Maybe Murphy won't be a Einherjar

[groinkick]

"The door burst open. Murphy came through it, her eyes living flames of azure blue, her hair a golden coronet around her. She held a blazing sword in her hand and she shone so bright and beautiful and terrifying in her anger that it was hard to see. The Sight, I realized, dimly. I was seeing her for who she was."  Dresden, Blood Rites

I'm wondering if Murphy may actually return as a Valkyrie, and the rules as Harry has been told may be different. 

[Mira]

Doubtful.

[bigdangmoose]

Really hope not. And you have the wrong book for the quote. That I believe is from blood rites.

[groinkick]

Really hope not. And you have the wrong book for the quote. That I believe is from blood rites.

Why hope not?  You know I think you're right, it is from Blood Rites

[magnuskn]

Her coming back as a Valkyrie has been my hypothesis all along. People say "she can't even come back as an Einherjar as long as her memory hasn't faded from living memory", to which I say a.) the source of that quote is not exactly trustworthy, given whom her direct boss is and b.) rules in fiction exist to be broken, like the rules of magic, which Butcher already said that Harry would break them all at one point or another.

[LaraBeck]

Changes, Ch 46:

...the skull said, and gold-orange light fell from my head toward Murphy and gathered about her blond hair, even as the joined wills of the Lords of Outer Night fell upon her, so thick and heavy that I was knocked away from her as if by a physical force. The very air around her warped with its intensity.

White light from the sword flowed down and over her, and her garments literally transformed, as if that light had flowed into them, become a part of them, turning night to day, black to white. She staggered to one knee and looked up, her jaw set in stubborn determination, her teeth bared, her blue eyes, through the distortion, blazing like fire in defiance of thirteen dark gods--and with one of the most powerful spirits I'd ever met gathered around her head in a glowing golden halo.” 

I wonder if those instances where Harry saw Murphy with his sight were not only revealing of her nature (as the sight is supposed to work) but also prophetic, since we got pretty much the same visual actually manifesting in real life in Changes.

We don't know the rules yet about how to become a Valkyrie, all we know is that they are not Odin's daughters. So, maybe it's something you could sort of get promoted to, or sponsored.

I think Uriel and Odin might have a deal regarding Murphy. She's got unfinished business, and as Jack Murphy said, what comes after is not for people that are rubbernecking.

Maybe she was given a choice, and the of course, she chose to stay in the fight, but the only way to do it is by joining Odin's forces.

Or maybe she was sent there. Jim said that Odin can negotiate to get the warriors he wants, so maybe she's there on loan.

In any case, she coming back as a Valkyrie would be cool, and honestly, nothing in the books says it can't happen.

[bigdangmoose]

Why hope not?  You know I think you're right, it is from Blood Rites

Why? For one, I think (and this is just my opinion) that we need a break from the character we know as Murphy. She becomes a Valkyrie, we see her by the end of the next book. That's no break from her. That doesn't help Harry heal. That puts him right back to where he was, not dealing with anything that has happened in his life. And puts us back to dealing with Harry not wanting her to be killed again, keeping her safe, her acting like she knows 20 times more than him, just her character grinding on some of us through the story. Her character arc needs a revamping and her becoming a Valkyrie just puts her right back where she was, with magic and a better health plan.

Which brings me to my second reason. When I say the arc needs a revamp, I don't mean an upgrade. I just mean a retooling. She was always a ball of stress. But when Harry died, the ball got tighter and tighter until it broke. Maybe it broke when they kissed in SG, maybe when she died. Either way, until it did, she wasn't thinking clearly. Her character (the character and her personality) needs to have a vacation and heal. As Gard said, she has earned her rest.

Which brings me to point three. When you lay out the character types of the series, each of the allies play a role in what makes Harry, Harry. The Knights represent his faith/spirit. Thomas and Maggie are family/blood. The Alphas are strength. Molly is magic. Murphy represented the mind. She was the thinker. She was the one who helped kept Harry grounded in his thoughts, to think things through. Her coming back as anything more than what she was upsets the balance set here. She could start thinking like a magic user instead of the detective that she has always been and is what they need at that time. So unless Molly becomes the new body of mind because of her Lady intellectus, Harry is going to needs Murphy to be it when she comes back for Ragnarock during the BAT.

Oh, and she already turned down the offer once in aftermath to become a Valkyrie. Doesn't feel like something she would go back on, especially seeing how Harry is handling the Knights mantle.

[K.L.O.E.]

Why? For one, I think (and this is just my opinion) that we need a break from the character we know as Murphy. She becomes a Valkyrie, we see her by the end of the next book. That's no break from her. That doesn't help Harry heal. That puts him right back to where he was, not dealing with anything that has happened in his life. And puts us back to dealing with Harry not wanting her to be killed again, keeping her safe, her acting like she knows 20 times more than him, just her character grinding on some of us through the story. Her character arc needs a revamping and her becoming a Valkyrie just puts her right back where she was, with magic and a better health plan.

Which brings me to my second reason. When I say the arc needs a revamp, I don't mean an upgrade. I just mean a retooling. She was always a ball of stress. But when Harry died, the ball got tighter and tighter until it broke. Maybe it broke when they kissed in SG, maybe when she died. Either way, until it did, she wasn't thinking clearly. Her character (the character and her personality) needs to have a vacation and heal. As Gard said, she has earned her rest.

Which brings me to point three. When you lay out the character types of the series, each of the allies play a role in what makes Harry, Harry. The Knights represent his faith/spirit. Thomas and Maggie are family/blood. The Alphas are strength. Molly is magic. Murphy represented the mind. She was the thinker. She was the one who helped kept Harry grounded in his thoughts, to think things through. Her coming back as anything more than what she was upsets the balance set here. She could start thinking like a magic user instead of the detective that she has always been and is what they need at that time. So unless Molly becomes the new body of mind because of her Lady intellectus, Harry is going to needs Murphy to be it when she comes back for Ragnarock during the BAT.

Oh, and she already turned down the offer once in aftermath to become a Valkyrie. Doesn't feel like something she would go back on, especially seeing how Harry is handling the Knights mantle.

Well if Murphy is the mind where she ended up in Norse mythology is actually pretty simple. She's not in Valhalla hanging with the boys. Murphy is in Folkvanger with Freya and the other strategists. I'm not sure what they are called but that's a third option that fits the character.

[bigdangmoose]

Well if Murphy is the mind where she ended up in Norse mythology is actually pretty simple. She's not in Valhalla hanging with the boys. Murphy is in Folkvanger with Freya and the other strategists. I'm not sure what they are called but that's a third option that fits the character.

But as I said, she needs to rest. She needs to get her head on straight before she does anything else. If she doesn't, she is just going to be on the same self destructive path that she has been on.

[TheCuriousFan]

"The door burst open. Murphy came through it, her eyes living flames of azure blue, her hair a golden coronet around her. She held a blazing sword in her hand and she shone so bright and beautiful and terrifying in her anger that it was hard to see. The Sight, I realized, dimly. I was seeing her for who she was."  Dresden, Blood Rites

I'm wondering if Murphy may actually return as a Valkyrie, and the rules as Harry has been told may be different. 

It was also her callsign in Battle Ground.

[groinkick]

Why? For one, I think (and this is just my opinion) that we need a break from the character we know as Murphy. She becomes a Valkyrie, we see her by the end of the next book. That's no break from her. That doesn't help Harry heal. That puts him right back to where he was, not dealing with anything that has happened in his life. And puts us back to dealing with Harry not wanting her to be killed again, keeping her safe, her acting like she knows 20 times more than him, just her character grinding on some of us through the story. Her character arc needs a revamping and her becoming a Valkyrie just puts her right back where she was, with magic and a better health plan.

Which brings me to my second reason. When I say the arc needs a revamp, I don't mean an upgrade. I just mean a retooling. She was always a ball of stress. But when Harry died, the ball got tighter and tighter until it broke. Maybe it broke when they kissed in SG, maybe when she died. Either way, until it did, she wasn't thinking clearly. Her character (the character and her personality) needs to have a vacation and heal. As Gard said, she has earned her rest.

Which brings me to point three. When you lay out the character types of the series, each of the allies play a role in what makes Harry, Harry. The Knights represent his faith/spirit. Thomas and Maggie are family/blood. The Alphas are strength. Molly is magic. Murphy represented the mind. She was the thinker. She was the one who helped kept Harry grounded in his thoughts, to think things through. Her coming back as anything more than what she was upsets the balance set here. She could start thinking like a magic user instead of the detective that she has always been and is what they need at that time. So unless Molly becomes the new body of mind because of her Lady intellectus, Harry is going to needs Murphy to be it when she comes back for Ragnarock during the BAT.

Oh, and she already turned down the offer once in aftermath to become a Valkyrie. Doesn't feel like something she would go back on, especially seeing how Harry is handling the Knights mantle.

Well I don't think her becoming a Valkyrie would mean she would make her return in the next book.  I don't think she will be in Twelve Months, we will see alternate Murphy in Mirror Mirror (probably Marcone's lover), and I don't see her being in the book after that.  I see her coming back in the BAT.  From what some of the mythology says, the Valkyrie are similar to angles.  So I believe she will be reunited with her father, and with him she's able to work out what had been following her for all her life after his death.  She learns the truth and it helps her move on from that destructive influence.  You're right, she had been getting beat down through the books, and I think this experience will be like she is reborn.  She will have shed so much of what had been hurting her, and bringing her down.  She will be who she is meant to be.

It was also her callsign in Battle Ground.

lol I didn't even remember that.

[bigdangmoose]

Well I don't think her becoming a Valkyrie would mean she would make her return in the next book.  I don't think she will be in Twelve Months, we will see alternate Murphy in Mirror Mirror (probably Marcone's lover), and I don't see her being in the book after that.  I see her coming back in the BAT.  From what some of the mythology says, the Valkyrie are similar to angles.  So I believe she will be reunited with her father, and with him she's able to work out what had been following her for all her life after his death.  She learns the truth and it helps her move on from that destructive influence.  You're right, she had been getting beat down through the books, and I think this experience will be like she is reborn.  She will have shed so much of what had been hurting her, and bringing her down.  She will be who she is meant to be.


lol I didn't even remember that.

But she doesn't need to be a Valkyrie to do that. She just needs to be plain old vanilla Murphy. Her character needs a break. Becoming a Valkyrie now just puts her right back to where she was, back in the fight and not taking time to get her head on straight, which she desperately needs to do. She doesn't know anything about her father being in underworld SI and I bet he has told the powers that be not to let her know. Let her rest.

[magnuskn]

But as I said, she needs to rest. She needs to get her head on straight before she does anything else. If she doesn't, she is just going to be on the same self destructive path that she has been on.

To quote a wise guy, "That's just your opinion, man". I don't think she needs to rest as a character. As for her self destructive path, that had clearly been dealt with already between novels. She was in a pretty bad spot in Ghost Story, but much better in Cold Days and Skin Game. I would count her issues with the swords separate from her behavious in Ghost Story, because her character arc in that novel didn't revolve around the swords.

[bigdangmoose]

To quote a wise guy, "That's just your opinion, man". I don't think she needs to rest as a character. As for her self destructive path, that had clearly been dealt with already between novels. She was in a pretty bad spot in Ghost Story, but much better in Cold Days and Skin Game. I would count her issues with the swords separate from her behavious in Ghost Story, because her character arc in that novel didn't revolve around the swords.

No, she was still in a bad spot. She didn't trust Harry still in any of the books after Changes. Either it being about the swords or not, she was not in the right mind set. Even Butters wasn't thrilled with her behavior in SG.

She has mental issues that need to be addressed and resolved before she should be brought back in. Harry needs it too, that's why we are getting TM.

And your right, it is my opinion. As you are to have yours. But the signs are there that there has been too much trauma in their lives for everything to be hunky dory without some time off. Just think about this. Murphy has only ever taken one actual vacation and that was back in DB. You think she took anytime off after Harry died for herself, or did she stay on the job defending Chicago. And then you add in the trauma of getting her knee smashed and the worry of ever walking again. And then she's told by her boyfriend that she's slowing him down, that she's not what she was and never will be again. She needs time. Mentally she has been through hell and back (maybe even literally) and she needs time to work things out.

[Arjan]

No, she was still in a bad spot. She didn't trust Harry still in any of the books after Changes. Either it being about the swords or not, she was not in the right mind set. Even Butters wasn't thrilled with her behavior in SG.

In Skin Game Butters was the one with the problems. The only reason Murphy was taking the sword was because of Butters. The only reason Butters was ready for the sword was because he got better.

She has mental issues that need to be addressed and resolved before she should be brought back in. Harry needs it too, that's why we are getting TM.

And your right, it is my opinion. As you are to have yours. But the signs are there that there has been too much trauma in their lives for everything to be hunky dory without some time off. Just think about this. Murphy has only ever taken one actual vacation and that was back in DB. You think she took anytime off after Harry died for herself, or did she stay on the job defending Chicago. And then you add in the trauma of getting her knee smashed and the worry of ever walking again. And then she's told by her boyfriend that she's slowing him down, that she's not what she was and never will be again. She needs time. Mentally she has been through hell and back (maybe even literally) and she needs time to work things out.

She will get her holiday, Gard said so. And then she gets a life of partying and training and an occasional fight with baddies. It is not everyone's chosen afterlife but Murphy will settle quite well I think.