One of Fourth Wing‘s greatest strengths also creates a major character problem for the remaining books in The Empyrean Series. The Empyrean Series books are, at their core, a story of romance and rich character interactions. It gets audiences invested in the dramas of its main cast as they attempt to navigate larger emotional conflicts. That being said, the story is also set in a fantasy world at war, with Basigath War College being in no way immune to the conflict outside its borders.

Fourth Wing‘s books quickly establish that Basigath, despite being a school, is designed to ensure only the most worthy students graduate. This is especially true for the Riders Quadrant, forcing the protagonist, Violet Sorrengail to find creative solutions to survive. Violet is usually successful, but often others are not so lucky, leading to many character deaths within The Empyrean Series. As more updates for Onyx Storm arrive, this trend will likely continue as the Fourth Wing books utilize one of its greatest strengths to increase the stakes.

Fourth Wing’s Willingness To Kill Off Characters Is 1 Of Its Greatest Strengths

Fourth Wing Emphasizes The World’s Deadliness With These Deaths

Fourth Wing‘s willingness to kill off its characters is a strength of the series, as it emphasizes the fact that Violet’s environment is very deadly. Throughout the first book, Violet must survive several tasks and events that are specifically designed to kill anyone “unworthy” of being a rider. The Parapet, Threshing, and the individual fighting matches are only a few examples of what Violet must survive through, as well as how many instances minor characters are killed off with brutal efficiency.

Many other series, though they purport deadly worlds, are not as willing to kill off their characters as Fourth Wing. As a result, Fourth Wing is able to show rather than tell audiences that the threat is real and the stakes are high. It makes moments of triumph more satisfying, such as Jack Barlowe’s death in Fourth Wing. Conversely, it makes the battles all the more intense, an example being Resson with Liam’s death. Fourth Wing‘s willingness to kill characters is a great strength, but it does also create a problem as easily as it establishes stakes efficiently.

This Fourth Wing Strength Creates A Character Problem For The Books

Many Fourth Wing Deaths Occur Before Audiences Truly Know The Characters

While it is a strength of the story, Fourth Wing‘s many deaths create a character problem for the remaining books. Many of the character deaths in Fourth Wing occur before audiences have gotten the chance to get to know them. Yarros, in some cases, establishes a large set of characters, but many of them end up getting killed off quickly. An example of this is Aurelie Donan, a legacy cadet who died during Gauntlet training in Fourth Wing. In other cases, Yarros kills a character before their arc appears to be done, such as Nadine in Iron Flame.

This trend creates a challenge for The Empyrean Series storywise. It needs to keep the stakes it established in the first two books, but this trend also takes some of the impact of those deaths away, as audiences often barely know the characters who die. This results in the intended gut punch being lessened even as the deadliness of the world is kept consistent, especially as the main cast continues to get by mostly unscathed. However, as the books go on and there are fewer characters, the problem may be able to solve itself.

The Later Empyrean Books Will Have An Easier Time Striking A Balance

Killing The Established Characters Would Naturally Increase The Stakes

The Empyrean Series will likely have an easier time striking a balance between emotional impact and story stakes in the later books, as the remaining characters will be firmly established. Many of the Fourth Wing characters who are a part of the Iron Squad or the main marked ones have successfully survived the first two books and will likely continue to survive. Not only will this allow their stories to progress, but it will also make any deaths of those group members even more impactful for both the story and the audience.

The characters who make it through the remaining books would likely have had their arcs completed and have played their role in the main plot, allowing the story to showcase their skills. Therefore, any potential deaths would be more impactful as audiences have witnessed these characters grow and evolve. It would also keep the world’s deadliness consistent and even increase the stakes further as more of Fourth Wing‘s established characters die, balancing the book’s worldbuilding and emotional payoff with the same efficiency.