Disappointed about Eragon and Arya?

[Adyant]

you've given a big thought about it

[Barely Breathing Banana]

LOL true...but good points though, I think that when Paolini writes Eragon and Arya as adults (well, maybe just Eragon) Eragon will remain the same while we will see Arya 'years older.'

[Adyant]

ahh..... psychology...

[Weston Glory]

Physically elves and humans (who become dragon riders) stop aging after they enter their early twenties and quite slowly age over time after that. For instance, older elves like centuries old (ages that Eragon and Arya will but have not yet seen) will look closer to thirty. At least, that's how I remember Paolini saying it. In any case, I did give it some thought. In the series, Eragon changed much more than Arya did. Given where Eragon is going, I expect that to continue.

[Barely Breathing Banana]

but for eragon to change, while arya stays the same would be awkward, also id like arya to change too mainly because of her untrusting personality and her belief that shes better than everyone else. Eragons only points that id like fixed is his superficial personality and childish/inexperienced behavior

[Weston Glory]

I didn't mean to suggest that Arya won't change at all, of course she will. Just that in my opinion, it will be less than Eragon. He's younger and frankly will be doing more and different things.

[Barely Breathing Banana]

But I think Aryas the one who needs to change...unlike Eragon, she's hostile, and mean and frankly, self-absorbed! I also don't think Eragon will be changing much, the protagonists hardly ever do.

[Weston Glory]

The elves in general are proud and a bit self absorbed. They're an advanced society and the dragons gave them unnatural grace, intelligence and strength. The only reason Arya and Eragon can move around the way they do is because of the dragons. And bonded with dragons of their own, they're even stronger than normal elf magicians.

Personally I don't see Arya as hostile and mean. She was just affected by the loss of Faolin and her torture.

[Barely Breathing Banana]

Oh please, that was FOREVER ago! Like, way in the beginning of the series =P LOL jk but still, I understand those things affected her, but as an elf, she should know by now that she should think well of Faolin, possibly avenge his death, then move on...then again, I dont get attached to people as easily as others do(elves included =P), so I dont really experience farewells as others might. Still though, I never though of Arya as the emotional type (or the type to hold a grudge) so seeing how stubborn she is with Eragon is kinda weird.

[Weston Glory]

Arya usually isn't the emotional type but Faolin and Eragon were evidently exceptions. Eragon being a more complicated case.

[Patrick]

Katie wrote: "Tyler wrote: "Where is his news letter? And what book?"

Hey, thanks for getting into the discution.... but anyway, if you singed up on his website to get newsletters, you should have gotten one....."

Which website is his newsletter on? Thanks

[Joe]

I knew from the moment she became Queen that she'd never leave with him and I was so angry because of that and even more angry that they ripped Saphira from her first real companion.

[Danica]

Joe wrote: "I knew from the moment she became Queen that she'd never leave with him and I was so angry because of that and even more angry that they ripped Saphira from her first real companion."

I know! Saphira waited forever to have a mate! She spent most of her life thinking that she was the last of her kind. She deserves more with Firnen

[Joe]

Joe wrote: "I knew from the moment she became Queen that she'd never leave with him and I was so angry because of that and even more angry that they ripped Saphira from her first real companion."

She does! They were so happy together. And I remember in book two I think it was when Eragon first made a move on Arya and I understood what she said about being an elf and accepted that they were different, but Paolini deliberately made them so alike. By book 4 they were Shade-slayers, Riders and Eragon resembled an elf in a way and even then he split them up. Arya should've ditched the elves and ran of with him personally...

[Adyant]

Actually, I sort of agree with ya, soneaselene...

[Cj]

i gave it a tist but i ktnd of knew becuse of his prochey

[Cj]

for all you guys who wanted the more romance happy ending he might make a new series just might be new people

[Danica]

He said he was not going to write anymore books about the main characters. :(

[Sean]

I think the ending was great. Arya being a rider was obvious and I was ok with not finding out about all of the politics behind how the elves decided to crown her queen, the elves are secretive and complex; it would have taken way more pages to explain it. I think Arya and Eragon's romance will continue from afar, it's not going to disappear, and there will be times when Arya needs to go to visit Eragon, the Eldunari, and the Riders-in-training. There may come a time when leaving or stepping down as queen is what is right for the elven people and her oath would compel her to leave or step down. I would say Eragon and Arya's romance is epic already, and we only saw the very, very beginning.

Arya doesn't need as much training as Eragon as far as being a rider and has had access to information about dragons all her life. Also, it would have been awkward for Eragon to train her as a Rider. Romantic relationships between mentor and mentee are usually messy and riddled with all sorts of power situations, and this one would be further complicated by the fact that Eragon is 80 years younger than Arya and knows less about various aspects of the world and yet would be training her? That would be weird.

I love the world Paolini created and the Inheritance Cycle felt like a big and important, but brief, chapter in the larger history of that world.

[Ted]

I think he just like making all his a and e fans go crazy may he will fix it maybe he won't buy there is sure to be more if he continues with the two in a side series

[Catia]

I don't even know what to say... First, I am really sad that it has ended! It was a long journey... It it took a very long time for Paolini to finish it so I can only guess he put a lot of thought into the series.
I loved each book, and enjoyed seeing the development of each character as the story went on.
The ending... yes I do understand why some people say it should be different, and also get why some agree with it. At the end of the day I am awed that Paolini had the will to pull himself out of what that (probably) majority of his fans would like to see and look at the characters themselves.
As some of you have pointed out Arya is in a different place in her life than Eragorn, both are committed to different things although they share a common goal. Would it be fair to go all out with their goodbyes if they knew they could not be together just now?!
The same for Nasuada and Murtagh... It is sad, i feel things were left undone (and unsaid too) between all them. I do hope that when Paolini comes back to write a bit more on this amazing world that he remembers to to back to their stories... :)

[Catia]

Cory wrote: "I agree, but the ending was sort of forseeable to me. The choices for the final riders were either Roran or Arya, so sadly I wasn't surprised. And as for the romance between the two, it was straine..."

:) It's true what you say... as sad as that truth might be, i guess it 'll have to do. I don't think that Paolini's intention was ever to continue the story behond this; he always meant to tell Eragon's tale, what happened to him and his dragon, how he learnt his heritage and how he manages to defeat Galbatorix... I'm not sure he has actually ever considered going much behond that. Obviously everyone wants more; it's a fact! I guess that when he decides to write more about Alagaesia, we'll get to learn a few more facts about these characters that we became to love.

[Weston Glory]

Eragon and Arya will work it out. In most relationships like theirs, the romance is usually strained, the friendship is usually awkward in the beginning. It's just a sign of two people who are not truly sure what they want yet out of their relationship. When they shared true names, you noticed both didn't know what to make of it either. But they will be in time.

The same goes for Eragon's training. Right now, he's far behind someone like Arya, but in time he's going to catch up. A hundred years of experience with all those elves and eldunarya he left with and teaching other Riders will see to that.

[Danica]

sighs. i wish he would write more books with the main characters! i would love to hear about the training of the Rider!

[Joshua]

This thread went low to high in terms of intelligent reviews, though page 2 or 3 is filled with the greatest loss of the English language.

I think that Arya and Eragon's relationship represents something that happened to Christopher Paolini, since the most detailed descriptions are the ones that we have been through. I feel that he put the woman he loved into Arya, and he that he regretted writing her in Eragon's eyes too much because it was to him, an experience that he could not stop from influencing his writing. However, this seems to be a very accurate representation of a man that has run out of time. It starts with the man getting closer to the woman, but due to external forces, their possible relationship is cut off prematurely, and they have to deal with the separation the best they can. as one who's gone through that, I truly felt for Eragon, though Eragon got farther than I. However, I feel that as in order to create an ending that is happy with a wistful sadness, something was missing. I believe that Christopher Paolini's overall meaning was to question the world; the introduction of multiple religions, as well as the subtlety and deception lurking within every part of Alagaesia is a great example of this. So for the ending, Christopher probably didn't want it to seem too positive, in the fear that we as the readers may become too satisfied and turn away from his original intention.

Nonetheless, Christopher Paolini's ending does not stop me from wanting something more from the two. Perhaps a promise to see each other again, since sharing one's true name is as personal as it can get in the Inheritance Cycle. If you think about it, to find the word, phrase or sentence that represents you to your core would take quite some time, so it would be the fruits of your labor. Then, you are trusting the person you tell it to, which is something we could never represent in real life. To speak a phrase, and have complete and total control over someone, and to resist the urge to use it negatively, because you love who they are, and respect them, is something we may never compare to. So to me, Arya and Eragon exchanging their true names was practically like having aural sex with each other, and thus, the most intimate of things a couple can do. However, I am a fan of happy endings, if not neutral endings, so I would have preferred the ending be at least an exchange with a promise.

"May the stars watch over you."
"May good fortune rule over you."
"May we meet again."

It's up to you who says it first.

I also disagree that kissing him other than full on would be out of character, and that a kiss on the cheek would've fit the situation, though this may just be me being wistful. But wistful is fantasy, and the reason I read fantasy is to read of things that will not happen, but still inspire.

[Weston Glory]

Like I mentioned before, if and when Paolini returns to Eragon and Arya's story, he has to write them as they are rather than what he wants them to be even if that meant not putting them together at all though I think Eragon and Arya are far beyond not getting together now. I said something before that I changed my mind on and have to disagree with Paolini about. He said that Arya would always be more fluent and be better at thinking of interesting ways to use the ancient language than Eragon because she grew up with it and had far more time to learn. But I came to realize for example in five hundred years that really won't be true at least, if it was, the difference would have to be negligible. Sure Eragon didn't grow up with it but I do really expect that 15 years of not growing up with it, even with Arya being a 100 at the time he started learning the ancient language, is going to trump the next 500 years of being immersed in it? It's not even just that, he's living amongst the elves and the ancient language is their first language. He's going to be teaching it to humans, dwarves, urgals and even elves. As a leader and teacher, being responsible for the guidance and safety of so many, I cannot see someone like Eragon neglecting any part of knowing the ancient language. I see him, wanting and making every effort to be the best well-rounded dragon rider he could be just as he tried to the best rider he could be so he would have the best chance against Galbatorix.

But I bring up this point because Paolini admitted that he wrote Arya in the earlier drafts of Inheritance as Eragon wanted her to be and not as who she was. He needs not to make that mistake with Eragon and Arya all over again. Eragon a hundred years older can't be some wide eyed teenager trying to figure out who he's going to be as a man because he's over eighty years younger than Arya. At that point, he's going to have long since matured not only as a person but also as a teacher and a leader. He'll still be in love with Arya but the way someone a hundred years older with his experience and maturity would be in love with Arya. Even when Paolini said, he wrote Arya the way Eragon wanted her to be than how she was, he also wrote Eragon hearing and accepting Arya's true name. As Eragon is the only person Arya has ever told this to, not only has Eragon embraced the person Arya really is, but also the person that she isn't. And that was Eragon at 17. He won't be regressing with a hundred years of growing up.

[Mafalda]

i think it was a perfect ending. really sad. but perfect.i cried so much x) i was sad for days.

[Adyant]

Same... Except I didn't cry....

[Mafalda]

Justadude wrote: "I just finished reading the last one, I started the series when Paolini was a complete novice. I had gotten through the books in each one of them hoping they would get together. Ok i got it in the ..."
ahah, i get that. x)

[Ruth]

It would have been kind of weird if they had gotten married or kissed. I mean, she was like a hundred years older than him.

[Catia]

I not bothered that they didn't end up together just yet... they need to be in the same "space" emotionally, and not only but also that fact that they both have very different goals to meet. The only thing is that we all get that feeling they should have had something "more" at the end.... That "goodbye" just didn't feel enough for everything they went through... but if I think a bit more rationally about it i get it, but just not feeling happy about it! For me it still is a good series, and I di recommend it ti anyone!

[Weston Glory]

There was a need for more from so many because Paolini wasn't skilled enough as a writer to convey just how intimate Eragon and Arya sharing their true names actually was. It was almost enough to say that Arya never shared her true name before even with her boyfriend Faolin or that Eragon said it was the only thing he had to give and that he would give it to her. Almost.

[Dillon]

Well... that was a bit disappointing. The last 100 pages all I wanted was for Arya and Eragon to kiss. Instead of Eragon trying to talk and Arya putting her fingers to his mouth they should of kissed right then, right after saying their true names it would of made the perfect ending in my opinion. All they needed to do was kiss now I despise the book just because of the ending =(

[Callie]

well I agree with Katie They should have kissed but I also agree with Hannah.The ture names was ok.But he could of at least told us the true names though.I also think there should be another book.

[Weston Glory]

This is where Paolini's skills as a writer was found wanting. Sharing true names was a deeper sharing that any physical intimacy according to him. It was also them both figuratively and literally saying they belong to each other. And yet most of us were still looking for a kiss or sex or something that physically expressed their feelings for each other. Paolini further failed to explain (through the book) why Eragon and Arya weren't ready for a relationship by the end of Inheritance which also left too many readers confused. Having feelings for each other is one thing, having a real relationship is another. In a real relationship, you share things, especially decisions. Eragon and Arya being single and not truly subject to anyone's authority except those they choose both made huge separate decisions (Arya to be Queen, Eragon to leave Alagaesia) before they told the other. An equal unwillingness to compromise those decisions left them no choice but to part ways, at least for now. Then there was Arya's ultimately being scared of how Eragon would feel in five years or ten years whereas Eragon was more ready to risk it. In other words, they do need to be in the same "space" emotionally before they can be in a relationship. The good news is their relationship is only beginning which is realistic. Both being Riders and as close as they already are, it would be impractical if not impossible for them not to remain in contact. And that kind of "we can share anything" love never really dies. It can get delayed but it doesn't die.

[Justine]

Katie wrote: "Do you think that Eragon and Arya should have kissed just before he left to leave? I do!!"

um yes but saying there true names worked too.

[Martha]

I liked the end, though of course I wished they could have their own happy-ever-after.

[Kayla]

WWWHHHHHHYYYYY? It is an author's duty not to disappoint his fans, so whyyyyyyyyy?

[Chen-you]

I am kinda disappointed that they didn't kiss. I was really hoping that hey would. The true name telling was nice though.

[Chen-you]

Hannah wrote: "I don't think so. I think they both knew at that point that a romantic relationship would never work, and it would have just been melodramatic for them to kiss. I really like how they said each oth..."

I think so. They really loved each other. Even though they were different races Eragon was part elf. Also, since they are both immortal, they won't have this tragedy where Eragon dies. I think they are perfect for each other. There both Riders. But the most important thing is that they love each other. I think that the true name telling was nice, but I was hoping Eragon and Arya would kiss. Maybe they will get married someday.

[Weston Glory]

If/When they get married, they'll certainly be kissing by then among other things ;)

[Will]

the ending sucked. Arya and Eragon were made for eachother and Christopher made the worst ending i could have expected

[Aggeliki]

At first I was quite disappointed but I have come to accepted it ! An the writer doesn't say that Arya will never leave her forest ! Nothing says that the won't meet half-way. An maybe 100 years later Arya may go live with Eragon nothing implies the opposite. ;))

[Cara]

I was so mad. Paolini shouldn't have set it up for them to both be in love with each other and then cut it off all the sudden. That's one of the many reasons I don't like the author :)

[FreshKicks]

I really hope he writes a continuing story about Eragon and Arya, the book felt a little unfinished at the end....and the only book I've thrown across the room is Nevermore, the last installment of maximum ride...because that book is responsible for all my gray hairs.

[Weston Glory]

Annabeth wrote: "At first I was quite disappointed but I have come to accepted it ! An the writer doesn't say that Arya will never leave her forest ! Nothing says that the won't meet half-way. An maybe 100 years la..."

Agreed. If the prophecy states they're destined to be together and Eragon is never returning to Alagaesia, it can only mean that Arya will eventually join Eragon in Vroengard which makes sense given their relationship and the fact that she's a rider. Also however complicated the politics are, it nevertheless seems that Arya being Queen and dragon rider is at best temporary and that's how it should be. Riders are not meant to be rulers. And how will the elves not be what they once were when Eragon restores the dragons to their old strength?

[Barely Breathing Banana]

that's true ... besides, elves are powerful enough without dragons attached, a dragon riding elf queen is just crazy

[Weston Glory]

It's necessary for now. Paolini went through it rather quickly but without Arya as Queen at the moment, the elves are politically cut off. Eragon never made a public pledge to them as he did the humans and dwarves. Saphira and the dragons chose Eragon, a human, not an elf, as their champion. He's in more possession of eldunarya than even Galbatorix. There's no question of who the leader of the dragon riders is. The youngest and the only human to ever lead them. It didn't escape Eragon's notice that Arya addressed him first which in elf culture is acknowledgement that the person first addressed is the one in greater power. And in terms of political power, Eragon's weight with the people of all four races is so great that none of them (Arya, Nasuada, Orik, etc.) can gainsay him.

[Barely Breathing Banana]

but arya's still technically is more powerful. She's got the Elves to back her up as well as a dragon and maybe Glaedrbb (cuz he might favour elves) Glaedr can also potentially turn some of the other Eldunari against Eragon...What's Eragon left with? support of the humans in a (to use Rorans term) 'Gods battle?' their interferance will do nothing, and Elves are stonger than Dwarves (magic.) Arya's too powerful, even if she thinks Eragon is the one in greater power

[Leah~BringMeTheHorizon~]

Will wrote: "the ending sucked. Arya and Eragon were made for eachother and Christopher made the worst ending i could have expected"

OMG I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!it sukked