The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
Murphy in Peace Talks (WoJ spoilers)
jonas:
--- Quote from: DonBugen on August 10, 2017, 07:10:34 PM ---Folks, the bottom line is that Jim can't keep Harry happy for long. If he's finally started up a relationship with Murph, then she can't be long for this world.
I actually really, REALLY like this Valkyrie (or at least einherjar) theory. It's the kind of foreshadowing that fits Jim. Oddly, I don't think that her Catholicism would be a barrier, mostly because we've slowly been seeing her faith being worn down. Dresden's Sight of her in White Night, for example, is far more tattered than in GP, and she's had the world ripped away from her several times. She may not realize it yet, but I think that Dresden's death and the aftermath fundamentally changed her - no longer capable of welding the Sword, but still believing she could.
To be honest, in this "God is like three blind men describing an elephant" world, I think that Dresden is by far more the follower of TWG than Karrin is. And that's my two cents, controversial as it may be.
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Mwahahaha! Break it down farther, just go farther!
And she totally knew she couldn't wield it, she just didn't see other choices at the time.
Mira:
--- Quote from: nervousenergy on August 10, 2017, 08:48:47 PM ---This is the key point I don't see discussed all that much. The blow to Murphy at the end of Skin Game was profound, and has come on top of a long series of blows. As others have noted, she can't hang... not on the physical level that she's spent so much time training for. And now she's physically broken, and has taken a huge guilt hit by being the catalyst that destroyed one of the holy swords. Yes, it got remade almost immediately, but it's human nature to feel a huge sense of personal failure for the first event. Physically broken, morally broken, all of her lifelong personality anchors ripped away. When I finished Skin Game I thought for sure she was being set up to be tempted by a Coin, given how bad of a place she was going to be in.
Sure, she can do all of these roles that folks are postulating... but look at it from the point of view of her character. What can she do from the depths of the despair that's *got* to be crushing in on her after the events of SG? JB can write this sooo many ways...
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Agreed on most of your points, let her go out in a blaze of glory.. Her impact will be long lasting in any case.
wardenferry419:
Maybe, by the end of the series, the WC is restructured to give leadership roles based more on merit and ability and less on age and influence. Yet, I don't see Harry as the face of the organization like the Merlin; more like the scary big dog called Blackstaff.
LordDresden2:
--- Quote from: dspringer1 on August 10, 2017, 03:20:37 PM ---
In the normal course of events, you are absolutely right. Harry would need to be several hundred years old before he could ever be a senior council member, much less the Merlin. But the rules change in a major crisis (political or survival). Very dramatic changes can occur in how people are governed in a very short period of time. If the leadership if the white council is disgraced and/or dead, and the white council as a whole faces the very real possibility of eminent destruction, then very dramatic changes in leadership are very possible.
In that scenario, Harry Dresden can be a very attractive leader. It was Harry to revealed the corruption of members of the senior council (speculating). It was Harry who had the power to destroy the Red Court and save the White council. Harry has close alliances with several powerful supernatural nations. It was Harry who even the Senior Council and old Merlin feared. It was Harry who people whisper was born to fight the outsiders. It was Harry who is the poster child for the younger wizards -- who seems able to navigate the modern world with ease. It was Harry who founded the Paranet to save wizards. It was Harry whose deeds are legend within the White Council. The old leaders have failed. People are scared. It is quite possible that Harry gets enough support to take the position, especially if the other candidates are uninspiring or proven to be traitors and Harry gets endorsed by a few old and respected wizards like Gatekeeper.
Yes there is no way he would win against McCoy or Luccio, but he could win against noticeably less impressive candidates. It may not even be close.
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Sure. In such a case, I could easily see Harry leading the Council in his 50s (which would be about the time of the BAT if the series time-rate holds). Temporarily. For the duration of the crisis, like a naval lieutenant taking command of a vessel because the captain, exec, and the rest of the higher officers are dead or incapacitated. It's highly improbable that such a lieutenant would be allowed to retain command after the emergency passed, though if he performed well he might be promoted.
To use the Star Trek example again, at the end of the first reboot movie, Recently Cadet Kirk is promoted from new-graduated ensign to full Captain and given command of the Enterprise, after leading the ship through a crisis successfully. The further excuse is that most of the senior officers were killed in the crisis.
It still didn't make sense. Kirk might have been promoted in such a situation, yes. Maybe jump a couple of grades. But even if all the serving captains were dead, rather than put a green ensign in permanent command, they'd bring a retiree out of reserve or something, because Kirk has so little experience.
Likewise, I can't see a brevet command for Harry as being permanent, not at his age...unless all the older Wizards are dead, in which case Harry would be the new Merlin by default.
LordDresden2:
--- Quote from: wardenferry419 on August 11, 2017, 01:11:46 AM ---Maybe, by the end of the series, the WC is restructured to give leadership roles based more on merit and ability and less on age and influence. Yet, I don't see Harry as the face of the organization like the Merlin; more like the scary big dog called Blackstaff.
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Merit and ability scale with age and influence, past a certain point. Yeah, a young person can be better at leadership than an older...but it's usually not the case. Ability and skill and power and education and brains are not a substitute for experience. Nothing can substitute for experience.
(I have a sneaking suspicion that part of the root of Margaret's downfall was her refusal to accept the reality of that.)
So even if the Council loosens the age requirements, it's not likely to have its seniormost leadership positions held by newbies, except maybe in freak emergencies.
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