Rambling about Summer Knight (bk 4 of The Dresden Files) (first time reading through this series, praise be to public libraries)
Harry Dresden will never be good enough for the White Council. Dare I say, the White Council seems corrupt as fuck. They will always find reason to blame him. Morgan, especially. I don't trust Morgan as far as I can kick him. And I am most certainly not strong enough to kick him at all. I'd bounce right off him, most likely. He reminds me of that one high school jock that became a cop, you know the one, the guy that enjoys his job a bit too much.
Did Harry Dresden start a war with the Red Court? YEAH
Did Harry Dresden also STOP a war between the Summer and Winter fae and therefore save the entire world? ALSO YEAH.
Did he, while doing that, ALSO secure safe passage for wizards through Queen Mab's domain? YEAH.
But that won't be good enough, will it? The White Council will continue to look for reasons to blame him. But honestly it seems like Dresden is one of the only wizards actually helping the laypeople. Where's everyone else? In their towers, hidden away. But Dresden? He's in the mean streets of Chicago hunting ghosts and shit. As far as I know, that gravestone Bianca gave him is still there! "Here lies Harry Dresden; he died doing the right thing."
[Rhetorical side note: Why's it always Chicago? Chicago, New York, DC, Appalachia, always places in the east. I get that these are big and old (relatively speaking) cities and Appalachia has a reputation but like. I'm a City of Roses Pacific Northwest guy. I have seen two urban fantasy series that take place in the Pacific Northwest: Grimm (Portland OR) and iZombie (Seattle WA). And I'm sad about it. Cascadia, my beloved.]
And if I'm understanding what clues I have, so far, I think Dresden's mother made some sort of for-your-firstborn deal, either with the fae (Lea, obviously) and/or with a demon. Like that one Tumblr post, you know the one. If this has any modicum of truth, it would to an extent explain the White Council's treatment of Dresden. It's not just what happened with Justin, but it's the circumstances of his very existence. We can then get into discussion about nature vs nurture.
If Dresden really is forged to be a tool of destruction, how the White Council is treating him is certainly not helping! It's like Hellboy (the original 2004 movie, cuz that's the one I grew up on): sure he's from Hell but like he can be raised to be good, he can want to be good! Going back to the gravestone Bianca gave him at the end of Grave Peril: "he died doing the right thing." But if everyone keeps treating him like a bomb waiting to go off, then maybe that bomb WILL go off! You defuse the metaphorical bomb that is Harry Dresden by maybe TRUSTING HIM every so often. It ain't that complicated!
I'm glad to see he has friends in the Senior Council: Ebenezer, that woman whose name I can't recall, Listens to Wind... and the Gatekeeper. I am so curious about the Gatekeeper. From his first words ("It rained toads this morning") I was HOOKED. And then he helped Dresden in the Nevernever, he was willing to go against the White Council, and apparently QUEEN MAB KNOWS HIM?? I am SO CURIOUS, I hope he ends up being seen again. Well, I'm 4 books into 18 so I'm sure it'll happen. Probably the next time the White Council tries to pin the blame on Dresden.
The White Council feels so corrupt, yall. Again that whole nature vs nurture thing, Dresden will end up being hostile towards yall if yall continue to treat him like this! Also, their laws being so finite is just straight-up stupid. Like sure Thou Shall Not Kill (With Magic) but like a 16-year-old boy desperately trying to live is different than what Victor Sells and Leo Kravos were doing. This is why real human laws are so complicated!
Anyway uh Death Masks here I come, I guess
Never expect one of these posts again
