Fans of the Animorphs

Jake and Rachel. Not as a couple, as a relationship.

Somehow, the things that Jake says to Rachel about herself seems to really affect her. And she never really tells him about the deal the Drode made with her in 27, which was amazingly dark. Yet Jake always kind of grounded her. She respected him a lot. I think she wanted his approval more than Tobias's, because she took the latter for granted.

I don't know, I've been thinking a lot about how their interactions are so key to Rachel's personality. I want your thoughts on this relationship and how it develops through the series--from Rachel's taunt ("You think you're going to protect us, you big strong m-a-a-a-a-n?") to Jake asking her to sacrifice herself to end the war ("You know if you ask this of me, I'll do it"). There's such development in the way they view each other and the war changes them.

The war breaks the two of them more than any of the others, save Tobias. But Tobias only cracks because he lost Rachel. Rachel and Jake are destroyed by the war. They really have the two hardest archetypes to fill--the warrior and the leader, as opposed to the strategist/comedian (Marco), the moral compass (Cassie), the lost soul (Tobias) and the alien (Ax).

I wonder sometimes about the Ellimist's "I never met for you to be one of the six...happy accident" thing. I think maybe when he was stacking the deck, he wanted people that were strong enough to survive the war--Jake and Rachel, though essential, were not strong enough to survive the war, though they did. And Rachel being there killed Tobias. Because as tragic and awesome as their love was, it would have been easier for Tobias all along if he could have cut himself off and focused on the war, not his personal struggle.

So this makes me think that Rachel and Jake were supposed to be part of the team all along. That maybe they weren't there because of the Ellimist, but a higher force than him (as he always wonders about). I don't know, I pick a different character/relationship to muse about each week.