The Fool (spoilers for all RotE books, including LST)

[o0Ampy0o]

Many readers had felt that Robin had copped out with Fitz returning to Molly. Rather than Kettricken though, as you suggested in the 'approach to series' thread, most tended to lean toward Fitz ending up with Fool...and the cop-out was seen as Robin being borderline homophobic. She'd turned aside from controversy and gave Fitz the 'girl' rather than 'boy'. So many were miffed.

EDIT: Had to quickly force my way back here to briefly extend on this in that, on the flip-side, there seemed to be just as many who felt that Fitz should have both got the 'girl' AND Fool...meaning that Fool should have finally did the big reveal and show 'himself' to be truly female and in love with Fitz (as Starling alluded to way back in Farseer) and they could live happily ever after with Fitz not having to compromise his heterosexuality in the doing. END EDIT

It is ignorance of human nature to believe anyone could become a lover of a best friend who mislead you to believe they were a different gender while also acknowledging that they are in love with you. People would feel betrayed. They would not trust that person because they carried on a lie. They would never have a chance to know the "real/true" person because they would slam up walls of distrust, resentment, repulsion even. Repulsion, because of the betrayal as well as the incompatible sexual orientation. (Fitz was clearly heterosexual). Who could be attracted to someone they had always thought of as the gender opposite of their own? Even if that friend looked beautiful/handsome as their true gender it would not matter. To suddenly find out that the person you thought you knew enough to consider a trusted close friend was in fact a female posing as a male would end most friendships instantly. You could not feel you knew that person. You could never see them the same way. They would be someone else. You would not have a chance to develop a friendship with that new person. The ingredients for friendship would be lacking. Most people would walk, if not storm, away from that friendship and not want to look back.

Kettricken- I am not 100% invested in a Kettricken/Fitz romantic alternative ending but the shadow king + queen partnership between them I am. I said in my Ampy's thread that the original series arc aimed at a spot but the details of that spot are unknowable. I see clear/intentional sexual chemistry written out by Hobb between Fitz and Kettricken. Perhaps that is as far as circumstances would ever allow but the joint ruling from Buckeep is a definite. The sexual tension between the two added an interesting dimension to their relationship.

Homophobia, Hobb never would have included the Fool's being in love with Fitz. The Fool only had to deeply love his friend, his Catalyst, his childhood family member from King Shrewd's circle. That was plenty of love. Hobb definitely wanted to provoke us to consider sexual orientation and attraction between same genders. She throws in a lot of challenges to stereotypes with her proclivity towards strong women in traditionally male positions. The Fool wasn't homosexual and probably not a hermaphrodite. He just loved and was open to expressing that love with anyone if they were willing. He was also a chameleon out of practicality. When anyone saw through his role of the time it was because he was all of those characters and elements of each were there to be seen if someone was inclined to perceive them.

The confrontation between the Fool and Fitz after Jek's visit was designed to provoke questions regarding the Fool's gender and sexual orientation. However, Hobb left no room for the character of Fitz Chivalry to be open to a homosexual relationship, let alone with his closest friend. It is even more unlikely that Fitz would ever forget about the Fool as a male and develop an attraction to the Fool after learning he was a she. No way!

I really can't stand Molly and I'd have loved for Fitz to have ended up with anyone but her. I think the difference here is between not liking the ending and then actively criticising the ending..........Did she truly change the plot midway through so that Fitz ended up with Molly though? I would argue against that....

I don't think Hobb changed anything dramatically until the very end when she was tying everything up. Of course in order to do some of that she had to adjust a few things making preparations for major deviations from the original series arc. The ending was so foreign it could have been written by someone else. After 9 books that last chapter did not look like Hobb. That is why I suggested she had been influenced by a child, a lover or perhaps found god. Something outside her was allowed to alter the story. Not that she did not write it, although it is so unlike her, but she had composed 9 books of material over years staying consistent then she composed things that were inconsistent with what preceded it. Something or someone influenced her or Hobb independently decided to abort the original plan to tack on a happily ever after ending chapter that played out like a formulaic movie.

Molly- I think Hobb deliberately wrote Molly as a bitchy unlikable person after Fitz had died in Regal's dungeon. The only admirable thing she was shown doing was when she pretended to have the Wit and used the bees to control the assailants in the cabin with Burrich. While writing Molly as unlikeable, she was writing Kettricken as an admirable woman of beauty and poise whom Fitz noted many intimate details including the scent of her hair and taste of her lips......not that I am pushing the romantic element between them as necessary but this should not be discounted. (Hobb certainly has an exceptional ability to pen sexual tension). They could have ruled as queen and shadow king never acting on the sexual tension between them.