#WHAT RHE HELL DID TOU SAY TO HER PHIL???? AND WHY DID

[essskel]

I keep writing posts and deleting them going round in circles over the same problem and that problem is Philippa’s mismanagement of the Lodge. Specifically when it comes to Triss Merigold. Triss is a fair-weather ally, and Philippa knows this because she comes from a background of espionage and political manipulation. Philippa knows people and she knows Triss and she STILL lets Triss’ leash get far too long and far too tangled.

You either leave Triss out or you put her in the center and tell her she’s the most important person in the room (see the Wolf Witcher’s careful treatment of her in Blood of Elves). Philippa doesn’t do this, or at least she doesn’t keep it up, which means that when Yen comes knocking, Triss is riding off to Rivia and the Lodge is six feet under. Something about that feels reckless to me, though at the same time I love it, because it goes to show that even someone as skilled at manipulation as Philippa is going to slip when it comes to Triss Merigold. Because Triss is not simply ‘selfish’ or ‘patriotic’ or ‘dedicated to the wellbeing of mages’, she’s often just hoping that everyone stops fighting and doesn’t ask her to apologize and that they forget the things she does when she’s scared or lonely.