HEAVY LEGACY SPOILERS!!!

I'll admit, watching Sophitz fall apart because of Fitz's awful decision making and persistent bratiness made my Sokeefe Fangirl Side go completely wild. I know Fitz has anger/jealousy issues, and I personally don't think he's free of certain prejudices. But I did struggle with whether Fitz's appalling treatment of Sophie's status as unmatchable and her descision to not seek out her genetic father was legit. I mean, he ran off with the Black Swan, attended Exillium, and has a murderous brother, and now he's worried about whether being with someone who's unmatchable will ruin his life/ the Vacker name? I mean, really? And how come he goes absolutely bananas from anger all the time? 

There must be a reason.

Let me be perfectly clear- I think that Sophie's unmatchable status would have caused a rift between them no matter what. We know he gets jealous of Sophie and Keefe's relationship. And I also think that he would be (reasonably) angry about lots of things anyways. But despite that, he had been caring guy who is willing to rebel against the norm in previous books. I think things got way blown out of proportion for one of two reasons....

1. His mind is broken, or has a crack

Fitz has had a tough year. His best friend infiltrated the Neverseen, and Fitz's brother betrayed his family, tried to harm/kill Fitz's friends, returned to live at home with his memories wiped, and then proceeded to (allegedly) betray Fitz and his friends again once he had regained his memories. The anger and guilt that comes with these events  is definitely enough to crack someone's mind, but Fitz also tried to kill Alvar. His attempt at murder didn't work out just by pure chance. We know that murder causes an elf's mind to break, and we know that sometimes this break can lead to reckless anger (like Brant). We also know that you can have multiple cracks before you break for good, like Alden. So... what if Fitz's mind has broken or is breaking, and he is showing the symptoms of a reckless and angry break?

2. His echoes from Umber's attack are still affecting his emotions

We know that Sophie's shadows still cause her pain and affect her emotions, but we never really hear about any effects on Fitz other than the physical (his limp). But what if he is still experiencing emotional trauma? We know that anger is something that causes Fitz's echoes to flare up, but what if his echoes also fuel his anger? Umber's attacks were fueled by pride and vicious pleasure, so it would make sense that something that makes Fitz proud and happy (like Sophie and their Cognate Connection) or something that tickles his pride (like SOKEEFE) would make his anger flare up whenever he is with Sophie. This would especially explain Fitz's behaviour towards Sophie, who he obviously likes, since his echoes affect his heart. 

I never thought I'd be saying this, but Fitz-lovers- I'm sorry. I do think that the flaws that caused Sophie and Fitz to break up have always been a part of him, but they made his character look really ugly in Legacy. 

Leave a comment and let me know whether you think his anger and insecurities were exacerbated by echoes or a broken mind!

~Team_Foster