Lets say Justin really is dead (I suspect he's a BCV so he is both DED and still a threat), who would Elaine be working with do you think?  The only clue I think they gave about Cowl was that his wrists were scarred up.

I think Cowl scouted the Sidhe Courts and found Elaine with Summer. I think she chaffed at being Aurora's pet, and he offered her an out and a partnership.

My theory is that Cowl made vector gifts for Bianca to give to both Sidhe Courts as part of her elevation. I think we saw Bianca give Lea hers on-screen, and I think Elaine gave Aurora the other. Aurora was Nemfected, etc, etc, and then she dies and Elaine is "debt free".

Afterwards, Elaine and Cowl decide to continue working together, both wanting power and freedom from the Council. She's adamant about not being controlled, so he gives her free rein. He continues her training, he helps keep her away from the Council, and she helps him plot to destroy or overthrow the Council so she doesn't have to spend 500+ years looking over her shoulder.

Yes that's certainly possible. Very in-line with Nemesis/Black Council tactics of the past. Get you're own person in a leadership position and cause chaos. Although to be fair Aurora and Maeve already had leadership positions. Often its really just turning people in positions of power into agents. Which is a very effective real world tactic after all.

Did Cristos survive? I wasn't sure if that was confirmed yet. But I might have missed something too. One thing though is Cristos seems to have a different style of magic than Cowl. Cristos in Battle Ground uses large-scale earth magic. Impressive feats like helping Ebenezer make a large amount of earth become something like quicksand, or sort-of becoming a living landslide. Cowl was a bit more precise, likes to use sudden and powerful bursts of evocation. Like very skillful yet fast Ways. Force magic, mind magic, illusion/shapeshifting, Ways, and thaumaturgy. Possibly only used necromancy when he tried the Darkhallow out (not that he was incapable of raising the dead, but clearly didn't want to expend his energies that way).  Different situations of course than Battle Ground. Finally, what he said to Dresden stood out to me. "I have no intention of fighting them, I'm simply going to kill them" and "I have no intention of entering a tactical contest" both of these things he says to Harry in Dead Beat. Cowl seems like he doesn't mind killing if he has to, doesn't mind a duel. But he isn't about battles and fair fights etc. Cristos might be in the same vein. But he went into the fight all the same.

That's a fair argument. Council destroyed, Council changed, doesn't matter as long as the end result is being able to push the limits of magic and break the rules.

Yeah, I think for Cowl, it's not a matter of how. He just wants the freedom to do what he wants, and knows that the Council will oppose him. And if he's Cristos, then his ongoing involvement with the Council is the result of the plan failing, and he's trapped in a public position.

And here I thought you were on the Simon Cowl train.

Nah, I've been a Cristos/Cowl vote almost since he first appeared on the page. But I like Simon theories, and I'd prefer him over Justin or someone else.

When you put it like that it does look very bad for Cristos. At the very least it makes him look like he's being manipulated. But playing devil's advocate here there is an alternate explanation.

He also could just be an idiot. A sort-of well meaning idiot ending up running the Council just when it needs to be at its strongest, and ends up being at its weakest. That's potentially more dangerous to the longevity of the Council.

Let's say Cristos is a power hungry, pompous buffoon. He wants to be the big man. So someone (Black Council perhaps) feeds his ego and helps put him in place to be promoted to SC once a SC member is removed...and arranges that very thing. Then Cristos thinks he can "save" the Council from their horrible war and tries to negotiate an armistice with the Vampires etc. Which would have made things worse for the Council but he believes he is the hero doing the right thing.

However, I am not saying any of the above is the case - merely that's an alternative argument. One thing that stands out is that Cristos apparently had loyalists kidnap and detain most of the Wardens. Forty percent of the senior most wardens. This is in Changes and apparently takes place after Harry leaves Edinburgh. Ramirez and Luccio are both captured. This is interesting I think, especially as Ramirez undergoes a slight behaviour change. He also becomes more loyal to the Council than before.

I think it's a good point you mention the McCoy is always near Cristos. The White Council's hitman seems to now always be right next to Cristos. This is as far back as Changes such as when Cristos and McCoy are the only two Senior Council members on stage with Arianna. This could be interpreted a few ways. Either they are now inseparable best friends and joined at the hip, or that it's all just coincidence they are together, or that McCoy has been assigned to watch the most disturbing threat on the Council and execute him should he prove to be the danger they think he is.

The third option could well be the most likely. I would be a little disappointed if Cristos was Cowl, although I do see how it's very possible. Mostly because Cristos got wrecked in Battle Ground and I would expect a wizard of Cowl's level to be much more threatening. However, I could also see that Cristos might just be on Cowl's team. This might lend weight to the Cowl is Simon theory as they're both possibly part of the same faction.

Assuming Cristos is Cowl of course. Cowl seemed to want to end the Council, not change it. But there are many paths to victory after all.

Cristos could just be the latest version of Aurora/Maeve/Vito, where Cowl and/or Nemesis are promoting new people to accorded nation leadership positions.

But Cristos is different, because unlike all the others, he succeeded.

As for getting curb-stomped in BG, Cristos survived something most wouldn't. And we've seen Cowl be curb-stomped as well, and injured enough to take years to recover. They're both roaches that survive, but not by hiding or escaping.

And as for Cowl wanting the Council gone, he talks in Dead Beat like he wants the rules changed rather than the Council destroyed. He thinks the Council will fall, and might have expedited it himself, but what he seemed to want was the freedom to explore dark magic. If Cristos could have taken power and convinced the survivors to change the rules to better protect themselves, it would accomplish what Cowl wanted.

Cristos is more complicated than I expected. At first he seems warlike and is called "unpleasant" by Ebenezar, and seems like a serious threat as he deals with a powerful supernatural threat. But when we next seem him he seems more like a greasy, perhaps corrupt perhaps just incompetent, politician. Next we seem him he ends up being friendly with Ebenezar and contributes reasonably to the Battle of Chicago. He mostly just seems like a bit of a fool.

Still, it could all be an act. Perhaps he is more dangerous than we realise. Perhaps he is more malevolent than he appears. But Cristos fought when he could have just disappeared though, or even joined the other team. Hell of an act in my opinion.

If the Turn Coat plan had been successful, it would have seen LaFortier dead, Luccio executed, Langtry embarrassed, and Morgan discredited, Harry implicated for his relationship with Luccio (which would be conveniently revealed), Cristos the rising star, and Peabody still in place to manipulate things.

Then, Cristos could accept the peace summit from Arianna, look like he's pushing for peace to save wizard lives, and when things fall apart with Listens sick and the other Seniors missing, he could take control just like he did. If the curse had succeeded, then Harry and Eb would be dead, Harry could be blamed for the illness that swept through Edinburgh after his visit, Listens might be dead, the missing Seniors would have been painted as cowards that hid in the Council's time of need, and Cristos would be the leader of the Council in one way or the other.

It's a quick rise to power for Cristos, who could completely control the Council with Peabody's ink.

Instead, things fall apart, he isn't the undisputed champion of the Council, and he has to change tactics. He has to play nice with the other Seniors, and remain involved in things. He's shown himself to be brave in Changes, so now he's got to keep up appearances. I have no doubt Eb is suspicious of him, so he's sticking close, and Cristos had no choice but to show up for the talks for numerous reasons. And once he's there, he's got to fight for real to keep himself alive and keep up appearances.

Maybe he's just a pawn, witting or otherwise. Or maybe he's manipulated things to put himself in power over all wizards in order to change the nature of the Council itself from the top down, and bring about that corruption he mentioned in Dead Beat first-hand.

Cristos? I know he's a bit of a politician but he did get involved in the Battle of Chicago. Not exactly non-interventionist policy.

Also, not sure we can take this as confirmation - but when asked about what the Black Council were doing in Peace Talks and Battle Ground, Jim responded that the Black Council was very busy not getting squashed by Ethniu. Which could well imply that any of those who were at the Battle were not in fact Black Council. It's not hard evidence, but it's something.

But the rest of the theory seems solid. Seems more like a Arthur Langtry-style play.

I feel like Langtry being the bad guy is the red herring of the series, and Cristos is the overt bad guy who's so obvious that his importance and relevance is underestimated by everyone.

But then again, I'm in the "Cristos is Cowl" camp, so...

As for the quote, I'd say Cristos did what he could to not get squashed. Maybe not as successful as he'd hoped, but... 

I'm inclined to think it's three because, as a Walker, there's already an association with the number, but also because, from a plot/writing standpoint, if Harry is to ever have an actual chance of banishing or trapping him, it'll have to be realistically manageable.

If it's thirteen, it'll never happen. It'd take an entire series to have him hunt down that many horcruxes hosts in a satisfactory manner. Whereas if it's three, and he traps one, and a second is discovered, the third would likely show up to free the others, or run and hide on the other side of the world.

Of course, if he's not going to beat Nemesis, then it can be anything. But for the suspense, a limitation works better.

I've always thought that he was too relevant to Harry's story to fade like he did.

If he lives that long anyway, Lara might just decide that she can step out of the shadows once the marriage is done.

But if others' speculation is accurate, and Harry gets pulled into another reality right before the I Do's, then Lara might be left jilted at the alter. And Raith, free from the curse, could go mad and start killing people with a touch. And everyone is left to assume that he was so offended that he declared war on Winter.

Sounds like great chaos for Harry to return home to.

But I have to think that Harry would have Thomas recovered by then, because both he and Lara would want him at the wedding.

Though I think Kumori is probably Elaine or Faith Astor, another possibility that's been raised is Victor Sells' daughter, if she inherited a talent. Going by the WOJ that Kumori's identity would cause Harry pain, 'she went dark because of missing a father figure ... because Harry killed him' would do it.

Jenny Sells.