Nightpaw discusses some of the saddest stories in the series.
Any Warrior cat fan would know that many of the Super Editions of Warriors are heart-wrenching, painful to read, devastating, and mostly about cats who suffered tremendously throughout their lives. As a person who sobbed through all fifteen of these Super Editions (as of March 2023), I, Nightpaw/wish, rank the top five saddest Super Editions in this article. Though it took many teardrops and painful moments of silence, I do hope you enjoy this article.
5. Squirrelflight’s Hope. Although I personally cried the most while reading this, looking at it subjectively, it is not entirely the saddest Super Edition out there. Squirrelflight led a mostly happy and successful life, and it would be unreasonable to rank her higher than the cats (cough cough Crookedstar) who suffered their whole lives and were destined for pain. However, Squirrelflight’s Hope deserves a spot here for single-handedly winning the award of making-Nightpaw-cry-the-longest-out-of-all-books-in-Warriors. The book was so bright in the beginning yet took a depressing turn after Leafpool, Squirrelflight’s beloved sister, passed away. When Squirrelflight relived all of her moments with Leafpool shortly after her death, the mood of the book rapidly revealed the pain in Squirrelflight’s life, which essentially led to me putting this book as number five on the list.
4. Onestar’s Confession. Starting from the death of his friend, Brushpaw, Onestar’s life fell apart from a misfortune–having an evil son, Darktail. Onestar fought so hard to be a strong, good warrior, but because of his unluckiness, he spent his entire life patching up mistakes that could have been avoided. I think this is the saddest part of Onestar’s Confession. All of his mistakes could have been avoided and fixed with a single conversation, but his pride and apprehension prevented him. He did not have anyone he could trust who would keep and understand his secret. He felt that he would be hated if he told anyone, which is painful in itself as a fact. Additionally. as Onestar said, being a leader was lonely. He lost all of his friends. His own son killed him. His own son plotted to ruin everything he loved most. He died a hero, but he was never recognized as a hero. To many, he was always a traitor.
3. Bluestar’s Prophecy. So, so many deaths. Snowfur. Moonflower. Sweetpaw. Mosskit. Basically all of Bluestar’s loved ones die. Bluestar spent her entire life chasing after Goosefeather’s prophecy, believing that she would be a hero, that she would find a hero, just to end up losing the cats she was closest to. Almost like a hawk picking off a nest of eggs, not knowing that those are little lives yet to be lived. Oh why is StarClan so cruel sometimes…. She broke the Warrior code and became mates with Oakheart, who died. She tried to take her kits to RiverClan, and Mosskit died. Her sister was hit by a monster and died. Her mother died. Even as a leader, Bluestar fell into a deep depression that lasted until her death, when she finally freed herself by saving the Clans. The fact that Bluestar could not find true happiness until her death is the saddest thing for me, and the one thing that compelled me to put Bluestar’s Prophecy ahead of Onestar’s Confession. Onestar had happy bits and died confident. Bluestar died so sad, but so proud….
2. Yellowfang’s Secret. From a young age, Yellowkit was different. Cruelly different. She was forced to feel the pain of others, being accused of lying when she felt sick along with her littermates. She had no one to talk to for years about this, and when she finally told Sagewhisker, she was forced to abandon her life as a warrior and start a completely new, unfamiliar one as a medicine cat. Yellowfang had to make a choice, too–to be a medicine cat, or to be mates with Raggedpelt. She broke the code to be with Raggedpelt, and had kits all alone–two stillborns and one evil, evil cat, Brokenstar. She lost her mate, killed by Brokenstar, and watched her son tear the Clans apart. She was falsely accused of killing kits and was exiled by her OWN SON. Firestar was the only one who was her friend, and even while seeking refuge in ThunderClan, nobody accepted her. Ultimately, Yellowfang was forced to kill Brokenstar with deathberries. HER OWN SON. Even though she didn’t betray any emotions, this has got to hurt tremendously. A mother has ferocious love for her kits. Killing one, even if they are evil, is more painful than one could ever imagine. Yellowfang lost everything. Even reading these facts are painful, but we experience Yellowfang’s perspective of things in Yellowfang’s Secret. Absolutely heart-wrenching.
1. Crookedstar’s Promise. I can’t even start with this. Crookedkit was doomed from the start. The difference between all the cats in my list and Crookedstar is that he did not even have the bare minimum–a loving mother. Rainflower hated him after he had an accident, causing him to break his jaw. Initially named Stormkit, he was renamed Crookedkit by his OWN MOTHER. I hate, hate, hate, hate Rainflower’s actions. As soon as he was approached by Mapleshade, ready to trick him, it was over. Mapleshade picked off all the cats he loved one by one, and he became a lonely, lonely leader. Even though being a leader is honorable, it must have been painful to hold the weight of the Clan after having no family, and no true kin in his Clan. Rainflower died, causing him grief despite her hatred for him. He always wanted her approval and love. Oakheart, his brother, fell in love with a ThunderClan cat, Bluefur. They both died. His father, Shellheart, died of a lump in his stomach. He fell in love with Willowbreeze, his mate. She died of greencough, along with two of his newborn kits. Silverstream, his only surviving, treasured kit, fell in love with a ThunderClan tom, Graystripe, and died bearing his kits. All of this happened while he was distressed, begging to Mapleshade to make it stop, but the promise was made; his fate was sealed. This is why I think Crookedstar is number one on the list. There was no way to stop what was coming, and he knew what was coming.
Warrior cats can be so sad sometimes.
Great article! I agree, Crookedstar’s promise, Yellowfang’s secret, and Bluestar’s Prophesy are the saddest. Though personally, I think Bluestar’s Prophesy is sadder than Yellowfang’s Secret.
Amazing article! I’ve only read Squirrelflight’s hope and Mothwing’s vision but awesome article, very well written 🙂
I definitely agree with these but there could be some switching around in my opinion.
YES. YESSS! THIS IS WHY I LOVE CROOKEDSTAR!
Absolutely amazing article! Very nice writing, btw. Crookedstar’s story is definitely the saddest. He had barely anything from the start, and that too got taken away from him. He’s my second favorite character, topped by Alderheart. The other super editions are really sad too. I don’t know about Onestar’s Confession, since I haven’t read it, but it still sounds really sad. The others I have read, and I agree that the characters in them have gone through way too much suffering than they deserve.
Great Article! I think Crookedstar’s Promise is the saddest, too!
I agree! Crookedstar is such a sad guy! He had no-one for such a long time, and it’s just – :sobs aggressively:
You actually brought me close to tears. *sniff* great article 🥲