If You Could Balefire Three Storylines…..

[Beidomon]

Alright, here’s the deal. You get to eliminate three storylines from the TV series. You only get three. And like Balefire, be mindful of its possible impacts.

 

I’ll go first. 
1. Faile. Yes, everything.

2.  Elayne’s Andoran Succession. God I hated virtually every page devoted to this.

3. Bowl of the Winds.

 

Yes, I think this could speed up and improve the series immensely. 

Edited August 15, 2021 by Beidomon

[mistborn82]

Going further with the Bowl, I think the whole sea folk will be dropped because while interesting, I like the Coramour aspect, it never goes anywhere. I like the journey to tanchico but detested them the rest of the time. I think they could be removed with minimal to no impact.

Valan Luca or at least just make it an unnamed circus and cut all the side shenanigans. I know important stuff happened but the whole plotline needs to be severely truncated at the very least.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

[Harldin]

Tarwins Gap from EOTW, pointless.

The whole Barelain v Faile rivalry or have Fail end up killing Barelain 

Either kill off Gawyn at DW or give him a better storyline. 

I actually like the Bowl of the Winds storyline and removing it will dramatically change to much of what happens afterwards.

Lets not forget who goes to Ebu Dar from Salidar

Nynaeve

Elayne

Mat

Aviendha

Lan

And of course several semi important Off siders of Mats and Elaynes, incl Birgitte, Talmanes and Olver.

Thats just to many major characters you have to re-write Storylines for and then we end up to far from the Books. Do you want Nynaeve joining Rand that early? And of course she breaks her block in ED. What do you do with Elayne? especially if you are going to cut out the War of Succession as well. Mat has to go of course. 
Ebu Dar is far to important to cut and why come up with another reason when you already have a perfectly good storyline now. 

[DojoToad]

• Faile's captivity
• Perrin vs. Slayer in Tel'aran'rhiod ('Fire in the Ways' was way more satisfying)
• Elayne's succession

Edited August 16, 2021 by DojoToad

[mistborn82]

Since Harldin mentioned it, killing Gawyn either in the tower fighting, Elaida's coup, or Dumais Wells, for Egwene's sake I guess. After that, he impacts nothing, except Egwene at the very end, and I don't think she needs a warder or someone with Greyman speed needs to attack Dem.

I think they either hunt something else in Ebou Dar, perhaps Sakarnan but it's gone or the bowl is done without the seafolk.

[king of nowhere]

nobody yet mentioned mat being forced to become tylin's lover...

[DojoToad]

1 hour ago, king of nowhere said:

nobody yet mentioned mat being forced to become tylin's lover...

True that.  I always looked at that storyline as comedy.  But I'm a guy that never had unwanted attention forced on me.  In light of #metoo, I see it differently now.

 

Still not as bad for me as the three I outlined above

[mistborn82]

My guess is that storyline will just be dropped. either it'll be a normal relationship or they'll find some other reason to keep mat in Ebou Dar.

[dssharp]

I agree with many of the balefire comments above. I also want the name of the world or land or area to NOT be referred to as Randland. It needs a cool, or normal, not spoilery name. 

[mistborn82]

It obviously won't be Randland. I just googled it and it doesn't have an official name but I wonder if RJ's notes have something.

[Beidomon]

Speaking of map, should also preferably not he bordered on the East and North by two perfectly straight mountain ranges…. Maybe the male Aes Sedai had a little OCD during the Breaking. 

[Beidomon]

11 hours ago, king of nowhere said:

nobody yet mentioned mat being forced to become tylin's lover...

That was #4 for me. #5 was return of the Shaido, but Balefiring Faile cleans up a lot of that.

[king of nowhere]

10 hours ago, DojoToad said:

True that.  I always looked at that storyline as comedy.  But I'm a guy that never had unwanted attention forced on me.  In light of #metoo, I see it differently now.

i'd not even balefire that part for that reason, though it had its cringe moments. but the main reason i'd excise it is that it doesn't add anything to the story. really, what changes about everything if mat never have a story with the queen? they'll have to find some other excuse why he's at the queen palace and he meets tuon, that's all.

Edited August 18, 2021 by king of nowhere

[Asha'man Shar'aman]

13 hours ago, dssharp said:

I agree with many of the balefire comments above. I also want the name of the world or land or area to NOT be referred to as Randland. It needs a cool, or normal, not spoilery name. 

A Reddit user suggested that we call the whole world Aesrhoid (Allworld) and Randland Amandhol (Land of the Dragon). I think these sound elegant enough to be good names, and they aren’t spoilery since you are literally introduced to the Dragon in the first page. 

[DojoToad]

11 hours ago, king of nowhere said:

i'd not even balefire that part for that reason, though it had its cringe moments. but the main reason i'd excise it is that it doesn't add anything to the story. really, what changes about everything if mat never have a story with the queen? they'll have to find some other excuse why he's at the queen palace and he meets tuon, that's all.

Yes, good thought.  Tylin can be a more minor character, and Mat's involvement at the palace can be purely due to his relationship with Beslan.  

[king of nowhere]

not much of a plot, but things could be shortened if the whole "after using the bowl of winds, elayne &co have to escape the seanchan and end up spending one month walking towards caemlyn" is cut away and they travel to caemlyn directly. Can't open a waygate any closer for the risk of hitting someone? How about opening one on the palace rooftop?

[mistborn82]

I have a feeling alot of Crown of Swords to KoD will be rearranged or shortened.

[Guest redgiant]

I honestly think that the CoS -> KoD will become much more 'likeable' when they tear it apart at the seams and make the story pace and progress feel more like the first 6 books.

[templar7]

Olver, Barilane and Gawan... Please!!

[Harldin]

3 hours ago, templar7 said:

Olver, Barilane and Gawan... Please!!

Some spelling checks please!!!!

Berelain and Gawyn

 

[Guest Wolfbrother31]

#1) Most of the Perrin/Faile/Shaido stuff- big waste of time. Balefired. 

 

#2) The 1000 extra pages of Aes Sedai politics and random unimportant Aes Sedai characters (especially in the later books). Boring. Balefired.

 

#3) Gawyn & the Younglings. 

Don't really need them. Balefired.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Asha'man Shar'aman]

3 hours ago, Wolfbrother31 said:

#1) Most of the Perrin/Faile/Shaido stuff- big waste of time. Balefired. 

 

#2) The 1000 extra pages of Aes Sedai politics and random unimportant Aes Sedai characters (especially in the later books). Boring. Balefired.

 

#3) Gawyn & the Younglings. 

Don't really need them. Balefired.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes!

[king of nowhere]

I'd leave some aes sedai politics, enough to have the viewers know that aes sedai are really mostly morons squabbling among themselves, and their whole organization is mostly ineffective against any unified strong enemy (asha'man, seanchan). but yes, it can be greatly shortened

[Fano'Lan Redux]

If I could:

 

Padan Fain .... gone

 

Mat ... gone until post-Shaido battle and then gone from the Brandon books

 

Talmanes from the Brandon books

 

Yes, I realize these will not happen for practical purpose but I can only hope Rafe does a much better job than Brandon with these storylines

[Elder_Haman]

(1) All Shaido post death of Couladin.

(2) 80% of the Andoran succession plot line.

(3) The Sea Folk - I'd leave the Bowl in as a Macguffin, but axe the sea folk (and maybe the Kin).