Among all the beloved characters in Sarah J. Maas’A Court of Thorns and Rosesseries is Cassian; perhaps the most widely loved for his fierce loyalty to the Inner Circle. Cassian was immediately introduced as a lovable, caring, playful character who often serves as comic relief throughout the series. InA Court of Wings and Ruin, when Elain Archeron predicted Cassian’s death, an underlying tension was wound into the series that never went away. However, there is evidence in theA Court of Thorns and Rosesbooksthat prove Cassian is no longer in danger; he’s already avoided that fate.
One very memorable scene from ACOWAR proves that Cassian has already escaped death and Elain’s prediction didn’t come true; apparently, Cassian is no longer at risk of dying.The prediction from Elain wasnever written to be a real story line for Cassian in the first place. It was instead intended to set Elain up for her own heroic moment. If Maas really intended to kill Cassian, she wouldn’t have made it so anticipated through Elain’s vision. Instead, Maas was proving she is a character capable of strategy and heroism,setting Elain up as the main character of her own upcoming book.
Elain’s Prediction of Cassian’s Death Was Worded Very Intentionally
Did Elain Actually Say Cassian Was Going To Die?
Back inACOWARwhen Elain predicted Cassian’s death before the battle against Hybern began, she didn’t actually say that Cassian was going to die. This is a common misinterpretation of the gut-wrenching scene where Elain tells Cassian about how she had seen his fate. Instead of telling him he was going to die, which she easily could have, she actually made a remark that he would be easy to kill. Sarah J. Maas is no stranger to intertwining tricky and specific wording into the text that isn’t always obvious until a later point in the story.
“Elain peered up at Cassian, blinking twice. ‘He snapped your wings, broke your bones.’
I tried to shut out the sound of Cassian’s scream- the memory of the spraying blood. Nesta stared at her plate. Elain, at least, was out of her room, but…
“It’ll take more than that to kill me,’ Cassian said with a smirk that didn’t meet his eyes. Elain only said to Cassian, ‘No, it will not.”
When put in context, Elain’s prediction is clearly about Cassian’s fight with Hybern. During the scene where Cassian is claiming to be safe before a major battle, Elain reveals this prediction,making it obvious she’s only referring to the fighting that is about to ensue. It’s also important to note that Elain insinuates Cassian wouldn’t be difficult to kill, which actually ends up coming true (very literally).
In Cassian’s almost-last moments, a once strong and brutal, siphoned-warrior was defenseless. In addition,instead of defending Cassian, Nesta chooses to die with him.This moment is when Elain’s prediction really came true; Cassian was the easiest he was ever going to be to kill, during this scene. Hybern realized this and planned to take his time in taunting the couple before killing them; that is, until Elain stepped in and stopped that from happening.
In addition,instead of defending Cassian, Nesta chooses to die with him.This moment is when Elain’s prediction really came true; Cassian was the easiest he was ever going to be to kill, during this scene.
Elain’s presence at the battle wasn’t pre-planned and was not factored in when she saw Cassian’s fate. This scene provided a great moment for Elain to garner some recognition and credit for her heroism.Her actions when she killed Hybern also showed Elain’s strength and complexity.After saving Cassian it is more clear that Elain is capable of making surprising choices and having a deep journey of growth when she gets a book from her own perspective. This might bea book element that could be improved inA Court of Thorns and Roses’show.
The Timing Of Elain’s Prediction In A Court Of Thorns & Roses Never Added Up
Elain Predicted Cassian’s Death Before The Battle Even Started
ACOWARhas many memorable scenes where the Inner Circle strategizes for their war against Hybern and plans how to defeat his forces. During one of the many pre-battle scenes, before Cassian and Nesta are anywhere close to fighting Hybern, is when Elain predicts Cassian will not be difficult to kill. Maas likely included this scene at this point in the story to set up an explanation for why Elain will have her heroic moment and be able to save Cassian later.She had time to save Cassian because she found out he would be in danger before the battle even started.
It is important that Elain made this prediction before fighting had begun;she sees a vision for Cassian’s future based on whatever plans were in place at that time.However, the way that Maas has yet to delve into Elain’s full powers leaves it slightly confusing whether Cassian should still be on the lookout for danger. While there’s not much information about how reliable Elains Seer abilities are, she did have her vision of Cassian’s death before the battle began, just in time to later show up and be the unexpected hero that saves him.
Key Background Facts
Between Elain’s original prediction and Cassian’s fight with Hybern, Sarah J. Maas spent many chapters successfully building tension and fear for Cassian’s well-being. Since Elain knew something no one else did, that Cassian was in danger, she knew where to be and when to be there to save him.Had Elain had her vision later in the day, the outcome would have undoubtedly been different if she couldn’t get to Cassian in time.Due to this, it’s unlikely that Cassian will face death again so soon in another book; he should be safe since Elain went through so much to save him this time. She even borrowed Truth Teller from Azriel (Azriel and Elain are a likely couple in the nextACOTARbook) to strike the killing blow against Hybern!
Elain Was Never Supposed To Be At The Final Battle InACOWAR
Elain’s Very Presence At The Battle Threw A Wrench In Cassian’s Fate
Known for being dainty, gentle, quiet, or lately completely sullen and silent, Elain was not viewed as a warrior or asset to the Inner Circle during battle. For her best interest, they planned on her having no role in combat, which makes sense with her lack of training or desire to fight. Elain was supposed to be far away from the battle once it started,meaning no one was supposed to be capable of saving Cassian at the critical moment;every other character was fighting for their own lives. Once Elain saw the vision, she made her plans to intervene.
Many complaints have been waged against Elain for being boring, useless, or uninteresting throughout the series. Interestingly enough, since her hobbies (including gardening and baking) are all traditionally feminine, and she has no interest in physical combat, she receives more criticism than female characters with more traditionally masculine traits.
The point of Elain’s vision happening when it did was so that she could show up and save Cassian’s life with plenty of time to prepare. This whole plot pointdid not only happen for Elain to heroically show up at the right time and place, just for Cassian to diein the following book. As the only character that had no predetermined plans in that very pivotal moment, Elain was able to make herself available to save her sister and Cassian and cheat death.
Fate was never going to take Cassian once Elain had her vision. Her silence and pensiveness throughout the planning stages of the battle definitely left a lot to the imagination without hinting she had any plans to participate in fighting. This overall,created a great opportunity for Sarah J. Maas to subvert expectations and give a once seemingly useless character a huge defining moment, no one expected. Elain saving Cassian improved her reputation in a way, proving to every other character that she deserves a place in the Night Court (and deserves her own book, that is coming soon).
Cassian Is Probably Safe In Future Court Of Thorns & Roses Books
Unless SJM Wrote Elain’s Whole Hero Arc For Nothing, Cassian Is Okay
After redeeming a character that was once thought to be helpless and even annoying,it makes little sense for any author to degrade the importance of Elain’s heroism and kill Cassian shortly later. Writing an entire plotline surrounding Elain’s Seer abilities for the first time was attention-capturing and refreshing; it showed us the brave and lucid side of Elain that has been long overlooked throughout the events ofACOWAR. Elain’s silence through the entire book made her forgettable and in turn, the perfect character to slip under the radar and save the day.
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Throughout the entire book, Elain’s Seer abilities were leading to this prediction and moment she was able to step in and alter fate. If any character would have the ability to change the course of fate, it would be a Seer, who is able to access knowledge without the boundary of time. Maas may have simply not made it clear enough that Elain’s vision does not cast a dark shadow over Cassian for books to come, but instead he was saved by Elain and is now free of her prediction after Hybern was killed in his place.
Maas may have simply not made it clear enough that Elain’s vision does not cast a dark shadow over Cassian for books to come, but instead he was saved by Elain and is now free of her prediction after Hybern was killed in his place.
This theory concludes that Elain had a vision of Cassian appearing helpless before Hybern, and in her dazed state, she tried to warn him that he would find himself in a very compromised position. He’d be easy to kill. However, after this wasn’t taken seriously by the Inner Circle, she made plans to save him once and for all; she did save him. Cassian should not fear an imminent death, as it has come and passed thanks to the main character of the next installment of theA Court of Thorns and Roses series.
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Based on theA Court of Thorns and Rosesfantasy novel series, A Court of Thorns and Roses is a television adaptation that follows Feyre Archeron, a young woman dragged into the world of faeries after slaying one of their kind. The series will follow her journey through the lands of Prythian and her relationship with one of its lords, Tamlin.
