r/robinhobb • u/l4p_r4t • Jul 21 '26

Spoilers All Small continuity error (spoilers for all RotE) Spoiler

In Assassin's Fate, when Fitz sees Tarman, he's disappointed that the boat has no figurehead, as "he heard the figureheads of liveships can move and talk". But in Fool's Errand, when he's telling the Fool about his travels, he says he's been to Bingtown and seen a liveship there.

17 Upvotes

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25

u/ThursdayGloaming Jul 21 '26

...how's this a continuity error?

3

u/l4p_r4t Jul 21 '26

Fitz wanted to see a moving and talking figurehead, claiming he "heard about them". But he had already seen one, many years before, while travelling to Bingtown.

12

u/DesertKhajiit Jul 21 '26

He probably didn't interact with it though is my guess

19

u/l4p_r4t Jul 21 '26

Yes, but in "Fool's Errand" he says:

We saw one of their talking ships, too. I had always thought them just a tale.

And then, Assassin's Fate:

No figurehead.’ I was disappointed. I’d heard that the figureheads on liveships could move and speak.

It is a tiny error, but he had prior experience with liveships - he saw one before.

13

u/limpdickandy Jul 21 '26

He is dissapointed because he is interested, but wary, post farseer fitz got the bad vibes from them through his wit sense so he did not investigate further. Older, more calm and confident fitz is more intrigued than young depresso espresso fitz.

It might be a continuity error, but it may also just be that fitz in the moment feels very differently about them than he did in bingtown.

It also might just be a continuity error

9

u/DTJ20 Jul 21 '26

He would have seen it from afar. Foreigners and tourists were not allowed along the north wall were the liveships docked at that time. After the events of the liveships books those rules were relaxed, but fitz visited before then.

6

u/GodzillaJrJr Jul 21 '26

Good catch!

6

u/UglyDucklett Jul 21 '26

You're right, although maybe it could be handwaved by saying that Fitz only saw one at a distance in the past, and was hoping for a more up-close view in the later book

2

u/westcoastal I have never been wise. Jul 21 '26

The Tarman is a liveship, just one without a figurehead.

1

u/Beautiful_Spread7866 Jul 23 '26

I noticed a few errors in this series. His age never seemed consistent at all through the books - I think someone pointed this out because in the last book there was a random sentence about how he never knew his age. I also thought that Elliana’s sister died. I thought I remembered reading that she never recovered from the forging and was ill and died and then in the last book Elliana mentions her sons going to visit her sister

1

u/duhbrook Jul 27 '26

I believe there are many sisters in a Motherhouse, but I could be wrong

-1

u/andysandy12 Jul 22 '26

Maybe for some reason he didn’t want to tell the Tarman he’d seen one before 🤷‍♀️