I did a recap last year before Frozen‘s release. It seemed like a good idea to do another for Forged. This final installment jumps right into the action, so if you don’t have time for a series re-read (and who does with the height of our TBR piles?), this post should be useful.
BUT PLEASE BE WARNED
The rest of this post contains MAJOR spoilers. If you choose to continue reading, pretty much every plot point from Taken and Frozen will be spoiled for you.
Got that? ALL THE SPOILERS AHEAD!
Proceed with caution.
If you’re reading via rss reader, this is your final warning. If you’re on my actual website, scroll down and click to view the recap.
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Key characters
Gray, Blaine, and Owen Weathersby: Gray is the protagonist, Blaine is his twin, and Owen is their father, a Rebel captain representing Group C/Claysoot, who the boys are reunited with in Crevice Valley. All three grew up in and were Heisted from Claysoot (except for Gray, who climbed the Wall).
Dimitri Octavius Frank: Dictator of AmEast, leader of the Franconian Order, and man responsible for the Laicos Project.
Ryder Phoenix: Leader of the Rebels, a group of Laicos Project survivors and AmEast citizens all working in opposition of Frank from Crevice Valley. (Ryder is also from Claysoot.)
Harvey Maldoon: Brilliant scientist and geneticist who originally worked for Frank and created the first Forgeries. After growing conflicted with his work, he joined the Rebels, working as their Head of Technology until he is killed on a mission.
Clayton “Clipper” Jones: A young and gifted boy who worked as Harvey’s protege in Crevice Valley. After Harvey’s death, Clipper assumes his role.
Brianna Nox: A skilled fighter from Saltwater, now working with the Rebels, who showed Gray the ropes when he first arrived in Crevice Valley.
Emma Link: A gifted medic from Claysoot who followed Gray over the Wall.
Sammy Flynn, Xavier Piltess, September: Rebels. Sammy and September are from Taem. Xavier grew up in Claysoot and sought refuge at Crevice Valley after being Heisted.
Jackson: A Forgery able to fight his internal programming, making him a Rebel ally.
Maude and Bo Chilton: Brother and sister. Maude is the oldest resident of Claysoot, and serves as their Council Head in Claysoot. Bo, was Heisted years earlier and eventually comes to join the Rebels.
Elijah Brewster, Raid Dextern, Fallyn Case: Additional captains from Crevice Valley. Elijah (Ryder’s first partner in establishing the Rebels) represents the citizens of AmEast. Raid and Fallyn represent Dextern/Group B and Slatwater/Group D, respectively.
Marco: Frank’s right-hand man and most loyal supporter within the Franconian Order.
Kale: Gray’s niece, Blaine’s daughter.
Aiden: A young boy from Stonewall, a small town west of Taem that is annihilated by the Order
Titus: Tyrannical leader of Berg/Group A.
Bleak: Berg/Group A citizen who assists Gray in his mission.
Adam: A citizen of AmWest and a leader among the Expats, a group also in opposition of Frank.
Key locations
Claysoot: Gray’s hometown surrounded by the Wall. Also known as Group C, one of five test groups in the Laicos Project.
AmEast/AmWest: Simply put: the East and the West, two countries that arose after the Second Civil War.
Taem: Domed city and capital of AmEast. Frank runs his operations from Union Central, a massive military facility within Taem.
Crevice Valley: Rebel Headquarters, located near Mount Martyr within the forests beyond Taem.
Group A/Berg: A Laicos Project test group located in AmEast’s western territory, just east of the AmEast/AmWest border.
The New Gulf, the Compound: A large body of water that makes up two-thirds of the border dividing AmEast and AmWest, and an island facility operated by the Order, respectively.
Bone Harbor: an AmEast fishing village, set along the New Gulf.
Pike: A domed city in AmWest where the Expats headquarters is stationed.
How Frozen concludes
After run-ins with Forgeries and the Order, Gray and Co. separate with September and Aiden in Bone Harbor. They then lose Owen to Order gunfire during an attack as they cross the New Gulf, before finally reaching Group A, which the Rebels believes can serve as a secondary base for their fight against Frank. The team finds survivors living below ground, but they are lead by Titus, a tyrannical teen who believes the Rebels to be ‘Reapers’ who will kill his people. Gray and Co. are held hostage and all hopes of leveraging the location and people for their cause seems lost.
Having seen a Wall and community so much like that of his origins, Jackson (a Forgery held captive by Gray’s group), begins malfunctioning and having free thoughts. Before Gray can decide what this means or convince Titus to let his team go, Marco and a group of Order members infiltrates Group A. Gray is forced to surrender or Marco will kill Emma, Bo, and Xavier, who have set up camp outside the Wall. Gray shows himself and narrowly escapes death at Marco’s hands. With the help of Bleak, Marco is killed, and Gray retreats underground, where he learns that Clipper has accessed a control room and sent a Mayday message to AmWest. (Suspicious that AmWest may not be the enemy Frank paints them as, Clipper hopes the gamble will pay off. It could also be heard by the Order and, as Gray fears, bring more forces to their door.)
Bleak convinces his people to take a stand against the Order, and then agrees to escort Gray’s team to the Wall. As they make a run for it, additional Order reinforcements swoop in and the team finds themselves facing dozens of Forgeries, led by a Forgery of Gray himself. AmWest forces attack in the nick of time, giving the team a chance to escape. Jackson sacrifices himself at the last moment, allowing Gray to climb the Wall out of Group A.
After retreating to the team’s camp, Gray finds that Emma has killed Bo and is holding Xavier at gunpoint. It turns out that she is the leak, the reason the team had so many run-ins with the Order, and that she is not in fact herself, but a Forgery. And not just any Forgery, but the newest model; tougher and swifter, incapable of error like Jackson. Gray tries to talk Emma down, but she will not yield. Emma kills Xavier. Bree kills the Forgery of Emma. The remaining survivors (Gray, Bree, Sammy, Bleak, and a very injured Clipper) flee by car. They are intercepted by Adam, a leader among the Expats, a group of AmWest civilians who answered Clipper’s call.
Adam flies the group to a safe-house in AmWest. Their injuries are treated. Bree, sick and tired of Gray’s indecisiveness, tells him she’s putting herself first and wants nothing to do with him. Gray makes contact with Ryder and updates hims on their status: Group A was a failure, but the Expats are the allies the Rebels need. Ryder sends Elijah and Blaine west. The story ends with Gray and Co. flying to Pike, a domed AmWest city where they can best communicate with Crevice Valley and plan a joint attack against the Franconian Order.
Where everyone is at the end of Taken, according to Gray
Gray, Bree, Sammy, Clipper, Blaine, Elijah, and Bleak… are heading west to Pike, along with Expats Adam and Heidi.
Ryder and the other captains… are still fighting the good fight from Crevice Valley.
Owen (Gray’s father)… was killed on the New Gulf during an attack by the Order.
Emma… is presumably still in Taem, where Gray last saw her.
Frank… is in Taem.
Marco and Titus… were killed in Group A.
Xavier and Bo… were killed by the Forgery of Emma just outside Group A.
Group A’s people… have been ushered to safe houses in AmWest if they were luckily spared by the Expat’s attack against the Order. (Adam did not know there were Group A survivors living underground.)
September and Aiden… are still in Bone Harbor.
Maude, Kale, and many other Laicos Project victims… are still trapped in their respective communities.[/toggle_item]
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That’s the recap, and hopefully it has you all caught up and ready for Forged‘s release! I hope you enjoy this final installment in Gray’s story.
I have a few events coming up. If you can make any of them, I’d love to meet you and hear your thoughts on the trilogy’s conclusion. Full calendar here.
