This is in response to a theory by The_Spade_Queen who says that Fitz is a psychopath. It's a nice theory, and I highly suggest you check it out. I'll put a link to it, and you might wanna read that before you continue with mine. This will make more sense if you read it in order.

https://www.wattpad.com/732838954-kotlc-theory-3

So, one of main points is that Fitz doesn't feel guilty about several of the things he has done. He's lashed out at Sophie, his family, and other people he cares about. Sure, he apologized, but does that make it right? No. It doesn't. He's impulsive as well, which is a symptom of psychopathy. They also point out that having Alvar lose and regain his memory might have been a test for Fitz by the Neverseen, designed to prove to Alvar that his family no longer cared about him. But once again, I'm going to ask you to come on a journey with me and see Fitz's side of the story.

I'll start with a brief summary, which I went into detail with in my first debate about Fitz's character. I'll leave a link to that at the bottom.

Fitz has been referred to as a "golden boy" several times throughout the series, and I'm sure it's true. Amazing Foxfire scores, one of the youngest to ever manifest (Sophie doesn't count), and the youngest son of the legendary Vackers. His little sister is gorgeous and powerful, and his older brother is a successful and looked-up-to young man. He has everything--a best friend, a lovely home life....everything.

Alvar leaving tears that apart. Suddenly, he's thrust through that beautiful golden curtain into a world full of scars, fires and secrets. His family is turned upside down, and the brother he looked up to? Gone. Fitz has been abandoned.

To top it all off, he's fallen in love with the very girl his brother helped kidnap and torture. That alone just adds an entire ocean of salt into the wound.

About him not feeling guilty about almost killing his brother? He does. He really, really does. Almost beating him to death? I believe that's because of guilt, because the source of all this pain and anger, a danger to himself and his loved ones and the world he had grown to love, was right there in front of him, and he couldn't let it get away. He couldn't live with himself if that source got away.

Of course he feels guilty. But everyone's different--some people are able to handle things better than others. And just because Fitz hasn't broken from all the yelling he's done doesn't mean he doesn't feel guilty. In regards to Exile, he lashed out at Sophie, apologized, and was immediately forgiven. She gave him no reason to think she was still mad. Yeah, maybe he should've used his intuition a bit more and thought "hey, I was pretty mean to her, maybe I should make sure she's really ok", but you have to remember that it wasn't till Neverseen that Fitz really cared about Sophie. Until then, she was just a good friend, and someone he was positive would forgive him eventually, if she hadn't already. And he apologized. You only apologize if you know you've done something wrong, if you feel guilty.

Now there's the problem of Alvar and the hive. When Alvar got trapped in the pod, Fitz admitted that he just stopped pressing buttons. He let the pod fill up. He thought his brother was going to die, and he let it happen.

And yet....can you really blame him?

There's a reason Lady Gisela is constantly telling Sophie to be more ruthless. It's because nobody wins by being polite. Nobody wins by asking nicely for something they need and sitting quietly when someone else refuses. You stand up, and you fight for what you believe in, no matter what it takes. If you can avoid violence, great. But if you can't....?

Alvar helped kidnap and torture someone he loved. He helped kidnap and torture Wylie, someone Fitz has at at least got a moderate respect for. He's hurt his parents, he's hurt his little sister, and he's hurt Fitz himself. He's hurt Keefe, who was once Fitz's best friend and who Fitz still cares for, causing Keefe to put himself in danger. He's done so many horrible things, and yet we expect Fitz to just sit back and fight behind the lines the word "hero" has drawn for him. The pod is filling up, his brother is in there--no, not his brother. A traitor with his brother's face. His brother died on that beach outside of Ravagog, driven away by the monster who wears Alvar's face and speaks with his name. This isn't the Alvar Fitz knew and grew up with. This is someone else, someone Fitz has no sympathy for. Someone who took his loving brother away from him.

And all he has to do to vanquish the monster is....nothing?

It's too easy. He just has to stop.

A traitor with his brother's face.

And by that time, it's too late.

He feels guilty. Wanna know how I can tell? Because he tells Sophie. He tells her that he stopped pushing buttons, stopped trying to save his brother's life. He admitted that to the person he trusts most in the world, because he needs someone to forgive him for something he knows was wrong. Someone to ease his guilt. If he wasn't guilty, he wouldn't have told anyone because to him, it wouldn't have mattered. Or at least, he wouldn't have said it in the soft, vulnerable voice that he did.

And when Alvar escapes, Fitz tells Sophie that he wishes Alvar had died. Not because Fitz is evil, or enjoys the thought of his death--he wishes that because Fitz is tired. He's exhausted from the pain, the anger, the guilt all crowding around his chest until he thinks his ribs will break from the pressure. He can't handle much more of it. This monster keeps escaping, keeps hurting people, and wears a face that reminds Fitz of everything he's lost. Fitz is tired of making these mind-breaking decisions, tired of having to take the hard road in protecting the people he loves because no one else will. He can't reach Alvar from behind the "hero" line. He can't protect the people he loves from behind that line. Remember that thing Biana said, about wanting to take down the bad guys and keep her freedom? That's all Fitz is trying to do. Right now, Sophie's trying to keep everyone in a bubble of righteousness. And now? Tam is taken, Alvar is alive and evil again, and they're even farther behind than ever. All Fitz wants to do is make a dent in this torrent of pain and exhaustion that's been wearing him down since book four. To take down the one person who's been driving a knife into the back of his family and everyone he cares about, to take down that one person who took his real brother.

Who took the one that cared.

Fitz just wants it to be over.

And another thing? While everyone blames Fitz for almost beating Alvar to death, guess who let him?

Biana.

Alvar's little sister, as much family to him as Fitz is, sat there and watched as Fitz beat her older brother. She could've tried to stop him. But she didn't. Because the fact of the matter is, both the Vacker children want this monster gone.

A traitor with their brother's face.

And as for Fitz lashing out at his parents in Flashback? I just....I can't even describe the emotions he's feeling.

The monster is gone. After three books and so much pain and betrayal, the monster is gone, and his brother is standing there, bewildered and innocent, not remembering anything he's done or how he's hurt his family. Fitz's dead older brother is back, the person who hugged Sophie in Alluveterre, who teased Fitz like an older sibling would, who was maybe a little arrogant, but that was okay. It was okay because he was there.

And now he's back.

And Fitz refuses to believe it.

When Fitz is hurt, he pushes people away. He gets angry, angry at people and angry at the world. This person that has hurt him so much has changed, back to the the way everything used to be, giving Fitz a peek back behind that golden curtain that he can never pass through again. He refuses to believe his brother's back, because the only thing worse than being hurt in the end is his friends being hurt because he was falling for his brother's lies, again. He won't be tricked and betrayed again, because is it really betrayal if you expect it?

And he lashes out at his parents for letting Alvar live with them. It hurts them, but the action is so gray that you just can't pull it apart.

Guys, Fitz is so fragile. He's in a trial for his brother, a traitor, a criminal, someone he used to love. This trial might end in Exile, a broken mind, and yet Alvar's dawned the role of the loving older brother again, innocent and pleading. He's Alvar again.

And yet, he seems to be the only one to see his brother for what he really is. Can you imagine? Can you imagine standing beside your family, beside two desperate parents and a silent sister, trying to make them understand that Alvar wasn't who he says he was. He's playing them again, it's just another game. And yet, they don't see it. They don't see what he sees, and he knows if they don't understand then they'll get hurt again. But this time, they might not escape unscathed. His father's mind might break again. His poor sister, whose confidence in her family and where she belongs is slowly crumbling. His mother, who has to bear all of this and still run the family, and take care of everyone. He's trying to save them. If only they would listen! He couldn't bear it if his people he loved were hurt again because of him.

He's angry. He's angry because he's alone. The only one who sees who Alvar is, the only one who's making any sense. He's trying to protect his family, the people he loves against someone who's caused so much pain, and he's doing it alone. He's alone.

And as for it being a test, I don't think it was. If it had been, and Fitz failed, don't you think Alvar would've sounded more hurt when Fitz beat him up, after he got his memories back? He just sounded miffed. "Some brother you are. You tried to kill me."

Sometimes, being a hero means taking the step no one else will. Righteous: adj. Morally right or justifiable; Virtuous. Nowhere in that definition does it say without violence. And I'd say it was justifiable, considering the massive amount of times Alvar and the Neverseen have tried to kill each person in the crew, and others? And they even succeeded. At that point, they've forfeited their rights to a limited fight. This is war. This group is trying to burn the world. Lives on the good side have already been lost. Are we supposed to sit back and let that happen?

Fitz lashes out because no one stops him. That's his character flaw. No one has ever taught him how to control his anger, because he's never experienced grief until a year ago. And when Sophie finally has the courage to stop him? She saves him from making a possible mistake. Because someone finally took the world off his shoulders, and helped him out.

Sophie may be the Moonlark, but bearing the guilt he has and doing his best to protect his family from falling apart, Fitz is just as much a hero as she is, if not more. Maybe his best is flawed, but that's what makes him real. I applaud Shannon Messenger, because it's so rare to have a main character with an aggressive flaw, for fear of making their readers hate someone who's not meant to be hated. And has that happened? Yeah, it most certainly has. There's no reason to wish death on someone, character or no, just because they're dealing with pain and betrayal that's like being thrust into China only speaking Spanish. So accept his flaws, and cheer for him as he tries to figure them out, for Sophie's sake, and everyone else's.

Again, this was in no way meant to offend anyone, especially who created a theory that definitely got me thinking. So this is dedicated to them. Go check them out!!

https://www.wattpad.com/683810152-keeper-oneshots-if-you-hate-fitz-read-this