Onestar finally deciding to tell the truth about Darktail feels less like a character reaching a breaking point and more like an exposition dump to allow the book to reach its conclusion.

I love the idea of Onestar as a coward, as someone who makes mistakes and then covers them up with more bad choices and avoids introspection. I think it adds more depth to his personality. Onestar's way of dealing with regret is to hide from his own guilt by burying the truth, making up excuses for himself, and finding someone else to blame. He's terrified of what will happen to him after death because after all this time, he still knows he's done wrong and he can't cope with it during his final life, knowing that death is right around the corner. So he hides. And I like that.

Which is why it's weird as hell to me that he does a sudden 180 from "it's not my fault Darktail is a problem, it's your fault, never talk to me again" to "I'll tell you everything I've been hiding for years and help you and be totally calm and reasonable, also I'm very sad and very sorry."

I just think a small change that would have felt much better would be if he confessed out of desperation. If he feels backed into a corner, if he tells his story but still keeps trying to excuse his behavior and get out of helping with the situation, if he joins the Clans against Darktail not out of a sudden burst of nobility but instead because his Clan is sick of this nonsense, all the Clans are sick of this nonsense, and he feels he has no choice.

I guess in summary: Why must we take a character who's been shown to be a problem for so long only to cure him and forgive him last minute so he can be a hero. Like how about instead of letting this loser die as a noble hero, his Clan always remembers him as the coward that he was. One who made a desperate move to redeem himself at the end of his life, but a coward nonetheless.