Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Death Cure Part 5: Denver Not as Awesome as Previously Thought

Hello again, my lovelies. Tuesday has joyously come once again and with it comes another thrilling update on The Death Cure. Let's get started.

Chapters 21-25

Immediately revealing information? Unheard of!
Brenda begins by elaborating what she meant when she told Thomas that there was "something more important" waiting for them in Denver. I know what you're thinking, something is actually being revealed immediately after being brought up. No more cryptic, vague non-sense to deal with. Such a lovely concept. Anyway, she tells Thomas that there is a doctor in Denver who escaped WICKED's employ and will be able to remove the Swipe from the gang. That way, WICKED will not be able to control them in any way. She says that WICKED probably wouldn't risk activating them from so far away, but it would be better to be safe than sorry. Safety is another interesting and unheard-of concept for these damn books.

The next morning, they have a meeting between everyone on the Berg. They discuss, at length, whether or not they should go to Denver. There is a debate where Minho is opposed to going (for some reason) and Brenda is arguing for going. They eventually come to the unanimous decision to go. Then they go about their daily business of eating and whatnot.

Thomas goes to sleep that night and has another memory/dream about WICKED. In this one, he is in a room with a man. The man is forcing Thomas to recite a well-rehearsed mantra about why WICKED does what it does (no, not traumatize children - "find a cure"). Thomas then reveals in the dream that the Flare was man-made. It was one of those super-bugs created and housed in a lab that got released into the public. Lovely.

The next morning, Thomas finally reveals to the rest of the gang the contents of his memory/dreams. They hardly react, Minho telling Thomas that he "doesn't see what that has to do with anything." He then questions Brenda about when she started working against WICKED. She tells him that she has never agreed with them, but went along to survive. The re-establish the plan to go to Denver.

The gang arrive in Denver and leave the Berg. Newt has to stay on the Berg because he is infected and thus not allowed in the city. They leave him with the promise that they will find a way to get the doctor to take his Swipe out. This book is really inefficient at dealing with Newt and his disease. He mostly just gets left behind. He's getting fridged and it's pissing me off.

The rest of the gang head into the city. Jorge has forged some papers giving them new identities so that they aren't immediately found by WICKED. They are allowed into the city after some tests. Thomas is struck by the beauty of the city. It become relevant  once again that they have had their memories stolen and have no recollection of having seen anything other than horrifying shit. Their like test animals who have been rescued from a lab. In fact, that is exactly what they are. Think about that video that made the rounds a while ago about the Beagles being rescued from a lab and walking on grass for the first time (I've included the video so that you can watch it and be sad). Those Beagles are Thomas and Minho. Jesus, I just made myself really sad. 

They walk into the city and are found by a strange dude who hands Thomas a note. It says that he is part of a movement called the Right Arm. He tells them that they had heard that people had escaped from WICKED. The note has an address and is signed by none other than Gally. You know, the asshole who murdered Chuck. Thomas and Minho are both shocked. They thought he was dead for sure. Apparently, per Brenda, Gally had been forced to throw the knife. WICKED had made him. Instantly, all the anger Thomas had felt for Gally was re-assigned to WICKED. She then tells the gang the Gally had gone crazy and been transferred out of WICKED. She goes on the reveal possibly the most disturbing thing in the known universe. When Gally killed Chuck, it was only because WICKED had forced Chuck to dive in front of Thomas. They had used him as another Variable to map the reactions in Gally, Thomas, and even Chuck
No part of this is okay.
himself in his final moments. If you ever believed that WICKED could possibly be good, you now know that they are as evil as evil can be.

Thomas leads them all to the address they were given. Minho protests, saying it might be a trap. Thomas tells him that he is done taking precautions and that from now on, he is going to do what "feels right." On the way, they see posters lining the walls of buildings. Some of them have a woman on them and the inscription "Chancellor Paige loves you." That name should sound familiar because Brenda told Thomas that she was the only person they could trust. Interesting...

Gally opens the door of the apartment and looks like shit. He's all scarred and maimed from when Thomas had been the living shit out of him after he killed Chuck. The gang enters the apartment and sit on the floor. There's some sneering and tough guy posturing from Minho and Gally. Thomas apologizes for what he did to Gally and Gally tells him that he didn't want to kill Chuck. He only did what he did because he thought he was going to kill Thomas. It's safe to say that Gally is still a motherfucker, he's just not the motherfucker who killed Chuck. His death is on WICKED.

Gally then tells the gang that the Flare has hit Denver, but the government is covering it up because they are the ones infected. Also, the Immunes are going missing in droves. He thinks that they might be being rounded up and sold to WICKED in order for them to continue the Trials. He reveals that he has been working with Teresa since she got to Denver and that the doctor they came to see, the one who can remove the Swipe, is being hunted by WICKED. There is a price on his head because WICKED knows that he is the reason the gang has come to Denver. 

Shit! I didn't talk about the Right Arm. There's not a lot to talk about. They are an organization who want so overthrow WICKED and use their funding to actually help people instead of using it to torture children. They have spies inside WICKED who had told Gally to fake being crazy in order to be transferred out. They had taken Gally while he was being transferred to god-knows-where. That's basically all we know for sure right now.

Analysis

Pretty much my thoughts toward WICKED right now.
Let's talk about Chuck. His death has been a driving force for Thomas. He wanted to avenge Chuck possibly more than anything else. He always knew that his death was WICKED's fault, but he didn't know the extent to which they were to blame. He (and we) always thought it was Gally's decision. To be told, flat out, that WICKED had planned, orchestrated, and forced everything to happen shows how fucking evil these bastards are. They murdered a child to map brain patterns. He was small and kind and young and they forced him to save Thomas to see what it would do to Thomas. Teresa's insistence that "WICKED is good" has gone completely out the window. There is no good in them. Of all of the fucked up things they have done, this really takes the cake.

That's it for now. Leave your thoughts in the comments. They don't even have to be about the book. You could tell me about the weather, if you like. I just want to hear from you guys.

Until next time, happy reading.

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