Apple TV logo Image via Apple TV By Carolyn Jenkins Published Jul 4, 2026, 11:07 PM EDT Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd | Metacritic Carolyn Jenkins is a voracious consumer of film and television. She graduated from Long Island University with an MFA in Screenwriting and Producing where she learned the art of character, plot, and structure. The best teacher is absorbing media and she spends her time reading about different worlds from teen angst to the universe of Stephen King. Sign in to your Collider account Add Us On Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap Fantasy has never been more popular , and no subgenre has benefited more than romantasy. While Game of Thrones was a large contributor to the popularity of fantasy, romantic-style fantasy books such as A Court of Thorns and Roses and Fourth Wing have jumped on the bandwagon . Readers are flocking to the waifish female protagonist, trapped in a love triangle while trying to save the world. Thankfully, fantasy adaptations aren’t solely beholden to this common trope.
Apple TV is going against the grain with the new fantasy film series that readers have been waiting for. Mistborn contains a fascinating world of magic and heroes, but most importantly, it doesn’t harp on predictable romance tropes to lure in fantasy fans. The romance that does occur in the book is well plotted and may be readers’ next obsession before the adaptation premieres on the streaming platform.
There is arguably only one book love triangle that did service to the love triangle trope, and it wasn’t even in a fantasy setting. The Hunger Games put forward a protagonist who was genuinely too afraid for her life to know who to love, and both her romantic options made sense for the character. In the end, i t was the war crimes that helped Katniss make her decision , and choosing Peeta tied into the book's broader theme. Love triangles have since become a crutch , but are somehow all that romantasy books seem to publish.
Mistborn has an immersive fantasy world with a compelling romance that isn’t written to satisfy algorithms. Like Katniss, Vin is also in life-or-death situations, and the end of the first book allows her to actually process her feelings. One of the most fascinating things at the center of the romantic plot of Mistborn is how it subverts commonalities in the genre.
This fantasy world takes place in a hierarchical society where the working class is subjugated, and the upper echelons practice magic called Allomancy. This magic system consists of consuming types of metals that allow people access to different powers. Only a few have control over all the abilities, and they are dubbed Mistborns. Brandon Sanderson's best books weave a realistic world of fascism, court intrigue, and rebellion. These elements all come together in the first book, Final Empire , which essentially functions as a heist story.
A wonderful hodgepodge of genre, the most engaging part of the story surrounds Vin, a street rat who discovers she is a Mistborn. Recruited into a ragtag crew of criminals, she is tasked with going undercover with the ruling class and finding a way to bring down the government from within. Of course, this leads to romance as many fantasy books are wont to do today. However, Vin’s potential courtship with Elen…