Ranking Cosmere Dads for Fatherās Day
Itās Fatherās Day! In honor (?) of this holiday, Iāve put Cosmere dads into a tier list. So who are the best & worst dads in the Cosmere?
[Spoilers for all Cosmere works, including Tress of the Emerald Sea!]
S-Tier: Best Dads in the Cosmere
Here we find dads who support and love their kids, no matter what. Lem, Tressās dad in Emerald Sea, actively helps his daughter sneak off the island to rescue the man she loves, calling in all of the favors heās built up by being an all around great dude. Rock, from Stormlight Archive, loves his family. Even though heĀ believes very strongly in the jobs-by-birth-order tradition, when his daughter Cord decides to abandon pacifism and join the fight, he supports her. We love dads who help realize their daughtersā dreams, even when those dreams may differ from the dadās own worldview!
A-Tier: Really Great Dads
Eventeo, Sareneās dad in Elantris, and Wax of Wax and WayneĀ fame, are both excellent dads. Eventeo supports his daughter Sarene as best he can, although he doesnāt always realize how Sarene is really feeling. When Sarene arrives in Arelon to find her fianceĀ ādead,ā sheās determined to stay in order to maintain the treaty that her marriage has created--but Eventeo wants her to know that if she wants to come back home, there will always be a place for her. Wax seems to be a great dad to Tindwyl and (sigh) Maxillium, and he flies his kids around! Thatās pretty fun.
B-Tier: Pretty Good Dads...Most of the Time
Kelsier, Elhokar, StormfatherĀ
Iām counting Kelsier as Vinās dad, for the record! Elhokar from Stormlight ArchiveĀ has a baby son, and the Stormfather is the father of the Honorspren like Syl. These dads definitely try to do right by their kids. Kelsier is a good dad to Vin, overall. He may not support her love for Elend at first, but when push comes to shove, he does risk his life to save Elend just because Vin loves him. And he loves and supports Vin the whole way through. Elhokar doesnāt really have much to do with his little son, but he does try in the end to rescue him and dies in the process, so that has to count for something, right? The Stormfather has, uh, trouble supporting his kids because heās so paranoid that the oaths will kill them, but when push comes to shove, he really has no choice to accept their oaths. Thatās support! Albeit forced by his nature as a spren, etc. All of these dads do intend the best for their kids, but theyāre maybe a tad problematic about how they go about it.
C-Tier: They, uh, Mean Well I guess?
Dalinar, Lirin, Taravangian
Dalinar is tricky because he may be a pretty solid dad now, but hoo boy was he not such a great dad in the beginning. He barely remembered that Renarin existed, and he spent most of his time wantonly slaughtering people. So on average, I put Dalinar at C. I may get in trouble for putting Lirin so low but LISTEN. He called Kaladin a MONSTER. He REFUSES to accept his son as he is! But, like, I know he loves Kaladin and means well, etc. Taravangian may be a villain, but as a father, he does make darn sure his kids & grandkids are outside of his schemes so that they wonāt be implicated and he trades the whole world for their safety. Which would be sweeter if not for theĀ āeveryone else can die for all I careā angle.Ā
D-Tier: They Basically Suck As Dads
Charlieās dad, Iadon, Dedelin, Tevidian, Gavilar
Now we get to dads who are lowkey abusive. Charlieās dad from Tress of the Emerald SeaĀ tried to force his son into an unwanted marriage, and when that didnāt work and Charlie ended up kidnapped, he just sort of shrugged and replacedĀ Charlie with someone else. Wow. Iadon, Raodenās father from Elantris, was paranoid and grumpy and his son was actively working to undermine him. Iadon in turn barely batted an eye when he had to throw his son into Elantris. Dedelin, Siriās and Vivennaās dad from Warbreaker, so favored his daughter Vivenna that he sent his unprepared and innocent daughter Siri to what he thought was her death. And finally, Tevidian (Vinās biological father from Mistborn) was Lord Prelan. He goes into D-tier almost by default. We donāt know much yet about Gavilarās relationship to his children, but he did try to make Jasnah marry AMARAM, and he seemed to feel scorn for Elhokar. Thatās not great material for a fatherās day card.
F-Tier:Ā Actively Harmful To Their ChildrenĀ
Edwarn, Lin Davar, Straff
And finally, the dads who are ACTIVELY and SUPREMELY abusive! Edwarn is Waxās uncle apparently (I thought he was Waxās dad whoops), but I think he fulfilled the dad role. Anyway, he tried to have Wax KILLED. Lin Davar was an abusive nightmare to all of his kids (and Iām including Shallan) until Shallan had to kill him to save his brother.Ā
And Straff. Straff (Elendās dad fromĀ Mistborn) is the worst dad in the Cosmere. Bad to his son Elend. Bad to everyone his son loves. Bad overall. I canāt even. Iām so glad he got cut in half with a giant sword.
H-Happy Fatherās Day, everyone!