YMMV / Everland

• Complete Monster: Queen Katherina is the warmongering ruler of Germany obsessed with world domination. Having poisoned her husband, the former king of Germany, Katherina proceeded to wage war against the surrounding nations, slaughtering millions of people, earning her the name the Bloodred Queen. Creating the deadly Horologia virus from a poisoned apple, Katherina unleashed the virus on England's population, wiping out most of its adult population and leaving those eighteen and under to suffer a long, painful demise from its effects. Even her children aren't exempt from her cruelty, as she gouged out her son Hook's eye on his thirteenth birthday and physically abused her stepson Jack. She also performed ghastly experiments on countless animals, transforming them into half-machine monstrosities that terrorize the kingdom. When she learns that several of her prisoners have escaped, Katherina brutally kills one of them, deeming him useless. Upon her defeat, Katherina fatally wounds her son as a final act of spite.
• Jerkass Woobie:
  • Hook. The man is responsible for hundreds of deaths and has no issue abusing children, but the story makes it clear that this was a result of his mother's cruel upbringing. His primary motivation, aside from finding a cure for the virus, is to earn his mother's approval, but all his attempts are for naught, and Katherina ends up casting him aside once he's outlived his usefulness and ultimately kills him. Fridge Sadness sets in when you realize he's probably not much older than nineteen or twenty himself, given he already would have died in the early stages of the plague had he been an actual "adult" by most standards. His actions are all the more tragic given he's still practically a kid himself who is unfortunately just making one bad decision after another.
  • To a lesser extent, Bella. She acts very haughty towards Gwen out of jealousy that she's stealing Pete's affections, but in light of all the suffering she goes through throughout the series, her sour demeanor is understandable.
• Tear Jerker: A lot, including:
  • Gwen and Hook's final confrontation in Everland. After Gwen severs Hook's forearm, it's revealed that he's been infected by the Horologia virus. Hook then breaks down and laments that he cannot even return home due to his infection. Gwen is stricken with sympathy and comforts him, and the two express guilt over both their actions.
  • The Professor's death in Umberland. What makes it so sad is that she had just been reunited with her children after they thought her dead, only for her to end up passing away for real.
  • The reveal at the beginning of Ozland that Joanna and Mikey had passed away from the virus, in spite of all of Gwen's efforts to save them.
  • The destruction of the Evergreen village, leaving nearly all its residents dead, including Gail's parents and Bella.
  • Pete's breakdown upon discovering Pickpocket's corpse, futilely begging for Doc to rescue him.
• Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: The series goes about six notches beyond Dropped a Bridge on Him in terms of shocking character deaths. Characters that are mere teenagers at best and actual children at worst are slaughtered left and right in the books, oftentimes with no build-up or even a proper goodbye. Bella, Joanna, Mikey, Professor Darling, and Gabs are the worst offenders. With the last of these being stated to be the author's favorite character and the utterly brutal way she killed him off, one starts to wonder if she even likes her own characters or is even enjoying telling this story considering how she's casually killed off half the main cast by the end of the last book.
• The Woobie:
  • Gwen Darling. First she loses her mother only months after reuniting with her after a year of separation. Then, shortly upon her arrival at the Labyrinth, her younger siblings succumb to the Horologia virus, in spite of all her efforts to protect them. And then, after reuniting with her father after presuming him dead, he too perishes from the disease.
  • Pete lost his parents in a car accident that left his sister, Gabrielle, crippled. During the bombing of London and the outbreak of the Horologia virus, Gabrielle was infected and ultimately died, leaving Pete grief-stricken. He attempts to forge a new family with the Lost Kids, only for most of them to end perishing one after the other, including Bella, who Pete considered a surrogate sister.