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I wondered whether anyone but he and the High Lord of the Summer Court knew that the killing had been a mercy. I was willing to bet that there had been others involved in that escape plan, perhaps even the High Lord of the Summer Court himself. But maybe keeping those secrets had only been done in aid of whatever games Rhysand liked to play.
As Feyre becomes better acquainted with Rhysand, she realizes that he may not be as loyal of a lackey to Amarantha as he pretends to be. When Rhysand chooses to kill rather than torture a High Lordling who had attempted to escape Amarantha’s lair, Feyre recognizes that this act was a calculated one. Rhysand didn’t want to torture or interrogate the Lordling, showing that he may have allegiances beyond Amarantha and that he may have been involved in the boy’s escape attempt. Rhysand is a character who is deeper and more complicated than he initially seems.
Stand. Don’t give her the satisfaction of seeing you break.
Despite his morally ambiguous nature, Rhysand plays a crucial role in helping Feyre win her trials and remain mentally strong. The trials are both mentally and physically exhausting and destructive to Feyre, as is her imprisonment between trials. There are multiple moments in which Feyre admits that Rhysand, although not the most sympathetic or tender faerie, has kept her from being completely broken by Amarantha’s vicious treatment. Rhysand has had nearly 50 years of experience in keeping his own fiery rebelliousness alive while still outwardly playing by Amarantha’s rules, and he passes along this strength to Feyre.
When you healed my arm…You didn’t need to bargain with me. You could have demanded every single week of the year.
Although he is intimidating and vulgar, and his morality and motivations are dubious, Rhysand shows himself to be a redeemable and complex figure in A Court of Thorns and Roses. When Feyre is dying from her injuries, Rhysand offers to heal her in exchange for her company in the Night Court for two weeks each month. He allows Feyre to bargain down to one week, even though he has the complete advantage in the negotiation and Feyre would have been forced to accept his offer had he remained firm. This interaction shows that Rhysand is not without empathy and that he respects Feyre’s autonomy. He could have exploited her weakness, but instead he gave her the power to assert her independence.
Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don’t feel anything.
While Amarantha sees Feyre’s humanness as weak, corrupted, inconstant, and shallow, Rhysand sees it as a strength. Tamlin expresses a similar sentiment when he mentions that he is fascinated by the brief but passionate lives of humans. Both Rhysand and Tamlin recognize that many faeries have lived so long, endured so much violence, and are so obsessed with power that they have become emotionally numb and are willing to commit atrocities. Feyre’s unabashed declarations of love and her commitment to saving Tamlin at the expense of her own life stand in stark contrast to the cold, power-hungry personalities of fairies like Amarantha, the King of Hybern, and Lucien’s family, and many other fae. Rhysand sees Feyre’s ability to feel sorrow, remorse, and pain as good and necessary, as he sees how terrible and damaged people and places can become when we lose those abilities.
