![[a full-body design of Juniperclaw walking with his colour palette]](https://blogclan.katecary.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/tumblr_piz599bllS1wexk59o1_1280-740x416.png)
Fan ArticlesSquirtpaw shares their opinion on Juniperclaw and his fate.
![[a full-body design of Juniperclaw walking with his colour palette]](https://blogclan.katecary.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/tumblr_piz599bllS1wexk59o1_1280-300x169.png)
[a full-body design of Juniperclaw walking with his colour palette]
Heyooo y’all, Squirtpaw here, pondering about existence. Bored of world cultures. But it’s gotten me thinking. Lately, we’ve been learning about a king named Charlemagne who was basically devoted to Christianity, so much so he tried forcing other people into becoming Christians. My class debated (and continues to do so) about whether he was a hero or a villain. Now, Charlemagne had pretty bad consequences to those who refused to become Christians… let’s just call it death. Charlemagne is confusing. Just like the one and only…
Juniperclaw.
Sooooo, a lot of people have been constantly arguing that Juniperclaw deserves StarClan, because what he did wasn’t so bad compared to what other cats did (looking at you, Ashfur.). But did he really? I don’t really know. So, in my investigation, I shall decide what I believe Juniperclaw deserves, and my general thoughts on him.
Juniperclaw was a ShadowClan deputy who served under Tigerstar 2’s leadership. He was ambitious and willing to do anything for his Clan. So, when SkyClan came around with some more “conflict”, Juniperclaw agreed that SkyClan should be driven from the lake territories. A lot of battles erupted between the two Clans, and eventually, Juniperclaw took the idea of poisoning their fresh-kill pile. He didn’t really think about the consequences and didn’t think he’d get caught; plus, surely it was for the good of ShadowClan?
Wrong. After Sparrowpelt (a SkyClan warrior) nearly died due to the poisoning, Violetpaw became extremely suspicious of Juniperclaw and ShadowClan as she had caught him at the fresh-kill pile, thinking he was trying to steal their prey. Further investigation led to the truth. Juniperclaw had poisoned SkyClan’s fresh-kill pile, and pretty much every cat living at the lake territories was horrified he would do such a thing. So obviously, he was exiled from ShadowClan.
But he didn’t stop there. He spent the next while hiding around ShadowClan’s territory, thinking about how or if he even could redeem himself. Suddenly, he hears that Shadowkit, Tigerstar’s son, is drowning in a flood. He finds SkyClan cats, including Violetshine carrying unborn kits, and sacrifices himself to save the queen and the kit. However, when he dies, he is sent to the Dark Forest.
But it doesn’t end there! Juniperclaw also fought alongside Bristlefrost, Rootspring, Shadowsight, and others to help take down Ashfur, and even though he helped a LOT, StarClan still rejected him from joining them. However, he happily took on the role of guarding the tunnel between StarClan and the Dark Forest.
And now comes the big question: Was Juniperclaw a hero, or a villain? Well, he truly believed what he was doing was right. He knew it could kill cats, but he believed that was what ShadowClan wanted, to get rid of SkyClan. Check; believed it was right. He got exiled but sacrificed himself to save his former leader’s son AND an expecting queen. Check; redeemed himself for his actions. And finally, he helped in the battle to take down Ashfur. And you can’t just say “well, EVERYONE helped to take down Ashfur”. I didn’t see Mapleshade helping, or Thistleclaw helping, or… well, you get the idea. So…. Check! To conclude this article in a fancy way I’d conclude a school assignment, I decide that Juniperclaw was indeed a hero, because despite his actions, his ONE BAD ACTION, he redeemed himself twice, willing to die for other cats to live. Let me know what y’all think!
Squirtpaw out!
Goldenfawn
Embers of a Winter Dawn (Emberdawn)
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✧˖°🍾⋆˙⟡ pineblossom (she/her) 🦢💫🩰 what are you doing new year's eve? 🌨️🧸🕯️mentor to skyshimmer! 🌲⋆✴︎˚｡⋆![[ship drawings of Tigerclaw and Darkstripe, Cinderheart and Hollyleaf, Longtail and Mousefur, Barley and Ravenpaw, Talltail and Jake, and Hawkfrost and Ashfur]](https://blogclan.katecary.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/warrior_cats_ships__1_by_phinanas_ddvblqj-fullview-385x300.png)
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Great article! I totally agree!!! Juniperclaw has made mistakes, but so does everyone. The important part is that he has made up for those mistakes and has tried to be good.
Great article! (first?)
Great article! This reminds me of Silena Beauregard, a character from percy jackson. She technically betrayed everyone, but after she died the entire fandom considers her a hero (including me!). Most of the characters in the book consider her a hero, but some still think she was evil. Just like Juniperclaw!!
Great article! JUNIPERCLAW DESERVES STARCLAN. First?
Juniperclaw going to the Dark Forest is so hypocritical of literally everything else StarClan says.
Sure, he did bad things and betrayed the Clans. So did Needletail. Where is she?
Sure, he did something bad, although he thought he was doing the right thing. So did Mudclaw. Where is he?
Sure, he put a lot of other cats in danger- potentially kits and elders- while trying to help his Clan. So did Moonflower. Where is she?
Don’t forget literal Clear Sky is up there, as well as Oakstar, Leopardstar and Blackstar, who all did worse things than Juniperclaw as leaders, which is even worse considering they’re in charge of an entire Clan for multiple generations with the gift of nine lives.
Also Onestar, who though didn’t do outwardly too many bad things, closed his clans borders when the clans needed WindClan most, and caused cats to die in battle because he left, not to mention that he MATED WITH KITTYPET and HAD KITS WITH A KITTYPET which is super agianst the warrior code, and he is in StarClan, which means so should Juniperclaw.
Finally! Somebody who says Needletail did the same! Like literally! She saved an apprentice! JUNIPERCLAW SAVED A FLIPPIN KIT AND EXPECTING QUEEN.
I so hate StarClan Needletail for telling Juniperclaw he deserves the Dark Forest despite basically doing to EXACT SAME THING.
URUGHH
Now I have a fan theory that Sir Pentious is Juniperclaw in disguise :> great article
Imagine Juniperclaw ascending to StarClan and it’s just awkward.
Interesting article^^ Especially the part about what inspired it, discussion about that usurper “emperor”‘; I’m an archaeologist with specialization in Roman provinces, plus I’m half-Greek, so I’m kinda obliged to call him “usurper” ;p
Juniperclaw is a controversial character and will probably be so for a long time. Personally, I think he deserves to be in the Dark Forest, and here’s why.
Poisoning SkyClan wasn’t his ONE bad action. He had previously also abandoned ShadowClan to join Darktail, then helped Darktail to take over ShadowClan, even convincing his mother Dawnpelt to stay with them which led to her death, not to mention deaths of all the other cats in Shattered Sky. Of course, he wasn’t the only one to join Darktail, but I believe that poisoning SkyClan later made StarClan convinced that he was still rogue at heart, and send him to the Dark Forest.
He also continued to be resentful towards Rowanstar after Darktail was deposed, and as “word of Clan leader is the warrior code” was still part of the warrior code then, that could have possible contributed. More importantly, when he was part of SkyClan, he disobeyed Leafstar and helped shelter Sleekwhisker and Yarrowleaf, which lead to Rowanclaw’s death and as consequences Tawnypelt gave up on rebuilding ShadowClan as leader, aaand we got the super arrogant Tigerstar as a result (something StarClan themselves was unhappy about literally a book after they made him a leader xD)
So in short, he made a lot of mistakes through his life. One act of redemption doesn’t erase all wrongdoings. His actions in TBC prove that he is a good person, but he still needs to face consequences of his actions (and sadly for him it seems that once StarClan passes judgement on cat’s soul they can’t reverse it)
One thing though: other than poisoning Sparrowpelt, Juniperclaw did the same thing as many of his clanmates did. Sure, one act of sacrifice isn’t going to erase all your wrongdoings, but most of his actions were done by those considered moral, and even if that doesn’t save him, he should at least be able to get a better deal than “guardian of the afterlife” after helping defeat Ashfur (though admittedly that does sound kind of cool lol)
But see, that’s the thing, he did the same thing as many of his Clanmates, but after that he also poisoned SkyClan. Repeated offenders typically receive harsher punishment. StarClan might have decided they gave him enough chances. Plus, bringing back SkyClan to live with other Clans was StarClan’s main concern in the second half of AVOS, and Juniperclaw nearly single-pawly put an end to that, so they might have been angry about that the most.
(Also personally I would throw most of those cats into the Dark Forest with him ;p When reading “Thunder and Shadow” I was so pissed with all those traitors! And heck, we all know Berryheart and Sleekwhiskers will be joining him eventually, that’s like a third of them? xD)
As for getting a better deal after helping defeat Ashfur, as I brought up, it seems StarClan is unable to change soul’s place of residence once they are judged.
That would also mean Needletail deserves the Dark Forest aswell, as she didn’t really care about others besides Rain, Violetpaw, etc. Only when Rain died did she care. So, really, if what your saying is that, then you should also argue that Needletail deserves the DF aswell.
Now that is an excellent point 🙂 I will admit that I actually have mixed feelings about Needletail being in StarClan. However, there are a few differences between her and Juniperclaw.
1. Needletail didn’t make as many mistakes as Juniperclaw (mostly because she gets killed off half-way through the arc, but it’s still a fact). Her biggest mistake was joining Darktail, and once she realizes how wrong she was about him, she disobeys him allowing Alderheart and Mothwing to take RiverClan herbs, causing her to be imprisoned, and then gives her live to let Violetpaw escape. Juniperclaw similarly sacrifices himself, but as I mentioned, he makes a LOT more mistakes before that point. There is a reason why repeated offenders get higher sentences in court of law. StarClan might have felt that they gave him enough chances.
2. Needletail wasn’t judged right after her death. Rather, she first stuck around as a ghost, helping Violetpaw find Tree, the cat that helped ShadowClan cats’ spirits move on, and then was judged. I think her help with finding the six-toed cat from the prophecy helped tilt the scales in her favor when being judged.
3. Through the second half of AVOS, StarClan is determined to have SkyClan live again beside the other 4 Clans. Jupiterclaw nearly ruined that with his actions. I think they were ticked off xD I mean, imagine, you have this whole plan to right the wrong from countless generations ago, and this one cat, who already screwed up a lot, nearly ruins it, putting lives of kits and elders in danger to boot. So it was less that he broke rules, but what he nearly caused by doing so that had caused him to end up in Dark Forest.
There are some cats I would say shouldn’t be in StarClan, like Silverstream for example. However, it is always possible for StarClan to make mistakes (I mean, hell, that’s what the entire The Broken Code arc is based on xD) and some cats receive sympathy while others disdain.
Just wondering, why do you think Silverstream shouldn’t be in StarClan? ^^
She saw nothing wrong with seeing Graystripe, being as arrogant about it as Mapleshade had been, endangered her Clan by meeting him by leaving her scent on ThunderClan territory which almost led to battle between the two Clans, and let Graystripe leave his scent on RiverClan territory which did lead to battle with WindClan (as RiverClan believed ThunderClan was plotting against them and that was why they brought WindClan back to be their allies, so they attacked first), and was thinking about joining ThunderClan, not caring how it would damage Clan’s reputation if daughter of their leader would leave (not to mention how it would hurt her father). When confronted by both Crookedstar and Leopardfur she borderline mocked the warrior code. Also let know both Graystripe and Fireheart how bad things were in RiverClan at the time. (And not that this counts but after her death, she was the only StarClan cat to encourage Firestar to go find SkyClan, abandoning his Clan for many moons and endangering them greatly.)
Maybe saying she should be in Dark Forest is too harsh, but her arrogance and believe she could do whatever she wants and there would be no consequences really rubs me the wrong way.
Graystripe is even worse than her, as Silverstream thankfully had no apprentice to neglect, but he redeems himself in later arcs. If he died in first arc he should have gone to Dark Forest.
You should make an article about this ! I kind of disagree though.
Thanks^^ Been playing with the idea of writing an article here, but if I do I will first write either about “Why Rowanstar was a weak leader and why his leadership was so disastrous?” or “Why Leopardstar’s decision to send patrols to guard the lake was brilliant (if somewhat morally dubious)?” (or just why I think she was a better leader than Crookedstar and Mistystar ;p), but maybe after those I will write one about differences between Juniperclaw and Needletail^^
Nice article squirt! I completely agree
Amazing article! I agree Juniperclaw is a good character.
I agree that everyone deserves a chance at redemption, and Juniperclaw has proven his loyalty and courage. If you had the opportunity to influence StarClan’s decision, would you let Juniperclaw join their ranks?
I think he did belong in StarClan. Can we be clear, if I was him, I would not have been so willing to do something nice for a leader who is annoying and banished me. Two, he totally deserves StarClan after what he did to help the Clans. StarClan was just panicking the entire time. Great article!
Great article!!!
Great article and I agree! I think that Juniperclaw made a mistake but he redeemed himself not only once, but twice and in the 2nd redemption act he helped basically every cat that has ever lived, including StarClan by helping defeat Ashfur. Also I love Needletail, and I think she is a good cat, and looking at her I can see that she is pretty much as bad as Juniperclaw (which in my opinion isn’t that bad), and yet she is in StarClan, so I think that Juniperclaw should also be in StarClan.