Unsatisfying Deaths

[Tom Sawyer]

Rand just up and decided that feeding the taint through saidar into Shadar Logoth would get rid of it? Why? How? There was absolutely no build up to what he was doing which mentioned how he came up with this concept.

 

Rand got the idea from how his old wound from Ishamael reacted to the new wound from Fain. Then also in his later trips to Shadar Logath, when he could competently wield the Power, he noted the peculiar reaction between the taint of Saidin and the evil of Shadar Logath.

 

 

Ya, I get that. My problem is that these things weren't mentioned in the build up to his plan. It was just overly complex and out of nowhere. I would have liked to see some of his thought processes in coming up with how to do it and that storyline being developed as opposed to it simply appearing fully formed and then a clue or two related to it scattered throughout the series.

[capuga]

Rand just up and decided that feeding the taint through saidar into Shadar Logoth would get rid of it? Why? How? There was absolutely no build up to what he was doing which mentioned how he came up with this concept.

 

Rand got the idea from how his old wound from Ishamael reacted to the new wound from Fain. Then also in his later trips to Shadar Logath, when he could competently wield the Power, he noted the peculiar reaction between the taint of Saidin and the evil of Shadar Logath.

 

 

Ya, I get that. My problem is that these things weren't mentioned in the build up to his plan. It was just overly complex and out of nowhere. I would have liked to see some of his thought processes in coming up with how to do it and that storyline being developed as opposed to it simply appearing fully formed and then a clue or two related to it scattered throughout the series.

 

I don't really see what's to be disappointed about here. He starts the process clear back in tSR by asking the Finns how to do it. He lets slip a couple of times throughout the books that he plans to do it. He mentions several times in the middle books that he hopes that Callandor will be enough to do the deed so he doesn't have to use the temptation of the CK, but then later realizes that it will not be possible because of the flaw in Callandor. We get hints of how he plans on doing it by seeing his Fain wound interact with his Ishy wound. We see him sneak into Caemlyn to get Nynaeve to help him. He makes a plan to kill the renegade Ashaman so he doesn't have to worry about them while he is cleansing the source. We had all kinds of build up to the feat all the way back to 5 books before it actually happens.

 

Do we ever see the fully formed plan in his POV? Of course not - that would make the reveal and the actual cleansing anti-climatic and would just be bad storytelling. We want to see the deed and not just read a bunch of internal thoughts. But we do see him trying to figure out how to do it, making plans, and we get hints and foreshadowing as to how it can be done.

[Tom Sawyer]

 

Do we ever see the fully formed plan in his POV? Of course not - that would make the reveal and the actual cleansing anti-climatic and would just be bad storytelling. We want to see the deed and not just read a bunch of internal thoughts. But we do see him trying to figure out how to do it, making plans, and we get hints and foreshadowing as to how it can be done.

 

Well, we'll just have to agree to disagree that we get these hints and foreshadowings in a non-terribly written way.

[capuga]

 

Do we ever see the fully formed plan in his POV? Of course not - that would make the reveal and the actual cleansing anti-climatic and would just be bad storytelling. We want to see the deed and not just read a bunch of internal thoughts. But we do see him trying to figure out how to do it, making plans, and we get hints and foreshadowing as to how it can be done.

 

Well, we'll just have to agree to disagree that we get these hints and foreshadowings in a non-terribly written way.

 

Fair enough. I thought the chapter with the actual event was very well written and exciting and I was satisfied with the build up to it and Rand's plans and the hints on how it would be done.

 

Contrast that to the disappointment that I felt at Sammael's death. Books of build up to the fight. A cool fight. Help from Moridin. Mercy kill of Leah and Rand's guilt. So far, so good. Then not only does Rand not get to deliver the killing blow (or at least Moridin since he decided to aid Rand in the fight) but we don't even get a cool description of Mashadar eating Sammael to death. He's just gone. Not a thrilling finish to something that had a pretty awesome start.

[herid]

 

 

On a related subject, the "death" of the taint. That was just so random. Rand just up and decided that feeding the taint through saidar into Shadar Logoth would get rid of it? Why? How? There was absolutely no build up to what he was doing which mentioned how he came up with this concept. They had a vague reference to how something the Finns told him gave him the idea, but it was never mentioned what that was and the solution came out of nowhere. It just bothered me that such a big thing was thrown in there with no build up.

I believe the main reason why not a lot is explained about the cleansing is that the same trick will be used in the final confrontation of Rand and the DO. I'm quite sure that Fains' power will be essential in sealing the bore. If that is the case then it would make sense to withhold some information when describing the cleansing of saidin so as not to give away too much about the ending.

[Kidicaris]

Nicola is another good example- the idea of her dying the way she did is actually an OK way for her to die - a big, important battle, killed by darkfriends/forsaken (i forget who exactly killed her)because she disobeyed, which she frequently does. But because I feel like she had some bigger purpose in LIFE, the fact that so little attention was paid to her death makes the storyline feel unresolved.

 

I always thought Nicola was on a path to the Shadow. Her ambition, her drive, her lack of scruples. It was like seeing the birth of a dark friend. Until she was destroyed. I'm not particularly surprised she ended up dead, because I think that was her destiny since the very first moment we meet her--one of a group of refugees (and Moghidien), that HAPPENED to tug just enough at the heartstrings of the Wondergirls to avoid being sent on their way with some coins and well wishes. Honestly, I thought they were all darkfriends the moment we met them. The only real surprise is that Nicola died walking in the Light.

 

I think seeing Nicola descend into darkness would have been many times more interesting than her roasted by some random BA.