Rating Canon Warriors Couples – A Vision of Shadows

The first of the new era arcs, A Vision of Shadows brings in a new threat and new possibilities. With SkyClan added back into the mix, we get more couples, more drama, and changes to the Code. It wasn’t only new characters getting into relationships either, but confirmation of couples from past protagonists and background characters.

While I’ve spent a lot of time with all the other arcs of Warriors, the rest of my couple articles will be delving into books I’ve only read once. My opinions on these couples could easily change in the future so these are more first impressions!

This article contains spoilers for A Vision of Shadows specifically, but also Omen of the Stars and some Super Editions like Hawkwing’s Journey.

Violetshine and Tree

Rating: 8/10

Other than the possibly weird age gap, especially with Tree meeting her as Violetpaw, this is my favorite couple of AVoS. Their first meeting was a cute, funny relief from the terror that’d been wrecked against the Clans. Although I’m not a big fan of “love at first sight” since it’s overused in this series, I like it with them. Both of them have complicated, strange backstories and sometimes feel like outsiders among the others, so their clicking makes total sense. I like Tree’s uniqueness against the Clans and his nonchalance is a good buffer against Violetshine’s more prickly parts. I was happy to see him help her with her grief and troubles, and in turn to see her help him acclimate to the Clan. Even though his role is essentially useless, it’s cute that he sticks around for her and their future kits. Even as parents, I love seeing them work together. They care and worry about Rootspring and Needleclaw, particularly their son. Although we don’t see it, I imagine Violetshine helps a lot with Rootspring’s grief over Bristlefrost. They have an excellent relationship together and with their kits.

Twigbranch and Finleap

Rating: 5.5/10

At first, I was excited to see a couple grow to like each other gradually. There’s a severe lack of couples that trained together as apprentices and went from friends to lovers, one of my favorite tropes. When Twigpaw and Finpaw were training together in SkyClan, their friendship was cute. I loved how she supported him after the injury with his tail. It was endearing that Finpaw then followed her as she returned to ThunderClan. Unfortunately, the pressure that Finleap put on Twigbranch to start a family so he wouldn’t be lonely in ThunderClan leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I’m glad that Twigbranch continued to stand up to him, but his insistence and his lackluster apology weren’t it. I have a feeling they could’ve been one of my favorite new couples otherwise. There’s not much special about them though, and Twigbranch is a pretty blank character to me (she’s a good character, I’m just not attached). I’m happy to see that they still haven’t had a litter at least, so I’m putting them a little above the average. If they have kits in the future, I won’t be mad, but I hope they include some assurance that they made the decision together.

Alderheart and Velvet

Rating: 3/10

Alderheart and Velvet make me feel conflicted for multiple reasons. For one, Alderheart’s initial crush on Needletail was endearing and since it wasn’t reciprocated, it felt safe for a medicine cat to have. When it came to Velvet, it was obvious they both felt the same way. I liked her character and their chemistry was nice, but I’m tired of every ThunderClan medicine cat falling in love and essentially having to decide whether they break the code or stay in their job. I also don’t understand why they included this plot at all. It didn’t have much relevance to the main plot that was occurring, and it didn’t impact Alderheart’s character either. I’m curious if it was included to prove that not all ThunderClan medicine cats choose love over their duty because he very assuredly tells Velvet “thank you” for understanding that he has a job to do. I also find myself wondering why they couldn’t have been good friends instead of getting romance involved. It’s been a while in the series since we’ve had any kittypet friends in the mix. I think they would’ve been a cute couple under different circumstances, but I can’t ignore how pointless it all was.

Needletail and Rain

Rating: 4/10

Although I don’t remember if these two were ever made official, it was obvious to readers that they were meant to be mates before Rain’s death. What bothers me the most is how Needlepaw met Rain when she was still an apprentice. Rain’s age is never revealed and it’s not always clear without a Clan’s ‘paw indication. To me, he’s always read as a mature adult cat when they meet, which weirds me out with Needlepaw’s infatuation with him. When they’re both a part of the Kin together, I suppose their relationship is fine. It makes sense that Needletail would grow close to him and then he in turn. It was always nice to see her care for him whenever he faced off against Darktail. Plus, Rain’s death was definitely the wake-up call that Needletail needed. I may have felt stronger about their relationship if we ever saw it in the POV of Needlepaw/tail. They could’ve been a more interesting couple that way, especially if they were a more effective duo against Darktail.

Ivypool and Fernsong

Rating: 8/10

Since Ivypool is my favorite Warriors character of all time, I found myself struggling to judge this pairing fairly. I was always under the impression that Ivypool should end up with another female character; however, the series only has two “canon” gay couples and they’re both males (and not even said to be mates in the series itself technically). Another part of me thought she shouldn’t ever have a mate. However, knowing that her daughter Bristlefrost later becomes a protagonist alongside Dovewing’s kit, Shadowsight makes sense as to why they paired her off. Unfortunately, readers never get enough of Ivypool and Fernsong’s relationship. Fernsong seems like a great character, a perfect softness to the rough edges of Ivypool. There’s also a discussion of him caring for the kits while she’s out doing duties, but we never see proof of it. We barely see them as parents in general, since Bristlefrost’s kithood was skipped over. I’m only begrudgingly giving them a higher score because they are one of the healthier couples in the series currently. I like that Fernsong always quietly supports Ivypool, and there’s genuine affection there. The familial relationship (cousins) and age gap aren’t great though. I like their proposed dynamic, even if it’s not executed as well as it could be. 

Blossomfall and Thornclaw

Rating: 0/10

While Blossomfall and Thornclaw aren’t the worst age gap in the WACA universe (that belongs to Pinestar and Leopardfoot), they still have a pretty significant one. To put it into perspective, Thornclaw was made a warrior in the first arc, The Prophecies Begin, but Blossomfall isn’t a warrior until arc four, Omen of the Stars. The only reason it’s not the worst is the fact that Blossomfall was a warrior for some time before she and Thornclaw became mates and later had kits. However, the main reason this pair frustrates me is the discontinuity during OotS. For some reason, multiple times, Thornclaw and Mousewhisker are confused for each other when training in the Dark Forest. Originally, it was Mousewhisker who was with Blossomfall and who I originally thought would go with her. Then Thornclaw got swapped into a few scenes and they ended up coupled. I think it would’ve made more sense for her to be with Mousewhisker, who’s closer to her age and still doesn’t have a mate. Thornclaw could’ve stayed single forever and it wouldn’t have affected anything.

Berryheart and Sparrowtail

Rating: 7.5/10

Berryheart and Sparrowtail have become infinitely more interesting in the most recent arc, A Starless Clan, but they were technically first discussed in A Vision of Shadows. As the parents of Needletail, Berryheart and Sparrowtail easily followed their daughter when joining the Kin. Readers see more of Berryheart than they do of Sparrowtail, but together the two of them are a loyal couple. They have similar mindsets and ideals. When they later flee Darktail and his Kin, making a home away from the territories, it’s clear that their relationship is still strong. With a second litter of kits being born on the journey back to ShadowClan, they are shown as great, careful parents. Even though they fail in accepting Spireclaw’s choice of a mate, as well as Sunbeam’s in the current arc, I don’t count this against them as a couple. I don’t think Sparrowtail is as extreme as Berryheart is, but he loves her enough to follow her into exile and, eventually, RiverClan.  

Edit: After reading Star I feel even more confident in my rating here. Sparrowtail would follow Berryheart to the end, despite how delusional she became. I wish he would’ve tried to help her instead of enabling her behavior though. I disagree with their thoughts towards Spireclaw and Sunbeam even more, but at the end of the day, together they make sense.

Nettlesplash and Mintfur

Rating: 7/10

Like my article on Omen of the Stars (linked below), this couple was essentially confirmed in a Super Edition called Hawkwing’s Journey; however, they return to the Clans in A Vision of Shadows, so I’ve decided to move them here. A sweet, simple coupling, these two show perseverance towards Clan life together, while also raising their kits primarily alone. When SkyClan is driven out of their home by Darktail and his rouges, Mintfur and Nettlesplash decide to stay behind with their kits. For moons, they raise their kits on Clan principles and try to train them as the Clan would. When the patrol to find missing SkyClan cats showed up, I was to see them find the two of them and their kits. Their loyalty to Clan life and Clan members, like Frecklewish, is obvious when they work as a team. They’re one of those really good background couples that you don’t see a lot of but can appreciate.

Check out my other articles for this series:

“Rating Canon Warriors Couples – The Prophecies Begin”

“Rating Canon Warriors Couples – The New Prophecy”

“Rating Canon Warriors Couples – Power of Three”

“Rating Canon Warriors Couples – Omen of the Stars”

“Rating Canon Warriors Couples – Dawn of the Clans”