That seems odd, in that apparently Lara was behind this move, and she presumably has acccess to everything pere Raith knows, and to the (in)famous Raith library.

OTOH, I wouldn't put it past her to set it up with the intention it would fail, knowing that when the "herd-cull" got to Chicago (and involved Thomas & Harry) the plan would be ended with extreme prejudice (and (with any luck whatsoever!) ancillary damage to houses Skavis, Malvora, & any others among her whamp enemies).  So, maybe not so odd...

Maybe.  It seems like a horribly existential risk to take, since (once the plot was launched) her ability to guide it was minimal; what if they'd moved to Europe, or stayed bi-coastal & avoided the midwest, etc?  What if they hadn't gotten sloppy-enough to get noticed, just blew through Chi-town before Dresden (or Thomas) picked up the scent?  Lara being suicidal seems really out of character!

Depends on relative house size and rivalries. If Lara got the young Skavis heir to start doing this, she encourages the other elder Whamps in other houses to- however reluctantly- move against Skavis. If Skavis is her only really serious rival, then it's worth the risk.

It's an idea, but Lara's a risk-taker and a gambler; more bold than is normal for White Court.

I don't really count Lamar, he's a VERY minimal character; in chatter & forum-posts about the TV show, I think the term "token Black" would be used.   

Rawlings is pretty minor, too; but there's some history with Murphy & her dad, so we've got a bit more depth & a positive portrayal.  The character could be expanded for TV (more lines, more scenes)... but suffers a lot from being a Normal in the supers-setting, which is not the look you want in portraying equality.

Sanya, now, is a solid one!  The man kicks ass & takes names... unless he's shooting the ass.  Again, though, I think we need to see his role expanded a bit, given more lines & more scenes.

Martha Liberty is a mixed bag, representation-wise.  Plenty of magical power, plenty of authority; but very VERY few lines & scenes (bordering again on "tokenism").  I'd like to see more of her, to be honest!  And I think there's plenty of scope for that in the TV show (without betraying anything core to the Dresdenverse or the Case Files (but of course we don't know her future arc, maybe she'll become a key character and some bit of TV-canon will be explicitly-contradicted by later novels (Jim's involvement with scripts&c could prevent that!))).

There's Susan, a Latina, but the "girlfriend" & "damsel in distress" frames are really strong around her; and when she turns half-vamp and reframes with power of her own, she moves directly off-stage & mostly stays there (barring Death Masks) until Changes... where Harry kills her.  So... a problematic character, on several fronts.

Agreed that there are some characters (lookin at you, Alphas!  Also the Wardens, as a group) for whom no race was ever established, or for whom it never seemed like a significant or relevant part of the character.  I'd be down with any of them -- several of them, in fact! -- being explicitly non-Anglo.

Wizards, in general -- the world-spanning White Council, in particular -- should be VERY multi-ethnic... but mostly Asian.  We presume magic power is largely equal among all groups, and the world is about 60% Asian, 17.5% African, and 17.5% European+North-American.  So, equal numbers of black & white, but asian (including Indian) is about double black+white together.

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footnote-mark from above, added by me:
(*) - There's another elephant, I've gotta say.  When you move outside the Dresden fandom, some communities *cough*LGBT*cough*feminists*cough* have a notably less-positive view.  Dresden himself is VERY male-gazey, and some of the ways he talks about (or doesn't) gay/etc issues really leave some readerships feeling like Dresden isn't the hero they need to read.

The White Council is Eurocentric. We're told that in-series. Someone who reads the stories will note that it is an organization formed in Europe as a union of European wizards working as a block.

This means that either supernatural monsters culled other populations- not that the genes don't still express- but the wizards from those populations will tend to be younger, since older generations were decimated due to not having an umbrella organization to nurture them- or that there are other, smaller or otherwise less powerful organizations that have since been absorbed by the White Council and/or are now affiliated with same. Perhaps that's Ancient Mai's power bloc politically. Or La Fortier's.

The reason, of course, is the Merlin- he was European and founded the Council against the ruin of Rome. It's expanded, but that might be the influence of the British/Spanish/Portugese Empires instead of becoming a true global organization. We simply don't know what existed in China, India, etc., and especially the New World prior to the White Council reaching out to recruit. Was it power blocs? Did the Red Court "own" South America, did they purge their wizard level talents to prevent threat (or systemically turn them)? Was North America Sasquatch country, so the White Council can recruit there, but the other players couldn't push in? Is the acrimony between the Council and vampires partially due to the White Council effectively "conquering" Europe from White/Black court domination?

To accurately put that onscreen, I'd have less diversity in the older wizards and more diversity among the younger, with the exception of the most powerful wizards (who could have developed primarily solo, as did Dresden).

Morgan's national background wasn't particularly fundamental to his character though, despite the name's Welsh roots. And in fairness to the original show, whether related to the casting or not, they did tone down his antagonism - he was still strict and suspicious, but without the seeming personal hatred of Harry. 

Granted I saw the series before finding the books, but "rational hardass" vs. "rabid" seems like a good adaptation change to me. A show would struggle with keeping a significant supporting character just an irrational persecutor for as long as it took the books to explain that behaviour.

Cast a retired cop.

Tom Cruise wishes he was 5 foot nine. He should try out for Toot.

Anyone other than Gerard Butler wouldn't be appropriate for Toot. But he needs to get back in shape.

There's going to be some questionable casting choices. Christina Hendricks as Charity would be possible, but there's not a highly similar young woman running around. Makes the Fae in general, with their hyper good looks, difficult. And Mab/Titania? Actress needs to be towering.

From a story perspective, don't mess with the order- and they will. Need Bab-5 levels of control to adapt this particular story correctly. Other than that, this should be a relatively easy adaption compared to something like Wheel of Time or Sword of Truth- they just need to not pull a Dark is Rising or Shannara screwup with the episodes to "pull in viewers."

I agree with the theory on Mister being intended as a changeling; although I'd also buy that this is one of those things that Jim intended as a surprise that he might not do because readers guessed.

I don't think it was Lea, though. I think it was Mab- Mab is the one we see using malks for intelligence gathering all the time. I think Lea was getting her info from Bob during his "free nights", as a corollary to the theory of her being his mother.

The detail about Mister's tail being clubbed by some form of apparent misadventure, with the distinguishing characteristics of malks being intelligence, size, and long tails over housecats, was also the light bulb for me.

Changelings appear required to choose in adolescence/young adulthood. Choose magical heritage, gain superpowers but gain restrictions. Choose mortal, have free will, lose the benefits of being Fae. The only exception we've seen is Sarissa, who explicitly tells us she made a deal with Mab to protect herself from "hereditary insanity"- that entailed living 50% of her life as mortal and 50% as Fae, with an additional personal favor of being required to maintain Mab's connection to humanity for the favor.

That's a longwinded way of saying that the only person we've seen exercising the power of delaying Choice well outside the window- is Mab. And Mister has disappeared for periods, as I recall. At 17-18 years, Mister is certainly well past the age he should have Chosen.

Would his siring matter? I think I'd lean towards Grimalkin if he goes down this path- Grimalkin has seemed less unfriendly to Harry than other malks generally. Harry goes on and on about how Winter is generally ruthless, but family ties are acknowledged- Grimalkin might be disposed to indifference instead of hostility over good care of his kin.

And yet it’s quite clear Morgan’s faction at least we’re aware of Harry’s connection to Eb.

Morgan was. I took his short story as an insight that his loyalty is not as monolithic as everyone thought it was. He has personal opinions. He made have thought Margaret a pure bad seed warlock- we don't know- but he also was willing to accept her request to guard her child and was angry at himself for failing an innocent boy.

Most powerful wizards are a few centuries old. Now if a boy or girl is sexually abused we take it seriously, at least where I live. But the scandals of the past could continue for so long because people did think differently. They did not take the children's testimonies seriously and were easily cowed by people with authority.

The older wizards would not take these things as serious as we do and might think it more important to protect the wizard than the apprentice.

This is a dark topic. I will only note that the romantic attachment felt by some early adolescent students toward their teachers was discussed by ancient Greek sources as something to be encouraged as an additional motivator to do well at their studies- the dark underbelly of Greek/Roman intellectual culture. I could see this being part of Carlos' background specifically.

You're most welcome, but you shouldn't feel stupid. There is so much content we all miss things, I certainly find others making connections or noticing tidbits that I wouldn't.

I hadn't considered the need of the correct body before, but that is an excellent point. Jim said in an interview that in order to be a wizard the bloodline is important, otherwise you just end up a sorcerer. Considering Harry's potential bloodline it's no wonder Harry is so potent. We know next to nothing about Marcone...but we do have a lot of references to him making an excellent monarch in a past era. I wonder if Butcher is foreshadowing Marcone's own bloodline.

Off the top of my head, no they haven't. In point of fact, I do recall Harry explicitly avoiding taking Marcone's hand in the Raith Deeps. I would have to read through all their interactions to be sure, but I suspect that Marcone and Harry have never had skin-to-skin contact.
I think it's a stretch to say that Harry's execution of Corpsetaker in Luccio's body was condoned by Uriel. I don't really see how Uriel (or more likely, The White God himself) sending Butters (an incipient Knight of the Cross) to save Harry from an ex-Denarian (Quintus Cassius "Snakeboy") earlier in Dead Beat is condoning Harry's actions that had not yet occurred.

Harry's reaction after being burned by Fidelacchius can be explained in two ways. Firstly, if you go back to Skin Game where Harry sees Uriel's halo burn with holy light, and it reminds him of every shameful act in his life, one could infer that similar holy power might have a similar effect (i.e. Fidelacchius's contact with Dresden broke his rage and showed him the truth - his actions and rage were immoral). After all, Jesus did say turn the other cheek. I would imagine that The White God of the Dresden Files has a similar moral code (considering there is a Saviour in the Dresden Files - Harry uses several artefacts associated with him). Consider that Harry has a sort-of forced empathy for Rudy in this moment. He is forced to see some of Rudy's soul, and to see how Rudy sees him. Murphy wasn't a murderer. She believed in the law. And as much as she hated Rudolph, she would not want Harry to break the law and commit an extrajudicial killing for her (at least, on a rational level). Had Harry murdered Rudy, he quite possibly would have gone to jail. Killing a cop has consequences. And Harry wasn't acting in self-defence (or defence of another). And I doubt Harry banging on about magical reasons would have helped his case (have you seen many court cases that clear cop killers?). Not to mention that once Harry starts down the path of murdering people, humans specifically, that becomes a slippery slope. And that doesn't even take into account what happens when magic (the power of creation) is used to do it. Harry was also risking becoming a warlock.

The second way to explain Harry's reaction is that Harry wasn't just mad or furious, he was in grief. His anguish at Murphy's sudden death was overwhelming. And once he had moved beyond his rage he was devastated by losing her. This is the women he was currently in love with, had loved for over a decade, and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Not surprising really then he felt such terrible sadness at her devastating loss. Regardless of how anyone feels about the character of Murphy, Dresden clearly loves her.

Marcone may have pulled Dresden out of the water...but Harry already knows that Marcone can do magic at this point. So why would he comment on any sort of "spark"? It's prior to Battle Ground that the contact is important. Prior specifically to the reveal.

But perhaps there is another passage earlier in the series that shows contact.

The body issue is a matter of having a body with enough magical connection. As I said above, Jim mentioned that to be a wizard the bloodline is important. So some bodies are better than others.
Would he have? I mean, Jim has said all that soul gazes reveal is truth. But they don't reveal everything. McCoy even said they are not good lie-detectors. And Marcone was prepared for the encounter. Perhaps he also prepared to hide things. Who knows?

It is true we don't know what level Marcone was prior to receiving a Coin. I would note that particular Fallen in the Coin is known to be a magical theory expert. But I think it isn't unreasonable to guess that Marcone may have had more magic than he let on. Now whether that was at Victor Sells level, or Madge's level, or even just the level of one of the Ordo Lebes/Paranetters, or even just one of those types that visit Mac's we don't know. My guess is probably Madge's level to Kravos or Sells. But it is just a guess. I don't think there is any strong evidence in the earlier books that Marcone has magic, or displays anything but subtle magic at best. But there are a few strange things around him as many have commented on. And he did know about the supernatural long before he met Dresden. I just don't think we can rule out the possibility just yet.

I think @g33k hits the nail on the head that we don't have proof. But the point around here is to speculate after all.
I am unsure what you mean about Marcone using magic without the aid of Thorned Namshiel. I don't think Namshiel could use a host that couldn't do any sort of magic though. Remember, the Fallen can boost but cannot change mortals. Otherwise they abrogate free will. I, at least, am suggesting that Marcone's current magical display could be explained by a combination of his own magical talent and learning prior to connecting with Namshiel, and then being tutored and schooled and empowered for years by the magical expert of the Denarians (the Fallen Angel Namshiel).

Also, is it precisely one mortal with magic? Because I am pretty sure he burned Bianca's house down and several mortal bodies were burned up. Not to mention the Fomor Servitors (Turtlenecks) that he fireballs in Battle Ground. Now if you're referring to Justin, I am not even sure he did in fact murder him. That wasn't even proven in the White Council. We now know they had plenty of other reasons to put the Doom of Damocles on Harry, and the apparent murder was a convenient excuse. I also am curious about the half-bloods Harry killed (the half Red Court vampires) with the bloodline curse. That curse was serious dark magic. Not so sure that won't count either.

I agree about why Butcher had to show Harry's emotional turmoil, and the reasons Corpsetaker needed a powerful host.
I think it's a given Namshiel knows a hell of a lot more than Corpsetaker (pun intended). But I doubt the bloodline thing can be circumvented, given the power blood has in the series and the importance of mortals.

Proceed on the idea that Marcone- or even all mortals- have a small amount of talent (hence why rituals like Raith's canned summoning works). Say further that they can't develop it in a useful way because they lack the Sight. Further, developing skills takes confidence in possibility and the ability to refine the skill- when you first break a board you are using a lot more unfocused force and energy than you will in 10 or 20 years, even if you are less objectively strong by that point.

By that analogy, Namshiel is providing certainty that things are possible, the sensor suite to observe what Marcone is doing when he manipulates eldritch energies, and possibly through "VR training" giving Marcone the refinement of a lot of practice in a short span of time. Consider Marcone's shields. Very weak- to me, that represented how weak his ability at magic is compared to Harry's. He then used it with maximum cleverness and efficiency. The teapot dome? Namshiel slows time from Marcone's perspective, he works on tiny bits at a time that represent the maximum he can move, but he objectively does it so fast it is like he has expanded massive power quickly. He hasn't- instead of lifting the entire crate of sand in one mighty heave, he made the equivalent of millions of tweezer trips in seconds.

To me, emphasizing the weakness of Marcone's shields- and that he compensated by just stacking them as rapidly as possible for a kind of disintegrating defense-in-depth- was exactly what I'd expect of a low-powered but highly knowledgeable theoretician. He did the big effect (powerful effective shielding) with barely any use of energy (because he's very weak).

Regarding the burning- technically Harry didn't do anything to Bianca. He poured his mystic might into the ghosts of her victims like a loan, allowing them to have enough mystic energy to affect the physical world. That's why it neither violated the Laws nor the Accords. Harry didn't do anything to Bianca or her guests- he gave her prior victims the ability to do so. So no Accorded curbstomping of the White Council. A brilliant White Court vampire-style solution. 

Killing Fomor minions with magic is a fascinating question, though. Once modified, are they still human? Are there any without at least gills? When does backlash occur? If you throw a fireball at someone, and they get capped seconds before your fireball hits, do you backlash? Or is it when you gather your power to kill? If you blast in a door with air or force, and an elderly gentleman has a heart attack from the noise, does that count?