Group Re-Read: #37 The Weakness

[Terenia]

Sorry guys. I've been a combination of ridiculously busy and annoyingly sick over the past few weeks. I'm mostly caught up, though, so I think these re-reads will be back on a regular schedule again. Sorry!!!!

Summary
When Jake has to leave town for a family thing, the other Animorphs and Ax figure life will pretty much be normal until he gets back. But when Tobias discovers Visser Three's newest feeding place, the kids decide they have to check it out.

But there's no assigned leader. Now Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco, and Ax have another problem: Who will be the best one for the job? Because being in charge isn't just guts and glory. It's about making decisions that will mean the difference between life...and death.

Questions
1) Why do you think that Rachel is so eager to take the position of leader?
2) Similarly, why do you think that Marco decides he does NOT want to take over as leader?
3) What are your thoughts about the Garatron inspector?
4) Rachel's idea for making the Yeerks look bad in front of the inspector is a hard and fast 'smear campaign'. For the most part it goes well, until Cassie is captured (and one guy dies of a heart attack). Do you think that Rachel's idea, in essence, was a good one?
5) After Cassie is captured, Rachel tries to quit as leader. Marco refuses to let her. What do you think all of this says about the characterization of Rachel throughout the series?
6) What do you think about the fact that Visser Three allowed the Animorphs to attack the inspector and escape the Yeerk Pool freely?
7) Do you think that Rachel redeems herself in the end, by coming up with a plan that saves Cassie and takes down the inspector?

Next week: #38 The Arrival

[Jess]

Lmao, I'm doing this reread and LJ's at the same time...

NOT LONG AND WELL THOUGHT OUT BECAUSE I HAVE TWO DAYS TO FINISH MY AP LIT ASSIGNMENT AGAHLFDJSFL


1) Why do you think that Rachel is so eager to take the position of leader?
- There was always a weak relationship between Rachel and Jake, IMO. There was never really an outright fight for power, since Rachel had accepted Jake as the leader - the only person she ever listened to - but there was always that little bit of tension there. Jake used more covert tactics; until that point, Rachel wanted to go GRIZZLY RAEG on the yeerks, even though it would certainly knock her down many blazes of glory. Rachel definitely saw why Jake was the man for the job after this book, fersure.


2) Similarly, why do you think that Marco decides he does NOT want to take over as leader?
- Marco knows the role he fills. Rachel tries to ignore the role she fills.
Edit:Also thinking about it, Marco is the type of character that wouldn't mind seeing how things play out. He knows he's not leader material; he's definitely the tried and true tactician. I think he (and Cassie, for that matter, would know about this) would seize the opportunity to knock a little bit of humility into Rachel. I also think he might have done it for himself. Marco is a strange character in that he's pretty much "closest" to everyone in terms of personality and motives - he and Jake obsess over the "bright, clear line from A-Z," he and Rachel have that "dark sides" to them (Marco even more arguably so than Rachel though he rarely let that side of him show), he and Tobias had the complexes with their families (or lack thereof in Tobias's case) and that dry humor they shared, and he and Cassie were most aware of emotions and how to manipulate them, and he and Ax understood their places in the war better than any of the other characters...

3) What are your thoughts about the Garatron inspector?
- Interesting, but why would they declare the host bodies unfit because the Garatron-host was so easily poisoned? Shouldn't they declare Andalite bodies unfit because Ax was able to poison Alloran in #8...?


4) Rachel's idea for making the Yeerks look bad in front of the inspector is a hard and fast 'smear campaign'. For the most part it goes well, until Cassie is captured (and one guy dies of a heart attack). Do you think that Rachel's idea, in essence, was a good one?
Oh, definitely it worked, but it kind of worked backwards... Since... well... The inspector died. And Visser Three was oozing his wonderfully arrogant toeragness because he was trying to make the inspector look bad.

5) After Cassie is captured, Rachel tries to quit as leader. Marco refuses to let her. What do you think all of this says about the characterization of Rachel throughout the series?
I don't think Rachel gives up easily, no. I always saw Rachel as someone smart, but letting nearsightedness and brashness kind of get in the way of her better judgment. She wasn't cowering away, but I think up until this point, she hadn't really acknowledged her position on the team, and finally accepted Jake's.

6) What do you think about the fact that Visser Three allowed the Animorphs to attack the inspector and escape the Yeerk Pool freely?
Oh, it's so something he'd do. If someone tries to out-arrogant him, he's got to knock them down... A peg... or two... Or three. Visser Three is definitely wary of the "Andalite Bandits" but if someone is going to stand in his ambition's way, because the Garatron clearly worried about his own interests more than Visser Three liked... Well, he -almost- had Cassie, so it would have been killing two birds with one stone, that way. But Visser Three doesn't think that far ahead, or that well, the brute.

7) Do you think that Rachel redeems herself in the end, by coming up with a plan that saves Cassie and takes down the inspector?
She never needed redemption, except for herself. Which I don't think she got. She "won" the battle, but again, it was only one time where Rachel had to make such momentous decisions. Winning a battle isn't the same as winning the war. She never got her redemption... Just like how Jake never got his. The purpose of the book was really for Rachel to learn her place, and she was successful in that regard.


Yeah break time over time to do AP lit -o-

[Homiegee]

1) Why do you think that Rachel is so eager to take the position of leader?
Rachel wanted to be the hero, she needed to be the hero since the war began since it's her personality. Taking a leadership role in the group enabled her to do that. "Being the leader is mostly about other people. Being the kind of hero I was born to be - the kind of hero I'd discovered myself to be since this war started - was a lot about me. I was smart enough to have figured that out."

2) Similarly, why do you think that Marco decides he does NOT want to take over as leader?
Marco is an analytical type who would say "no" to a mission that might actually end up doing damage to the Yeerks simply because of the large risk involved. But as a leader, this trait would mean he would lack the initiative to approve of dangerous missions that really need to be done. Unlike Rachel, he acknowledges his own weakness and refuses to be the Animorphs' leader for this reason.

3) What are your thoughts about the Garatron inspector?
I find it odd that he doesn't kill off the Animorphs even though he has two chances to do so and by doing so he would ensure a position with the Council of Thirteen. Perhaps this is because he wants them alive so they can continue to make the Visser look bad? I was also surprised when I first read this book that Garatrons as a species were not used as host bodies after this. Maybe the Yeerks ended up loosing their war with the Garatrons or something.

4) Rachel's idea for making the Yeerks look bad in front of the inspector is a hard and fast 'smear campaign'. For the most part it goes well, until Cassie is captured (and one guy dies of a heart attack). Do you think that Rachel's idea, in essence, was a good one?
If Rachel wanted to make Visser 3 look bad then she the right idea. However, it's only good as long as the Animorphs were willing to deal with the "unknown evil", as Ax put it, that would have been Visser 3's replacement.

5) After Cassie is captured, Rachel tries to quit as leader. Marco refuses to let her. What do you think all of this says about the characterization of Rachel throughout the series?
This incident reflects on how throughout the series, Rachel was quick to make decisions, sometimes rashly so. This was both a strength and a weakness, as she had the tenacity to keep fighting no matter the odds but she also had the impulsiveness that came along with it. Her decision to attack the community center was an example of this rash behavior as was her attempt to quit as leader immediately afterwards.

6) What do you think about the fact that Visser Three allowed the Animorphs to attack the inspector and escape the Yeerk Pool freely?
I think the Animorphs are lucky that the Yeerks' internal politics as well as Visser Three's arrogance once again got in the way of their overall mission of invading earth and destroying the "Andalite bandits."

7) Do you think that Rachel redeems herself in the end, by coming up with a plan that saves Cassie and takes down the inspector?
Definitely. Rachel proved that her plans can work better than expected, and that if she makes a mistake she is willing to fix it at any cost. Not only did the Animorphs save Cassie and take down the inspector, they also killed probably 1000+ Yeerks with the flaming wreckage from the jet, severely damaged the phony high-rise, and caused yet another public humiliation for Visser 3.

[MoppingBear]

1) Why do you think that Rachel is so eager to take the position of leader?
she probably enjoyed the thought of using the animorphs as extensions of herself to kill the yeerks.
2) Similarly, why do you think that Marco decides he does NOT want to take over as leader?
marco is brilliant, in much the same way that House is brilliant, it takes him time to find the best solution, and he knows he wouldnt be the best choice in the heat of battle.
3) What are your thoughts about the Garatron inspector?
he didnt seem like all that interesting to me, typical arrogant yeerk.
4) Rachel's idea for making the Yeerks look bad in front of the inspector is a hard and fast 'smear campaign'. For the most part it goes well, until Cassie is captured (and one guy dies of a heart attack). Do you think that Rachel's idea, in essence, was a good one?
no. visser 3 is pretty much incompetent as a strategist.  her smear campaign would make him look bad (rightly so) and might have him get replaced by someone much more competent.
5) After Cassie is captured, Rachel tries to quit as leader. Marco refuses to let her. What do you think all of this says about the characterization of Rachel throughout the series?
it shows that during the heat of battle, she lets emotion take over her, but when it comes to actually strategizing something, she is at a loss. seems consistant.
6) What do you think about the fact that Visser Three allowed the Animorphs to attack the inspector and escape the Yeerk Pool freely?
well he knew the inspector would have a bad report on him, which could lead to his demotion, so letting him get killed was obvious, however letting them escape? i dont know.
7) Do you think that Rachel redeems herself in the end, by coming up with a plan that saves Cassie and takes down the inspector?
no. she did the same thing she always does, act recklessly, it just happened to work in this case.

[RYTX]

1) To test herself, everyone wants to take a stab at being qb once in awhile.
Also, the only other one who would volunteer would be Marco, and she does not have the patients for his tactics. Jake will plan out, but like Rachel he does tend to look to act rather than have form an air tight plan.
2) I think he decided he couldn't win, which is stupid. Cassie and Tobias may have been more fond of Rachel, but all the Animorphs tend to speak their true mind on things (why Marco and Rachel are often allied on ideas) And I think that Cassie and Tobias could have fairly easily been made to put him in charge, compelling Rachel to follow, however resentfully
4) Rachels plan annoyed me. I understand it, but at best it would have just gotten V3 fired and replace, possibly with someone worse. That was trying to play, not manipulate the politics, and was not something that should have been done
6) Love it. We talk about Villian decay with V3, but this is just good stuff; evil turning on itself, use your enemy to destory your enemy. Granted for logistics he should have let them escape, but for story it was one of the best moves he'd made in a while
7) Sure. She broke even, didn't get a lot done, but as Jake said, everyone got home, and that's something. The old man is sad, but accidents happen. She may have learned something, not a win in anyway, but not a loss either.

extra: I'm sadden about the Garatron. The inspector says it's of the newest host species, implying there should be more controllers. I know you couldn't keep it; the Garatron was a super species, a few of them on earth would stop the animorphs in one book, but it kinda sucks how it was there for only one book and never seen again without reason withing the series itself. Cool species, cool use wish it could have had more.
end

[Gafrash]

1) Why do you think that Rachel is so eager to take the position of leader?

I reckon, given the circumstances they found (start a hit-run-style-smear-campaign with Jake gone), she genuinely believed she was the best one to get the job done. Simple as that.

2) Similarly, why do you think that Marco decides he does NOT want to take over as leader?

Didn't it have to do with him being outvoted?!

3) What are your thoughts about the Garatron inspector?

Interesting character, though, I think, KA or the ghostwriter or whatever, got a bit lazy here and went for a ironical statement about the physical similarities between the Andalite and Garatron species. Similarly, the morphs that the Visser pulled on them in the community center was a bit slack, if I may critize so myself. I mean, a foul-smelling sludge-creature??!
Nevertheless, the speed at which the Inspector moved and talked was a cool gimmick.
It makes us wonder whether the Yeerks were truly successful in enslaving the species.

4) Rachel's idea for making the Yeerks look bad in front of the inspector is a hard and fast 'smear campaign'. For the most part it goes well, until Cassie is captured (and one guy dies of a heart attack). Do you think that Rachel's idea, in essence, was a good one?

Her plan was sound. They were waging militia tactics, hit and run. But there's always colateral damage when those tactics are involved, because you can't really control the environment you are fighting in.
Both Cassie's capture and the death of the old man were unforeseen. The Inspector's death, however, ultimately scratched any hopes of success to this plan, though.

5) After Cassie is captured, Rachel tries to quit as leader. Marco refuses to let her. What do you think all of this says about the characterization of Rachel throughout the series?

That once she realizes the weight that comes with being a real leader and the abilities that one needs to have in order to perfom well in that role, she realizes that she can't cut it. And I think this was important for her to learn, in order for her to truly realize what it's like to walk in Jake's shoes. * Which doesn't make sense to have this plot here, and then make her face these same issues once again in The Return.
And in trying to fix her problems, she does it in her own radical intense way. Blow a plain through the dome channel. She certainly didn't think of the extra colateral damage this may have caused, but may have thought of the difficulty the Yeerks would have in covering up yet another mess to the public.

6) What do you think about the fact that Visser Three allowed the Animorphs to attack the inspector and escape the Yeerk Pool freely?

Very smart. He couldn't have possibly known that the Anis had a way of beating the Inspector's host's speed. I think we witnessed Visser Three's best manifestation of faith here. He believed in the fact that his 'Andalite Bandits' enemies were hard to beat and in turn invested in a way to help them fix his 'problem' FOR him.
I think the Animorphs were extremely lucky to have this unexpectedly conspire in their favor.
What I didn't understand was WHY Visser 3 let them escape, after this was finished. Wouldn't it have looked better on him, having him caught the Andalite bandits after they killed the Inspector?!

7) Do you think that Rachel redeems herself in the end, by coming up with a plan that saves Cassie and takes down the inspector?

I think she realizes what she's done and with the lesson learnt she aimed at 'fixing' her problem. She rescues Cassie. But what else could she have really done to 'redeem' herself with the old man's family?!
I agree with what Jess says about the point of this book being that Rachel needed to learn and value her place in the team, just like the others some-what do theirs.

[anijen21]

1) Why do you think that Rachel is so eager to take the position of leader?
To be totally honest, it seems out of character. Her whole struggle with hubris in this seems to have derived from nothing. We know she's got bloodlust, and she doubts/is impressed by Jake based on how he manipulates her during the David trilogy, and they've butt heads a few times since then, but I honestly never got the impression she thought she could do a better job.

2) Similarly, why do you think that Marco decides he does NOT want to take over as leader?
He totally pussied out! And frankly, he would have done a much better job. I didn't like this book. Real!Marco would have stood up for himself more.

3) What are your thoughts about the Garatron inspector?
I like the Garatrons. The inspector himself was kind of an archetype, though I did wonder who he was and how he could bound past Visser Three in the ranks like that.

4) Rachel's idea for making the Yeerks look bad in front of the inspector is a hard and fast 'smear campaign'. For the most part it goes well, until Cassie is captured (and one guy dies of a heart attack). Do you think that Rachel's idea, in essence, was a good one?
I was kind of pleased to see a mission that was not retaliatory in nature, but rather preemptive. I think it was mostly an excuse for Rachel to get her fix, though.

5) After Cassie is captured, Rachel tries to quit as leader. Marco refuses to let her. What do you think all of this says about the characterization of Rachel throughout the series?
That it's erratic and inconsistent. SHE STARTED CRYING AND WAHHHING FOR SYMPATHY? Jesus Christ.

6) What do you think about the fact that Visser Three allowed the Animorphs to attack the inspector and escape the Yeerk Pool freely?
Villain derailment. Visser Three would have had his cake and ate it, too, earlier in the series. He hates the bandits. And I really don't think he hates political competitors more than that. But it is a pretty good explanation for how Yeerk hierarchy deteriorated so suddenly in the last book of the series.

7) Do you think that Rachel redeems herself in the end, by coming up with a plan that saves Cassie and takes down the inspector?
Not really. Actually I was really unsettled that a bunch of terrorists...hijack ed a plane...and crashed it into a skyscraper...I mean, yeesh. I know this book was published in 2000, but seriously, when you compare that to what happened in real life, it doesn't shed good light on our heroes.

[Chad32]

The inspector may have been in a different line of ranks. I'm not sure, but his position may be unrelated to the Vissers, which is why a high ranking Visser wouldn't be able to do anything about him. He works directly for the Council. He isn't a Visser, as far as I can remember, so V3 isn't above or below him in rank. Does that make sense?

[anijen21]

But the Inspector is vying (or actually it sounded like he was in the process of getting confirmed) for a spot on the Council of Thirteen. I think it's stated pretty explicitly that the only thing above the Vissers is the Council. So, yes, I believe the inspector was working to outrank Visser Three, unless there is some crazy subtextual system of checks and balances where the Vissers are like one branch of the Yeerk government and the Council is another, and there is no possibility for exchange once you're set in a track. But, based on the fact that the Yeerk Empire is extremely young and there seems to be an element of "making it up as we go," I have a feeling that it's totally linear, and whoever the Inspector was, his plans involved leapfrogging over dear old Visser Three.

[Chad32]

Yeah, myabe so. It's also possible that Rachel and marco were being somewhat out of character, but their characters change over the course of the series, so it's hard to say what is in our out.

[Terenia]

((btw next re-read should be up tomorrow or Thursday. Sorry for the delay))

[Gafrash]

...Actually I was really unsettled that a bunch of terrorists...hijack ed a plane...and crashed it into a skyscraper...I mean, yeesh. I know this book was published in 2000, but seriously, when you compare that to what happened in real life, it doesn't shed good light on our heroes.

This is a real good point. It certainly doesn't shed a good light on Rachel's character.

[morfowt]

to be honest, I never really made that connection... although it might have to do with the fact that back when I first read #37, I probably didn't know about the 9/11 thing (I don't keep up with current events at all)

[Homiegee]

Visser 3 probably didn't stop the Andalite bandits because he figured he'd get them next time, but he wanted to personally watch the Inspector die because he's a sadist. Also the Visser's normal level of anger at the Andalite bandits was probably less since they'd just taken care of his biggest political enemy.

As for where in the heierarchy the Inspector lies, I agree that he is directly under the employ of the Council of 13, meaning he isn't necessarily above Visser 3, just on a different "branch" of power.

The plane thing. When I first read this book a couple of years ago, it was 2005 and I said WTF!!!? The Animorphs seriously hijacked a plane and crashed it into a building? Then I checked the publication date and it said 2000, so at least then I knew it wasn't referencing 9/11.

The way I see it is that the Animorphs were guerilla fighters, not necessarily "terrorists", probably more like "freedom fighters" but guerillas none the less. The Yeerks were much more numerous and much better armed than the Animorphs, so they had to take advantage and use every single weapon and strategy available to them; whether it be their morphing power, the Chee's holograms, intstant maple and ginger oatmeal, or even conventional methods like explosives. Or not-so-conventional weapons like planes. The fact that they happened to do this before 9/11 is an eerie coincidence, but like I said they had to use everything available.

[anijen21]

The way I see it is that the Animorphs were guerilla fighters, not necessarily "terrorists", probably more like "freedom fighters" but guerillas none the less.

I'm of the opinion that labels like "freedom fighter" and "terrorist" are completely fluid depending on who you ask.