Scenes You Saw Playing Out Differently

[rubbernilly]

What scenes did you see in your head that played out completely differently than you expected? And I'm talking about more than, "I thought he would have more reaction to learning that his father was an enchanted ferret. Pity."

 

For instance, here's one...

 

The Faile-As-Shaido-Prisoner fiasco story... how many times were we told that blacksmiths hold a special place for Aiel? And that they cannot be taken gai'shain?

 

How much foreshadowing was given to the question of Perrin's axe or his hammer?

 

It seemed quite clear to me that after chasing down and hunting the Shaido who had taken Faile, Perrin, who just couldn't take anymore large scale death after Dumai's Wells, would have decided not to lead his people into certain death. He'd choose the hammer, and then just walk right down into the Shaido camp. Alone.

 

Of course, some of his devoted followers would have noticed, and would have been standing ready when Jordan needed to launch a rescue... keep that in the back of your head.

 

So Perrin walks down into the Shaido camp with the hammer on his hip and demands his wife back. Sevanna, knowing how important Perrin is (how close he is with Rand) and seeing another thread tied to the Car'a'carn, takes him as gai'shain even though he came under a banner of parlay.

 

Well, the hammer at his hip announces quite clearly that he is a blacksmith. In fact, he might even answer a question put to him (like, "Who are you?") with a simple, wry, "Just a blacksmith."

 

Now the fire is under the kettle. Everyone recognizes him as a blacksmith. So when Sevanna tries to take him gai'shain (breaking ji'e'toh in about 9 different ways), it is enough to break the Shaido. Many shaido cannot suffer the insult to j'e't, and the Brotherless certainly cannot. A fight breaks out.

 

Remember the rescue ready to launch when needed? Into the middle of the chaos of intra-clan fighting comes the whole of Perrin's army. They get Perrin, Faile, and the others away, the Shaido collapse on themselves.

 

The result is not far from what the outcome was already... a remnant of the Shaido heading back to the Three Fold Land under Therava's leadership... while most are killed and/or scattered.

 

But that wasn't the way it was written.

 

So, what scenes/plots played out differently than what you expected?