In Powerful, Lauren Roberts provides a nuanced exploration of the ways in which adverse circumstances impact people’s relationships with one another. For example, Makoto’s backstory highlights the impact of early childhood experiences on adult relationships. As a child, Makoto experienced a strained relationship with his parents due to their poverty and their fear of the danger his Wielder abilities might bring to their family if discovered by the kingdom’s rulers. In the present, Makoto’s ability to form new relationships continues to be impacted by this early adversity: He remains constantly on guard and resists his feelings for Adena, convinced that, given the circumstances in Ilya, he can offer her only pain.

Roberts’s setting and world-building foreground the oppressive systems of power and social infrastructure of Ilya and their impact on the relationships between her characters. Forced by circumstances to choose between his loyalty to Hera and his loyalty to Adena, Makoto feels compelled to lie to Adena about his real intentions at the castle and to abandon Hera to her fate. Ultimately, his friendship with Hera and his romance with Adena both end in tragedy because of the oppressive power structures of Ilyan society.