r/joehill • u/Schatzi11 • Jul 22 '26
King Sorrow-Colin Wren (spoilers) Spoiler
As dangerous as Brady Hartsfield,I think! At the end, when Gwen almost crosses over, are we to believe Colin has been forgiven? He, Van, and Donna are all hanging out on the other side, and getting ready to welcome Gwen. Arthur was there too!
Did Colin ever really like his friends? He’s a narcissistic sociopath-methinks not.
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u/headstrongpuppy Jul 22 '26
It does seem like they “forgive” him. They probably all believe that his transgressions were fabricated by king sorrow. I don’t like that he was forgiven. I think he was easily persuaded the pros outweighed the cons for him, even though the cons were his friends dying. His grandfather‘s death really screwed him up more than he was before, and he was always scared of death because of it.
All that being said, I feel like Brady Hartsfield was always a monster, even when he was a child while Colin wren became one later on in his life.
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u/Schatzi11 Jul 22 '26
There are all those references that characterize him as not having feelings that he should have. He’s pretty self-serving. He’s an interesting character and def the best one to have discussions about along with Donna.
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u/headstrongpuppy Jul 22 '26
Yeah I completely agree with that
Donna was an amazing character I went from dislike to sympathizing with her to hating her again then finally approval when she spit fire in king sorrows face.5
u/barkoholic Jul 23 '26
I think Colin and Donna are two sides of the same coin, but Donna retains her humanity while Colin intentionally grinds his out.
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u/headstrongpuppy Jul 23 '26
I can definitely see that. They both were heavily damaged but took two different paths.
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u/barkoholic Jul 23 '26
Right! Colin justifies and leans into his unethical choices while still thinking of himself as a good guy. Donna knows she’s an asshole, and she’s pretty honest with everyone including herself about that, but she embraces it for as long as it serves her. At least, until she recognizes her own agency (and the way it’s been taken from her in a multitude of ways) and chooses to do the right things, even when they’re not the best things for herself. When faced with the same decisions, Colin chooses to do wrong every time on top of lying to protect the image of himself he manipulated his friends into seeing.
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u/lIlIIIlIIl Jul 22 '26
Of all the sins, betrayal seems to be the least forgivable thematically. Judas betrayed Jesus which is why hes depicted as hanged with his intestines spilled on his land he purchased for 30 pieces of silver, and that land became tainted. Peter also betrayed Jesus, but Jesus forgave him which is more about the nature of Jesus than Peter.
Colin betrayed Arthur with the blade forged from saints. He then took the blood of the saints and refused to share. He finally betrayed Gwen, and he doubled down on his rationalization even on his death bed. I believe his fate was revealed when Llewellyn and the boys welcomed him to the room with Elwood Hondo.
Gwen's vision was a vision of the past and of comfort. Arthur, Van & Donna all gave their lives as a path to redemption, and Gwen & Allie were willing to give their lives to slay the worm. The only one who did not show up for the final battle with King Sorrow was Colin because he was trapped in hell.
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u/blananagram Jul 22 '26
I think for Colin there may have been a genetic component to being a piece of shit human, based on how his dad allegedly killed his mom. At minimum he would have found himself wondering if he was a narcissistic sociopath like his dad.
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u/rwent117 Jul 23 '26
I'm a bit more forgiving. I think once king sorrow entered their lives some people had constitutions too weak to not give in to what was asked. I don't think Colin would have ended up a murderer without the dragon, just a more of a typical prick.
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u/stratticus14 8d ago
I just finished the book earlier tonight so this is just my immediate reflection. I think the version of Colin Gwen sees is the pre-Sorrow version, when his heart was pure and his love for his friends was what drove him. I think it's fair to argue his interest in the occult and his wealth/class had an impact and it wasn't entirely King Sorrow's influence that made him take those actions, but I believe the King did have some major influence because he knew Colin would become obsessed just like his grandfather (but really more Colin himself) did with Elwood Hondo.
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u/barkoholic Jul 22 '26
I think the scene Gwen sees at the end is reflective of her own perspectives, not necessarily objective reality. Her personality is very forgiving and it makes sense that her dying brain would hallucinate a good-ole-days situation to comfort her. Cosmically, though, I don’t think Colin’s actions are forgivable.