Line #9 YMMV/Murderess


1	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
2	** Lu's changing attitudes towards her kills are a case of CharacterDevelopment; whether that character development is her realisation that [[SlidingScaleOfUnavoidableVersusUnforgivable sometimes her kills are a necessity]], [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain becoming more accustomed to killing and embracing her innate murderous nature]], or simply becoming ConditionedToAcceptHorror, is anyone's guess.
3	** Shadow and Déaspor. While they are heroic, their repeated {{Jerkass}} behaviour is left unexplained and subject to interpretation.
4	** Just how happy Bridget's posse was to go along with her is unclear, as she is keeping them in line by bullying. One girl in her posse, Lola, seems more cooperative than the other girls with Bridget, but after the [[spoiler:SnowballFight]], she is the only one among them who is explicitly mentioned as [[spoiler:actively trying to befriend Lu]]; this seems to imply she's a TurnCoat.
5	** Hallwad [[spoiler:neglecting ThePlan [[LeeroyJenkins to jump in fury to attack the Dark Ones]] torturing [[BigBrotherInstinct his sister]], then [[DefiantStoneThrow running off to distract them from her]]]] is either the result of his BigBrotherInstinct overcoming his better judgement, his judgement being poor to begin with, [[spoiler:the poor quality of ThePlan he and Lu came up with]], or any combination of the three.
6	** [[LaResistance Killers]] in general. Professor Cole, Hallwad Caurn, and [[spoiler:Cleareye]] say that the Killers are ruthless murderers; granted, they are all from Ciaró, so [[UnreliableNarrator this might not be true]], but "Hat Lad" implies it's true (but only implies). The book cover says that they fought the Royal House "bravely" (or "ferociously" on the English edition), but whether that means VillainousValour or TheUnfettered HeroWithBadPublicity remains to be seen. Further complicating things is that the [[TheEndingChangesEverything last two chapters reveal that]] [[spoiler:the heroic [[ObliviousAdoption Hallwad and Aucasis are adopted]] [[LukeIAmYourFather Killers, and that Shadow and Déaspor are related to Lu somehow]], while [[SequelHook Tyler Killer]] is evil, making generalisations about the Killers' nature nigh impossible]].
7	* AngstWhatAngst:
8	** Lu is surprisingly calm when she's about to die. Justified, given her [[SelfDeprecation self-loathing]].
9	--->'''Lu:''' Goodbye, world.
10	** Lu tells Cleareye about her experiences in the Dark Ones' tunnels with surprising composure. This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]].
11	* EvilIsCool: [[TheFairFolk The Dark Ones]] avert this. While their Throne Hall sports a spectacular design, and their king is an accomplished scholar (see the WickedCultured entry in the [[Literature/{{Murderess}} Literature tab]]), they barely manage to evoke any sympathy.
12	* FridgeBrilliance:
13	** Lu mentions how cold the weather is as an offhanded remark, despite it being [[http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/jan/05/december-coldest-uk-month-100-years the coldest winter in 100 years]]. Which makes perfect sense -- she just got there from Scotland, where the weather is generally colder, and she barely talks to people around her (who, presumably, would want to TalkAboutTheWeather), so she doesn’t give much thought to how abnormally cold it is.
14	** The {{Foreshadowing}} using ChekhovsGun seem to be a bit heavy-handed and spelled out until you realise it makes perfect sense in-universe -- "Hat Lad" [[spoiler:and Déaspor]] want to make sure Lu was following ThePlan exactly as she is told, even if she doesn't know why. A clear example would be [[spoiler:Déaspor]] giving Lu the map at the Chopped Tree Inn: [[spoiler:she knew she was going to meet Hallwad, who was [[TheChosenMany also chosen]] to play a part in Shadow and Déaspor's [[ThePlan plans]], and was practically spelling it out for her to show it to him]].
15	** [[ShowWithinAShow The poem recited at the Dark Ones' feast]] mentions by name only three characters and one place name (and a demonym, if you're reading the Hebrew version), but Lu still says she has trouble keeping up with the names after only Roythebrune and Orce-Blatt are mentioned, and she was already familiar with Orce-Blatt. So what's there to mix up? It makes sense when you notice she mentions by name pretty much everyone she interacts with, so she's struggling to keep remembering the new names ''in general'', not just in this poem.
16	%%** The point of the [[TheEndingChangesEverything ending]] doesn't really click until you think about it for a bit.
17	%%* LesYay: Lu and Cleareye. They even have a pillow fight.
18	* RewatchBonus: Hallwad hesitates before answering when Lu addresses the ArcWords at him. Re-reading the scene after discovering [[spoiler:they're the traditional Killer blessing]] explains why: [[spoiler:he was worried that she might be a ''killer'' after all]].
19	* SlowPacedBeginning: The first third or so of the book comes off mostly as a typical teen drama about an underdog outcast and her conflict with the resident AlphaBitch, with some fantastic elements thrown in, albeit with a few funny quips by Lu, and Professor Cole's genuinely terrifying lashing out at Lu, followed by a gut-wrenching HeroicBSOD scene. Once she crosses over to Greywall'd, her attempts at survival and her struggling with her heritage and nature make the book far more engaging.
20	* TakeThatScrappy: Bridget has absolutely no redeeming qualities, being an unrepentant [[TheBully bully]] who [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections openly admits to using her connections to rig the system in her favour]]; fortunately, her appearances are mostly limited, and [[spoiler:[[BreakTheHaughty she gets knocked down quite a few pegs]] in the SnowballFight]] in a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome example of this.
21	* TearJerker:
22	** Lu hearing about her heritage for the first time and suffering a massive HeroicBSOD.
23	** Lu hunting the rabbit on the Myles Mountains. The rabbit's pointless death and Lu's helplessness will give you a pang of sadness.
24	** [[spoiler:[[BreakTheCutie The effect Aucasis' horrific experiences had over her]].]]
25	%%* TheWoobie: Lu herself starts off as a bit of a JerkassWoobie, albeit a somewhat amusing one, and slowly joins Aucasis in the IronWoobie territory.
26	* {{Woolseyism}}: The translator, N. L. Lumi, is a native speaker of both Hebrew and English who's had experience with translating since elementary school, and has written some poetry on commission. Feeling that Lu's language should be richer after she becomes an {{Omniglot}}, they embellished the language of the original, which used somewhat typical teen speech patterns, every now and then. The four poems featured in the book -- the poem at the entrance to the Dark Ones' tunnels, the poem their cantor recites at the feast, the song from Lu's vision, and the song Cleareye sings to Lu -- showcase their talent in particular.

Context YMMV / Murderess