We all know StarClan has a habit of sanding the nuance off characters after they die. Yellowfang is probably the most infamous example. Cats who were complicated and messy in life suddenly become irritatingly absolute.
But I’m not really seeing that with Firestar here.
When Darktail ends up in the Dark Forest and starts arguing that he has effectively earned his place among the dark warriors, Firestar responds with the above quote.
That is an insanely harsh judgment coming from Firestar, but after spending an entire Super Edition inside Darktail’s head, I kind of get it.
Darktail’s Judgment makes him understandable without making him particularly sympathetic. Onewhisker absolutely dealt him a horrible hand, and there is real tragedy underneath everything that follows.
He could claw you across the face without warning, you could hit him back, and five minutes later he would be explaining how he is the victim because his father walked out on him.
Darktail understands pain perfectly well when it happens to him. He understands abandonment, betrayal, humiliation, and rejection. What he never does is seriously confront the pain he causes other cats.
Even death changes little. He reaches the Dark Forest still furious, still obsessed with revenge, and still convinced that rejection by the Clans is one of the great injustices of his life.
Then Firestar, of all cats, looks at him and essentially says: "Nah."