Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses series is one of the most memeable out there thanks to its strong characters, and it all starts with Feyre Archeron. Over the course of five books, Feyre has grown from an impoverished and illiterate hunter scrabbling to stay alive, to a cunning and savvy fighter, to the young but wise Feyre Archeron, High Lady of the Night Court. It's been quite a journey, and it's been fun to watch Feyre's arc unfold.
Still, while we're here for the character development and, of course, the spicy scenes (which have gotten the Court of Thorns and Roses books banned in some places), if we're being honest, it's the potential memes that keep us going. The Court of Thorns and Roses books have a plethora of comedic moments, mostly involving the batboys or the ever-suffering Lucien. While every character has enough memes for a full folder dedicated to them, as the main protagonist of the first four books, Feyre has more than earned her fair share of memes, TikTok videos, and inside jokes.
1
Feyre After Learning How To Read
One of the long-running jokes among the ACOTAR fandom is how the 19-year-old, illiterate Feyre suddenly became the High Lady of the Night Court, like, a month after barely learning how to read. Considering how much diplomacy is involved in running the Night Court and maintaining allies in Prythian and the human world, not to mention how much of the plot always seems to depend upon deciphering some sort of ancient magical text, it's arguably not great to have a girl who can barely read making realm-changing decisions. But this is fantasy, and in fantasy, I guess it doesn't matter.
2
I Mean, She's Not Wrong
Feyre may have been a formerly illiterate girl, but when she came back to the Spring Court to spy and wreck an entire court, she made sure it stuck. To his credit, Lucien knew she was up to something, but he also knew that Tamlin would never believe him, and he was stuck. In the end, Feyre leveled with Lucien and told him exactly that - the Spring Court was going down and it was time for Lucien to choose a side. He chose wisely.
3
We Really Do Need More Feyre & Lucien Interactions
Feyre and Lucien are low-key the best pairing in the Court of Thorns and Roses books thanks to their completely different personalities. The calculating, polished Lucien and the stubborn, impulsive Feyre are an odd couple pairing that was easily the best part of the first book, and it's a shame that that dynamic has been all but snuffed out in the wake of Feyre and Rhysand's mating bond snapping into place. Lucien may want to kill Feyre most days, but it's only because he loves his friend. Most days. At least Lucien gets some of A Court of Thorns and Roses' best quotes.
4
Seriously, Lucien & Feyre Forever
Like I said: most days. Some days, Feyre made Lucien question the limits of his considerable patience, and one of those was during the summer solstice celebration. Tamlin left Lucien to babysit Feyre, as he often did, and the one thing Lucien instructed the human Feyre was to not drink the Fae wine. Of course, she immediately defied him and did exactly that, and the next time Lucien saw his charge, she was off-her-face drunk on the magical booze. It was one of many, many times we're sure Lucien asked the gods what he'd done to be cursed with this human.
5
Azriel & Feyre Are A Strong Second Though
Everyone's favorite shadowsinger is usually a wall of angst and repressed trauma, but Feyre often brings out the best in the broody Azriel. Add that to the fact that Azriel's feelings for Elain actually rouse strong emotions from the usually placid assassin, and it's clear that Azriel would lay down his life for any of the Archeron sisters. Azriel and Feyre are both survivors, and a little bit crazy, which is why they work so well together as a team – usually because nobody else in the Inner Circle will agree with their schemes. But hey, it worked out. Mostly. For them. Not so much for Tamlin.
6
Ianthe Had It Coming TBF
Feyre may have the schooling of a kindergartner and just learned how to read, but in terms of street smarts and cunning, she is unmatched. While she isn't a cruel person, Feyre will do what has to be done when she and her loved ones are threatened. Normally, seeing a character earn such a brutal death as Ianthe did, being torn to shreds by the Weaver after being led into the Weaver's cottage by Feyre, would be a little much. But considering Ianthe killed everyone's favorite gossipy bestie, the Suriel, the priestess deserved every bit of that death she got. Ianthe is the worst.
7
We Love A Good Prythian Monster Bestie
Speaking of the Suriel, he was merely the first in Prythian's Island of Misfit Toys that Feyre has slowly collected as allies through the books. Where the High Fae and Illyrians steer clear, Feyre marches right in. Lucien almost ish a brick when he learned Feyre trapped the Suriel, and Cassian, the fearsome commander of Rhys' forces, could barely keep it together when he got within a hundred yards of Bryaxis. Feyre, though? Unfazed. Maybe it's good that, as a human, she has no idea how bad these monsters can be. She certainly doesn't know enough to be scared. Either way, we are all Team Horrific Nightmare Monster Friendship.
8
Tamlin, Not So Much
Tamlin, on the other hand, can go right to hell. The supernatural Fae monsters, we can fix them. We'd absolutely be their besties – I mean, who among us doesn't want to spill tea with the Suriel? Tamlin, on the other hand, is the worst, most boring kind of monster: an overly controlling, possessive man. It's pretty bad that Feyre could reason with a literal death-god more effectively than she could a lovesick High Fae. And to think, we were all fooled in the first book into thinking he was a flawed but good guy and not one who would completely fall apart and become the worst version of himself when the pressure hit. Ew. Keep it.
9
Girl, We've All Been There
Still, though, for the first A Court of Thorns and Roses book? Tamlin seemed like the almost perfect guy. Sure, maybe he bargained Feyre away from her family and essentially kidnapped her, but he didn't kill her like he could have, did he? And yeah, maybe he had lied to her about the reason for kidnapping her in the first place, but how many times have we seen that narrative trope in a romance book? And sure, okay, he was a brooding loner aside from his best friend, Lucien, who had literally nowhere else to go. And, yes, Tamlin's methods of ruling were harsh and outdated, we'll admit. Other than that, though? Perfect guy!
10
JK, It's Back To Feyre & Lucien
Of course, we have to end this with Feyre and Lucien, because they're the best – or, at the very least, they provide the best fodder for A Court of Thorns and Roses memes. As the meme says, they're the best chaotic duo, maybe because Feyre reminds Lucien of who he used to be. There's a sense that Lucien is so careful and controlled because he's grown up in the cutthroat Autumn Court, and his life ever since has relied on the benevolence of various High Lords allowing him to live in their lands. But he's a man of fire, and fire is uncontrollable. That side of Lucien is still there, which is why it's so much fun when Feyre talks him into his more impulsive decisions. Long may their chaos reign.
Custom image by Yailin Chacon
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