History Literature / BattleGround2020

-->"I fought the Odinson and ''survived."''

This gets turned around on them: [[spoiler:Harry has had enough of them and their LawfulStupid nature and has come to see them as nothing more than petty bullies. He washes his hands of the Council and tells Ramirez outright to stay out of his way and he'll stay out of his. Carlos, and the White Council by extension, is reminded that Harry is ''still a member of the Winter Court'' as the Winter Knight, who are the much bigger fish to the Council, with him having personal connections to the queens. Carlos is understandably gobsmacked.]]

* InnocentlyInsensitive: During his message to Ramirez to deliver to the Senior Council to go pound sand [[spoiler: after they kick him out and have the audacity to still try to control his life]] Harry threatens Ramirez with Molly getting involved with "You know how she is" not knowing the under the influence of The Mantle of the Winter Maiden she attacked him making his comment come across much harsher then even Dresden probably meant at the time.

** At one point, when discussing how to crack Ethniu's defenses, it's mentioned that sufficient angelic power would be able to pierce Titanic bronze. Mab mentions that sufficient infernal power would have the same effect and that Nicodemus Archleone might be able to manage it. [[spoiler:Sufficient infernal power winds up doing the trick. Only the Denarian in question is not Nicodemus, but John Marcone, who has secretly had Thorned Namshiel's coin since the end of ''Small Favor''.]]

** Both Molly and Lara -- yes, even ''[[AffablyEvil Lara]]'' -- are not a little horrified that Mab intends to [[spoiler: have Lara and Harry marry immediately]]. Yes, Lara had planned a binding alliance beforehand and had long since expressed an interest in Harry. However, [[spoiler: Murphy's barely cold]], and out of respect for Harry [[spoiler: and his grief]], she consequently argues to have it deferred for a year.

* InnocentlyInsensitive: During his message to Ramirez to deliver to the Seniour Council to go pound sand [[spoiler: after they kick him out and have the audacity to still try to control his life]] Harry threatens Ramirez with Molly getting involved with "You know how she is" not knowing the under the influence of The Mantle of the Winter Maiden she attacked him making his comment come across much harsher then even Dresden probably meant at the time.

** While it's confirmed that [[spoiler: Marcone took up Thorned Namshiel's Coin back in ''Small Favor'', it's never made clear ''when'' exactly he fully accepted the offer given by Namshiel's Shadow and became a rogue Denarian (and whether he's in control of Namshiel, or if the latter is in control of him). Hints are given to it not having happened until after "Even Hand," but it's all very vague]].

** [[spoiler: Nemesis is revealed to have been possessing Justine since before the events of ''White Night'', but it's completely ambiguous what exact actions Justine has performed were her own or were just Nemesis puppeteering her.]]

* JerkassHasAPoint: For once, this trope is deconstructed. [[spoiler: Yes the White Council does have some grounds for kicking Harry off the White Court, but that doesn't change the fact that they're a bunch of bullying old farts who have had it in for Harry for a long time, and their punishment is outrageously cruel. As a result, Harry all but tells Carlos (and the Council by extension) "fuck off and stay out of my way", and even ''Michael'' drops an F bomb]].

* HeelRealization: Harry (and by extension the readers) get a harsh reminder that despite how awesome some of them like Vadderung are and the humanization that the likes of Mab have gotten, that they are called MONSTERS for a reason. During the post-battle meeting, Harry looks around and realizes none of them give a damn about the dead and Harry realizes that that Ramirez was right that, while not one himself and not completely by choice, Harry has found himself aligned with the inhuman members of The Accorded Nations. [[spoiler: Harry, however, does push his allies into being more cognizant of human lives]].

* HeelRealization: Harry (and by extension the readers) get a harsh reminder that despite how awesome some of them like Vadderung are and the humanization that the likes of Mab have gotten, that they are called MONSTERS for a reason. During the post-battle meeting, Harry looks around and realizes none of them give a damn about the dead and Harry realizes that that Ramirez was right that, while not one himself and not completely by choice, Harry has found himself aligned with the inhuman members of The Accorded Nations

* NotAfraidOfYouAnymore: [[spoiler: Carlos tells Harry that he's been suspended from the White Council, and is under the threat of death should he act out -- from his own grandfather no less. Harry tells him he's gotten strong enough that he doesn't give a damn what the White Council thinks of him, and that following through on that cruel threat would be a great way to start a war with Winter the Council really can't afford]].

* DidntThinkThisThrough: King Corb gradually comes to note he may be on the other end of this when it becomes increasingly clear that Ethniu has a WeHaveReserves attitude to his troops and fully believes that the US army will slaughter the Fomor when they arrive. The goal is purely to kill as many humans as possible in as little amount of time as they have left.

* NotAfraidOfYouAnymore: [[spoiler: Carlos tells Harry that he's been suspended from the White Council, and is under the threat of death should he act out. Harry tells him he's gotten strong enough, that he doesn't give a damn what the White Council thinks of him]].

** Both Molly and Lara -- yes, even ''[[AffablyEvil Lara]]'' -- are not a little horrified that Mab intends to [[spoiler:have Lara and Harry marry immediately]]. Yes, Lara had planned a binding alliance beforehand and had long since expressed an interest in Harry. However, [[spoiler:Murphy's barely cold]], and out of respect for Harry [[spoiler:and his grief]], she consequently argues to have it deferred for a year.

** Harry explicitly invokes Gandalf's famous line when he and Butters destroy a bridge the Fomorian shock troops were using to sneak up on their forces. Tellingly, he uses the the movie version ("shall not"), rather than the original book one ("cannot"), since he is much more of a movie buff than a reader. Unfortunately, Butters is too busy demolishing the bridge to appreciate the reference.

* ExactWords: Dresden needs to convince everyone that he doesn't have [[spoiler:the Eye of Balor]], but as a member of Mab's court he's not supposed to explicitly lie. So instead he says he doesn't know where it is. This is technically true in that he doesn't know it's exact location (because he gave it to Demonreach to hide and ordered the ally not to tell Dresden where it was), and if everyone present then assumes Dresden doesn't possess it at all, that's their problem. As he's dealing with fellow supernatural beings, they're aware of this trope, but can't really do much about it.

** [[spoiler:Or rat in this case. Rudolph disappears from the book completely after Sanya and Butters stop Harry from killing him after he kills Murphy. Nothing is said about Rudolph being arrested or held accountable for his crime. Given that Murphy's body was taken away by the Winter Court fey and Harry and the two Knights of the Cross were the only witnesses, it's extremely unlikely that Rudolph will face any legal consequences.]]
** [[spoiler:The last time Listen is seen, he's getting 18-20 tons of earth dropped on him by Harry, but at the same time he and the other defenders of Chicago NeverFoundTheBody]].
* WorfHadTheFlu: The Battle of Chicago takes place near midsummer, where Mab is at her weakest and thus isn't ''as'' powerful as she normally would be. [[spoiler:Titania, however...]]

** [[invoked]] [[spoiler:Drakul]] is impressed by Harry's defiance, resisting his raw will, and lamenting that his own heir lacked that same strength. However, he also observes that while he would normally offer [[WeCanRuleTogether "the dark gift of immortality"]], [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments five minutes of Harry is about as much as he can stand]].

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: [[spoiler: Lara is one the many beings who wants to [[WeCanRuleTogether bring Harry Dresden to her side]]. She finally gets her wish when Mab puts her and Harry into an arranged marriage... but the tragic and bitter circumstances behind that arrangement leave Lara jaded]].

* AintTooProudToBeg: Rudolph begs for his life after [[spoiler:Harry comes after him for killing Murphy.]]

** While it's confirmed that [[spoiler:Marcone took up Thorned Namshiel's Coin back in ''Small Favor'', it's never made clear ''when'' exactly he fully accepted the offer given by Namshiel's Shadow and became a rogue Denarian (and whether he's in control of Namshiel, or if the latter is in control of him). Hints are given to it not having happened until after "Even Hand," but it's all very vague]].
** [[spoiler:Nemesis is revealed to have been possessing Justine since before the events of ''White Night'', but it's completely ambiguous what exact actions Justine has performed were her own or were just Nemesis puppeteering her]].

** Combined with ShutUpHannibal (or ShutUpKirk depending on how you view [[spoiler:the White Council]]). Harry tells [[spoiler:Carlos that the White Council has lost its moral authority, that the people of Chicago need him, and that he ''doesn't'' intend to stop helping people. He's also the Winter Knight and he just put down a Titan, so maybe they should rethink tangling with him. He's no longer afraid of them and has no intention of following their rules. Carlos is left with no real response.]]

* BigBad: Ethniu the Last Titan, with King Corb and Listen as her CoDragons. However, the GreaterScopeVillain is actually [[spoiler:Justine]] -- Or rather, [[spoiler:Nemesis a.k.a. He-Who-Walks-Beside in Justine's body]], who engineered Ethniu's invasion as part of a larger plan to [[spoiler:gain access to Demonreach and unleash its inmates.]]
* BigBadassBattleSequence: ''The entire book'' functions as this, with only brief moments in between action sequences. Though special mention should go to the "Battle of the Bean", which is the longest uninterrupted stretch of fighting in the whole series up to this point, serving as the book's FinalBattle.
* BigDamnHeroes: [[BewareTheSillyOnes Toot-Toot]] saves Harry from Mavra by briefly distracting her before ''throwing a clove of garlic into her chest'', setting her internal organs on fire.

** The reaction of absolutely ''everyone'' on the Accorded side when they arrive to stop a necromantic ritual in Graceland Cemetery and realize that [[spoiler:not only are the necromancers actually ancient Black Court vampires, but the guy leading them is none other than ''Drakul'', an ancient being of unbelievable power and Dracula's more powerful''father''.]]

--->"I fought the Odinson and ''survived."''

[[TheOneWith The one where]] Harry and a whole bunch of others go to war.