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No, the issue with Molly becoming Winter Lady did not surprise me (mostly because some jerk who is now hogtied in a corner and will not be permitted out of it until a future date spoiled that particular revelation for me), nor does it strike me as an ass pull. It all comes down to what you know, or think you know, of the Fae and of Mab specifically. Where most other people are playing checkers, Mab is playing three dimensional chess. She's playing a very long, very complicated game and I suspect, based on a few things, that she's had her eye on Molly as a possibility if not neccessarily a preferred piece for a long time. Not, maybe, as early as Grave Peril, but certainly at least as early as Proven Guilty. Going back, I think Mab might have had her grabbed just so that she could get a good look at the girl away from prying eyes. I have no doubt that, in the future books, we're going to get a bit of that story from the point of view of Molly herself, learn some of the things that happened off stage.
Similar topic, no, I don't think that the revelation that Winter has been guarding the Gates is a letdown, asspull, or otherwise dissapointment. It makes sense, given what the all but explicit topics of the novel are: mantles, masks, change, and consequences. The Fae may not have been what they are since the beginning, and might even have become this only recently (in cosmic terms), but the simple fact is, I think it's possible, or even likely, that the Fae grew into this role, changed into it, due to some evolution and quirk of history. After all, Kringle/Odin/Vaderrung himself said that it's something that happens all the time. Hell, we watched it happen multiple times (to Harry, to Lily, etc.) now, so why can't it happen to an entire group/species if it can happen to individuals?
In the end, I suspect Mab may have been a mortal or changling who inherited the mantle of Queen after her predecessor went off the reservation, probably due to the Adversary. Mab (or somebody) learned what was going on, that the previous queen was endangering the status of the Outer Gates and either she took the role for herself one Halloween many thousands of years ago, or was thrust into it just like Molly has been now. And now Molly was picked as a replacement for Meave not because the crazy dredlocked psycho was actually a physical danger to Mab herself, but was certainly a danger to her ability to keep the Outsiders out. Putting Molly into that role, even if the girl is inexperienced, terrified, and way out of her league at this point and in extreme danger of becomming another Lily, lets Mab focus on not just putting her own house in order, but in preparing for, as Maeve herself put it, the oncoming Night, which I think has been oncoming for quite a while now.
I very much liked the angle of consequences coming back to bite one in the end. Even if your intentions were good, or even if your actions were the correct ones at the time, the consequences of what you done in the past are not something that you can escape. The consequences of Harry "saving the day" back in book four come roaring back in with a vengeance. Even if he did the right thing, he's getting smacked around by it now if for no other reason than he was sloppy back then. Hell, I'd be willing to bet that Mab and Titania (who, I suspect, might be a lot closer than we're thinking, like mother daughter close, or sisters close) are victims of the consequences of their own actions and the actions of their predecessors so many eons ago.
That's one of the major themes of the series right there for you. Actions have consequences, and just because you meant well doesn't mean you did well, and just because you did well doesn't mean everything will work out well. And as a corrolary, we must live with the fallout of the decisions made by those who have gone before us.
A good book, setting up a lot of things for the next few novels that I hope will pay off.
Re: Dresden Files: Winter is coming
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