[Mapleshade in a fighting stance on an orange background]

Analyzing Mapleshade: exactly WHAT made her evil? by Mapleshine

Mapleshine wonders the exact origin of Mapleshade’s misdeeds.

Art by XemiDraws

Hi! Mapleshine here, and I will be analyzing what made my favorite character evil. We will also look at Ravenwing(I think that was his name) and Appledusk! Let’s get started, shall we?

Well, we should look into her childhood, first. So, let’s do just that! First, we have her parents and their reputation in Thunderclan! Wait, what’s that I see? Oh, yeah, Mapleshade’s parents are never mentioned! That’s kinda weird when so many cats think she will be the deputy. Also, don’t you think her parents would’ve said something when her clan exiled her? This means, they are either dead or they don’t care about her at all. It would also mean she didn’t grow up right, saying her parents died when she was an apprentice, you can tell because one, she is a young warrior, clearly. You can tell by her innocence and the lack of experience as a warrior. And 2, again, they were NEVER mentioned! And if they died when she was a warrior, she would most likely still be greaving, not being mates with a tom from Riverclan! Sorry, that was long.

Okay, second in her childhood. This time it is her lack of friends. You can see that the only cat who is at least kinda her friend is… Frecklewish. How would feel to have your mate, leader, your only friend, and everyone else in Thunderclan, hate you? I’d honestly also go crazy!

Finally, my favorite part in this lore, her mate, Appledusk. Okay, First, why in the name of starclan would he leave her! She was a sweet cat, who would (Probably) do anything for him! Now, I get that this has to happen to go on with the story. But what did he do it for? Three kits that never get mentioned in any of the books? I think this story has a lot under it then we see. Maybe Appledusk and Mapleshade were Friends as apprentices? And even if they were, it’s usually the tom that starts the relationship! (Exe, Thornclaw and Blossomfall, Crowfeather and Leafpool, Ashfur and squirrelflight for like, 2 days) So most likely, Appledusk started it!

Now, probably the cat who ENDED her happiness😰.

Ravenshine

Okay, hear me out. Ravenwing knew about the kits. He told the whole clan about them! So why would he do this for no reason? Well, this took me some time to piece together… but after that time, I finally realized it. Ravenwing held a deep grudge for either Mapleshade or Appledusk. I use Oakstar as an example. He probably exiled Mapleshade because he was mad at Appledusk, who just happened to kill 2 cats, one which was Oakstars son, in a Riverclan battle just a few moons before. So we’re Birchface and Ravenwing close? My guess is… yes. They probably were. Ravenwing was mad at Appledusk for killing what was probably his best friend. So when he thought his best friend had kits, he would’ve been overjoyed. But when he found out they were his best friend’s murder kits, he would’ve been angry.

So… who IS the cat the ruined her life? Ultimately, you guys may disagree, but it was Appledusk. Not because he didn’t love her in the end, but because of that deep grudge that Ravenwing had for him. I’ll make a part 2 for the actual killing and stuff!

Mapleshine, out.

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14 comments

  • Really nice article! You pointed out a lot of things I never thought about before 😀
    Put that thing back where it came from, or so help me!

  • i simply ADORE mapleshade, and mostly agree with you, but i wouldn’t call her ‘evil’. if you got kicked out of your clan, even though cats before you and after (silverstream, graystripe, crowfeather, leafpool, and so many more!!!) do the same thing, you had to watch your kits die in front of your eyes, your mate is not punished but you are, he loves his new mate more than you, you are not even allowed to stay for your kits’ vigil, and everyone hates you, how would you feel? otherwise i love this!

    • Mapleshade is quite evil indeed. I do believe she was also driven halfway to insanity and whatnot. During the murders, she was in a very bad place mentally and our little evil bundle of fur never quite healed from it. Mapleshade was actually the first we heard of a cross-clan relationship, and it ended very badly. By definition, evil means “profoundly immoral and wicked” vs. the definition of insanity which means “the state of being seriously mentally ill; madness” which is exactly what she was during her time alive. Once being kicked into the Dark Forest Mapleshade “felt a surge of triumph” and swore to always make ThunderClan suffer for what they did to her. Mapleshades actions afterward and the attempted murder of Puddleshine outweigh whatever “innocence” she might have had.
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      Thanks for reading and have a Merry Christmas!
      – 𝙨𝙖𝙫 | 𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗 

  • My arguments/agreements to your post (I also love Mapleshade, and I wrote an article similar to this one)
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    First off, wonderful article! You voiced your opinions clearly and brought up some interesting points. I do agree that Mapleshade had a lack of parentage in her life. Unfortunately, Frecklewish was never Mapleshades friend until after Mapleshade announces her pregnancy to the Clan. Frecklewish assumes that Birchface is the father and begins to stick to Mapleshade like glue. If I recall correctly, Mapleshade even found her presence annoying at times. Frecklewish was only interested in Mapleshade because Birchface was her brother. I don’t think that the clan hated Mapleshade, more like she was the black sheep of the Clan. This might also be why Appledusk and Mapleshade got together.
    Second, in my defence for Ravenwing, you have to imagine what it would be like from a different point of view. It’s obvious that Birchface was a very popular tom in ThunderClan, and when people find out Mapleshade was having “Birchface’s” kits, they were delighted. He would live on now, right? The clan must have felt betrayed. If I was being lied too, even if not directly, I would still be upset and make sure the liar and in this case, the codebreaker, got punished. You should not lie to me for your benefit. Ravenwing was a medicine cat, which means his responsibility is to take care of the whole of the clan. Physically and mentally. I’m sure Ravenwing didn’t intend for the series of unfortunate events (hehe a Netflix show) to happen, and if he knew he wouldn’t have told the clan. Apparently, StarClan told Ravenwing about the kits parentage in a way, so he must have felt compelled to take it seriously. I mean, StarClan doesn’t just give out secrets because they like to embarrass cats. I really don’t believe Ravenwing was trying to be hateful, he was just upset he’d been lied too. I blame Oakstar instead. As a leader, even when grieving, you must have clear judgement. And in this case, he did not. He let his anger and grief blind his choices and ultimately it lead to the kits deaths.
    Third, in defence of Appledusk. (I hate the man, I do- but I understand him.) Appledusk was very much in love with Mapleshade at the beginning of the book. This much is obvious. It’s also obvious that Reedshine has very strong feelings towards him. When Mapleshade reveals the news about kittens, she also recommends they spend some time apart so no suspicions are raised about who the father truly is. Appledusk reluctantly agrees. So let’s pretend we’re Appledusk for a minute. Appledusk can’t see his true love and is constantly surrounded by a she-cat who is very much in love with him. I imagine Appledusk didn’t want to hurt Mapleshade, but as they spent more and more time apart his feelings might have faltered. Not only did he go 3 months without a word from Mapleshade, but he was also surrounded by a beautiful, kind she-cat. Eventually, feelings will fade for your first love, but they won’t disappear. Appledusk is still excited to finally meet Mapleshade after so many moons in the kits playing the river scene, but his feelings aren’t as strong. Appledusk lost his kittens too, and when you’re grieving you have to have someone to blame. We should all know this, considering how badly Mapleshade took the death of her kits and felt the need to “avenge” them. I hate the way he treated Mapleshade when he’s confronted by Darkstar because he publically humiliated her and chose a different she-cat to be her mate, causing Darkstar to exile Mapleshade as well because “she no longer had a place in RiverClan”. Although Appledusk shouldn’t have to date a she-cat he doesn’t love. That would be mean for both cats. I don’t think Appledusk is the “ultimatum” in this case. I honestly blame Frecklewish. Frecklewish sat and watched the kittens drown without lifting a paw. You’re supposed to protect a kit from danger no matter what Clan they come from. If the Warrior Code is taken so seriously in this era of the clans, why did Frecklewish get away with breaking such a serious code? Or more importantly, why didn’t she care? The kittens shouldn’t have paid the price for their parent’s sins. Mapleshades situation is a difficult one.

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    Thanks for reading, and sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, it’s been a long exam week!

    – 𝙨𝙖𝙫 | 𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗

  • Mapleshade was quite evil in my opinion (but I like her because of this)
    [spoiler title=”argumenta”] We don’t know Mapleshade’s childhood so who knows what happened there.
    I am pretty sure that the fact that toms establish relationships was just a coincidence. Actually, I think that Mapleshade established it (by having his kits, I guess). Also, I don’t believe Mapleshade was “sweet”, she was kind…of Ashfur-y. I’ll explain this later.
    Ravenwing did not hold any resentment against Maple or Apple (as far as I know) and was just doing his job because StarClan sent him that sign not knowing that Oakstar will kick out the kits as well. Also, this was at a time where forbidden relationships weren’t thrown in the narrative like plot devices so none of the leaders knew how to handle forbidden relationships.
    Now, for the Mapleshade-Ashfur thing. I think at one point she thought “Appledusk is mine! And these kits will make sure of it!” whenever Reedshine breathed next to Appledusk. So basically, she had his kits to assert the fact that Appledusk IS her mate and she would eventually reveal their parentage anyway. And at another point, she had her kits swim at the river, most likely to show off to Appledusk that “HEY BABE THESE KITS ARE HALF-CLAN and OURS!” And when Oakstar yeeted her kits, she had them cross the river. Yes, the kits had basic swimming skills, but they were still kits. Not apprentices. So I believe the only thing she actually cares about is her relationship with Appledusk, and the kits are just a ploy to get closer to him. After they drown through unfortunate accidents, Appledusk rejects her for Reedshine to stay in the clan. Yes, Appledusk was selfish, but Maple was as well. So Maple begin murdering cats! The end. [/spoiler]

  • Mapleshade is not truly evil. It all started when Ravenwing revealed that her kits were actually Appledusk’s. Then, she was banished from the Clan. If you consider her evil for loving a RiverClan warrior, think again.