A rant for Cassian because I want to
(And I’m going to put his friendship and love of Feyre aside for this post because this is meant to be about him and Rhysand.)
Every time I see people criticize Cassian for refusing to enable his mate’s toxic behaviors or for choosing to understand Rhysand’s situation and feelings, I can’t help but wonder…what exactly did they expect from him?
Cassian saw Rhys lose his mother, his father, his sister—and still find the strength to care for his people and dream of a better future for them all. He saw his brother disappear for fifty years, knowing he had to be enduring unimaginable torture just to protect his family. He saw his brother die. He watched him sacrifice everything to save the world and give his family a chance at a good life, even if that meant they’d have to live it without him.
After all that suffering, Cassian finally got to witness Rhys find happiness—he was going to have a love more beautiful than any other, to become a father, to have everything he had fought and bled for. And then he saw it all threatened again. Rhys faced the possibility of losing the love of his life, their unborn child, their hope, their future—everything he and Feyre had fought so hard for.
So yes, if Cassian had a soft spot for the brother who had been there for him in every possible way since the beginning—the brother he’d grown up alongside, who had suffered so much and still managed to give so much of himself to others—I understand that completely. And if he chose not to support someone on their unreasonable hatred toward the people he cared about during a time as fragile as that, I truly can’t blame him.
In fact, I think he did the right thing. Because if someone I was dating disrespected my family—especially during such a sensitive time, and without any logical reason—you can bet I would’ve done much worse than Cassian did. And I say this acknowledging that trauma manifests differently for everyone. But if you only ever focus on your own pain without considering how deeply others are hurting—and on top of that, you make things even harder for them—it will inevitably cost you their presence. No one will stick around forever if they’re constantly being torn down.
Cassian stood by his family during their darkest time and refused to excuse behavior that added more pain. That’s not a failure of loyalty—it’s the truest kind of it. Love isn’t enabling. Love tells you when you’ve made a mistake and when you need to stop, because you’re wrong. At least that’s how it is in my book. And I, for one, will never judge Cassian or anyone else for that.
