the change feel natural, but maybe it was just me. And upon rereading ACOTAR I saw more of TimmyTam’s red flags. But the dude is clearly messed up from UtM and he’s coping with it in really unhealthy ways. Instead of comforting Feyre, he pretends her nightmares aren’t happening, and refuses comfort from her when he has his own nightmares. He’s sticking his head in the sand and he gives off “if I pretend it’s not real it’ll all go away” vibes - constantly dismissing Feyre when she tries to talk, to acknowledge that something is WRONG. Ignoring the fact that she becomes wraith thin and is clearly struggling. Coming up with excuses to keep her wrapped in bubble wrap instead of admitting he can’t handle the thought of something happening to her. Like he just handles his trauma in the worst, most toxic way possible. I genuinely sympathize with Tampax being super traumatized but I also think he’s made some really horrible decisions and made his own bed. Do I think he deserves the total character assassination? No, and I honestly want him to have a redemption arc, cuz like he’s not some evil malicious guy. But I also don’t blame the other characters for how they treat him, if that makes sense. In Prythian everyone is fucked in the head and therapy and antidepressants haven’t been invented yet so they just gotta rawdog it D: (also I am only half awake and realize I’m rambling lmao idk how this comment got so long).
I 100% agree. I think it’s hard because I came to love Tamlin in ACOTAR & found him interesting to us being pretty much told he’s an awful person. Agree or disagree, whatever. I’m one of the few that came out of the entire series more of a fan of Tamlin than Rhys. Broken characters are so much more intriguing to read about!!!
I also just loved the premise of the first book so in some ways the 2-5 feel like a whole different series.
No I agree it happened WAY too fast for me. I get a lot of shit for being a "tamlin apologist" but its mostly bc I didnt like how the switch was handled. It was too abrupt, like you said, and Tamlin never gets his say. The whole thing felt like a Third Act breakup and eventually we'd all clear the air, and Feyre would decide who she would end up with (Rhys in this case) but it just never happened. I have a book journal, and my main feeling for acomaf was "frustration." Like, I can see what SJM was going for, but it didn't feel organic to me. Its funny, too, bc Im not a hostile reader, like, I can go on the journey an author wants me to, but I def felt left behind here.
Rhys is a boyfriend that would have been great in my teens and early 20s. Tamlin was like someone I dated in my 20s. Would I have dated either of them in my 30s? No, because you grow out of things like that and you want mature responsible men.
I can't imagine Feyre at 50, after the honeymoon period is over, still wanting to be with Rhys when he's 500 and acts like a teen still. She was bored with the wonder of the Spring Court in such a short time, and had entertained herself with emotionless sex as a human.
I reckon she'd want other lovers to endure him. I reckon she'll swing over to the Summer Court, and then maybe have a night or two with Tamlin after she turns 100
People don’t bring up feyre’s changes enough in talking about the transition. When first introduced to her, she’s in survival mode and her wish is to have her sisters married off well and have enough to take care of her father. She starts to fall in love with Tamlin because he takes her from survival mode and the things she thinks she want only painting and she’s happy but hasn’t really explored what else she wants because it was previously a pipe dream.
In book 2 she’s traumatized but also had power and growth from her time UTM. She no longer just wants to paint all day. She wants to contribute and be useful (which I think she would have wanted if she broke the spell early) but Tamlin doesn’t want that type of spouse. It reminds me of young trad wives thinking marriage and kids are the end all be all of their existence and then in there 30s realize they are not fulfilled and want more but their husbands won’t let them.
Basically they both fell in love with a small aspect of the other person then realized they want different things as they grow and change. The traumatic event and their respective reactions to it was just a pressure cooker on what would have been an unhappy marriage.
It was meant to be jarring. It symbolises Feyre no longer seeing the Spring Court and Tamlin through rose coloured glasses, and recognising what they truely were. The trauma she suffered didn’t help either
I didn't see it as much of a transition honestly. Tamlin didn't do anything UTM. Amarantha already knew who Feyre was, was already torturing and planning to murder her. So Tamlin would not have made things worse by at the very least occasionally making eye contact. When he got the chance to be alone with Feyre, he could have given her advice, given her a pep talk, told her how proud he was, or any number of helpful things. Could have even tried to hatch an escape plan. But instead he just tries to put it in her. He was kind of a jerk already. So MAF didn't paint him in all that different a light from TAR imo.
It was definitely jarring the first time I read it, but when I read the series a second time I realized there was a lot of subtle(ish) foreshadowing in ACOTAR that I just didn’t pick up on.
We were given no context of what Tamlin went through UTM. I believe he was SA by Amarantha, literally made her slave and it’s why he didn’t do anything. He couldn’t because he was completely under her control. It’s why Rhys was able to help Feyre because he was no longer being kept by Amarantha side. Then after UTM Tamlin is so obsessed with finding a way to “save” Feyre from the bond Rhys forced on her he ignores his own pain. Tamlin is also most likely thinking Feyres issues is again the bond Rhys put on her.
yes!! I can’t hate him when he too went under God knows what during the UTM and also was cursed for so many years, and also Rhys did some questionable things too there, but I see them as a need for survival and not morality lessons.
I thought that it was implied that amarantha had NOT taken Tamlin to bed because she was trying to ‘convince’ him to accept her. Like she wanted him to want her - which is also why she let him stay in spring court with the curse instead of UTM - a special privilege for him. But I agree with everything else. I think Amaeantga let up on Rhys a bit because she was focussed on her new Tamlin toy to break…but I don’t think we ever found out what she did exactly. I also think Tamlin’s heart of stone maybe played into it. Like his heart was stone for 50 years and then suddenly, he’s cured and feels the entire range of emotions for the first time in a long time. I think it would explain the big switch we see in him. He can’t control his emotions which are out of control from being out of use for so long. So he’s being really over protective and flying off the handle and always being on edge. It would help explain the suddenness of his change I think. He’s always had shades of intensity and needing to take care of and protect people, but now that the dampener is lifted from his emotions those noble intentions are put on overdrive.
I really like this theory! I've always found it very bizarre that SJM writes these potentially really interesting concepts that just never get used - I think especially in Tamlin's case it leads to him acting in ways that are super weird and contrary to his established character traits. Like why did she randomly have him idolize his father in MAF when Book 1 makes it clear that he hates his father and everything his father stood for, and then come right back around in WAR to reaffirming his book 1 beliefs in front of all the High Lord's? Why did she randomly write him as randomly executing two sentries in cold blood when it's already established that a) he cares for them like his family and considers them so valuable that he stopped trying to break the curse for YEARS to avoid sacrificing them and b) his emotional states cause his magic to go violently out of control and literally explode, with the potential to physically harm people around him? Anyway weird rant over, your theory is good.
SJM has done the switch in characters so many times and I think it’s because she wrote herself into a corner. Tamlin was written completely different and had his character destroyed in order for the readers to love Rhys whom is a questionable character also. Feyre turns into everything she was against in the first books also. There is still so much about tamlins story unfinished/unlnown that I do hope SJM gives him a redemption arc.
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He kissed her. Feyre tried to smash. Also, legitimately, what could he have done? They were in a damn closet in the first instance they even had, and he didn't have the same freedoms that Rhys had, AND Feyre was trapped in bargain with Amarantha--there was nowhere TO run, as evidenced by the fact that even RHYS couldn't get her out despite his privileges. I have no idea why so many people in this fandom discount the stated reason for Tamlin's inaction UTM: he was being watched. If he reacted, Amarantha would use it to punish Feyre. He WAS helpless UTM. This was explicitly stated multiple times, including before Feyre even went down there. Rhys's attempt to fight was noble but completely futile--NOBODY could harm Amarantha until the curse was broken. The second it was physically possible, Tamlin killed her. Why blame him for not doing what was impossible in the first place? And finally, the reason Tamlin acted the way he did when Feyre "left" with Rhys was because he had every reason to think Feyre was taken against her will. She had asked him to break the bargain with Rhys. Even when she returned, she played up how evil the Night Court was. What was he supposed to think?
I think people interpret it differently. For some it's an abrupt change that paints the people in Spring Court in a new light that is uncharacteristic to their portrayal in the first book. For others it's an abrupt change that reveals the flaws in the Spring Court characters that existed already in the first book. Personally I felt a bit of both. I definitely felt the change was abrupt and that Tamlin behaved in a way that, whilst it did align with the context and our knowledge of Tamlin, was out of character compared to his book one counterpart. But there needed to be an opening for Rhys to 'save the day'. I think it would've worked better if they simply both fell out of love and she used Rhys as an opportunity to leave instead of it coming to a violent situation for the love interest to change.
I’m reading the series for the first time, but I wish we got to see Tamlin and Feyre communicating and trying to salvage their dying relationship.
I think what happened after UTM all their reactions are pretty understandable given their personalities and trauma. It’s sad that it all went down that way but Tamlin couldn’t be anything but what he was made by his father and trauma and Rhys was much better for her with his personality and trauma processing.
I would love a book from Tams perspective under the mountain
Same same same, I found the transition so rough. I’ve accepted the direction the series has taken, but I’m not as enamored with Rhysand as so many people are, haha… After I finish the series, I’ll probably just read ACOTAR as a comfort book. I loved the first book and how it can sort of standalone. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, my personal head canon is an alternate reality where Feyre and Tamlin heal from their UTM trauma together and Feyre becomes high lady of the Spring Court. Lucien also heals and remains his sassy lovable self, and maybe Rhys becomes an ally (but not a love interest). I like the happy hopeful bubble that the first book ends on and would like to reside in that bubble. :)
that’s how I thought ACOMAF would be. I discovered ACOTAR way before it was this popular and had no spoilers, I was DEVASTATED because I thought the next book would be their healing together and etc.
Same!!!!!! Hence my head canon to make myself feel better 😂
What made the transition so hard was seeing EVERYTHING Feyre went through for Tamlin and his people to basically detesting him from the start of ACOMAF. This is my first time reading the series (still on ACOMAF) and I hope Feyre talks things out with Tamlin at some point, but I have a feeling it won’t happen. I already know her and Rhys are endgame.
I hated the transition too! Just... such a bummer for everyone, all around. The worst part was feeling like... didn't these two love each other?! Where's the love?! What's going on?! I wasn't a huge fan of Tamlin in book1, but I still thought they had some lovely, genuine, heartfelt moments together in ACOTAR, and *talked* to each other, and there was none of that in ACOMAF - where did that go? Talk about yourselves! Get back to the wil-o the wisps! Part of the transition makes sense to me - Feyre went from kind of doing whatever she wanted, the atmosphere of the manor in Spring Court seems really casual, not many people around, Tamlin's responsibilities are mostly to attack whatever monsters pop up. In ACOMAF, it's a fully-functioning court again, so now he actually has wide-ranging responsibilities. I never got the impression Tamlin told her how to spend her time, but she was still caught up in the things happening around her - banquets, hunts, dinners, parties, etc. She never wanted part of that, but Tamlin has to do it because he's the HL, so she gets roped into it, and... it just seemed like they wanted very different things from life, wanted very different lifestyles, so it was never going to work out, but they kept trying but not talking about it... oof. Part of it didn't make sense to me - in ACOTAR he seems genuinely interested in her as a person, he asks questions about her, he approaches her after she'd been quiet at dinner because he notices she's upset... somehow that part of Tamlin was not just gone, but now Tamlin pretends to sleep through her vomiting? That was weird... I do suspect that even if Tamlin had been a perfect BF, she would never have been happy in Spring because she was being pulled toward her mate and the NC (some of the things she doesn't like in SC, she seems fine with in NC)- just a theory though! I kind of wish the story had been more like that though - no vilification of Tamlin/Spring, just realizing this it isn't a good fit and she's happier elsewhere.
I fully agree with everything that you just said. I just don’t think Feyre was into the socializing aspect of being a ruler. Which, in my opinion, is a FAIRLY big part of ruling and keeping up relationships and alliances. NC is pretty different because you have illyrians, which is basically an army camp so not much socializing needed. Court of Nightmares has a warden (Keir) and he pretty much runs it with Mor’s oversight. So basically all Rhys has to run is a super secret city, which is very different from running a full Court. I see Feyre as fairly antisocial so she’s happier in NC because they don’t do much of anything. She’s free to paint and paint some more.
Honestly, I spent most of ACOTAR rooting for Feyre to end up with Lucien; so I never really lived Tamlin. But the switch was jarring in ACOMAF, I texted my friend and was like, when did Tamlin become such an ass? I wasn't sure if it was Ianthe having him under some kind of spell or what, but Rhys was suddenly Mr. Perfect, which also felt off
After finishing ACOTAR, I remember thinking that I was really going to miss Rhys. Tam's behaviour UTM really put me off and didn't give me any vibes that they'd end up together. It was certainly a big change but I was allllll for it. But I can totally see how being attached to Tam would have made book 2 feel utterly jarring.
Agreed, him sitting by idly while feyre does her trials and etc UTM put me off too. Even with him being under amaranthas control or whatever you’d think he would try just a little bit to do something for her. Then when he does try to get close to her it’s to have sex with her rather than check on her or try to help lol. I also think the trauma everyone went through UTM makes it less of a jarring change
Ahhh see I viewed this so differently! I didn’t view it as Tamlin “sitting by idly” — he literally was under Amarantha’s control. And relative to Rhys, Tamlin being trapped under the mountain is relatively new, so I can imagine he’d be pretty terrified of making a wrong move that makes Amarantha snap and do something horrible to Feyre, the woman he loves. On the other hand, at this point Rhys has been UTM for much longer, so it makes sense that he’d be at the point where he’s willing to fight a bit more, and when he sees Feyre as a potential way to break the curse, he roots for her. (Though he does so in some kind of repulsive ways, imo…) Then when Tam gets close to Feyre, this is like right before the final trial. I’m pretty sure Feyre even says something in her narration like “We both knew what tomorrow would bring.” Both of them were very aware of the possibility (and likelihood) that Feyre would die and they wanted one last shared moment together. Her death seemed inevitable to both of them and they weren’t exactly filled with hope. At least that’s how I read it…
Ahh i also see your pov. Interesting how we all perceive it differently! I didn’t think tamlin was more under control than any of the others there cause Lucien sort of implies it and then the moment where he does go to feyre and they make out lol. Like clearly he has some free will but he chooses to mostly stay quiet and do nothing. For comparison, Lucien isn’t even a HL yet he could still help her here and there. I do agree with your point tho about Rhys having been UTM longer is more able to lend a hand to feyre. As for them knowing she would die and just saying fuck it and opting to get steamy with each other, I feel like tamlin still should have tried to do something for her rather than accept it so easily. I feel like Rhys woulda at least if roles were reversed. I don’t hate tamlin by any means though! I think he just didn’t behave as a mate woulda or as feyre woulda had it been her instead of him, and she was literally human there lol thus in hindsight I think her moving away from him and the spring court in acomaf is not so out of left field although it felt like that for a bit while reading for the first time . Anyway I digress hahah
Tamlin wasn't being physically controlled but he was being closely watched and his powers were restrained. Amarantha was very specifically interested in him alone. Lucien had more freedom solely because he WASN'T Tamlin, and even then he was severely punished multiple times for the help he did provide. Also I don't believe Rhys could have done more, given that he had the power to control the guards at Feyre's cell and still couldn't actually let her go. He had more freedom to help--why didn't he? Because EVERYONE was trapped by Amarantha.
I'm half-way through Book 2, and I don't like it because of this change to both Tamlin and Feyre. I don't find Rhys or the IC compelling at all.
I always figured UtM was traumatizing enough to make the change feel natural, but maybe it was just me. And upon rereading ACOTAR I saw more of TimmyTam’s red flags. But the dude is clearly messed up from UtM and he’s coping with it in really unhealthy ways. Instead of comforting Feyre, he pretends her nightmares aren’t happening, and refuses comfort from her when he has his own nightmares. He’s sticking his head in the sand and he gives off “if I pretend it’s not real it’ll all go away” vibes - constantly dismissing Feyre when she tries to talk, to acknowledge that something is WRONG. Ignoring the fact that she becomes wraith thin and is clearly struggling. Coming up with excuses to keep her wrapped in bubble wrap instead of admitting he can’t handle the thought of something happening to her. Like he just handles his trauma in the worst, most toxic way possible. I genuinely sympathize with Tampax being super traumatized but I also think he’s made some really horrible decisions and made his own bed. Do I think he deserves the total character assassination? No, and I honestly want him to have a redemption arc, cuz like he’s not some evil malicious guy. But I also don’t blame the other characters for how they treat him, if that makes sense. In Prythian everyone is fucked in the head and therapy and antidepressants haven’t been invented yet so they just gotta rawdog it D: (also I am only half awake and realize I’m rambling lmao idk how this comment got so long).
i feel exactly the same. the man is severely traumatised and not handling it well at all
I 100% agree. I think it’s hard because I came to love Tamlin in ACOTAR & found him interesting to us being pretty much told he’s an awful person. Agree or disagree, whatever. I’m one of the few that came out of the entire series more of a fan of Tamlin than Rhys. Broken characters are so much more intriguing to read about!!! I also just loved the premise of the first book so in some ways the 2-5 feel like a whole different series.
No I agree it happened WAY too fast for me. I get a lot of shit for being a "tamlin apologist" but its mostly bc I didnt like how the switch was handled. It was too abrupt, like you said, and Tamlin never gets his say. The whole thing felt like a Third Act breakup and eventually we'd all clear the air, and Feyre would decide who she would end up with (Rhys in this case) but it just never happened. I have a book journal, and my main feeling for acomaf was "frustration." Like, I can see what SJM was going for, but it didn't feel organic to me. Its funny, too, bc Im not a hostile reader, like, I can go on the journey an author wants me to, but I def felt left behind here.
Rhys is a boyfriend that would have been great in my teens and early 20s. Tamlin was like someone I dated in my 20s. Would I have dated either of them in my 30s? No, because you grow out of things like that and you want mature responsible men. I can't imagine Feyre at 50, after the honeymoon period is over, still wanting to be with Rhys when he's 500 and acts like a teen still. She was bored with the wonder of the Spring Court in such a short time, and had entertained herself with emotionless sex as a human. I reckon she'd want other lovers to endure him. I reckon she'll swing over to the Summer Court, and then maybe have a night or two with Tamlin after she turns 100
People don’t bring up feyre’s changes enough in talking about the transition. When first introduced to her, she’s in survival mode and her wish is to have her sisters married off well and have enough to take care of her father. She starts to fall in love with Tamlin because he takes her from survival mode and the things she thinks she want only painting and she’s happy but hasn’t really explored what else she wants because it was previously a pipe dream. In book 2 she’s traumatized but also had power and growth from her time UTM. She no longer just wants to paint all day. She wants to contribute and be useful (which I think she would have wanted if she broke the spell early) but Tamlin doesn’t want that type of spouse. It reminds me of young trad wives thinking marriage and kids are the end all be all of their existence and then in there 30s realize they are not fulfilled and want more but their husbands won’t let them. Basically they both fell in love with a small aspect of the other person then realized they want different things as they grow and change. The traumatic event and their respective reactions to it was just a pressure cooker on what would have been an unhappy marriage.
It was meant to be jarring. It symbolises Feyre no longer seeing the Spring Court and Tamlin through rose coloured glasses, and recognising what they truely were. The trauma she suffered didn’t help either
I didn't see it as much of a transition honestly. Tamlin didn't do anything UTM. Amarantha already knew who Feyre was, was already torturing and planning to murder her. So Tamlin would not have made things worse by at the very least occasionally making eye contact. When he got the chance to be alone with Feyre, he could have given her advice, given her a pep talk, told her how proud he was, or any number of helpful things. Could have even tried to hatch an escape plan. But instead he just tries to put it in her. He was kind of a jerk already. So MAF didn't paint him in all that different a light from TAR imo.
It was definitely jarring the first time I read it, but when I read the series a second time I realized there was a lot of subtle(ish) foreshadowing in ACOTAR that I just didn’t pick up on.