Is Rhys redeemable?
For the haters out there.
There’s a lot of discourse in the fandom these days about how Rhys is not the “feminist king” the text (and SJM) seems to want him to be, which I personally agree with. There’s a mismatch between what the text is telling us about him and what his actions on the page are showing us about his character, and that’s what gets fans all riled up.
So I’m curious to know if this could have been fixed in your eyes, my dear haters. If Rhys had genuinely apologised and taken accountability for his actions UTM during ACOMAF, would you see him differently? If he had apologised to Feyre (and Nesta) for withholding the info about Feyre’s pregnancy, would you still hate him? Could he have made things right in these situations in a way that would have made you turn in your hater card?
And if in future books he has a major reckoning with his behavior so far, can you see yourself liking or at least enjoying his character? Can the man be fixed, or is he too far gone?
Personally I think the issue is that SJM herself doesn’t see anything especially wrong with his actions, so we’re unlikely to get this… but I’m wondering if, in the hands of a different writer, Rhys could have been, or could still be, a more interesting or sympathetic character.