The theme of cooperation as a necessary force against oppression shapes Winter’s structure. Levana maintains power by keeping people divided, fearful, and unable to trust one another. She isolates the outer sectors, denies them resources, and relies on the threat of thaumaturges to enforce obedience. Even when she is not physically present, the fear of her control is enough to suppress resistance. Artemisia—Luna’s opulent capital city—symbolizes this imbalance. It appears perfect, but it rests on the suffering and silence of those outside its walls. By fragmenting her people, Levana prevents them from recognizing their shared grievances.

Cinder’s rebellion counters this system through cooperation. From the beginning, her success depends on bringing together people with different backgrounds, skill sets, and loyalties. Cinder, Kai, Scarlet, Wolf, Cress, Thorne, and Iko each contribute something essential. When Winter and Jacin join them, the group gains access to Luna’s inner workings. No single character can challenge Levana alone. They must trust each other despite their differences—believing, for example, that Wolf is more than his identity as a partially transformed wolf soldier, or that Winter is more than her status as the evil queen’s daughter. Their power comes from their willingness to trust one another and combine their strengths.

The novel also shows that cooperation must extend beyond the core group. Cinder’s plan requires the support of the Lunar people themselves. Winter plays a key role in this shift. Because she is loved for her genuine warmth, Winter can reach people in ways Cinder cannot. She uses that trust to encourage unity rather than fear. When the people begin to act together, Levana’s control weakens. Cinder’s broadcast, in which she urges the people of Luna to join her rebellion, illustrates the power people gain when they work together: “You have the power to fight against Levana and the people that oppress you. Beginning now, tonight, I urge you to join me in rebelling against this regime” (221). The people to whom Cinder is speaking have never believed that they had any power. Cinder shows them that while they may be powerless as individuals, collectively they have more power than Levana’s seemingly untouchable regime. The same society that stayed silent out of fear starts to move toward collective resistance.

Smaller characters play a quiet but crucial role in building the resistance’s cooperation. Maha Kesley, Wolf’s mother, shows compassion in a system that discourages it, and her willingness to help others, even at great personal risk, shows the kind of trust the rebellion depends on. Her sacrifice reinforces the idea that change requires people at every level, not just central leaders. Though her death at Aimery’s hands is devastating to Wolf and the rest of Cinder’s team, she inspires others to join the cause. Guard Liam Kinney represents another form of support. His support for the rebellion shows that cooperation can come from unexpected places. Together, these characters demonstrate that large-scale resistance grows from many small, individual choices to stand with others rather than remain isolated.

This cooperation is challenging in a political climate built on mutual suspicion. Levana has spent years deliberately undermining the social fabric in an attempt to ensure that her subjects are loyal only to her. Characters struggle with mistrust, trauma, and conflicting priorities. Jacin resists the rebellion because he fears for Winter’s safety. Wolf pulls away because he fears losing control. Even Kai and Cinder disagree about strategy and sacrifice. These tensions show that cooperation requires effort, compromise, and vulnerability.

Winter argues that oppression thrives when groups are isolated, while resistance depends on connection. Levana’s power comes from dividing people, but her downfall begins when those divisions break down. By working together, Cinder and her allies create a force that Levana cannot control. Cooperation becomes a form of defiance against a system built on fear.