What makes Rachel's Character so likable?

[Venus]

And letting her live wouldn't have done Tobias any favors, either.  It's suggested that, had she survived the war, he would have 'gone human' for her.  And then he would have endured the same shock that Cassie got from Jake.  Rachel would not have been the same wild reckless person that Tobias fell in love with.  It could not have worked out between them, I don't think.  And then where would that leave Tobias?  Trapped, without his wings, and utterly miserable.  Seems he was just doomed to suffer, either way.

I don't agree. The Rachel of book 1 and the Rachel of book 54 were two wildly different people and Tobias still loved her even as the girl he initially fell in love with changed quite radically over the three years. While I'm sure the transition period immediately following the war would be rocky for both of them I do think they would have come out of it all with their relationship intact.

[Chad32]

I really don't get why people think she's some kind of Bloodknight, when her last narrated book had her refusing to becoem Super Rachel, and crying over whether or not to kill David. That happened during the final arc.

I know a lot of people didn't like 48, saying it doesn't show her character well, but I don't think it's because they expected her to gleefully accept Super Rachel powers, and crush David like a bug. Did they?

[DinosaurNothlit]

I really don't get why people think she's some kind of Bloodknight, when her last narrated book had her refusing to becoem Super Rachel, and crying over whether or not to kill David. That happened during the final arc.

I know a lot of people didn't like 48, saying it doesn't show her character well, but I don't think it's because they expected her to gleefully accept Super Rachel powers, and crush David like a bug. Did they?

Very true, and I think that it is telling of Rachel's character that she didn't accept Crayak's offer.  But I also think that it is just as telling that she even considered it.  I believe that Rachel is the only one of the Animorphs who would have taken as long as she did to decline the offer.

Cassie, of course, would have instantly seen it for what it was, and refused from the start.

Jake might have briefly considered it, but I don't think he would have been as swayed by the raw power as Rachel was.  If he would have considered it, it would have been purely from a rational standpoint, that it would help the Animorphs win the war faster.

Marco probably would have considered it almost as long as Rachel did, to be honest.  But his motivations would have been extremely different.  He wouldn't have been addicted to the power.  Like Jake, he would have seen the rational side of it.  He's the one who is willing to take any morally-ambiguous risk in order to win, after all.  But I think that, in the end, even Marco would have declined, too, because he would have seen Crayak's side of the deal and what he was getting from it, weighed the options from that standpoint, and realized that this was not a good choice.

Tobias would have refused it almost as fast as Cassie did, I think.  He would have seen what Crayak was trying to do, and would have taken any way out of that deal, even if it meant the risk of being stuck as a rat.

Ax wouldn't have gone for it, either.  Granted, on the one hand, he's pretty dedicated to winning the war.  So he probably would have, very briefly, considered the offer.  But he would have seen it as a heavily dishonorable decision, and would have pretty quickly refused.  Then again . . . he's done other things that could be considered very dishonorable, in the effort to win the war.  So I don't really know what he would do.  Maybe he would have thought it over like Rachel did.  But I'm certain that he would have decided against it in the end.

The point is, in any case, that NONE of the Animorphs would have taken Crayak's offer, so that's not really a very valid point in Rachel's favor.

[Mira]

Rachel is a good person for people to model themselves on, that's it. But all of them is!

[filmstu2005]

I just had a cool thought: in the alternative reality where Earth was a dodgy fascist place (megamorphs 3) instead of Rachel they had Melissa.
If Rachel is sort of the earth"s choice as they only random member of the group and exempleis human characteristics. then Melissa in this alternative timeline was the only random member of the group represents the human characteristics of that alternative world: she was shy and submissive and feminine... exemplifying all the values that police states seek in their citizens especially women.

Chic. You Rock. Awesome analysis

Btw, I totally think Jake has all the characteristcs of a war veteran that ends up committing suicide. The guy was a total mental case after the war. Maybe the "Ram the blade ship!"  scene was a metaphor for him committing suicide. I don't know.

DinosaurNothlit made some very well-put points.  I love ANIMORPHS!!! Haha...

[Robcola21]

Dinosaur, i will definately read your fanfic. Thanks for bringing it to my attention

I think Tobias would have kept Rachel grounded. I don't think she would ever get to the point where she couldn't live without war if he was around. But i do think she would continue to toe the line. Now that i think about it, that would have been such an interesting story in itself, Tobias being the loved one left at home while Rachel is constantly going out and saving the world. How he deals with constantly being worried that one mission she won't come home.

Ahh the things that might have been 

[amida41]

And letting her live wouldn't have done Tobias any favors, either.  It's suggested that, had she survived the war, he would have 'gone human' for her.  And then he would have endured the same shock that Cassie got from Jake.  Rachel would not have been the same wild reckless person that Tobias fell in love with.  It could not have worked out between them, I don't think.  And then where would that leave Tobias?  Trapped, without his wings, and utterly miserable.  Seems he was just doomed to suffer, either way.

I don't agree. The Rachel of book 1 and the Rachel of book 54 were two wildly different people and Tobias still loved her even as the girl he initially fell in love with changed quite radically over the three years. While I'm sure the transition period immediately following the war would be rocky for both of them I do think they would have come out of it all with their relationship intact.

I agree. The politically correct opinion these days is that if you serve in a war, and enjoy doing something morally questionable (regardless of what the result of that action is) you WILL fall apart afterwards and be a wreck for the rest of your life. I've known a large number of soldiers and at one point considered enlisting myself, so I have a somewhat more valid perspective of war than people who have only ever seen it through the eyes of strangers and hollywood. The reason Jake fell apart after the war was because he was the one who made the final call on a lot of questionable actions. Rachel was a soldier, and she followed the orders of a superior, and she was also very confident and self-assured. You have to remember that Jake, the only Animorph whose situation is due to his inability to cope with the post-war society, was never as self-assured as Rachel was. All throughout the series, he questioned each decision as he made it, constantly second guessing himself.

I believe that Rachel and Tobias would have coped as well as Cassie, once they'd gotten used to the transition from war to peace. And the 'what would Rachel have done with herself after the war' argument is a joke, she could have enlisted in the counter-terrorist forces that were mentioned in the book, she could have been an instructor like Jake, or she could have become a model/actress like Marco. If Cassie was getting offered a million dollars for a Wal-mart advertising endorsement, I'm fairly sure Rachel would have been able to land similar deals.

In the end, the only reason that we have for the circumstances that each of the Animorphs find themselves in, with the possible exception of Jake, is that K.A. is trying to beat us over the head with the message that 'War Is Bad'. Tobias and Rachel, the two original members who were willing to battle the Yeerks from the beginning, were left destroyed by the war (literally with Rachel).  Marco and Cassie, the two original members who were reluctant to fight, both prospered. Jake, the member who was originally unsure, but later warmed up big time to the war effort, was also a wreck following the victory, though not quite so much as Tobias or Rachel.

[Chad32]

I agree very much. The military is all voluntary these days, and if war was really as bad as this then how would the military ever get people in voluntarily? I really think a lot of this is KA just pushing her views. I see absolutely no reason for Rachel not being able to find something constructive to do after the war.

[Azguard]

 i don't know if anybody mentioned this yet....but because rachel is pretty.

[niknik]

Referring to the point that no one is quite like Rachel - for what it's worth, and to any and all Battlestar fans here... Starbuck totally puts me in mind of Rachel, and I think perhaps this is why I love Starbuck so damn much 

[Tobichel]

Rachel is my heroine. I really admire her strength and bravery. She's very caring and stands up 4 her friends. She was loyal to Tobias and saw him for who he really was, not some random nothlit. I was really depressed after her death and angry at K.A for ending the series dat way.