The Dresden Files/Proven Guilty: Difference between revisions

* [[Contrived Coincidence]]: Basically a superpower of the Knights of the Cross. Harry [[Invoked Trope|invokes]] it [[Genre Savvy|intentionally]] to try and save {{spoiler|Molly}}'s life. {{spoiler|It works}}.

* [[Department of Redundancy Department]]:

* [[Distracted From Death]]: {{spoiler|Harry's trying to save a girl from a phobophage, but gets carried away attacking it and, when he turns round to check on the girl, she's bled to death.}}

* [[Gambit Pileup]]: The plot is initially presented as an investigation by Harry into attacks by the phages against the horror movie convention, but it rapidly becomes much more complex when Thomas starts acting secretive and tails Harry around town, then the [[The Fair Folk|Sidhe]] Ladies start plucking strings, and it gets even muddier when Madrigal Raith gets involved, planning to {{spoiler|sell Harry on Ebay for profit}}. By the end of the book, it looks like Lily manipulates {{spoiler|Harry into going into Arctis Tor}}, while Maeve manipulated {{spoiler|Harry into Arctis Tor and slowed down time in the region to trap the armies of Winter so Summer could attack}}, and it is hinted that {{spoiler|the entire thing might have been arranged by Mab}}, and then at the trial at the very end of the book it appears {{spoiler|the entire bloody thing was planned by the Gatekeeper.}} And to top it all off, at the very, very end of the trial, {{spoiler|Michael shows up, having saved Luccio, Ebenazar, and the rest of the Senior Council, alongside the Summer Court intervening in a battle between the Council and the Red Court, saving the day}}, which may mean that {{spoiler|''everything was planned by God.''}} And the Black Council was apparently involved at one level or another, somewhere. Just as planned.

** {{spoiler|Hellfire was also used in a major assault against Arctis Tor}}.

* [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo]]: Some phobophages take the shape of horror movie monsters to inspire fear. Harry ends up fighting an unnamed [[Alien (franchise)|creature which drools heavily and has acid for blood]]. Harry obviously recognizes it as a Xenomorph, as he spends the rest of the fight using quotes from the [[Alien (franchise)|movies]] as one-liners, while very carefully not mentioning its name.

** While storming the base of the villains, Harry faces "[[Child's Play (film)|Bucky the Murder Doll]]" and [[Take That|states that he could never understand how anybody found it scary]].

* [[Like Parent, Like Spouse]]: Harry attributes Molly's infatuation with him to this.

* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]: There is the famous instance where Harry fights a [[Alien (franchise)|xenomorph]], including quoting from the movie with "Get away from her, you ''bitch!''" as he proceeds to roast and smash the beast repeatedly until it is turned into chunky salsa. Moments later, however, he learns the "her" he was rescuing has bled out and died, and he is left to wonder if he wasted the chance to save her because he was indulging in blasting the monster repeatedly instead, and in turn whether that enjoyment had something to do with Lasciel's coin's influence on him.

* [[Oh Crap]]: Harry learns {{spoiler|that every fae in Winter is coming to kill him. ''Personally''.}}

** He has another one later in the same book, when he realizes that {{spoiler|his out maneuvering of the Merlin in trying to save Molly's life has actually resulted in forcing the Merlin to have her KILLED, both because the Council can't have one of its regional commanders kept busy with an apprentice during a war, and to show that he still has more power than one young upstart wizard/warden.}}

** A third time for Harry would occur when Michael admits, {{spoiler|while he has known about Luciel being inside Harry since the night of the infection, if Michael believes Harry is going to embrace the Fallen, he will end Harry.}} After a moment of thinking on it, Harry is happpy and would want that as well.

* [[Shout-Out]]: A few.

** At one point, though it's [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo|not stated outright]], Harry fights a [[Alien (franchise)|Xenomorph]].

** Deliberately invoked by Harry wielding {{spoiler|Summer-}}Fire against a Scarecrow-like Fetch:

* [[Sign of the Apocalypse]]:

* [[So Proud of You]]: {{spoiler|Ebenezer to Harry}}.

* [[Take That]]:

"Kind of a wimp."<br />

"Must have been the runt of the litter."<br />