Where nothing is what you think it is (ACOMAF Re-read, Chapters 1-15)

 

Ianthe and Tamlin

I wonder how many people started ACOMAF after ACOTAR and were like "wtf is going on?"  Literally nobody behaves the way they did in book 1.  Feyre becomes a meek doormat, Tamlin goes full tin foil hat, and Rhys is suddenly nice.

Speaking of our boy Tam - he's not doing me any favors in this book when it comes to trying to prove he's not really a douche.  A cursory surface read just shows him as a possessive overprotective asshat, but I really don't think it's coming from a mean place.  He's obviously taken his role as protector to a completely inappropriate place.  That's really the main sticking point for me with how the fandom reacts to Tam (and the whole Tamlin the Tool) thing - like he's not doing this to be an asshole.  He's not right, and he doesn't listen to Feyre when she expresses how he's smothering her, but it is coming from a place of love.  

Love can get obsessive.  Love can hurt.  And oftentimes you really can't hurt or be hurt by someone unless you love them (otherwise why would it bother you?).  I think when you get down to it, the way he tries to protect Feyre, the way he obsesses over protecting her (homeboy freaks out and spends hours as a beast just to feel like he can protect her better), is just sad.  It's like Feyre is the only thing that matters in his life so she must be kept safe at all costs.  It's pathetic and sad that he's so lonely that he literally feels like he'll have nothing left if anything happens to her.  I've kind of felt like that at some points in my life - it's like that obsessive feeling you get with a new relationship, when all you can think of is that person - and to be dumped before that can wear off (it always wears off) is like having a limb cut off.

So I might consider myself a Tamlin apologist, but not in the sense that I'm trying to say his behavior is excusable, even with the obvious PTSD.  It's sad, and I think Tamlin has been a sad, lonely person for a very long time.  He was treated as little more than an animal by his family, didn't really mention having any friends (ironically I think Rhys winds up being the only person he ever actually  might have considered as a friend in his younger years), and was groomed since childhood by creepy-ass Ianthe.

Speaking of Ianthe, she is the literal worst.  She might be worse than Amarantha, if only because she's sexually predacious towards several people that are in lower positions of power than her.

One thing I haven't been able to figure out yet is why Tamlin welcomed her back.  I think it's pretty obvious that her ultimate goal is to ally with Hybern and help him with his plot to take over Prythian.  She'd need an in at any court in order to do that and the Spring Court is the obvious choice because she's got history there.  So we know why she suddenly shows up after so long, but why does Tamlin let her?  He doesn't seem to like her all that much; I can't imagine familial loyalty has much to do with it either since he hated his father too.  He acknowledges that as a priestess she has a certain amount of influence and power over Prythian, so I can only assume he allows her free reign because of that.  Why he feels like he needs it, I couldn't rightly say.  I'm just going to chalk it up to the fact that he's literally that paranoid over being attacked again and over protecting Feyre specifically that he'll do anything to project strength.  I'm not sure it's about trying to gain power and influence over the other high lords since, for all his faults, Tamlin never struck me as power hungry, maybe just trying to show that he's back and better than ever after being under Amarantha's thumb and that curse for all those years.  It's never really explained so I can only offer speculation here, but this is my gut feeling.

So really what I'm trying to impart with all that word vomit is that Ianthe is, at some level, responsible for Tamlin's paranoia and overprotectiveness because she's feeding it as a means of keeping control over him.  We know she's power hungry and a predator to boot, and she saw the perfect mark in Tamlin - a lonely guy with low self esteem, a natural propensity for paranoia, and a lot to lose.  He opened the door and continually trusted Ianthe the snake over Feyre, but again, that's his crime more than the actual overprotectiveness.  It just comes off as petty and mean to kick a dude when he's down, you know?  Even if we are talking about real people and a fictional character.

Random Musings:

• Feyre immediately finds the idea of being a spy for the Spring Court abhorrent (and only goes along with it because she's too tired to fight it), but if I remember correctly she jumps at the chance to spy on the Spring Court for the Night Court later on.  Granted I haven't gotten to that point yet, but I seem to remember her not being too bothered by it, and she kind of gleefully plays on all of Tamlin's insecurities as part of that.  Hypocrite Points for Feyre - 1
• Feyre is also initially mad at Rhys (before realizing he had no choice in it) at protecting only his court and being upset on behalf of other courts at the suffering they had to go through with Amarantha.  However, she doesn't seem to really consider what she's forcing on the people of the Spring Court when she infiltrates, undermines, and essentially destroys them later on.  I'll change my tune once I get to that point if it turns out I'm remembering this wrong, but until then: Hypocrite Points for Feyre - 2
• Feyre seems to admire Rhys and willingness to do anything to protect the people he loves (she doesn't blink an eye when he says he'll become a literal monster to do that if he needs to), so why is Tamlin the bad guy for doing pretty much the same thing?  He went batshit in his effort to protect Feyre.  I can only assume that she's looking at it differently because Tam's protective efforts wound up impacting her negatively, and she doesn't really know Rhys well at this point, but the fact that she doesn't even harken back to Tam's behavior when Rhys says that and is only thinking of how admirable it is is kind of telling.  She acknowledges all of the horrible things Rhys had to do to keep Velaris hidden from Amarantha (mind-shattering included) and is just kind of like wow how awesome of you.  Tam institutes the Tithe (let's assume he's doing this at Ianthe's suggestion as a means of projecting strength, which plays into his desire to protect his Court as well as Feyre), but that's worse that turning someone into a vegetable or actually disintegrating them entirely?  Hypocrite Points for Feyre - 3...actually, no, she gets 2 for that, so 4.  
• The audiobook narrator's voice for Cassian is straight up BAD.  He sounds like an angry cartoon gremlin.