Spoilery speculation (yes, I'm at it again)!

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

It feels hubristic to call speculations spoilery, as if I know what's going to happen in Return of the Thief. (If there's one thing I'm completely confident of, it's that I absolutely do not know what MWT has in store for us!) But since I'm theorizing about the final book, I'll put it all in the comments for those who don't even want speculative spoilers! ;)

For those of you who like to overthink everything, see you in the comments!

Comments

SPOILERS?

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

For a long time I told myself I was being a paranoid reader, for sensing, pretty much since the first book, that Gen might, well, die in the last book. Then my fears were compounded by the realization that half the fandom had similar thoughts. Largely tied to the theme of deification, which is maybe the thing actually hinted at, but sort of suggests that death comes before it. Anyway, some very clever people have highlighted scenes and sentences that seem to suggest something of this sort before the end. (Perhaps only as a flash-forward epilogue in which future generations conflate the stories of god-Eugenides with the legendary Gen?)

There is also the customary death of Thieves (by falling) to be reckoned with. It's been suggested that Gen-the-Thief has already metaphorically undergone this "death," when he fell in love with the Queen of Attolia and became Gen-the-King. Which, when I considered it, prompted another thought: what if the ominous "death of the King" prophesy spoken of in the description for book 6, has something to do with its title?

"Death of the King" = Return of the Thief?

:O

Yes, I'm looking for ways Gen doesn't have to actually die in order for all of this to come full circle. Or maybe I have just been paranoid all along! Thoughts?

Re: SPOILERS?

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

Oh snap, Faith! I think you're on to something!

The death of the king may be metaphorical, because the THIEF is returning. I think Gen metaphorically fell when he was captured in Attolia. You will never fall unless the gods themselves drop you, right? The gods are why he was caught, so I've always made that connection.

How can Gen, the king, metaphorically die? Is he gonna fake his death? Abdicate all power to Irene?

What's going to happen????

Re: SPOILERS?

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking it may suit Gen's purposes to appear to have died, and then reappear at the opportune moment, in all his Thiefy glory. That, or he'll suffer a serious setback, only to bounce back (as we've seen him do before).

I don't actually know. It's all speculation!

RE: Re: SPOILERS?

[drollittle.livejournal.com]

I’m with you here; It would be quite Gen-like to pretend to die, then come back. I just hope he would let Irene in on this plan so she wouldn’t have to grieve.

I wonder if his coming back from the dead might have something to do with Hamiathes’ gift, or the waters of immortality/oil of immortality from the myths.

Also, the death of the king = return of the thief idea is brilliant. I’ve always wondered what Gen’s question was at the temple of Hephestia. What if it was something like “who am I now, a thief or a king?” and the answer was “Attolis” but he would rather be the thief.

Re: SPOILERS?

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Seeing as Gen has spent most of this series doing what he can to spare Irene from grief (save, perhaps, the grief of some of his outfit choices), I don't think he'd make plans without her knowledge. They are confirmed pillow-plotters.

RE: SPOILERS?

[drollittle.livejournal.com]

There is also a chance that “Return of the Thief” refers to an appearance of the god Eugenides, or the return of the thief of Eddis position—now held by a new thief (costis, pigeon, ?). Not that I want Gen to die and be replaced, but it’s a possibility.

Re: SPOILERS?

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

I thought this, too, that maybe the thief referred to in the title isn't Gen at all, but someone new.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've had the same worries about Gen dying. No matter how it would happen (becoming a god, sacrificing himself for the better good or for Irene, etc.) I would be pretty distraught about the whole thing. I want my happy ending, dammit!

But if you examine the other books, character deaths are pretty much unheard of, aren't they? Pol, of course, but who else has actually died? Well, lots of characters off-stage (Helen's brothers and father, TheRealSounis) but we've been able to keep our much-loved characters so far. There HAS to be some pretty bad things happening to Gen et. al. in order to get to that happy ending, but I have faith in MWT that she'll get us where we need to be in the end.

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

I certainly not expecting an unhappy ending. Just lots of angst on the way to a happy one. :)

[rouan1.livejournal.com]

I am leaning towards Gen not dying. The last book is about him; what’s the point of having him be the main character if she kills him off. Remember when QoA came out and Megan said she had the horrible thing happen early so she got it over and done with ( and I am paraphrasing without looking up to see exactly what she said). This may be whistling in the dark but why bother talking about a king who is young, and there being time for a “golden age” over the next 10-20 years if he dies in this book.

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

I agree. I also remember her saying something, a long time ago, about not liking stories in which the dog dies. That was before TaT, of course. (But, that wasn't a very nice dog, was it?)

[(Anonymous)]

Omg I never thought about it. I killed the dog, didn’t I?

~mwt

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

See.

This is why I have trust issues.

[(Anonymous)]

I can see that. I mean, I wouldn’t trust me if I were you. I am very unreliable!

~mwt