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Murphy in Peace Talks (WoJ spoilers)

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magnuskn:
So, two years ago Jim hinted on Twitter that he was writing Murphy's funeral.

It could have been a joke, but if Murphy really dies in Peace Talk, I would postulate that the most likely reason is to raise her as a Valkyrie. It seems to soon to end her and Harry's fledgling relationship, but, IMO, there are just too many things which would fall into place to not make this at least a very likely proposition:

- It solves the aging issue for her relationship with Harry
- It gives her a new purpose in life, after losing her old one, when she left Chicago police
- There has been foreshadowing for it, her training with the Einherjar and getting close with Odin's organization
- It is a source of future conflict, when her working for Odin comes into conflict with something Harry is doing

Maybe this is a bit too obvious, though. A lot of people thought that Karrin would be the next wielder for one of the swords and Jim trolled us in that regard. What do you guys think?

raidem:
I'm for anything that buttresses her being fashioned into a vessel for a larger mantle, something like Mab's.  Her being associated with kringle I'm sure would support that path.

Con:
Personally I think it's just a flashback to Murphy's dad's funeral. Simplest and plausible explanation.

I'd love Murphy to become a Valkyrie though

Smaug with OCD:
I'm conflicted...

On one hand, the stories are journeying too far into the deep end of magical society for a simple mortal to hold their own. We can argue about Valmont's "It's how smart you are" remark all we want. But... well, there's a certain point where a mortal needs to resort to remote controlled weaponry, or heavy vehicles instead of a few guns and gadgets. And, while it would be fun to see Harry ride into battle alongside a tank... the stories are in the middle of Chicago, a major city. That would get people into big trouble. Too, Murph now has her knee problem, which would hinder her as a field operative unless she took the Kincaid approach and started using sniper rifles or something.

Making her a Valkyrie would side-step this issue.

However, since the beginning of the series, Murphy has been the mortal of the group. She's fulfilled the same roll that Xander did for the Buffy crew. Had Butters remained a normal guy, and not become a Knight, I would have been fully behind this change. As things are, there aren't really any people in Harry's core group that remain "human" in that sense. Michael can't take the field anymore with his injuries(having a Grace does not qualify him for "pure mortal" status). Marconi isn't part of the core crew, though he is a major character. SI has drifted into the background now that Dresden is dealing with bigger problems than they can handle. We haven't seen Tilly enough for him to have joined the Dresden Bat Family.

And, while it isn't entirely necessary for there to be a mortal on the team, there has been a big fuss throughout the series about how controversial they are to the supernatural, and removing one from the team would... It would create a separation that doesn't sit well with me emotionally. Something along the lines of "we big strong supernaturals have to protect the little humans," which has been zigzagged around throughout the entire series.

There is already a Valkyrie in the cast that can be called upon if the story needs one. If we were to get another, I feel like Guard becomes - in some ways - redundant.

I'm not really sure what else to add...

magnuskn:
Saying that Murphy is the last true blue mortal on the team is a good point. However, her getting so badly wounded by Nic that she'll never recover 100% is also a point where you got to wonder what her future role as "the normal" is going to be in the series. It's fully possible that she'll transition into another role, but given how much her identity has been to be this tough woman, I bet it would trigger even more of an identity crisis than she already had after having to leave the CPD.

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