Galad

[Builder]

 

So what will happen to this guy after Tarmon Gaidon? It seems he will be busy rebuilding the Children.

 

My main question is what will happen between the relationship between Rand and Galad. He can't kill Rand because he always does the right thing, an he knows (or should know) that Rand is the Dragon Reborn and that he must survive to face the DO and defeat him.

[Achoo]

I'm not sure that there is a big problem between Rand and Galad. I can only remeber the issues between Rand and Gawyn.

 

Anywho, Galad is a whitecloak, and whitecloaks believe the Prophecies are tricks the Aes Sedai use to manipulate the world. He might still try to kill Rand because he does not believe he is the Dragon, or that there even is a Dragon.

 

What is right is not always sensible. It might be right to lock Perrin away (he seems a bit loopy), but he is still needed for the Last Battle and whatnot.

[Builder]

Yeah I really wonder what role he will play in the last book.

[The Doctor]

I don't think he's one of those "brainwashed" Whitecloaks that buys into the whole line about all the Evils of Aes Sedai.  He is intelligent and a free thinker, and has had alot of first hand experience with Aes Sedai.  If I recall correctly he was trained by Warders wasn't he? I'm pretty certain he believes in the prophecies.

[mb]

Anywho, Galad is a whitecloak, and whitecloaks believe the Prophecies are tricks the Aes Sedai use to manipulate the world.

I think you may be over generalizing.  Some Whitecloaks might believe that, but not every Whitecloak.

Galad is different from other Whitecloaks; and different from previous Lord Captain Commanders.  Allying with Aes Sedia (for any reason) which Galad proposed, that is not something other Whitecloaks would have done.

 

[The Watcher and Wanderer]

Galad is indeed an interesting character, and I'm not 100% convinced that he is one of the good guys.  I do not believe that he is a darkfriend, however, I have sometimes wondered if RJ is setting him up as an example of a how a person who is too rigid and unwavering in what they believe is right and wrong can be every bit as bad.  From a litterary standpoint many of his actions toward the good characters have been antagonistic:

 

In TEotW he wants to turn Rand over to the palace guard when he trespassed on the palace garden.  On the other hand, back when I first read the book at age 18 I thought he was just a big prude but now that I'm older and wiser I see that he was the only one who was acting sensable in the situation.  Still he was antagonistic toward Rand.

 

In TGH he wants to date Egwene and thus was horning in on Rand's woman.  On the other hand, Egwene turns out to be one of the few women in the series that isn't Rand's.

 

In TDR he gets into a duel with Mat.  Of couse Gawyn is involved too but only because he hero-worships Galad.  At first I thought this would be a huge issue for Gawyn to overcome, but Gawyn has come into his own, and while the two characters have had little to do with one another for some time,I doubt that Gawyn would be so dependent of Galad's aproval anymore.  On the other hand, Gawyn is against Rand right now and it could very well be Galad who convinces Gawyn to get his sh!t together and get behind the savior of the world ie The Dragon.

 

Then,of course,he joins the Whitecloaks who are pretty well considered bad news by everyone in Randland. On the other hand he might just reform them.

 

At one point wants to escort Elayne back to Camyln when she has better things to do, thus once again is antaginistic toward on of the good guys.

 

Seems to have made friends with two guys who want Perrin dead.  On the other hand might just take Perrin's side over theirs if his sense of rightness tells him to do so.  Or better yet he might initally take Dain and Bair's side but then be forced into a truce with Perrin. After observing Perrin's actions and getting to know him he realizes that he was wrong to condem Perrin and for the first time in his life have to aknowlege that his since of rightness has mislead him.  Sounds like a great oportunity for some growth and development for Galad.

 

Whatever the case RJ ahd done a superb job of keeping his intentions for Galad a mystery and therefore I will be be paying careful atteniton to him in AMOL.

 

[Alanna]

In TGH he wants to date Egwene and thus was horning in on Rand's woman.  On the other hand, Egwene turns out to be one of the few women in the series that isn't Rand's.

 

I don't think he really knew that Egwene and Rand were 'together,' besides, by the time he even met her, they weren't really together anymore.  Rand, at least, thought he was saying goodbye to her forever when they parted at Fal Dara.  And anyway, Galad wasn't really doing anything appropriate in the way he behaved towards Egwene.

 

In TDR he gets into a duel with Mat.  Of couse Gawyn is involved too but only because he hero-worships Galad.  At first I thought this would be a huge issue for Gawyn to overcome, but Gawyn has come into his own, and while the two characters have had little to do with one another for some time,I doubt that Gawyn would be so dependent of Galad's aproval anymore.  On the other hand, Gawyn is against Rand right now and it could very well be Galad who convinces Gawyn to get his sh!t together and get behind the savior of the world ie The Dragon.

 

It was a friendly duel; it's not as though Galad ever really intended Mat any lasting harm, and anyway, Mat started the whole thing ;D It was his idea to duel and Galad tried to turn him down.  Influencing Gawyn to get behind Rand hadn't occurred to me before, but this is possible.

 

At one point wants to escort Elayne back to Camyln when she has better things to do, thus once again is antaginistic toward on of the good guys.

I agree that he might have been getting in her way, but he was only tryig to keep her safe, and it's not as if he knew she was doing AS stuff, especially since she and Nyenaeve pretty much refused to ever tell him anything about what they were doing.  Granted, if they had told him anything, he probably would have been even more insistent about taking her back to Camelyn ;D

 

I agree that it's kind of difficult to predict what Galad will do, and that RJ did a good job at that.  I used to think that Galad would end up doing something bad (in trying to do good), but I don't think so anymore.  I think he'll end up helping somehow.  Putting whether or not he believes in the Prophecies aside, I think if Galad finds out Rand is his brother, he'll support him.  Family seems pretty important to him; he fights the duel with Valda because of what he did to Morgase, the woman he considers a mother, and he is always concerned with protecting Elayne, even when she insists he 'isn't' her brother.

 

[The Watcher and Wanderer]

Right, let me clarify.  The point is that Galad often gets in the way of the good characters inadvertently.  Its not that he is trying to do them harm, its just that his interests conflict with theirs.  I just wonder if all the unintentional antagonism is meant to forshadow his sense of right and wrong conflicting with what Rand and co. need to accomplish.

[The Watcher and Wanderer]

and he is always concerned with protecting Elayne, even when she insists he 'isn't' her brother.

 

Yeah, back when I began reading the series my 18 year old mind precieved Galad as the bad guy in that relationship.  However, now I tend to see Elayne as the bad guy.  He's only trying to look out for her like an older brother should, but she continually pushes him away and disavows him as a brother.  What a brat.

[The Doctor]

Galad's definitely one of my fasvorite characters.  Considering the fact that he is a relatively minor character, he has immense depth to him.

[Kaznen]

When last we saw Galad he seemed to be willing to join Team Dragonsworn if it got the Children to the last battle and away from the Seanchan.

[ShinyThingsGood]

Family seems pretty important to him; he fights the duel with Valda because of what he did to Moiraine, the woman he considers a mother, and he is always concerned with protecting Elayne, even when she insists he 'isn't' her brother.

 

I think you meant to say Morgase here, but I otherwise agree completely.  Galad may have acted foolishly in the past in trying to do right, but he places a lot of importance on family, and when he realizes he is Rand's half brother, this is likely to impact him greatly.

 

When last we saw Galad he seemed to be willing to join Team Dragonsworn if it got the Children to the last battle and away from the Seanchan.

 

Absolutely.  I believe all the leaders of all the countries and armies of Randland will play important roles in the LB.  We know that all the forces of the light have to fight in the LB if they are to succeed, and as misguided as the Children are, they have to be considered among the forces of good, and under Galad's command they may finally begin to do things right.  That's already evident in the proposed alliance with the WT.

[Alanna]

Oops, yeah, I did mean to say Morgase, thanks for correcting me. :D  I'll go back and edit my post.

[Achoo]

No doubt the Whitecloaks will fight in the last battle, but they still have a lot to do before then. If they do ally with the White Tower, it is possible the Aes Sedai will cause more problems in the alliance than they. The Children might be able to overcome their disdain for channeling; I would be surprised if the Aes Sedai managed to overcome their dislike for Whitecloaks or their need to control everything.

[Builder]

I think they would rather settle down in Cairhien or something. Remember that Morgase promised them that they could stay in Andor forever. Elayne will probably convince Galad to settle down in Cairhien.