Rainflower favors Oakheart and rejects Crookedkit after the accident. The brothers do not turn on each other. They turn into the cats they must become. Crookedstar survives humiliation and doubt and climbs to leader. From that seat he chooses Oakheart as deputy. That choice is the hinge. Crookedstar provides stability. Oakheart provides reach.

Oakheart carries forward Hailstar and Crookedstar policy on Sunningrocks. He is also the tom who falls in love with Bluestar. Their secret gives RiverClan Stonefur and Mistystar. One dies for honor, the other becomes the longest reigning leader in the series and keeps RiverClan steady for moons. Reedwhisker follows as deputy.

Crookedstar’s line pushes outward again through Silverstream and Graystripe. Feathertail saves the Tribe, Stormfur leaves the lake and chooses a life with Brook. Brook arrives as a true outsider in Clan spaces. 

That is the difference in power. Firestar’s dynasty dominates the culture, but Crookedstar and Oakheart dominate the machinery. Leaders. Deputies. Marriages that bridge Clans.

There is room for doubt, and that is what makes the story interesting. Did Mistystar’s very long reign steady RiverClan or lull it into comfort. Was the fight over Sunningrocks a proud stand or a costly habit. Did Rainflower’s cruelty forge Crookedstar’s resolve or only leave scars that never healed. 

Firestar’s line will always own the spotlight. I am not arguing against that. I am asking a different question. When the dust settles, which kind of power lasts longer. 

TLDR. Firestar’s family is the crown. Crookedstar and Oakheart’s family is the state.

Crookedstar and Oakheart are RiverClan’s dynasty line. Here is why they rival Firestar.