In Defense of Alina (and a little grace for the Darkling too)
Can we please stop calling Alina Starkov a narcissist and start acknowledging what she actually is? A 17 year old girl who was orphaned, isolated, and then abruptly turned into the literal symbol of salvation for a persecuted magical minority.
Sheβs insecure, confused, reactive and yeah, she gets things wrong. But thatβs not narcissism. Thatβs what happens when you throw a teenager with unresolved trauma into a centuries-old war and expect instant moral clarity and flawless leadership.
Yes, she makes selfish decisions. Yes, she struggles with responsibility. Thatβs human. Thatβs developmentally appropriate. Sheβs not a general. Sheβs not a saint. Sheβs just a young girl trying not to drown under the weight of a prophesied destiny.
And while weβre here yes, the Darkling is a deeply tragic figure too. Centuries of watching your people die, of being feared and hunted, it changes you. His pain is real. His desperation is real. But so are the ways he hurts others trying to control the outcome.
Thatβs the heart of the story, both Alina and Aleksander are trapped by power, expectation, and trauma. One is just starting to understand it and the other has been consumed by it for centuries.
You can grieve for the boy who wanted to make a safe world and still hold him accountable.
You can support the girl who keeps messing up and still expect her to grow.
The Grishaverse pits two broken people against each other, one with the wisdom of ages, the other with the weight of prophecy.
Their tragedy isnβt that theyβre enemies, itβs that theyΒ couldΒ have been each otherβs salvation.