Soren

Soren is a lynx and Pawbert's first love in We Can Fix Pawbert. They met at one of Milton's club functions when Pawbert was 14 and shared a three-month secret relationship before Milton discovered them and erased Soren from Pawbert's life. Soren appears only in surveillance photos (S01E08) and flashbacks (S01E13).

"I've never met anyone like you." --- Soren to Pawbert (S01E13, flashback)

Background

Soren was a year older than Pawbert when they met at one of Milton's club functions. Their relationship was kept secret---meetings in the library and garden, exchanging poetry and philosophy books. For three months, Soren represented something Pawbert had never experienced: genuine connection with someone his own age, uncomplicated by the Lynxley family's expectations.

After Milton discovered the relationship, Soren stopped answering Pawbert's calls. Within a month, his name was erased from the social circles the Lynxleys controlled. Pawbert suspects Milton either had Soren killed or had his family paid off and threatened into silence.

Series History

Season 1

S01E08 "Clear Skies"

Soren first appears in surveillance photographs reviewed during the investigation. The photos establish his existence within the Lynxley orbit and provide visual evidence of Pawbert's past.

S01E13 "Stay"

Soren appears in flashback sequences depicting his relationship with Pawbert. The flashback shows their secret meetings---the library, the garden, the exchanged books---and Soren's line, "I've never met anyone like you." The flashback also depicts the abrupt end: the calls that go unanswered, the name that disappears, and the silence that follows.

Season 2

S02E11 "The Cartographer"

During a confrontation at maximum security, Milton reveals that Soren was not killed but relocated---his name changed, his identity erased, and his location hidden outside Zootopia. Milton weaponizes this revelation as part of a vicious homophobic attack on Pawbert. Separately, when the BAU raids Orin Draftwell's workshop, Penelope Garcia discovers a file confirming Soren's status as RELOCATED rather than TERMINATED, and traces his current whereabouts to a location outside the city-state. The discovery that Soren has been alive for eleven years---that Milton chose exile over execution---reshapes Pawbert's understanding of his father's cruelty.

S02E12 "Return Address"

ZSI facilitates a secure video call between Pawbert and Soren. Soren's first word is "Paw"---the nickname he used during their teenage relationship. Now 26, Soren is harder and more guarded than the lynx Pawbert remembers. Eleven years of hiding under a new identity have changed him fundamentally. He tells Pawbert he is glad he found someone (referring to Luther) and affirms that what they shared was real: "The garden. That kiss. That was real, Paw." But Soren closes the door on reconnection permanently---he buried everything to survive, and letting the past back in would destroy the life he built. His final words to Pawbert are: "Goodbye, Paw. Don't look for me again. Please."

Pawbert processes the grief with Luther's help and arrives at acceptance: "He's alive. He's okay. He made it out. That's a gift." The Soren chapter is closed permanently---no further contact occurs in the series.

Significance

Soren's story establishes a critical piece of Pawbert's emotional history. Milton's destruction of Pawbert's first love---whether through violence, bribery, or threats---demonstrates how thoroughly Milton controlled every aspect of Pawbert's life. Soren is the first person Milton took from Pawbert; Lillian's memory was the second. The pattern of loss that defines Pawbert's early life begins with Soren.

Soren also contextualizes Pawbert's later relationship with Luther. Pawbert's difficulty trusting affection, his fear that connection will be punished, and his expectation that the mammals he loves will be taken from him---all trace back to what happened with Soren.

Key Quotes

Trivia

• Soren's fate is presumed unknown throughout Season 1. In S02E11, Milton reveals Soren was relocated rather than killed, and the BAU confirms this through seized files. Soren appears via video call in S02E12 before closing the door on contact permanently.
• Soren uses the nickname "Paw" for Pawbert---a detail from their teenage relationship that he still remembers eleven years later.