As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
Fridge Brilliance
- During Nobby's brief stint in Klatchian menswear, he remarks that his caftan is "a bit short". Being short on Nobby, who is himself very short, it would be even shorter when Vetinari wears it, as Vetinari is tall. Funny enough. But "Gulli, Gulli and Beti" are a reference to Wilson, Keppel and Beti
, an Egyptian-themed dance act involving thin, lanky dudes in very short caftans◊. You might very well assume that's exactly how ridiculous Vetinari looks in his stolen caftan.
- At the end Vetinari makes the point to Vimes that his political manuvering stopped the war, and that lives may have been "bought and sold, but not needlessly spent". Except, Vimes knows for a fact Lord V's plan isn't what saved lives; if it hadn't been for Vimes's own decision to chase after Cadram's ship and throw both armies into confusion, the Klatchians would have invaded and everyone in the Watch would be dead before the plan reached fruition.
- Well, naturally. You think Vetinari didn't anticipate Vimes chasing Cadram?
- To be more specific: Vetinari would have known 71-Hour Ahmed's real identity and motives from his intelligence network by the night of the embassy fire, if not earlier. Even if Vimes initially resisted the urge to chase the delegation back to Klatch, Ahmed would be sure to bait him into pursuit one way or another. With Vimes disrupting military plans on both sides, Vetinari could focus on the diplomatic solution.
- Well, naturally. You think Vetinari didn't anticipate Vimes chasing Cadram?
- More like Fridge Sadness: while there is a slight consolation in knowing that the alternate universe Angua didn't die in the battle of the Watch headquarters, the question is what her life would have been like: stranded alone in Klatch, with her homeland under enemy occupation. One wonders how long it would be before she learned that her boyfriend and all her friends had been killed...
