I’ll admit, I went into 'Crier’s War' expecting a straightforward enemies-to-lovers fantasy, but the ending completely subverted my expectations. The last act is a whirlwind of betrayals and revelations—Lady Crier’s father, Sovereign Hesod, is even more monstrous than we realized, and Ayla’s mission gets tangled in moral ambiguity. The rebellion’s attack on the palace doesn’t go as planned (when do they ever?), and
the fallout forces both girls to question their loyalties. There’s this incredible scene where Crier, who’s spent her life being this perfect, unfeeling creation, finally snaps. She defies Hesod in front of everyone, and the way Varela writes her fury—cold and precise, like a blade—gave me goosebumps.
Ayla’s arc is equally gripping. Her
revenge plot takes a backseat to something more complicated, and her relationship with Crier shifts from manipulation to something tender but still fragile. The ending doesn’t wrap up their story; instead, it cracks it wide open. The Automae’s secrets, the human resistance’s fractures—it all sets up 'Iron Heart' perfectly. What lingered with me afterward was the sense of unease. Even the ‘victories’ feel precarious, and that’s what makes it so compelling. No shiny, triumphant finale here—just two girls staring at a future they’ll have to claw their way through.