What is it about John Fleming that invokes this type of reaction in Gamache?

Fleming is a master manipulator. It’s like he can see into your soul and know exactly what to say to get the reaction he wants. Gamache’s reaction shows that no matter how much control he can exert to keep his control in all situations…well…even he has his limits. And that is true for all of us. We can put on the facade for others…but only to a point. In that instance Gamache is every man.

Gamache lives with the full unredacted savagery of Fleming’s crimes everyday of his life. He is one of the few people who have witnessed the full extent of this evilness. To realize that someone this inhuman has been released into society is more than a man like Gamache can stand. He cannot understand how people can be so weak and easily manipulated into allowing Fleming to go free. More importantly, Gamache is also angry with himself for letting this beast get into his head. Now Fleming’s free to terrorize everyone and everything that Gamache loves. For someone as self-disciplined and in control of his actions to come apart at the seams is testimony to the horror this mad man, Fleming, can unleash on society.

Gamache’s reaction is both extraordinarily out of character and entirely consistent with the gravity of Fleming’s threat to the public and specifically to Gamache’s family and loved ones. He is one of a few who have seen the exact nature of Fleming’s crimes. He is also responding to his sense of impotence to protect his family. His reaction was initially unsettling for me and for Gamache himself, sufficiently unsettling that he immediately seeks the counsel of Hardye Moel and later the support of Jean-Guy whose intervention he gratefully accepts.

John Fleming is probably the worst person that Armand has ever met. His crimes are horrific and beyond comprehension. The fact that he’s out would possibly be the worst thing Armand could imagine. His loss of control makes us realize just how horrible this man is and that even his sense of control and understanding has its limits

Totally agree with Libby Baker, Janice Wilson, and Jane Baechle— you all nailed it. Reading about Gamache’s reaction made me fearful and concerned for him, and I was glad that Jean -Guy was there to rein him in before he did something that would trouble him for the rest of his life (not to mention, get him into serious legal trouble). I do believe that Armand has the capability for “unsanctioned” violence, if pushed — he’s trained for it, and he’s seen so much and has been pushed to the edge so many times. He’s human, and this incident threatened not only the general population, but everyone he loves. If there is ever a tipping point for him, I believe that would do it. But he rises above it, by being pulled back from that edge, and by following his own creed— he knew when to say, “I need help,” and he got it. Not everybody would or could do that; he’s such an extraordinary, admirable character, and I love that about him.