Top 10 Moments from the Warriors Book Series
If you've ever read Warriors, you know this series isn't just about cats fighting in the woods. It's packed with unforgettable moments, from battles that change everything to heartbreaking sacrifices, shocking betrayals, and those scenes that make you stop and reread just to make sure that really just happened.I've been a Warriors fan for a long time. I've read the entire original series, probably more times than I should admit. I remember every twist, every victory, and every loss. Some moments stay with you forever, and I'm here to highlight the biggest ones. These are the scenes that shaped the Clans, stunned readers, and made Warriors the epic series it is today.
Now, I'm not the only one with opinions on this. Warriors fans have voted on which moments deserve to be at the top of this list, and now it's your turn. Do you agree with the rankings? Think an important moment is missing? Make your voice heard and vote for the ones that hit you the hardest.
Bluestar is perhaps one of the series' most lovable characters. Her whole life has been filled with many tragedies: she lost her mother and sister, mated with a RiverClan warrior named Oakheart, and lost one of her kits. As ThunderClan leader, she was tasked with looking after her clan. However, after Tigerclaw's betrayal, she became horribly paranoid and lost trust in her clanmates, including Fireheart.
During the fifth arc, ThunderClan was attacked by a pack of bloodthirsty dogs, thanks to Tigerstar. Bluestar, in a brave attempt, saved her clan by pushing the dogs into the river, sacrificing herself in the process as she fell with them.
This moment is very intense as Bluestar lost her final life in the process, creating a devastating scene where she died right in front of her kits, Stonefur and Mistyfoot. Bluestar was too kind and courageous to die in such a manner, so many readers were probably heartbroken.
This is what I'm starting with, as this is at the beginning of the series. After the battle between ThunderClan and RiverClan, a kittypet named Rusty decided to take a curious stroll in the forest, where he met Graypaw. Soon after, he would be face-to-face with the ThunderClan leader herself, Bluestar. She gave Rusty the opportunity to become a warrior, which he reluctantly agreed to. He is brought into the Clan as a kittypet and proves himself in a classic bout against Longtail.
I consider this a classic moment as Rusty leaves the life of a kittypet to survive as a respectable warrior. This introduces Rusty as he becomes Firepaw, and his legacy begins.
A battle occurs in the ThunderClan camp. The raiding party from WindClan is led by Onestar, leading Lionpaw to think that this was not just an ordinary battle - it was war. Onestar protests against Firestar taking in too many kittypets and loners and helping the Clans over and over. Onestar states that they are warriors, and then they leave. Firestar is outraged and sends patrols to make sure they left, but WindClan didn't. Cloudtail finds out that they have split into three patrols and have spread across the territory, and they used the tunnels to attack.
After Firestar sends patrols to meet the WindClan warriors, RiverClan joins the battle as well, on WindClan's side. Brambleclaw sends Hollypaw to ask for help from ShadowClan, and she gains it. Blackstar sends cats from ShadowClan to come to ThunderClan's aid, and eventually, all four Clans are fighting on ThunderClan's territory.
I don't know what it was about this scene, but I just love it.
After Tigerstar's death, the iconic final battle between LionClan and BloodClan took place in the final arc. The legendary fight between Firestar and Scourge also took place. Therefore, there is a huge reason why this is number one. When these two unsheathed their claws and did battle, it was complete magic. In fact, when I read this book, I actually read it in the course of one day. That's how epic the final arc was.
This is also number one because, tragically, both leaders never knew that they were half-brothers, since they had the same father. This battle would cement the legacy of both Firestar and Scourge, as the battle was completely fierce and deadly to the bitter end. Firestar would lose his first life in this fight, which would sadly be Scourge's undoing. The original series would end with Firestar standing tall as the victor and hero of the forest.
This made me so sad! I was right there with Leafpool crying! Cinderpelt meant the world to her, and she felt so bad for leaving her. Makes me sad every time.
Although this moment is also gruesome, it's probably the most satisfying. I might go as far as to say that every reader actually cracked a big smile at this death scene. Tigerstar was the leader of ShadowClan at the time and was allied with RiverClan. However, he decided to also align with a deadly rogue faction known as BloodClan, led by Scourge. Unknown to readers at the time, Tigerstar had crossed paths with Scourge before. When Tigerstar was Tigerpaw, his mentor was Thistleclaw, who was unfortunately another bloodthirsty warrior. He instructed his apprentice to attack Scourge, who was a kit at the time and curiously strolling the forest. Scourge was nearly killed.
When they confronted ThunderClan and WindClan, BloodClan made their appearance. Tigerstar wanted Scourge to swear his loyalty and prepare for war. However, Scourge didn't want to battle then. With rage, Tigerstar lunged at him but was quickly put down with a slash. With sweet irony, Tigerstar lost all of his nine lives, and Scourge got his revenge in the process. This would go down as an iconic moment we've all been waiting for. 'Cause think about it, he actually deserved it!
Feathertail was great, and I'm pleased that Crowfeather named himself after her. However, this part made me cry. It was the second Warrior Cats book I read, so I was only just understanding how cats die in these books.
The second time I ever cried while reading a book (first time was the end of Hunger Games). My feelings for Crowfeather change every book, but this scene was one of the few times I loved him. Feathertail deserved better. She was so sweet.
Oh my gosh, so sad! I was really mad they had to make this happen because the Erins always make characters grow more and more great but then make them die. I think they are trying to mess with our emotions.
That's so cute. It broke my heart when they had to say goodbye. Thank StarClan Bluestar's kits were grey, not reddish-brown, or ThunderClan would have suspected.
This is so cool! The beginning of a terrible time for Bluestar, but I really like this bit.
Bluestar, if you want to be deputy, then don't flirt with RiverClan!
The Newcomers
It's so bittersweet and touching. I love Bristlefrost, and her death was one of the only scenes in Warriors that made me cry! I even have her plush next to me right now.
Why is this not already on here? This was one of the most emotional and deepest scenes, in my opinion.
She sacrificed her whole future with Rootspring, her family, and her entire life just to rid the clans of Ashfur forever.
This was heartbreaking. I loved it so much, and I break out crying whenever I think about it.
Her final thoughts and the way everyone reacted - especially Rootspring - were so sad. This should be way higher on the list.
She was ancient. So glad she's gone.
So sweet. I loved Yellowfang. When I read Warriors, I picture it in my head like a computer-animated movie (like How to Train Your Dragon, or other movies like that). With some dramatic, sad, or basically emotional moments, I play music in my head. I use a lot of How to Train Your Dragon soundtracks for dramatic moments, and after some characters' deaths, I play the music from How to Train Your Dragon 2 when they shot the ship with flaming arrows after Stoick's death. Awesome, but perfect for a look of triumph, even though it's sad. Anyone else do that?
Welcome back to the very beginning of the series, where the battle between ThunderClan and RiverClan takes place. Tigerclaw fights alongside his clanmates in a deadly battle during dark times. This scene features Bluestar speaking with Spottedleaf, ThunderClan's kind medicine cat at the time. Spottedleaf soon has a vision revealing the fate of the future.
This triggers an epic quote from Spottedleaf to Bluestar: "Fire alone can save our clan." This is cemented as the series opener and is probably the most beautiful ever.
This moment is perhaps the most gruesome on the list. Stonefur and Mistyfoot are RiverClan warriors who are actually kits of ThunderClan leader Bluestar. This made Stonefur a half-Clan breed with his sister and kits of Graystripe and Silverstream, Stormpaw and Featherpaw. They were branded as traitors by Tigerstar and Leopardstar and were to be executed. Fireheart, Graystripe, and Ravenpaw attempted to save them at the time. However, Stonefur was forced to fight both Darkstripe and Blackfoot in order to protect the others.
While Stonefur managed to defeat Darkstripe, he was finished off by Blackfoot. If you read this moment, you would probably have nightmares as you would imagine Stonefur's throat being ripped open and blood covering his entire face.
I've always liked this moment, even though Graystripe and Silverstream isn't my "best couple ever" like some people would say. This was a good way to start the subplot of Graystripe and Silverstream's relationship.
Swiftpaw did die to save her, but don't forget he put her in danger in the first place. I still love him, and don't say he was impatient because he'd been waiting for a long time. People are always surprised when I say I don't like Bluestar, but I do think she is overrated. She not only refused to make them warriors but also named Brightheart Lostface!
*Blink, Blink* I died right then and there. The future kits of Brightpaw and Swiftpaw? There are never going to be any. Before I read this scene, I thought, I hope they name their kits Springkit and Autumnkit, but then I died.
I really love this scene, and it cemented Ashfur as my favorite villain (although not my favorite cat - that honor goes to someone else).
Also, I have this feeling that if Squirrelflight had told Brambleclaw that the only reason they knew they were not her kits is because Ashfur had nearly killed them and also told her that he was responsible for her father losing his fifth life, they wouldn't have been angry at each other. Maybe.
This scene was great. The characters' emotions matched the scene, and Ashfur was the perfect antagonist to make all the pieces fall into place. This caused the Three to bear the burden of keeping this a secret until Hollyleaf kills Ashfur and blurts it out in the middle of a Gathering.
I also knew that they weren't Squirrelflight's and Brambleclaw's kits as soon as Jayfeather mentioned that Squirrelflight never had enough milk to feed her kits. The parsley and everything just fell into place then.
- Moonstar of ThunderClan
Oh my, this was so emotional! This part made me actually cry when I read it for a second time because I knew that they would separate in the end. Love was not strong enough for them. This is my favorite part in all the books. I memorized it in memory of Leafpool when she died in Squirrelflight's Hope.
Crowfeather is a very confusing character. I never know if I should feel mad at him or if I should feel bad for him. Did he save her because he loved her or because he didn't save Feathertail? Either way, I reread this part twice.
Firepaw: I love you, Spottedleaf!
Spottedleaf: I love you too!
And so began the series-long trend of forbidden love.
I thought I saw the end of the world in her eyes... "I love you, Spottedleaf!"
Leafpool couldn't have saved her, whatever people say. Still, it was so sad that she had to die! Poor Sorreltail and Brackenfur. Two of their kits die, one breaks a leg, and the last nearly dies of greencough.
This part was so sad! She had been talking with Berrynose about having kits, then she died saving a spoiled one.
Perhaps because it's one of the only deaths in the plot, it ends up being very memorable to me and others.
This moment highlights the forbidden love between ThunderClan warrior Graystripe and RiverClan warrior Silverstream. Readers probably feel warmth as these two come together, starting when Silverstream saves Graystripe from drowning. Since then, the gray warrior has been captivated by her. They soon mate during the second arc, which causes a rift between Fireheart and Graystripe, but it eventually passes.
During the third arc, tragedy strikes when Silverstream dies during kitting. This is a very tragic moment, but it is also remembered as these two love each other to the very end.
Quick question: What is it with some of the best scenes in Warriors not being known to the majority of cats in the story except for the cats involved?
I believe that Needletail deserves way more credit than she got. Her actions at the start of A Vision of Shadows were pretty poor. However, she made up for it when she sacrificed herself for her best friend, Violetshine. Drowning is a terrible way to go, in my opinion. I get teary-eyed every time I read Needletail's death.
- Birdcreek's Opinion :)
Oh, poor Needletail. Poor Violetshine. And then she didn't even get to StarClan straight off!
If you read this series, then you probably know who Tigerclaw is and that he is not a good person. He is an ambitious, power-hungry warrior who just wants to become leader. To do so, he managed to kill ThunderClan's deputy, Redtail. Fireheart was on to him, however. He thwarted his plans to kill Bluestar, and they had their first battle against each other. Tigerclaw was then exiled afterward. This happens in the 3rd arc, by the way.
During the 4th arc, Tigerclaw allied with rogues, and they crossed paths with a ThunderClan patrol. Although it was off-screen or off-page, Tigerclaw completely snapped and brutally killed Runningwind, leading to Whitethroat's death and another fight between Fireheart and Tigerclaw.
Remember the awful forest fire that happened to ThunderClan in the 4th arc of the series? This moment would see the near destruction of the Clan and the death of Yellowfang, former ShadowClan medicine cat and ThunderClan's current one at the time. She's been through a lot as her son was none other than Brokentail, one of the series' first antagonists and a former deadly ShadowClan leader. Yellowfang rid herself of him in the last arc for his crimes. However, when she and Fireheart went to save other cats during the fire, she was trapped along with Halftail.
This moment is heart-wrenching since Fireheart was forced to leave Yellowfang and Halftail behind. When he returned, Halftail was dead and Yellowfang was dying. With her last breath, Fireheart would be devastated, and Yellowfang would die from smoke inhalation.