Warning: This list contains spoilers for Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses books.

Summary

• Rhys was willing to let Feyre out of their deal, but circumstances prompted him to want to keep a close eye on her.
• Rhys has a generous side, buying his family gifts and enjoying quirky traditions with his brothers.
• Rhys always aspired to be a better High Lord, despite the challenges and dangers that came with the position.

Rhysand "Rhys" is the main love interest of the protagonist Feyre Archeron in A Court of Thorns and Roses, but there are still some interesting details about his character that people may have forgotten. Rhys cuts a mysterious figure when he is first introduced as the cunning High Lord of the Night Court and a secondary antagonist in the first book. Feyre comes to sympathize with Rhys by the end of this book, even if she is still wary of him, but learns quickly in the second book how much he is hiding.

There are a lot of most powerful characters from Throne of Glass.

10 Rhysand Was Going To Let Feyre Out Of Their Deal

Rhys Wouldn't Have Even Had The Enemies-To-Lovers Storyline Happen

In the first book, Feyre makes a Faustian bargain with Rhys when she agrees to come stay in the Night Court for one week every month in exchange for his help defeating Amarantha. After Amarantha's death, Feyre doesn't hear from Rhys for several months. He then shows up in very dramatic fashion at her wedding ceremony to call in Feyre's debt. Rhys' delayed response is because he wasn't planning on collecting at all. Rhys had decided that Feyre deserved to live in peace with Tamlin if that was what she wanted, despite his feud with Tamlin.

However, Feyre and Tamlin's relationship becomes even more abusive in the second book, while Feyre's mental health gets worse. This culminates when Feyre accidentally telepathically calls out to Rhys while walking down the aisle, saying she wants someone to get her out. Rhys then keeps mandating she comes to the Night Court because he knows Tamlin isn't giving her the she needs. This enemies-to-lovers storyline is a kind of kidnapping — which is why Rhys didn't want to do it in the first place, and his reasons for doing it after all are complicated.

9 Rhysand Randomly Buys Of His Family Presents

Rhys Occasionally Buys Amren Jewelry...Just Because

When Rhys first takes Feyre on a tour of Velaris, the city where he grew up, he happens to buy a jewel-encrusted brooch. Later, Amren wears this brooch to dinner when Feyre meets the Court of Dreams. Rhys casually explains that he just enjoys buying Amren jewelry on occasion, because she is a good friend and second-in-command. She also has very decadent taste and gets a lot of jewels from everyone every Solstice (this setting's winter holiday).

This is one illustration of Rhys' generosity and how he enjoys spoiling his family. He es on a trove of elaborate dresses to Feyre per his mother's wishes (she made the dresses for her son's future bride), but also pays his whole family very well for doing their jobs and buys unprompted gifts. For instance, Nesta is briefly the recipient of a lot of random trinkets from Rhys after she saves Feyre's life until she says that Rhys can pay for her wedding but then needs to stop.

8 A Court Of Mist And Fury Is Similar To The Myth Of Hades & Persephone

Feyre & Tamlin's Relationship Is Inspired By One Fairy Tale, While Feyre & Rhys' Story Takes After Another

Sarah J. Maas' first fantasy book series Throne of Glass is loosely inspired by the idea of Cinderella being an assassin, while A Court of Thorns and Roses follows the overall plot structure of Beauty and the Beast. Readers have noted that A Court of Mist and Fury is somewhat similar to the myth of Hades and Persephone, revolving around a powerful male character whisking away his female love interest to his domain, a place characterized by a certain amount of mystery and darkness.

Different versions of the story suggest that Persephone has more power and free will than the strict Beauty and the Beast plot would attribute to her.

Beauty and the Beast and Hades and Persephone have some similar beats — namely, both can be read as depending upon a problematic kidnapping/imprisonment element. However, different versions of the story suggest that Persephone has more power and free will than the strict Beauty and the Beast plot would attribute to her. Like Persephone, Feyre becomes Queen of the Underworld (High Lady of the Night Court), growing beyond her simple characterization of being the beautiful damsel to Tamlin's vicious personality (her name even means "fair").

7 Rhysand Is Very Interested In Other Worlds

A Court Of Silver Flames Doesn't Spend Much Time On Rhys' Fateful Encounter With Aelin

There is a crossover moment in Kingdom of Ash, the last and one of the best Throne of Glass books, where Aelin briefly sees Rhys and Feyre. Aelin is launched through many worlds after destroying the Wyrdkeys and flies across the Velaris sky. Rhys and Feyre see Aelin and Rhys slows her trajectory with his power. When this moment happens in the A Court of Thorns and Roses timeline, Nesta notes that Rhys is very contemplative after seeing a red star shoot across the sky, which some residents of Velaris believe is an omen.

This event affects Rhys because he had previously been interested in the possibility of making with the residents of other worlds (structured like a multiverse). When Nesta is given a tour of Rhys and Feyre's new house in A Court of Silver Flames, she is briefly shown some astrological instruments that are pertinent to this field of study. Maas has been hinting at crossover moments for years, which are starting to happen in her other books. It will be interesting to see what is in store for the whole universe and what role Rhys will play.

6 Rhysand Once Asked Amren To Come To Bed With Him (She Said No)

Rhys Was Hilariously Shot Down By His Second Centuries Ago

Rhys its to Feyre that he once asked Amren to come to bed with him, describing it as an action characteristic of being young and stupid. Amren laughed herself sick at this proposal and then told him no. At the time, Rhys probably thought it would be all well and good if he and Amren had a casual sexual relationship, and there wasn't necessarily any reason they shouldn't have. However, Amren, due to whatever semi-divine insight she has, thought it was a stupid idea.

Rhys and Amren are an effective political team with a lot of sarcastic interactions that implicitly push both of them to do better. In the long run, they are much better off with a strictly platonic relationship when another past dalliance among the Court of Dreams would only make things more complicated (Mor and Cassian once slept together). Additionally, it fleshes out Rhys' characterization in of how old he is when he talks about once being young(er) and more inclined to make dumb mistakes.

5 Rhysand Pays Closer Attention To Tamlin Than You Think

Rhys Hates Tamlin — But Also Pays Close Attention To How He Reacts

Rhys hates Tamlin long before Feyre becomes a part of the story, due to Tamlin betraying their friendship and giving away the location of Rhys' mother and sister, resulting in their deaths. There is a lot of bad blood between the Night Court and the Spring Court, and Rhys knows that he is smarter and more powerful than Tamlin. However, Rhys is a skilled chess master and does not completely write Tamlin off when he also occupies an important space on the board.

One of the most telling instances of this is when Rhysand tells Feyre that years earlier, when Amarantha returned to Prythian saying she wanted to make peace, he looked to Tamlin's reaction. Tamlin's family had been close with Amarantha, but Tamlin did not trust her. Rhys concluded that if Tamlin, who knew Amarantha personally, thought she was still trouble, then that was the truth. Rhys also has to work his plans around Tamlin when his rival becomes the only way to end Amarantha's reign.

4 Rhysand Goes On A Hunting Trip Every Year With His Brothers

Rhys Enjoys A Lot Of Outings With His Family, Especially Cassian & Azriel

The A Court of Thorns and Roses books make a decent amount of time for the characters to do goofy, regular ing-the-time activities, which helps fully develop their dynamic as a familial and not just political unit. The best examples are of the traditions Rhys has with his adoptive brothers Cassian and Azriel, including a vicious snowball fight on the morning of the Winter Solstice. They also have a yearly hunting trip where they go up to Rhys' family cabin.

This trip is canceled multiple times during the book due to a war happening. However, Mor describes the tradition as including a lot of drinking. When Feyre paints all the walls in the cabin, Mor requests that she do her and Amren's eyes next to each other in the living room, so the brothers will know that they are watching them. Presumably, the next time Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel make it up to the cabin, they have to party with Mor and Amren's eyes staring them down.

3 Rhysand Likes Both Of His Sisters-In-Law (At Least Now He Does)

Rhys Has Interesting Relationships With Nesta & Elain

Feyre and Nesta have a strained relationship, which transfers over to Rhys when he dislikes Nesta for how she treats Feyre. He also has some reservations about Nesta's relationship with Cassian. However, after Nesta saves Feyre and Nyx's lives, she and Rhys have a heartwarming moment of reconciliation. He then spoils his eldest sister-in-law with a lot of gifts, an elaborate wedding, and es one of his houses to her.

Rhys and Nesta have a strong enemies-to-friends storyline which is possibly still complicated when they both have such strong personalities.

Rhys and Nesta have a strong enemies-to-friends storyline which is possibly still complicated when they both have such strong personalities. Feyre's other sister Elain is more ive and easier to get along with, but Rhys personally predicts that she has the potential to be incredibly powerful. Rhys generally seems to like Elain as well and wants to protect her, but it will be interesting to see how their relationship evolves in future books, especially after Rhys told Azriel to stay away from Elain.

2 Rhysand's Surname Is Still Unknown

Rhys's Last Name Is A Point Of Contention For The A Court Of Thorns And Roses Fandom

Something of a running joke within the A Court of Thorns and Roses series and fandom is how very few of the characters' last names are confirmed (which is not the case for the casts of Throne of Glass and Crescent City). Feyre's last name is Archeron, while her friend Lucien's is confirmed to be Vanserra, but that is about all the fans know for sure. Given his prevalence in the story, people are especially curious to know what Rhys' last name is.

In the bonus chapter for A Court of Silver Flames, Rhys and Feyre are discussing possible names for their child, and they both imply that his last name is kind of ridiculous. If people want to read into this, they can interpret it as Rhys being apathetic about his family name when his father was just another in a long line of corrupt High Lords, and he was closer to his mother. This plot point also shows Rhys maintaining an element of mystery when the audience knows almost everything else about his character by now.

1 Rhysand Always Wanted To Be High Lord

Rhys Might Enjoy Everything About It, But He Had A Plan For When Became High Lord

In a very compelling age in A Court of Mist and Fury, Feyre reflects on how, because Tamlin never wanted to be the High Lord of the Spring Court and hates the job, he isn't inclined to make life better for his people. On the other hand, Rhys tells Feyre that he always wanted the chance to be better than his father. There are a lot of things about the position that Rhys doesn't like, especially in the dangerous environment of the Night Court. However, he never considered trying to find a way out of his inheritance.

Rhys has a plan for the Night Court and starts working towards it from day one. He promoted all his friends to the highest-ranking positions in his court because they were the most qualified when many of the nobles in the Court of Nightmares were not happy to see them in power. This optimism and drive to make his court, if not all of Prythian, a better place is one of the most important parts of Rhys' character in A Court of Thorns and Roses.