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rhys is not the villain you paint him to be a thread ~
first of all everyone is entitled to their own opinion so don’t come at me i’m just trying to break down this argument because I don’t personally agree with a lot of things that have been said.
Argument 1 - Rhys being painted as a s/a-lter (and being compared to Tamlin)
It important to note that ACOTAR is written in the first person therefore everything we read is through feyre’s eyes meaning: everything we read will be biased. We are receiving information through her-
It important to note that ACOTAR is written in the first person therefore everything we read is through feyre’s eyes meaning: everything we read will be biased. We are receiving information through her-
— thoughts, emotions and what she believes to be true. Therefore, it should be established that as of ACOTAR (and early ACOMAF) Rhys is clearly believed to be the villain since its all she knows and Tamlin as a hero (as a result of him “saving her” and being the only person —
— to show her kindness). At first glance Rhys is seen as vile - he “forces” Feyre into a bargain, “force” her to attend Amarantha’s party which results in giving her fairy wine and kisses her in the hallway. While reading ACOTAR it is normal to feel disgusted by this however —
— after reading ACOMAF, sjm makes it pretty clear these actions were done solely for the survival of Feyre. This is truly a moment where you have to look deeper than just the surface. His only intention was to help Feyre survive (and be safe) which is seen before the trials —
— right from Fire Night where he scares off two high fae ready to take advantage of Feyre right until the trials where he would whisper the correct answer (which he wouldn’t have been able to do if it wasn’t for the “forced” bargain. As for the drink, which yes is truly awful —
— and I would never defend such actions EVER, is the one thing that allows Feyre out of her cell that was driving her out of her mind. Rhys was able to create an image (similar to the one in the Court of Nightmares) that she’s “his” to keep suspicion away, he makes her forget—
— for a couple hours to keep her sain. It is also important to note that despite these actions being wrong the intentions behind them were never to take advantage of her. He never feels her up, he does not violate her physically and is only trying to keep her mentally stable.
As for when he kisses her in the hallway. Context is KEY here. Amarantha was approaching and was going to find out about her and Tamlin which would’ve gotten them all killed. Despite his actions being morally grey it is super important to keep in mind the intentions behind —
— actions. So please for the love of God stop comparing him to Tamlin (i’ll literally make a whole separate thread about him and why in fact he is an abuser and Rhys is not).
Here are tweets by @rhysandist that explains these points super well too!
I’ll probably be adding on to this thread in the near future, and also feel free to leave any of your arguments here!!
