Wintrow/Kennit SPOILERS ALL HOBB BOOKS INCL COD

[Farseer]

I have LOTS to add to this discussion, and have been meaning to get back from the very first day the thread was posted but there are so many points to chat about that I haven't had time to sit down and type it all out. Such great questions though!

I agree with you, jasonresno, regarding the last point. All beings (animal, dragon, human, pecksie, Other, serpent, Elderling etc) are capable of performing the role of a catalyst, despite there only ever being one 'Catalyst' per generation...eg Fitz. I believe Amber states this quite clearly, though possibly not directly (?), a number of times. As does Fool. Examples I can think of for Amber are conversations she had with Paragon and Brashen about how their actions have contributed to change.

I think this ability to be a catalyst is one of the many main themes of the books...kind of like 'the power of one' or the power each of us has to create change, no matter how seemingly small our contribution or how small or large the change.

With this as a guide, Wintrow most certainly took on a catalytic role. Among other things, without his intervention, She Who Remembers may never have been released. Certainly, Fitz may have found and released her when he reached Others' Island with Dutiful but it is possible that she may have died by the time he got there. By then it may have also been too late for Maulkin and the rest of his tangle etc as they had already reached the cocooning grounds in the Rain Wilds and had emerged as dragons by the time Fitz had even got to the Treasure Beach.

So much more to add but I would have to argue the point that Amber was 'meant' to have Wintrow as her catalyst during the period of the LST. Certainly, Amber thought that she had connected herself to the wrong person AND Fool thought it also...but I am not so sure. Will try and find the previous discussion on this and return...