Anyone ever think that Nerissa was the REAL Boss and not the Crooked Man?
@armis37 gonna murder me for this lol :P
I've been thinking this over in my head, and it kinda makes sense, but it also kinda doesn't. Also: If this has already been brought up in the past then I do apologies for repeating it
During TWAU, Nerissa seems to have a lot of, I don't know, leniency in that she is never caught or found out by Georgie or the Crooked Man's people. Georgie let's her make an appointment with Bigby no problem, she goes to the funeral, she shows up at the Woodlands and helps Bigby, then she shows up at the trial... then she leaves.
The reason I say Nerissa the real Boss of the operation is because of how the Crooked Man reacts to her testimony at the trial, he almost seems shocked that she is saying such things, but not just because she can speak without the ribbon, but also from the raw emotion she conveys. Like he is shocked she would sell him down the river in such a way, and he tries to defend himself...
I don't know if I'm trying to read too far into things, but in my head it would be a neat plot twist if Nerissa diverted all of the attention to her 'underlings' so that she, the real Boss, could slip away at the end and pretend to be the victim throughout it all... She never shows any remorse for the Crooked Man's people (except for Vivian I guess) but not out of anger for treating her bad, but maybe also because she is using them as scapegoats?
What do you guys think? 
Obviously this is just another one of my silly theories, but if you think about it you could probably see where I'm coming from with it...
Comments
Dude, don't cross the line now
Do you mean to say that Crooked Man was Nerissa's puppet? Otherwise, it doesn't really make sense. For this to work, nobody has to know that Nerissa is a ruler and CM is a puppet. I'm a bit lazy at the moment to really get into this, but, for example, Nerissa's dancing scene - the boss of the whole operation dancing almost naked to her servant and getting insulted after every move? Not very likely. Plus, she really cared for her friends, so what would be the motive for killing them? For getting dirt on CM, who is her puppet?
What I'm trying to say, it's a very niche theory and it would require lots and lots of little things to be realistic
No offense though 
It seems reasonable, but some of it does not make sense as armis37 pointed out.
It is a well structured theory aside from that, though.
For a hot (and innocent?) ex-mermaid, it's obvious from the tell-tale signs she's still hiding something. There's also the fact that her sudden departure from Fabletown (after Crooky's fate) may as well hint that she's cooking up a devious plan outside of New York City. Something big, and might have other unknown Fable friends to back her up.
But don't you see that that is the PERFECT way to divert attention?!
She is the polar opposite of a crime boss on the outside, therefore she is never once considered a prime suspect in the case! And who is to say she truly cared for the other girls? It is possible to fake emotion dude...
I'm looking at all the little possibilities, and this theory is quite a fun on to think over imo XD
Thanks
See. Even you have your suspicions about her...
Nerissa is hiding something big, and I am proposing another theory besides the Nerissa is Faith/ vice versa theory. I just don't buy her innocent and withdrawn personality as being completely true, she really came out of her shell during the trial, and she made an attempt to get close to Bigby (that being said, he is a hot-and-single Fable)
Of course I am likely wrong, but just consider the possibility and think about it in more detail. You find the little things can make a difference
Of course I do, don't think I ever denied the fact that I wouldn't. XP
Well, obviously, if Bigby were to take his shirt off again - he'd make almost every Fable woman in the dating market swoon and become all tingly in their saucy bits.
Maybe the 'getting close and acting innocent act' could be a way of Nerissa having used, using, or planning to use Bigby for a later diabolical scheme (muahahaha).
She's been playing us since the beggining. She left that head on Bigby's doorstep for a reason. She knew exactly what was gonna happen every step of the way. Like a fiddle brother, like a fiddle.
You raise some good points, but I'm confident that Nerissa wasn't the Crooked Man's boss. I think the Crooked Man's shocked reaction to her testimony was solely due to the fact that he hadn't considered that Vivian was out of the picture.
Nerissa definitely played us, but the Crooked Man seemed like the boss of his operation. However, I'm still not sure if the Crooked Man was the 'big boss'. Was he just an underboss, and was someone else the godfather - someone that we didn't even meet in the story? We have no idea as to the full extent of his operation. This is a key reason why I would not kill the Crooked Man....
There were a few core objectives that I strove for during my play through:
Killing the Crooked Man was counter to all of those objectives, especially #2. The Crooked Man never really 'spilled his guts' and confessed all of the details about his little operation. I thought it was prudent to keep him around.
Getting back to Nerissa, although I don't think she was the 'big boss', I've wondered if she could have be recruited by a 'big boss' to tear apart the Crooked Man's organization from within. Maybe the 'big boss' thought that the Crooked Man was becoming too powerful? Nerissa did seem to have an agenda to take down the Crooked Man.
Then again, maybe there was no 'big boss'. One thing about this game that's for certain is that nothing should necessarily be taken at face value.
You don't buy her innocence? How could you say this Hazza...
Wouldn't you be super furious and angry and excited(?) if you could drown one fuck who ordered the murder of your friends? I know I would be
Her innocence just seems too... forced, I guess
That second bit has me lost and confused dude :P
I like the points you raise, good sir!
I'm talking about Nerissa's lash-out on CM in the trial
Maybe not the big boss, but definintly not innocent.
Look dude, this is just a theory
I see. Well yes I would, but like I said above, emotion can be faked...
no i didn't
Not even a little bit of you thought "There's something more to her..."?
I don't know about being a boss but her legs not being hers nor it being glamoured was suspect to me. Also, her pole dancing skills were lacking (according to Georgie), how is it she worked there for so long? She is a complete mystery. I wonder if the comic will being more concise about some plot points but keeps some things vague.
Well in the story of The Little Mermaid, she trades her tail for a pair of legs, but she can no longer go into the sea or else she will die...
Maybe she decided to try pole-dancing for once? :P
Or under pressure. Georgie had just murdered her two closest friends, she was probably a little nervous
I like you theory, would be a good and unexpected story I think. But she really was the boss of the crooked man, then he would have sold her out. He would have told anyone who she really is. They wouldnt believed him of course, but Bigby and the 13th floor would have found out eventually that the crooked man was right. I dont think she was the boss. If she really is the boss she would have tried to save him, saying it was all Georgies fault and the crooked man had nothing to do with that. I see no reason for her to kill him then. Unless she isnt Nerissa, just glamoured as her the whole time. Someone who replaced the real Nerissa.
An other interesting theory is that Nerissa is Bloody Mary, since Mary is a powerful witch and could either glamour herself or transform with her own magic. After the Bigby vs Mary battle they have shown her shattered head, and I had a strange feeling. And even the crooked man didnt show any sorrow, he didnt said any word about the dead Bloody Mary. Maybe she can put herself back togehter, like the magic mirror did. I mean she had beaten Bigby once before with a silver bullet, and now she is fighting him without that weapon. I think she planned something all along. In the comics of Wolf Among Us you can read some backstory of Bloody Mary which is very interesting.
The Wolf Among Us is maybe the best game I've every played, but I never thought/liked that the crooked man is the real leader. In the Fables comics every single leader has powerful abilities. The crooked man has none, hes just intellingent in some way and has "loyal" subordinates. Why whouldnt Bloody Mary just get rid of him, since she is the one with the real power? Maybe there is some kind of magic that bound her to the crooked man and she wanted to be free, I dont know. Maybe the comics will give us more information about these mysteries. So far they gave Bloody Mary a very comprehensive story, even if her real appearance like in the game didnt happend yet, and the crooked man has had no appearance/back story yet.