Finishing the books of the Cosmere currently out makes re-reading past ones feel completely different
I'm sure I can't be the only one who feels a little.... different about the Mistborn series now, right? I finally listened to the Sunlit Man last week and am working on Isles of the Emberdark now. Scadrians have been... not exactly what I would consider good in either of these books. Actually they feel pretty antagonistic. I admit I'm not a Cosmere scholar so I can't really remember the specifics of the various gods/shards/planets/etc. But as of what I'm seeing Scadrians seem pretty not good. Maybe not "evil" persay but still pretty bad for like... everyone they come into contact with.
Pair that with Kelsier in general who already was kinda unhinged to begin with but even in his own series, with the final book of Mistborn Era 2, he was shown to not exactly be what I would consider a 'good guy'. Maybe not actually evil, but also definitely not good and a problem for basically anyone who isn't in a very small window of people he finds worthy of saving.
This sort of makes re-reading Mistborn feel totally different, especially Era 1. It feel like all the work from Mistborn Era 1 was kinda I dunno... bad? Because had they not managed to somewhat save the planet like they did the Scadrians probably wouldn't be able to be out here colonizing planets like they are. I don't know the specifics in the greater Cosmere had Ruin vs Preservation stayed separated and not become Harmony. And I don't know if the harm Scadrians are doing with their colonizing is the lesser of two evils compared to the other issues going on, but it definitely makes the entire Mistborn series feel so different. I also feel that while Kelsier was my fav character in The Final Empire he definitely is not in rereads now.