The Maze Runner discussion

About halfway into the second book, Thomas really started to annoy me. It is his fault that mine Minho and Teresa are dead. I thought it was stupid and silly of him not to forgive Teresa. She was always on his side, and only "betrayed him to save his life. She was only trying to protect him. Brenda on the other hand, worked for wicked. She was part of the reason he was captured. While they both apologized to Thomas, he was much more willing to forgive Brenda that he was Teresa. Even though he had known Teresa longer, and they had always been best friends. This began to annoy me, because Teresa explained everything and was only "betraying him" to save his life. I guess, in the end, it just annoyed me how much quicker he was to forgiving Brenda then to forgiving Teresa. I have nothing against Brenda, and like her as a character, but Thomas should have just sucked it up, accepted that Teresa did what she did so that Thomas could live, and forgiven her. Is this just me?

I think he did forgive Teresa, but couldn't forget what she made him feel. WICKED designed that "test" to cause a result in Thomas's mind so strong that it killed all the love he could have felt for Teresa. It's clear in the scene where she kissed him, after explaining why she did what she did, and he just doesn't feel anything. She could have done it to save his life, but by doing it, she crossed a line without turning back. That probably was part of WICKED's plan.

Also, I believe if Thomas had been put in the same situation that Teresa was, he wouldn't be able to do what she did. Thomas isn't perfect and he took some stupid decisions here and there but I can't imagine him acting the way Teresa did, to hurt her, even if he didn't have another choice.

I actually found Teresa's attitude to be the annoying one. Even after what she did, she should have known that he seriously hurt Thomas's feelings and that he might need some space. But she kept pressuring for him to act as if nothing had happened because she didn't feel like he had forgave her, and that, in my opinion, made it worse.
Even at the end of the second book, she does something so childish as trying to have the last word in the argument, and she uses that to say something so out of place as "WICKED is good". I mean, come on! How can she seriously still be in their side? Even Brenda who worked for them is against them in the end.

And then she goes and leaves him behind saying that she thought he had gone before. That's the lamest excuse. After all that "WICKED is good" bulls%$t she tries to escape as soon as she recovers her memories? I don't believe her. I think she's cold and insensitive.

Also, you say her death and Newt's (I assume you meant Newt instead of Minho and that was a typo, right?) are Thomas's fault, but I don't see how he's to blame for their deaths. It was clear Newt was doomed from the moment it's revealed that he's not immune and has the virus. And Teresa's death was an accident. A little anticlimactic maybe, but that's beyond the point.

I didn't like Teresa at all, and I LOVED MY THOMAS!!!!! (view spoiler)[And Minho didn't die.... (hide spoiler)]

Remy wrote: "I think he did forgive Teresa, but couldn't forget what she made him feel. WICKED designed that "test" to cause a result in Thomas's mind so strong that it killed all the love he could have felt fo..."

I completely agree with you. These are my exact thoughts.

I can understand both sides: Thomas being quick to forgive, and Thomas in the book. But I do think Thomas in the book is more practical and believable.
I also think that Teresa was a bit pushy and didn't give Thomas space or time. You can't always carry on like nothing ever happened.
How would any of us feel, despite in the act of love, if someone were to willingly cause us pain, no matter what the outcome (his life)? We would each feel betrayed and hurt, even if the cause was meant to spare our lives. So what if it wasn't Teresa's fault; so what if it wasn't her choice? The actions were still done and nothing could have changed the way Thomas perceived his surroundings. The whole act of betrayal worked, and I could have said so for each and every one of us if it were to ever occur.

Teresa also confused me a little. At some times, she could be perceived as a traitor, at others, their only hope. On one side, we have her saying WICKED is good, on the other she's planning an escape. I never really completely understood her. I think that's what made her a less relatable character.

Thomas also did not cause any casualties. Newt's exposure to the Flare was inevitable. Teresa spared Thomas' life in an act of love. On top of that, so did Chuck. There was nothing he could have done to prevent that.

Julia wrote: "I can understand both sides: Thomas being quick to forgive, and Thomas in the book. But I do think Thomas in the book is more practical and believable.
I also think that Teresa was a bit pushy and ..."

Preach.

Put plainly, Thomas is always playing twenty questions. It can be a tad bit annoying.

In the first book I was annoyed at how he thought he knew everything and how he treated chuck as a lesser person I the first few chapters. Then he was all buddy buddy with Theresa *cracking my knuckles* k have hated Theresa from the start. To tell the truth the storyline and stuff ws amazing but I loved all the character sooo much except for Thomas and Theresa. Sorry.....
I LOVE NEWT. Sorry this is a biiiit if topic but NEWT is sooo awesome *sniffle* I won't forget you....

At first yeah because I was really annoyes by how he always ask questions but throughout the whole series he's not annoying anymore.

What I'm saying might sound cliche. Thomas isn't annoying. He's trying to keep everyone safe. He was put there for a reason, whether he or anybody else likes it or not. He doesn't have to do all of this. He could've given up, found somewhere else to live and left his friends behind. He's immune, so he wouldn't have caught the Flare. He could've lived alone adn had a next to normal life.
But he didn't. He kept fighting alongside his friends, and he made the sacrifices necessary to keep going. His hardest times were probably when he lost Chuck and Newt. He had killed his own friend, Newt, and he did it because Newt asked him to. He didn't want to kill Newt. He wanted to wait until they had a cure for Newt, but Newt didn't want that, so Thomas respected his wishes.
To me, Thomas isn't annoying. Thomas is a hero, a friend, the big brother I never had.

He kinda is...... he annoys me because he is a power player. all the characters get annoying sometimes

Though i really enjoyed reading this series and i liked his character. I do not find it possible that he, teressa and aris became in charge of WICKED because they were really telligent and apparently more than the adults? I mean no offence to all those who love thomas but throughout the series he didnt show some factor that made me think he was that intelligent to be the new leader of WICKED

Nithya wrote: "In the first book I was annoyed at how he thought he knew everything and how he treated chuck as a lesser person I the first few chapters. Then he was all buddy buddy with Theresa *cracking my knuc..."

Thomas and Teresa did have their annoying moments, but I guess they didn't bother me too much.

BUT I have to say that Newt is FREAKING AMAZING! He is my favorite character. And yes, you are right, Newt will never be forgotten.

Although people don't really talk about it a lot, I find that Alby's death was really sad. Especially thinking about how it affected all the Gladers, especially Newt. After all, he was probably the fist face that every glader saw when they arrived. The first person that they had to learn to trust. To me, it fells like, he wasn't just their "leader" but also somehow their parent.

Anusha wrote: "Though i really enjoyed reading this series and i liked his character. I do not find it possible that he, teressa and aris became in charge of WICKED because they were really telligent and apparent..."

Thank you! I agree! Man. I felt it a little, no, very improbable. I can see Teresa in the leadership position just due to her allegiance and dedication to her beliefs, but I feel Thomas is kind of a weak character.