Rhysand vs. Rhys 

When I was re-reading ACOTAR, I noticed something interesting about how and when Feyre uses Rhysand’s name.  As we learn during Rhys’s visit to the Spring Court, only his enemies and prisoners refer to him as Rhysand instead of Rhys.  Even Lucien, who considers him an enemy now, still calls him Rhys, which serves to remind the reader of their old friendship and current estrangement.

Feyre, of course, is terrified of (and yet attracted to) the High Lord of the Night Court, and she consistently refers to him as Rhysand for the majority of their interactions.  What I found interesting, though, is when the shift in inner monologue starts switching from Rhysand the Enemy to Rhys the Ally and Friend.  When he plays his part as Amarantha’s whore, he is Rhysand in Feyre’s mind, but in her moments of empathy, she slips and calls him Rhys.

 What’s really cool is that this is such a subtle way to show her changing feelings towards him over the course of ACOTAR, as she begins to slowly see past his mask to the man beneath.  

So, some examples of this shift, when Rhysand suddenly becomes Rhys:

 When Rhys spares the Summer High Lord and his fae.  Rather than reveal their secret or shatter the fae’s mind, Rhys keeps quiet and shows mercy by ending the fae’s life quickly. Feyre: “[…]out of the corner of my eye I saw the Summer High Lord sag a bit–enough to make me wonder…wonder what sort of choice Rhys had made in that moment he’d taken to search the male’s mind. […] Rhys slipped a hand out of his pocket, and it dangled at his side.” Feyre sees Rhys in this moment, though to all the courts he is still Rhysand, a sentiment that is represented and symbolized by Amarantha’s continuous use of his full name when ordering him to extract the fae’s secrets and shatter his mind.  Only Feyre sees the hint of mercy and humanity in Rhys, the silent and invisible struggle taking place in his mind.

- Interestingly enough, Feyre thinks of him as Rhys when he kisses her in the hallway.  This is a complicated scene since he does it because Amarantha is about to discover Feyre and Tamlin’s secret, but as Feyre’s other actions/responses have indicated previously, her thinking of him as Rhys in this moment could signal her underlying attraction to him. (Even though she wants to hit him.) But yeah, he kisses her and she thinks of him as Rhys, and then when Amarantha and the others appear, Feyre immediately thinks of him as Rhysand.  He has donned his mask to re-enter the game (though, as she realizes later, he had already donned the mask moments earlier, during the kiss itself). He continues to be Rhysand in front of the court afterward, though he is Rhys when he lets her go for the night, saying, “I’m tired of you for tonight. […] Go back to your cell.”

It is not Rhysand who steps out of the shadows into her cell the night before the Third Task, but Rhys.  This is a key scene between the two because he takes off the mask for her yet again.  He’s lonely and afraid, and the only person he feels he can trust is Feyre. So he talks to her as himself - not the villain, not the whore, but as a man who is doing everything in his limited power to protect his court. Feyre says that “their world rested on my shoulders, Rhys had said.” This transition in names is important because it symbolizes Feyre’s growing trust in and understanding of Rhys.  This is one of their most sincere conversations, and it sets them up for their actions in the battle following the Third Task.

- AND MY FAVORITE MOMENT OF TRANSITION: THE FINAL BATTLE SCENE. When Amarantha is torturing Feyre, Rhys finally rips off the proverbial mask to save her. (He might as well have flung it off the mountain for all he seemed to care about maintaining appearances here lol).  This is such a great scene because he didn’t HAVE to save her.  The only person truly at risk in this moment was Feyre; Rhys could have waited and schemed a new way to stop Amarantha and save his court.  But he doesn’t.  He sees Feyre in pain and can’t stand it. Even though he knows it is futile, even though he KNOWS this can only lead to his death, he still goes to her aid, when no one else would or could. (When you win his loyalty, JEEZ does he come through.) 

But yes, Rhys screams her name MULTIPLE times “like he cared” and takes an ash dagger to Amarantha (though unsuccessfully).  At this point, at the beginning of his fight, he is Rhysand.  We get to see how the public and Feyre see him in this moment, before they understand the truth. He is Rhysand, the villain and whore.  But his actions don’t add up with his persona; he’s FIGHTING Amarantha, and by the point that he is lying on the bloody, cracked tile, groaning in pain, Feyre (and the others) finally understand. His carefully crafted illusion is shattered: he is not Rhysand, but Rhys.  Not their enemy, but their friend.  He had been plotting against Amarantha all of this time. An anti-hero, indeed.

Feyre subtly switches from calling him Rhysand to Rhys at this point: “Rhys groaned. ‘Stop,’ I breathed, blood filling my mouth as I strained a hand to reach her feet. ‘Please.’ Rhys’s arms buckled as he fought to rise, and blood dripped from his nose, splattering on the marble.  His eyes met mine. The bond between us went taut.”

Ah, the bond.  I loved the subtle transition in his name leading up to this moment of connection; it really solidifies Feyre’s empathy and understanding of him. Feyre finally sees Rhys for who he is, and she tries to save him in return - the fae who risked everything so she wouldn’t fight alone or die alone. They are more alike than Feyre could have ever realized.

- And finally the famous good-bye scene at the end.

Yep, Rhys appears here as well, though it’s still mixed in with Rhysand. While they discuss the bargain, Feyre says that “Rhys smiled slightly, his wings rustling and then settling,” and later, “Rhys flashed a grin.” Feyre can finally see beyond his mask, and the name Rhys flows more readily in her thoughts.  This isn’t to say that Rhysand disappears entirely, because he doesn’t. But that’s part of the reason why I’m so excited for ACOMAF. Right now there is still the split in his persona between Rhysand and Rhys, and while Feyre is beginning to become more adept at seeing Rhys, the Rhysand mask isn’t going to come and STAY completely off around her until ACOMAF. As SJM said, Feyre is going to discover all of his secrets in book 2. Only THEN do I think will we be seeing a lot more of the real Rhys beneath the scary High Lord Rhysand persona he must put on.  It’s going to be so awesome. 

As Feyre says in that last scene with him, “I didn’t doubt I’d see Rhys again soon.” I don’t doubt it, either; in fact, I think we’ll be seeing a LOT more of Rhys, and I’m excited to see just what he’s like. :)

(Also, on a side note, I love the fact that the modified ACOMAF synopsis says that Feyre will begin to “understand her growing feelings for Rhys.” Not Rhysand, but Rhys. This probably wasn’t intentional, but I still loved it, because it’s so true. It’s Rhys that she feels so connected to, beneath his mask.)

…dear goodness, this became much longer than I planned again.  Why do all of my Rhys-meta posts become so LONG? Ah well, hope you guys enjoyed! :)

acotar acomaf rhysand feyre rhys feyrhys feysand a court of thorns and roses a court of mist and fury acotar meta character meta character analysis one day I'll learn how to keep things short but today is not that day

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