Talk:Sophie and Fitz/@comment-37605604-20181125145640/@comment-37605604-20181126004323

@panakesblossom

You'd think that after 3 years of getting to know each other, Sophie observations about Fitz would go deeper than "his movie star smile" or his "teal eyes". Or that Fitz would know enough about Sophie's personality to understand how oblivious she'd be about his feelings, and why she's that way. Why is it that Biana had to help him understand how Sophie's mind works? I mean, Keefe understood this integral part of Sophie on his own and is even able to explain it to Ro, showing Keefe's deeper understanding of Sophie's upbring and how it affected her personality (via Nightfall short). But Fitz, the cognate, is clueless about Sophie's interworkings.

This is why I believe this to be a crush. Sophitz just doesn't understand each other as well as Keefoster does. Fitz has the same movie star smile and gorgeous eyes in book 7 that he had in their first encounter in book 1. Not much has evolved in their relationship. On the other hand, Keefe wasn't even a real contender in Book 1--it was mainly Dex vs Fitz. Yet, out of nowhere, Keefe and Sophie were able to build something special between them. They bonded through their adventures in book 2, through their connected love of Silveny, and through their need of each other. They rely on each other. Keefe has no one except Sophie--his parents are both terrible, he has no siblings, and his best friend Fitz is turned against him half the time. And Sophie needs someone who appreciates her for who she is. Keefe, who clearly understands how growing up around humans has altered her outlook, would understand Sophie's struggle against matchmaking and wouldn't force her into it, unlike Fitz, who clearly doesn't understand Sophie at all, who did.

I'd argue that the personal needs between Keefe and Sophie outweigh the superficiality of Sophitz. And, yes, Fitz's feelings for Sophie were really intensified after he nearly died. But we can say the same for Keefe. He got much closer to Sophie after he left the Neverseen and everyone turned against him, including Fitz (loyalty issues btw??). At Keefe's lowest, his feelings for Sophie intensified also.

And Sophie's decision to register for the match after Tam turned hardly counts as her realizing the meaning of life, imo. I'd say that when they thought that Alvar died is a better example of the harshness of mortality. And who understood Sophie in that scene? Who knew exactly what she needed and was waiting for her? Keefe. Sophie and Keefe both understand losing a parent (Keefe thought his mom died and Sophie's human parent are more or less loss). And they both understand being outsiders in the elf world (and they are both more desensitized to violence as shown in Flashback, comforting each other about their jarring upbringings). Sophie's decision to register was hardly due to a revelation. It was more akin to a "the world's ending, let's get married" situation. That isn't love or understanding. That is hasty and uncertain and unstable and, usually, shortlived. Not a good romantic foundation.

Also, about their  relationship's being built on "undying trust and commitment". Not really. As I said above, each of the three has trust issues, and as was pointed out in this book, there seem to be fewer secrets between Sophie and Keefe than between her and Fitz. Commitment is harder to decipher since  we still have no clue how Sophie will react once Keefe confesses (which will 100% happen by the end of the series [Shannon won't give up the love triangle subplot and it can't be a triangle if it stays Sophitz]). However, Fitz seems to have eyes for Lihn, while Keefe has stayed focused on Sophie from the start.

And to answer why  the focus is always on Keefe and Fitz... because that's how love triangles work. It is very unlikely that she ends up with a new character at this point. But she could always choose to remain independent... but that's less fun for the fans.

Ok, that was quite a tangent. Hope I countered all you're point adaquetly.