When Rebecca Yarros took the stage at a romance convention and told fans that Xaden Riorson — the dark, brooding, beloved love interest of her Empyrean series — was about to enter his villain era, the fandom did what fandoms do: It exploded.

Romance readers love a good heroine arc — the trauma, the recovery, the reclamation of power. But when it comes to male main characters, the rules often shift. One misstep, one bad decision, and suddenly he's labelled irredeemable, abusive, or “not the real love interest.”

In fandom spaces, we often hyperfocus on what characters do — who they kiss, what they say, who they fight with. But when we forget to ask why these things are happening — why they matter — we miss the deeper structure of the story.