* {{Glurge}}: Often seen as this by modern readers. Besides the story's constant efforts to sell Michael as a noble and heroic figure, it practically wallows in over-the-top sentimentality at the slightest provocation. Particularly gratuitous is [[spoiler:Digby's death]], which so manages to be both jarringly abrupt and ridiculously sentimentalized that it almost feels as though the author was just ticking off a list of emotional buttons to press.
* LawfulStupid: Michael's actions, while honorable and courageous in intent, were almost certainly quite unnecessary, and all he really accomplished was to cause his family grief, [[spoiler:get himself and his twin brother killed]], and most likely leave John with lasting trauma.