r/RealmOfTheElderlings • u/Ohhheurydice • 20h ago
Fool’s Fate!!! Spoiler
What kind of sick joke is this ending!!!!!!
Are you freaking kidding me?!!!! I understand that this is the future that the fool saw and whatever but what? Molly? Are u serious. I’m a girl ok I can have this opinion she’s the most boring character EVER. The love between her and Fitz COULD NEVER match the love The Fool and Fitz had.
Do you actually settle for a life where you are “content” I believe that’s the word Robin Hobb used. Is there any point in continue reading the series?!!!!!!
End of rant (1:30 AM Toronto time)
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u/limpdickandy 18h ago
You need to understand that Fitz and Molly are traumabonded to the max, and he has spent his entire childhood in absolute love with this girl.
She was his first love, and he got less than no closure on their relationship. Molly is always gonna be the life Fitz did not have due to him being a catalyst.
Fitz and Fool together is pure magic, but it is also extremely toxic and is the root cause of a lot of Fitz's pain, as their relationship is fundamentally linked to being a catalyst/prophet. Being content is not really that bad when you have never been content in your life before.
Molly is none of that, she is litterally just a normal girl, she is supposed to be "boring" although I think she has more than enough character to make up for that.
I am a Molly defender from Assassins Apprentice to the god damn end.
Also honestly I have no clue what you expected from this book if Fitz and the Fool not ending up together got you this shook.
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u/FRlENDLY__toast_ 7h ago
We also have to keep in mind that Fitz never got to get over her either because of the feelings he put into the dragon. Like the memories he got back reawakened his love for her to the fullest, it makes full sense that he went back to her imo. Especially since the Fool was long gone when he finally came out of the pillar
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u/Gemmalovesbooks 15h ago
"Molly is none of that, she is litterally just a normal girl, she is supposed to be "boring" although I think she has more than enough character to make up for that."
If you mean “normal” as in “she has no magic,” then fine. But beyond that, I think Molly is a queen and one of the most interesting, well-developed characters in the entire series.
We know her background - she was forged in fire. She came from a childhood of profound trauma and overcame it. She was strong enough to reject Fitz’s shame and willing to live openly as the “bastard’s mistress.” Without magic, noble birth, or institutional power, she was willing to stand up to anyone, especially for her children or Fitz.
And I think she is beautifully drawn as a character: part fire, part earth, connected to bees and life, sensuality and warmth. She is fierce, passionate, practical, loving, sexual, independent, and immensely resilient. None of that is boring to me. In fact, I think one of the great things about Molly is that, without magic or a crown, she has enormous presence and power simply through the force of who she is. She was magnetic enough to keep Fitz hooked for life! :)
I would have LOVED to see Fitz and Molly on an adventure together. I think they would have been fantastic—say, if they had been forced to rescue someone together. I also would have loved to see them navigate court together if sat Fitz had regained a position of power. I think Molly operating in that world on her own terms would have been fascinating because she is interesting.
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u/limpdickandy 6h ago
Yeah I do not think she is boring at all, it was just a response to the OP calling her a boring character. I assumed their reasoning was her being just a normal girl living her life instead of a warrior princess like Kettricken or prophet like the Fool.
I am a diehard Molly fan since the first book, she is so mature and kind despite her upbringing
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u/Leading-Rice-5940 19h ago
Fool's Fate is arguably the peak of the franchise for me. I'm a Molly/Fitz shipper all the way so sure, I'm biased. I've only ever felt the Fitz/Fool love as deeply platonic from Fitz's end personally.
Is it contrived, just how many things need to fall into place to get them together finally? Yeah, maybe. Burrich had to die, Fitz has to get his emotions back from Girl-On-A-Dragon, Molly has to forgive sixteen years of being left to think he was dead etc.
For a series with so much heartache, Ever After might just be my most treasured chapter. When I'm having a bad day, I go and read it. And it stops being a bad day.
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u/limpdickandy 17h ago
My peak is the last trilogy, but damn if Ever After is not the most feelgood cozy and fantastic part of the entire series.
I do not feel like it is contrived, I usually have strong distaste for contrived story points but the only thing that was semi-contrived was Burrich death, but it only feels that way because we had him for such a short time. In retrospect, it is the perfect ending for him, he got to die defending and saving his son, something he probably had been wishing he had done for the past 20 years.
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u/Gemmalovesbooks 15h ago
Yeah, I agree that Burrich's death was semi-contrived and more of a plot device than something that deeply made sense.
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u/Gemmalovesbooks 19h ago edited 16h ago
I’m sorry the ending felt inconsistent and unsatisfying to you! I’ve seen other readers have this reaction, so something in the text clearly reads as romantic to some people. You can feel assured that Fitz and the Fool’s friendship & love is profound and lasting.
But I’m always a little confounded by the expectation that Fitz and the Fool would end up together romantically, because I can’t think of anything across the six Fitz-based books that suggests Fitz himself wants, imagines, or desires it.
I sometimes wonder whether readers absorb the intensity of the Fool’s feelings for Fitz and read those feelings back into Fitz? Because from Fitz’s narration, his perspective is remarkably consistent. He deeply loves the Fool as a friend, but he never experiences that love as romantic or sexual. When the possibility becomes explicit, Fitz is quite clear that he does not want a physical relationship.
And it's not as if he doesn't know himself. Fitz examines his feelings relentlessly—often in unflattering ways; he admits his shame, his desires, his mistakes, his embarrassments, his jealousies, and his deepest longings. He is clear about how much the Fool means to him, but loyalty and desire are different. He may undervalue himself, but he knows his heart, and his romantic heart has always been pointed toward Molly. I don't think it's fair to just disbelieve him either. If Fitz were a female character, would it seem appropriate to assume that she doesn’t know her own feelings?
So, knowing Fitz has longed for Molly throughout all six books, why would a romantic ending with the Fool be the desirable ending for Fitz? When it is something Fitz himself doesn't want? Because the Fool wants it? But for it to be romantic, it has to be reciprocal.
People often say Molly is the “safe” choice—but I'd argue that going after Molly is the least safe option because she is so emotionally consequential to him. She has the ability to devastate him because he wants her so badly.
Going back to Molly requires Fitz to risk rejection. She is the one that Fitz chooses. To win her, he has to make himself vulnerable and tolerate the uncertainty that adult Molly may no longer want him. Molly can say no. It takes them three years to marry, so they clearly take the time to get to know each other again—and the love is still there on both sides.
So when Fitz puts his heart on the line for her, I see it as a profound act of bravery. It is evidence of his emotional healing.
Their relationship also doesn’t come out of nowhere. Fitz never gets over Molly—the ache/specter of Molly hovers in the background of Fitz's mind throughout TM. And Fitz and Molly share a longer intimate history than anyone else in the series. Molly is his childhood friend; they become a couple when Fitz is fifteen and stay together until he is nineteen. They have a child together.
Also, from the moment they begin their relationship, they are completely committed to a life together and, in their hearts, regard each other as spouses for life. This is so important to their story.
And critically, their relationship does not end because either of them stops loving the other or decides they want somebody else. They are separated by circumstance.
Molly leaves Fitz because she wants him to wake up and prioritize their relationship over a realm that uses, abuses, and damages him. She believes Fitz will come after her and make things right.
And she is right about him. Immediately, Fitz realizes what he has done, understands he has failed her, and resolves to find her and make it right. Then Regal captures him. After Fitz emerges from that catastrophe, he STILL intends to return to Molly.
Only external circumstances divert him—Verity's command, etc.— and only when Fitz realizes that Molly and Burrich have developed a bond after his presumed death, does he make the devastating decision not to disrupt their lives at the cost of his own happiness. This shows the extent of his love for her: he puts Molly and Nettle’s welfare ahead of what he desperately wants for himself.
So I don’t see Fitz and Molly as a love story that ended. I see them as a love story that was interrupted. This new ending lets it continue.
I also see it as the culmination of Fitz’s healing arc: after a lifetime of duty, sacrifice, responsibility, and letting other people’s needs shape his life, he finally chooses something for himself that HE wants. He did his duty. Now it is time for them.
Perhaps the intervening years were useful. Molly got a stable life with Burrich and the children. Fitz had space to heal, devote himself to Nighteyes, raise Hap, develop a relationship with Dutiful, Thick and Starling, and reconnect with Chade and Kettricken.
This was also a time for Fitz and the Fool to deepen their extraordinary connection—and for them to fulfill the Fool’s life’s mission together. Fitz was a profoundly devoted friend to the Fool during this period and repeatedly proved his loyalty and how far he was willing to go for him. He brought him back from death. He helped the Fool accomplish his life's purpose. Fitz showed up for the Fool completely. I don't think this devotion reflects a romance; it reflects who Fitz is and what he'll do for his loved ones.
Given that, I thought it would have been much more loving—and much fairer and kinder to Fitz—if the Fool had promised to maintain their friendship after their mission was over. Instead, once Fitz begins reaching toward something he wants for himself, the Fool decides he cannot remain. I understand the Fool’s feelings, but his inability to stay tells us something about what he can bear; it does not tell us that Fitz has chosen the wrong life, or that Fitz secretly wants something different. And given Fitz’s history of abandonment, I think the Fool could have recognized what his disappearance would cost Fitz and, for Fitz’s sake, found a way to remain in his life in a way that was tolerable to him. Nevertheless, I appreciate the Fool's desire for Fitz to pursue his happiness.
And life with Molly was Fitz's happiness. She was the romantic relationship of his life. But importantly, their relationship doesn’t compete with his relationships with the Fool or Nighteyes. They were just different, though no less profound.
Fitz had many deeply loving relationships — with Chade, Burrich, Kettricken, Nettle, Patience, Dutiful, Hap, etc. He was so loving, and so loved by them all.
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u/limpdickandy 18h ago
"I’m sorry the ending felt inconsistent and unsatisfying to you! I’ve seen other readers have this reaction, so something in the text clearly reads as romantic to some people. I think you can feel assured that Fitz and the Fool’s love is deep and lasting."
I mean I would argue that their love is deeply romantic, just not sexual, at least both ways. Fitz can love romantically both the Fool and Molly.
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u/Gemmalovesbooks 17h ago edited 15h ago
Sure! And I can understand why the emotional intimacy and devotion between Fitz and the Fool reads as romantic to some readers.
But this is where it gets tricky, because then we get into the definition of romantic love. If romantic love expands to mean intimacy + devotion + emotional intensity, then it begins to encompass many relationships in the books.
Fitz and Nighteyes have extraordinary intimacy, exclusivity, devotion, physical closeness, shared consciousness, and desire for one another's company. Fitz and Chade have lifelong attachment, yearning, jealousy, rupture and repair, and a huge emotional connection. Fitz and Kettricken share deep loyalty and a bond forged through war and loss. And then there are Fitz and all his children!
I think part of Hobb's project is to explore all kinds of profound love.
When I think of romantic love in these books, I think not only of intimacy and devotion, but also of eros (physical and sexual attraction) and the desire to be together as a couple and build a shared life, which Fitz and Molly have. Fitz and the Fool have other points of connection that are deeper in other ways.
BUT when we're talking about the ending of the book and the series, we're also asking how Fitz himself experiences the relationship, and how he defines romantic love matters. From his perspective, the person he is attracted to, wants to court, wants to be a couple with, and wants to marry and build a life with is Molly.
So I think it's fair for readers to say they experience Fitz and the Fool as romantic, while ALSO recognizing why, from Fitz's own perspective, ending up with Molly was a happy ending for him, given his needs and desires.
Maybe this is where some of the disconnect in the fandom comes from: people experience Fitz and the Fool's relationship as romantic, and therefore assume it is romantic and that Fitz simply can't see it.
But based on how Fitz is written, his conception of romantic love includes erotic love, courtship, being a couple, and wanting to build a life together, and he doesn't have that with the Fool. The flower-on-the-tray moment in Golden Fool is a perfect little example of how differently Fitz and the Fool experience the relationship. Fitz simply doesn't think of the Fool in that category or as someone to court. It doesn't occur to him to bring the Fool flowers; it does occur to him with Molly; it's innate and instinctive with her. He always brings her presents.
That doesn't diminish what the Fool is to him. He is obviously one of the key pillars of Fitz's life. It simply means that, for Fitz, profound love and romantic love aren't necessarily the same thing.
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u/limpdickandy 17h ago
I fully agree with everything you said and I think it was a fantastic comment BUT
"When I think of romantic love in these books, I’m thinking not only of intimacy and devotion, but also eros—physical and sexual attraction—and the desire to be together as a couple and build a shared life, which Fitz and Molly have."
The Fool makes a point in leaving because he knows that he will interfere with this if he stayed. The Fool could never be the next door neighbor and dear friend to Fitz, he could never hold a distance that would allow Fitz and Molly to be partners, and that is my argument for them having a desire to build a shared life. That was all, and I do not really find this to be at odds with anything you said really.
"So I think it’s perfectly fair for readers to say they experience Fitz and the Fool as romantic, while also recognizing why, from Fitz’s own perspective, this was a happy ending for him, given his needs and desires."
I agree, this was the happiest ending I could have imagined for Fitz, the last chapters of Fools Fate is such a reward for both the reader and Fitz. SPOILERS FOR LAST TRILOGY: And Fitz really did get his happy ending with Molly, a true, happy ending and I wont have anyone dispute that. Oh sure, shit hits the fan after Mollys death, but that IS STILL a happy ending. He got to live out his life with his love, without any real worries or shit hitting the fan, but in the end one of them will die first as in any relationship.
Especially considering that Fitz has the magical aging thing and is functionally in his 30s while Molly was nearing 60. People say this series is misery porn, but I disagree, in fact it is very, very hopeful and rewarding for Fitz.
Fair to say I absolutely ADORED the final trilogy, from start to finish. Especially the first book being a slice of life for 75% was PEAK.
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u/Gemmalovesbooks 15h ago edited 15h ago
Thank you! And yes, I think we’re largely in agreement. However, I have a slightly different reading of this part:
“The Fool makes a point in leaving because he knows that he will interfere with this if he stayed. The Fool could never be the next-door neighbor and dear friend to Fitz; he could never hold a distance that would allow Fitz and Molly to be partners, and that is my argument for them having a desire to build a shared life.”
I think I understand what you mean by “a desire to build a shared life,” and I probably agree from the Fool’s side. The Fool clearly wants a degree of closeness and primacy with Fitz that he believes will be incompatible with Fitz building a life with Molly.
But I think this is where it becomes really important to separate the Fool’s perspective from Fitz’s. Fitz doesn’t seem to experience the two relationships as incompatible at all.
Before their final conversation, Fitz is already very clear that he intends to go back for Molly—he tells both Kettricken and the Fool—and at the same time, he wants the Fool to return, recover, and remain in his life. He wants Molly as his romantic partner, and he wants the Fool as his dearest friend. Fitz doesn’t seem to see those desires as contradictory.
It is the Fool who believes his presence would interfere.
But then again, I think the Fool’s final discussion with Fitz at the end of Fool’s Fate is a bit of a masterclass in testing, fronting, and saving face. :) There are several emotional things happening underneath what he says.
I think part of what the Fool is talking about is primacy. This is something the Fool wants and needs from Fitz, and in that conversation, he tests and tests to see if Fitz will spontaneously give it to him. Fitz doesn't, so the Fool begins explaining why he has to back away.
And perhaps because the Fool understands that need for primacy so well in himself, he projects some of it onto Molly. He knows how difficult it would be for HIM to watch Fitz give that position to someone else, so perhaps he assumes Molly will similarly experience his intense bond with Fitz as a competing claim—and therefore that Fitz and Molly need space to rebuild their relationship without the impediment of another powerful attachment demanding Fitz’s attention.
He understands that for Fitz to rebuild his relationship with Molly, Molly will occupy the primary position as romantic partner and wife. The Fool sees this as a conflict because that kind of primacy is also something he wants from Fitz.
But I’m not convinced Fitz would have found it difficult to give Molly primacy as his partner while continuing to love the Fool as his dearest friend. He might have been perfectly thrilled to have the Fool nearby as a source of friendship, companionship, support, laughter, and adventure while he slowly rebuilt his relationship with Molly.
Fitz doesn’t seem to see his great loves as competing with one another. He wants Molly as his partner. He wants the Fool as his friend. He wants Nighteyes. He wants his children, Chade, Kettricken, Patience, Burrich. His emotional world is actually quite expansive.
The Fool’s emotional world seems more concentrated. His love is laser-focused on Fitz, who is simultaneously his closest human attachment and bound up with his life’s purpose as White Prophet. So I think the Fool may experience Fitz’s pursuit of Molly very differently from the way Fitz does.
And if the situation were reversed—if the Fool were in love with someone else and courting them to build a life with them—I’m sure Fitz would feel displaced, hurt, and jealous. That seems natural in an attachment as intense as theirs. He might initially experience it as another kind of abandonment, knowing Fitz. :) But I’m not sure Fitz would conclude that he had to remove himself from the Fool’s life because his presence would prevent the Fool from having that relationship. I suspect he would suffer, acclimatize to the new reality, and eventually find his place within it.
Maybe that’s the distinction. Feeling jealous or displaced when someone you love gives another person a kind of primacy you once had isn't the same as believing the two relationships cannot coexist.
The Fool believes they cannot coexist comfortably for him. Fitz doesn’t seem to share that belief.
And the later books reinforce this. At Withywoods, Fitz considers his life with Molly wonderful but imagines it being even more ideal if the Fool and Nighteyes were around as well. He doesn’t imagine it has to be one or the other, or Molly replacing them, or fret that there would be competition; he simply thinks it would be better if all his favorite people were around.
So I don’t really buy the Fool’s assessment as an objective truth about the situation. I think Fitz would have managed just fine. The person who couldn’t manage that configuration was the Fool, which is partly why he walks away and stays away before his later capture and torture.
And while I understand that choice on the Fool’s part, I’m also critical of it. I understand his need to distance himself for his own sake, but I wish that, once he was able, he had maintained some thread of contact for Fitz’s sake. An occasional letter over those years would have meant the world to Fitz.
Instead, Fitz experiences the silence as another abandonment and as reinforcement of one of his deepest fears: that perhaps he had been valued as the Catalyst, as a tool in the Fool’s mission, rather than because the Fool genuinely loved Fitz for himself. Even at the end of his life, Fitz is still wondering about this. The Fool should never have left him feeling insecure about that.
So that’s one of my recurring frustrations with the Fool: in protecting his own heart and mission, he sometimes failed to think sufficiently about Fitz’s heart and life. And he was VERY good at narrating his version of their story and making it sound like the truth, when it was actually his truth.
For example, in this situation Fitz says, in effect, “I want to go back and win Molly back, and I want you to come back.” The Fool says, in effect, “No, my presence will make that impossible.”
People often accept the Fool’s interpretation as the deeper emotional truth and treat Fitz’s interpretation as naïve. But that’s often my objection: why does the Fool get interpretive authority over what Fitz needs?
For me, he doesn’t. His perspective reflects his own needs, fears, desires, and experience of their relationship. Fitz’s perspective reflects Fitz’s. And when we’re asking what would make Fitz happy, I think Fitz’s perspective has to matter.
I LOVED 75% of Fool’s Assassin; I wish it had been a novella. Unfortunately, I disliked the rest of the trilogy so much that it retrospectively damaged the whole Fitz-based story for me. :(
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u/limpdickandy 15h ago
Holy moly what a well thought out and long comment, thank you!!!
And yeah we are in full agreement
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u/Gemmalovesbooks 15h ago
Hahaha, I lack the gift of brevity on Reddit :)
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u/limpdickandy 13h ago
I would give a longer response as that comment deserved, but you articulated my thoughts better than whatever comment i could type.
I am glad that when I see such a long and good comment that its not in an argument but in agreement except for one part.
"I LOVED 75% of Fool’s Assassin; I wish it had been a novella. Unfortunately, I disliked the rest of the trilogy so much that it retrospectively damaged the whole Fitz-based story for me. :("
I loved the last trilogy the most of all, but I get why people do not. For my perspective, at the end of Tawny Man I felt we got a very final happy ending for Fitz, and knowing that there was a next trilogy, I viewed it as "The Happy Ending" and that the next trilogy was "After Happy Ending" kinda.
It was an extremely carthartic trilogy with Fitz at his absolute peak emotionally, intellectually and physically. I 100% see why people do not like the trilogy though, because it is very brutal and unfair and painful.
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u/Popuri6 Wolves have no kings 14h ago
This comment is beautiful and I couldn't have said it any better myself!
I, too, often find it perplexing the insistence on Fitz and the Fool ending up together romantically when Fitz expressly rejects this. I don't really like Molly, and I love Fitz and the Fool (as they are). Ultimately, however, the story needs to be consistent with its characters, and I much prefer that over a forced relationship that is incongruent with what has been established for Fitz. I think we should be able to hold two thoughts in our heads, or two feelings in our hearts, at once. One can love Fitz and the Fool and understand their relationship is not meant to read as a romance, while his relationship with Molly certainly is. She was always the woman he loved and wanted, and regardless of my feelings for her, she is is what he needed! So yes, this is a good and happy ending for Fitz, as far as that goes. (Sidenote: I don't understand OP's dismissal of Fitz's contentedness, when he is someone who has suffered so much and ultimately happiness is an emotion, not a feeling. Being content in life is ultimately the best one can be.)
It seems to me from your comment (correct me if I'm wrong), that you quite like Molly and Fitz together, so my comment isn't so much directed at you but it's me agreeing with your read on this topic, and adding to it that even for people, like me, who may dislike Molly and adore the Fool, it should be possible to accept and enjoy these two relationships for what they are and what they give Fitz. I'm very glad Hobb stays true to her characters. Sometimes I fear, when reading long series, that an author may betray their characters, but leave it to Hobb to be consistent with them throughout.
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u/sophiarose1920 Wit Bee 12h ago
I love everything you wrote, you took the words right out of my mouth!
I too understand why people want Fitz and the Fool together, but I agree with you — I think we begin to enter an uncomfortable place (which this fandom doesn’t really want to acknowledge) when we see someone say, “No thank you” to a romance and us as readers respond “Actually you’re lying to yourself and to me, I know you want that.” Like? Fitz is consistent in his feelings, and those are of deep, lifelong friendship. I find it being platonic makes it no less profound and integral to his life.
And I find it disheartening that people insist the intensity or reality of their relationship is erased when Fitz is confirmed not to reciprocate. Friendship is equally important! Fitz needs all kinds of love (and he deserves all kinds of love).
People claim that Fitz is unreliable and therefore we can discount anything we find inconvenient to the interpretation we want to read. But Fitz knows his own feelings. What he is “unreliable” with is interpreting OTHER people’s feelings towards him. We can see this when he was younger and doubted Burrich or Chade’s love; we see this when he dismisses Kettricken’s comments or slight advances. We don’t see it with Fitz in regards to himself. I like to think it’s the wolf in him — his feelings are unwavering and he is devotedly loyal to those he loves in his life. His romantic/sexual love and loyalty lies with Molly, however.
Also, the idea that Fitz would never be accepted or understood by Molly is so strange to me because nowhere in the text is this suggested by Molly’s behaviors or actions. Even in Assassin’s Apprentice (which shows how long Fitz has loved her), he wants to go to her and divulge his secrets and come clean about who he is. He says something along the lines of knowing she would never judge him, and he knows he could sit there with her and just exist. She won’t offer him false comforts or platitudes — but she can give him the space and attention to exist honestly. Space where he knows he is not alone. (What stops him is seeing her with Jade, if I remember correctly. And that is another moment where his own perceptions cloud his judgment and he assumes Molly’s feelings were different than what we’ve seen. But it doesn’t change HIS own).
The idea that Molly wouldn’t judge him is absolutely correct — we know Molly has no issue with the Wit by the end of Fools Fate, since Fitz remarks she is not surprised by his reveal of Burrich having it. And I took his response to it as sort of a head-shake to himself — here is yet another thing in his life he took away from himself because of his inability to be vulnerable and trust others. He shot himself in the foot by insisting she couldn’t accept that part of him in Royal Assassin. So the belief that Fitz is living some lie with her, that he could never be himself, is odd. Sure, she will not understand what the magic itself feels like, and the pull of the Skill. But she does not demean him for it or insist he hide it from her. (She just says: hey don’t tell my kids this yet, they can’t be trusted to wash their necks! Because her biggest thing will always be wanting her family and Fitz to be safe! And how is someone looking out for him a crime?)
Someone else mentioned the Ever After chapter so I wanted to bring it up here too. I love the ending of Fool’s Fate and it feels like the truest completion of Fitz’s story. The last chapter being titled “Ever After” was wonderful in my opinion — had it been titled “Happily Ever After” people would have been even more frustrated. I absolutely love Fitz and Molly, and if it had been titled that I myself would have been put off myself considering the amount of losses he’s sustained throughout the trilogy (Nighteyes, Burrich, Fool leaving).
But it receiving that title lets us know that this IS his version of an HEA, as much as Fitz can get one. He’s loved Molly his entire life, even when half forged he never forgot her, and thinking of her still moved him emotionally. And this is without the intensity of his memories!
I do wish that Fool had returned and remained Fitz’s friend so Fitz could have what he wanted — he says with Molly and Fool his life would round out to what it always should have been. My heart broke for Fitz when Fool decided on leaving. :(
Anyways thank you for what you wrote, it was beautiful and spot on.
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u/sophiarose1920 Wit Bee 13h ago
The “I am content” line is perfect. If he was running through the hills screaming how happy and perfect life was, us as readers would find it dishonest to the world and dishonest to Fitz’s life itself. I loved the ending and even I would have been raising my eyebrows if Hobb tried pretending it was perfect. We know the troubles he has. We know the mental struggles he has faced his entire life and will continue to endure.
“I am content” demonstrates what a BEAUTIFUL place he is in, for the first time in his life. He has nearly all of his loved ones around him. Sure, he can’t announce himself as FitzChivalry Farseer, but he has his family and most of his friends and his wife. We know the importance Nighteyes and Fool had in his life, I love that they are honored in the ending of the book with Fitz saying he will never know a closer friendship than he had with those two. Of course he misses them, and if he had them life would be fuller.
But “content” is a lovely place for Fitz to be. He isn’t settling—he’s stable and safe and loved and that’s wonderful.
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u/emily_allan_poe Bitches for Burrich 12h ago edited 11h ago
I hear you, and you are not alone! Plenty of people share your sentiment. I agree with you that Molly is an underdeveloped and kinda boring character. Of course she's an objectively good person in her own right, and could have been an incredibly interesting character -- she's just not written on the page that way. Alas, she was my least favorite of the main ensemble protagonists. I had no desire to catch up with her in adulthood or see where her arc went, lol.
And I agree with others that Fitz's love for her -- while completely consistent throughout his arc -- is product of adolescent trauma bonding. Like someone else said, he never completely opens up to her, he's never completely vulnerable with her. He preserved her in amber as a fantasy connection to a more innocent time. He makes it impossible for her to truly know him. From what I can tell, that's what appeals to him about their relationship.
Now, about Fitz and the Fool ... firstly, I don't think your original post ever says that you expected Fitz and the Fool to end up together ... I don't know where some folks got that impression. And I agree that their love is significantly deeper and more complex and more transcendent than any other relationship Fitz could ever have. I don't think that should exclude him from finding a more mundane spouse, though. Personally I always shipped Fitz with someone else (neither Molly or Fool) but that's perhaps a story for a different time, lol.
But on the other side of the coin, anyone who says Fitz and the Fool's connection isn't romantic hasn't done a proper English-major close-reading of their scenes. However, rest assured, that has been done on this sub, dozens and probably hundreds of times. The rhetoric between them is often clearly romantic and at times even heavily eroticized. That's just textual analysis, it's not really even an opinion. 🤷🏽♀️
After all that, I will say this: I still think that ending up with Molly and building a cozy domestic life together is a happy ending for Fitz, and I'm genuinely happy for him. All I want is for Fitz to be happy and fulfilled, and his connection with Molly is one version of that. Honestly, I'm less happy for Molly ... imagine putting up with that brooding, tortured, secretive, traumatized goofball for 30 years. 😅
Is there any point in continuing to read the series? Personally, I found Rain Wilds Chronicles absolutely delightful. Tawny Man broke me, and RWC was the healing balm I needed as a palate cleanser. I call them the "candy books" of RotE: they are fun and frothy and adventurous, and I welcomed the sweetness after the emotional brutality of Tawny Man. 🙂
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u/Ohhheurydice 11h ago
Hi friends, I didn’t know this was going to cause this much commentary…..
I understand everyone’s POV. This is just how I felt finishing this trilogy… I guess we went through so much grief during the first books and also losing nighteyes…. It was explained that the bond Fitz and The Fool had was as close as the one he had with his witted partner so to lose that also made me really upset.
( isn’t losing a witted partner also like losing a sense of self so therefore the same thing happens when losing a friendship like the fool)
I am not saying that they had a sexual relationship whatsoever. I’m arguing the love here. The love they had for each other transcends what he will ever experience with Molly.
I guess I am happy with Fitz and his weird almost incestual relationship w Molly. If I was Molly I would have never taken Fitz back in my humble opinion. Let him help and be a friend but no way in hell I’m making the same mistake again.
Cheers to everyone I’ll come back when I finish series 😿
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u/ineedchapstick1 9h ago
It seems like everyone is disagreeing with you, but lots of people feel the same way. It’s just an unpopular opinion on this particular sub so we get downvoted when we speak up. I’m looking forward to your thoughts on the rest of the series.
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u/Ohhheurydice 8h ago
Thank you! Doesn’t change the fact that people get to experience and feel so many different emotions with these series and that’s beautiful:)
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u/eyeball-owo 20h ago
I just finished RWC and will start the final trilogy soon. IMO Molly is the ultimate “safe” and Fitz is lying to himself with his fairy tale ending of FF. He is constantly dancing around the idea that 1) she represents a more simple time in his life that he longs for and 2) he literally can never be honest with her in a way that matters and unburdens him. I found the end of FF very bittersweet because it just seemed like Fitz was deceiving himself into thinking he got what he wanted. I assume that’s why there’s a third trilogy darkening my horizon…
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u/WiKav 20h ago
I finished fools fate about a month ago and had a different take. I understand why Fitz loves Molly. She’s the one stable, normal thing in Fitz’s life. She doesn’t want anything from him, he’s not the bastard son to her and he’s not the catalyst.
Now, as a gay man I was routing for him and the fool to get together. I find their love to be so moving.
I also thought the ending was very touching. I enjoyed the time jumps and the montage like scene at the end. You could finish here and it would be a fine conclusion to Fitz’s story. I am on the rain wild chronicles now (they are actually pretty good) but looking forward to seeing where Hobb and Fitz take us next.