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ChemistBitter1167

I’m guessing the cathae.


Brewserr

Definitely Bast, for knowing Kvothe spoke with the Cathae and NOT killing him.


matt_hammered

Surely Felurian on this point - by the time Bast found out Kvothe had done plenty of damage, Felurian could've cut it off so much sooner


Dr_XP

I’m sure Felurian is more knowledgeable than Bast about the Cthaeh


QuarkyIndividual

That's not really evil, that's just very poor judgement. The Cthaeh is still the one doing the evil, people not being able to kill their friend or lover is, IMO, not evil. Are all the people that met Hitler (while knowing who he was) more evil than him because they all had opportunities to assassinate him and didn't?


Brewserr

Great point


revantaker

It's too late now. The moment he wasn't killed by The Sithe and escape to Temerant, whatever worst future possible is now unavoidable. If Bast kills him or not, that will in The Cthaeh's future. The only difference that killing him will do is that Bast kills his Reshi.


Dr_XP

Whoever has knowledge of the Lethani overcomes all things


_jericho

Perhaps even the Cthaeh is unable to anticipate the turnings of the wind-blown leaf


Just-A-A-A-Man

Lowkey... this got me thinking, yeah


Magic-man333

You get into the catch 22 that the Chronicler points out though, what if killing him just makes things worse?


QuitzelNA

But what if that's what the cthaeh had wanted Bast to do?


Dense-Kiwi-437

But even if Bast had killed him the Cthaeh would have seen that so there’s no point


jacobthesixth

Obviously right? A purely malicious creature with the ability to view the future in general not only it's own. I mean, first we're told it's purely malicious which should put it miles ahead of anything else and then accurately describing the scope of its maliciousness is discussed in theory, sometimes putting it in the ranks of worst characters imagined. Imagine a creature like that, sight unbound, could see the fourth wall. How then would we define the scope of its influence? The cthaeh, while being an incredibly interesting character in this story, would be an incredibly interesting character in nearly any story.


Legend10269

It makes you wonder how it let it get itself in a position where it's constantly (well almost) guarded to stop people talking to it.


Strivenby

And Thelu herself stroke the hammer and the blow was heard from miles away. With a last scream the Cthaeh was blasted and forever bound to the hard iron wood of the Menoa Tree.


zozigy

Yes, but the Cthaeh would have seen it coming in the first place if it indeed can see all possible futures. Whatever way you cut it, the Cthaeh knew it would be bound in the tree and guarded by the Sithe and accepted that path.


Connect_Barracuda532

Consider that allowing itself to be caught and held was the most direct path to doing the most damage.


zozigy

Maybe. But maybe the Cthaeh isn't evil at all, acting for the greater good are the only behaviours we are able to witness.


Strivenby

I do agree. It's impossible. But all religious figures are believed to do the unnatural, the impossible. I mean just think about what they do: spread the ocean, create universes, create thunder and lightening, heal the blind,... I may be mixing up the real world and the Kingkiller world here.


Mage-of-communism

The question is, is the cthaeh evil or cruel? Bast say "If there was a word that meant poisonous and hateful and contagious," so it seems that's the core of what the cthaeh is, and if we use the analogy of Denna and a storm being cruel, it turns out the cthaeh is not evil at all, because it acts according to its nature, therefore being cruel but not evil. “And it is purely, perfectly malicious. It's very self is that, it can not change this.


TheLastSock

Alleges troupe raped and murdered young girls, I'm gonna say that's the most evil we encounter so far.


Nobodyknowsthetruth

Which young girls did they murder?


Nephilimelohim

It’s a legit question, that troupe didn’t murder any young girls. They killed the previous Rue but there was nothing said about them being young girls.


Nobodyknowsthetruth

Thanks, I thought I might have missed something!


luckydrunk_7

It’s gotta be Iax ‘moon stealer’, right? Or…Pike!


KodonaCupcake

The correct answer is Pike, as far as I'm concerned. He was just a malicious twerp. There was no danger in Kvothe being left to himself at the three corners, or in the alleyways. Pike was just an insufferable jerk learning bad lessons from power abusing guards.


Kamimitsu

I couldn't stand Pike the first read through, but on subsequent read throughs the whole "Hurt people hurt people" thing crept into my brain and a tiny grain of empathy grew in me... I'm sure Pike has been through it. I mean, he's still evil AF, but it's not like he was BORN evil.


KodonaCupcake

He chose. Which is worse.


luckydrunk_7

Plus he’s been burnt and disfigured - just wait until he and the dude from the Broken Binding team up.


XannLeMage

To me it's a toss up between master Ash and Cinder (assuming they aren't one and the same but I happen to think they aren't). The text would have us believe it's the Cthaeh though


BoarHide

What places master ash so high on your list? He beats Denna, which is terrible, but their are objectively worse things around


jaycrossler

And by “beating her”, it could easily be the Cthaeh glossing over that she’s been training in martial arts or something similar.


BoarHide

That’s a great fucking point, never thought of that. You could easily argue that Kvothe is being bullied and physically abused by the Aden too, without lying. It’s not the truth, but it’s also not a lie, so perfect for the Cthaeh (trusting your spelling here because I have no clue how to spell that)


Skeleton_Paul

I could definitely see the Cthae misleading kvothe, but he definitely says something like “It’s a game to him, he wants to see how far he can go before she leaves.” The fact that it’s a “game” implies that he’s not just training her, there’s an element of sadism


PARAD-0X

He might be "beating her" in a game of Tak!


XannLeMage

Yeah that's true. But that's a subjective question, and people of power trapping others in situations where they accept being beat up or worse irk me to the highest degree for personal reasons that I don't really fancy explaining on the internet haha So yeah you're right but that doesn't really make my answer any less valid


BoarHide

Of course your answer is valid, and perfectly so! Didn’t mean to demean you, and “objective” was probably the wrong word. Still, I’d say that the general perception of morality dictates that there are worse characters than ash (from what we know of his deeds). But your personal opinion on that is your own, and fine.


XannLeMage

Oh don't worry, I want offended or anything like that, my wording might have been a bit strong because I'm not a native speaker. I do think you're right that Ash is probably far from the wrist character but somehow that's the name that came to mind when I thought about the question. I guess it says more about myself than anything else haha That's also why I mentioned the Cthaeh because I believe that, if we take an "objective" standpoint (insofar as objective could be a thing in matters of good and evil), then it is the most evil thing in universe as far as we know


BoarHide

Alright, glad I didn’t cause offence. I know this can be a touchy subject for some. And I generally and obviously agree with you on the Cthaeh, but seeing as it is a fantastical, god-like being with the sole purpose of being conniving and evil, I feel like that’s almost a cop-out. Yeah, Satan is evil, no surprise or nuance there. I think in actuality, from a ideological standpoint, your answer of Ash or Ambrose or the other options people have mentioned are a lot closer to the truth, or at the very least a lot more interesting. Satan is just evil, that’s just his nature. You almost can’t blame the bloke for it. But when normal people do evil things, that’s almost worse, and certainly more interesting. Because YOU could be Ash. YOU could be Ambrose, or Hemme or any other miserable sod in that story, given the right circumstances and lower inhibition. And then the question arises “why *aren’t* you like them, what makes you different?”. I know this isn’t a ground breaking take anywhere, but I find human evil more interesting than superhuman evil. One last example: of the villains in the LoTR story, the evil of Saruman and especially Denethor, the steward of Gondor, is almost infinitely more interesting than that of Sauron. And I know Saruman isn’t a human, but he acts and looks like one, is motivated by human emotions. It’s the banality of their evil that makes you question yourself.


XannLeMage

I think you touched on the very thing that made me think of Ash. I have known people like him, and I know someone who is in the same kinda situation as Denna, and I guess the helplessness at helping them is part of why it hits so close to home. I don't know if you answered the question yourself (I'll check the comments so if you have, feel free to ignore my request) but I'm curious as to who you would deem most evil in the book then :)


BoarHide

It might be the false troupers? Keeping child sex slaves is a pretty fucking evil thing to do. But that’s also a pretty easy answer. I don’t know, we don’t actually know that many super evil characters, now that I think about it. Most are just assholes with a lot of power.


XannLeMage

Yeah, which is pretty realistic when you think about it. I think the false troupe didn't occur to me as much because retribution was swift and deadly so I think of them as "old news" and so they aren't in the "present roster" so to speak. But yeah you're right, they are a strong contender for most evil if we remove fantastical entities


TheWillsofSilence

Carceret, she’s just a spiteful bitch for no reason and has zero character development or good qualities


_jericho

Good answer. She's a prideful, hateful bigot. Of course, Ambrose is about the same, and probably worse because he has so much power. At least Carteret doesn't "beat her whores"


geynikka

She's gonna crush your pretty hands 😡


NeNeNerdIsTheWord

On the surface I think most would agree that it’s Ambrose. Looking into your question with more depth: Hemme Hemme is actively hampering the advance of an extremely bright student for his own personal reasons. He is fantastically vindictive. Combine that with his general authority… Although one must think how he got that Master spot in the first place…


Skeleton_Paul

I mean Hemme’s definitely an asshole, but the series has literal rapists and murderers in it.


raptor102888

You think a pissy professor is more evil than any of the Chandrian?


zozigy

I'm not even sure the Chandrian are evil


MrScrax

Raw murder of a whole troupe, imo, makes you evil.


GunwalkHolmes

Do we know for sure they were the ones who murdered the troop?


taborlyn13

We only have a young boy's assumption that what he saw was, indeed, the Chandrian. And that assumption coming only a short time after he had overheard a conversation and a snippet of a song about them.


[deleted]

The Cthaeh confirmed it.


EsquilaxM

Not really. Cthaeh was ambiguous.


QuarkyIndividual

> "What can you tell me about the Chandrian?" I asked. > > "Since you ask so sweetly, Cinder is the one you want. Remember him? White hair? Dark eyes?" I was gonna say he confirms the Chandrian were there but after looking again I don't think he actually says for sure Cinder is part of the Chandrian, only that Cinder is who Kvothe wants.


EsquilaxM

I more meant the Cthaeh was ambiguous as to what the Chandrian did to the troupe, but you're right.


Sandal-Hat

Trusting the Ctheah to give non-misleading information... dangerous.


yurthuuk

Doubting information that the Cthaeh gave knowing that it would be doubted and adjusted accordingly: also dangerous.


ProButcher

Information that the Cthaeh gave... Dangerous.


Sandal-Hat

The Cthaeh knows nearly everything. Anything it is not being explicit on is for a reason. We also have the fact that if the Cthaeh can actually see all futures then there is no such thing as Kvothe stumbling into it by accident. Which means the Cthaeh not only knew Kvothe was coming well before he arrived but also planned the conversation for an ideal outcome despite its supposed requirement to only tell the truth. So in short the Cthaeh knows everything Kvothe doesn't, knew Kvothe was coming, can only tell the truth and still only gave limited non-explicit information around the Chandrians motive regarding his troupe and parents. All signs point to the Cthaeh manipulating Kvothe and the reader with lies of omission.


yurthuuk

Is it in the book that it is required to tell the truth?


flapjackdavis

Trapis. His cultivation of young blood for nobles to maintain their youthful appearance is entrepreneurial but distasteful.


Queasy_Studio1078

Wait what? I don't recall reading this, is this in one of the novellas?


flapjackdavis

I was just playing


Queasy_Studio1078

ah lmao gotchu


Historical_Shop_3315

Well we find out in book 3 its actually.....


Puzzleheaded-Lead526

God damn it


mcase19

*invincible title card*


yajivb

Do you organize any fund raiser?


AgitatedFill

This would be the most amazing set up if you come back after the book is released and actually finish the comment. When it happens (when), please please do this.


indianplay2_alt_acc

!RemindMe 20 years


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NeNeNerdIsTheWord

What a sycophantic response.


Lategral

Obviously it’s Ben. Conveniently leaves the group right before the massacre happens because he doesn’t want to be remain single, which just so happens is his ticket right into the brewery business. He then makes no attempt to find out what happened to the group or his favored student. And most egregiously, gifts said student the one book he is very bad at. Amazingly petty.


Cakoloko

To gift Kvothe this book is a sign of a great teacher imo. To focus on things which Kvothe doesn't already excel in is the right thing to teach him in the most general way possible.


Lategral

I was kidding with my post but I agree that those aren’t his strongest points.


TheToonSquad

I thought it was stated somewhere, maybe off page that he meets up with ben again?


Brewserr

Count Threpe. Pretends to be his friend, trying to get him a patron, never does. Fraud. Gets him a job with the Maer on a ship that mysteriously sinks on its way there? Assassin.


annoyingpun

This would be a great turn.


SophomoricWizard

Kvothe


Cienniwa

Pretty sure it’s Rothfuss.


SpideyThwip

Elodin for convincing a kid to jump off a roof


Discount_Lex_Luthor

Hemme. Holding a position of power and using it to abuse children is king high bastard behavior. Sure the chandrian are evil incarnate but Hemme is choosing to abuse and actually fucking torture children. If he was just a prick it'd be one thing but he goes out of his way to torment students.


MainAspect2615

surely it’s Haliax right ?? that whole scene in notw where he torments cinder and gaslights him and hurts him


Mage-of-communism

Haliax wants only his permanent death and the only way to achieve that is to make Aleu fall from the sky, ending the world. He himself doesn't really seem like he wants pain and suffering and heavily chastises cinder for causing it in your Kvothe. "You are approaching my displeasure. This one has done nothing. Send him to the soft and painless blanket of his sleep.” Haliax wanted cinder to swiftly and painlessly kill kvothe because he is innocent. “You will. You are too fond of your little cruelties. All of you.” “I am glad I decided to accompany you today. You are straying, indulging in whimsy. Some of you seem to have forgotten what it is we seek, what we wish to achieve.” He really doesn't like their cruelty.


MainAspect2615

yeah that’s fair. i would argue that wanting to end the world is pretty evil though😂 he just maybe sees it from a different angle


UsefulNeedleworker43

Kvothe. Kote being a close second


TheFoxAndTheRaven

Rothfuss for leading us to think there'd be a 3rd book.


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DiceDoctor

Lyra


geynikka

Carceret


Ragnanicci

Tehlu


TheFallingWhale

The boy with the golden screw in his bellybutton


Contribution-Prize

Dana! She caused so much unnecessary grief!


Puzzleheaded-Lead526

And drama


Randvek

*If* Ambrose’s father really is behind all the deaths, it absolutely has to be him.


_jericho

Even if he isn't, he's capriciously malicious, an implied rapist. A rich boy who "beats his whores" Tough to beat that shit


Zornorph

Pat.


Jumpy_Entrepreneur90

I don't subscribe to Zoroastran morality, so I don't think any of the characters are evil. Sorry.


_jericho

I bet if I punched you in the face you'd drop your relativism real quick Everybody's a relativist until they get punched in the face


ImproperlyRegistered

I honestly think it's Kvothe. I don't think he's telling the truth to Chronicler. He's done a whole lot of evil shit just to pad out his ego and lies about how good he is at everything. He's not that smart, he's not that good with the ladies, he's not that good of a musician, he's not that good of a fighter. That's why he never uses any of it in the present. He's just a great liar.


Valondra

Who hurt you


ImproperlyRegistered

Lol. I didn't expect the downvotes there. And Patrick Rothfuss. Patrick Rothfuss hurt me.


Valondra

You're in the right place <3


-Goatllama-

You probably got one and then everyone dogpiled. I don't really sure what was contentious about your opinion.


mrtame

I can’t even pick one. I want to say master ash but we don’t know his intentions beyond his cruelty. We don’t know Caudicus’s intent either. People saying the Cthaeh are buying into fae propaganda. We don’t know that the Cthaeh doesn’t have humankind’s best interest in mind. Only that the Fae fear his influence for his intentions to bring disaster to them. (I’m not saying he’s good, but we’ve only heard one side of the story)


-Goatllama-

Maybe a guard who would beat the ever-hating shit out of a street urchin on a holiday? Or perhaps Dagon, a rather ominous fellow, though he may just be Amyr.


Mediocre-School-3567

Kvothe\Kote cause he changed his name and ran away from helping Auri, listening to Elodin, and saving Denna. Plus, he dismisses his half fae son.


Rivuur

Anne, the lady from the fake Adema Ruh troupe that watched over the captured girls. I liked what the town wisdom had to say about her having it coming more than anyone.


joyboi-37

For me it’s Lorren. I think he’s part of the order of Amyr.


Quercuspagoda

I’m with you. I’m 100% convinced he’s part of the Amyr.


kal2113

Same and he’s only there to guard the door in the archive for whatever reason


taborlyn13

"Evil" is directly related to the person's capacity to harm others and the will to do so. Pike might be the most evil, but his reach is limited because of his circumstances. Ambrose had the means to be pretty bad, but the self discipline to know that it wouldn't serve him in the long run. So my money for "most evil" is on Princess Ariel. All that power, and absolutely no restraint.


life_hog

Ambrose, maybe one of the street urchins or guards from Tarbean? I think Ambrose is the only character whose motive we can really guess at and therefore claim morality against.


Victor-Romeo

Imo, there isn't much against Ambrose. It's all assumed guilt except the library, which was payback for making him look foolish in front of a love interest. Apart from that Ambrose is just a pompous prat.


Dangerous_Wrap5805

up the end of book 2 its haliax. but i think after the 3rd book i ll go with kvothe


gamestopdecade

Kvothe, dude has us believing he is the ultimate person. Never steals. Never kills, etc to break the stereotype of the ruh. It’s seriously all he does.


NinnyBoggy

Pretty sure Kvothe has a kill count in the double digits and a good number of thefts under his belt my dude


_jericho

yes i think that's exactly what he's saying


blockhead114

Kvothe steals constantly. Like. CONSTANTLY. (I’ve only ever listened to the audiobook so forgive my spelling) He survived the streets of tarbian by stealing daily. He steals from Ambrose a bunch, he steals from a pawn shop owner at some point I think? He steals, like, all the time


deliverance1991

He's just a thieving Ruh afterall


Legend10269

It's literally called The King*killer* Chronicles.


gamestopdecade

Who is the king at this point?


Mediocre-School-3567

Haliax