Who did you think Bleeder was disguised as?

[feezec he/him]

Bleeder adopted many disguises throughout the book, but the big reveal (well, one of them) was that she was Governor Innate the whole time. Did you see that twist coming or did you think she was someone else?

 

I totally thought that Bleeder that killed and replaced MeLaan in Remarked Duplicity 2: Hemalurgic Bugaloo. I was expecting Brandon to combine and repeat the OreSeur and Reen reveals in a single character. I think my supporting evidence was really compelling until the very end.

 

In his conversation with Wax, Harmony reveals that Bleeder uses Hemalurgy in ways that he does not fully understand. Harmony also mentions that the Preservation shard lets him listen to peoples' thoughts while the Ruin shard lets him speak in peoples' thoughts. After this Wax stops hearing Harmony speak directly in his head and instead starts hearing Bleeder at the party. Shortly afterward Wax meets MeLaan, whose is credentialed by

 

 

a rustling in his mind. You can trust this one. Harmony’s voice, accompanied by a sense of endlessness, a vision like he’d seen before.

 

As endorsements go, you can't do much better than God Himself. But what if Bleeder has become so skilled with Hemalurgy that she has somehow co-opted some of Ruin's powers? That would mean Sazed can still listen telepathically, but not speak telepathically. Then Bleeder could mimic Sazed's mental voice, confirm her identity as "MeLaan," and seamlessly infiltrate Wax's group of allies. It would be the Reen/Ruin reveal all over again, but worse this time because I really like MeLaan!

 

Later, MeLaan says this about the other kandra:

 

 

They’re timid about hurting others, particularly after what TenSoon was forced to do during the Remarked Duplicity.

 

And yet, MeLaan had no qualms about slaughtering the Set gunmen a few chapters earlier. She even made witty banter while doing so. Compare that to TenSoon having a small identity crisis later when he kills in clear self defense. Suspicious, no?

 

On top of all that, MeLaan and Bleeder are never seen in the same room together until near the end of the book. That's totally a red flag!

 

Thankfully my theory was totally wrong. Still, I wonder if Brandon intended for readers to be suspicious of MeLaan.

 

What do you think? Who did you suspect and why? What red herrings did you catch?

 

Edit: Is there a way to add a poll to this thread so that people can vote on which characters they thought were Bleeder in disguise?

Edited October 12, 2015 by feezec

[Oudeis he/him]

I briefly suspected MeLaan, but figured he wouldn't pull the same trick twice. I found myself in the habit of suspecting everyone; I did suspect Innate, but only because, again, I was just in the habit of assuming it was everyone we didn't have as POV. The first time I suspected him was when he gave the first inciteful speech, and I wish I'd stuck to those particular guns.

 

I had actually settled on Aradel, going into the last stretch. I thought I had it clinched when Wayne came back from one of his last POVs and heard someone talking at the manor, and suddenly knew who Bleeder was. This scene was right after Marasi and Aradel arrived at the manor. I totally thought I had it. I can't recall who else I thought... no one really remarkable. I briefly wondered about Steris but dismissed her.

[Ari he/him]

I briefly suspected MeLaan, but figured he wouldn't pull the same trick twice. I found myself in the habit of suspecting everyone; I did suspect Innate, but only because, again, I was just in the habit of assuming it was everyone we didn't have as POV. The first time I suspected him was when he gave the first inciteful speech, and I wish I'd stuck to those particular guns.

 

I had actually settled on Aradel, going into the last stretch. I thought I had it clinched when Wayne came back from one of his last POVs and heard someone talking at the manor, and suddenly knew who Bleeder was. This scene was right after Marasi and Aradel arrived at the manor. I totally thought I had it. I can't recall who else I thought... no one really remarkable. I briefly wondered about Steris but dismissed her.

 

Yeah LOL I had the same thought that MeLaan is not going to be Paalm. I was like "Given TenSoon already pulled this trick, if there's one person who's not going to be Paalm, it's MeLaan." Had a brief moment when I suspected Marasi might have been replaced, (and was quite relieved when she authenticated fine with Wax!) but I have to say the governor already having been replaced caught me by surprise, as I didn't think Paalm would want to replace someone who was already ineffective and corrupt.

[natc]

MeLaan was off the list for me as welL, partly because of TenSoon and partly because Harmony appears to be tracking MeLaan, meaning her thoughts are open. To fake that would require a needlessly complex solution of intercepting and altering Harmony's words and tone in their entirety.

I actually had Drim on the list of suspects until he got shot, since he's always there, then it's back to square one, and I realized that his position means he can't leave Innate anyway.

Can't be a viewpoint character involved in the investigation, because that's one of the biggest crimes of writing mysteries. Either the investigators or the target are the safest places to be in situations like this, though, as far as prior books and movies tell me, so that left Aradel, his subordinates, and Innate. Reddi's grudge felt too genuine. Aradel is in charge of the cops while Innate is constantly watched, so accomplices were necessary.

So I guess I was leaning towards Innate because he needs less accomplices to make it work (just one or two, really), but I was watching Aradel to make a move too.

[Nombringer]

I actually picked out the governor as the most likely suspect back at page 200 or so.

 

While I can't quite say how I arrived at that conclusion other than intuition, I'm inordinately proud of myself for doing so and will never let my friend (I sent him a text telling him my suspicions) hear the end of it.

 

HOWEVER I completely stormed up regarding MeLaan. While I came to the same conclusion as lot of you guys regarding her being Paal. I still  however had some intuition left to spare.

 

I was almost completeIy certain when I pegged her as being Lassie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ouch. That one hurt.

[Sera]

I suspected Innate as soon the focus shifted to protecting him, if not a little earlier when it became clear someone was trying to set the city on fire. If I were a deranged yet intelligent murderer possessing the ability to become anyone, where would be the best place to hide?

 

Somewhere I had power and freedom of movement. I'd be someone no one suspected. No one suspects the victim. Later they might fear the victim being replaced—and replacing him would become harder, I'd no longer have easy access to him—, but they'll hardly guess it could have happened before the attempt on his life. They won't catch any behaviour change if they never get to know the original in first place, because all they'd know would be the impersonator. It was extremely convenient, and being the governor would allow to discretely set the city on fire without anyone interfering. You can say "no" to anyone but the governor. Bleeder also couldn't be sure about Innate's reactions to her attacks. Would he flee? Would he manage to do the right speech? Remember he managed to fool the population with promises in the past. He wasn't that incompetent, and taking the right actions would ruin her plans. He wasn't simply a risk, he was the biggest risk to her plans, she couldn't afford to let him run loose.

 

It was the perfect solution. That's how I figured.

[Oudeis he/him]

Had a brief moment when I suspected Marasi might have been replaced, (and was quite relieved when she authenticated fine with Wax!)

 

Oh, I definitely never thought the passcodes were worth noticing. I thought of a half dozen ways around it, not the least of which was, the person already having been replaced. I actually figured at some point Wayne was gonna forget his passcodes.

[Voidus]

Oh, I definitely never thought the passcodes were worth noticing. I thought of a half dozen ways around it, not the least of which was, the person already having been replaced. I actually figured at some point Wayne was gonna forget his passcodes.

Yeah my bets were either on someone already having been replaced (So basically the governor, which I guessed a bit before the reveal but probably not as soon as I should have) or Bleeder stealing tin from someone and using that to overhear the exchange.

[StormingTexan he/him]

I slightly suspected the Governor but I admit I also thought it was MeLaan as soon as she arrived on set. Just shows how well Brandon keeps us on our toes should have known the same trick wouldn't happen twice. 

[MistLord he/him]

Honestly, I thought it was going to be Wax, despite us having his viewpoint. The jump from the caves to the mansion seemed weird for me (though it was 2:00AM when I got up to this point) and I started convincing myself that Bleeder was doing a Wayne kind of thing where the they lose themselves in the act so much they start thinking like their role. I only let go when I saw Wax use Feruchemical and Allomantic powers in quick succession to break open the door. 

 

What a plot twist that would be lol, unfortunately the one they had coming with Lessie I could never have prepared for.

 

And yes, I don't know how they would have Wax's bones without X-rays and 3-D printing, but it was 2:00 in the morning.

[Oversleep]

I thought that Bleeder is governor the moment Wayne caught the wrong accent word.

But Lessie reveal caught me completely off guard. Sanderson, you storming genius. Sazed, you rusting bastard. I got really sad over it.

[frozndevl]

Am I the only one that reads these books and either willfully, or subconsciously, doesn't try to figure out the mysteries? I was pleasantly surprised by the Governor reveal.

[Oversleep]

I don't analyse every detail in the book. Sometimes things just "click" in my head.

[CaptainRyan he/him]

Am I the only one that reads these books and either willfully, or subconsciously, doesn't try to figure out the mysteries? I was pleasantly surprised by the Governor reveal.

I am the same way; partially for the surprise and partially because I am reading so fast when a new book comes out that I am too in the zone to take time to contemplate haha.

[Melaan]

I had a horrifying several chapters where I suspected Steris. Especially since we saw her open up so much more when they go to the governor's party. Thus, I was relieved that we finally got a viewpoint from her, albeit a brief one. I figured that meant she was safe up until my husband had to ruin it for me by reminding me that the whole point of the Kandra is that they act and think like the person they are impersonating, so I was worried about Steris until Wayne finds out who it is and then it dawned on me.

Edited March 15, 2016 by Melaan

[Otto Didact he/him]

Personally, I love actively trying to see if I can pick out what the twist is going to be. I suspected it was Governor Innate basically from the beginning, but the whole "she was Lessie the whole time" thing threw me entirely off-guard. Brandon is awesome because his writing consistently does this to me—I'll catch one secret based on foreshadowing and think I'm smart, then completely miss an even bigger reveal. I love it.

Edited April 22, 2016 by Otto Didact

[Melaan]

Personally, I love actively trying to see if I can pick out what the twist is going to be. I suspected it was Governor Innate basically from the beginning, but the whole "she was Lessie the whole time" thing threw me entirely off-guard. Brandon is awesome because his writing consistently does this to me—I'll catch one secret based on foreshadowing and think I'm smart, then completely miss an even bigger reveal. I love it.

And the best part about that is you can be satisfied that you figured something out, Yet still experience shock and awe when you realized that it wasn't the thing you were supposed to be figuring out.