I think Mother Winter will end up dying too.  I mean her dying is much more powerful at stakes type of event than even Mab.

We do have a WOJ about one of the Mother's dying/changing and its result on the Fae.  He was talking though with respect to the abdication I believe of the last Mother Summer, or possibly the theoretical changing of that position in the future.

Depending on Mother Winter's relationship with the concept of Death (Dresden mentioned when summoning her that she was about as close to that persona as many thought you could get), she might not be able to die, even on Halloween. What is dead cannot die, anyone?

If possible, I do think it likely, primarily based on my analysis of Cowl's agenda. Either leading up to or within the BAT, I'm expecting some massive infrastructure changes and destabilizations in the supernatural realm. The Faerie Courts might go the way of the Aesir and Vanir, leaving the defense of reality to new players. Assuming, of course, that reality survives.

I could see her ending up in a role somewhere between where she was and where Charity is. I don't see her as a stay-at-home type, but even before the injury, she knew well enough that any fight she was in was uphill. With the injury, she's at a greater disadvantage, and she knows that. So I see her being Harry's support (like she always has been), less likely to dive in and get rough, but still able to if she had to.

One thing we can probably all agree with is that Jim loves the "seemingly helpless person turns out to be really dangerous" trope. It pops up frequently, and has even popped up with Murphy herself a few times. So what I'm expecting is some uppity faerie to start in on her, only to find out that Murphy's walking cane just so happens to be made out of stainless steel when she breaks his nose with it.

That's the kind of future I see for Murphy -- more support-ish, but still capable.

I could accept that. 'Guess we'll see what he decides.

I place Murphy in a similar role. She might be the only character besides Harry to have appeared in every single book, and is very nearly as central a character as he is.

Except, interestingly, Dead Beat. She does technically show up at the start and finish, but it's basically a cameo. Her role there got split between Rawlins and Butters. While her prevalence as a recurring sidekick, so to speak, does make her important to the plot, Dead Beat shows that she isn't an indispensable character.

Torturing Harry is what Jim Butcher does, not why he does. He might enjoy it, but I don't get sense that's what directs the plotline.

One does not plot by pain alone, true, but consider the finale of Changes. If Susan hadn't been as meaningful to Harry as she was, the final decision to kill her would have had less impact on the reader. If Mr. Butcher decides to off Murphy (if), it would make sense from his point to strengthen that blow to the readers by tantalizing us with the hope that she and Dresden were finally going to make it work.

This also would be different from Susan. It was established early on in Changes that her decision to hide Maggie from Dresden permanently ended any hopes of them reconciling. Not a recycled plot.

Right. Not planned out.

Meaning, for example, that arguments that Murphy has to go to make room for Molly are, by that logic, hogwash.

That said, while he didn't plan it out from the start, I find it hard to believe he isn't thinking about the status as he plots upcoming books.

Not hogwash. As you say, while not planned out, it's not like he isn't thinking about it. If he is leaning toward Molly for the future (not definitely, but possibly), then one way to make that work would be to remove Murphy. Setting up Murphy for a fall keeps his options open. Up until he finishes writing it, he can redirect the plot as his desires take him.

And I didn't mean so much that he'd planned Murphy to be Harry's MJ (Marvel certainly hadn't planned Parker's arc that way to start with) so much as she occupies the same kind of narrative space. Gwen/Susan were Harry's first in-story love, and one who died in circumstances that Peter/Harry hold themselves responsible for. MJ/Murphy are second-loves, who might have been around before Gwen/Susan, but who came into his romantic life later, after proving themselves trustworthy, reliable companions.

Thank you for the clarification.

I just call it like I see it.

That's all we can do.

So far, I haven't seen what I consider to be the most entertaining question in this topic be asked: what would Harry summoning Molly look like?

"Youngest noble daughter of Winter, I request your presence in this mortal coil. Eldest Jawa, and herder of the line of the woodworkers, grant me an audience. Accept this offering of Coke I leave before thee. Weaver of veils, mistress of well brewed coffee, desecrator of prepared foods, I needs must speak with thee. Padawan! Grasshopper! Lady Molly! I summon thee!"

Griffyn,

(As far as Mirror, Mirror and losing the Winter Knight gig goes, I figure it's possible that jumping to a universe where there's already a Winter Knight (who I don't expect to be MirrorHarry) might mess with the Mantle—like, it tries to be in two places at once, and the power instead reverts to the constant from the Mirrorverse, or returns to MirrorMab. Either that, or simply being cut off from Prime Winter is enough to free the Mantle, returning it to Prime Mab as Harry gets sucked through. Or, you know, he just finds a good place to get rid of it on Halloween.)

That...has some interesting implications. I agree that the parallel universe will likely mess with Harry's mantled state. Maybe while over there, like you say, he'll be cut from Winter and unable to access its benefits. It might even cripple him again. But unless something really weird happens, I think the agreement he had with Prime Mab (which would be an absolutely terrifying transformer) would not be broken just be moving from one universe to another.

I’ve always been a Murphden shipper, but I have always suspected (especially now since they have hooked up with so many books left) that Harry is “destined” to end up with Elaine. Which does not bode well for Murphy’s continued health.

I can see what you mean about Elaine, but my impression is her path post-Justin has diverged enough from Harry's that it isn't feasible for them to join up. Harry's path is well set - defender of Chicago from sundry nasties, Sidhe pacts not withstanding. We don't know a whole lot about Elaine's doings other than the appearances in Summer Knight/White Night and the mentions of collaboration on the Paranet, but I get the impression she's taking on a parallel role to Harry out west. Them joining together would pull one of them away from those established paths.

Oh, Murphy's into Harry. And vice versa. She'll be benched for the duration of her recovery, and her lapse in judgment with the Sword will be a psychological weight to carry, but after so long denying herself the chance with Harry, she's finally gotten the point of saying "Screw it, I want this." I fully expect they'll continue to be an item in Peace Talks.

Consequentially, I also fully expect her to snuff it at some point. Not because she "can't keep up". She and Marcone have proven that vanilla mortals can run the race even better than some of their supernatural cohorts. Because her story in relation to Harry's seems ultimately tragic. She'll age and die, while Harry has the potential (dumb mistakes not withstanding) to continue on for centuries. They'll hook up, and finally know a little reprieve, but then the Malevolence of Butcher will be roused against them, seeing the opportunity to extract further anguish from the wizard, and she will know surcease.

Honestly, I'm thinking post Murphy Harry will eventually realize that Molly doesn't wear training bras anymore, he'll stop repeating that specific phrase about training bras, and once he sheds the mantle of Winter Knight, and through one way or another, Molly somehow unbecomes Sidhe, they'll hook up. She's a practitioner, so the aging thing won't be an issue like with Murphy. Unlike Elaine, Molly's path has been inextricably linked with Harry's from childhood. From being influenced by him hanging out with her dad, to becoming his apprentice, to taking over his role during the Ghost Story hiatus of wizardly presence, to basically becoming another version of Harry in Cold Days prior to the Demonreach Faerie Lady Two-Step, to now effectively being one of his bosses. They're stuck together, one way or another.

Elaine fulfills the "old flame" archetype perfectly. She's out of the picture. Murphy is a romantically sympathetic ally, and a hardy one at that, but at heart, she's a fighter. She'll die that way, while Harry will go on. Molly was not, and currently is not a viable option, but her arc is rife with potential. Proven Guilty through Changes showed a potentially tragic character, but she survived the purgatory of Ghost Story and veritably thrived in Cold Days. Molly isn't a hardy fighter destined to go out in a blaze of glory. She's now a full wizard, and wizards have a habit of saying "Screw you, destiny, I'm rewriting you."

It would be pretty easy to recruit away from the organization who's opening recruitment move is to explain that one day s/he might be back to chop off your head if you misbehave.  Especially if you can offer the sorts of perks that Lara, Marcone, Bianca, LEA, etc etc etc could offer.

Practitioner head hunting. Magic use never felt so...corporate.