Line #8 YMMV/The39Clues


1	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
2	** Is Alistair Oh an old man who genuinely cares for Amy and Dan and feels regret for [[spoiler: leaving them for dead time and time again and being there when Isabel set the fire that killed their parents]], or a backstabbing enemy who feels no remorse for his betrayals?
3	** Ian Kabra tends to be subject to this for ''several'' reasons, but since his [[spoiler: [[ConflictingLoyalty going rogue]] in ''The Dead of Night'']], the question of his true nature is definitely up for debate. [[spoiler: However, it turns out that his departure had nothing to do with any form of betrayal (except his mother's) and that TheMole was actually Sinead Starling.]]
4	* AngelDevilShipping: The [[FanPreferredCouple very popular]] Amy/Ian pairing. Amy is one of the most moral cluehunters, while Ian is one of the most ruthless ones.
5	* ArchivePanic: With 26 books from the main series, 5 stories from the ''Cahill Files'', the 7 part ''Rapid Fire'' ebooks, 2 handbooks, a prequel to the entire series, and a crossover, while they’re all fairly small books, the quantity really adds up.
6	* BrokenBase:
7	** The [[AllThereInTheManual trading cards and website,]] especially the cards. Why? In the opinion of many fans, the pictures of the characters on the trading cards do not live up to the characters' descriptions in the books or the way that readers imagined the characters to look like, or else simply do not look appealing (a common complaint is that Ian and Evan look too much like Music/JustinBieber). The rest of the fans either like the pictures on the trading cards, or just like the trading cards and couldn't care less about what the pictures look like.
8	** When the official message boards were made canon in ''The Dead of Night'', some fans blew a gasket. Others eagerly played along with Evan's posts on the message boards. It's hard to find someone without a clearly defined opinion on this development...
9	** The exclusion of the Rosenblossom brothers in the fourth series, ''Doublecross''. Was it beneficial, as they were [[TheScrappy scrappies]] that kept badgering the plot, or a terrible idea, as they brought levity to the story?
10	* DieForOurShip:
11	** Fans of [[FanPreferredCouple Amy/Ian]] have been known to behave extremely aggressively towards any and all opposing pairings, bashing [[LikeBrotherAndSister Hamilton]], [[GirlOfTheWeek Kurt]], and [[SecondLove Ev]][[OfficialCouple an]], complete with a plethora of RevengeFic for the latter two.
12	** Shippers of [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight Hamilton/Sinead and Jonah/Sinead]] do not often get along, for this very reason.
13	* EnsembleDarkHorse: The Kabra siblings, especially Ian, are quite popular within the fandom.
14	* {{Fanon}}: And a good amount of it, too.
15	** It is difficult to find a fan who does not believe that the [[DieForOurShip infamous]] [[GirlOfTheWeek Kurt]], who briefly appeared in one book and was never seen again, was an undercover Vesper.
16	** A friend of Amy and Dan's Uncle Shep was mentioned ''once'' in the first series. But due to his name ([[spoiler:Gregory Tolliver]]) and the revelation that [[spoiler: Arthur Trent, Amy and Dan's father and Shep's cousin, was a Vesper]], people not only believe that this friend is probably a Vesper, but that Evan Tolliver is related to Vespers as well (if not a full-blown undercover agent). This fandom sure does love its EpilepticTrees...
17	** Since the revelation of Isabel Kabra's maiden name (Vesper-Hollingsworth) and of the fact that Arthur Trent [[spoiler: is a Vesper]], a great deal of fanon involving them has sprung up. It's taken for granted that they interacted with each other when younger, and many fans believe that they were romantically involved, though there is no canon basis for this. (Although the fact that [[spoiler: Isabel knew about the "moon face" thing that Arthur and Dan used to do, enough to use it to manipulate Dan with the "AJT" texts,]] may imply that they were close.)
18	** The idea that Vikram and Hope were once an item has also gained some acceptance among the fandom.
19	** Quite a few fans are absolutely convinced that Amy's full name is Amy Hope Cahill, seeing as her brother's full name is Daniel ''Arthur'' Cahill.
20	** It's also popular to think that "Amy" is a nickname for "Amelia." While the former can be a shortened form of the longer name, it can also stand on its own.
21	** It's generally accepted that Amy and Dan got their green eyes from their mother, and although {{Canon}} gives no evidence supporting this theory.
22	** It's also generally accepted that [[TheSmartGuy the Starling triplets]] suffer from some form of ParentalNeglect, ParentalAbandonment, or AbusiveParents. The only canon support for this theory is that their parents are never seen or mentioned.
23	** Speaking of the Starlings, it's become a popular idea that, if [[TeenGenius Sinead]] and [[JiveTurkey Jonah]] are ever in close proximity, epic SnarkToSnarkCombat will ensue.
24	* FanonDiscontinuity:
25	** ''Many'' fans would like to pretend that ''Day of Doom'' never happened, [[OutOfCharacterMoment for]] [[RomanticPlotTumor multiple]] [[KilledOffForReal reasons]].
26	** Another cutoff point is ''The Gauntlet'', the last book of the original series, which is a decent stopping point in its own right.
27	* FridgeBrilliance:
28	** In the first series, Amy and Dan were often shown to have [[TwinTelepathy sibling telepathy]], but that has all but disappeared in the SequelSeries. It is because, as Dan grows darker and more emotionally distant from his sister, he and Amy can't understand each other as well as they used to.
29	** The ''Black Book of Buried Secrets'' has sections listing the skills and tricks used by each branch--except the Madrigals. Because the Madrigals presumably use all of them!
30	* HarsherInHindsight:
31	** [[spoiler:Ian's famous "Shoot to kill?" line in ''The Medusa Plot'' is suddenly not so funny anymore after Evan is ''actually'' shot and killed at the end of the SequelSeries. After he and Ian seemed to have been starting to develop a friendship, no less.]]
32	** The ending of ''The Sword Thief'', where Alistair [[spoiler: fakes his death to escape and later in the first series, when he pretends to die of heart failure to trick his EvilUncle, are not nearly as amusing after reading ''Trust No One'', where he dies as a result of a seizure.]]
33	** Ian's thoughts when [[spoiler: his sister is kidnapped aren't exactly uplifting to begin with, but they become even more painful after she dies, along with their estranged mother.]]
34	--->''It was funny... [Ian] didn't even like [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling Natalie]]. But now that Mum had disowned them and Father was out of the picture, Natalie was his whole family.''
35	%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* HoYay:
36	%%** Fiske and [=McIntyre=].
37	%%** Dan and Atticus, and ''how''.
38	%%** Jonah and Hamilton.
39	* JerkassWoobie:
40	** Ian and Natalie become this after they undergo a lot of CharacterDevelopment. And their [[EvilMatriarch scary mother]] shows up... [[spoiler: and eventually tries to kill them, along with the other Cahills]].
41	** Ian specifically has it worse by the end of the ''Cahills vs. Vespers'' series. [[spoiler: His sister, the only person he really had left, is killed in ''Day of Doom.'' Their mother, Isabel, finally shows a shred of humanity upon learning of Natalie's death--but in her rage, she drinks the master serum and ends up dead, as well (though not without a glorious DyingMomentOfAwesome). His father is still in hiding and seems to want nothing to do with him. And that's probably just the tip of the iceberg, considering all the issues that being raised by Isabel left him with, as well as the fact that not everyone in the Cahill family completely trusts him yet.]]
42	** [[spoiler: Sinead Starling]], post-FaceHeelTurn.
43	* LauncherOfAThousandShips:
44	** In canon itself, [[BadassBookworm Amy Cahill]]--Ian Kabra, [[GirlOfTheWeek Kurt]], [[NiceGuy Evan Tolliver]], [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Jake Rosenbloom]] (to say nothing of {{Fanon}}, which has shipped her with [[TheBigGuy Hamilton Holt]], [[WellDoneSonGuy Jonah Wizard]], and [[TheSmartGuy Ned and Ted Starling]], among others).
45	** Then, in fanon, we have [[TeenGenius Sinead Starling]]. The most popular Sinead ships are [[BrainsAndBrawn Sinead/Hamilton]] and [[SnarkToSnarkCombat Sinead/Jonah]], but she has also been shipped with Casper Wyoming and occasionally [[PairTheSmartOnes Ian]], and even fanfiction shipping her with [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling Dan Cahill]], [[BrotherSisterIncest Ned]], or [[LesYay Amy]] have made appearances.
46	** [[KidHero Dan Cahill]] also qualifies. He's been shipped with [[CuteBruiser Reagan and Madison Holt]], [[LittleBoySeeksBigGirl Sinead Starling]] (as mentioned above), [[HoYay Atticus Rosenbloom]], and more than one original character. Though the likeliest candidate is [[RichBitch Natalie Kabra]]; the two are shipped together only slightly less frequently in the fandom than their older siblings, [[FanPreferredCouple Amy and Ian]]. (And this is all while Dan remains a ChasteHero in canon.)
47	%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample* MindGameShip: [[OppositesAttract Amian]], in canon.
48	* MoralEventHorizon:
49	** Isabel Kabra crossed it when she blackmailed the other Cahills into giving her their clues by [[IHAveYourWife threatening to kill their loved ones]]. She even [[AbusiveParent shot her own daughter in the foot]] and [[spoiler:as Vesper Two, was partially responsible for her abduction]].
50	** The Vespers crossed it at the start of their story arc by kidnapping the Cahills' loved ones (including both of Amy and Dan's legal guardians) to {{Blackmail}} them into committing a series of heists across the globe.
51	** [[CorruptPolitician J. Rutherford Pierce]] crossed it with his EvilPlan to detonate a series of hidden nuclear bombs across the planet, kickstarting World War 3 and killing countless innocents. With the world in chaos, Pierce would dominate the globe with his army of serum-addled SuperSoldiers, all while painting himself as a savior. Even after his bid for presidency is ruined, Pierce refused to disable the nukes, instead opting to let them detonate out of spite.
52	** [[EvilOldFolks The Outcast]] not only attempted to recreate four of history's worst disasters whilst challenging the Cahills to stop him; [[spoiler: he [[BeenThereShapedHistory deliberately caused the original]] UsefulNotes/{{Chernobyl}} disaster to cover up his own illegal activities, and was more than willing to do it again on an even larger scale]].
53	** Mr. Burnam; the Outcast's incompetent butler, crossed it when he dropped Saladin off at a pet shelter to be euthanized, then [[KickTheDog sadistically gloated about it to Amy]].
54	* RomanticPlotTumor: In ''Day of Doom'', especially with the by now infamous [[spoiler: Amy and Jake LoveConfession in the closet]] scene. Even many of the pairings' supporters found its portrayal in that book to be cheesy, OOC, and ill-timed.
55	* RonTheDeathEater:
56	** Quite frequently for [[DieForOurShip Evan Tolliver and Kurt]]. The most commonly found demonization is making them turn out to be undercover Vespers, but fanfiction involving Evan suddenly dumping Amy is also becoming common.
57	** Luke Cahill is sometimes treated this way, for no apparent reason other than he liked to sneak around more than his siblings. He did also become somewhat of a JerkAss in his later years, but he was never ''evil''.
58	* SalvagedStory:
59	** [[spoiler:When Dan failed to drink the master serum because of Amy and Isabel preventing him, it was deemed a [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot wasted opportunity]] to explore themes of absolute power's corruption and morality. This plot line returns with a vengeance, with Amy drinking the serum in "Countdown". As a result, her story onwards from that point was loved by fans, who thought her struggles with the physical and psychological effects of the master serum were compelling to read about]].
60	** [[spoiler:The [[SurprisinglyHappyEnding surprisingly]] [[EsotericHappyEnding happy ending]], with the world saved, and Amy and Dan happily heading off to resume their lives, was mocked due to its ignorance of all the heavy emotional scarring that the Vespers' presence would bring. The first book of this series, "Nowhere to Run", showed, right off the bat, that Dan and Amy are '''not''' okay with how the Vespers manipulated them, as they harbor PTSD over this. Not only that, they have been having tutors instead of school, just so they can feel safe]].
61	** The RomanticPlotTumor of [[spoiler:Amy and Jake]] getting together was savaged for the [[OutOfCharacterMoment OOC moments]] that it created for [[spoiler:Amy]], the [[spoiler:LoveConfession being written cheesily]], and the mere notion that [[spoiler:by "Day of Doom", Amy still wanted to continue her newly-budded relationship with Jake, despite her former boyfriend Evan dying just days ago]]. A subplot was created for this series, with [[spoiler:Amy repeatedly trying to force Jake away to keep him safe, and remain JustFriends, as she clearly still grieves for Evan]]. [[BrokenBase Whether this worked is up for debate]].
62	* {{Sequelitis}}: The SequelSeries, ''Cahills vs. Vespers''.
63	* ShipMates: [[FanPreferredCouple Amy/Ian]] fans have a tendency to also support [[OppositesAttract Dan/Natalie]] (which would lead to a DoubleInLawMarriage). Said fans also generally ship either [[BrainsAndBrawn Hamilton/Sinead]] [[ShipToShipCombat or]] [[SnarkToSnarkCombat Jonah/Sinead]].
64	* ShockingMoments: TheReveal of [[spoiler:Cara Pierce actually being April May]]. Absolutely no one predicted this, always assuming that [[spoiler:they were two separate people]].
65	* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: The third series, ''Unstoppable'', set to right a few wrongs from the second series, "Day of Doom":
66	** The EvilPlan of the Vespers ([[spoiler:Using a DoomsdayDevice to destroy the world]]) was deemed too cliché. This time, the main villain's plan is to [[spoiler:mass-reproduce the master serum for him and his closest allies, then become the United States President and start a new World War to garner support for him]]. This was seen as superior.
67	** [[KilledOffForReal The killing of minor and major characters]] ([[spoiler:William [=McIntyre=], Erasmus, Luna Amato, Alistair Oh, Natalie Kabra, Evan Tolliver, Isabel Kabra and Damien Vesper III]]) was criticized for being [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids too dark]], [[SacrificialLion cheap ways to raise the stakes]] and [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter complete wastes of interesting characters]]. In this series, while there is only one minor character who dies ([[spoiler:Pony]]), no other significant characters bite the bullet by the end, which was praised, because the stakes were still high without needing to resort to pointless deaths.
68	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Let's just say that with the main cast being an extended family with a large cast, this was bound to happen:
69	** The Man in Black/[[spoiler:Fiske Cahill]]. After his reveal in ''Storm Warning'', namely being [[spoiler:Amy and Dan's long-lost grand-uncle]], the only time he gets to show off his Cahill skills was in ''Vespers Rising''. Despite this, for the rest of the series, he ends up being kidnapped by Isabel Kabra, the Vespers and J. Rutherford Pierce, and has an unnamed sickness for the fourth series, putting him out of commission. His past was only dictated in one short story (''The Submarine Job'') and a tie-in book, and nothing more.
70	** Broderick Wizard. Trading cards and supplementary material implied [[spoiler:that he was actually a Vesper]]. This idea could have been further explored instead of being abandoned, since [[GoodParents he always loves Jonah]] when his wife was more strict, and [[spoiler:this Vesper plotline could have thrown a wrench in this relationship]].
71	** Natalie Kabra. The first series had intriguing ideas for her: being someone who learnt to trust her older brother and realising that her branch, mother and father were not as kind or well-intentioned as they were. The second series ends up making her nothing more than a hostage for the Vespers, and only uses her for comedic purposes, such as her horrified reactions when she had to remove a bullet from Nellie. Even worse, [[spoiler:her death at the end of that series is [[UndignifiedDeath undignified]]; grabbing the IdiotBall by whacking the activated Machina Fini Mundi machine with a pipe, causing her to be electrocuted]].
72	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: A subplot of the second series involves Dan collecting the 39 Clues again, so that he can create the master serum, drink it and use his newfound boost to stop the Vespers. With this idea, the concepts of absolute power corrupting absolutely could be explored, for a person increasingly teetering on the verge of darkness like Dan. Therefore, when it came to the last book, [[spoiler:he succeeds in drinking it... [[AntiClimax only for Amy to find out beforehand and switch it with a mixture of vegetables. Dan also planned ahead in an occasion like this, making a second one... but it ended up being stolen by Isabel Kabra.]] This was mocked by many who wanted to see what would happen if Dan did have the serum's abilities. Thankfully, the third series actually delved into this idea fully, but used a different character: Amy]].
73	* TheWoobie:
74	** Dan and Amy have a lot of HeartwarmingOrphan angst, especially given the trauma they go through during the cluehunt, and in the wake of the death of their last loving relative, too.
75	** At least towards the end of the series, [[spoiler: Ian and Natalie.]] In the beginning, they were quite cruel. But after we meet [[spoiler: their mother...]], their FreudianExcuse invites readers' sympathy.

Context YMMV / The39Clues