Spottedleaf vs Sandstorm: Who is better? by Mistystream

Part 2 of My Comment | Spottedleaf also underwent even more development, when she fell in love with Firepaw and was forced to control her feelings rather than openly showing affection, since she was a medicine cat. Even in StarClan, Spottedleaf was again forced to watch her relationship with Firestar fail, as she would never be able to spend enough time with him in dreams, and as Sandstorm would make a much better mate than her. Even after watching Sandstorm literally guilt-trip Firestar in Firestar’s Quest, Spottedleaf was forced with the knowledge that Sandstorm would still make a better mate than her, and she was forced to give up her role as Firestar’s dream guide. How do you think Spottedleaf felt during all this time? Of course, to make such large sacrifices, she needed lots of courage, dedication, compassion and, of course, character development. Also, Spottedleaf can’t be perfect if she also was reluctant to let go of Firestar and she underwent little character development. To add to this, Spottedleaf does have flaws. First, she rejected StarClan’s will and became a warrior apprentice despite being destined to become a medicine cat. Then, she fell in love with Thistleclaw, who manipulated her and was clearly evil in the end. Then, she fell off a tree while training due to Thistleclaw’s harsh instructions. Then, she visited the Dark Forest, which is a flaw in itself. Then, she was extremely bossy and controlling of her littermates, and had to undergo character development to understand them. Then, she was reluctant to let go of Firestar, which was a flaw in itself as she shouldn’t have broken the warrior code and fallen in love with Firestar in the first place. Also, you can’t say that Spottedleaf is flawless but has flaws. Flawless means that they have absolutely no flaws, and therefore, you cannot use this word to describe a character who you already admit has flaws. ~ Cloudy

Part 4 of My Comment | Several of the characteristics you used to describe Sandstorm that you claim to be lacked in Spottedleaf’s character are actually part of Spottedleaf’s personality. For example, Spottedleaf does have a very unique, well-developed personality, in my opinion. While she is generally portrayed as a generic character, she still has a personality. For example, Spottedleaf is gentle, yet harsh, demanding, impatient, frustrated, and upset several times in Into the Wild. When Tigerclaw tried to wake Ravenpaw up but re-open his wound in the process, Spottedleaf pushed his unusually long claw away, which is quite daring, especially for a medicine cat. Then, when Graypaw and Firepaw enter the den, Spottedleaf is shown to be impatient and frustrated at all the interruptions, and she even pushes between them to reach Ravenpaw. Later on, when Firepaw enters her den to fetch some poppy seeds for Graypaw, Spottedleaf is shown to be pacing around her den in an upset manner. Also, Spottedleaf’s words are shown to be either gentle or demanding, though there is always a warm or amused glimmer in her eyes, showing her true gentle, feisty, energetic, and dedicated personality. Spottedleaf is also compassionate, committed, and very helpful, shown when she shared her knowledge to Firepaw when he was fetching poppy seeds/mouse bile for Yellowfang, even politely and thoroughly explaining how to use the remedies. We learned lots from Spottedleaf’s dialogue and knowledge, for example; marigold to prevent infection, pressing wads of cobwebs to heal wounds, traveling herbs to bring down appetite and bring strength, mouse bile to push away ticks, and poppy seeds for pain. ~ Cloudy