However we don't know at what point they soul gazed, did they even know what they were doing at the time?  He hasn't soul gazed her since, so who knows what he would see now.  Another thought, Eb did soul gaze Harry after or just before he took him in under the Doom, if the presence was there or the taint, he should have seen it. 

I think we can be sure Eb saw the taint. The 3 eye junkie saw it. I have always suspected that part of the reason tge WC hates/fears harry is because of it. I agree with the guys who think its why people panic after soulgazing harry. One way to think of the taint is that it is a brand ( the type placed on cattle). Brands indetify cattle has belonging to someone.  In some cases if  owners of the cattle are scary enough no one will steal their cattle cause just because you know who they belong to and what they will do to you.  Everyone sees it and knows that an outsider marked him. Could be for purely nice reasons but probably not. In Harry's case people scary themselves to death just thinking what it means. Is he an outsiders pet, food, friend or lover noone knows

No, they really didn't, it was the fight that Molly helped to put up, along with Harry and the others.  The actual final defenses for the prison itself were never tested.  If Harry hadn't been able to summon Mab, who aided Murphy in shooting Maeve, it could have gone the other way.

Did she?  I don't remember that line, do you have a quote?  I am not saying you are wrong, I just don't remember it.  Also Alfred can't choose, he has to be ordered, if it were that simple it wouldn't have been as close as it was.  Even if Harry had ordered him, apparently the defenses of the island are a bit more complex that's why it took Harry a year to learn them and put them in place.  And notice in Skin Game Mab was actually asking permission to come onto the island where as in Cold Days she didn't.
And they were losing until Maeve was killed.  If all you say is true, then why did the powers wait until the last minute?

Chapter 46 cold days,
Harry says to Molly
Demonreach was meant to keep things in, not out, but I didn’t want to blab about that in front of mixed company. “It encourages everyone to stay away, and turns up the heat slowly for anyone who doesn’t,” I said back. “But that’s when it isn’t being attacked by an army of cultists and a horde of howling freaks from beyond reality. It was busy making sure none of the Outsiders could come up onto shore—and none of them could. It just outmuscled an army led by something that could go could go toe-to-toe with Mab. Everything has its limits.
Chapter

you do.”
Chapter 52
Mab nodded her head slightly, and descended to the ground. From me, she turned to Demonreach. “I thank you for your patience and your assistance in this matter. You could have reacted differently but chose not to. I am aware of the decision. It will not be forgotten.”
Sorry i have a hardcopy so yeah

Doing so may have revealed the island's secret.  Also I doubt that the White Council has any control over the island.  The island picks and chooses who it want's to be it's keeper or Warden, not the White Council.

But this wouldn't require going to the island, I'm talking about being on the shores of Lake Michigan. We know that the enemy is doing this because there were two ritual sites being used inCold Days to launch attacks against Demonreach that were stopped by forces from Lara and Marcone. Those would seem like good places for a group of monitoring Wardens to set up shop.

My own theories about the island is that its a known secret. All the major players know about it and for the sake of peace agree ( informally of course) to leaveit alone.
The Nicky and nickelhead are exceptions. They don't care about the rules both formal and informal.
Plus is it possible that the fallen can shield their host from the effects  of the island

Who wanted the Fomor to rise?  There is a couple sayings in the military that are said all the time because they are completely true.  “An army marches on its belly.”  “No plan survives contact with the enemy.”  “Don’t get into a land war in Asia.”  One of these ideas that doesn’t fit on a bumper sticker as well is the bigger the attack, the more precise the operation, the more planning and logistics you are going to need.  So when you look at the Fomor, a group laying so low most of the magic community didn’t even remember that they existed and there are some old beings out there.  So how does a group that is keeping a profile that low kidnap specific people all over the world at the same time.

 

And they do it as a major power is being completely destroyed by a spell that was so big that it affected every person capable of doing magic everywhere.  So either the Fomor have the logistical capabilities to have their entire civilization go from being in witness protection to running thousands of operations with 2 hours planning over the entire planet or someone told them it was going to happen.

 

And I don’t think they just told them that it was going to happen, they highlighted every target at the same time. Especially the pregnant ones. Luckily for the Fomor this is what they make all of their foot soldiers out of.  And at the same time, they actually pull off the white courts plan of take out the children and mothers. Making that wizard problem fade away. Now this hasn’t been said anywhere that I have read but  its easy to imagine that what ever “radar” or warning spells that might be in place to give the rest of the magic community some heads up of an attack like that might be blinded after Harry cast the spell.

 

Was the ritual going to have the same affect no matter who set it off?  Was it modified without the Red court knowing? Did it have to be directed to beings all over the world to be as effective? Was the plan to use the Reds as fuel for the heist the entire time?  If it was who told martin about the spell?  He seemed to have the spell as his nuclear option for over 100 yrs. Were there other sleeper agents in the Reds with the same mission?  Ebenezer did not seem to understand the personal danger he was in until the last moment so I don’t think he was in on it but could someone in the grey council be a traitor?  And what if it not a traitor? What if the higher powers (Mab, Odin, Merlin the original not the current(I find it hard to believe the guy who created a prison in multiple times periods simultaneously so he can put a god in jail would sit out the actual fight but that’s a different post)) are trying to clean house on a bunch of bad guys before they can be ready for the inevitable attack.

 

I honestly don’t know which way I’m leaning towards but I think it’s weird that with all the 3D chess players operating currently no one is even asking the questions.  Or maybe I have too much time on my hands

I have always had the same questions.
The fomors rise was too quick,to well organised to be an impromptu thing.
Like the reds are gone at 5.00 am and by 6.00AM the fomor are on the move. Dont buy it.
I have always been of the opinion that the Ramps were meant to fail. And the fomor were meant to finish of the weakened WC. Before the Ethinu attacks Mab and the accords  further weakening the defenders of insider.
However  Mr Sunshine arranged things to disrupt the plans. Not completely but just enough.
Stay with me.
Nemesis plans to destroy the  WC using the Red court. The red court was planning on starting a war with the Wc and were a few years from being ready to start the war. Mr Sunshine using the swords makes  sure that Harry sets it off A few years  early (grave peril).
But Nemesis plan is  disrupted but in such a way that Nemesis decides to continue after all the war was going to happen anyway.
A few more years the WC would lose or win but with more damage. In this scenario at the en the fomor shows up as a mop up.

(and, btw, Jim fake out his readers!)

As we all infamously know, Mab ordered Harry -- if Mab should die -- to kill Molly.  Prompted by other recent threads, I've come up with an unexpected new WAG...

Ostensibly, Harry should kill Molly because she "isn't ready" for the Queenmantle, for unspecified reasons and with unspecified ramifications.

But here's the thing:  Mab's a master-manipulator; she gets people to do what she wants, but only sometimes is that with overt orders.

My WAG then:

Mab realizes that Harry killing Molly is a really, really low-likelihood event; improbable in the extreme!

Therefore, that's not the outcome she's pursuing; that's not the intent behind the order.

What, then?  Brace yourselves...

This is Mab being genuinely kind!

No, really!
Shocking, innit?

See, Mab is genuinely worried about the pressures on an unprepared and suddenly-elevated Queen Molly.  So, she conveys to Harry -- in the strongest language possible -- that this is a HUGE issue.

We know Harry.  We know he isn't gonna kill Molly.
What will he do?

Most likely, rally to her side and support her, offer advice & counsel, be a friend, etc.

Exactly the things new Queen Molly would need to stabilize her psyche while she adjusts to the powerful new Queenmantle.

And that was Mab's plan, when she ordered Harry to kill Molly.
"Kill Molly" was Mab-speak for "Be a friend to her."   

Its a great way to get Harry to do want she wants. Harry disobeys orders just because on a good day. Mab telling him to look after Molly would be met with resistance but this way.
Besides Harry is an idiot he may not realize that Molly is in need of immediate help. But the order requires Harry to check in on her regularly to make sure she still sane so he doesn't need to kill her.
And

I think that's probably kind of inherent to the nature of the Council.  It's made up of people who live for centuries, and the most influential, powerful, and potent of them are centuries old.  An ingrained conservatism would be expected.

The more so, of course, because nine times out of then, they would be right.  It's probably normal for the Council that the youngish Wizards and Witches, say anyone in their first lifetime-span (by which I mean someone from membership to 70 or 80) would likely get excited about this or that Super-Duper-Unprecedented Major Big Deal all the time.  The mature and older Wizards and Witches, though, have seen it all before...and before...and before.  They don't get all that excited about things, and like I said, 9 times out of 10 they'll be right.

(Sort of like the interaction of parents and teenagers, on a grander scale.)

We know that this is the tenth time, that what's going on really is a Big Fat Deal, but it would naturally take time for the older Councilors to recognize that.

OTOH, as JB has said, when the Council takes the gloves off and starts punching for real, people feel it.  They're a major power when they feel motivated, as Kemmler learned and as we've occasionally been seeing.

I think as fans we misunderstand the purpose of the WC. Its to prevent the use of black magic. Fighting to protect humanity is Secondary. Think of the UN. Its main function that is mostly overlooked these days is to prevent direct war between the Superpowers, major, and regional powers. Preventing war in general is a secondary purpose. As long as there isn’t a global conflict its succeeding.

The point about the older wizards hearing Harry’s ideas and rolling their eyes because they think when his older his veiws will change makes sense. How many things did 14 yr old u promise he would never do that 30 yr old u is doing.
How many things did single u promise not to do when u got married that u are doing now. Harry’s idea might seem new and novel to him but to the others they are like cute kid.

But it may make her hesitate which could lead to her downfall as Winter Queen.  Hard to say though, ordering the cold blooded death or execution of her daughter was pretty soul less, though her reaction after the fact hinted that she did have some soul... Did Maeve have a soul?  Or was she merely insane?

Having a soul doesn't stop her from being insane. Nemesis seems like it possesses anything and everyone with or without a soul