Is Mapleshade Innocent-Or Not? by Hollypool

Hollypool shares their thoughts on Mapleshade.

Hi everyone! It’s me, Hollypool. Today, I’ll be posting an article on Mapleshade. Warning! There will be spoilers for Mapleshade’s Vengeance (or was it Mapleshade’s Revenge?). Let’s get started!
So, in my opinion, Mapleshade’s not entirely innocent, but it’s not entirely HER fault either. Don’t get me wrong: I love Mapleshade. But some of her choices were just… a bit unrelatable for me.
Hey, come one. She was driven out of camp and her kits died AND her mate dumped her! That’s honestly a lot to take in. If I were her, I would’ve lost my mind too. Mapleshade killed those cats because she was desperate, her sanity was bouncing around, and she wanted to avenge her kits. Still, what was she thinking? “Oh hey look! A flooding river. I know there’s another way, buuuuutt…” However much I dislike Appledusk, I agree when he blamed the kits’ deaths on her. Also, I can’t exactly say the cats deserved to die. Sure, Appledusk was a real jerk, but are you guys really gonna blame him for trying to hang on to his life? OH, COME ON! We ALL had that ONE TIME when we got in trouble and desperately abandoned your friends to get out of trouble. Don’t tell me no, we ALL had that one moment. This is the same for Appledusk. And don’t get me started on Ravenwing and Frcklewish. Honestly, Ravenwing was just doing his job. Why did he get killed for loyalty? I still think his death was a bit unnecessary. Still, I would be angry too if Ravenwing snitched on me, so I can’t really get angry at Mapleshade. And Frecklewish?! Okay, I know, I know. She abandoned the kits when they were drowning. First off, she was in grief too! Mapleshade literally lied about having her brother’s kits! Imagine this: “Hi I’m carrying your loved one’s kids. JUST KIDDING THEY AREN’T YOUR KIN! AHEHE NOW I’M GONNA KILL YOU FOR BEING SAD!” That’s a part I don’t understand about Mapleshade. Also, if I remember correctly, Mapleshade had a chance of drowning too. Frecklewish had a slim chance of rescuing them anyways, and I don’t think Mapleshade would be thankful. Still, I admit, I would be pissed if a cat just left me like that. like, wooow, thanks. (sarcastic). Now, I think Mapleshade was just losing mental sanity. I mean, why would Starclan punish her for something THEY did? Starclan wouldn’t have sent Mapleshade into the Dark Forest if she just did as Starclan told her and killed the cats, get what I’m saying? It must have been fake kits, sadly. After all this, I still like Mapleshade. I feel bad for her, I admire her, I find her interesting, but one thing I really, really hated was when she went to the dark forest. GIRL JUST FORGOT ABOUT HER KITS IN STARCLAN! ONLY THOUGHT OF ARMIES! WHAT??? I mean, she went from, “Oh you killed my kits I’ma kill you” to “Naw who cares I need an army” in 5 minutes! That part was confusing. Overall, I would say that Mapleshade was not innocent or completely evil. Thanks for reading!