Controversial Characters – Onestar and why I love him ! by Maplepaw

Maplepaw shares why they love Onestar. How do you feel about him?

Hey BlogClan !

With my ideas for minor characters articles running a little dry, I thought I’d begin a new series of articles, but don’t worry, minor character articles will still happen !

So Onestar.
Most people have this burning hate for Onestar, where as I am part of the minority that love this character and his development.
So, why do I like Onestar, and why should you like him as well ?

(Side note : When I said to Cheetah I liked Onestar she immediately thought it was sarcasm)

Let’s get into this !

First off, many people say that they like Onewhisker, but not Onestar, but in my mind, that character shift, is one of the most interesting things about his character. I believe that Onestar’s situation is very much like peer pressure, when cats around him expect him to conform to these certain traits and moral decisions.
Onestar is previously shown to be a kind cat, and one who wishes to keep friendships among other clan cats. However after he becomes leader, he is shown to be cruel and harsh to the other clans, discouraging friendships and being very strict to the warrior code. Who does this remind you of ?
Mudclaw.
Half of Onestar’s clan wanted Mudclaw as a leader and felt that Onewhisker was too lax, so under the pressure of his clan mates, he began to create a fake personality which wasn’t as fierce as Mudclaw but a much harsher leader. And I know this all too well, but when you begin to fake a person, you slowly become that person, acting more and more like that everyday.
I sympathise with Onestar. If Mudclaw hadn’t been so popular and the cats were happy to accept a kinder, more welcoming leader, then what would have been different ?
I’m sure Onestar would have been a kind and incredible leader, but sadly, due to peer pressure we lost our chance to see him as that cat.

Another reason people hate him is the fact that he abandoned the rest of the clans in the fight with Darktail.
But imagine this event in your life.
You know you will die if you get too badly hurt. That in itself is terrifying. But now a cat who you thought dead has returned, and is threatening to spill a secret you have tried to hide, and possibly now regret.
What do you do ?
If you fight, you will loose all the hard earned respect, which you had to become a completely different person to gain, and may possibly die, along with many of your friends and family.
If you don’t, you buy yourself time to make a plan to run, protecting your leadership and your clan mates.
Some may say this is Onestar being selfish, protecting himself over others, but I think that in life, sometimes being a little selfish is deserved.
What he did may have doomed other cats, but if the secret came out from Darktail, there may have been another revolt in WindClan, which would have broken the clan. Hearing it from Onestar’s mouth was much better as it showed he understood his mistakes.
Think of it as doing the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. Onestar believed he could save himself and his whole clan, if he didn’t fight. And if he fought, he felt that him and many other clanmates would die, and that wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.
So why do I love Onestar so much ?
Well he is a very well developed character. Onestar has many obvious flaws, his main being fake, single minded and cold. But at the same time he is brave, determined and often quite smart. He is by no means a good character, and obviously one who has made many many mistakes, but his character arc is fascinating.
And for all those people who say he was always selfish and didn’t feel a bit bad for the problem he caused with Darktail, then why didn’t he run when he had the chance ?
Onestar felt guilty, so agreed to fight, and take out his evil son once and for all ! I like to think that this battle ended with Onestar killing Darktailm and then drowning, not the other way around.
Some of his acts were not good. Attacking ThunderClan, although it showed he wanted to break away, was not morally correct. But it’s what his clan mates wanted. Keeping the herbs for himself, selfish though it is, could have just simply been because he didn’t want to risk his clans safety. Mudclaw would have kept the herbs as well.
I think Onestar spent his entire life trying to be Mudstar, and I like to think that in StarClan, after his death he could finally be who he really was again.
And as for being a strict leader in Crowfeathers Trial, well here we have a cat who has betrayed you multiple times, and just starts running off to other clans. Yes you needed the help but Crowfeather is prone to leaving ! He left with Leafpool, he left with the six cats, and at one point did consider moving to ThunderClan after he was exiled. That’s not something you would consider if you hadn’t thought about it before. Thinking about it from Onestar’s position, he wants to see what Crowfeather will do, if he is kicked out of WindClan. Will he move to ThunderClan ? And if he does well then you got someone disloyal out of your clan. If he never returns well the same again. And if he comes running back you know he’s loyal to his heart.
It was the perfect test of character for a cat that really needed it.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love Crowfeather, but he was disloyal, and people need to look behind their love for him and see that. Onestar may not have been 100% justified kicking him out as a single act, but I believ this was more of a loyalty test than anything else.
Onestar is also shown to be very supportive of the dark forest clan mates, mainly Breezepelt. You see, although this may not have seemed a smart move, the reason they began to train in the dark forest in the first place was because they felt neglected and unwanted in their clan and felt as if they needed to be a better warrior. Now there’s still some dark forest cats left, so they could return to train them.
Onestar had the perfect solution. Make these cats feel wanted, and accepted into the clan, make them feel as if they are the best they can be. Then they don’t need to train with other cats. ANd it all comes back to Crowfeather being kicked out. Crowfeather was the one thing that was missing from Breezepelt’s life, the thing that pushed him over the edge in the first place. And the thing that threatened to again. So Onestar tried to make Crowfeather accept his son, for the safety of his clan.
And you may all scream THATS STUPID HOW WOULD THAT HELP, but you see, it’s not just Onestar doing this . He is actually being just as smart as STARCLAN. They are trying the exact same thing. Before you all cry IT WAS TO HELP MAKE THEM ALL HAPPY. Crowfeather was happy. He was perfectly fine living his life without Breezepelt and nightcloud. Breezepelt was the upset one. And why would StarClan care if he was upset ? The dark forest might return.
So they also do the same thing as Onestar, slightly more gently but still the same.
Proving my point that Onestar is :
A) Smart
And
B ) Justified in trying to force Crowfeather to love his child

Now this about wraps up my points on Onestar, who is more a scared, guilt filled, peer pressured child, than a careless, selfish, cruel one.
I am not saying his actions of attacking other helpless clans for no reason were right, I’m just saying there’s more to him than just cruel
(Side note 2 : I was on a plane when I read his death scene and nearly cried, I got a few funny looks)

Now you can debate with me over him in the comments, but bear in mind that I will still love his developed ness even if you convince me against some of the points I have made !
Soooo yeah no one can make me stop loving my precious Onestar child 😛

That’s Maple, signing out !