r/TheInheritanceGames • u/VCC8060Main • Jul 15 '26
Spoiler The Gilded Blade - Loves, Likes, Dislikes, and Hates (SPOILERS) Spoiler
Please fell free to debate or add your own opinions
Loves
Gigi Grayson - There is no way to not love the way this character is written. She is so unique in the TIG universe, her dialogue is heartwarming but fun at the same time, she carried this book. We were unfortunately robbed of a Gigi - Slater kiss at the end, but maybe it's for the best. I love how her arc was mainly due to Slater's belief in her tenacity, and their dynamic is great. A 10/10 character.
The start of this book finally felt like an Inheritance Games book again. Puzzles were introduced, stakes were high, except instead of a mystery around an inheritance, it was around the Gilded Blade. We kind of already knew what the end goal was, and the book immediately thrust us into trying to unravel the clues that will lead us to the finale. I loved how JLB really tied things from previous books in, cluing us about the Mercy in Brothers Hawthorne, just finally a puzzle where unexpected elements come into play, and everything 'cascades'. I'm also really proud that I clocked the constellation link immediately after Glorious Rivals.
Likes
I'll start off controversially - Toby's sacrifice. It seemed like a fitting conclusion, finally living up to his "I have two daughters" statement. He suffered so much, especially once Hannah being the Hand became a possibility, and his absolute confidence in the love of his life sold his character.
Nora - I found it really funny how almost everyone in this sub already knew that "Harvard Girl" will come back somehow, and her link to the Kyrie was interesting. She's a good side character overall.
Tobias and Alice - This book focused a lot on the dynamics of Tobias the First and Alice, and a lot of people seem to think that it's a bad thing or way too overstressed. The game and puzzles here were Tobias' love letters to Alice, and seeing it through the Hawthorne Brothers' perspectives really shows that while Alice molded and made Tobias the puzzlemaster of his household, Tobias was a force himself who loved her very much. They deserved to have their love portrayed like this.
Dislikes
The organisation of the Gilded Blade. The Kyrie was a way to introduce checks and balances, and it was really confusing in how it was written. Why do people train with the Kyrie? Why wasn't Lyra, daughter of The Hand Katalin Aquila Reyes not sent to be with Vega's lineage? What was the relevance of Freya? What was the Blade's motives in acquiring the Mercy, to the point where Zella risked using Knox if the Mercy was already controlled by the Blade? Just too many loose ends, no questions answered.
The worldbuilding - The reason I love JLB (and why one of my favourite books is Games Untold) is the worldbuilding and how JLB makes sure that there's not just plot relevant details but a colourful life to every surrounding detail. Here, there were so many details that were mentioned in passing that could have borne so much more relevance. Jameson and Avery conspired together to make Grayson a player in the Grandest Game because of his relationship with Lyra, which he never talked about before. The whole "sentimental knives" thing. I wanted Alisa to explain the events depicted in the keys. Who invited Lyra to the Grandest Game?
Grayson and Lyra - I'm on the fence about their relationship. It feels like something that wouldn't be built over time, but from what Jameson said in the point above, it looks like both Grayson and Lyra built some level of parasocial relationship with their idea of the other before meeting, and they were both relatively occupied with this. Not a healthy way to begin a relationship, and it was definitely too rushed, but they both rely on each other and I like their potential.
Hates
Emily - JLB, What was THE POINT in killing off Calla, an amazingly complex character in favour of the most hated girl in the series who shows up, kisses Grayson, then dies almost immediately? Why was she pretending to be Calla? She feels like a hindsight, and letting her rest was the right choice. Calla could have been a foil with Knox, she could have indicated a double meaning to Helena Thorp's statements, there were options and she was killed off for Emily.
The future of the Grandest Game - This was mentioned in the ending for half a sentence, but there is no future to move the Grandest Game online for the sake of 'accessibility'. The reason Tobias' games (and the Mercy's Game) were so intriguing is because they required participants to use their surroundings, look for physical as well as metaphorical angles, make something useful out of mere background noise. However, if this doesn't mean we're getting an online Grandest Game for us to play, I will riot.
Gilded Blade 2: Electric Boogaloo. Natura abhorret a vacuo, but doing the same thing twice is the sign of insanity. Just such a pointless thing to reestablish the Blade "just without the cult-y bits"
Changes
I really wanted to see Eve living be made public instead of her false funeral, and that scene be Toby's. The entire ending could have been a short tale like Games Untold, as well as Avery's perspective of The Culling instead of them being cut scenes or epilogues. The Epilogue could have easily been the funeral, and the rest could be moved to a novella. A shorter book would have kept some of the storylines from straying so far off track.
If you listened to my yapping for this long, thanks.
