Thistleclaw: The Cause of Scourge and Tigerstar? by Sparktooth

Sparktooth takes a look at Thistleclaw and his possible involvement in both Scourge and Tigerstar.

Heyo again, bloggers! 😀 Sparktooth is writing the third of many, long articles to come. For this one, I’m going to be debating if Thistleclaw caused Scourge and Tigerstar to become…well, the Scourge and Tigerstar we know.

Contains Spoilers for Bluestar’s Prophecy and The Rise of Scourge!

“Thistlekit declared, ‘I’d get a Windclan warrior like this.’ He hooked up the shrew he’d been eating. ‘And shred it.’ He tossed the half-eaten fresh-kill to the ground and pounced on it, claws unsheathed. ‘Don’t play with your food,’ Poppydawn scolded. ‘It’s disrespectful. That shrew died so that we may live.’ Thistlekit sat up, looking annoyed. ‘You just don’t want me to become a warrior! You want me to stay a kit forever!’” —Bluestar’s Prophecy, pgs. 105-106.
Even as a kit, Thistleclaw was ambitious and eager for battle. His parents, Poppydawn and Windflight, were both courageous warriors. It was apparently his nature, no cat influenced him.

When he became a warrior, he was still aggressive and tried to answer everything with a battle. I’m sure this was one of the skills he transferred to his apprentice, Tigerpaw(star). As we see in Pinestar’s Choice, Tigerstar’s wretched destiny was created as soon as he was born. Pinestar believed with the right guidance, he could follow the right path. Too bad he wasn’t leader when it was time for Tigerkit to be apprenticed. Sunstar’s choice to make Thistleclaw his mentor most likely made Tigerpaw more aggressive. Thistleclaw rushed his training, teaching him advanced battle moves at a young age. Don’t forget Thistleclaw also trained in the Dark Forest. (The training was lead by Mapleshade, according to Spottedleaf’s Heart). When cats train in the Dark Forest, it seems they are taught that there is never a time for mercy in battle.

Let’s skip ahead to the scene where Thistleclaw, Tigerpaw, and Bluefur come across Tiny(Scourge) during a patrol. It’s no secret what Thistleclaw thinks of kittypets, so he taught Tigerpaw to think the same way.
“‘An intruder is an intruder, Bluefur! You’ve always been too soft on them.’ Bluefur felt sick as Thistleclaw turned to his apprentice. ‘Here, let’s put it to my apprentice. What do you think, Tigerpaw? How should we handle this?’ ‘I think the kittypet should be taught a lesson,’ Tigerpaw hissed. ‘One it’ll remember.’ Bluefur stepped forward. ‘Now, hold on, there’s no need for this-’ Thistleclaw turned on her, arching his back. ‘Shut up!’” —Bluestar’s Prophecy, pgs. 399-400.
Thistleclaw obviously didn’t have a problem with Tigerpaw’s sudden destructive tone. So he allowed him to continue. Tigerpaw, being an apprentice, must’ve thought it was ok to do things like that because he wasn’t punished. That’s probably one of the reasons he rose to be the deadly Tigerstar. If you’ve read The Rise of Scourge, that attack lead to Scourge seeking revenge all those moons.
Tigerclaw was an ambitious cat and also a bullying mentor. Sound familiar? Maybe because you’re thinking of Tigerclaw! I don’t know if you noticed, but Thistleclaw was also mean to his apprentice during training. Plus, Thistleclaw tried to become leader first! So what’s a possible explanation for Tigerclaw’s behavior in the original series? He was trying to follow Thistleclaw’s pawsteps! Only he followed them down a more blood-soaked path. And for Scourge? He became an evil tyrant, wanting nothing more than revenge on Tigerstar. And I believe Thistleclaw is responsible for it all.

What did you think? Do you agree? Leave a comment about what you thought and maybe a suggestion about what I should write an article about next! 😀