Hulu's Court Of Thorns & Roses Show Can Finally Do Justice To 1 Overlooked Character

Whether readers of Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns & Roses like or dislike Elain, both camps should concede that a lot has been held back about her character. By A Court of Silver Flames, she is far from the cardboard cutout she is in A Court of Thorns & Roses. However, much of Elain’s character development seems to focus on setting up an extreme image of sweetness. The conspicuousness of this has been the subject of many brilliant Elain theories, but that most of the characters have the same view of her is more unbalanced than the other key players.

For example, Rhysand is an interesting character to read because he has a public and private identity, and readers see descriptions of him through several different characters, although sometimes creates problems like in Nesta’s spinoff. From Feyre’s rose-tinted glasses to Nesta’s disdain to Cassian’s reverence, these different perspectives create a kaleidoscopic character. The reader does not get the same experience with Elain, but a television format could fix this by not being confined to a narrator and showing more of what her family and friends don’t see.

Hulu’s Court Of Thorns & Roses Can Do Justice To Elain After The Books Overlooked Her

A TV Show Format Could Fix Pacing Issues Caused By Narrator Switches

Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns & Roses series does a great job of starting out with familiar tropes and challenging them later. In the book, the reader experiences her sisters, Nesta and Elain, through Feyre’s point of view as the breadwinner of a starving family – their lazy and entitled behavior is purposefully underdeveloped and brings to mind the evil sisters from fairytales. Later, Nesta reveals some of her sympathetic side when she tells Feyre she tried to look for her, and Elain accepts part of the blame for letting Feyre look after everyone at the cottage.

Elain’s true potential is held back from the reader for too long throughout the
ACOTAR
series…

However, arguably, Elain’s true potential is held back from the reader for too long throughout the ACOTAR series, which is the biggest Elain injustice it must undo. Elain is divisive among readers – some like that she has wholesome hobbies and a different kind of strength. Others see her as an underdeveloped background character. It’s somewhere in the middle – Easter eggs for Elain’s character development show it was planned, but Hulu could improve the pacing and more overtly show her complexities. The format is free from the restriction of Feyre’s coddling point of view.

Sarah J. Maas’ ACOTAR Trilogy Completely Wastes Elain’s Character

Elain Has So Much Potential But Is Often In The Background Of The Books

Elain Archeron has the potential to surprise readers. It seems that Sarah J. Maas is going to provide a huge payoff for Elain’s character in book 6. She seems to waste her character, and Maas almost breaks the fourth wall when she has Nesta remarking that Elain will finally become interesting if she ventures beyond Velaris in A Court of Silver Flames. She does so again when Rhysand says, “with time and safety, perhaps we’ll see a different side of her emerge,” and “we haven’t yet seen all she has to offer.” This teases that the reader shouldn’t underestimate Elain.

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However, this doesn’t make it any easier on the reader when descriptions of Elain often revolve around her sweetness and tending her gardens. It is wonderful that she has adjusted to her Fae life and has found friends in Cerridwen and Nuala, but it means the reader sees only what is happening on the surface living with Feyre and Rhys, with only a few clues hinting at her secret self-discovery. Her affinity with Cerridwen and Nuala, for example, emphasizes her witchy traits which are likely to be developed later, but all of these characters could benefit from more development sooner.

How The Court Of Thorns & Roses TV Show Can Finally Fix Elain’s Character Arc

The TV Show Could Portray Events In Elain’s Life Feyre Didn’t See

Hulu could play on the one-dimensional image the reader gets of Elain through the opinions of the other characters. For example, it is often easy to forget that Elain is not the youngest Archeron sister because she is so infantilized by her sisters and the rest of the Inner Circle. Rather than handling her with kiddie gloves, the show could cultivate more of her mystery. There is clearly more to her than meets the eye, but to over-emphasize her sweetness to set up a turnaround later underestimates the reader and the viewer. It undermines that very complexity.

The A Court of Thorns & Roses TV show could give Elain Archeron more screen time to fix this pacing issue. In particular, it could explore her grieving Graysen and portray more of their relationship. The reader does not get to see their courtship happen because Feyre is not privy to it. The show could also hint more at the full potential of her abilities. To an extent, this should be mysterious. However, the television format could fix characters not getting as much attention because only a couple of characters are being developed at a time.

Elain Can Be Further Vindicated In The Sixth Court Of Thorns & Roses Book

Book 6 Promises To Do More With Elain’s Character Development

Having Elain’s POV could vindicate her.

Sarah J. Maas could address a common ACOTAR frustration in book 6 of the series. In A Court of Silver Flames, she makes Nesta more complex and sympathetic. There are hints throughout the book, such as remarks from Rhys, that it’s Elain’s turn next, and the author has confirmed Elain is getting her own book which has an advantage over Nesta’s, and she always has “one eye on the horizon” for her characters (Live Talks LA). This would make sense, as both the other sisters have had their time. Having Elain’s POV could vindicate her.

It could also build on interesting traits that discerning ACOTAR readers have noticed about Elain all along. For example, far from being the shrinking violet everyone seems to think she is, Elain is rather forward when it comes to Azriel, despite it being debatable whether ACOTAR‘s Elain and Azriel will end up together. This goes against the prim and proper human woman image she seems to have played up to. In addition, Elain being a quiet observer makes her the most observant character in the series, a natural trait supplementing her Seer abilities. Book 6 of A Court of Thorns & Roses could therefore have the most insightful narration yet.