I've been rereading Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn: Secret History, there's something about the first trilogy that doesn't sit right with me.

Brandon Sanderson's writing is always full of fantastic, big-picture worldbuilding that makes any of his settings feel beautiful and immersive, and Mistborn's fascinating magic system is a huge part of that. Sanderson's character work is often equally laudable. Yet one thing I hadn't realized my first time around the block was the simple fact that the romance arc of the initial Mistborn trilogy really falls flat, especially when compared to how well the romance is written in the series' second arc.

Mistborn Era 2's Main Romance Made Me Realize How Unearned Vin & Elend's Is

For All Their ion, Vin And Elend Don't Think About Love The Way Wax And Steris Do

The second arc of Mistborn novels, set almost 350 years after the first trilogy, focuses on Lord Waxillium Ladrian as he gets embroiled not only in the internecine politics of petty nobility, but a fight over the very destiny of Scadrial. One key part of Wax's storyline is his engagement to Steris Harms, the daughter of a wealthy nobleman whose assets Wax hopes will revitalize his own family's waning influence.

Wax and Steris' relationship is initially quite awkward and stiff, in part because of Steris' seemingly standoffish personality, but also because it was only meant to be a marriage of convenience, not anything genuinely romantic. Yet over the course of the four books of Mistborn's second era, Wax and Steris genuinely fall deeply, madly in love – or at least, the affection they develop for each other is unquestionably powerful and, above all, real.

It isn't the kind of love that saves worlds, but it's the kind that Wax needed in order to save himself.

Initially, Wax saw her as an inconvenient necessity to guarantee his family's fortune, but after a few life-threatening ordeals together, as well as Steris providing Wax the emotional he needed to grieve his first wife, they developed a respectful, quietly ionate relationship. It isn't the kind of love that saves worlds, but it's the kind that Wax needed in order to save himself, and there's something beautiful in it that's worth acknowledging.

Vin & Elend's Relationship Unfolds Way Too Quickly In The Original Trilogy

Impending Doom Is Apparently An Aphrodesiac On Scadrial (At Least Before The Catacendre)

By comparison, the relationship between Vin and Elend Venture is, narratively speaking, a bit of a hack job. As a street urchin who grew up in an environment of constant stress, abuse, and abject poverty, and who happens to possibly be the most powerful Mistborn ever to live, Vin has serious trust issues that make it difficult to let her guard down around anyone, even Kelsier or Ham. Yet somehow the duo skip having to genuinely deal with any of that, and instead get happily married about three-quarters of the way through The Well of Ascension.

While young love is a powerful force, and nothing kindles romance like the panoply of looming apocalypses Vin and Elend handled together, there's no denying that their romance feels rushed, and that things like Vin's trust issues are glossed over, or at least not given their due weight in the context of their relationship. The one moment of vulnerability Vin has with Elend on the subject focuses more on her concerns about having turned into a living weapon, rather than any acknowledgment of just how little they have in common.

Wax & Steris' Era 2 Story Shows How Much Brandon Sanderson's Romances Have Improved

The Difference Between Eras Shows How Much Sanderson Has Matured As A Writer

Much of Vin and Elend's relationship can be chalked up to the fact that something – call it destiny or authorial fiat – was going to get them into a relationship. The narrative of the original Mistborn trilogy is ham-handed in how it clearly sets Elend up as Vin's love interest from his first introduction, and so there's never really any question as to what the end point of their arc was going to be – to say nothing of how the story's apocalyptic nature made it clear they'd never get a happy ending.

Thankfully, it's clear that the years between Mistborn's arcs – years spent writing the first two books of the much slower-burning Stormlight Achive – helped Brandon Sanderson better understand how to structure a romantic narrative in a way that feels genuine and earned. Most people find love in unexpected places, with someone they form deep and sometimes inexplicable bonds with. Hopefully the future of Mistborn romances will follow that path, in Wax and Steris' well-worn footsteps.