TheA Court of Thorns and Rosesseries by Sarah J. Maas contains imperfect, complex characters with intriguing backstories that eventually lead to the most satisfying-to-read arcs. This is an element of Maas’ books that defines her writing style, allowing even the most disliked villains to be redeemed with enough backstory and sympathy. One character that received a very unexpected story arc inA Court of Wings and Ruinwas Mr. Archeron, the father of Nesta, Elain, and Feyre Archeron. Unfortunately, his absence for most of the story leads his eventual arc to come across as lackluster on the pages.
Whilethe events of theA Court of Thorns and Rosesbookscan all be ultimately tied back to Mr. Archeron’s parenting of his daughters, he is a side character with barely any page time, making it hard to get to know him. Even without more page time,Mr. Archeron’s complexities could’ve at least been a bigger topic for his daughters to explore in their P.O.V.s,but it wasn’t. Regardless of his absence throughout the series, Mr. Archeron gets a theatrical redemption arc that could be much more meaningful in theupcomingACOTARtelevision show, with the right changes.
Feyre’s Father Has The Weirdest Arc In The ACOTAR Books (& Not In A Good Way)
Mr. Archeron’s Sacrifice Seemed Out Of Place
There may be plenty of ways to improve Mr. Archeron in Hulu’s upcomingACOTARadaptation, but that’s because of glaring issues in his redemption arc throughout the series.Mr Archeron’s character arc in theACOTARbooks is weird; it seemingly comes out of nowhere. While Mr. Archeron was in the background, somewhere in the human lands, he was always regarded as a pretty huge failure by his daughters. Mr. Archeron spent the better part of a decade neglecting his family, letting them reach the brink of starvation, all to somehow rise and be a hero in the end.
Mr. Archeron goes from a bedridden, useless, and neglectful father, to a self-sacrificial hero, which comes across as jarring and surprising.Maas likely intended that Mr. Archeron’s arrival to Prythian in ACOWAR would be a shocking enough revealto hold up as a plot point and evoke an emotional response. Granted, the way Maas revealed Mr. Archeron’s arrival to save the day was emotional because of a powerful sentiment,
“He told me that he’s got three daughters who live here. And that he failed them for many years. But he would not fail them this time.'
However, because Mr. Archeron was such an underdeveloped and unexplored character, his arc and sacrifice weren’t as sympathy-inducing as possible. This character arc almost seemed unnecessary and wasted at the point in the story that it’s written. Strangely,this reveal and Mr. Archeron’s death scene are very close together in the story, with virtually no build-up or context. Sarah J. Maas never makes it clear how he acquired new ships or learned about Prythinan, all of which would have made him a more important character.
Hulu’s Court Of Thorns & Roses Show Must Make Mr. Archeron A Better Character
His Daughters Never Seemed To Care About Him, So Why Should We?
The upcoming HuluA Court Of Thorns & Rosesshow has to improve upon Mr. Archeron’s character significantly, from the very beginning.The nextACOTARbookdoesn’t have the chance to do this, as Mr Archeron is already dead and the chance for any more character development is lost.There is so much opportunity for the television show to provide more details about Mr. Archeron’s lifethat the show didn’t; details could reveal information about his love story, his past as a father, his mysterious loss of fortune, and more.
8 Challenges The A Court Of Thorns And Roses Show Faces Adapting The Books
Like many fantasy book adaptations, the A Court of Thorns and Roses TV series has many obstacles in its journey toward successful development.
While Maas makes it obvious that Mr. Archeron is depressed, and Feyre’s narration details his old merchant days, his deep backstory and character motivation are never revealed. Upuntil the moment of his death, Mr. Archeron never gets to explain why or how he made the choices he madethat brought his family to this point. Due to this, the show must make it easier to learn more about his character, sooner. If more moments were shown between him and his daughters, or more details were revealed about his personality, it would make his death much more impactful and memorable.
Hulu’sACOTARTV showmust allot significant screen time for Mr. Archeron while exploring his redeeming qualities, even briefly. Mr. Archeron’s character must be more fleshed out than it was in the books, long before he sacrifices himself. To ensure his eventual character arc is more meaningful, it needs to be clear why Archeron’s death should matter to us. If Mr. Archeron had more sympathetic moments throughout the events of theA Court of Thorns and Rosesseries, it would automatically be easier to understand why his daughters were so affected by his death.
How Hulu’s Court Of Thorns & Roses Show Can Fix Mr. Archeron’s Book Story
The Books Leave Us Completely In The Dark About His Character
DuringA Court of Mist and Fury, Mr. Archeron is supposed to be away on a business trip for the entire book. This explanation for his absence is widely accepted and never explored or detailed further. Showing parts of Mr. Archeron’s mysterious business trip on screen might bethe best way to display that his character overcoming obstacles to save his daughters. This is admirable and likable. Including scenes like this from his trip would give him more time on screen and make him more redeemable earlier on in the story.
Utilizing Nesta, Feyre, and Elain’s P.O.V.s to reveal information about their father would be a great way to shed light on his motivations, desires, and needs as a character.
Fleshing out his backstory so that it’s more sympathetic would also help Mr. Archeron come across as a more interesting character, making his eventual arc more satisfying because we’d care about him. Utilizing Nesta, Feyre, and Elain’s P.O.V.s to reveal information about their father would be a great way to shed light on his motivations, desires, and needs as a character. Ultimately, by giving us more information, sooner, and garnering sympathy, theA Court of Thorns and Rosestelevision show can create a better Mr. Archeron, than the books took the time to.
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Based on theA Court of Thorns and Rosesfantasy novel series, A Court of Thorns and Roses is a television adaptation that follows Feyre Archeron, a young woman dragged into the world of faeries after slaying one of their kind. The series will follow her journey through the lands of Prythian and her relationship with one of its lords, Tamlin.
