Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-37530514-20181213020428/@comment-37530514-20190107223920

Applebaby12, true. I can agree with you to some extent. Yes, the Mercadir thing was definitely for Sophie, but then again, she was the only one of his friends there. I think that's one thing that effects it- We ARE reading from Sophie's perspective. We see what she sees, and anything in the back ground we can't see. So of course everyone is going to seem centered around Sophie. (Actually, I think that's a problem Shannon needs to work on...but that's off topic.)

Moving on from that, lets think about Keefe's friends.

He has been purposefully avoiding Biana because of her crush on him, and not wanting to lead her on. And honestly, I don't blame him- I'd do the same, that'd be so awkward.

He and Fitz used to be great friends, but lets think about how rocky their relationship has been currently. Fitz wasn't really there for him during the Neverseen-Lodestar era, which first caused the divide between them (also Keefe's fault). And then when Keefe came back, it was after Fitz had developed feelings for Sophie in Neverseen. So Fitz is a bit jealous of him, which causes the divide to grow more, to the point in Flashback where Keefe has to ask Sophie how Fitz is doing because he doesn't feel comfortable going to him himself. Keefe cares, their relationship is just fractured.

He and Tam... well, they set off on the wrong foot. This has potential to be a beautiful friendship, but well, it's not yet. And we can't expect Keefe to regard Tam in the same way as the others since their attitudes toward each other are mutual. Not to mention, Keefe missed a lot of bonding with the twins in Lodestar.

He and Dex seem pretty chill. No excuse there, except that Shannon hasn't been giving them very many opportunities to interact.

And Linh...well, he hardly knows her. And given Keefe's relationship with Tam, I doubt Tam would appreciate Linh and Keefe being all buddy-buddy all of a sudden.

So honestly, who does that leave? Sophie.

I think, for a long time, Sophie was who kept him centered. She was all he had. But now, I think Ro is helping that to change. Keefe is becoming less dependent on Sophie, and becoming stronger as a person. He's growing. He has Ro to talk to and vent to, which is having positive effects- this latest book hasn't been him needing Sophie, it's Sophie needing him and him being there for her, no matter what. But he didn't take center stage, he didn't steal the show, he didn't do anything reckless. He's growing, and we can't ask him to be perfect all of a sudden- nor do I think it's fair to blame him for becoming so dependent on Sophie during a time where she was all he had. But Flashback is wonderful evidence that Keefe is changing, for the better.