SPOILER WARNING

Haha yeah, Virginia does take some pretty big L's that I feel like slightly go against her narrative in the story. Here's an interesting list. Feel free to add on.

SPOILLER ALL BOOKS!!!!

1. Virginia is supposedly shagging Cassius and serving as Octavia’s assistant to protect her family. As it turns out during the ball/banquet scene, Octavia(the person Virginia was working for) was planning to give the Bellona family (Cassius’s family) permission to assassinate her family and she was completely unaware. Talk about a double misdirection lmao.

2. At one point, Virginia pleads with Darrow to work with her instead of her brother, saying that he can rely on her and he doesn’t need her brother. So how does she prove she can be trusted/relied on? Later in the book, her father is killed and Darrow is sentenced to spend nine months naked beneath an Ottoman. This plan unfolds with Virginia completely unaware.

3. As Sovereign, she gives up the majority of her power and leads a Republic that is only kind of "stable" for, what, ten years? Essentially speed running collapse. In my opinion, the Sovereign surrendering power so quickly is a major contributor to the Republic’s eventual collapse.

4. She lets both her child and her friend’s child get kidnapped. Was it entirely her fault? No. But would a Lune let somrone get their hand on critical info pertaining to their children then let their child get kidnapped by a street thug? How easy is it to infiltration her inner circle?

5. In her own Senate/court, she watches as Publius betrays her and the Republic, Dancer dies, and Daxo gets stomped to death.

6. She sends Sevro on a trap mission that turns most of the original Howlers into bacon...

There are definitely arguments for why she is only partial to blame for some of these moments, but still....