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Silver Elite: Chapter 33
Next chapter. Wren is running a mock mission with Lyddie, but she's distracted by thinking about, and I quote, "Cross Redden moving inside me,". I have never been icked by a fictional romance the way I'm icked by these two. They make Violet and Xaden so much more palatable--hell, I begin to feel nostalgic for Christian Grey and Ana Steele.
OH IS THAT WHY YOU NEVER THINK ABOUT HOW YOU GOT JIM KILLED?
Wren fails the assignment, then learns that they're actually supposed to abandon their partners to win. Because, uh, something about the army not promoting compassion. Which makes no sense. In an elite military strike force, you want the soldiers to be loyal to each other. You want them to follow the orders they are given and not feel free to reinterpret them to get each other killed.
Francis, like Yarros, doesn't seem to have realized that well-trained elite soldiers are an asset that you don't want to just throw away.
Anyways, Wren decides she isn't going to be the one who abandons her comrades, and is therefore the only person who fails the test.
Now, we're going to come back to this, but first we need to hear how Wren justifies this to Cross, because of course the next thing that happens is Wren goes to Cross's office. God forbid she ever have to solve a problem without the involvement of her man.
Never mind, we gotta talk about this bullshit now.
First off, since when is this one of Wren's principles? No, seriously, since when is she afflicted with too much compassion for other people? Since when? These are, as Wren reminds us frequently, her enemies. If she cares about Lyddie so much she's willing to give up on her plan to infiltrate Silver Block, that is in opposition to what we've been told about her character so far, and needs to be treated as such by the narrative.
Like, look at this bullshit.
What the fuck are you talking about, Wren? This is a SIMULATION. Leaving Lyddie or Kaine behind has no actual consequences--hell, Kaine left you behind a page ago and it was fine! Whereas not getting into Silver Block has actual consequences for you and for many other people. What is honorable about giving up your chance to help your kind in real life in exchange for getting to stand on your principles by failing a mock mission?
This is a completely nonsensical comparison.
Wren is perfectly willing to waste time on this new principle of not leaving behind her friends who are joining the Aberrant-killing squad she, a secret Aberrant, is trying to infiltrate, but she is not willing to waste one second considering that, say, if she had let that little boy die earlier in the book her uncle might still be alive. Or that she owes it to her dead uncle to perhaps prioritize the Uprising he dedicated his life to over her own wants.
What makes this book bad is that there are places like this in every scene. Wren has a backstory that is literally never utilized. Instead of getting specific conflicts revolving around her individual circumstances, we get this generic "I don't want to hurt people!" schlock that always gets put onto female protagonists.
This is the same nonsense that happened to "daughter of a general who was raised at the War College" Violet Sorrengail.
Anyways, you might be wondering where this is all going, and the answer is nowhere, because after a single page of debate Cross and Wren start talking about how attracted they are to each other.
Wren summons up the heroic courage to not fuck Cross, and in the next scene discovers Cross has changed her score on the assignment from FAIL to PASS. Our strong female protagonist, everyone, getting through yet another problem by doing absolutely nothing while the love interest handles it offscreen.
She once again thinks about how hot Cross is and how she doesn't want to be horny about him, but is. But this time in the shower, so she can dramatically soap up her plot-significant scar. Then she goes to bed, only to wake up when someone drugs and kidnaps her.
Do we want to take bets on whether next chapter is the Silver Elite version of the interrogation training section of Fourth Wing?
My body clenches and I smother a curse, forcing the memory out of my mind. Jim told me never to dwell on my mistakes.
OH IS THAT WHY YOU NEVER THINK ABOUT HOW YOU GOT JIM KILLED?
Wren fails the assignment, then learns that they're actually supposed to abandon their partners to win. Because, uh, something about the army not promoting compassion. Which makes no sense. In an elite military strike force, you want the soldiers to be loyal to each other. You want them to follow the orders they are given and not feel free to reinterpret them to get each other killed.
Francis, like Yarros, doesn't seem to have realized that well-trained elite soldiers are an asset that you don't want to just throw away.
Anyways, Wren decides she isn't going to be the one who abandons her comrades, and is therefore the only person who fails the test.
Now, we're going to come back to this, but first we need to hear how Wren justifies this to Cross, because of course the next thing that happens is Wren goes to Cross's office. God forbid she ever have to solve a problem without the involvement of her man.
“I’m not leaving my friends behind,” I complain. “Pair me with Kess. Or better yet, Anson. I’ll happily dance over his still-living body all the way to the end.”
“That’s not the point. It’s not supposed to be easy to leave your partner.”
The look I give him is loaded with challenge. “In all the time you’ve known me—I sure as hell spend enough time in this damn office—I’m surprised you haven’t figured out by now what matters to me.”
Never mind, we gotta talk about this bullshit now.
First off, since when is this one of Wren's principles? No, seriously, since when is she afflicted with too much compassion for other people? Since when? These are, as Wren reminds us frequently, her enemies. If she cares about Lyddie so much she's willing to give up on her plan to infiltrate Silver Block, that is in opposition to what we've been told about her character so far, and needs to be treated as such by the narrative.
Like, look at this bullshit.
“Maybe. But here, in this situation, with this set of variables, I won’t do it. I’ll run your drill again tomorrow, but I can’t see myself making a different choice.”
“Even if it means failing out?”
Indecision slices through me. I’m the most stubborn person I know. If he pairs me with Lyddie or Kaine tomorrow, I don’t know if I can leave them in that hallway.
But I also promised Adrienne and the Uprising that I would get into Elite.
Is one silly drill worth risking my place in the Program? If this is what keeps me from Silver Block, maybe I do need to set my principles aside and compromise my sense of honor.
But is it honor? Truly?
What the fuck are you talking about, Wren? This is a SIMULATION. Leaving Lyddie or Kaine behind has no actual consequences--hell, Kaine left you behind a page ago and it was fine! Whereas not getting into Silver Block has actual consequences for you and for many other people. What is honorable about giving up your chance to help your kind in real life in exchange for getting to stand on your principles by failing a mock mission?
This is a completely nonsensical comparison.
Wren is perfectly willing to waste time on this new principle of not leaving behind her friends who are joining the Aberrant-killing squad she, a secret Aberrant, is trying to infiltrate, but she is not willing to waste one second considering that, say, if she had let that little boy die earlier in the book her uncle might still be alive. Or that she owes it to her dead uncle to perhaps prioritize the Uprising he dedicated his life to over her own wants.
What makes this book bad is that there are places like this in every scene. Wren has a backstory that is literally never utilized. Instead of getting specific conflicts revolving around her individual circumstances, we get this generic "I don't want to hurt people!" schlock that always gets put onto female protagonists.
This is the same nonsense that happened to "daughter of a general who was raised at the War College" Violet Sorrengail.
Anyways, you might be wondering where this is all going, and the answer is nowhere, because after a single page of debate Cross and Wren start talking about how attracted they are to each other.
Wren summons up the heroic courage to not fuck Cross, and in the next scene discovers Cross has changed her score on the assignment from FAIL to PASS. Our strong female protagonist, everyone, getting through yet another problem by doing absolutely nothing while the love interest handles it offscreen.
She once again thinks about how hot Cross is and how she doesn't want to be horny about him, but is. But this time in the shower, so she can dramatically soap up her plot-significant scar. Then she goes to bed, only to wake up when someone drugs and kidnaps her.
Do we want to take bets on whether next chapter is the Silver Elite version of the interrogation training section of Fourth Wing?