A lot of people are quick to condemn Adalind for “raping” Nick but so many seem to forget that she only did that because the royals (who Nick and his friends had lead her to believe had Diana) ordered her to do that and told her it was the only way she’d ever see her daughter again. It’s not nearly as black and white as some people make it seem.

A lot of people are also quick to forget that Adalind has been told to do a lot of things and always seems to resort to sexual violence to get them done. And that being desperate doesn’t excuse doing horrible things.

Sean told her to get the key? Adalind’s plan to get the key was to cast a spell on Hank, rape him, and then use the fact that his life was in danger to try to force Nick to hand over the key.

Adalind loses her powers and wants revenge? She decides, on her own, to cast a spell on Juliette that can only be broken with the massively bad side effect of creating an obsessive and dangerous attraction between Juliette and whoever rescues her…which robs both parties of their agency and violates them both in a fundamental way. She also had sex with Sean while he was under the influence of this spell, which arguably robbed him of the ability to say no to her.

The Royals tell Adalind to neutralize Nick as a threat? Adalind’s plan to do so was to cast a spell on herself and rape Nick, which stripped him of his powers.

I’m not saying Adalind hasn’t found herself in some desperate situations. I’m not even saying I don’t find her sympathetic at times. But I can acknowledge the difficulties she’s faced without turning those into excuses for the horrible things she’s done.