So what if she was wearing an ugly face? Like Shay always said in training, the bubbleheads had it all wrong: It didn't matter what you looked like. It was how you carried yourself, how you saw yourself.
From the start, we can see that Tally's mindset has completely changed. She enjoys her new face and new powers that come with it, which is unlike her reaction towards the end of the previous book. Unlike being a Pretty with a focus on outer appearance, being a Special is clearly focused on mindset, which includes being cold and cruel, as well as thinking of oneself above others.
She was non-random, above average... almost beyond human. And she had been made to save the world.
This quote perfectly captures the mindset of Specials. They think that everyone else aside from them is average and they've been made to believe that their role in the world is that of saviors. There is a little foreshadowing here because at the end Tally is the only Special left and she proclaims herself as the protector of earth and nature.
Wouldn't you eventually wind up with real crimes—random violence and even murders—like back in Rusty days?
The ever threatening motif of civilization of Rusties, per usual, haunts this new civilization. Tally wonders about the rise of the Crims in New Pretty Town. If everyone is aware of themselves and their minds are not being controlled, then there might be a threat of chaos just like in Rusty days.
The decision was about who Tally Youngblood was inside, whether ugly, pretty or special...
Shay and Tally have a fight about tracking Zane and the rest of the Crims. Tally wants to stay behind to protect them while Shay goes to use the tracker to find the New Smoke. Tally follows her heart and stays behind despite Shay's anger. Tally inside is neither of the mentioned things. Tally is only being herself and her true self always finds a way out despite the operations and mind-altering.
They couldn't see how maddening death really was, how colossally pointless in every way.
Zane's death is a breaking point for Tally. It is clear from this point that she is no longer under the influence of Special mind-alteration—the emotional aspect at least. Her senses are still sharp and she is able to see the true grim reality of death, unlike Shay and her other friends.
