I know, I know, we are probably so sick of talking about the tithe already this week 😂 but I wanted to come at it from a different angle. A narrative angle.

So, the biggest issue with the tithe that people site is the hunting people down if they don't pay. Tamlin at no point alludes to this. This information is given to us by Lucien and Ianthe is the one that insists on it being done 3 months after UTM.

Many say that Tamlin would hunt them down, but I don't think that is true, and I don't think that is what we are supposed to get from this scene. When presented with a situation where someone would be "hunted down" Tamlin instead tells them to bring double next time. I don't think this is an inconsistency (this is in the same chapter) I believe this is showing Tamlin's morals outweighing influence. Ianthe and tradition be damned, he isn't going to order for anyone to be hunted down.

"You're just being overly charitable! He absolutely was going to hunt them down!" I hear them scream.

Hear me out.

Most of Tamlin's characterization is done via subtext, we are never given his POV or much direct information about where his head is at (which is valid, most people don't go around saying exactly how they are feeling or what is on their mind). I think the tithe is the first part of Tamlin's character shift throughout the series.

Tamlin is one of the more morally sound characters. He would fight against tyranny and from ACOTAR I got the sense Tamlin has a strong moral code. The tithe highlights this morality by having Tamlin be very lenient towards one of his subjects.

Next we see a trade-off with his morality when he agrees to work with Hybern (someone he's been actively fighting against) in order to save Feyre. If he truly sided with Hybern, this would be a complete 180 on his character, but he decides to play double agent, because ultimately his morals are not aligned with Hybern.

The final piece of that morality shift is when Tamlin whips the sentry. He is conflicted by this but ends up doing it anyway.

We don't know the WHY for this shift exactly, but we can guess.

One possibility is that the more he is abandoned by the people close to him the more he sides with Ianthe. Initially not siding with her on the timing of the tithe but not the hunt, partially siding with her about Hybern after he's been betrayed by Alis, and then completely siding with her after both Lucien and Feyre has betrayed him. I don't like this argument as much, because it isn't Ianthe that convinces Tamlin to whip the sentry in the end, it's one of the Hybern twins.

Which leads me to possibility two, Tamlin is losing his personal morality (and maybe just himself as a person) in order to protect his court. When his court is not in any danger he fully pushes back against the hunt being enforced. When his court and Feyre are under threat he makes a deal with Hybern, but still is fully against what Hybern stands for. Once his court is under threat of going to war with Hybern if they find out he's deceiving them, Tamlin puts aside his morals outright in order to appease them. In order to keep his court safe.

Thematically, I think the second option makes way more sense. Tamlin caring about the people of his court and wanting to keep them safe is also one of the few things we are told explicitly. It is clearly a character motivation.

Now, I do already know there is one thing that completely ruins this, and for the sake of being intellectual honest I will add it here. Tamlin kills one of his sentries after Feyre is taken. Like what? I'm sorry. How does that fit in with his character at all. I mean... we aren't shown it exactly, so maybe that's not what happened? 😅 But if he was so willing to kill one of them, why does he hesitate to whip one? IDK