Did Warrior Cats just tease Mapleshade's RETURN?

[@luna9892]

If they decide to use frecklewish as a bad guy, I think they should have her playing maple shade and pretending to be on her side but then backstabs her to get her own revenge for her murder

[@coffeewolfproductions9113]

That would be an interesting idea, but I think Mapleshade would have killed her spirit way before then out of petty spite.

[@delubayca1290]

@@coffeewolfproductions9113 Definitely! She’s one mad kitty, and her teaming up with Frecklewish (who she views as one of the ones responsible for her kits deaths) is less than likely to happen, really

[@luna9892]

@@coffeewolfproductions9113 I do agree, but if the writing team did not have maple shade killing her, then this is the path I think they should go down and not have them as best buddies, because that just doesn't fit with the characters

[@coffeewolfproductions9113]

@@luna9892 Yeah I agree, I personally don't think that situation would be likely but then again if we were going by logistics in this story then Frecklewish wouldn't be in the dark forest at all

[@SnecinaSec8058]

That would be amazing

[@ribottostudio]

I hope to GOD it's just old generation vs new generation of warrior cats. I am so tired of spirit cats getting involved I need something VISCERAL and REAL like Tigerclaw, Scourge, or Darktail. Having cats do bad things with the right intention is great and fascinating story telling. But if they just keep falling to the dark forest is manipulating all these cats, it just takes the agency right out of these potential villains in the living world. I want Berryheart to hate the rules simply because she's a boomer who doesn't like change. I want Duskfur to be a villain because she wants power. I want Lightleap to have a villain redemption arc because of her being too afraid in the previous arc to go to the Dark Forest.

[@jagerbombers6089]

Berryheart had her family separated by Darktail and his cats. She lost Needletail. Of course she’s hostile to cats outside her clan. Girl has way more reason to be against it besides being a boomer.

[@ribottostudio]

@@jagerbombers6089 let's not forget she and the rest of ShadowClan DECIDED to follow Darktail rather than their own leader. A lot of what they suffered was brought upon themselves.

[@TipOfTheSauce]

I wouldn’t consider Mapleshade to no longer be fading a retcon. Up until the events of OotS, she hadn’t really done anything, so it makes sense that she was starting to fade. However, b/c of her major role in OotS and smaller role in tBC, I think it would have caused her spirit to stabilize, b/c of all the attention she was getting. Also, this would be the perfect opportunity for the StarClan civil war I have been asking for… This is what I would do. Have StarClan break into two groups; basically those for and against cats being redeemed. I could see some StarClan cats agreeing with the dark forest in that a lot of “good” cats have done similar things to “evil” cats, and yet the cats in the dark forest have no chance of redemptive even if the rules change. At the same time, there would probably be a lot of StarClan cats who think all the dark forest cats are evil and can never be redeemed. This could cause the group in favor of redemptions to break off of StarClan and find themselves allied with the dark forest. Not in a just to survive way like in tBC, but a genuine moral alliance. You could end up with conflicts that would never normally happen. For example, Firestar vs Bluestar. You would also get situations like Bluestar and Yellowfang, who I believe would be on the side of no redemptions, despite having done “bad” things themselves. Seriously, how else could the dark forest do anything on their own anymore?

[@angelmartinez6166]

I love this comment

[@BugsyBugYT]

This is an amazing idea!!!

[@SlightlyCringe]

This this is a amazing thing that i would absolutely love to see happen it would be so epikkk

[@8x13Wolf]

Yeah, she pulled a Freddy Krueger.

[@testerwulf3357]

I love this idea!

[@startheangel9760]

I seriously hope they don't butcher Frecklewish she's already been done dirty

[@hazelgrunts]

Unfortunately they’re definitely setting up Frecklewish to be a villain. They already put her in the dark forest and artificially injected some evilness in her.

[@hazelgrunts]

@Moon Frecklewish had plenty of personality, she is characterized as clingy and family oriented. She is a bit naive and can’t easily read social situations. She is very attached to her brother and was devastated when he died.

[@startheangel9760]

@Moon Read Mapleshades Vengeance all she did was get angry at Mapleshade for lying to her about her brother being the father of her kits when it was revealed her brothers murder is the father. The writers want to twist a 10 year old book to make it look like "oh she watched her kits drown" instead of diving into a raging river to save them

[@hazelgrunts]

@Moon Lol I think you need to take eighth grade English again. There is plenty of personality you can infer from the text. If you can’t understand it, that’s your problem not the book’s.

[@feistybearproductions6478]

@@startheangel9760 Lying by omission sucks

[@mostononthephone3973]

Finchlight is so suspicious to me for a few reasons: 1. She was saying some weird stuff about how ThunderClan is the best Clan. I know it’s far fetched, but maybe she’s in a sort of plot to take over the other Clans, which probably mean the Clan’s highest ranked cats need to be taken out first, as well as any other cats ready to pick up the role (Curlfeather) 2. Her mother was attacked using a pack of dogs. Maybe Finchlight picked up on this technique and used it against Curlfeather. 3. Kate Cary said herself on BlogClan that she “will never fully trust Finchpaw.”.

[@subsatellites]

ayooo finchflight ya got something to tell us??

[@lumeanoastra1252]

@@subsatellites Finchlight*

[@Hadeshy]

When Finchlight said the Thunderclan was the leader of all the clans I really looked twice at her and knew something was wrong with her

[@lumeanoastra1252]

@ivy wtf is your problem

[@danslyy]

Mapleshade has great potential as a villain. Her endless revenge against all the descendants of her former mate sounds interesting . I mean, I love the character, but I think she can still be useful and not end up fading so quickly. I just hope they know how to use her well and don't exploit her. Also, I'd love to know what happened with Frecklewish. I hope if she shows up she'll say something about it

[@1LifeStar]

i hope frecklewish is in starclan

[@danslyy]

Vicky Holmes said that she thinks all the cats went to StarClan. However, the Warrior Cats team believes that Frecklewish deserves to be in the Dark Forest. So we can believe anything, but what if they wrote that article precisely because she's going to appear in this arc? What if Frecklewish appears as a cat from the Dark Forest, and in that article they want to "justify" why she is there? I wouldn't be surprised if they did that. If they could kill Bristlefrost FOREVER, Frecklewish showing up in the Dark Forest in this arc would be no surprise, although it would be a pretty bad and unpleasant thing to do, for my liking, since to me, she deserves to be in StarClan.

[@quaelgeist3337]

@@danslyy I myself before the book even had an excerpt made an au where she gives up her place in starclan to protect the others and kill mapleshade and others. I have had times where I've predicted story beats with alternative universes or ocs and hope this is one

[@sweetwolfsteve5583]

@@danslyy no she doesn't she watched 3 innocent kits drown without even lifting a claw to help and don't give me that excuse of she couldn't swim or the was riverclan cats on the other side the warrior code says to help any kit in danger which she didn't

[@amaliciousgoose]

@@sweetwolfsteve5583 She saw a riverclan patrol next to the river with Mapleshade, she thought the patrol would help Mapleshade, and the patrol could help Mapleshade more than her, she couldn’t swim so it just would’ve been frecklewish plus 3 kits dying.

[@pigeonsyndrome2249]

I really hope that's not the case. Not because I feel any particular affection or disaffection towards Mapleshape, but because the last arc's main villain was already a returning character, as well as Omen of the Stars which also didn't introduce any new villains The series is lacking new and well-developed antagonists. The first arc had a plethora of interesting evil kitties: Brokenstar, Tigerstar and Scourge were all great and made an impact. Scourge is still one of the books' more recognizable characters even though he has less screentime than other villains in the series. The next arc tries to build up Hawkfrost during the first half of the arc, but ultimately the threat he poses is an extension of Tigerstar's influence Power of Three attempts to bring a new face to the Clans by introducing Sol. However, his presence is sparse and often feels like filler while we wait for the family drama to catch up. The more interesting antagonistic force ends up being Ashfur, I think mostly because we've been seeing him as a presence in the Clan for so long. Nonetheless, his villainy is undermined by him only showing his true colors in Long Shadows, and the aftermaths of his actions while alive are limited to the last book of the arc, after he's been dealt with and is no longer a threat Omen of the Stars only reuses villains from previous arcs, with Breezepelt being the exception as he only starts being a threat by this point in the series. However, he's far from the main villain and doesn't get much of a spotlight outside a continuation of the previous arc's family drama Dawn of the Clan's main villain, One-Eye, shows up in the latter half of the arc and is underwhelming. Most people don't care about this arc and even fewer people care about anything that happens after the third book A Vision of Shadows has a good villain! Darktail is introduced in this arc, poses a big threat, is connected to the Clans enough to not feel random, like Sol does, and is not another "oh no! The dead evil kitties have come back for revenge!" like we see in The New Prophecy and Omen of the Stars Then The Broken Code re-introduces Ashfur as its main villain. While I think overall it was a good arc and I like that they didn't try to make Ashfur reasonable, I would've liked to see something more fresh. An evil ghost conspiring to destroy the Clans is something we've seen already, being set up in The New Prophecy and resolved in Omen of the Stars. We only got a one-arc break from repeat villains before the constant call-backs to the start of the series resumed. Overall, I think this arc is in desperate need of a new villain. Not necessarily someone from outside the Clans, like Darktail - maybe another internal threat to the Clans, like Tigerstar was in The Prophecies Begin. All I DON'T want is a villain who has already had their spotlight. Maybe a cat who has been lurking in the shadows for a long time, or a cat who feels pushed to desperate measures by the changes to the Code, but PLEASE, not a cat who's had their chance to shine already and has little to nothing to do with the current Clans besides being distantly related and also evil

[@starfruit545]

i 100% agree!

[@robynluffman6430]

What do you think of berryheart? I think it's interesting how sunbeam seems close to her mother whilst from needletail's perspective in A vision of shadows - she implies her family really neglected her? I wonder if we will ever see a reason as to why berryheart neglected her first kit

[@sandywolfr26]

What happened to sleekwhisker? If anyone comes back, it should be her. She killed rowanstar and ran away. Then we don’t hear nothing from her again.

[@pigeonsyndrome2249]

@@sandywolfr26 Agree. Having a protagonist in post-Darktail ShadowClan, Needletail's sister at that, is a good set-up for Sleekwhisker's return. I really hope they get more into Berryheart and Sunbeam's feelings about Needletail and the circumstances of her death, especially because it feels like Berryheart's strictness is connected to the trauma she endured when she was in The Kin. Having Needletail's murderer show back up could be a really interesting source of both internal and external conflict for those characters

[@errorduck]

Tbh while reading River I was reminded greatly of the very first arc: Cat Politics, Mysterious Starclan actions, and mistrust between the borders. I was thrilled at the idea of the villain really just being drama in the clans for once. Like a Tigerstar threat again, someone causing an uprising without the need of supernatural means. While I enjoyed TBC (as I’m a sucker for ghost stuff) I really want to see more of the clans just interacting and dealing with drama and gossip. Not some strong outside force causing problems again.

[@Beulraeki]

To be fair, I would be very upset if Frecklewish ends up being a villain.

[@PommieTheYoomie]

She was from the start tho?

[@graphitetailgrace3870]

@@PommieTheYoomie No she wasn't. That's just the narrative made by vehement Mapleshade defenders.

[@BitterCyder]

@@PommieTheYoomie no she was not. Look at it this way, from her point of view, her brother had just been killed and was STILL grieving, then, Mapleshade, comes along and says she’s having his kits. She’s excited and thrilled about it right? Once theyre born she’s too blinded by grief to notice they look nothing like him. Come to find out, they aren’t actually his kits and she lied to save herself from punishment. How would you feel? And if you’re gonna bring up the river scene, think twice. She couldn’t have done anything to save them in time. She doesn’t know how to swim, she’d end up getting herself killed. And if she had gone for help it would of been too late

[@lavatarh]

Same here :/

[@lumeanoastra1252]

No i will like it honestly

[@Cherryyun_]

OMG I`m so hyped! Mapleshade has great potential. If she gets more story I think she would cause drama (Yes, even more). Maybe Bramblestar will FINALLY lose some more lives.

[@rebootartist7904]

Yeah! Like, what if we get to know more about Mapleshade’s family tree?? I’m excited to hopefully get to know her better than just “vengeance”

[@SkyPangolin]

Yes, but they’d most likely kill her off!

[@iCoralxDoesArt]

Kinda want Brambleshit to lose all of his lives 😭

[@Mag3.1415]

Fifth reply?

[@Mussi69]

I like bramble claw he’s nice I’ve heard he becomes villain but don’t tell me anything only on book 4 series 2

[@ironicmaxmanuhl9404]

7:03 i knew that reedwhisker was killed by a cat because his face hinted at an enemy attacking and curlfeather saying "trust no cat" just makes me feel as if she knew something the other cats didnt. when i first heard about a cat screaming and lightleap dissapearing AND coming back limping, immeadietly made me sus of her.

[@nightly-ruse2925]

I really hope they don’t use Mapleshade tbh- she’s so overused. I hoped that the story would be more real world and be like a collapse along the lines of cats wondering if they could change the rules MORE, and those wanting to make the rules back or even more constricting. And maybe a comeback of Sol who’s working to destroy the code all over again! I know this won’t happen ever but I wish it would. The theory Akita is way more likely, if less satisfying. We’ll see what happens

[@nightly-ruse2925]

@mrdoe97 Omg I love that theory! If Sleek and Sol as a team would be sick

[@jessiebear6730]

I want to see more of HoundLeap and RushTooth, they’re so underrated they don’t even have a story, they were just training in the Dark Forest with ThistleClaw while in A Light In The Mist, SilverHawk was actually revealed to have a backstory

[@groudonvert7286]

Mapleshade is overused as a villain, but not that much developped, so if she gets more developpment (like Ashfur did) why not ?

[@siliconsulfide8]

@Moon He has a way with words, though, so he could've found a cat or few to hunt for him in the meantime. I'm pretty sure that happened already, actually. Or maybe find some Twolegs willing to feed him? Follow loners and rogue groups to take their prey while they're not watching?

[@see.ya.in.another.life.brother]

@Moon It's just a theory. Come on dude, if you're just gonna say things like "Such a weak theory lol" then we don't need you here.

[@jagerbombers6089]

I will sob if a retconned Frecklewish or overused Mapleshade comes back. What I love about River is that the plots and events are within the clans. There’s no greater evil or big bad. There’s internal conflict within which leaves room for characters to grow, and not just the protagonists. Frostpaw’s rather generic personality is made up by the suspense and high stakes plot of the book. There’s mystery to what happened. Pieces and clues within other POV chapters. We know about her off mom, Splash whoever (sorry lol) goes from doubtful to supportive, the grieving Mothwing. You get the idea of how Riverclan is like with issues. The plot can and hopefully will shape her character. Flamepaw is FULL of character. He is a Firestar descendant done right. This guy has more thoughts in his head than “I’m eager to serve my clan!! Omg I hope I live down Firestar’s legacy..” He has actual relationships with cats beyond his leader and potential love interest. He questions how the clan is ran and has opinions about the recent events. Flame actively tries to improve himself instead of JUST sulking. I can’t wait for him to do more. Sunbeam has actual relationships with her clan. Spireclaw’s half clan relationship is her issue too since that’s her brother and Berryheart has PLENTY of opinion. She gets tangled up with Lightleap and confides in her brother. It affects her dating life with Blazefire. Shadowclan feels whole! ALL of this will be sacrificed if the threat is some evil, spooky ghost for the one millionth series. We need to focus on CHARACTERS, not one dimensional plot devices.

[@Idkidc2173]

I absolutely agree with everything you said

[@9nikola]

Though if some of the Dark Forest cats were working *for* the living antagonists this time around, that would make for a nice change too.

[@lzrshark617]

Agreed. I like Mapleshade as a villain, but please DEAR GOD do NOT let the Erins bring her back AGAIN. We need _new_ blood, not another old villain brought back for the 50th time

[@lumeanoastra1252]

Nah, bring me some *new* villains

[@thatmomentwhen345]

This! It’s so shady of the writers to just ignore the unanimous complaints over the whole Frecklwish thing in the first place. And adding Mapleshade to the mix when she should’ve just been killed in the Last Hope battle a long time ago would be adding salt to the wound.

[@shingshongshamalama]

I know they would never do anything like that, but I kinda want to see them take this whole "forbidden romance isn't forbidden any more" thing and have Mapleshade explicitly use that as justification for more violence by just rubbing the clans' own hypocrisy right in their noses. Playing up her victimhood in a way they can't easily excuse away while being a horrible person. Have an _actually complex villain_ for a change.

[@lj2659]

I’m really interested in the new arc! There’s so many suspicious cats, it’s so intriguing. Like Curlfeather said, we really can’t trust any cat. I’m really excited to see where this arc goes!!

[@sandywolfr26]

Love how we don’t know anything about riverclan and it fits the mystery. Like other than mistystar, reedwhisker and mothwing, we know no one else. Only thing we got is the meeting that show a bit of the clan personalities and I still can’t tell who is who sometimes. Even having to look at list to get a visual of it

[@robynluffman6430]

One theme I also noticed in this book that I don't THINK they have done before is quite a heavy focus on the relationship between mothers and kits? Nightheart and sparkpelt, sunbeam and Berryheart, Frostpaw and Curlfeather - each one had something unique about their relationships that hadn't been done before, I know Curlfeather is dead now but it would have been such an interesting dynamic with her as leader from Frostpaw's perspective Also as a side note - I really hope they aren't setting up a romance between Nightheart and Sunbeam, I think her and Blazefire were quite good together and that Sunbeam will have a big character development and Blazefire will realise that he was wrong and that they are suited! I think unless Nightheart is being set up as a lead antagonist, I think in 'Sky' he still won't feel like he belongs in Thunderclan and maybe changes to Skyclan? We don't have a protagonist from them in this series and they need something for them to be so relevant in the next book for it to be called 'Sky'

[@jksbananamilk3099]

I think it's already hinted in River that Nightheart and Sunbeam would be a thing...

[@strawberryshorty2080]

I really wanted Sol or Sleekwhisker to return I feel like out of the two tho Sol would play a better villain then Sleek. After what happened in The Broken Code I feel like there are cats from all the clans who don't really like Starclan. After all they let Ashfur in and he nearly ripped the clans apart. Sol seemingly also didn't like Starclan he literally convinced Blackstar and Shadowclan to turn away from them. I mainly just want them to bring cats back that disappeared without finishing their stories. And I feel like Sol could play a wonderful role. My only concern is it being an Ashfur or possibly a Darktail repeat.

[@4Stormfly]

I really like the idea of a secret organization in the clans trying to "fix" the warrior code. I don't, however, want the dark forest to be involved again. It would make this arc feel too similar to The Broken Code, and there are already many similarities, with Sunbeam's love life and the mysterious cats Frostpaw is seeing. I especially wouldn't want the Erins make Frecklewish evil AND working with Mapleshade. I still refuse to accept that she's in the dark forest.

[@quietsong2583]

I think Frostpaw’s relation with StarClan may just be her imagination. Maybe not all of it but when Mothflight needed reassurance she went through her memories to Mistystar saying “We must move on” like a leader addressing a clan. She said “we must move on” in the earlier gathering. This makes some sense too, though

[@kestrel_88]

Mapleshade is cool in all BUTTTT I’m just gonna say it’s to soon for her to come back and there’s not really anyone left other than Stormfur related to Appledusk now that Misty And Reed are gone(Yes misty and reed are related to him through Oakheart-) Also I felt bad for Frostpaw after curl went oof-

[@pyrook4074]

I'm so tired of the dark forest being behind everything, like it was really cool at first don't get me wrong and I love the edginess, but Mapleshade has literally already gotten so much clout. At least when Ashfur made a comeback he really hadn't done that much outside the fire scene and his little stint with Hawkfrost. But Mapleshade? She is literally the one who manipulated Tigerclaw into becoming evil, was a Dark Forest leader in all of OOTS, was the main villain in Crookedstar's Promise, AND got her own novella. I've had enough of her. Plus if she is the one manipulating Frostpaw it is just gonna be a whole Shadowpaw/Ashfur scenario again. Which was awesome sure, but we don't need it twice. I do think this theory is pretty likely to end up happening though lmao.

[@mightyleafster]

Imma be so upset if they do, but I won’t be surprised either They can’t let her go apparently

[@kestrel_88]

Yeah- She’s overused for some reason *cough cough* like firestar’s family *cough cough*

[@mightyleafster]

@@kestrel_88 dude I’m literally so tired of mapleshade I want to like her but I’m getting fed up Why’d did she get all this fame, yeah her backstory is harsh but yellowfang’s secret was so much more interesting and tragic to read- Like I seriously don’t want anymore mapleshade content, there is absolutely no reason to bring her back Just let her fade 😭

[@kestrel_88]

@@mightyleafster Yeah legit all I remember about her backstory - Killed 3 grownups got beat by a legit child-

[@mightyleafster]

@@kestrel_88 I remember everything about it And to this day some people still can’t take the hint mapleshade is not a good person (At least not anymore) She may have not been a perfect person at the beginning, but after a mistake she caused and got karma for it she’s just a horrible person 😭 Especially when she tried to kill a pregnant woman

[@QuirkOverhaul]

But this is the perfect situation for you comrade, if mapleshade is responsible for Mistystar and Reedwhisker's deaths, she'll finally be considered a true villan.

[@robynluffman6430]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one suspicious of Curlfeather whilst reading the book! She seemed too dismissive of the issues in riverclan like the deaths, instills a lot of false confidence in Frostpaw and also I believe the curled feather sign was totally fake because they brought up again how mothwing had a fake sign before

[@sandywolfr26]

But we saw in frostpaw dreams that starclan is sending her the sign. Or could be the dark forest since we still have no clue if who frostpaw saw was a starclan cat when mistystar spirit was taken

[@alliesoapway1076]

I don't think it's Blazefire's fault that he broke up (I guess it wasn't really a breakup, but it was close enough) with Sunbeam. I haven't read River yet though so I'm not entirely sure. I think Berryheart might have said something to him. He says he still loves her and probably always will, literally admitting the reason he doesn't think they belong together is because they're too different, not that he doesn't love her. I don't think that makes sense for him though, if anyone doubted their relationship and thought they were too different, it'd probably be Sunbeam, with Blazefire reassuring her. And Berryheart probably wouldn't want Sunbeam to be with Blazefire. Blazefire was born out of the Clan, for one, something Berryheart probably wouldn't support, and not only that, he's more of a rebel and rule-breaker, a cat Berryheart definitely wouldn't want her daughter to be mates with. Berryheart easily could have done something to make Blazefire doubt his relationship with Sunbeam. I also need a Sunbeam villain arc and I need it now. I'm not sure how suspicious Finchlight acted throughout River but I still need her to be a villain. I also need either Sol or Sleekwhisker to return, or even both.

[@robynluffman6430]

I agree I don't think that Blazefire breaking up with Sunbeam made that much sense, I thought perhaps maybe lightleap said something to him when Sunbeam asked Blazerfire to talk with her? But Berryheart disapproving of him also makes sense - I was so proud that before River came out I theorises that lightleap would steal blazefire away from sunbeam - I was so close!

[@bangles7437]

Mapleshade would be cool, but the whole her talking to Frostpaw thing it's an exact copy of Ashfur talking to Shadowsight, it be boring to see that same thing again

[@groudonvert7286]

The fact that cats are fading is because living cats don't remember them. With Mapleshade actions in Series 4, it's obvious she will be remembered longer.

[@AurumCat26]

If frecklewish appears in the dark forest, i think it would be funny if the fandom just collectively ignored her being there. Frecklewish a major player in the plot? Making an animation about a starless clan? No worries, just replace her with thistleclaw or something

[@coffeewolfproductions9113]

The Fandom: We recognize the writing team has made a decision, but given that its a stupid ass decision we've elected to ignore it.

[@mccnshyyne]

I feel like every cat frostpaw tries to tell to be leader will die, and she will be seen as an unlucky charm of death

[@dogfizsh]

Personally, I don't think Juniperclaw would be part of the team, he has literally sacrificed himself for the Clans over and over. Why would he turn evil now?

[@itub912]

Juniperclaw would probably fight FOR the clans no matter how much they don't trust him. He should have been redeemed a long time ago

[@QuirkOverhaul]

Well the Erin's love putting any cat related to tigerstar in the forefront of drama. I could easily see the bad blood within him taking over, especially considering he wasn't allowed into starclan after the battle with Ashfur. There's also speculation that all of the leaders are going to die this arc, juniper coming back and killing his uncle tigerstar the second could make for some great drama.

[@finnsnow2495]

To be fair Juniperclaw was done dirty in Light in The Mist. Dude didn't even get to go to Starclan.

[@dragonstouch1042]

@@finnsnow2495 like, it would’ve been fine if they offered him a place and he couldn’t forgive himself and willingly chose to protect the portal

[@MythicalKittydog]

Since Mistystar was a descendant of Appledusk, I think it would be cool if it was revealed that Mapleshade was somehow the one who killed her.

[@skygazer6082]

Maple shade tried to force her out of her body before she died, causing her to have a heart attack and /actually/ die.

[@jessiebear6730]

Two Dark Forest cats that I want to see get more attention are HoundLeap and RushTooth Until A Light In The Mist, RushTooth didn’t even have a confirmed gender showing how underrated he is, I hope we get to know more about those two I also want to know what happened to SleekWhisker, I’d love to see her again whether she’s dead or alive

[@danascully7997]

I know a lot of hype is on Riverclan right now, but I noticed some leadership problems in Thunderclan as well! Bramblestar is struggling from his trauma and time in the dark forest and it is affecting his leadership skills. Plus there’s this new rule about replacing leaders with their deputy should the clan see them as unfit to lead. Are we finally going to see Squirrelstar?

[@robynluffman6430]

I thought about this too! I think because it was discussed so much as part of the code changes then at least one leader will be overthrown in this series surely? And Bramblestar makes total sense! Let him have an early retirement, Squirrelflight has taken over so many duties anyway

[@kirstyyyyy]

@@robynluffman6430 Somehow I doubt it'll end up being Bramblestar, just because of how big of a role he's played and how weird the Erins decisions sometimes are. I reckon It'll probably end up being Harestar if anyone for the sake of Crowstar because god forbid background characters get any attention

[@ribottostudio]

we won't get squirrelstar, the writers have said so. I think they're going to use the new rule "a leader can be deposed if 75% of the clan, all the medicine cats, the other leaders, and starclan agree" to get rid of bramblestar. Something will happen to squilf before she can become leader, leaving now ThunderClan leaderless too. The ENTIRE ARC is called a Starless Clan. What if that alludes to ALL the clans losing their stars and having to cope with such a loss??

[@danascully7997]

@@ribottostudio I like that theory

[@finnsnow2495]

We we will never get Squirrelstar and considering she's not that much younger then Bramblestar I don't really want to. I wanted Bristlefrost to become leader but I guess that can't happen. My guess is they will kill both Squirrel and Bramble at relativly the same time or more likely Squirrel will step down and turn down leadership for some reason. I'm actually okay with this only if Lionblaze doesn't become leader. I swear if rather a completely random cat be leader then him. Maybe Sparkpelt should be become leader that would be an awesome storyline and the writers get to keep their obsession with Firestar strong. It would be good to see a cat who was originally so spunky and full of energy only to sink into deep depression to bounce back. Not only is it good development for Spark but Nightheart aswell since their relationship is so strained

[@randomstranger9913]

Fun Fact! It shows in Duskfur's Wiki that Kate would've loved to have Reedwhisker be her mate, and in which case if he is, then that'd make Frostpaw related to Mapleshade as well. But at the same time, I don't think so as I don't recall Duskfur being that sad, well, besides being sad for the loss of the deputy. I would find it so cool, though, if Frostpaw was related to Mapleshade through Reedwhisker.

[@blep8895]

If they make Frecklewish cartoonishly evil and don’t give her sympathetic traits I’m going to be so dang pissed. She’s never had evil intentions, she was a morally gray character who I believe never deserved to be put in the dark forest. If they just make her seem cartoonishly evil they’d be completely disregarding her character.

[@errorduck]

Makes me wonder if Sleekwhisker will make a reappearance? Especially with the whole mention of Darktail’s kin.

[@mochacat2359]

I think Curlfeather knew the plan but she didn't agree with it. So when she stopped coming to the meetings, the other cats got mad at her. So she gets threatened to not tell anyone so even when she knew there were claw marks in Reedwhisker's body she couldn't say it and she's trying to protect Frostpaw from the truth. About her getting chosen, Maple shade knew there'd be dogs, they wanted to hurt the cats close to her because they were in power and they'd be unfit to lead in that state of grief. It really explains the 'Dont trust anyone' also.

[@whisperis]

3:46- Sunbeam hasn't found love with a cat in another clan, though? Idk if this is talking about Flamepaw, but they spoke, like, once. Also, Berryheart isn't outright evil, like Ashfur was. She seems like she could have potential to become evil, but in my opinion she's morally gray. Sure, she's a strict mom who doesn't really seem to care about who her kids want to be, and wants to mold them to her liking, but that doesn't make her a *villain.* Unlikeable, maybe an antagonist in Sunbeam's storyline, but not evil.

[@Corpse701]

c'mon, we all know sunbeam and nightheart are going to be our mandatory forbidden romance for this arc.

[@shortstacks592]

I SAID IN A COUPLE VIDEO COMMENT SECTIONS THAT I BET FRECKLEWISH WILL PLAY A PART IS THE NEW BOOKS, AND THATS WHY SHE WAS IN THE DF SUDDENLY LOL

[@Crimson_Mushroom]

AHHH keep it up, Akira!! Ur an inspiration, love ur vids!!!

[@Mrhousethecutie]

This is gonna be a great arc!

[@Lightfall8921]

one thing that i have noticed is that in every arc the protagonists meet up and do something. in the new prophecy, they go and find midnight, in power of three they try and work out what the prophecy means, in omen of the stars they are still working out the prophecy and defeat the dark forest, in a vision of the shadow they find skyclan and in the broken code they defeat ashfur.

[@LittleLion420]

I’d love to see a warriors theory video ! Keep up the great work girl!

[@Hadeshy]

Haven't received my book yet so I won't watch for now. But PLEASE no. We had enough of her. She was already responsible for everything bad until she disapeared EDIT: Having now received and read the book, I'm holding on that statement. Throughout the book, I was constantly doubting everyone. And Curlfeather dying saying to trust no cat really made me feel even more anxious about everything the cats were doing and saying. But I want to trust no CAT. Not no dark forest ghost that I already know I can't trust. I want the story to me more grounded, centered around problem inside the clans. Like in the first arcs.

[@True2ChainzLilWayne]

SPOILER warning The only descendants of Appledusk left are in The Tribe of Rushing Water, at the end of River.

[@omglloydispurple4134]

“No cat can control dogs” Tigerstar: _am I a joke to you?_

[@taylaa8305]

This really aligns with a theory I’ve been thinking about. Basically, Mistystar (and in turn, Reedwhisker) supported the new code changes. Berryheart and her group of ‘friends’ did not. So they killed Reedwhisker. Odd coincidence that Mistystar died at the same time. But I really like what your theory suggests. Mapleshade could be manipulating Berryheart and the others in ShadowClan, convincing them that this revolt needs to stop. Berryheart, under the influence of Mapleshade, whom she sees eye to eye with, kills Reedwhisker on the border. That is what Sunbeam heard when on patrol - Berryheart knocking out/attacking Reedwhisker. She just kept it quiet enough so nobody would get suspicious. Mistystar’s death being a ‘coincidence’, hm? I think not. I think Mapleshade, being the clever, ancient woman she is, descends (or comes up??) and kills her. Pushed her off the stump and wiped her out. This could be false, though. I don’t know if that still works. This is a theory for Sky, now. Mapleshade likes the taste of murder again. She decides to pay back Berryheart and goes after someone Berryheart has been watching with a side eye : Fringewhisker.

[@vincal13]

I’m confused. Is this a different Frecklewish from the SkyClan medicine cat? I don’t think she was even born when this happened, not to mention in ThunderClan. I haven’t read Mapleshade’s novella yet so idk

[@finnsnow2495]

Considering how predictable the last arc was espically with villian and nearly all the story plots like Shadowsight being manipulated. I think your definitly on the right track here. Espically with the whole Leafstar sign and Skyclan being a target that seems very concrete. Afterall the writers punching bag has been Skyclan since they've been introduced. If I had to guess Leafstar will die thus the name Sky just River is just River they are both lauding to the clans with no stars. I think its pretty literal. And dark forrest using hateful cats is a plot in nearly every book lately so that will almost certainly be true. Regarding echo theory I think its also intresting one of the main hateful cats is also named Berry just like Berrynose.

[@THEbackyardguy]

Woah.. Sad that I don't own the book yet, wish I did because this looks awesome

[@noctis7457]

Idea: Splashtail is in on it too. He is said to be helping Frostpaw every step of the way, and the Curlfeather sign could easily have been placed there by him while Frostpaw slept.

[@freedviper9667]

Leafstar is the most oldest cat. She been leader since Firestar came to the forest

[@flamindorito]

You mean between The Darkest Hour and Midnight?

[@freedviper9667]

I guess, so that makes her the oldest

[@StarLupus]

GREAT STARCLAN I’M EXCITED Mapleshade has a lot of potential! I love Mapleshade and she’s definitely one of my favorite characters

[@Illegal_Chef]

They have to make another villain I mean using the dark forest 3 times!?!? I hope we have another villain that’s living

[@mossfeathertail5276]

Oo a new vid! I got really exited when I saw the title, because I love Mapleshade!

[@randomspider7368]

If this does happen,then I am DEFINITELY excited for this arc!

[@cattachlo9564]

3:17 I think that the reason Mapleshade is no longer “fading” is because in warriorcats the term fading for spirit cats is used when they have either earth their peace or have been forgotten about by all living cats which in Mapleshades case she hasn’t gained peace and definitely hasn’t been forgotten as most cats living in the series at the moment either remember her from seeing her in the darkforest battle or being trained by her or they are told about her / saw her in the dark forest in the latest books. What I’m saying is, is that I think that Mapleshade was once fading but she is no longer as many many more cats remember her now from the actions she has made in important events such as the Darkforest battle and Ashfurs return.

[@xxpeachywarriorxx6911]

I haven’t watched the whole video yet and you might of mentioned this butttt, DOSE ANYBODY ELSE THINK THAT LIGHTLEAP KILLED REEDWHISKER? I mean, LightLeap came back to the patrol limping after SunBeam heard a screech around RiverClan territory, and when FrostPaw and her patrol found ReedWhiskers body he had claw marks across his back. Dose anybody agree? I finished River the day it came out and this thought has been in my mind for DAYS now and I want to know if anybody thinks it’s a good thought!

[@Idkidc2173]

It's possible, I like this theory

[@robynluffman6430]

I thought it too at first! I can't imagine that the cats preaching about how important the warrior code is would then kill their own deputy?? I think it makes more sense to be lightleap but I'm not sure why she would kill him either - maybe she only attacked him and then he fell down that ravine and died by accident?

[@RSK9903]

Given the information and hints we have so far, this theory makes the most sense (if it's not a misdirect/red herring of course). My guess is she was taking risks again and got into a border dispute with Reedwhisker, accidentally killing him.

[@sandywolfr26]

@@RSK9903 this is what I think too. If only sunbeam could be curious instead of going nah I don’t want to check it out. Any other cat would be wondering what going on. But not her.

[@xxpeachywarriorxx6911]

@@RSK9903 I think its possible that she might of accidentally killed him in a border dispute and then disposed of his body in the ravine. I’m glad so many people agree with me. Hopefully we find out what really happened to ReedWhisker soon!

[@phoebe011]

i would agree with the prompt, mapleshade has had some problems throughout the storyline but thistleclaw could also be an accomplice (had trouble with love after losing snowfur)

[@DoctorWhoXIII]

Urgh not again.... Not again a "oh no ! It was Maplshade behind everything !".... We need new villains that are not linked in any way to Maplshade, im tired of her bein behind everything.... The only returning villain i would like would be Sol, Sleekwhisker or maybe One Eye

[@fabiolagarcia1308]

I think that the idea of Mapleshade being used is pretty interesting. Furthermore, and though not exactly on topic, I have seen theories that Frostpaw can only receive or only has been receiving omens telling of future deaths. With the leaf shaped like a star, and the next book being called Sky, they'll probably pull a "Leader lost all her lives at some point and only has one left" on Leafstar. I genuinely wouldn't be surprised. Great vid :)

[@BrownCharlie1]

Bro imagine if Mapleshade manipulated Lightleap into going either full villain or just even more crazier

[@creatureswalkway8031]

You are very right Akira UwU Mapleshade is my very very very very favorited character

[@anniefitgerald7316]

The Allegiances in Book 1 of the Starless clan, River, has FreckleWish in SkyClan as Medicine Cat, which means she’s alive. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t remember reading about FreckleWish in the Light in the Mist, and I don’t have it to check(I read it as a library book). Also, may I mention something that I’ve been thinking about for a while.. Darktail used the same oath method as One-Eye(from the Blazing Star, Dawn of the Clans) used! I’m not sure if One-eye or someone who knew about him told Dark tail, but if Dark tail didn’t come up with it on his own, well, One-eye could return… especially with Skyclan’s return. Hmm….

[@sweetwolfsteve5583]

I have two theories on what happened to reedwhisker 1. Podlight or berryheart lead him to the ravine where he/she pushed reedwhisker to his death 2. Podlight/ berryheart teamed up and pushed reedwhisker to his death and lightleap seen or heard something that she shouldn't have

[@xxpeachywarriorxx6911]

I personally think lightLeap killed ReedWhisker, there’s just wayyy to much evidence!

[@motorcitymangababe]

I feel like as mapleshade has grown as a boogyman of sorts post the Great Battle could be a valid explanation of a retcon were she to be full form. I think a "boogyman willed into life by fear" would be a kickass way to bring a character like her back, especially considering how tall tales can warp real traumatic incidents into origin stories

[@youknowwhatelseisbig484]

I find Curlfeather's character to be weird. Why was she always so protective over Frostpaw, and not given any screen time with her other kits? This could just be the writers forgetting them, but it's not likely, as they curl up with Frostpaw after RiverClan learns about Curlfeather's death. Plus Curlfeather tells Frostpaw to trust no cat while she's being eaten alive by dogs. What in the name of StarClan is that about? Hopefully we get more info on Curlfeathet and her character isn't forgotten.

[@lalas181]

I hope that Frecklewish ends up not _actually_ being Frecklewish and instead is an actually malicious cat disguised as her via some kind of newfangled Dark Forest trickery. The implications of Frecklewish being in the Dark Forest still rub me the worst possible way, especially since it'd basically be going "hey remember when the series had a novella with an unreliable narrator? now we don't! we did not in fact do the interesting thing! enjoy the retcon that makes Mapleshade's Vengeance less interesting and makes the most notable female villain less villainous!" On top of that, if the motive is "we hate the Code changing because that means that others cannot suffer as we have", Frecklewish has no real reason to play along. Unless she's being threatened or manipulated or something, it just wouldn't make sense. Her pain wasn't really caused by the Code, it was caused by specifically Mapleshade lying by omission and then fatally wounding her with snake venom. That's nowhere near as direct as Mapleshade's motivation would be, and feels like a total 180 from just "setting- and era-typical prejudice plus angry at being lied to and then blinded and murdered". If this hypothesis is right, then I am honestly dreading how they make this choice make sense. Someone also brought up that if Frecklewish was in fact in the Dark Forest, Mapleshade probably would've killed her out of spite a long time ago, which... yeah. Yeah, I can't argue with that. Mapleshade 100% would do that. That, or she'd go all I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream on Frecklewish and just kind of torture her forever because "just being in the Dark Forest is too good for the cat who was 100% responsible for my own poor decisions!" or something. Honestly, either of these two would be way better options than "Frecklewish is full-on going to be a villain now because We On The Faceless Writer Team Said So". They reenforce Mapleshade's cruelty, and probably would be less likely to result in another thing to add to the Warrior Cats Does A Sexism pile.

[@annukkalehmus8701]

Me: not knowing anything about warrior cats but still watching this

[@hanzyria307]

I don't think reedwhisker just fell into the ravine on his own. Someone definetly has something to do with this and the books explained that his jaw had a snarl and well if he'd just be falling, no cat would do that? So his death deffinetly isn't a accident.

[@hazelgrunts]

They need to stop recycling villains. If they actually bring back Mapleshade than I’m no longer going to support warriors.

[@chrisnicholls8815]

I'm an early bird! Hooray! Love your vids!

[@Wqlkerscobell]

It's gonna be great Akira, also have a great day!

[@littletigress2520]

I noticed that Thunder Clan and River clan have a bit of a history when it comes to relationships, you have Mapleshade and Appledusk, Bluefur/Bluestar and Oakheart, Greystripe and Silverstream, and those are just off the top of my head. Kind of a bit of a reoccurring thing isn't it?

[@Littlefox1213]

They got a little something with WindClan as well.

[@INT3N3T.]

Sleekwhisker by chance coming back? Based off of what I heard about the rebels part 👀

[@echo5435]

Sigh. I hope frostpaw actually has a connection with StarClan.

[@arcturus9366]

I think it would be interesting if Lightleap was one of the villians or possibly even a Riverclan cat that didn't go into the dark forest but was close to, maybe they could turn into a maniac like Ashfur did and obsess about going into the dark forest, and working together with Mapleshade to try and bring her back to the living world with Mapleshade beginning her torment of the living clans, mainly focused on tormenting Riverclan, while the cat responsible for bringing Mapleshade to the living world again gets their end of the deal by being able to visit the dark forest whenever they want and get corrupted by the place, also turning more evil too. I think it would be interesting if a Riverclan cat became a villian, conspired with Mapleshade and had something to do with the sudden deaths of both Mistystar and Reedwhisker. It would be even more interesting that a character turned maniac villian ended up doing something once they reach the dark forest to make it very easy to travel out of the dark forest and go to starclan (like overrunning Juniperclaw in large groups and just chilling in Starclan, with fights between Starclan cats and dark forest cats when dark forest cats refuse to leave), or just being released into the living world near the clans and constantly bothering them with Mapleshade as spirits looking to cause damage. This arc has a lot of possibilities

[@DarkQuilava13]

Kinda hoping when they run out of old characters to use as villians that ee may get a soft reboot generations later.

[@Lightfall8921]

my theory is that sol and sleekwhisker will return. sol convinced sleekwhisher to find and recruit darktails still-living rogues (plus some other rogues)and create a army. then they will then attack the clans. they will then get defeated. and after the battle we can have akiras theory. i think it is better to have some sort of big battle before mapleshades return so all the clans are weak, allowing mapleshade and the dark forest to rise to power through berryhearts rebel group

[@LocalLazyStove]

I’m leaning more to someone else return, Sleekwhisker, for me it make sense cause for staters Berryheart and Sleekwhisker we’re both part of the same group, the kin, and if this new rebel group is still working rogue power then is possibly that Sleekwhisker could be also involve in this, however then there’s another possibility and that is that Sleekwhisker could have died off screen and she is this green eyed cat that appears in Chapter 5, one thing I do hope: DONT YOU DARE USE FRECKLEWISH FOR THIS ERINS YOUR ONLY GONNA MAKE PEOPLE PISS OFF THEN YOU ALREADY DID

[@Cheeseburgerlove]

I like how Akira put Flamepaw and Sunbeam together at 2:17

[@danamullins1275]

I think curlfeather at the very least know who was responsible , and was killed because she was going to inform the clan, or at the most was involved in the plot, but had a change of heart. As for lightleap i believe she's a false herring but will play a major role in the events of this arc. I believe berryheart and duskfur are set up to be the main antagonists hopefully this arc will have minor or non supernatural elements like vision of shadows or the original

[@silverfire1248]

I think the green eyed cat is Appledusk tbh. ALSO! Splashtail! I think Splashtail is… sus af. My theory is he and Lightleap were meeting and Reedwhisker caught them and Lightleap and/or Splashtail killed him. Explains why he was immediately reluctant to go into the ravine where Reed was dead and if Curlfeather found out- it would explain him faking the curled feather sign

[@murqouttt8188]

what if each book this arc has a leader die or be replaced the next book is sky so will see if leaf star makes it (i hope)

[@SunRøse42]

Feel free @Bright Guardian Akira to shoot this down idea down but I think the green eyed cat that frostpaw saw was Sleekwhisker, and since Lightleap knows how to send her mind into the dark forest since she tried to but couldn’t. I believe that lightleap is helping sleekwhisker do it, and in one of the chapters sunbeam said she thought she could scent rouges and lightleap was near them and was not harmed. Sorry I feel like this is a dumb idea but it’s what I think.

[@kristiwhitaker5640]

Quick question. It's a dumb question, but how do you know what the Warrior Cat's pelts are colored like? Please reply, I have no idea.

[@mageofdoomsie1598]

By reading the book

[@MT3A]

what sucks about reading new warriors books is that you hafta give it a few good weeks, months or even *YEARS* after the book comes out to find youtube content abt it

[@Allthemeditz]

I’m depressed that cats can Yeet to other clans to be with their mates and want to fricking stop reading but I won’t. And btw I would also be mad, the ansestors would too, in including me!

[@Illegal_Chef]

They should make a super edition of a totally random character we barely heard from that would be funny and cool in my opinion

[@just_your_average_menace2955]

One thing that stuck out to me when Akira was talking was that he said the authors disregarded the fact that Mapleshade wad fading in OotS, I don't believe that the authors disregarded this, but cats fade when they are being forgotten, however, since Mapleshade was such an important in training the dark forest cats and the final battle, She stopped fading when more people learned about her.

[@_angler-fish-art_9396]

🔝 yep accurate!!!! Finally sombody had the same idea

[@stoatwhisker384]

What if Sleekwhisker comes back? She vanished with no resolution and it’s pretty fair to assume she’s alive and still angry. And she was never in the DF in TBC.

[@savannabangs6200]

THIS IS PERFECT

[@_Spirit_00]

I haven't read a vision of shadows, so i probably missed something, but do you think SleekWhisker could return? Especially if Berryheart and the other cats have rogue members?

[@InuMokuba]

*Frecklewish is gonna be a villain and here's why* ....*flips table in rage* Frecklewish better get some redemption if they make her the villain! This makes too much sense and I'm so 💢!! Like if she doesn't have a change of heart and becomes a hero I'll be pissed.

[@beccacroce7380]

Except Skyclan's own medicine cat is also called Frecklewish.

[@dove5777]

I absolutely LOVE Mapleshade! She is my fav character and although a villain, she is such a girl boss and interesting. If she comes back this new arc will be very interesting. Maybe she could come back out of panic that she is fading away and will soon be gone.

[@jedi_cat_l4976]

I hope that some of that "Rouge cat muscle" includes Sleekwisker.

[@graphitetailgrace3870]

Mapleshade has gotten more than enough attention. Can we get some new villains, please?

[@siddiqarizwan7718]

Sandstorm should get her own book

[@Eclipse-mf6hc]

When cats like Mapleshade and Darkstripe appeared last arc I just gave up on keeping track of who’s still around and who’s not

[@PeacockFRaccoon]

Mapleshade already had a part in the last Broken Code book

[@sweetwolfsteve5583]

Also now people can talk about spoilers *cough cough be positive cough cough* the only problem with freckle wish theory is maple shade wouldn't let her live long in the dark forest I had the same thought that lightleap had something to do with reed whiskers death

[@AutumnsDusk]

UGH I hate that you're right about Frecklewish... And we had figured something about Frostpaw's circumstances were weird. I figured the dream is impossible to fake, but if Starclan can send dreams, so can the Dark Forest, right?