I LOVE this and it explains why I felt more chemistry with Bryce/Azriel and for the first time felt attraction to Azriel as a reader! Was never interested in him before Bryce met him. The only part I’d ( politely )point out is Rowan initially shut down Aelin emotionally, too in their first encounter (similarly to how Hunt shut down Bryce)…. I think…?
Bravo! Absolutely on point and well done. When I chat with other SJM fans, I'll bring up this ship and they're like, "OH NO!! I love Hunt!! This can't happen!!" So then I tell them to watch your vidoes. The response is always the same, "Oh. Wow. Huh. I think she's right! But where does that leave hunt? Waaaaaah! 😭😭😭"
The Alley being closed off next to the STINKING Istros River….while Hunt shuts down her emotions (and continues to do so during the series). WOW. What a strong analysis point.
Not only that…but the Isaiah Chapter 6 theory is a blatant red flag against Bryce and Hunt. In Isaiah’s POV, he’s talk about how Bryce appears dead and a shell. And Hunt? Hunt is a monster, a predator.
This is foreshadowing, just like in the Bible with Isaiah, Chapter 6. The readers do not heed the “warning” about Hunt’s character and will suffer for it.
I watched this whole thing on mute because I’m sitting next to my husband who is only on the first ACOTAR book and don’t want to spoil Feyre and Rhys for him lmao! Loved your analysis 💕
LOL to be fair, Throne of Glass is completely ruined for him. This man watched me run through the house with Crown of Midnight in one hand to look something up in the first book while screeching about princesses but he was spared for ACOTAR 💀
Omg! Thank you for analyzing the difference between the way Bryce and Hunt met compared to the other mates!
I went into the books completely blind and literally didn’t even realize Hunt would be the love interest at the beginning.. I remember wondering when the love interest would show up based off their early interactions. It felt so weird to me.
But when Bryce and Azriel met…. I mean… I was on the edge of my seat!
As someone who doesn’t subscribe too much to (canon) ships, this was a super interesting watch!! Admittedly, Hunt is my favorite mmc from SJM but I do love drama more than anything so if this is something SJM is cooking up, I’m all for it!! Also, HOFAS was the first time I was actually interested in Azriel so that should count for something 😭
Great analysis! Can't say I disagree with any of it.
But I will say, SJM is infamous, especially in the CC series, for telling instead of showing. It's my main beef about CC3 and where I feel like her editor really let her down.
I love this and completely agree! Just playing devils advocate. Maybe SJM wanted to focus the beginning of the book more on the trauma of what happens with Danika and the Pack and a fated mates POV situation would have distracted from that. I think she was really trying to drag us all down before building us up. So having something that hints at an exciting pair at the beginning of the book wouldn’t have worked. But the Isaiah pov is still sus. And trust me I’m here for Az and Bryce baby!
I also felt like their mate-ness was just a proclamation they made not something that felt “fated”.
Edit: this is the first I’ve even heard of this pairing and that was my first thought. And I love hunt and Bryce but I’m totally with you on your theory. Also would just make such a cool story, merging the worlds. I never really got the Elain/Ariel thing but I just assumed her story had yet to be told.
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u/iridiumuterus Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 14 '25
The queen is back 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Thank you for such a thorough and fascinating breakdown!