Warrior Cat Rants

Hollyleaf: Love

(Spoilers for the Power of Three and Omen of the Stars)

In my opinion, Hollyleaf is an admirable character. Despite everything that's happened to her, she's been strong and eventually accepted everything that's happened to her. Due to the fact she's unique in her own way and that she has the courage to go back and accept what's been done, she's definitely one of the cats I really like and haven't changed my opinion on throughout the series.

Starting in POT (Power of Three), Hollypaw seemed to be committed to the warrior code and made it look like she was completely obsessed. It got slightly annoying, but it made her different than any other cat since there hasn't been another mentioned to feel strong about the code. At one point when she suspected Lionpaw sneaking off to meet Heatherpaw, Lionpaw retorts that she sees Willowpaw. If I remember correctly (I'll most likely be wrong on this), RiverClan needed help and Hollypaw had every right to help Willowpaw.

The main reason Hollypaw had the right to do this was because RiverClan could have perished or their numbers of warriors would decrease, making it hard for them to thrive and eventually they'd be wiped out. There always had to be four Clans; three Clans couldn't work out since they'd all kill each other over RiverClan's territory. Lionpaw on the other hand, wasn't doing anything useful and was just getting into trouble by hanging around with Heatherpaw. Hollypaw would have done anything just to help RiverClan, and I'm sure she would have done that for any other Clan as well as her own.

What makes me mad is the fact that Hollyleaf was originally one of the Three but was just normal due to the fact that "a power couldn't have been thought of". Hollyleaf would have made a great member and is worthy of a spot in the Three. She could have just had Dovewing's powers or had another one. I like the idea of her having a power that changes cats' hearts like if a warrior wanted to start a battle, Hollyleaf could easily turn that around. That'd actually be useful although that might make Lionblaze's powers even more useless. Anything could have worked but nope, Hollyleaf somehow had to get removed for an excuse.

Anyway, Hollyleaf's actions seem to also have good intentions in them that aren't as noticeable even though they may also have some bad in them. Her undying loyalty for her Clan has always made her a heroine because of her choices, although they may have bent past the warrior code, mostly when she had to suffer a lot.

Talking about her hard life of suffering, Hollyleaf finally finds out the truth of her birth. She always had her mind set on the warrior code. The fact that finding out her parents broke the warrior code, the rules she had been so dedicated to her whole life, and that she found out her existence broke it, how'd you think Hollyleaf would react? She wouldn't be bouncing about like she was happy she broke the set of rules she followed her whole life.

Her reaction was quite realistic, if you think about it. She was completely devasted, confused and angry that she had been lied to her whole life and that her parents didn't even tell them the truth. She didn't know what to think; had following the warrior code been worth it when she broke it by being born? The truth shattered her more than her brothers to the point where she couldn't think straight. She felt neglected since Leafpool, a medicine cat, had lied to her, and was completely saddened at finding out Brambleclaw wasn't her father, since she stated several times she was happy to have him as one.

Ashfur had previously threatened to tell everyone about this as soon as Hollyleaf began collapsing on the inside. He would have stirred up more trouble and make ThunderClan look really pathetic and weak. Hollyleaf's emotions took over her mind so much that she couldn't think things through. With her state, she had to kill Ashfur to keep the secret safe. Think of the things Ashfur may have possibly done (not that he actually would have). He could have eventually killed anyone Hollyleaf had cared about; her brothers, Brambleclaw, Firestar or even someone close to Squirrelflight. We all know how much he wanted to ruin her reputation and life. Ashfur was a big threat since he attempted to kill four cats but failed.

Hollyleaf could have saved someone from dying since she murdered Ashfur. However murder couldn't have been justified for him since there's never a good enough reason. Ashfur's death was in vain; Hollyleaf went and told the Clans herself because of the state she was in.

However, she was being honest when Squirrelflight or Leafpool could never have brought themselves to be. Hollyleaf gets a lot of hate for practically doing Ashfur's job when she didn't want the secret out. I personally think someone had to tell the truth no matter how much drama it caused, and I thank Hollyleaf for that. If the lie had been told later, the consequences could have been even more worse.

After the Gathering, Hollyleaf tries feeding Leafpool deathberries and stated she'd kill her if she didn't eat them. This was still part of Hollyleaf's emotions since she couldn't get over the fact that she broke the warrior code and was lied to. It wasn't Hollyleaf's intention to kill Leafpool; she was lost. It's also not like her to bring herself to killing a cat (unless it's a traitor, then probably).

After that, Hollyleaf escapes to the tunnels and encounters Fallen Leaves. Hollyleaf couldn't have thought of anything better. Could she have possibly stand in her Clan, be looked down at thought of as a traitor for Leafpool's and Crowfeather's actions? Sure, she could have stayed and faced whatever her Clan had to throw at her like her brothers, but she was in a worse state than them. She couldn't even think if she should follow the warrior code or start a new life.

Moons pass and we have her returning to ThunderClan. I personally think Hollyleaf did the right thing by going back and try redeeming herself, which she did. I admire her for accepting fate and admitting everything even though she'd be even more hated. It took her a lot of courage to admit that she killed Ashfur when any other cat most likely wouldn't have done the same.

Despite everything, Hollyleaf remained strong and proved herself worthy of being trusted. She did teach her Clan moves in the tunnels so they had an advantage against WindClan, and she even saved them from being ambushed without realising. She actually could have saved a lot of lives then. Not to mention, she also saved Cherrypaw and Molepaw from a fox.

Ivypool even admired Hollyleaf since she remained loyal and strong after everything she's been through. In the Dark Forest battle, Hollyleaf decides to protect Ivypool, showing more loyalty to her Clan by trying to fend off Hawkfrost and Snowtuft and save Ivypool's life, which made her get badly injured. If that's not loyalty, then I don't know what is.

Lying on her deathbed, she finally forgives Leafpool and says it was worth coming back to ThunderClan, which was the best thing she could have done. It took her brothers longer to forgive her but Hollyleaf realised Leafpool's intentions were for the best. I really think it was pointless to kill Hollyleaf off as soon as she came back, but at least she died as a loyal warrior and redeemed herself.