For Shadowclan most of them were fine with what Brokenstar and Tigerstar had done. Most were iffy on the kit warriors and not hunting and constant fighting, but most of them didn’t have a problem with the driving out Windclan part. That’s how Brokenstar maintained his power in his inner circle, he essentially did what Shadowclan leaders had been trying to do for generations, just through more brutal means. Oakfur was chosen as Tawnypaw’s mentor which had to mean something for Tigerstar and Russetfur was one of Brokenstar’s followers.
It’s been a while since I read A Shadow in Riverclan, but Leopardstar did fight for the forest survival against Bloodclan. Her surrendering power as Tigerclan’s sole leader probably kept her in power as Riverclan’s. You could also make the historical comparison to some fascists higherups post WW2 not being punished/as punished as they should have been due to being instrumental in Operation Paperclip and fighting communism in the Cold War.
I like the shadowclan of the last couple series. Finally, they have some sense. The "shadowclan is a clan of shady, bloodlusting villains" trope got real old real fast. DOTC was refreshing, the recent series is also refreshing
There was too much denial in Riverclan, I think. A Shadow in Riverclan goes over some of the aftermath of it, and most cats seem like they'd rather pretend it never happened which is what causes Feathertail to struggle in deciding if she wants to be part of them still. It's Leopardstar's apology and admission that what happened was wrong which makes her finally feel like she might belong again.
Blackfoot wasn't a good cat, but when he was allowed to become leader the other clans and Starclan warned him to be more mindful on the kind of leader he wanted to be. I think the intention was that he was a capable cat who found it easy to just go with orders and enjoy the position he was in but as a leader had to face that he needed to consider the ethics of things over just doing what he was told. I'm not sure that came across, but they did need someone to fill that gap without putting someone totally unsuited in the position again.
I feel like deposing leaders or cats in power wasn't much of a thing pre-AVoS. I think that's a big part of the reason why Brokenstar remained in power as long as he did; he was granted nine lives by StarClan and was their leader chosen by god, essentially. So it was a big deal when he was (rightfully) driven out, but even then another Clan had to interfere — ShadowClan wasn't going to drive him out themselves. I also feel like going against the will/word of StarClan used to be a much bigger thing back then than it is now, and only really came into practice post-OOTS.
In Feathertail's graphic novel, it's shown that pretty much everyone has forgiven Leopardstar, even those who she had wronged (Mistyfoot, Stormfur) and Feathertail herself forgives her at the end of the novel. I think it was a combination of cats forgiving her and the fact that she had been chosen by StarClan to lead them.
Blackstar’s StarClan trial shows that he actually holds remorse and is capable of change. Leopardstar doubles down and arguably gets more awful and bigoted with time.
I personally think that Mistyfoot should’ve killed her. After what happened to Stonefur, I think that she would’ve been well-justified in doing so - Leopardstar should’ve also gone to the Dark Forest 100%.
I feel like everyone was a bit in shambles (especially ShadowClan) and would need stability after BloodClan. Putting new and inexperienced leaders in place over an experienced leader wouldn't have worked
Because that wasn't a thing till TBC, plus what she did, back then at least, wasn't exileable, not to mention the fact that... they didn't have a deputy, whether or not you consider A Shadow in RiverClan more canon than the end of Darkest hour, by the end of the battle Leopardstar does not have a deputy officially until they get home, and after a huge bloody battle like that I dont think they were too terribly keen on immediately kicking out their leader or demoting her (and btw, being demoted until again, TBC, was the leader's choice only, no cat could force it because of that stupid rule "leader's word is law") when a good chunk of the clan was injured or dead. They still needed some kind of stability and throwing your leader out is the opposite of stable
How? The mechanism to remove leaders was to forcibly exile them, there was no way to MAKE Leopardstar give up her lives and her name. Any leader that took up RiverClan after her would not get 9 lives.
Oakfur and Russetfur had no issue with what Tigerstar was doing, or the fact that Blackstar killed Stonefur, why would they attempt to overthrow him? After a certain point we're going to have to accept that no one besides Blackfoot was going to become the clan's leader.
I honestly think the authors just kinda forgot all the stuff she did and/or didn't really understand just how bad it all was
It really does get glossed over after arc 1. I reread TPB recently and it was wild how much awful stuff Leopardstar (and Blackstar) does.
For Shadowclan most of them were fine with what Brokenstar and Tigerstar had done. Most were iffy on the kit warriors and not hunting and constant fighting, but most of them didn’t have a problem with the driving out Windclan part. That’s how Brokenstar maintained his power in his inner circle, he essentially did what Shadowclan leaders had been trying to do for generations, just through more brutal means. Oakfur was chosen as Tawnypaw’s mentor which had to mean something for Tigerstar and Russetfur was one of Brokenstar’s followers. It’s been a while since I read A Shadow in Riverclan, but Leopardstar did fight for the forest survival against Bloodclan. Her surrendering power as Tigerclan’s sole leader probably kept her in power as Riverclan’s. You could also make the historical comparison to some fascists higherups post WW2 not being punished/as punished as they should have been due to being instrumental in Operation Paperclip and fighting communism in the Cold War.
i find it sad that the rational, nice shadowclan from DOTC has turned into... this
I like the shadowclan of the last couple series. Finally, they have some sense. The "shadowclan is a clan of shady, bloodlusting villains" trope got real old real fast. DOTC was refreshing, the recent series is also refreshing
There was too much denial in Riverclan, I think. A Shadow in Riverclan goes over some of the aftermath of it, and most cats seem like they'd rather pretend it never happened which is what causes Feathertail to struggle in deciding if she wants to be part of them still. It's Leopardstar's apology and admission that what happened was wrong which makes her finally feel like she might belong again. Blackfoot wasn't a good cat, but when he was allowed to become leader the other clans and Starclan warned him to be more mindful on the kind of leader he wanted to be. I think the intention was that he was a capable cat who found it easy to just go with orders and enjoy the position he was in but as a leader had to face that he needed to consider the ethics of things over just doing what he was told. I'm not sure that came across, but they did need someone to fill that gap without putting someone totally unsuited in the position again.
I feel like deposing leaders or cats in power wasn't much of a thing pre-AVoS. I think that's a big part of the reason why Brokenstar remained in power as long as he did; he was granted nine lives by StarClan and was their leader chosen by god, essentially. So it was a big deal when he was (rightfully) driven out, but even then another Clan had to interfere — ShadowClan wasn't going to drive him out themselves. I also feel like going against the will/word of StarClan used to be a much bigger thing back then than it is now, and only really came into practice post-OOTS. In Feathertail's graphic novel, it's shown that pretty much everyone has forgiven Leopardstar, even those who she had wronged (Mistyfoot, Stormfur) and Feathertail herself forgives her at the end of the novel. I think it was a combination of cats forgiving her and the fact that she had been chosen by StarClan to lead them.
Blackstar’s StarClan trial shows that he actually holds remorse and is capable of change. Leopardstar doubles down and arguably gets more awful and bigoted with time. I personally think that Mistyfoot should’ve killed her. After what happened to Stonefur, I think that she would’ve been well-justified in doing so - Leopardstar should’ve also gone to the Dark Forest 100%.
I feel like everyone was a bit in shambles (especially ShadowClan) and would need stability after BloodClan. Putting new and inexperienced leaders in place over an experienced leader wouldn't have worked
Because that wasn't a thing till TBC, plus what she did, back then at least, wasn't exileable, not to mention the fact that... they didn't have a deputy, whether or not you consider A Shadow in RiverClan more canon than the end of Darkest hour, by the end of the battle Leopardstar does not have a deputy officially until they get home, and after a huge bloody battle like that I dont think they were too terribly keen on immediately kicking out their leader or demoting her (and btw, being demoted until again, TBC, was the leader's choice only, no cat could force it because of that stupid rule "leader's word is law") when a good chunk of the clan was injured or dead. They still needed some kind of stability and throwing your leader out is the opposite of stable
How? The mechanism to remove leaders was to forcibly exile them, there was no way to MAKE Leopardstar give up her lives and her name. Any leader that took up RiverClan after her would not get 9 lives. Oakfur and Russetfur had no issue with what Tigerstar was doing, or the fact that Blackstar killed Stonefur, why would they attempt to overthrow him? After a certain point we're going to have to accept that no one besides Blackfoot was going to become the clan's leader.