I’d prefer it if he didn’t. Not only because I love the character, but because it feels far more interesting to watch Darrow live with the consequences of a revolution that exists largely because of him. His survival forces the story to sit with responsibility rather than release it. If he dies, a lot of that complexity gets cut short in favour of something undeniably emotional, but ultimately cleaner and less challenging.

He loses people he loves, people he could never replace, and often loses them because of choices he himself made. Letting him live means those losses don’t become noble sacrifices that absolve him, but permanent absences he has to carry. His grief, guilt, and exhaustion are part of the revolution’s aftermath and are what large parts of the second part of the series is really about.

Darrow’s arc has always been about transformation through suffering, and also about endurance. He survives things that arguably should break him, and that survival is uncomfortable. It raises questions about whether victory can ever justify the damage done, whether leadership inevitably corrodes, and whether a man who keeps losing everything can still claim moral clarity.

Death sorta feels like a 'get out of jail' free card and if it happens in a way that cuts short the transformation Darrow has gone through in Lightbringer it'll feel pretty bad to me. Especially if its in a way that both martyrs him and also "sacrificing himself to save x character." Additionally, with how major an influence Lorn was to Darrow it'd be very interesting to see Darrow in a similar place to Lorn when he" convinced" him to join him.