Ranking every protagonist and why (Part 1) by Pebblepaw

Pebblepaw ranks the protagonists of Warrior Cats.

Hello, I’m Pebblepaw! This is my first article so bear with me here. I will be ranking all 18 protagonists based on my opinion and analyzing each one. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

18. Dovewing
I absolutely loathe Dovewing for a few reasons. One, she’s just whiny and so self-centered. When Jayfeather and Lionblaze tell her she’s the third cat in the kin of your kin prophecy, all she can think about is how it’s so terrible for her and she has to keep it a secret from the clan and oh how terrible, instead of thinking, ‘oh no, there’s a prophecy which obviously means trouble for my clan and it’s my destiny to help save them!’ I understand she was young and naïve but she could have been a little more open-minded about it! Two, she completely takes her special treatment for granted, such as when she was chosen to be on both the mission to destroy the beaver dam and to go to the tribe both when she was young. Ivypaw notices this and questions her, but of course our lovely Dovepaw denies it. (That’s sarcasm if you can’t tell) Three, she’s one of the three, (no pun intended) so everyone talks about her loyalty and how brave she is and blah blah blah and then out of the blue when her clan actually needs her she runs off to the city. She takes Tigerheart with her which eventually causes the temporary collapse of ShadowClan. (I know she couldn’t have known that would happen, but he was the deputy of ShadowClan and the leader’s last remaining kit for StarClan’s sake!) Then she just runs off and randomly joins ShadowClan. So enough rambling about how I hate Dovewing, onto the next protagonist!
17. Lionblaze
Now, I don’t hate Lionblaze as much as Dovewing and I honestly don’t have much to say. He just never stuck out to me as a character, especially among the other POT and OOTS POVs. He almost seemed like a sort of Firestar 2.0, but with more flaws. I feel like he’s just kind of there if the authors need a cat for a battle scene. His relationship with Heathertail was just weird, but I did find him and Cinderheart to be pretty cute and interesting.
16. Firestar
The simplest way to put it is Firestar is wayyyyyy too overrated. Sure, he’s nostalgic and a good POV, and I don’t dislike him. Personally, I prefer the sort of, ‘heroes you wouldn’t think would be heroes’ characters like Shadowsight or Alderheart (more on them in part 2). Firestar is your stereotypical, ‘born to be a hero’ type cat. He’s naturally honorable, kind, and brave and never seems to get upset. Also, he has no visible flaws and always does ‘things against the rules for a good reason’ (Such as feeding RiverClan or helping Yellowfang) I think most people (especially the cats in the books themselves) hype him up way too much when cats like Squirrelflight or Bristlefrost have done things just as amazing and difficult as he has. I hated how in the beginning of ASC all the ThunderClan cats were like, “You need to live up to Firestar’s amazing legacy!” What about Squirrelflight, his grandmother who went on a journey to the sun-drown place? What about Alderheart, his uncle, who went to find SkyClan and brought back Twigbranch and Violetshine, or his adopted uncle Jayfeather, who saved all the clans? They should have been just as celebrated as him and it wasn’t fair. Other than his overrated-ness and his lack of flaws, I don’t hold much against him.
15. Brambleclaw
Okay so here’s a very controversial character, and I have an unpopular opinion about him. I don’t hate Brambleclaw. “Then why is he so far down on the list Pebblepaw?” You may ask. Well it’s simple. He was never that interesting to me. His personality was the typical, ‘brave, honorable, level-headed ThunderClan cat’ and it was just never super interesting for me compared with cats like spunky, crazy Squirrelpaw or kind, devoted Alderheart. I really liked seeing him overcoming Tigerstar and Hawkfrost and their influence on him though, and the ‘before there is peace blood will spill blood and the lake will run red’ prophecy is one of my favorites. Now onto the controversial part: Squirrel x Bramble. These two were really cute in TNP and I love ships with opposite personalities. Reckless, hot-headed, witty Squirrelflight mixed perfectly with Brambleclaw’s level-headedness. He was a great father to Jayfeather, Hollyleaf, and Lionblaze, and even when he found out they weren’t his kits he never took his anger and hurt out on them. He was a great father to Alderheart and Sparkpelt as well. He and Squirrelflight did have their fights and problems but who doesn’t? He apologized, recognizing his own flaws, and promised to do better. He and Squirrelflight truly do love each other. Then, the poor guy was completely traumatized by everything Ashfur put him through which he didn’t deserve at all. I felt so bad for him during TBC, especially when he was desperately trying to get Rootspring (the only cat who could see him) to help. So to sum it up, I do like Brambleclaw, but he never drew my attention like other protagonists did.
14. Frostpaw
Similarly to Brambleclaw, I don’t dislike Frostpaw. I actually like her, she’s just never stood out to me as a character. Her whole story so far in ASC isn’t bad or anything, and I loved her friendship with Nightheart. I honestly kind of wish she had gone to ThunderClan instead of ShadowClan when she couldn’t go back to RiverClan because then at least she’d have a friend. She’s suffered so much at such a young age, with Mistystar and Reedwhisker dying, the responsibility of choosing a new leader thrown onto her (a literal child), and learning her own mother was behind all of this. (Not to mention watching her mother be mauled by dogs and her last words be terrifying.) She’ll certainly deserve her peace when ASC is over!
13. Twigbranch
Okay, so I don’t have much to say about Twigbranch. Her as a kit bouncing around the medicine den and getting under Jayfeather’s paws was adorable and hilarious. I loved how Alderheart practically raised her, and I HATE Rowanstar for taking Violetkit away from her. (I cannot even put into words how mad I was) Once she was a warrior she became much less interesting, though I was proud of her for not being pressured by Finleap to have kits.
12. Sunbeam
Again, I don’t have much to say about Sunbeam. She’s an interesting POV and a good character, she just never stuck out to me the way other protagonists higher on this list did. I felt bad for her after all the Blazefire drama, and her and Nightheart together are so adorable! I love how they just kind of get each other! At the time I’m writing this Star hasn’t come out yet, and she hasn’t done anything super noteworthy (yet!) I swear by StarClan if the Erins kill her or Nightheart and do a Bristlefrost & Rootspring all over again…😡💢💢🙃 ANYWAYS, I like her, but she’s just not the most notable character.
11. Leafpool
Okay so Leafpool used to be my favorite character when I was reading TNP, but now she’s just not as interesting. After reading the rest of the series and having the POVs of so many other cats, she’s just not as interesting. She’s kind of your average ThunderClan medicine cat and I don’t have much to say about her, Her and Crowfeather were really cute together and I loved her relationship with Squirrelflight.
10. Nightheart
I really like Nightheart! He’s my favorite of the ASC POV’s, and his friendship with Frostpaw was adorable. I love him and Sunbeam together because they just understand each other! I was so proud of him for changing his name from Flamepaw (What were you thinking with that name Sparkpelt? He has black fur for StarClan’s sake!) I loved how he wanted a destiny separate from Firestar, though I wish he didn’t have to switch to ShadowClan to make ThunderClan realize he was a good warrior on his own. He reminds me of Shadowsight, (more on him in part 2) and he’s just a very well rounded protagonist!
So that’s half of the protagonists in the entire series! This is getting long, so the rest of the protagonists will be in part 2!
Thanks for reading!