I'm sure there's a lot that will be made of Teor's death by Thimble, Wick, Kattigan, and perhaps Julien. I also think, while I hope and suspect he won't be the only PC death this campaign, it is also likely that being the first means some transition into a symbol for the surviving party members. So I think Teor's impact on the narrative is far from over. Still, I really loved the way his death scene offered some degree of conclusion to some of the bigger ideas his character was exploring thus far, and I want to try to reflect on that a little.
The first is his relationship with Cyd. (This is the part of his death that makes me saddest, by the way, the so recent reunion, the fact that he switched teams to be with Cyd, just everything about them dying together in a terrible situation.) Sibling relationships have been a major part of what this campaign is exploring. And Teor in particular was exploring the distance that could come about through diverging paths. He talked frequently during the hunt for Cyd about the dawning realization that he didn't know his brother, that he never would have expected the courage and reliability Cyd had shown in the plan to save Thjazi. And Teor's final moments reconcile that distance with the deep abiding love that overcomes it. They die together, fighting the same enemy. In Teor's final moments, he reaches for his brother's paw and finds it "not as dark as I remember it being." They did not know each other well anymore, so much of their relationship has become clouded by memory, but the love is still strong, and Cyd not having to go alone into the dark is a comfort for Teor's dying thoughts.
And then, of course, there's everything with the Banner. In the first two episodes, no character emphasized the pain of the failure of the Falconer's Rebellion from an ideological perspective as much as Teor. And his death is another crushing blow to that failure. Another leader of the Rebellion cut down in a brutal way. Dead in the bowels of a Sundered Lord's mansion, failing to save some fellow veterans. There is hope here, too. He died because he was still fighting for the cause, and his death will inspire others to do so. But I think Travis and Brennan's work in that scene invites us to sit with this failure. The fight may be gearing up again now. But it matters that the Falconer's Rebellion failed. It matters that more people suffered under the Sundered Houses' tyranny while they got stronger and stronger. It isn't just a building block for our current heroes to build with; it was a real, painful loss. Teor carried the weight of that, and his death doesn't make that weight go away. Instead, it reemphasizes the tragedy of it. He dies clutching the Torn Banner, reminding us that Teor's fight against tyranny has been lifelong, thankless, and without victory.
And then there's the plot hook. The mystery of his magic. Which he takes his final thoughts to bequeath to the other character that had become invested in it, Wick.
For a character we only really had for about 16 episodes, I think Brennan and Travis did a beautiful job making his death feel meaningful
