The fourth wing’s greatest strength creates a character problem for the books

July 4, 2024

Summary

Fourth wing
The willingness to kill characters emphasizes the deadliness of the world and raises the stakes.
Many characters die before the audience really knows the characters, which creates a character problem for the rest of the books.
Later Empyrean books may find a better balance, with established characters continuing to survive and evolve, making potential deaths have greater impact.

One of Fourth winggreatest strengths also creates a major character problem for the remaining books in The Empyrean series. The Empyrean series Books are, at their core, a story about romance and intense character interactions. The audience is drawn into the dramas of the main characters as they try to overcome major emotional conflicts. Aside from that, The story also takes place in a fantasy world at war, And the Basigath War College is by no means immune to the conflicts outside its borders.

Fourth wingThe books quickly establish that, despite being a school, Basigath is designed to ensure that only the most worthy students graduate. This is especially true in the Riders Quadrant, forcing protagonist Violet Sorrengail to find creative solutions to survive. Violet is usually successful, but often others are not so lucky, which leads to the death of many characters within The Empyrean series. Further updates for Onyx Storm This trend is likely to continue as the Fourth wing Books use one of their greatest strengths to raise the stakes.

Book cover “Fourth Wing” and “Iron Flame” against a fiery background

I really wish Fourth Wing had set up Dain’s redemption arc better

Iron Flame confirms that Dain Aetos will have a redemption arc in the Empyrean series, but I wish Fourth Wing had set up this storyline better.

Fourth Wing’s willingness to let characters die is one of its greatest strengths

With these deaths, Fourth Wing underlines the deadliness of the world

This image is a close-up of the book cover of Fourth Wing.

Fourth wing‘s willingness to let its characters die is a strength of the series, as it emphasizes the fact that Violet’s environment is very deadly. Throughout the first book, Violet must survive several tasks and events specifically designed to kill anyone “unworthy” of being a Rider. The Parapet, Threshing and the individual fighting games are just a few examples of what Violet has to survive as well as how often supporting characters are killed with brutal efficiency.

In return, the fights become more intense, such as the deaths of Resson and Liam.

Many other series, although they supposedly depict deadly worlds, are not as willing to kill their characters as Fourth wing. As a result, Fourth wing can show the audience that the threat is real and that there is a lot at stake, rather than telling them so. It makes moments of triumph more satisfying, like the death of Jack Barlowe in Fourth wing. In return, the fights become more intense, such as the deaths of Resson and Liam. Fourth wingThe willingness to kill characters is a great strength, but it also creates a problem just as easily as it efficiently establishes stakes.

This strength of the fourth wing creates a character problem for the books

Many deaths in the fourth wing occur before the audience really knows the characters

This custom image features the Fourth Wing book covers three times side by side with lightning bolts in between. — Custom image by Debanjana Chowdhury

Although it is a strength of the story, Fourth wingThe many deaths pose a character problem for the remaining books. Many of the character deaths in Fourth wing happen before the audience has a chance to get to know them. Yarros establishes a large cast of characters in some cases, but many of them are quickly killed off at the end. An example of this is Aurelie Donan, a cadet who died during Gauntlet training in Fourth wing. In other cases, Yarros kills a character before their story arc seems to be complete, such as Nadine in Iron flame.

This trend poses a challenge for The Empyrean Series story-wise. It has to maintain the stakes it established in the first two books, but this trend also takes away some of the impact of these deaths, as The audience often barely knows the characters who die. This ends up weakening the intended low blow, although the deadliness of the world remains constant, especially as the main cast continues to escape mostly unscathed. However, as the books progress and with fewer characters, the problem could resolve itself.

The later Empyrean books will find it easier to find a balance

Killing the established characters would of course raise the stakes

Onyx Storm expands the fourth wing with understaffed characters — Custom image by Simone Ashmoore

The Empyrean Series will probably have an easier time finding a balance between emotional impact and plot in the later books, as the remaining characters will be well established. Many of the Fourth wing Characters who are part of the Iron Squad or the main characters have successfully survived the first two books and will likely continue to survive. This not only allows their stories to continue, but also makes the deaths of these group members even more impactful. both for the story and for the audience.

Onyx Storm
is scheduled to be released on January 21, 2025.

The characters who make it through the rest of the books will likely have completed their storylines and played their part in the main plot, allowing the story to showcase their abilities, so potential deaths would be more impactful because the audience has witnessed these characters grow and develop. It would also keep the lethality of the world constant and even increase the stakes further as more of Fourth wingThe established characters die, which balances the world-building and emotional impact of the book with equal efficiency.