Can we blame Rachel?

[wolfev]

Okay everyone is always arguing about Rachel dying but I thought I'd take a different approach. Rachel actively chose to take a suicide mission. Don't you think it was wrong for her to put herself in danger's path when she had loved ones such as Tobias and her family. It seems wrong that she would take so many risks over the series, a lot of which were for her own pleasure. She in my opinion had no right to risk her own life when it only caused others to suffer emotionally.

[Starsword]

Is it any different for the alternate Animorph kids?

[Phoenix004]

Somebody had to stop the Blade Ship escaping and Rachel was always the best fighter. The only other Animorph I could see going on that mission is Ax, and he was needed on the Pool Ship to hack into the computer system. I suppose Jake could have done it himself, but as the leader his absence would have been much more suspicious (not to mention the fact that it would've been hard for him to kill his own brother).

[wolfev]

yea but its all the other risks she took too

[Phoenix004]

Such as?

[Chad32]

No, I don't blame her. Even though Jake had no plan to get her out, niether of them thought Erik would power down the Pool Ship's guns. That made an impact on how everything turned out.

[XenomorphLV426]

Okay everyone is always arguing about Rachel dying but I thought I'd take a different approach. Rachel actively chose to take a suicide mission. Don't you think it was wrong for her to put herself in danger's path when she had loved ones such as Tobias and her family. It seems wrong that she would take so many risks over the series, a lot of which were for her own pleasure. She in my opinion had no right to risk her own life when it only caused others to suffer emotionally.

Whatch'u talkin' 'bout, Willis?!

That's crazy-talk.

World...in peril.  Billions of people.  We know now there were better options for Jake and Rachel, but from where they were in that point in time, Rachel just did what had to be done.  Selfish?  Are you in-SAANE?  [/Marco voice]

[Starsword]

Someones gotta do the job. Who you gonna call?

[wolfev]

Well technically the blade ship was not a threat to earth. In fact it was not earth's job to catch it in the end but the Andalite Military. The only reason Jake was called in was because the Andalites had a treaty. Also, Rachel constantly went a little too far. She wasn't content with defeat, she wanted annihilation of the yeerks. She would go out of her way to destroy them rather than just defeat them and in doing so put herself in serious danger. She could have still managed to be the best fighter while doing the best to preserve her life for her loved ones. Rachel wasn't just trying to win the war because it was the right thing. She was an adrenaline junkie who needed her fix of danger constantly. She should have seen this darker side of herself (oh and she did in 32) and learned to control it better. If I recall in book 52 she nearly runs over a soldier because she was in a rage.

[XenomorphLV426]

You need to go and read all of the books again.  All of them.  Because, see, Rachel was never half as extreme as you're painting her to be.

[wolfev]

She was about to run over a soldier
That is pretty extreme to me

[filmstu2005]

You need to go and read all of the books again.  All of them.  Because, see, Rachel was never half as extreme as you're painting her to be.

Actually she was painted to be that extreme. Check out the opening sequence of MM4 Back to Before. Why the hell was Rachel roaring with crazy frenzy when the battle was over? Bleeding to death and acting like a mad woman? Simply because there were no more Hork-Bajir warriors to fight?

Sounds pretty extreme to me...

Somebody had to stop the Blade Ship escaping and Rachel was always the best fighter.

Just because Rachel was the best fighter, doesn't mean she was the smartest fighter.

In fact, she wasn't. And Jake knew this. I think Jake up there taking on all those Controlomorphs in tiger morph would've worked out better. At least he knew how to lead himself in battle. And he could think up a  strategy to make it work, as he usually does. But Rachel was never a smart fighter, and sending her alone on that kind of mission was pointless, and an excuse for KA to kill her off. Like we argued many times before, its not like one of the Auxiliary Animorphs couldn't have accompanied Rachel. There was no excuses for Jake not to ask them, no excuse at all. It could've worked. But oh well.

[XenomorphLV426]

What "strategy" is really required in stowing away on a spaceship and eventually bursting out into view and smashing some heads together?  That's exactly the kind of thing Rachel was good at.  Ax and Marco were needed on strategic terms, and Jake seemed to like to keep Cassie and Tobias with the main group, a certain reliance on them.

That doesn't make Rachel any less "smart".  And she knew she was the one to go.  Jake's "secret weapon he hoped he'd never have to use" as he mentioned a few times throughout the series.  Turned out he eventually had to use her.  Because war is hell, and doesn't play out the way you ever expect or want it to.

Basically K.A.'s whole point with the ending.  And if anyone's to be blamed for what went down on Tom's hijacked Bladeship, it's Jake and not Rachel.

[wolfev]

She is to blame because she should have seen that the mission was not necessary and that it was wrong to put herself in a suicide situation when she loved Tobias and knew he would be destroyed if she was killed. Its all her reckless behavior that got her into those bad situations.

[TheFearlessLeader]

Wait Wait, wolfev...you are contradicting yourself here. You say she was insane and crazy and war driven, yet you are also saying she should've had the foresight to step down from an absolutely crazy, insane, suicidal mission?

If she was as bad as you say, then there is never the day she would say no to that kind of mission. She wanted to destroy the yeerks, as you say, and this was the way to get it done.

I agree about the auxilary animorphs maybe going along, but alas, it was a suicide mission. No reason to kill more good guys than necessary.

As I go back and reread the series over and over again, I am beginning to realize that the ending was perfect. I hated it at first, but I am now more knowledgeable in the series and understand now all the beautiful justice in it all.

She kills Tom, then she dies.
Jake sees it all, with his own eyes.
The Blade Ship escapes,
the yeerks no longer enslave,
and Rachel is honored for being brave.

Poetic and righteous.