Mirrors of the Wheel

[solarz]

What would have happened if the romantic relationships in the series was different?

 

Nynaeve and Rand?

 

Perrin and Egwene?

 

Mat and Elayne? And Lanfear?

 

Lan and Moiraine?

 

Gawyn and Min?

[TheSociopath]

.... That is quite the question...

 

well, nynaeve qould probably be more or less the same, as Rand and Lan are pretty similar personality wise.

 

The entire malden arc would have to be re-written. and much of the berelain x perrin's real love interest would have changed a lot too.  Also, the two rivers would run a lot less smoothly. Faile's experience helps it along a lot.

 

The Seanchan wouldn't have joined Rand's armies during the Last Battle. Although Andor would have become a whole lot stronger. 

 

As for Langear... are you thinking that she turns? or Mat? both would open up a lot of potential story threads.

 

Lan and Moiraine.... also would be much the same as what actually happens.

 

Gawyn would probably try to assissinate Rand here, then. Or maybe neither of them would be very prominent characters. Min's mostly important by association with Rand, and Gawyn's only purpose is to be with Egwene, really.

 

How about Logain with Nynaeve or someone else that's important?

[solarz]

56 minutes ago, TheSociopath said:

.... That is quite the question...

 

well, nynaeve qould probably be more or less the same, as Rand and Lan are pretty similar personality wise.

 

The entire malden arc would have to be re-written. and much of the berelain x perrin's real love interest would have changed a lot too.  Also, the two rivers would run a lot less smoothly. Faile's experience helps it along a lot.

 

The Seanchan wouldn't have joined Rand's armies during the Last Battle. Although Andor would have become a whole lot stronger. 

 

As for Langear... are you thinking that she turns? or Mat? both would open up a lot of potential story threads.

 

Lan and Moiraine.... also would be much the same as what actually happens.

 

Gawyn would probably try to assissinate Rand here, then. Or maybe neither of them would be very prominent characters. Min's mostly important by association with Rand, and Gawyn's only purpose is to be with Egwene, really.

 

How about Logain with Nynaeve or someone else that's important?

 

I agree that Nynaeve would still be the same nurturing figure, but what about Rand? Would he be more mellow? Less suspicious? More open to Aes Sedai help?

 

Egwene would still want to be Aes Sedai, although her impetuousness might be tempered by Perrin's cautious nature. I can easily see Perrin becoming Egwene's warder, and the two forming a T'A'R superhero team. In that scenario, someone else would have to tend to the Two Rivers. Maybe Elayne sends in help and incorporates it into Andor proper?

[TheSociopath]

I don't think Rand would be any more open to AS. Elayne is still one, and he'd still have the same relationship with Egwene, another AS.

[Sabio]

Ughh poor Perin gets screwed again.  First he has to deal with Faile and now you want to stick the poor guy with Egwene?  I doubt Egwene would change for anybody, you saw in the series she was expecting Gawyn to change for her.

[TheSociopath]

1 hour ago, Sabio said:

Ughh poor Perin gets screwed again.  First he has to deal with Faile and now you want to stick the poor guy with Egwene?

.... Thats true....

 

However, I do think that Egwene could force Perrin into being even more subservient that Gawyn, and that forcing him to serve her even in their sleep would be right up her alley.

[solarz]

19 minutes ago, TheSociopath said:

.... Thats true....

 

However, I do think that Egwene could force Perrin into being even more subservient that Gawyn, and that forcing him to serve her even in their sleep would be right up her alley.

 

Now now, let's not forget that while Perrin might seem meek on the exterior, he's just as stubborn as Rand on the inside. I actually see him as a better influence on Eggy than Gawyn, who really doesn't have much substance.

[TheSociopath]

Thats true, however, Perrins perfectly capable of singlemindedly pursuing his wife's happiness.

[solarz]

2 minutes ago, TheSociopath said:

Thats true, however, Perrins perfectly capable of singlemindedly pursuing his wife's happiness.

 

Which, in Egwene's case, means supporting her as the Amyrlin. He would be like the Gareth Bryne to Egwene's Morgase.

 

Instead of going off to fight Demandred in the Last Battle, Perrin would be by Egwene's side, zipping in and out of T'A'R to take down enemy channelers.

Edited May 25, 2018 by solarz

[TheSociopath]

I'm not saying he'd become ineffective, I'm saying that Perrin would let Egwene push him around

[solarz]

1 hour ago, TheSociopath said:

I'm not saying he'd become ineffective, I'm saying that Perrin would let Egwene push him around

 

Would he? Perrin strikes me as similar to Gareth Bryne. Not even Morgase could push Bryne around.

[TheSociopath]

When he's not dealing with a hubby, he strikes me that way too.

[solarz]

I think the reason a lot of people misunderstand Perrin is because of his interactions with Faile.

 

Faile has a quicksilver temper, with an expectation of in husbands that goes against what Perrin was brought up with. There were a lot of cultural clashes in their relationship.

 

Perrin becomes single-minded with Faile because they did not communicate effectively. Faile kept secrets, got into dangerous plots without giving Perrin an understanding of her competency in that area. As a result, Perrin worried over her, wanting to protect her but finding Faile unreceptive to his protective urges. At the same time, Faile gives Perrin no indication of how she wants the relationship to play out, she believes that the man should take the lead. So, Perrin is left to figure out on his own how to deal with his falcon.

 

On the other hand, a romantic relationship with Egwene would be very different. Egwene is bossy, just what Perrin (and Two Rivers men) expect from their wives. While Egwene is as heedless of danger as Faile is, and more ambitious to boot, Perrin has an understanding of Egwene's abilities. He knows Egwene can channel, and over time, would come to appreciate her skill in such matters. Instead of trying to protect Egwene from Aes Sedai affairs (which he knows he couldn't anyway), he would try to support her in the manner of a Warder. Unlike Gawyn, Perrin would have no reluctance at remaining in Egwene's shadow. In fact, he would probably feel more comfortable there.

 

The one problem with their relationship, probably the reason they never ended up close in the series, is in their diverging loyalties. Egwene is loyal to the White Tower, while Perrin is loyal to Rand and the Two Rivers. I simply can't see Egwene going with Perrin to Emond's Field when news of Whitecloaks came, or Perrin going off with Egwene to the Aiel Waste while Whitecloaks ravaged his home.

 

On the whole, I think Faile brought out the better, stronger Perrin by forcing him to confront his weaknesses at every turn. Perrin would likely have been more comfortable with Egwene, but then he'd just be a warder then, not a king.

[Sabio]

It isn't that Egwene is bossy, as you saw with Gawyn she expects him to change for her.  There was never any attempt by her to also change for him.  The way two rivers men behave towards women, Perin wouldn't meekly stay in the shadows as Egwene recklessly put herself in danger.  

[solarz]

On 5/25/2018 at 10:22 PM, Sabio said:

It isn't that Egwene is bossy, as you saw with Gawyn she expects him to change for her.  There was never any attempt by her to also change for him.  The way two rivers men behave towards women, Perin wouldn't meekly stay in the shadows as Egwene recklessly put herself in danger.  

 

I see it differently.

 

It's unfair to say Egwene expected Gawyn to change for her. Egwene expected Gawyn to do his duty. The problem was Gawyn just wasn't a responsible guy.

 

Perrin *likes* being in the shadows. Look at his character in all the 3 first books.

[TheSociopath]

even before she bonded him as a warder, back when she was with the Aiel, in what book 6? She was still expecting him to change without changing herself. 

The prime example is Rand. He hated him, She thought he was like a brother. She forced him to come to her side on the matter. 

Even though in this particular matter she was right, that doesn't change the arguement.

[solarz]

59 minutes ago, TheSociopath said:

even before she bonded him as a warder, back when she was with the Aiel, in what book 6? She was still expecting him to change without changing herself. 

The prime example is Rand. He hated him, She thought he was like a brother. She forced him to come to her side on the matter. 

Even though in this particular matter she was right, that doesn't change the arguement.

 

All Egwene did was tell Gawyn not to harm Rand. In a very obtuse way, yes, but that hardly counts as expecting Gawyn to change, or forcing him in any way.