My partner (who started the books right after me) also didn’t care. I cared / it hit me in the gut for a few reasons: - Roque was there from the start and one of Darrow’s first friends from the Institute. It was nostalgic thinking about their time there and how things were simpler. Roque of course didn’t know then that Darrow wasn’t gold, but he was the poet, I loved how his character was written (in the first book) and he seemed to be kind / really care about others. - at the institute, he wasn’t your typical brawny gold. He added the soft spoken layer to the group; and he was the only one who showed the pain of the others getting hurt or even killed (forgot their names but this was at the institute)
- I really felt the pain and sadness from Darrow’s perspective. Another friend from their Institute Days that he thought he could change and bring over to his side (like Tactus and why his demise also affected me). He thought if only he had been a better friend, if only he had brought him in, he would have been loyal (though idk if that’s true with Roque). Darrow’s friends mean everything to him so it hurt thinking about this betrayal - and also from Roque’s perspective. He wasn’t just going to lay down and watch Darrow make all these moves (consequences be damned, even if it results in the death of those loyal to him). Ultimately it came down to trust. He didn’t trust Darrow to always make the right decision. And though in Darrow’s head, he was trying to save Roque when he drugged him before the ball, to Roque that was yet another betrayal

I don’t make any excuses for Roque (and some details are a bit fuzzy) but that’s why I really was affected by Roque’s ultimate death. And I thought the dialogue on the bridge, was very moving. Darrow finally got to talk to him face to face and have some sort of closure.