Revisiting Harry's Conversation with Mab at the end of Ghost Story

[ClintACK]

With everything we've learned in Cold Days, Skin Game and Peace Talks... there's a lot of good stuff in that first conversation he had with Mab, Knight to Queen. Almost every line drips with relevant portent or irony.

The portent: "Were you not strong enough to cast such defiance into my teeth, you would be useless to my purposes. To our purposes now."

The irony: "I can be a trusted enemy. I can work with you." -- Mab's pale white eyebrows lifted and her eyes gleamed. "I will never trust you, wizard."

The awesome: "I will be the Winter Knight. I will be the most terrifying Knight the Sidhe Courts have ever known. I will send your enemies down in defeat and make your power grow. But I do it my way."

The ominous: "Go on. Try to change me. The second you do, the second I think you've played with my head or altered my memory, the first time you compel me to do something, I'll do the one thing you can't have in your new knight... mediocrity..."

Gulp. It really does look like someone's messed with Harry's head in Peace Talks. We all seem to think it's Mab. Is it? And how will Harry react when he finds out??

I really, really want to see a conversation in Battle Ground where Harry asks Mab to just tell him the end goal and trust him to push in the same direction without all the added effort of trying to manipulate him into doing something helpful. He knows the score now -- he knows Winter's Purpose and agrees with it.

[Mira]

   I don't think anyone has messed with Harry's head in Peace Talks, I think what is happening is he is being hit from all sides at once and he is trying to regain his footing so he can fight.  He did have his priorities, 1] get little Maggie to safety,2] get Thomas to safety..  Once that was done, the decks were clear, his orders to Alfred were clear and concise, orders for imprisonment of Thomas, what weapons he wanted, lock down the island and be ready to receive and lock up a Titan.  Yes, Mab gave him some vague orders about carrying out the favors owed to Lara and the White Court, but from this point on Harry's listening to his own drummer as to what his plan is.  That isn't to say he won't cooperate to a degree, one has to do that in battle, but in no way can he now be mistaken for Mab's pet.