u/Remarkable-Film-6268

I finished the Shadow and Bone trilogy yesterday, and instead of feeling satisfied, I feel completely emotionally exhausted and unsatisfied. I loved Six of Crows, so I know Leigh Bardugo is a genius, but going backward to her debut series gave me massive narrative whiplash. I need to vent about Book Mal because his "lovestruck façade" feels deeply hypocritical and toxic to me.

Here are the specific moments that completely ruined his character for me:

> !The Pretentious Childhood Promise: Mal throws around lines like "I promised Ana Kuya I'd marry you" to masquerade as a noble, tragic martyr. In reality, it feels like a total rewriting of history. He spent years openly flirting and hooking up with other girls right in front of Alina because he took her presence for granted. The second she receives a shred of attention from the Darkling or Nikolai, he throws a tantrum, handling it with zero emotional maturity.
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> The Zoya Kiss & The Darkling's Room: When Mal kisses Alina in the Darkling's old quarters and she goes rigid, his immediate reaction is fueled by a bruised ego: "I have kissed enough girls to know what this means." He doesn't pause to ask if she is okay, nor does he consider her immense stress as a newly appointed commander facing a war. He simply assumes another man is the cause because his pride cannot handle rejection. Later, despite Zoya claiming Mal became a "lost cause" who never slept with anyone else, Alina catches them kissing after a brawl, a while after what happened in the Darkling's room. This proves that the moment he thinks Alina isn't looking, his old, toxic coping mechanisms kick right back in.
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> The Back Tattoo & The "Blade" Ego Trip: The sun tattoo on his back is peak performative martyrdom. Mal resented her magic, yet chose to literally brand his flesh with it. To what end? It feels like a desperate power move to force himself into her cosmic destiny. Because he wasn't "powerful" enough to stand beside her on his own merits, becoming her ultimate sacrificial tool was a way to stroke his ego, insert himself into her legacy, and ensure she could never forget him.
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> To be fair, growing up as an orphan in a war-torn country is brutal, and the attention of other girls likely felt like rain on parched land. But Mal remained deeply immature, and the abrupt ending where they marry did his character arc no favours.
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> The Darkling Contrast: I don't justify the Darkling’s atrocities, but his motives are psychologically compelling. Living for centuries watching everyone you love die creates an unimaginable agony of isolation. He didn't just want Alina’s power as an amplifier; he craved her because her power meant immortality—he had finally found an equal and a companion. He never felt threatened by her strength. He viewed her as a true partner, even sharing his real name (which likely only his mother knew).
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> His fatal flaw was loving his objective more than her. Raised by Baghra to believe he must stand entirely alone, he shouldered the burden of his cause rather than sharing it with his perceived equal. As a military general, he forgot how to communicate like a human. He reduced Alina to feeling like a commodity, using objectifying phrasing like "Has he claimed you yet?". Had he communicated honestly about the existential threat of Grisha being hunted, Alina had the depth to stand by him. Together, they could have forged a safe haven for Grisha and brought stability to the world.
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> Alina’s lingering grief proves this connection. She mourned him, respected his final wishes, and whispered his true name as his body burned. A part of her knew she was losing the only person who truly understood the weight of her existence.
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> A Forced "Happily Ever After": I would have preferred if Alina and Mal took time to heal and mature after the war before rushing into marriage. With time to reflect, Alina likely wouldn't have chosen him long-term—perhaps a brief fling, before moving on to someone genuinely encouraging, or choosing to live independently with Oncat and Misha.
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> Instead, the narrative forces Alina to surrender her self-respect. She continuously reaches out to a man who punishes her for her magic, ultimately stripping away her own divinity just to live a quiet life with an ordinary man who only loves her when she is small, powerless, and broken. Had she retained her powers, their relationship would have likely devolved into emotional abuse.
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> Am I crazy, or did anyone else feel completely manipulated by the forced "happily ever after" of this ending?!<

P.s forgive me if there are spelling errors. I'm quite sleep deprived, and english is not my first language.