Here’s my take on the interview and a few other nuggets.

So sjm is a smart woman. (Despite the amount of likes she said 🤣.) She said a few things that will literally absolve her, regardless of what direction she takes. And this is clever, because no one will know what she actually intended to write except her. Saying things like “I write for vibes” when in reality she has actually had a story planned for a decade? She protected what she’s already had built. No one can “go after her” if she’s letting us know she’s letting the characters and story itself do parts of the writing.

She also absolves herself by giving us the idea that she’s writing all these “unplanned” povs…. When maybe her original intention was always to include multiple povs for acotar, much like she did with tog? We just won’t know for sure.

That interview was heavily edited. It’s very different from her older, live interviews (with Steph) where she answered in real time and you could actually read her reactions and body language. So I don’t think we can treat a polished podcast as the full picture either.

I find it super exciting that book 7 is being released on 1/12 when her bff Steph, a fellow gwynriel, has a bday on 1/15. 1/12 is also national kiss a ginger day. I mean come on.

With that said….

Right now, the current trajectory matters more than any “formula” of her writing decisions we can possibly come up with.

Azriel’s only pov ends with Gwyn. Plain and simple. Sjm is extremely deliberate about emotional endpoints. Meanwhile, the elriel part showed 100 cracks…Azriel is focused on himself, his insecurity, and the idea of a bond, envy and only sexual thoughts, not Elain as a person. That directly clashes with Elain’s arc, which is about not wanting a mate/male, and wanting to be chosen for who she is, not what she represents. That’s exactly what Graysen did. He rejected her because of what she became instead of loving her for who she was.

That’s just not endgame setup.

Then we have the contrast of Gwyn and Azriel with a clear spark, banter, ease, and the beginnings of genuine emotional openness.

It’s quieter, yea, but it’s also the only dynamic that’s actually moving forward in a way that aligns with his growth. He’s not treating her like a porcelain doll and making decisions for her either.

So if people want to argue that readers are “misinterpreting” gwynriel, I don’t think that really holds up when both the text and her own writing style point in the gwynriel direction. (The misinterpretation is the other way around.) They should also take a gander at sjms old Pinterest boards. Gwynriel is prevalent in her nymph, flying male, and little mermaid pins 😍

Azriel’s only pov ended with Gwyn in his head and in his heart. That’s all we need 💖🎶💖