An Old Friend Returns

Prillkop’s back!

Bee conveniently gets tossed in a cell (and frankly, of all the imprisonment options Clerres has to offer, this one seems… not the worst) right next to our old friend Prillkop.

I really enjoyed Bee’s mystery cell neighbor talking to her, and the slow realization that it’s Prillkop on the other side of the wall.

I’m honestly not especially invested in his fate – he’s had a good run – and if anything, him slowing the gang down because they now feel compelled to rescue him too is kind of annoying.

But it was nice to have a familiar friend there for Bee in her moment of need. She might not have been able to fully trust him, but at least we knew he was on the good guys’ side.

It’s a small comfort. And at this point, we will take whatever comfort we can get.

Fool Goes Rogue

The plan to rescue Bee from Clerres is already about as shit as can be. And then the Fool drugs Fitz and Spark and sneaks off in the night on his own.

This was a great little subversion as, let’s be honest, this is exactly the sort of thing you’d expect Fitz to pull. (In fact, the whole Bee rescue mission began with Fitz drugging everyone and slipping away under the cover of night.).

In that sense, it only reinforces how they are one and the same. How mad can Fitz be when, given the chance, he would have done the same thing?

That said, it also feels especially foolhardy given, well… everything.

So the Fool reaches the cell block where Bee and Prillkop are imprisoned… and is immediately beaten and captured.

Round and round we go.

I love the Fool. I do. But tending him can be rather exhausting at times. Particularly this trilogy. 🫠

I’m going to need him to stay out of the way for approximately five minutes and let Fitz handle this one.

Motley!

I knew this bird was important.

And she shows up huge here. When all hope feels lost after Symphe’s death bars the entrance to Clerres, Per has the bright idea to send Motley on a Bee scouting mission.

Motley, of course, delivers. Not only does she confirm Bee is alive inside Clerres, she returns with the message that becomes the foundation for Plan B:

“A way out is a way in.”

But even before that critical bit of intel, Motley’s return becomes the tiny beacon of hope that pulls Fitz back from the edge of despair:

“I’d lost. I’d lost everything. I tried to think where it had all gone so wrong, and the answer was that it had begun with every decision I’d ever made, from the time I first said yes to Chade.
And then Per said, ‘Here she comes!’”

She might not be a Wit partner, but I am so glad we have an animal companion playing a meaningful role down the stretch.

It just wouldn’t feel like Fitz – or RotE- without one.

I love that, for essentially the entirety of our RotE experience, Fitz has been wading through metaphorical shit.

And now Robin brings his suffering full circle by making him wade through literal shit in order to reach Clerres. I suppose the only consolation is that he wasn’t alone on this particularly foul journey.

So yes, in order to infiltrate Clerres, the gang is forced to enter through the refuse outlet at low tide. It’s every bit as disgusting as it sounds. But this is Fitz on a mission, so there is nothing that will stop him.

I also love what this sequence says about Fitz as a leader.

His companions all have their own reasons for joining this quest, but at the end of the day, they are following him. Fitz has never thought of himself as a leader, yet he can’t avoid becoming head of the pack. He doesn’t need to command people, his quiet determination to get shit done sets the example.

He would never ask someone to do something he wouldn’t do himself. In fact, he’d prefer never to ask anything of anyone.

So despite his desire to lone wolf it at times, the pack follows.

Even if that means wading through shit and dead bodies.

One really beautiful, quiet moment.

As Bee uses her last remaining mementos of Molly – the beeswax candles she’s managed to carry with her all this way – to set fire to the Clerres records:

“’Goodbye, Mother,’ I said softly and set her last candle down on an oily scroll.”

Robin never moves on too quickly. She always finds ways to honor those who are gone while reminding us how deeply they continue to shape the story.

It’s such a moving line. In the middle of all the chaos and destruction, it tethers us to the little girl Bee was, carrying a piece of her beloved mother to the very end.

It’s been so lovely having the shadow of Nighteyes with Bee throughout her ordeal.

Really, any additional time with Nighteyes, even in spirit form, is a gift.

So I especially loved this mental reunion:

My brother. Where are we going?
More welcome than cool air or fresh water was the touch of Nighteyes on my mind. I felt my spirits lift and suddenly I knew now that everything would be fine.
Where have you been? I cried out to him. Why did you abandon me?
I was with the cub.

Nighteyes hasn’t abandoned Fitz. He’s simply gone where he was most needed within the pack. And exactly where Fitz would have wanted him.

And once again, we find ourselves back to one of the central ideas of this series: pack.

Who belongs to your pack? What do you owe them? What will you sacrifice for them?

It feels like those questions are becoming more and more central as we race toward the end. Not just for Fitz and the people he loves, but for the liveships, the Trader families, and really everyone converging on Clerres.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Perseverance is such a real one.

And it’s not just me who feels that way. I loved this observation from Fitz as Perseverance continues to prove himself the ultimate ride-or-die:

“I had never done anything to deserve such a lad.”

🥹

Chekhov’s silver tube?

Ok, I know I’m leaning pretty hard on the whole “Chekhov’s ___” bit. But that’s only because we’ve finally reached the point where all the hints Robin has been laying along the way are ready to come into play.

We’ve got the fire brick. Chade’s explosives. Per’s Skill resistance. And on and on.

But perhaps the most intriguing setup of all is the pair of silver tubes Rapskal gifted Fitz back in Kelsingra.

At the moment, the Fool is in possession of one and Fitz has the other.

And they are about to square off against a serpent spit-enhanced mind controller.

I have a feeling we are going to see Fitz pull a Verity and become one with the silver.

The idea that I may never get to see Fitz hold his granddaughter on the page makes me want to cry.

But we do get this incredibly touching moment as Fitz learns through the Skill that Nettle has given birth to a baby girl, Hope.

“Hello, Grandfather!
For a moment Dutiful’s greeting made no sense. Then it did. The child is born?
Nettle’s Skilling was steady but her exhaustion leaked through. A girl. Queen Elliania is delighted. She has asked for the privilege of naming her. Riddle and I agreed. Hope. Her name is Hope.“

I want to have hope. But I’d like to think that, by this point in the series, I’ve gained at least a little wisdom.

The brief interaction with everyone back at Buckkeep – especially Thick – is just devastatingly sweet.

“I cannot be there, Thick, old friend, so perhaps you will set the menu to celebrate my grandchild! And eat my share of it for me?
I can do that. More cautiously, Can I try holding her?
I held my breath. With Nettle’s ears, I heard Riddle’s reply. ‘Of course you can! Two hands, Thick, just like for a puppy. No, hold her close to your body. So she feels safe in your strong arms.’
She is warm, like a puppy! And she smells like a new puppy! You are safe with me, baby. She’s looking at me. Look at her looking at me!
Elliania’s voice, fainter to my senses. She will grow up trusting you.
I wish I could be there. My heart rode with the thought.
Do not worry, Fitz. I will be her grandfather until you get home.
Thick’s offer was so sincere that all I could do was let him feel my gratitude. It came to me that perhaps my odd old friend would be a better grandfather than I could be.”

😭

I don’t think my heart can actually handle analyzing this passage any further. So… yeah.

I want to briefly call out a small line that perfectly captures Fitz’s trajectory, and his reluctant main character energy.

As his fate continues colliding with characters from across the realm, he reflects:

“My fate was a runaway horse, dragging destruction like a broken cart through so many lives.”

He didn’t choose this destiny, but he’s powerless to stop the ripples it leaves behind.

And it’s so extremely Fitz to focus on the wreckage rather than the lives he’s changed for the better.

Obviously this whole post has been about taking stock of the setup and looking ahead to the endgame.

And in that vein, I gotta be honest, I did not love this exchange between Fitz and Paragon:

“How do I die?
In water and fire, in wind and darkness. Not swiftly.“

Changer. Time to change.

We’ve been through Fitz deaths before, but we’ve always had more story waiting on the other side. Not this time.

The finality hanging over all of this is intimidating.

Whether the prophecy proves literal or something more metaphorical, it certainly feels like a death is approaching. An ending of some kind.

I shall be brave in the face of it.