Why Evangeline Samos is the Protagonist We Didn't Know We Needed Until War Storm (Part 2/2)

Creating a good, believable character arc is no easy feat. And to hide it under a mean, cold hearted, metallic demeanor...No one will see it coming. Victoria Aveyard, author of the Red Queen YA series, did just that with her character Evangeline Samos. *With that being said, if you hate spoilers, stop reading now.*

Evangeline Samos is a Magnetron: a controller of metal.

This review may be controversial to anyone who has read the Red Queen series for multiple reasons.  In fact, when I mention who my overall favorite character is to people who have started the series, their reaction is that of shock.

Evangeline Samos is no angel.

Before we are aware of any of the other antagonists, she stands out as the main one...an entitled silver-blooded noble who is intent on ruining Mare’s life and on getting the crown at any cost.

Among the throngs of the other antagonists, Evangeline is hardly a villain.

I mean, compared to a Prince who holds the girl he (supposedly) loves hostage, and to a Queen who had a hand in making sure her predecessor died- as well as her husband, the King - Evangeline is peachy. Probably her biggest fault is her innate desire to be on the throne...something her family wants at any cost. (She was quite literally born to marry the Crown Prince). So, when Mare Barrow/Mareena Titanos walks onto the scene (or quite literally falls into everyone's lives at the palace), everything Evangeline has ever known may just be thrown out the window. And it carries on like that all the way up to a pivotal scene in King’s Cage where the reader is given a glance into Evangeline’s duality- but again...she is still looking out for numero uno. It is a quid pro quo situation where she helps the main character out in exchange for her own brother’s life.

In that scene, however, she quickly starts shaping into a (not-so) friendly ally to the main character. In the end of the series, other characters help Evangeline to realize that she can have what she really wants...a relationship with Elane...and the peace of not having to have a crown (but still be important to and included in the narrative), and the ultimate friendships of people who love her for who she is and does not have to be.

Her arc is so inspiring that it even prodded me to write a fanfic. And before you ask...no. It is not done. But it explores that secretly unsure yet boldly standoffish nature that makes Evangeline Samos who she is...and in the end, is what encourages her to step over to the “good” side, leaving her old life behind her and joining a "new" type of government to the west. Through this, she is able to live the life she wants to live...not one her parents constructed for her (May Volo RIP). She may not be everyone’s favorite character. But by the end of War Storm, she had quickly become mine.

For those of you who have finished the series, what are your thoughts?