Cold Blood (novel)/YMMV

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• Alternate Character Interpretation: Are Blood and Bone just as evil as their master? Or are they Jerkass Woobies who are being forced to murder against their will?
• Anvilicious: The intended Aesop (that snakes aren't that bad, and that there's more to dolphins than Flipper) is not delivered subtly, though one could argue that this is a case of Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped.
• Complete Monster: Where to begin with Iron Rose? He's gleefully killed and tortured tons of innocent sea creatures in the past (he's even said to have killed a human or two). And what's his motivation? Greed? Revenge? Nope. Pure humor. He thinks it's HILARIOUS when things die. ("The more painful, the better.") Plus, he's more than willing to rape and drown an innocent child. (And it's implied that Natalie wasn't his first human sex slave.) And when Ebony and Phil come in, he captures both of them, then breaks Ebony's wing. And laughs while she's crying in pain.
  • Subverted at the end, when the porpoises beach him, and he claims to have a Freudian Excuse with an abusive mother. Double subverted when Kevin rescues him, though, as he reveals that it was all a lie, and that he even killed his own mother. As a reward for her loving him so much.
  • It's worth noting that this isn't a case of Blue and Orange Morality, as he flat-out admits that he knows that what he's been doing for years is wrong, but he doesn't care.
• Crowning Moment of Awesome: Kevin managing to hold down Iron Rose to protect Natalie.
• Crowning Moment of Funny: The "Hot Potato" scene.
• Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: Kevin finally being accepted by the humans for what he is.
  • The lullaby Ebony sings to Kevin.
  • When Ebony is worrying about Kevin, after the latter was almost Driven to Suicide, Phil gives us this quote.

He'll be fine. As long as you're there for him, he won't be leaving. I promise you, if you stay with him, protect him, don't let anything happen to him, he ain't goin' anywhere.

• Fridge Brilliance: Ebony is doing everything she can to make sure her foster son survives, right? Well, not only does she succeed, but he manages to outlive her.
• Fridge Horror: The pirate seagull captain. After the seagulls fly away, he tries to go after them, but Phil broke the captain's wing earlier, so he ends up falling into the water, and is never mentioned again. Later, it's revealed that there are dolphin guards surrounding the cave. They probably killed the seagull captain.
  • It's heavily implied, but not directly stated, that Iron Rose wants to rape Natalie.
• Moral Event Horizon: It's hard to tell when Iron Rose passed this, but it's most likely either when he killed that sea turtle at the beginning, or when he broke Ebony's wing.
• Nightmare Fuel: Iron Rose getting devoured by sharks at the end.
• Tear Jerker: Kevin coiling up beneath the rock and struggling not to cry.
  • Why do they hate me? Will I ever be cared for?
  • Iron Rose breaking Ebony's wing. And laughing while Kevin watches.
  • The ending, where Ebony tells Kevin that she's getting really old, and that she will be dying in a few days.
• The Woobie: You can't help but feel sorry for poor Kevin during the entire story.
  • That little sea turtle at the beginning.