Eye of the World revisited after TV season 1

[Masha]

So, I am re-reading entire series ahead of Season 2, and finished book 1.

When I was reading before, I assumed that all the Eye of the World hints were just happy coincidences that lead our group to be at the Eye of the World at just the correct time to save the World. And then at Eye of the World confrontation was just Forsaken released because first Seal just broke due to being old and weakened by Dark One's taint.

However, after Season 1, as I am rereading the books, all those hints that "coincidentally" were revealed leading the group to the Blight, now feel like a setup and a trap set by Ishamael. And their confrontation at Eye of the World was actually correct as depicted in Season 1, as being a setup by Ishamael to break the first Seal. With 3 Ta'veren being at crucial junctions at same time broke the first, already weakened, Seal, thus releasing Forsaken and leading to the first fight of our group vs Aginor and Balthamel. Once first Seal was broken, others would follow. AM I correct in this theory? What do you think?

[wotfan4472]

I think you are fully correct. Season 1 finale does much more than that, though. Much, much more.

[Jsbrads2]

Nah, in the book, it wasn’t a trap.

the baddies wanted to use the eye of the world and Rand showing up fouled their plan, whereas in the TV show, they needed Rand to show up so they could use him to break the seal with the saangreal that Moraine provided Rand.

The TV show is a very different story, and a different story telling technique which doesn’t respect the characters or the viewers.

[Elder_Haman]

On 7/22/2023 at 1:14 PM, Jsbrads2 said:

Nah, in the book, it wasn’t a trap.

I 1000% disagree with this. The Eye was indeed a trap designed to expose the Dragon and set in motion Ishy's plan to use Rand to break the Wheel.

[Jsbrads2]

In what way could have the Eye exposed Rand? And in what way could it have set up Rand to help Ishy?

[SinisterDeath]

2 hours ago, Jsbrads2 said:

In what way could have the Eye exposed Rand? And in what way could it have set up Rand to help Ishy?

What was Ba'alzamon doing to Rand, Mat, and Perrin through out the first book?

What did Loial warn Moiraine about in Caemlyn, which corroborated what Perrin & Egwene heard from the Tua'than? 

 

Rand didn't show up to foul their trap.
They "followed" Rand and Co. because they couldn't find it due to it's peculiar nature. 

Aginor & Balthamel were just cannon fodder. Ba'alzamon likely tracked down most of the seals locations and had a hunch this last one was in the eye, and it likely couldn't be broken if it was covered in pure Saidin.

 

Ergo the "trap" was to allow the other's to find it for them, so they'd inadvertently release the last seal from it's prison.

[Jsbrads2]

They had no way of following Rand and Co. and they didn’t need Rand to uncover the seal and they had no idea where the seal was, or that anything else might be hidden in that saidin, they went to steal the saidin, that’s it.

 

Ishy/Baalzy was trying to interact with the big 3 in the dream world, he was trying to build a relationship with them.

[Scarloc99]

The plans leading to the events at the eye of the world where put in place by ishy long before Rand was identified as the dragon reborn and ishy had no way of knowing Rand would get to the eye. He didn’t know moraine would risk the ways, or be able to find the eye of the world so as plans go of it was a trap it was such a convoluted one that it had more chance of failing. 

 

As has been said Ishy did not expect Rand to turn up a consistent thread of the books is the forsaken underestimating Rand (to incredulous levels sometimes). RJ uses these events to show that fact early on. 

[HeavyHalfMoonBlade]

I thought it was outright stated that Ba'alzamon planted the whispers that come to the Emond's Field party in Caemlyn, which Moiraine takes as the pattern needing them to know. I took it as being up to reader to decide how much was the pattern requiring it, how much the prophecy (the Horn and everything was there for a reason, Tarwin's Gap, Falme) and how much it was actually the Dark One pulling the strings all along. 

 

Of course over the course of the books it seemed to me that the Shadow could not actually fight its way out of a wet paper bag, and all their schemes were singularly  ineffective except in snarling up a different plan of the Shadow, but in these early days it you could not really tell.

 

Maybe I misunderstood.