Sever discussion

Did anyone think Linden's injuries were exaggerated in order to kill him off so that Rhine could end up with Gabriel?

I felt we should have been given an explanation as to why he did as it made no sense at all. The plane had a rough landing, it wasn't a crash landing. Even if it was, the way blood poured out of him made no sense.

Part of me thinks that Linden caused this to himself with something. There's a scene where Cecily hints there could have been more to his death. Also the psychic having said, "there's a boy who would drown for you," makes me think the death was a bit more complicated. Otherwise its just clumsy writing and I don't want to believe that of Lauren DeStefano.

Granted, I have the ARC so maybe things changed in the final version.

Am I the only one who thought Linden's death was too convenient?

I don't really view it as convenient, but it does go a little out of my ability to suspend belief for. I was expecting a detailed explanation as to why he ended up bleeding like that, but there was no explanation at all and I think that was the only thing about the book that I found fault with. It doesn't bother me a whole lot, but it is something I would have preferred to have more details about.

I don't think it was done conveniently so that Rhine and Gabriel could be together. I didn't get the impression that they were really that together in the end.

I hated that he died. A lot in this book felt like it was done to tie it all up in a neat little trilogy. If Vaughn was so powerful, he should have been able to save him. So much was built around that man--too much for him to have died like that.

Though the other side of me says it was done perfectly. Because even someone with all the power and knowledge in the world can't stop death.

I hated that Linden died. I didn't see it coming! It made me angry, as Linden had become one of my favorite characters. I was hoping he and Rhine would end up together.

I agree that Linden's death made no sense at all. Yes, it shows that Vaughn had worked all these years to save Linden from the virus but at the time Linden was dying abruptly, not even Vaughn could save his son. But the actual REASON for it made no sense. How could Linden have had such devastating and fatal effects from a plane's rough landing? Maybe he hit his head or other important bodily part against something when the plane was landing, and had hemorrhaged, but still...

There was probably something a little more complicated to his death (at least I hope there was!) and I was expecting an explanation, but there never was one. If there had been an explanation, I may have been able to forgive Lauren DeStefano for killing off my favorite character more easily.

The quote the psychic said, "There's a boy who would drown for you," had a more sinister and gory truth than I'd expected. I thought it meant that a boy would do anything for Rhine. I didn't think it would mean a boy would literally die for her. It was utterly sad.

I think Rhine genuinely loved Linden. And he still loved her, even though he had let her go, which makes it more obvious how much he loves her. Even after she and Gabriel were together (yuckkkk) and Linden had already died, she kept looking for him, to hear his voice, for him to be with her. But it was too late for her to do anything.

i dont think linden should have died, sure it made sure rhine ended up with gabriel but that still could have happend with both couples in the house it wasnt really nessary and was kind of sad. But i do see why it was in there rhine still had feelings for linden but she was supposed to end with gabriel in the end

How could Linden have had such devastating and fatal effects from a plane's rough landing? Maybe he hit his head or other important bodily part against something when the plane was landing, and had hemorrhaged, but still...

That's the question that kills me all the time. In my review I compared it to someone dying from a paper cut. You get it, because you understand the character died comprehension wise. Logically though, it just makes no sense.

According to Lauren's live chat on youtube, she says Linden died of a brain hemorrhage. I wish it had been made clearer in the book.

I was absolutely devastated by Linden's death... to me it was totally unexpected. I actually cried. I do NOT understand why he had to die. It gave me zero closure and zero happiness; I was not happy that Rhine ended up with Gabriel, either. I didn't mind Gabriel, but compared to Linden's care, love, and devotion, his character greatly lacked.
Linden's death was completely awful. I pictured them all laughing about the small crash land, but then Linden starts bleeding from his ears and then collapses? I hated it... Ruined the book's ending for me. I honestly loved Linden, and felt like I hemorrhaged myself when I realized he actually died. I kept waiting for him to walk in with a smile, or for Vaughn to tell Rhine "My son still loves you...because he's alive". But no, the greatest character in the book died. Im going to go cry now

Rose wrote: "According to Lauren's live chat on youtube, she says Linden died of a brain hemorrhage. I wish it had been made clearer in the book."

I agree, because I did not get brain hemorrhage at all.

By the time Linden died it was clear Rhine didn't want to be with him and would end up with Gabriel. It was sad and I was hoping both couples could live in the mansion together as friends with Rowan as well. Too bad... :-( I grew to like Linden.

Keshena wrote: "I did think the description of the crash was a little vague. It was hard to tell exactly how he got injured so badly. But he was supposed to have been frail and sickly all his life."

As far as I could tell he flew into the windshield and hit his head really bad. Since he was bleeding out a brain aneurism makes sense. It just seemed like with everything they went through what a dumb way to go. Plus even though it was an old plane didn't they still have seat belts?!

Ah.. Linden was my favorite of them all. He has this certain appeal that makes you eventually love him throughout the series. I just don't get whole thing about the book. Can someone please enlighten me? Was he really over Rose? Because in the book, it seems like he has learned to let go of her in the merry-go-round scene but then in the end it's like she's with Rose again in the grave. And who does really he love most? Cecily or Rhine? Because there were times when it's all for Rhine and then all of a sudden she just don't belong the Linden-Cecily-Bowen picture. And did Rhine actually love him but won't admit it to herself or was it always Gabriel? Linden's death was just like "What? Just like that?" I felt that things were always like.. half way there...

Marie wrote: "Ah.. Linden was my favorite of them all. He has this certain appeal that makes you eventually love him throughout the series. I just don't get whole thing about the book. Can someone please enlight..."

I think Linden will always love Rose. She was his first wife and life long love. I don't think it was so much about who he loved more. Like he said he loved all his wives in different ways. I think he loved Rhine but knew she didn't love him the same. Rhine did grow to love Linden but not like Gabriel. Her love with Linden was build on lies and the tragedy of him taking her away from her brother which I think ruined it for them. All of a sudden it was Linden/Cecily/Bowen because Linden was letting Rhine go and he wanted to take care of Cecily and Bowen and he really loved them. Cecily was the only one that really loved Linden I think. I think it all worked out good except I wish Linden & Cecily and Gabriel & Rhine and Rowan could have all lived together. But then I don't think Cecily could have killed Vaughn and without killing Vaughn none of them would have ever been free and happy.

i wish the author did go into abit more detail about Linden's death. but we also have to remember that like most dystopian novels, there is rarely if ever a happy ending. theres always something bound to go wrong near the end. Vaughn tried to keep Linden safe from everything, and it was kind of bound to happen that by going out into the world and taking risks, those risks have consequences.... who knows, maybe Linden wouldnt have even been strong enough for the antidote if he had survived..

I think that if Linden hadn't died then Cecily never would/could have killed Vaughn and without Vaughn dead no one would have ever been happy.

Book Sushi wrote: "i wish the author did go into abit more detail about Linden's death. but we also have to remember that like most dystopian novels, there is rarely if ever a happy ending. theres always something bo..."

I take issue with Linden's death for the lack of detail. I won't say I get angry about it, but I am very vocal about his death being unnecessary, otherwise the scene should have been written more clearly. The funniest thing of all was that I was never a huge Linden fan. I care little for him, but the way he was knocked off by the grim reaper sucked.

Man, I was so mad at Linden's death. I guess the way Rhine looks at it was that she was supposed to be sitting in Linden's seat, and then there's the scene where he's flailing on the ground he's choking on his own blood (hence "a boy who would drown for you"). That scene definitely needed more explanation and more of a build up. One sentence he's fine, 3 sentences later he's dead. Not cool.
I absolutely lost it when Rhine is in bed with Cecily and says Linden's name and they both start sobbing. I feel like Rhine didn't let herself love Linden.

As for Rhine being just a duplicate of Rose...there's one part in the book where Cecily and Rhine are talking about Cecily being jealous of her sister wives and she says to Rhine

"He'll always love Rose. And Jenna was the beautiful one-I'll never be able to compare." She turns her head and looks at me, and there's so much pain in her eyes. Softly, she says. "And then there's you."

I took this as Cecily basically saying that the other wives all gave Linden something different, but Rhine was the whole package, his soulmate. There were times when Linden would look at Rhine and she would feel like Rose's replacement, but further into the series it was obvious that wasn't the case anymore.

I was devestated when Linden died.I knew that he and Rhine weren't going to end up together but he still had Cecily and Bowan.I hate it when a character has unresolved feelings for character and the author kills them off.It feels like cheating to me.

The death scene was rather confusing.I understood Linden died but I didn't understand why his injuries were so severe.Also I got the feeling Linden was broken after discovering all the times Vaughn lied to him.So maybe he was killed off because he was never going to be the same person as in book 1 because he had seen too much.

Paola wrote: "I hated that Linden died. I didn't see it coming! It made me angry, as Linden had become one of my favorite characters. I was hoping he and Rhine would end up together.

I agree that Linden's deat..."

Totally agree. If Linden lived, do you think that he and Rhine would have eventually gotten together?

No, I don't think they would. Mainly because if Linden had lived then Vaughn wouldn't have (view spoiler)[died (hide spoiler)] because Cecily said that it was Linden keeping her sane and stuff.

Yes, Linden's death was confusing. But, I don't think he died so that Rhine and Gabriel could end up together. They still would've been together, whether Linden survived because Linden had Cecily, who he truly did love. No, I think he died so he could be with Rose, his one true love. He and Rose had grown up together, and it was obvious how much he loved Rose so much more than Rhine and Cecily. At the carnival, when he finds out about Rose's past, he cannot stop thinking about Rose. It even bothers Cecily because she knows Linden really loves Rose. His death was so that he and Rose could get their happily ever dead together ending. Neither was left to suffer without the other. Rose and Linden finally are together in death.

I think DeStefano realized that half her readers hate Linden and the other half hate Gabriel. So she killed off Linden and gave Gabriel as little screentime as possible.

Erica wrote: "I think DeStefano realized that half her readers hate Linden and the other half hate Gabriel. So she killed off Linden and gave Gabriel as little screentime as possible."

...
Accurate.

Paola wrote: "I hated that Linden died. I didn't see it coming! It made me angry, as Linden had become one of my favorite characters. I was hoping he and Rhine would end up together.

I agree that Linden's deat..."

Im totally with u on that!!!!

Spoiler alert!!!
i love Gabriel and Rhine, but come on! killing Linden was really sad, uncalled for, and unnecessary. and plus that leaves me with SSSOOOO MANY MORE QUESTIONS!!!
-was Rhine still into linden?
-were her and Gabriel gonna last?
-was there gonna be a BIG choice involving Rhine picking the man she loves?!?
And that another thing!! we never find out who she Loves. Gabriel said he loved her, but (sadly) we never herd her say it back, and (again sadly) she mentioned whether she loved Gabe or not.

And another thing. I honestly feel bad for Linden, :(
he lost not only 1, but 4 and almost 5 people he cares about, and 2 babies. This guy is just full of agony, and right when things were about to turn ok, he dies!!!
I feel even more bad for Cecily (yes i said it!) not only has this chick been through hell and back, she has to keep going, now widowed and with a child. Linden was probably the only thing she had good in her life. now hes gone! hasent this chick suffered enough!!!
I haven't had a slap in the face THIS BIG since "Mockingjay" when Prim died. and how ironic, it was in the third book towards the end. what next? Is "Divergent" gonna end with Four dying (GOD FORBID!!)

writing tip #129
-if your gonna kill a character off, do it in the first book and get it over with! instead of letting the audience love the character and grow, just to see them croak!

sorry this is long :(
Lauren DeStefano, i love u and your books. i hope to see more like this!! BIG FAN!!!

I remembered when Rhine was told by the fortune teller that there is a man who would drown for her. Obviously I went for either Gabriel or Rowan at first. But after finishing that chapter in Fever I started to seriously consider it being Linden. I believe it was a final show of how he actually did care for Rhine even though his death was an accident. I believe it was foreshadowed but the circumstances surprised me. As soon as it said he was drowning in his own blood I was nearly in tears. Linden was a wonderful character who was so full of grief and loss.

I loved these books so much and I hope to find more like them.

im officially going to call this type of death the "Linden Loss," definition:
"a death that comes right the fuck out of no where, happens to a good, likeable character. that is absolutely unnecessary, uncalled for, and just flat out sad! And after its done, the rest of the plot (and love interests) is effected negatively, and just goes down hill."

so now we have an official word for this kind of sad acts.
Prim death = linden loss, Breaking dawn part 2 deaths = linden losses