On the old forums I made a post about this, but since they no longer exist, I’ll write something again.
The final chapter of The Soldiers of Halla has been talked about and discussed quite a bit. Some love it. Others hate it. Some understand it fully. Others don’t get it. I’m not going to explain it all here because I’d prefer that readers draw their own conclusions. But I will make a few comments. First off, I don’t consider the ending to be a cliff hanger. Not even close. The story is very clear about what is going to happen next, and that is that Bobby will soon go to Solara and Courtney will not be far behind. To understand how the events described in the last chapter could have happened, you have to look at the end of the second to last chapter. Bobby lamented to Uncle Press that after all they had been through, it seemed unfair that the Travelers were not being allowed to live the normal lives they fought so hard for. All they wanted was a little bit of time to live those lives, which in the general scheme of Halla, wasn’t much . . . and Uncle Press agreed with him. How that was able to happen, and what all the implications are, I’ll leave that up to you to debate and decide.
I’ll say one other thing, and that’s about the guy who delivered Bobby’s journals to him in the hospital. Short of actually writing his name, I pretty much described exactly who it was. From the events that unfolded in the hospital room with Bobby and Courtney kissing and being interrupted, to his physical description, to Bobby recognizing him, to him saying that he had nine other journals to deliver, there is no other possible person that could have been…but Uncle Press.
D. J. Machale says:
I feel so stupid! I thought it was Saint Dane
Anonymous says:
me too!!!but how come he is still young?
Anonymous says:
press i mean
Nick says:
he’s still young because that’s the version of his physical self that he decided to preserve. remember that press says that that’s how they are just physically represented as spirits. so when the time comes he’s able to become the same aged uncle press.
Hallaman10 says:
Ya, if press had aged himself to bobby’s time line he probably be dead (even though wasnt alive to begin with.)
Jakill says:
The ending made me sad because it was like everything they went through didn’t happen and I wanted Bobby and Loor to be together and Courtney and Mark to be together. But the ending still rocked! And I don’t see how someone could think that the guy who delivered the journals back to Bobby in the end was Saint Dane. It was obviously Press lol at least to me haha
AmandaMaire says:
This was a perfect way to end the series i thought. In a normal world, the normal life Bobby missed so much, of course it would be the famous Courtney Chetwind! He’d never have met Lor (even though I too wanted them for each other). I say BRAVO! What an ending that NO other reader could have possibly predicted. Well done. I was crying at the end, totally captured my heart 🙂
Cassie says:
Pendragon was an insane series. Soldiers of Halla an epic ending. The epilouge made me furious and left me with tons of questions. I did understand that it was Uncle Press delivering the journals and I’m assuming that each of the Travelers was sent to their home territories to live a normal life. But here are my questions:
1)Did Saint Dane’s influence remain? Because if so almost none of the territories would be a good place to live.
2)If SD’s influence had been removed, Lifelight would have never been created, right? And that would mean that Aja would never had to have made plans to inhabit Ibara, so Siry wouldn’t have been born, correct?
3)Where would Denderon be at? Wouldn’t the Milago still be miners that lived in horrible condition?
There are more but I’ll stop there.
Abbey says:
OH! I get it now! Press had interrupted Bobby and Courtney’s kiss at the beginning of the series, and he did it at the end to! That’s really smart writing! I didn’t even catch that till I read this. It’s sort of nostalgic. ^_^ I love the Pendragon series. I’m sad it ended, but I will forever be a fan. D.J MacHale, you amazing writer you, I am forever a fan of yours.
brian says:
iv wont’ed to know this for alone time the island bobby was on wen he “trapped” saint dane what happned to it?
Ultimate Spader Fan!! says:
I’m so glad I read this!!!! Now everything makes sense! But I still wish that there was a different ending.
Ultimate Spader Fan!! says:
When I bought book one of the travelers on my kindle it said that someone else wrote it!! If thts true then why is it on this website?
anonymous says:
the last line, “journal one. denduron. I hope you’re reading this mark.” made me really nostalgic for some reason. It made me want to read the entire series again.
Zadaa Ghee says:
@ Cassie
1. I assume it did, but the people are going in the right direction and with the evil influence of Saint Dane no longer there, the people can create their own future, a better one (like on Third Earth!)
2.Well obviously what Saint Dane had already affected stayed, or Siry WOULDN’T have been born, but he obviously was. (but then again, the Pendragon series has a different outlook on time than I do. I’m not going to go into that now, It’ll make many of your heads hurt.)
3. The miners wouldn’t have been in that horrible situation if not for Saint Dane, and Bobby solved that.
Now I have a question: I havent been here in way too long. What’s the story with a movie? There will be one, there won’t be one, or nobody knows??
Zadaa Ghee says:
Oh, and by the way, I STILL HATE THE EPILOGUE, for those who weren’t around here when I was constantly repeating it.
Zadaa Ghee says:
@ Ultimate Spader Fan!!
Of course D.J MacHale wrote it. Your Kindle LIES.
Bobby Lover says:
I wish that in the end of the book like how uncle press did he would come to booby in the hosptal with the journals and say,” here Bobby, these belong to you, but… there is one missing.” And Bobby would be like,” what but I thought there were only elevenen territories?”(counting Solara) And press would say,” Bobby, I’m not telling you this but, there is one territory you have never seen yet.” Bobby would be like,” Who’s?” and press would finish talking by saying,” Your’s” and bobby would finish off the whole book by saying, and so we go, Hobey ho.
Bobby Lover says:
sorry I said booby I ment bobby!
Awesome Person says:
Hey bobby lover i agree but it doesn’t make sense i mean what would be bobby’s territory. But i like your idea!
Spader says:
Your idea is weird GO SPADER
Loor is amazing says:
Loor is my fav character!
This is how i think everyone should have ended up together.
Bobby and Loor
Spader and Wu Yensa
Gunny and Elli Winter
Mark and Courtney
Saint Dane and Nevva Winter
Aja killian and Siry
Alder and Patrick as BFF’S
And last but not least Uncle Press is alone unless you guys can think of someone else. (sad)
Tell me what you think!
Bobby Lover says:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Bobby’s territory is Solara! DUH! Oh and if you thinking what I think your thinking Uncle press is the traveler from 2nd earth and Bobby is the traveler from Solara. And my ending rocks! Go Bobby/Spader/ Bader!
Chloe says:
I understood most of that completely. But the one thing I didn’t understand, was how did Bobby not remember everything that happened with Saint Dane and Halla?
Chloe says:
Oh and, what about Loor? And Alder, Spader, Siry, Elli, Gunny, Aja, Patrick, and Kasha? What happened to them?
Serious reader says:
I don’t think loor and Bobby should be together because what about Courtney?
awesomepants says:
cloral is awesome
Sam says:
Ya but if they went back and lived a normal life what about all the things that had taken place? Like Ravnia and the massacre? I don’t get that? Like did everything not happen!
Hallaman10 says:
Well its never specified but to the best of my knowledge, after Bobby and the travelers defeated Saint Dane and Halla was somewhat repaired Press went back to Solara and used the positive power of it to kind of reset Bobby’s history on the newly formed Earth and allowed him to live out his life the way he wanted. Than when bobby was at his end he showed up let him read his old journals to prepare bobby to become part of Solara.
pendragon lover says:
but if he reset bobbys life then saint dane would have still been around right?
Zadaa Ghee says:
Saint Danes spirit ended. If Bobby’s life was reset, there would still be no way to bring back Saint Dane unless they can completely reverse time, which I don’t think they have the power to do and if they did they wouldn’t. He simply continued life, on second earth as he knew it and as if nothing had happened. Maybe. Don’t think that’s the kind of thing you forget, though. Well sumthin like that anyway
Zadaa Ghee says:
@ Loor is amazing
I think Press shouldve been with Yenza, if anyone, and Spader with Courtney, leaving Mark with Aja. Siry has the Jakills, I don’t think every Traveler has to be together like you have it.
Megan says:
When I first tried to figure out how the epilogue is possible, the words that came to mind were “alternate dimension.” After all, how else would it be possible for Bobby, Courtney, and Mark to be living normal lives? …correction: normal lives without knowing about the whole ordeal they went through.
It would be easier to understand if Bobby didn’t return to Solara and lived on Third Earth, or even if Press somehow arranged for the ‘original’ Bobby to continue his life on Second Earth…but for him to live a normal life after everything that Saint Dane did to Halla is seemingly impossible!
I know we’re supposed to make our own interpretations, but trying to create my own makes my head hurt…can someone try to clear this up for me?
Megan says:
@ Zadaa Ghee
What you’re saying makes a whole lot of sense.
But Press said that he had 9 other journals to deliver. That means all the other Traveler’s lives were reset. So…if Aja’s life was reset, how was Siry’s made possible?
Maybe I’m looking too far into this. Maybe you’re right when you say that they can reset lives, but not time. Still…if they can reset lives, then can they erase the evidence of Saint Dane’s destruction? Didn’t Ibara result out of Saint Dane’s work? Even if they could reset Bobby’s life, how could he live on without noticing the damage done by Ravinia?
I’ve already thought through the possibility that it was all for Bobby’s benifit. That what happened in the epilogue only occured for him. But it said, “Courtney would soon follow.” That means that Courtney is living it, too.
My last question then is What about Mark?
scott says:
I thought it was Mark hehe stupid me
Zadaa Ghee says:
Hmm. . . Well, if I were Bobby, and I wanted a little more time, I would still, no matter how horrible some parts of it were, never want forget what happened. If he really doesn’t know anything of all of it, whats the point of a little extra time? It would just be like a whole different person, like Bobby Pendragon dropped off the face of the earth and this is just some other random guy with his name. So that maks me think that he really did just forget, however unlikely it may seem. Oh, and Mark had uis own little paragrah or two in the epilogue, his spirit is already in Solara.
Aaron says:
Hehe i thought it was mark too. I mean it would have fit kinda. One version of him died young for no apperant reason so why couldnt it have been him from across time and space. I mean anything is possible in this series.
Megan says:
What I meant was did Mark go to Solara without remembering his past adventures? I wasn’t clear enough about that question, sorry.
Megan says:
@ Zadaa Ghee
Yeah, I totally agree with you, though. What’s the point of Bobby getting his life back if he doesn’t remember what he went through to get it?
I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, and I realize that the Bobby that left with Uncle Press at the beginning is a completely different person than the brave warrior who he turned out to be later on. I think that somehow Press set up the impossible situation so that Bobby would get his life back…at least, the Bobby Pendragon that he origanally thoguht he was. When his spirit went to Solara later on, he would remember everything; not only his many past lives, but his Traveler adventures and his normal life as Bobby Pendragon as well.
It’s just driving me nuts as to how Press did that…
Then again, that’s the question that EVERYBODY’S asking, isn’t it?
But the problem with my theory is that it doesn’t explain how Courtney fits into the puzzle. It feels like a ginuine paradox…
Zadaa Ghee says:
Your question still isn’t very clear, if this is what you mean, I think that whatever situaruon Bobby and Courtney are in, Mark is in it with them. It’s just that he just died. I’m not sure what you’re saying, is it that Press rigged the whole thing so Bobby could continue on his life without knowing what happened, but when he reached Solara he would remember everything? If that is what you’re saying, it makes a lot of sense. If that’s not what you’re saying . . . well I still think it makes sense. He could’ve done it the same way with Courtney and Mark (if of course, he has the power to do that at all; he’s not a god). And this whole thing does not, in fact, seem like a paradox to me. Paradoxes are so contradictory and often so logical they are unlogical; this is just plain confusing and without a definite answer.
Megan says:
…I honestly think you just answered my question perfectly and cleared away all doubt I had about the ending.
That is indeed what I meant: that Uncle Press somehow set up Bobby’s past self to continue living a normal life, but when he made it to Solara he would remember everything. After all, when Uncle Press was talking to Aja in the second-to-last chapter, he promised that they would remember who they are, as well as the other lives they had lived and everything else they had seen. Uncle Press promised Bobby that Bobby Pendragon would always be a part of him, and he meant both the one from his past life and the one who went on the adventure.
As for calling it a paradox…it seemed just so unexplainable to me that I couldn’t come up with another word to describe how impossible it was. It was a poor choice of words…
Thank you for clearing this up for me. I know I tend to be confusing, but you tolerated me anyways. 🙂 thanks
Megan says:
One last thing: Uncle Press might not have the power to do that. But maybe he’s not responsible for the whole thing…
There’s two paragraphs in the Epilogue that state, “In the grand scheme of all that was and ever will be, a few decades is no more than a blip of time. An eye blink. A fleeting moment. But for the souls who live in Halla, every short second counts. All time is precious. The challenge is to make the most of it. The ability to decide how to spend time is a great and powerful gift. Everyone controls their own destiny. Makes thier own decisions. Chooses their own fate. Not everyone chooses wisely, but that is the way it was meant to be. The way it should be. The way it will always be.
Bobby Pendragon got what he wished for. A little more time. When it ended, he could look back and know in his heart that he’d spent it wisely.”
I don’t think Uncle Press rigged everything. The way it says that everyone controls their own destiny, makes their own decisions, and chooses their own fate makes it seem to me that Bobby was responsible for getting his old life back. If he thought that strongly that he should get the chance at his old life, then somehow it would happen for him.
Uncle Press’s part in that was probably simple. He seemed to know how the universe worked. He understood the widely confusing concept of time and consequence. Maybe he realized that Bobby was going to get his old life back, so he decided to somehow guide it along.
Again, I’m probably thinking too far into this and am probably confusing everyone who reads this. If you don’t understand it…please don’t try to. My imagination is a dangerous place. 🙂
Zadaa Ghee says:
You’re going all cosmic on everyone, Megan ^-^ . But you’re right. I don’t think you’re thinking to far into it at all; it makes complete sense to me that Bobby has control over his destiny and that he is responsible for how his life turned out. Press’s role fits in perfectly, too. His position has never been more then guide and that’s what it stays as. Well, I’m glad that’s a whole lot clearer than mud now!!
Veelox says:
@Cassie although it wasn’t Saint Dane’s influence that created Lifelight, that was already existent when he came to the territory. He encouraged the over usage of it, eventually bringing the territory to its turning point.
Hallaman10 says:
Uh actually thats not right, it was saint dane who first put the idea of Lifelight into Dr Zetlin’s head in the first place.
A Flighter says:
I figure that in the end, Press decided to send Bobby back to that night to live the life he wanted, without interruption. He probably made it so he wouldn’t remember being a traveller, either. Since Press clearly states that he lets everyone choose their own destiny, Bobby probably asked him to send him back after finishing his last journal, and that’s why you don’t read about him asking. That’s my guess. I don’t really know. By the way, we REALLY need a movie of this series. or a series of movies.
Mikey says:
Great book if you can tell why you wrote that book i would like to now great book man
moon says:
this was the most amazing book i ever read in my entire life! i hope that they do make a movie. i also wish it would have described solora a little more?
Jafor-Javor Kalam says:
The final book was awesome! I just hoped that it could continue. Like the traces of the evil Solara wasn’t completely gone. And Saint Dane didn’t really die. That was just part of his plan. And since Bobby doesn’t have children, maybe like his favorite child from Mark became the new traveler and he finds Loor’s daughter, Aja’s son, Siry’s daughter, and so on and they get together but this time, they actually know about this stuff because the last generation travelers taught it might happen so they showed their journals to them and Bobby realised it after reading the journals and he makes one final travel to warn the others and you know the rest. I am going to ask permission from D.J. MacHale and ask if I can continue this story.
Ninten* says:
The moment I finished reading that epilouge, I figured it out. But I don’t want to say anything because it’s fun to see you people suffer. :P. Is there gonna be a movie?
Black Water says:
if he’s going to write another pendragon seires saint dane can’t come back. his spirit is ended. done. but nevva, maybe…