The Mistborn Movie Should Expand 1 Of Elend's Most Interesting Relationships From The Books

Elend Venture starts Mistborn as a love interest for Vin, but he quickly becomes a much bigger player in the fight for the Final Empire. An idealist who’s empathetic despite being a nobleman, Elend takes on the responsibility of ruling over the Central Dominance after the Lord Ruler’s fall. Becoming king is a tumultuous experience for Elend, but it teaches him what’s needed to be a leader. By the time the final book in Mistborn Era 1 arrives, he’s well-equipped to take on the title of High Emperor.




Elend’s character arc is one of the strongest in the Mistborn saga, and his bonds with Vin and Kelsier’s crew members are highlights of the series. However, Brandon Sanderson’s books don’t explore one of Elend’s most interesting relationships in Era 1 in nearly enough depth, despite it having a dramatic ending. The Mistborn movie can fix this, expanding on the connection between the two characters and making Elend’s story far more emotional as a result.


Elend’s Friendship With Jastes Lekal Deserved More Attention In The Mistborn Books

The Emotional Stakes Of The Well Of The Ascension Should Have Been Higher


During The Final Empire, Vin and Elend spend much of their time together on the sidelines of Luthadel’s parties and balls, and the later books show Elend interacting primarily with her and the crew. However, The Final Empire makes a point of establishing Elend’s life before the Lord Ruler falls. In particular, Sanderson notes that he and two of his friends meet to discuss philosophy — something that’s not incredibly common for noblemen. One of the friends Elend swaps ideas with is Jastes Lekal, and Jastes plays a larger role in the second Mistborn book.

Unfortunately, the
Mistborn
books don’t do enough to unpack Elend’s inner conflict when it comes to turning his back on other nobles, and in particular, his friends.

Despite this, readers don’t actually see much of Elend and Jastes’ friendship before Elend becomes king. This makes it less infuriating when Jastes raises an army of koloss and attacks Elend’s city. It also dampens the emotional weight of Elend having to kill Jastes later in the series. Given their history together, such developments should be far more devastating than they actually are. Unfortunately, the Mistborn books don’t do enough to unpack Elend’s inner conflict when it comes to turning his back on other nobles, and in particular, his friends.


The Mistborn Movie Can Finally Expand On Elend’s Friendship With Jastes

It Can Show How Close They Are Before They Become Enemies

Custom Image From Yailin Chacon

Sanderson’s source material may not dig deeply into Elend’s friendship with Jastes, but the Mistborn movie offers an opportunity to elaborate on it. Of course, the adaptation already has its work cut out for it, as it must capture all the important details of the lengthy fantasy book. And there are a lot of storylines Mistborn‘s film adaptation can’t afford to cut. However, it would be worthwhile for the writers to work in some extra scenes with Jastes. It will make the emotional impact of Elend’s falling out with him far greater in The Well of Ascension.


A Mistborn cover image of Vin holding a giant sword

Related

Mistborn’s Movie Adaptation Can Finally Fix 1 Character Death, More Than 17 Years Later

The Mistborn books don’t always give character deaths the weight they deserve, and there’s one that the movie adaptation must finally do justice.

And the movie doesn’t need to go overboard with new scenes detailing this important friendship; there are a couple of built-in ways to show viewers Elend and Jastes’ interactions without detracting from the main story. For one, the film can simply show a bit more of Elend’s meetings with his friends, either by inserting his perspective into the story earlier or having Vin spy on him. This would also offer a great opportunity to characterize Elend and his beliefs further.

The Mistborn adaptation’s sequel could also expand on the scene during which Elend tries to negotiate and reason with his old friend. By inserting more dialogue and adding more of an inner conflict for both characters, it would be able to hit the right notes.


Mistborn’s Sequels Will Pack The Right Emotional Punch With This Book Change

This Will Be Crucial For The Movie Adaptation To Land

The Well of Ascension and The Hero of Ages cover books with background hearts movie reel imagery
Custom image by Ana Nieves

By showing more of Elend and Jastes’ friendship, the Mistborn adaptation can pack a stronger emotional punch when Elend finally executes him. Although many scenes from Sanderson’s books elicit powerful feelings, this one doesn’t particularly stand out. The movie can change that, adding the necessary weight to make viewers empathize with both characters. This is important if the adaptation hopes to succeed, as the characters will be what hooks audiences unfamiliar with Sanderson’s magic system or world.

Development on the
Mistborn
movie is currently paused.


Adding more emotional weight to this moment will also highlight how much Elend grows over the course of the series, showing how dedicated he is to protecting his people. It will make him a stronger leader in the end, a shift that the later Mistborn books eventually lead to anyway. Getting that point across will be even easier if viewers can feel the sacrifices he needs to make.