Gaz Appreciation Post

[RedBlue]

This is a very minor detail, but I love that Gaz has a mostly-offscreen redemption arc scattered throughout five books.

Back in WoK, he was just a pathetic problem gambler who took it out on Bridge Four because they were the only people he was able to push around. He deserted, and wound up in Shallan’s group of lackeys, almost by mistake. He was a terrible person who was too weak and unimportant to be a target for comeuppance, so he became the butt of a joke instead.

From there, every time we see him, he’s getting a little bit better. He confronts the fact that he has a gambling addiction, and looks for ways to manage it. He becomes a Lightweaver. And now, as of WaT, he’s processing feelings of guilt over what he did to Bridge Four way back when.

And Bridge Four haven’t given him a moment’s thought since he stopped being immediately relevant to their lives, naturally.

It’s really cool how even a random extra like Gaz feels like he’s having his own journey, just out of sight, while the main characters do plot stuff.

[Ninth of the Night]

Great topic! Gaz is one of the characters I feel for, and it's great to see him growing and changing. It could have been so easy to just kill him off earlier without anyone caring (like Amaram, poor guy), but instead he's given the time needed to heal.

It's beautiful, and I hope the members of Bridge 4 eventually come around and accept him as a changed man. They don't have to forgive him of course, simply some understanding on their part would be nice.

[Nitpicking]

It is said in the story that one thing Lightweavers do is inspire people to become their best selves. I think Gaz is partly there to show how that works.