Published Feb 10, 2026, 3:46 PM EST
Jasneet Singh is a writer who finally has a platform to indulge in long rants about small moments on TV and film in overwhelming detail. With a literature background, she is drawn to the narrative aspect of cinema and will happily rave about her favorite characters. She is also waiting for the Ranger's Apprentice novels to be adapted... but the cycle of hope and disappointment every two years is getting too painful to bear.
Few cinematic franchises have had as much of a cultural impact as The Wizarding World. The popularity of the Harry Potter books and movies had a whole generation secretly waiting for their Hogwarts letter to be whisked away to a school where magic can be harnessed if you have a hidden affinity for it, muggle-born or not. It has the appeal of blending fantasy with the real world and a Chosen One who begins as an underdog, allowing anyone and everyone to insert themselves into the story. Harry Potter is timeless in that sense; who doesn't want to imagine a little magic in their lives?
Now, Amazon MGM's upcoming project, Fourth Wing, certainly hasn't made the resounding waves that Harry Potter has, but that's not to say that the novel it is based on hasn't made a significant cultural impact. Written by Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing marked a huge turning point in #BookTok and was one of the major players to wave in a new generation of readers. Its quality is up for debate, but whichever side you land on, you can't deny the book's role in popularizing reading again, especially in the romance fantasy genre. And like Harry Potter, Fourth Wing has that irresistible quality of being able to imagine yourself in the protagonist's shoes, except this time, brooms are replaced with dragons.
'Fourth Wing' Delivers a Fantasy School for Riding Dragons
Unlike in Harry Potter, the mundane world we know does not exist in Fourth Wing, and it is set in the fantasy kingdom of Navarre, where dragon riders defend the borders of the nation. Violet Sorrengail, daughter of the ruthless Army General, wants to become a scribe due to a medical condition that limits her physical strength, but her mother forces her into the Riders Quadrant. She and her cohort undergo a series of trials that test their strength, wit, and skills, all leading to the long-awaited Threshing, an event when a dragon will choose a candidate as their rider. Upon completing the trials, the candidates will attend the Basgiath War College, where they also learn to harness the magic they receive through their dragons.
Fantasy school settings are one of the easiest ways to introduce audiences to the world, but also have entertaining gimmicks in their own right. At Hogwarts, we learn about magic systems alongside Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), while indulging in the playful, coming-of-age dynamics that the classroom offers. In Fourth Wing, this stage is preceded by trials, which are a tad more tedious than simply receiving a letter, but perilous trials are always fun trademarks of the genre. Similar to Agatha All Along, where the protagonist undergoes different tests in subsequent episodes, Fourth Wing lends itself to a satisfying episodic structure at the beginning, which is easier to consume for a newcomer.
But Fourth Wing doesn't just stop at school, like Hogwarts, Basgiath is the jumping-off point for relationships and intricate world-building. When Violet enters the trials, she quickly learns who her friends and enemies are, or so it seems. The story is littered with humor, betrayal, and a butterfly-inducing enemies-to-lovers romance between Violet and one of the most powerful Dragon Riders in the army, Xaden. But there is a long-standing feud between their families, as Xaden's late father led a rebellion against the kingdom and Violet's General mother orchestrated his execution. Their history introduces the audience to the world's political tensions, the school's secrets, and the different kinds of dragons that plague the Continent.
'Fourth Wing' Can Become the Perfect Gateway to Fantasy for Women
High fantasy may be a mainstream and diverse genre now, but it has a long tradition of excluding women as characters with agency. There are plenty of shows nowadays that have resolved that, like His Dark Materials or Shadow and Bone, but Fourth Wing has a slight edge due to its already dedicated fanbase. It has also been marketed as a "romantasy," and it's no mystery that romance's biggest audience is women. As such, Fourth Wing may attract female viewers with the promise of Violet and Xaden's turbulent love story, but it also acts as a gateway into fantasy, becoming an approachable introduction to mythical world-building, political tensions, and the classic Hero's Journey. In a similar vein, Violet's introduction as an underdog is appealing on two fronts. She is initially underestimated as many women are in fantasy worlds, but also follows a journey not dissimilar to Harry's, from bullied to the Chosen One.
Out of all the #BookTok novels to find notoriety on the platform, it is fitting that Fourth Wing is being adapted, one that has already made such an important cultural impact. It strikes the right balance to make fantasy accessible while still being complex enough for connoisseurs of the genre to enjoy. Like many fans of the book, you may flock to the series for its sizzling tension, but you'll walk away with an appreciation for the genre.
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