Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-37709254-20200129025309/@comment-37709254-20200209002534

I've seen a lot of things about Sokeefers thinking Fitz is basically a murderer, so here:

To quote Mintie on the topic of Fitz and Alvar:

"So before Flashback, Alvar's tried to commit genocide, kidnapped kids, tortured kids, lit fires that have forced thousands out of their homes, etc.

In Flashback, he (Fitz) first tried to have Alvar kept off the property and kept in prison until they had passed the festival because they thought the Neverseen might be planning something then.

Then, he saw Alvar moving towards the fence and suggested that they knock him unconscious just in case. After some discussion with his friends, they agreed, with Dex pointing out that his heart rate is elevated, suggesting that he's up to something.

This didn't work, so they went to find Alvar because they thought he had tampered with it and assumed that if he's tampering with a device that stops him from escaping, he's probably trying to escape. They get there and his guards are nowhere in sight, which they view as suspicious because the guards are supposed to follow him everywhere. Fitz runs to tackle him, thinking that Alvar's about to escape or open the gate. He punches him, which is not necessary, but does not do anything that could injure Alvar past a simple household elixir. Alvar fights back, using blows that are more likely to be lethal (based on location).

The Neverseen arrives and Fitz rips off strips of his tunic in order to tie him up to prevent him from joining in the battle. Nobody is watching Fitz at this point and he has the opportunity to kill Alvar, but he opts instead to keep him out of battle by tying him up. The Neverseen begins to try to goad Fitz, and he insists that he doesn't want to kill Alvar and will just keep him tied up so he can't fight them.

The Neverseen continue goading him, telling him that they could just untie Alvar, and Fitz says that he'll knock Alvar out to keep him out of the battle, but he refuses to kill his brother.

This is where it starts to become iffier. The Neverseen is goading him and trying to convince him that his only way to save his friends is to kill his brother. Fitz starts crying. He doesn't want to kill Alvar. He's holding the knife but not making any move towards killing Alvar.

Fitz lowers the dagger, deciding that he won't kill Alvar.

Alvar goes and runs after the Neverseen. Sophie thinks Alvar has regained his memories and rejoined them. They run after him and find that he has in fact rejoined them. Alvar releases trolls out of their hives, killing multiple people. He goes back and slashes 4 more.

Biana and Fitz run after Alvar. Biana shoves Alvar into a cubby, fighting him, while Fitz tries to find a way to lock him in. He doesn't intend to kill him, but when the cubby closes, he and Biana realize that they can't drain the cubby without risking releasing Alvar. They both stare at the cubby, blinking and trying to stop the tears. Sophie is also horrified by the death, but agrees that "Life is a series of hard choices".

So the closest Fitz has come to being a murderer is when he and Biana choose to not rescue Alvar when he's dying rather than risk releasing him.

For comparison, multiple other characters other than Biana and Fitz have actively tried to kill people. Ro, Sandor, and the other bodyguards try to make killing strikes and try to train Sophie, Fitz, and the others to do the same. Keefe practices with throwing stars and tries to kill his mother on Mount Everest. Linh wipes out most of Ravagog and probably kills multiple ogres. Dex fights against the Neverseen and tries to kill them. Biana tries to kill Vespera. Tam and Keefe join the Neverseen. Sophie has tried to kill people before. All of them have made choices for others to die before. "

No matter what,

-X