Summary

• Azriel, the mysterious and broody character of A Court of Thorns and Roses, is a fan favorite for his dark humor and tough love approach.
• From Azriel's mentoring antics to his complicated love life, the memes surrounding him highlight his emotional complexity and humor.
• Despite his intense past and difficult present, fans love and root for Azriel, hoping that he finds love and happiness in the future.

The characters of A Court of Thorns and Roses' most powerful characters thanks to his shadow powers.

Despite Azriel being the information hub of the group, what's known about him to readers, and even to his friends, is much less readily available. He's arguably the most mysterious character in the series, besides Amren, and unlike Rhys and Cassian, he's not yet had a book dedicated to his POV or his romance. That seems likely to change with the excellent and funny ACOTAR memes about our emo bat boy.

10 Azriel's Mentoring Skills Need Some Work

One of the most entertaining segments of the A Court of Thorns and Roses books was when Azriel was teaching Feyre how to fly. Unlike Rhysand, who might have babied her, Azriel took more of a tough love approach to Feyre's training – including letting her fly straight into trees a few times while making dryly funny observations. It's one of the few instances where Azriel's understated sense of humor has been allowed to surface...even if Feyre likely wishes it weren't at her expense. Then again, Cassian was even worse, so maybe she got off lucky.

9 Azriel Has Seen...So Much

Poor Azriel has put up with so much in the ACOTAR books, especially in A Court of Silver Flames when he was trapped in the House of Wind with a sexually frustrated Cassian and Nesta. He already has an Illyrian's elevated sense of hearing and smell, so he can't even get away from it when he's in a different room. Plus, it's never actually been discussed in the books whether or not he can turn his shadows off at will. If not, his shadows are probably reporting back to that poor boy every time Nesta and Cassian have sex, whether he wants to know about it or not.

8 Azriel Has A Thing For Decorations

By far one of the funniest scenes in the Court of Thorns and Roses series so far is when Feyre and Cassian got stupid drunk to the point they couldn't even properly hang the Solstice decorations and Azriel's deeply Type A personality came out. You could practically see the vein in his forehead twitching as he tried to maintain his patience with his drunk friends while they ruined the decorations and hung them wrong. Maybe in the next ACOTAR book, Azriel can unwind by opening an Etsy shop for crafts. Would any of us be surprised if he were a great knitter?

7 Azriel Really Needs A Girlfriend

Not only does poor Azriel have to put up with hearing and smelling Nesta and Cassian being all over each other, poor bat boy also has to live with the fact that the woman he's loved for hundreds of years is not into him, and the other woman he's attracted to is someone else's mate. It's enough to make you wonder, man, what did Azriel ever do to get on the Mother's bad side? 'Cause his love life is absolutely cursed. Hopefully, the next book will finally see our boy get some romance in his life, because God knows, he needs it.

6 Az Is Just A Cinnamon Roll We Want To Squeeze

Everyone loves Azriel for a reason, even though he's largely a closed book. What can I say, fandoms always love the dark, broody boys with tragic backstories who are secretly cinnamon rolls inside for their few loved ones. It's a well-worn trope, but it's a beloved one for a reason. Hilariously, Rhysand and Cassian are just as protective of their brother from another mother, even though Azriel is arguably the most deadly of the three. They know things that no other characters know about Azriel's past, but hopefully, we'll also know what they know by the end of the series.

5 This Is Not Going To End Well For Azriel. Or Lucien. Or Both.

The Azriel-Elain-Lucien love triangle is totally awkward, for all involved, most of all Rhysand. Rhysand is desperately trying to keep his alliances together before the coming war, and even though Lucien is a man without a home, technically, he's still a very powerful ally and good to have on one's side. With Azriel putting his broody moves on Lucien's mate, however reluctant she may be, Rhysand is in a really awkward position. Still, the heart wants what the heart wants – and, as the ACOTAR books have shown, so do other body parts. Either way, that messy business has to be resolved, and quickly.

4 Azriel Will Throw Down For Mor

There are a few people in Azriel's life one does not mess with, but one does not mess with Morrigan the most. Az and Mor have...a complicated relationship, to say the least. He's in love with her and she knows it, she's not in love with him (and deep down he knows it), and Cassian knows how both feel, but none of them ever dare bring it up. It's one of the weirder plot points in the ACOTAR books – you'd think that after hundreds of years, they'd have cleared the air already. Still, it's great to see how protective Azriel is of Morrgan, and that's something that will never change, even when her purely platonic feelings for him are inevitably acknowledged.

3 Azriel Is Forever The Responsible One...Much To His Dismay

As much as we love the three-way bromance between Cassian, Azriel, and Rhysand, let's be real: Cassian and Rhysand would drive anyone crazy after a while. Double that for a quiet, reserved character like Azriel, who often acts as the voice of reason and the big brother. Despite Rhysand being the High Lord of the Night Court and Cassian being the legendary general of his forces, they often act like kids when they're together, and it's Azriel stuck in the middle of their rambunctious antics. Azriel could probably disable both of them with some sort of assassin neck pinch, but he usually just opts to roll his eyes and sign.

2 Azriel: Most Awkward Third Wheel Ever

So many memes about Azriel concern him being stuck in the House of Wind with Cassian and Nesta, and with good reason. One, it's super awkward – either Nesta and Cassian are fighting, even though it's clear to see they arouse each other, or they're acting on that arousal, which is arguably worse. Two, it has to drive home for him the fact that he's now the only one of his "brothers" who is without a mate, and not likely to get one any time soon. But three, it's also sort of hilarious to think of the look on Azriel's face when he hears Cassian and Nesta going at it yet again – however one chooses to define "going at it."

1 We Love Our Emo Bat Boy

The word "depression" has never actually been written in the ACOTAR series, but let's be real: Azriel's state in A Court of Thorns and Roses is basically permanent depression. That's not surprising - his childhood backstory is brutal and horrific, and the things he has to do as Rhysand's court assassin certainly don't help. Plus, there's the whole unrequited love thing. Rhysand needs one more member of the Inner Circle, and it should be a therapist. For all of them.