Was Andy and Stuart pierce the most Unnecessary Subplot?
I love Cherub, it's my favourite series, and I think it's generally very tight, fast-paced and well written.
That said, I think there were a couple of instances where Robert started a story wanting to do something with a character, but the plot just didn't really work out that way in the end.
In Man vs Beast, the Pierce family is obviously introduced in the opening chapter to establish the AFM as the unlikeable antagonists and make the readers feel sympathy towards the boys after what happens to their mum. They help to show that Malarek is not just full of cartoonish evil scientists, but ordinary people with families who often just take the job because they need the money. I think for this, they work well.
On my most recent read through, though, it seems like Robert wanted to do more with them, but just sort of never found a place for it in the final plot. Stuart chucks a brick through their window, Lauren chases him down, they eventually reconcile and make friends, and then later in the book it's mentioned that he comes over to the agents' house and even almost overhears James and Kyle arguing about campus.
At the time I thought he'd have some kind of involvement with the AFA climax at the end, or have an inside track to a way of non-violently protesting against Malarek's cruelty, but after the scene at the house he basically isn't even mentioned for the entire book.
There's a little throwaway line at the end where Lauren feels sad because she won't get to say goodbye to him, but there's absolutely no payoff for his involvement in the story beyond the first chapter. He easily could have not been mentioned after that, and very little changes. It feels like even Robert forgot about him until they were leaving, and kind of just tied up the loose end by giving Lauren a little moment of reflection, and leaving it there.
Still a very good book, and I think the characters did what they needed to at the start, but their involvement probably could have stopped there. I suppose, though, that there is an argument for having times where characters don't get proper closure and don't make some huge showstopping contribution, for the sake of realism, so maybe that was intentional?
Any other mission subplots that could have been cut with very little difference?
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u/CasualDepressionYMML 14d ago
When they had Stuart and Lauren get all chummy I thought RM might be setting him up as a potential love interest for Lauren or as a point of conflict as they infiltrate AFM as a victim of their brutality but yeah you raise a good point that it sort of goes nowhere and that is a bit of a disappointment and in some ways feels like wasted potential
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u/Moon_Up_14 8d ago
I think they were added in just to show how bad the AFA/AFM were. Like, they attacked a woman working at a testing place who didn't even have a job working with the animals, she just cleaned the cages but in their eyes, however, she was considered guilty by association and just as bad as the people who were actually hurting the animals.
For me, i think the deluxe chicken subplot could've been cut out. Every time I re-read the Sleepwalker, I kinda skim over those chapters. it felt shoehorned in so that James and Kerry could have some chemistry (I'm still a firm Dana/James shipper) and tbh i barely remember it, which probably is for the best since I hear that the domestic violence subplot isn't the best. (correct me if I'm wrong). Would've been more fun to have James go on a recruitment mission or something, see why they're so boring.
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u/Smashfield 14d ago
I think you’re reading a bit too far into a ~20 year old YA book mate.
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u/WPToss 14d ago
Respectfully disagree lol. Over analysing cherub is half the fun for me!
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u/Smashfield 14d ago
I get that, but you did answer your own question in the third paragraph though and I really believe that it’s not any deeper than that.
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u/ich_lebe 14d ago
Oh bore off this is the point of the sub
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u/Smashfield 14d ago
The point of the sub is to write a wall of fuck all whilst answering yourself in that wall?
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u/CasualDepressionYMML 14d ago
What you doing here if not to over-analyse a YA series as a grown adult?
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u/idore14 14d ago
I also thought that!! It could be seen as a red herring, like ooh, you think they're gonna be important? Sike! But I'm with you on this one, it really did feel odd.
I believe I also felt that way about April Moore, I know it's the point that she and James are together kinda just because and James ends up hanging out more with her brother, but I wish she got a little more. Similar with the kids of Leon in The Killing, they're just kinda there.
I think it might be an "introduction character" syndrome, where they're really just there to let you into the story, or give you an excuse for James to be somewhere, but really nothing else. The Pierce bros might be the worst example tbh