#speculation i know

I've always been staunchly of the opinion that Jem should have been bald and mangled like a proper fucking Silent Brother. Even if he’d become mortal again, he should’ve been just as scary-looking and hideous as everyone regards the Silent Brothers to be. I dislike that Jem gets to keep his handsomeness because of conveniences, and Tessa never has to face her shallowness for commenting on how it’s hardly worth to live a long life and look the way the Silent Brothers do. As if their service to the Nephilim is about serving looks instead of scholarly work and healing.

There’d be something bittersweet and much deeper if Tessa would’ve remained alone and Jem would’ve become fully a Silent Brother, eyes sown shut and all. They would’ve remained as such, both immortal, forever together but forever apart. After all her losses, I would’ve wished for Tessa to invent herself again instead of going full circle back to Jem and playing house with him this time around. To have that actual tragedy of loss present in their lives and changing their futures permanently. There being nothing to go back to and that actually forcing them to move forward. But Clare never truly forces her characters in these matters.

Jem never becoming fully a Silent Brother set him aside for a time so Tessa got to have her life with Will, who was always the obvious first choice. As convenience dictates it, because of yin fen Jem may continue being handsome and later be magically cured and have his great love with Tessa, who doesn't have to love a ghastly bald man. Clare effectively makes the choice for Tessa because Jem has to initially remove himself from the equation, and they still get their “happy ever after” with each other too. Tessa’s renewed relationship with Jem is merely veiled into bravely choosing love again despite Tessa having lost her greatest love and her children to old age and whatnot already once.

Jem getting his turn with Tessa is filled with those same contrivances and discrepancies because all that they’ve lost to time seems to weigh nothing at all despite the fact that they were exceptionally deep and significant relationships and events for Tessa (i.e., unlike other characters). Tessa’s grief is brought up when convenient, but not that it stops her from exposing herself to it again (because of bravely choosing love again) or once again opting for a life where her husband and children potentially die before her, as she’s assumedly going to outlive them too. That, unless Clare decides to end Tessa’s story with her becoming mortal, as there was an option like that on the table (at least with Magnus saying so). Then Tessa gets to be brave and bravely choose love again and, oh oops, become mortal and still reap the benefits for her characterization of being bravely brave and loving love.