Line #12 TearJerker/WitchesAbroad


1	'''As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
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3	* Lilith has been manipulating stories and has transformed one wolf's mind so that it's almost human. Except now the wolf is starving, torn between trying to be a wolf and trying to be human and finding it can't be either. Then Granny Weatherwax finds it and this happens:
4	-->"Hah," said Granny. "Yes. Of course. There's always got to be" --she spat the words-- "a ''{{happy ending}}''."\
5	A paw gripped her ankle.\
6	Granny Weatherwax looked down into the wolf's face.\
7	"Preeees," it growled. [[MercyKill "Annn enndinggg? Noaaow?"]]\
8	\
9	The woodcutter never understood why the wolf laid its head on the stump so readily.\
10	Or why the old woman, the one in whom [[TranquilFury anger roiled like pearl barley in a bubbling stew]], insisted afterward that [[DueToTheDead it be buried properly instead of skinned and thrown in the bushes]]. She had been very insistent about that.\
11	And that was the end of the Big Bad Wolf.
12	* Magrat inherits a magic wand as part of a FairyGodmother duty, but as the story deconstructs that character trope as seen with Lilith Weatherwax, she has to give up the wand to avoid SlowlySlippingIntoEvil. She ''could'' have done great good with it, but the risk is too great.
13	** Furthermore, Magrat and Granny get into an argument over the use of magic. What's tragic about it is that BothSidesHaveAPoint: Magrat simply wants to help people, even a little bit or just one time, but Granny bitterly points out that "It ''never'' stops at one."
14	* Baron Saturday gets his power, and his revenge. But zombies of the Disc come back to life because they have unfinished business, and Saturday's reason for coming back was to vanquish Lily. Once that's completed, he knows he'll return to earth. As Mrs. Gogol says, she and Saturday had twelve extra years together, and it was a good twelve years... but they could have had more, if it weren't for Lily. And Mrs. Gogol can't even tell Ella that they're related, so she's got no family left. Makes it a bittersweet ending, for her.
15	** There's a tiny little moment when Ella first meets Mrs. Gogol and asks who she is. [[LukeIAmYourFather "I am your...]] [[LastSecondWordSwap friend,]] child." And that's as close as she'll ever be to her daughter.
16	** The Baron's last scene in the story is him asking Death how much time his daughter has. And Death, being the guy who knows when everyone's time runs out, can only say that Ella won't live forever, but long enough.
17	* The final confrontation isn't anything like a duel or a battle: it's simply Granny Weatherwax explaining to her sister, with barely restrained rage and grief, how her sister got things wrong. She is particularly upset that Lilith had no clue about the harm she did, not even having fun with it.
18	** Lilith loses through her own power, illustrating the tragedy of how she lost herself, and not through any move by her sister. She gets sucked into the mirror and has to spend eternity looking for herself so she can escape, something she is unaware of managing.
19	* Chilling as the idea of Granny Weatherwax as a villain is, it's rather tragic to realize that she would have ''preferred'' to be a villain, but resigned herself to a life of being mistrusted, dreaded and exploited by country bumpkins. It explains a lot about her... [[GoodIsNotNice attitude.]]
20	** And yet she still loves her sister enough to offer her a life in Lancre, and tries to save her after the mirror pulls her in. Nanny and Magrat find her unconscious afterwards, and observe how cut up her arms are.
21	* Magrat having to destroy Ella's dress. She cries a little over the deed, as she imagines herself wearing it, while being adored by a dashing prince - it really tugs at heartstrings, knowing how deeply insecure Magrat is, and how she is aware that almost nobody respects her, much less consider her exceptional. Aside from that, Magrat has always been romantic, with love for pretty and unobtainable things (something she is regularly chided for), so idea of destroying something so beautiful, while fireworks go behind her really hurts. And yet she does it, because she is a witch and knows what is necessary.
22	** She later keeps a piece of the dress, something even Granny can understand.
23	* At the end of the story, Granny states that "good and bad is tricky". This is a fairly humbling concession from someone as stern and judgmental as her, but after her history has been revealed in this novel you can't really blame her.
24	** She adds after that that "maybe what you face matters more than where you stand". This statement reflects how she'd rather do good by being harsh to people rather than be helpful, because she just can't risk being helpful in case she loses herself like her sister did.

Context TearJerker / WitchesAbroad