Bad, or just misunderstood? Taking a look at some of the most hated cats, part one: Rainflower by Loonsong

Loonsong takes a closer look at Rainflower.

(may contain some spoilers: read with caution)
Greetings people, and welcome to my newest article! In this article series we will be taking a look at some of the most hated cats! Are they really that bad? Or are they just misunderstood? Let’s take a look at our first cat… Rainflower!

Background knowledge

Clan: Riverclan. Rainflower is/was a Riverclan cat, although she now walks with Starclan.
Parents: Unknown. Rainflowers parents are unknown, or at least, I couldn’t find any information on them.
Mate: Rainflowers mate is Shellheart, although they later break up after an argument involving Crookedstar’s name (see more later)
Kits: Oakheart and Crookedjaw/star
Breed: Unknown, but she is described as a soft-furred pale gray she-cat, according to her page on fandom, and the books.

Why is she hated?

Rainflower started out in Crookedstar’s promise as a kind she-cat. She is first seen kitting during a storm, under a large Oak tree. This led to her kits’ names, Stormkit and Oakkit. However, Rainflower quickly became a commonly hated cat when, following an incident that resulted in Stormkit breaking his jaw, she began to reject Stormkit, claiming that he was ugly. She even made him his own nest away from the one she and Oakkit shared, and decided to change Stormkit’s name to Crookedkit, because of his jaw. This led to an argument with Shellheart, which resulted in them breaking up. Later on in the book, she is seen several more times rejecting her kit, despite Crookedkits obvious attempts to make her proud. Some proof to this is rude quotes found within the book including: “If he’d stayed in camp he’d never have had the accident. Then he wouldn’t be the ugly mess he is now. He’d still be my handsome young warrior.”
And, during Oakhearts warrior ceremony, Oakheart says to Crookedpaw that it would be his turn soon. Rainflower replied with “Does that matter right now? He’ll never be as good as you”

Her side of the story

Now, I don’t like Rainflower, but for the sake of this article, I must also attempt to see things from her point of view. It’s clear that Rainflower was cruel to Crookedstar, and though I can’t justify most of her behavior, there is still reason behind it. So, after the accident, Rainflower must have been worried. I mean, her kits snuck of camp and when they returned, one was practically traumatized, the other was just barely alive. This would have been scary for any mother. Then, she sees that Stormkit has hit his jaw, causing it to twist and hang in an unusual way. After being terrified about not knowing where her kits were, and then seeing that one of them had injured himself so badly that he might not survive, Rainflower probably began to panic. She knew two things: that her kit might not survive, and that it was his fault that the accident had happened. So, she took her anger out on him, saying that it was his fault that he was ugly. She then started to reject him. Perhaps it was because she no longer loved him, but perhaps it was because she was afraid to love him, knowing that she might lose him, just like how Crookedstar later acted around Silverkit, afraid that she would die if he loved her.

Added information/facts

I thought that I would add one of these to each article in this series. It’s basically an added fact of info that people might not have noticed before. So, for this one I decided to take a look at what would happen if Rainflower didn’t exist.
Here’s what I found:
If Rainflower wasn’t alive, Crookedstar and Oakheart wouldn’t be either. If Oakheart wasn’t alive, she wouldn’t have had kits with Bluestar, and she might have become mates with Thrushpelt (was that his name?) then, she wouldn’t have given her kits away and therefore wouldn’t have been deputy and later leader. So, she wouldn’t have found Firestar. Then, Tigerstar would probably still be alive, but even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have had Squirrelflight and Leafpool. And, if the clans could have somehow survived without the crucial parts that they played in that series, Jayfeather, Lionblaze and Hollyleaf wouldn’t have been born, the prophecy would be incomplete, and the clans and Starclan would have most likely lost to the Dark forest, and would be dead. So, this just goes to show that even the most hated characters sometimes play a vital role in the series.

…And that concludes the article! I’ll try to make part two soon!