Day 1 of saving my boy [plural] from booktok:
SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES!!! NAME IN TAGS!!!
When you take a character who is written with the idea of being one full circle tragedy with some pretty heavy themes attached, youād hope that the people who read about that character pick up on what the author was trying to put into place. Especially when the book itself was written with a strong idea in place of the kind of content and subject matter the author wanted to bring attention to or talk about. But then the people who do read the series ignore it completely for something else and criticize it for not fitting in with their taste in books.
A major part of one of the characterās (mi hijo <333) is the idea of āhonourā in the way of morals and alignment with oneās own faith or beliefs. Heās written with a very family motivated base, almost to the point where when he mentions them or talks to them, itās in a detached kind of manner where they are unreachable, they are beyond him, and they are a faith he has dedicated his life (literally and metaphorically) to. So his honour comes with his theme of truth; I will come back to this.
His character holds some of the heavier themes in the book, and theyāre represented in the way Akos talks about himself or his perception of how he fits into everything around him. Thereās a consistency with his self-loathing when he finds he fits in, and self-righteousness when he doesnāt. Itās two different extremes that perfectly communicate his character to the audience. Heās inconsistent, and heās āadaptingā to his environment is really him shifting what keeps him tethered to himself and his own identity. But it always relates back to saving or protecting his family and his people, itās not a saviour complex because he sees himself as being a harbinger for the destruction that happens later in the series, itās something he uses to hold on to that good part of him. The part, the honour, that is such a key part of himānot just as a character, but as a person.
Thereās a very common scenario in the book where characters will think heāll say or do things one way, and he does pretty much the opposite, which makes sense when you understand that his goal throughout the book isnāt to fit in (thatās the last thing he wants to do with the people who kidnapped him and murdered his father) but rather to stay true to his own self. His honour. Heās pretty one-track minded, and heās willing to sacrifice pretty much everything in order to achieve his goal, everything but his honour.
One of the main quotes the book holds is āhonour has no place in survivalā. This is a constant throughout the series, and it particularly takes weight with Akos. The character whoās tied so closely to honour, whose name means āFalconā, something that symbolizes honour, who is related to a quote that talks about throwing it away. He is honour, and in the finale of the second book, when this quote is mentioned again, Akos accepts that in order to save his people he has to disregard his loyalties, his honour, in order to save his people. The second book has a major part with Akos changing drastically as both a character and a person, losing himself in the process, and itās quite convenient that it is due to this that heās then shunned and considered a traitor by his country which he has been suffering for the whole series, which he saved from being actually entirely fucking destroyed and blown to bits. Just saying.
My precious boy and his big themes, I may lose my mind :3 <3333
