1. There came a point where I was surprised that Marco and Ax didn't consider each other better friends than Marco and Tobias did with Jake and Ax, respectively. When Tobias isn't in one of his moods, they have a very good back and forth. This was probably the largest positive progression in a relation, from disinterest and kinda fear from Marco, to very jovial if passive aggressive.
2. Not at the top of my wish list but this is kinda cool when you think about it. A few online videos will greatly exemplify that despite being much better than a human at climbing, sure-footing doesn't really exist. And I've done some climbing-really wouldn't want to do it without thumbs. Or harnesses. Once over the fear, I think that would be a pretty chill life style though. This was an interesting choice for this book, I can see a host of other animals being able to do the part as well. Think it was an attempt to just use something different, which really, I'm glad they did do. Maybe they've burned through tigers and eagles already, but hey, goats deserve a bit of glory too.
3. V1. Technically I do think this does make her a traitor to the Yeerks. With a warrant on her head, I'm surprise her strategy is discredit V3-that seems no guarantee of her safety, but hey, Yeerk politics. That the Animorphs didn't have a better response about their identities is shameful, but they've been dealing with V3 so long, think it got them sloppy. Still, that she deduced it, and especially Marco-which was also very sloppy- is a commendable achievement. That they once more felt they should leave her survival up in the air was annoying, but considering she just figured them out, it was fairly dramatic.
4. In some dark part of my soul, Marco's the guy I wish I could be. I've taken to all these hypothetical dilemmas very ambiguously, but even when he knows something is detestable, he can still do it. And there are times I should be able to do that. While his plan was ambitious, I credit his willingness to do it. I do think he over estimated himself this time though: had he personally killed off Eva, it would have destroyed him. Despite all his changes, he's a kid looking to save his mom. Still.
5. Ambiguous! Um, yes. I'm in a bad spot with people right now, so I think that I'd be willing, and that it wouldn't hurt me as much as it should. Hopefully that'll change one day. That dark part of my soul is pragmatic, and in my head the benefits outweigh the cost. Still, a small part of me even now says I couldn't, so while from the outside I think I could, in the heat of things, I can't be sure.
6. I don't care what I've said about GW's, this is one of the most powerful moments in literature IMO. Jake made the call Marco should have made, that Marco couldn't make. There's a tiger pinning him down, rendering him physically incapable of doing anything, and yet is the only thing that mentally is holding him together. I always think of this as Marco's blackest moment. Jake's trapping him in the darkest, keeping him from falling in. And I can't imagine that was easy on him either, knowing Marco, and Marco's pain like no one else does.
That said, I wouldn't have done it. At best I've have finished the job for him, but if he was in position I would not have stopped him. And that I say without ambiguity. If someone else has to suffer to alleviate the pain of so many, including me, I, most horribly, would do nothing to change it.