Cassie's Betrayal

[Chad32]

I have mentioned this in other threads, but I have yet to make a thread specifically about this. Cassie let Tom get away with the Escafil Device, and I can't fathom why some fans would not hold that against her.

There were good things that came from it. However, any possitive thing that would come from that, could have been done while being done differently. If they had used the Chee, or PM Yeerks, to spread the word that the Animorphs were willing to give a way out for Yeerks who didn't want to be involed in war or involuntary infestation, then there would be Yeerks coming to become nothlits. It would make a positive effect, without the downside of Visser Three having the device, or being worried about squads of morph capable controllers attacking the Animorphs.

In the moment when Cassie decided to let Tom go, she was afraid that if Jake killed Tom he would be changed. However, he already wasn't the same Jake she once knew. Plus he wound up killing Tom anyway. Of course, this was to make sure he didn't become another Eva. Better dead than a controller: The Ani motto.

Some say that it was Applegate's way of making hope seem as lost as possible, but even so that would still count as a dumb move by Cassie. Nothing good came from doing that, that couldn't have been gained some other way.

One thing that bothers me, is that when Jake excludes Cassie from a war meeting, Tobias says that's "beyond wrong". I very much disagree with this. I'm glad the group was willing to forgive her for that, but when someone breaks another's trust, it's a big issue.

Don't get me wrong, though. I don't hate Cassie, and I'm glad Jake still had feelings for her. It's good that their relationship is strong enough to overcome a large mistake.

I do hold it against her. Some people don't, and that confuses me. She could have helped Jake take Tom down. Between the two of them, they could have subdued a Human Controller without killing him, even though he had a dracon beam. Some say there may have been enemies in the area, but I don't think there were. I think most everyone else was back fighting the battle with the other Anis and the auxilaries.

I'd like to speak about this in detail, on topic. Then maybe put it to rest.

[Kelran-Isthinar]

Personally? Im furious with her. I see the entire bad outcome at the end as a combination of her and Erek.

I can, over time, learn to respect people with pacifistic ideals, but when it comes down to war, I have a hard time forgiving things such as Cassie or Ereks actions.

In fact in the end its all Cassies fault, and she did much more harm to Jake than good, because in saving him from killing his brother personally, she condemened him to;

A; forcing his cousin to die in order to kill him
B; commiting genocide
C; taking the animorphs public
D; getting a US military battalion killed
E; getting a ton of Hork Bajir killed
F; getting the auxiliary animorphs killed
G; getting their home town bombed off the face of the earth

Also, she condemned Tobias to depression, though thats partly his fault for allowing it to control him.
In short, Jake would have alot less on his concience and many many many fewer people would have been dead if she hadnt been so stupid.

And if Id been Jake, right then, right there, the temptation to do to her what they *should* have done to David the first go round would've been very hard to resist.

And yes, excluding her from the war meetings was not only right, it wasnt *enough*
They should have excluded both her and Erek from 'active duty' the moment their pacifistic issues became problematic.

[morfowt]

You guys make lots of good points, however, I still feel that Cassie did the right thing. And the reason behind that...well honestly, I don't have a good reason.

well there's my thoughts.

[filmstu2005]

Hey Daphnes, did you ever get my email?

Personally? Im furious with her. I see the entire bad outcome at the end as a combination of her and Erek.

I can, over time, learn to respect people with pacifistic ideals, but when it comes down to war, I have a hard time forgiving things such as Cassie or Ereks actions.

In fact in the end its all Cassies fault, and she did much more harm to Jake than good, because in saving him from killing his brother personally, she condemened him to;

A; forcing his cousin to die in order to kill him
B; commiting genocide
C; taking the animorphs public
D; getting a US military battalion killed
E; getting a ton of Hork Bajir killed
F; getting the auxiliary animorphs killed
G; getting their home town bombed off the face of the earth

Also, she condemned Tobias to depression, though thats partly his fault for allowing it to control him.
In short, Jake would have alot less on his concience and many many many fewer people would have been dead if she hadnt been so stupid.

And if Id been Jake, right then, right there, the temptation to do to her what they *should* have done to David the first go round would've been very hard to resist.

And yes, excluding her from the war meetings was not only right, it wasnt *enough*
They should have excluded both her and Erek from 'active duty' the moment their pacifistic issues became problematic.

You make an interesting point. But do you really think Jake should have killed his brother? Should he have been the one to do it? Do you recall a scene in Book 30 i think, The Reunion. Marco cast his own b.s. aside to target his mom. He was actually going to kill his mother. He charged straight at her in hopes of knocking her off the mountain so she'd fall to her death. But do you remember what happened next? Jake, yes, JAKE interfered and tackled him. He stopped Marco from killing his own mother b/c he knew it would destroy Marco. Marco the comedian. The ruthless strategist. I think we can argue that Marco was mentally stronger than Jake. He'd already dealt with his mother's death, and seeing her return was just as painful. Had it been Jake in his place, I think Jake would've broke apart.

So Cassie stopping Jake from killing his own brother was justifiable. Jake himself had already done the exact same thing. Cassie saved him because they needed him. It wouldve messed him up. Remember what Rachel told Marco in the final scene of The Reunion. Marco didnt know what to do. He wasn't sure if he could survive the situation and end up killing his mother. He wondered about that choice. And Rachel said, "Well, I'd hope that someone would come along and take that choice away from me." Which is exactly what Cassie did.

I think Cassie did the right thing. You can be mad with her all you want, but she was essential to them winning the war against the Yeerks. A war that was able to offer hope in the end to other species. Rachel made a great sacrifice, and it mattered in the end. Jake wouldve been messed up if he had to kill Tom, especially right after losing his whole family to the Yeerks. But we can also say it was K.A.'s way of leaving our Animorph heroes with no hope and in their darkest hour. Its the way the story had to go. Its called Drama.

[Azguard]

 Well, if Cassie had made that mistake, then hey, it just shows how real the characaters are. They make mistakes, and despite being battle-hardened, they were still young! Some mistakes have very costly consequences, and we can't see all of them.

[Chad32]

I suppose she did the same thing for Jake that Jake did for Marco, but it wasn't exactly the same thing. Tom was also running off with the box. That's the part that makes what she did wrong. As good as her intentions were, good ententions does not make something right.

I guess having them make mistakes does make them more real. Of course, I would still hold mistakes against them.

Offtopic: Filmstu, I haven't received a recent email from you. Not since Invasion: Part Two on the 13th of last month.

[Kelran-Isthinar]

From a story perspective, it was an excellent choice on the authors part 

But from a character perspective, you also have to remember that at this point Tom would rather die to kill that Yeerk, than live and eventually take part in the death of many many more people.

The ethics are very very difficult, and so in this KA succeded in creating great questions.

For Cassie, in that moment, with no way to know the future, that was the right thing to do.
Just as for Jake, it was the right thing to try to kill Tom, and allow himself to be stopped by Cassie.

Yet on a global and more general scale, it was entirely wrong of her to interfere.
She had no right.

Dontcha love the twisted nature of wartime ethics?

[phaze89]

I think she went about the situation all wrong. If she wanted to stop Jake from crossing that line, fine, but she could at least have taken Tom down. These kids have had dozens of dracon beams pointed at them countless times, whats one scared controller gonna do to a human wolf? It would be so easy for her to sneak up on him and take the box, maybe even knock him and out and try to starve the yeerk out.

[filmstu2005]

I could've sworn she was in owl morph at the time. Wasnt she? I wouldnt think an owl was much of a threat against a human. Especially a human-controller.

Im probably wrong about the owl thing though

[phaze89]

I just checked, she was in wolf morph. Here:

"Now, watching the lion’s wild golden mane emerge from James’s own thick golden
hair, the morph seemed somehow appropriate.
<We’re going in, Cassie,> he said. <With or without you. Are you going to help us?>
I nodded, closed my eyes, and went wolf."

From which point they went and fought the Visser and his troops.

[filmstu2005]

Lol. Yeah, i just did a quick reread myself and checked.

All i have to say is WOW. What an intense scene. I didnt remember it like that when i read it all those years ago, about 7 years ago.

Yeah, Cassie easily could've taken Tom down herself. She had the power. He had the cube. And it just seemed really easy for her to do. I'd have hoped there'd have been more of a physical struggle, and more of an accident that Tom got away with the cube.

Cassie did betray them if you look at it from the perspective of the war and the resistance fighting it. But from an overall viewpoint, she did what she thought was right. Her decision was made on such a grand scale. No wonder Ax flipped out when he realized what her true motive had been in letting the Yeerks have the morphing cube. She saw beyond the war itself. She used morality, hopeful strategy and her heart. And it worked.

Still, I do wish it had been more of an accident that she let the Yeerks take the cube, only to realize that she allowed it to happen. What Cassie did was truly powerful. And what made it even more interesting was that she had no regrets. As if she could see why her teammates were pissed at her, but couldnt really understand why.

[Chad32]

I don't remember how Ax exactly flipped out, since I haven't read that area recently, but I was certain he was upset. She used the excuse that it helped the Yeerks who were slaves of the Empire, but she wasn't even thinking about that at the time she did it. She had the power to save Tom and the box, but she refused. And like I said, any benefit that scenario had could have been achieved through more controlled means.

[Kelran-Isthinar]

Part of Ax flipping out definitely involved his 'near betrayal' in talking to Andalite High Command without telling the others.

[Azguard]

 i think that was a dangerous part on the part of Cassie. I mean, so many things could have gone wrong. good intentions don't have the best results all the time.

[Chad32]

It's just that she acted like she only had two choices: Let Tom get away, or let Jake kill him. Little Ms. Intuition somehow didn't realize that a wolf and a tiger can subdue a Human controller with a Dracon beam without killing him.

There was that third option, and not taking it was what made her decision wrong, on all levels.