“You gave me your heart, and I’m keeping it.”
SPOILERS
Xaden claims that defenseless women aren’t his type, and yet, knowing knowledge is sharper than a blade, he shoves Violence into a position of ignorance. She has no knowledge of his secret dealings or the conspiracy attached. Not only that, Xaden never stresses the threat Dain poses as a memory reader. Violence is privy to her best friend’s power, but due to the biased nature of their relationship, she doesn’t know what he’s truly capable of—not like Xaden. Sure, he trained Vi to fortify her mental defenses, but only against Tairn. For some nonsensical reason, he doesn’t feel it’s prudent to teach her how to block against a man inclined to take memories by force. She deserved the whole truth, every gritty bit of it. Out of respect for her authority, obviously, but mainly because she proved herself worthy. Still, Xaden wasn’t willing to hand Violence the power to weaponize his intelligence. Unfortunately for him, with their connection growing every day, separating Vi from his crimes is more negligent than it is feasible. They’re physically and emotionally involved, i.e., she’s involved. Vi is unknowingly implicit–whether Xaden understands that or not. And she learns of his devious undermining during an ambush, one that was preventable but enabled by her lover. Not knowing didn’t ward Violence; it sent her into a war zone with a sputtering engine to go on. Xaden knew how he felt about Violence as early as Threshing. From that point on, the mission should’ve been facing the threat together, but it’s easier to repress others than it is to trust them. Consider where that landed Violence, what it did to Liam, and how it’s impacted their kingdom.
The dynamic between Xaden and Violet feels very Twilight, and we all know how toxic that throuple was. Riorson is a man of many contradictions, which causes Violet to obsess, chase, and self-deprecate. After a near-death experience, he says to Vi, “Never lie to me,” portraying himself as a man who values honesty, only to discover he’s a man who lies out of convenience. In an attempt to un-complicate their relationship for his sake, Xaden sets boundaries, but retracts them when manipulation serves. He forbids romantic attachments but leaves flowers for Vi…the morning after throwing inhibition to the wind to offer some assurance. Unlike Dain, Xaden is not overbearing or weak-minded, but his fear of commitment compromises Vi’s safety and pride. In Twilight, both Edward and Jacob diminish Bella’s agency for the sake of their virility. Dain and Xaden are both similar in that they disregard Violence’s authority to suit their comfort level as men. Dain tries to coerce Vi into leaving the Riders Quadrant because she betrays his impotence. In retaliation, the chauvinistic wimp attempts to reinforce his sense of manly righteousness by accosting her in front of fellow riders. As for Xaden, he allegedly takes a woman at her word, but keeps Vi in the shadows. In fact, he insists she’s protected there, but he’s the one who feels safer in the dark…not Vi. No, she’s braver than the both of them. She doesn’t avoid the truth. For her, it’s as surmountable as riding a dragon. But I worry she will continue to self-compromise to accommodate Xaden’s emotional bandwidth.
Rating 2.5 out of 5 – It’s derivative…very derivative. Divergent and The Hunger Games make an appearance. But I care about Violence, I care about Ridoc, and I care about Liam.
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