Bloomflower takes a look at Mapleshade.
Hi all! I’ve discussed this topic under my old name (LilyIris), and in the comments section I’ve been seeing people disagreeing with me, so I’m making my point now and forever.
I. Hate. Mapleshade.
But today, I’m going to try looking at the part of her I sympathize with so that I can understand the people defending her.
1.) Mapleshade lost her kits.
2.) She was banished from her clan.
3.) Everybody she trusted turned on her.
4.) Mapleshade was utterly alone after her kits drowned.
5.) Her mind snapped, leaving her to see the hallucinations of her kits and the idea she had to revenge on them.
Yes, I was pretty neutral when I read Mapleshade’s Vengeance for the first. But then I read Crookedstar’s Promise.
Then… I finished Omen of the Stars.
When Spottedleaf died.
THAT’S when it started. I reread Mapleshade’s Vengeance and Crookedstar’s Promise.
So.
Anyway, starting with 1.) Mapleshade lost her kits.
Didn’t Bluestar? Yellowfang? Leafpool? Crowfeather?
But then again, you might argue Bluestar only gave up her kits. Yellowfang watched another queen raise Brokenkit. Leafpool gave her kits to her sister, and Crowfeather had Breezepelt.
But giving away your kits doesn’t hurt any less than them dying. Mosskit (Bluestar’s daughter) froze to death. Brokenkit grew up to kill his father. Leafpool had to pretend Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Hollyleaf were like any Clanmate. Crowfeather had a mate who he didn’t love and a son who hated him.
So, I conclude giving up your kits actually hurt MORE than them dying. Plus, it was Mapleshade’s fault that they drowned. There were two perfectly good bridges Mapleshade could use, but she had to use the stepping stones where her kits slipped and drowned.
2.) She was banished from Thunderclan.
Okay, you know what, this is where Starclan ruins it by telling Ravenwing. It was already made clear in the book that Mapleshade would tell the Clan sooner or later, in her own way. Perhaps then, she wouldn’t be banished and her kits wouldn’t have died.
But Oakstar found out the hard way, and I couldn’t believe how many people wanted him to go the Dark Forest because of exiling Mapleshade.
Think of it like this: You are now Oakstar. Your son just died, but you manage to consol yourself
Nooo it got cut off! I was enjoying it :c
hmm… good points. I myself don’t hate her that much, she had a lot of trouble, but I will never forgive her killing spottedleaf 😠
Why was it cut off? Also, I unerstand your reasoning but I am a proud Mapleshade supporter! Great Article!
Sometimes, articles are randomly cut off, and there’s no clear way to fix it unfortunately
I really don’t know my opinion on Mapleshade. After I read Crookedstar’s Promise, she was the cat I despised most of all. But then I read Mapleshade’s Vengeance… and I felt so bad for her! So yeah, I don’t know, but are there any other Mapleshade x Snowtuft shippers?
I also dislike Mapleshade, in my opinion she is selfish and only cares for her kits and Appledusk. I do feel kinda bad for her, but overall it is her fault in the first place.
I am a Mapleshade supporter through and through. Good points, though!
Great article! I feel for her, but she is, after all, a villain.
When she did the murders, Mapleshade was mentally ill. Now, I do understand that she did bad things, but the least StarClan could do was put her in some sort of hospital for mentally ill people instead of just kicking her in the Dark Forest straight away. Sure, she was perfectly sane when she was in the Dark Forest (at least she became after a while) and was definitely a bad cat there, but before the Dark Forest there is a change she could change. Mapleshade honestly isn’t that good a mother or a cat (she mainly cares about herself and her kits instead of the clan) but did not deserve to be drived near complete insanity and have hallucinations about her kits telling her to kill the cats that betrayed her (well, at least most of them).
Thistleclaw was also mentally ill and he also went to the Dark Forest, so…
i agree
Awesome article! Sorry it got cut off!
I love mapleshade and i always will but for the LAST TIME mapleshade had like 5 seconds to get out of thunderclan territory and the bridges were kinda far so how was she supposed to get out hm tell me that but great article