My Theories About The Raven King

TRK is by far my most anticipated release of the year. It's been a while since BLLB was released, and so this has given me time to gather a few little thoughts and theories about the possibilities that could happen in the series finale. I HAVE NOT READ THE RAVEN KING YET SO THERE ARE NO SPOILERS, BUT THERE WILL BE SOME SPOILERY STUFF FOR BOOKS 1-3, SO IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THEM, RUN AWAY AND DON'T READ UNDER THE CUT.

1. Time is Circular

I find it hard to get my head around this, but the idea is prominent to the series. I've seen various theories that Gansey is Glendower across the internet (if I can find sources I'll link them here later). And I think this makes sense in a way, as it supports how each book focuses on one of the core 4 characters.

The Raven Boys = Blue
The Dream Theives = Ronan
Blue Lily, Lily Blue = Adam
The Raven King = Gansey

The Raven King is Gansey's book, and another name for Glendower is The Raven King. Gansey is the wise-beyond-his-years leader - there's something very immortal about his mortality. So I don't think it's too far of a stretch to assume Gansey and Glendower are more linked than we thought. Having said this, I have no idea how this will work. Will they open Glendower's grave and find it empty? Will Gansey be in it? Is Gansey Glendower reincarnate? It's impossible to say, but this is an internet theory that's been stuck in my mind for a while.

2. Parental Parrallels

There's no doubt that Blue and her mother are very similar. They're both confident, headstrong and opinionated - it's in their genes. But one thing I've picked up on is how the other ladies of 300 Fox Way also reflect the Gangsey.

"He smiled nastily at her. She smiled back. Both smiles said I've got your number." - Ronan and Calla in The Dream Thieves (page 389)

Ronan is definitely Calla and I think this quote illustrates that. They both distrust newcomers and can intially come off as a little frightening, but they both mean well and are really supportive of their friends and family (I know Ronan's kindness is buried a little deeper than the other boys, but I think his good nature comes through with his protectiveness over Matthew.

"You're like me. We're not really like the others... We're really better in our own company... It makes it hard, sometimes, for others, when they can't understand us" - Persephone to Adam in Blue Lily, Lily Blue (page 317)

Persephone is always described as something "immaterial", never quite present in the moment. Adam is also described similarly after making the deal with Cabeswater. He sees himself as very seperate to everything else, and his friends often struggle to read him as he spaces out often. This could partially be because the poor child is far to overworked, but I think it is also because Adam has a unique power that none of his friends truly understand. This is similar to Persephone, who acts has his mentor in Book 3 and whose powers we as the reader never really know the full extent of.

New Note Added Later: It just occured to me that out of the core 5 characters, the 2 whose safety I'm uncertain about are Gansey and Noah. With BLLB having a repeated idea of things coming in 3s, 2 need to die to form a new trinity. Persephone talks about replacing Maura with Adam when she is gone, but maybe there's a new magical trinity in Henrietta's future. But instead of 3 psychics, it will be a Magician, a Dreamer, and a Witch.

3. Split Personalities

If you follow me on Goodreads you would have seen the exact point in which this theory occurred to me in the middle of my reread of The Dream Thieves. 

"NEW THEORY - Gansey has loads of 'versions' depending on the people he's with and the mood he's in (President Mobile Phone Gansey, adventurer Gansey, the less commonly seen reckless Gansey, etc.) WHAT IF the ghost Blue saw was the death of just a version of Gansey. So maybe he's not 100% dead. Maybe he loses a part of the essence of his Gansey-ness."

What 12AM me was trying to say is: could it be possible that Gansey both dies and doesn't die? To me, of all of Gansey's personalities, I think he would most likely lose his inner adventurer. We saw it almost happen when he thought he'd found Glendower in BLLB. This hunt has become such a huge part of Gansey that separating the two seems almost impossible. I think this is almost as tragic as the concept of Gansey dying, because he will lose the part of himself that made Gansey the person he is.

However, I will admit that as fascinating as I find my own brain for coming up with this idea, it is a little obscure. Sadly the thought of all of Gansey dying seems more feasible than the thought of just a part of Gansey dying. (a girl can dream, okay?)

4. True Loves

I'm going to leave you with the first theory I had about where this series was going when I read it for the first time this Summer. We all know Blue's curse, but what if Blue has more than one true love?

"Orla wasn't wrong, of course. But what she didn't realize about Blue and her boys was that they were all in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her, or one another, analyzing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running gag, spending each moment either with one another or thinking about when next they would be with one another. Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn't all-encompassing, that wasn't blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she'd had this kind, she didn't want the other." - Blue Lily, Lily Blue

Maybe Blue doesn't love all of her raven boys romantically, but she sure as hell loves them all in a way that exceeds any ordinary friendship. Maybe all these years, her curse was translated wrong, and instead of "if you kiss your true love, he will die," it's "if you kiss your true loves, they will die." Perhaps Blue's heart isn't broken by one boy, but 4.

What do you think of my theories? Do you have any of your own? Please discuss them with me!

Note: if you have read The Raven King already then please do not comment with any spoilers. If you think something might be a spoiler for TRK, don't spoil it for the rest of us :)

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