What plot points do you think should have been different?

[Kal11]

Basically if you could change something about the story that was a major event and effected character development what would it be. I am not talking about things such as shortening the Faile captured by the Shaido arc or you would have liked to see X character more, but specific plot points that you feel the ball was dropped on or could have been done more to your liking. One for example is that I think Min should have died at Rand's hands in TGS and it would have made the story much better, not because I hate her or anything but quite the opposite.

 

It was a scene that really had me on the edge of my seat and was wonderfully written but having her die would have made it much more important both in the short and long term, seeing Rand become the Kinslayer again against his will. Having him reach for the TP while snapping after her death would not have changed that dynamic in his arc. I think it would have made the whole Darth Rand period that much more intense and unstable with him carrying that guilt. It would have also made the VOG scene atop Dragonmount more emotionally impactful in my opinion with him having to put aside that burden and forgive himself. We have seen Rand suffer repeatedly but he has never lost anyone that close to him and the effect it might have on his state of mind, it was a great opportunity that was missed imho.

 

Killing Asmodean was another. I thought he added a great layer to the story and watching his character develop one way or another would have been great, especially his interactions with and perceptions of Rand. Seeing if he learned and grew to truly want to redeem himself or return to the Shadow somehow. He died way too early in my book.

[Superhal]

re: Asmodean: yeah, plus it seems like as a teacher, he didn't teach Rand anything. The most useful weaves Rand figured out on his own or got from LTT. I think it would have really added to the story to have some signature weave taught by Asmodean that is very useful so that even in death he could find a little redemption. It seems like none of the bad guys ever get redeemed, even though everybody spouts that nonsense about walking in the Shadow and turning to the Light.

 

The Seanchan: now that we know they aren't DF's, slaughtering them feels wrong to me. Itaralde has killed like 500k Seanchan since KoD, Mat killed over 10k in KoD, Rand and the HotH killed a bunch at Falme. I was hoping the Egannin storyline would open up the possibility of more cooperation with the Seanchan, but so far it's been minimal at best.

 

Sammael's and Rahvin's death: as I've mentioned before, their deaths were like playing Whack-A-Mole while blindfolded: travel, balefire...travel, balefire, etc. etc. etc. The only difference was that Rahvin played hide-and-seek in TAR, Sammael did it in Aridhol. These guys were supposed to be great generals and at least Sammael had a large army at his command. Couladin put up a better fight than these two.

 

TAR: quite frankly, I'm sick of TAR. Everybody hangs out in TAR. You can travel in it, communicate with it (which seems redundant to do both), kill people with it, test Accepted/Apprentices with it, and see the future with it. In contrast, the OP is like the slingshot to TAR's battleship. TAR can do just about anything you want it to do with almost no limitations at all. There should have been more limits and stronger penalties for using TAR than the OP.

[JKN-SW]

Basically if you could change something about the story that was a major event and effected character development what would it be. I am not talking about things such as shortening the Faile captured by the Shaido arc or you would have liked to see X character more, but specific plot points that you feel the ball was dropped on or could have been done more to your liking. One for example is that I think Min should have died at Rand's hands in TGS and it would have made the story much better, not because I hate her or anything but quite the opposite.

 

It was a scene that really had me on the edge of my seat and was wonderfully written but having her die would have made it much more important both in the short and long term, seeing Rand become the Kinslayer again against his will. Having him reach for the TP while snapping after her death would not have changed that dynamic in his arc. I think it would have made the whole Darth Rand period that much more intense and unstable with him carrying that guilt. It would have also made the VOG scene atop Dragonmount more emotionally impactful in my opinion with him having to put aside that burden and forgive himself. We have seen Rand suffer repeatedly but he has never lost anyone that close to him and the effect it might have on his state of mind, it was a great opportunity that was missed imho.

 

Killing Asmodean was another. I thought he added a great layer to the story and watching his character develop one way or another would have been great, especially his interactions with and perceptions of Rand. Seeing if he learned and grew to truly want to redeem himself or return to the Shadow somehow. He died way too early in my book.

 

Problem is, Min is very likely pivotal to winning tLB by (finally) figuring out the meaning of Herid Fels note. Killing her would have ment you needed to find another way for Rand to learn what he must to seal off tDO again. And the storyarc with Mins research have gone on for too many books to do that, imo.

 

For the rest, I find it hard to know what I would change, until I see how all the threads are tied up (or not). There is a lot of closure needed in the last book, and how BS ties of the threads or leave them loose will probably be what I have most opinion on.

[dwn]

I can think of a few parts that I would have liked to see play out differently.

 

1) The scene in ToM where Morgase is finally revealed was just kind of anticlimactic. I had always thought the scene would somehow involve Thom or Mat--or really anyone who could give the event some dramatic or comedic impact. Perrin and Faile just didn't have a strong enough connection to Morgase to make it work.

 

2) When Renna, Seta and Bethamin escaped Ebou Dar with Mat I was certain that we were going to see an interesting character moment between Egwene and Renna at some point.

 

3) This is a bit out there but I've always thought a Mat/Elayne romance would have been far more natural either Rand/Elayne or Mat/Tuon. Mat and Elayne play off each other extremely well in every scene they're in together.

 

4) By far the most surprising/disappointing turn was how the Black Ajah hunter plot arc fell apart. I expected Pevara, Seaine et al. to land themselves in a Black Ajah frying pan only to have their escape and victory made possible by Pevara's secret Asha'man warder. Alviarin even sent out orders for their capture at one point and still nothing came of it! My only guess is that this plot arc was squashed to reduce the length of the series.

 

 

-- dwn

[randsc]

There are a few.

 

It was very disappointing to see the Two Rivers, which had the makings of a functional democracy or at least monarchy by popular election, relagated to the status of a province, with a heridtary lord. The development of a new (for Randland) form of government in a new (or very old) nation could have been worked into the overall theme nicely. Much in the same way that we are seeing hints of the technological future.

 

Graendel should have died at Natrim's Barrow. Her continued existence proved quite pointless.

 

I hated what happened to Aram. That character could have been a useful means to express notions of individual automony as opposed to group conformity, and the kicking off point for an interesting examination of the morality of pacifism.

[Himiko]

I would have preferred not to make all the main channeling characters super-powered. I mean, leaving aside Nynaeve, Elayne and Egwene, we know from New Spring that Siuan, Moiraine and Elaida are some of the strongest channelers in the Tower, Cadsuane too, Aviendha is powerful, etc. Rand has godlike powers by this stage of the series, and the Forsaken, similarly, are supposed to be hugely powerful.

 

Now, don't get me wrong, I know that there are other, minor characters that are weaker. And I don't have an issue with some characters being strong in the OP, its just that I feel that it does impact negatively on the story in some cases. For example, the Forsaken. So many people complain that there's no sense of threat with the Forsaken, that they haven't killed anyone vital to the story yet, they are always defeated, etc. And yet, we know they are more knowledgeable about weaves than most current channelers. We know that offscreen, they have caused political chaos- Semirhage has basically ripped the Seanchan Empire apart, Rahvin had control of Andor, one of the most powerful nations in the Westlands, Mesaana managed to use her influence to split the White Tower, and its not beyond the realms of possibility that Egwene, the current Amyrlin Seat, has been put under Compulsion by another of the Forsaken. These are not people to take lightly, but because they are all supposed to be massively powerful channelers, in addition to their intelligence, knowledge and political savvy, then whenever they get taken down almost every time they come up against our heroes, even in the earliest books when the main characters were not yet at their full potential, it makes them seem overhyped and unthreatening. Sure, there's going to be some strong channelers in there, but surely there were weaker channelers who had cruelty and intelligence in abundance? Perhaps if some of the Forsaken had been portrayed as relatively weak in the One Power, but still dangerous, then we wouldn't have reached the stage now where the Forsaken don't seem to be a threat- doesn't matter how strong they are, or how much damage they've caused, they could get beaten by the heroes in their early stages, they'll get annihilated now.

 

Also, it often seems unneccessary to the plot. Obviously, it makes sense to have Rand be very powerful. And Nynaeve's main accomplishments have been acheived through the use of the One Power- unlike many other characters, she doesn't play a political role, as such, and is a lot more hands on. It makes sense, then, for her to be powerful, too. But Egwene and Elayne? Why do they need to be two of the most powerful channelers in the world, as well as having Talents? Its quite clear that RJ destined them both for political roles- Queen of Andor and the Amyrlin Seat- from the start, roles which do not require them to use this massive power that they have. Not that I think all channelers should just have power based on their characters needs, but by introducing so many channelers at the same time who are so much more powerful than any that have gone before, we get this annoying staircase of "All these girls are so powerful! But wait, the Forsaken are even more powerful. And here's this elderly novice, she is even more powerful. And Alivia, she is EVEN MORE POWERFUL!" I don't know, I get that there's other channeling organisations coming forward that are larger than the WT, there are understandably other powerful channelers appearing, beyond what AS thought possible, but yeah. Egwene and Elayne were already coming to the White Tower- or at least, once Moiraine told Egwene she had the spark. They didn't go to the Tower because they were more powerful than all the sisters there. Egwene's big fight scene happened when she could barely channel, and was powered up by a sa'angreal. it is possible to make a channeler compelling without them simply having mega-power.

 

So, yes, with that in mind, I would:

 

- Have Egwene be a less powerful channeler, possibly Elayne too, but definitely Egwene. Then, when she goes to the White Tower, have her eager to look into her Dreamwalking/ Dreaming more, in order to stand out from the other AS. This might also give her reason to study WT politics as closely as she possibly can- knowing that Nynaeve will stand far above her when they're both AS, and knowing Egwene is pretty ambitious, she may well study the politics of the WT in an effort to find out how to rise higher within its ranks. Then, when she is made Amyrlin Seat, she is equipped with this knowledge, as well as Siuan's advice, explaining how she can play the politics of the WT so well.

 

- This is a big one for me: Not try and pair off every major character, no matter how unrealistic the relationship. We have characters who barely know each other, or don't like each other, or constantly conflict, suddenly deciding they are deeply in love. BAM! Siuan and Gareth are in love. BAM! Egwene loves Gawyn now. BAM! Rand loves all three women and they love him back, so as not to produce an excess of main characters without a partner :P I thought Perrin and Faile's relationship was well written for the series, we see Perrin stubbornly refusing to like her because he believes her to be part of Min's foretelling, we see her running off to seek adventure, and we travel with them as they come to admit their feelings for each other. I realise they can't do this with every pairing, it would take up a lot of time and book space, but still. There's is one of the very few that didn't feel like MUST PAIR OFF NOW! I think Rand and Aviendha also qualified.

[FossMaNo1]

The one plot I did not like and really thought was out of character (at least in how it ended up) was Aram's. Aram being convinced by Masema that Perrin is a Darkfriend? WtF? I'm rereading KoD right now and I am hoping that on my first read-through I simply missed the signs. I totally did not see this coming and thought it was absolutely out of character for Aram to turn on Perrin. The boy had latched onto Perrin like a dog to his master (okay, that's rather funny when you consider the context). The only thing that I would think might (MIGHT, I say) have turned Aram was that supposed "dalliance" between Perrin and Berelain after Faile was captured. Maybe he saw that as an act of betrayal on Perrin's part (the king gets knocked off the pedastal Aram had sat him on). Still...

[XXX]

I would have preferred not to make all the main channeling characters super-powered. I mean, leaving aside Nynaeve, Elayne and Egwene, we know from New Spring that Siuan, Moiraine and Elaida are some of the strongest channelers in the Tower, Cadsuane too, Aviendha is powerful, etc. Rand has godlike powers by this stage of the series, and the Forsaken, similarly, are supposed to be hugely powerful.

 

Now, don't get me wrong, I know that there are other, minor characters that are weaker. And I don't have an issue with some characters being strong in the OP, its just that I feel that it does impact negatively on the story in some cases. For example, the Forsaken. So many people complain that there's no sense of threat with the Forsaken, that they haven't killed anyone vital to the story yet, they are always defeated, etc. And yet, we know they are more knowledgeable about weaves than most current channelers. We know that offscreen, they have caused political chaos- Semirhage has basically ripped the Seanchan Empire apart, Rahvin had control of Andor, one of the most powerful nations in the Westlands, Mesaana managed to use her influence to split the White Tower, and its not beyond the realms of possibility that Egwene, the current Amyrlin Seat, has been put under Compulsion by another of the Forsaken. These are not people to take lightly, but because they are all supposed to be massively powerful channelers, in addition to their intelligence, knowledge and political savvy, then whenever they get taken down almost every time they come up against our heroes, even in the earliest books when the main characters were not yet at their full potential, it makes them seem overhyped and unthreatening. Sure, there's going to be some strong channelers in there, but surely there were weaker channelers who had cruelty and intelligence in abundance? Perhaps if some of the Forsaken had been portrayed as relatively weak in the One Power, but still dangerous, then we wouldn't have reached the stage now where the Forsaken don't seem to be a threat- doesn't matter how strong they are, or how much damage they've caused, they could get beaten by the heroes in their early stages, they'll get annihilated now.

 

Also, it often seems unneccessary to the plot. Obviously, it makes sense to have Rand be very powerful. And Nynaeve's main accomplishments have been acheived through the use of the One Power- unlike many other characters, she doesn't play a political role, as such, and is a lot more hands on. It makes sense, then, for her to be powerful, too. But Egwene and Elayne? Why do they need to be two of the most powerful channelers in the world, as well as having Talents? Its quite clear that RJ destined them both for political roles- Queen of Andor and the Amyrlin Seat- from the start, roles which do not require them to use this massive power that they have. Not that I think all channelers should just have power based on their characters needs, but by introducing so many channelers at the same time who are so much more powerful than any that have gone before, we get this annoying staircase of "All these girls are so powerful! But wait, the Forsaken are even more powerful. And here's this elderly novice, she is even more powerful. And Alivia, she is EVEN MORE POWERFUL!" I don't know, I get that there's other channeling organisations coming forward that are larger than the WT, there are understandably other powerful channelers appearing, beyond what AS thought possible, but yeah. Egwene and Elayne were already coming to the White Tower- or at least, once Moiraine told Egwene she had the spark. They didn't go to the Tower because they were more powerful than all the sisters there. Egwene's big fight scene happened when she could barely channel, and was powered up by a sa'angreal. it is possible to make a channeler compelling without them simply having mega-power.

 

So, yes, with that in mind, I would:

 

- Have Egwene be a less powerful channeler, possibly Elayne too, but definitely Egwene. Then, when she goes to the White Tower, have her eager to look into her Dreamwalking/ Dreaming more, in order to stand out from the other AS. This might also give her reason to study WT politics as closely as she possibly can- knowing that Nynaeve will stand far above her when they're both AS, and knowing Egwene is pretty ambitious, she may well study the politics of the WT in an effort to find out how to rise higher within its ranks. Then, when she is made Amyrlin Seat, she is equipped with this knowledge, as well as Siuan's advice, explaining how she can play the politics of the WT so well.

 

- This is a big one for me: Not try and pair off every major character, no matter how unrealistic the relationship. We have characters who barely know each other, or don't like each other, or constantly conflict, suddenly deciding they are deeply in love. BAM! Siuan and Gareth are in love. BAM! Egwene loves Gawyn now. BAM! Rand loves all three women and they love him back, so as not to produce an excess of main characters without a partner :P I thought Perrin and Faile's relationship was well written for the series, we see Perrin stubbornly refusing to like her because he believes her to be part of Min's foretelling, we see her running off to seek adventure, and we travel with them as they come to admit their feelings for each other. I realise they can't do this with every pairing, it would take up a lot of time and book space, but still. There's is one of the very few that didn't feel like MUST PAIR OFF NOW! I think Rand and Aviendha also qualified.

 

 

Egwene/Elayne and Avi are not that strong in the OP if you consider the average power in the AoL...the 3 are strong in the current age but the other character's awe at their power reduces consistently throughout the books.

[Puny]

Rand should have been gay. That would have been interesting. Maybe he could fall in love with Logain. Oh and then enters jealous Moridin...I should write a fanfic...

 

I would like to see Mat with someone else. Birgitte would be nice or some chunky sweet young lady that loves to gamble together with him. It bugs me that he likes a nice plump lady and ends up with a stick. The same as it bugs me that Min wears breeches and then turns herself into some fluff because of Rand. Just love her with the pants, they are more flattering then skirts anyway.

 

I agree with randsc on the TR turning into a province. =/ I feel the good Two Rivers people being cheated. Kinda have the same feeling as when I read LotR and that happened to the Shire at the end. The Two Rivers is like that but without a rebellion.

 

I would insert more male nudity/gayness to balance out female nudity/lesbian games.

 

The BA hunter thread... no more comment.

 

More about the Seanchan... as vile as they are against the damane, I can´t help myself finding them fascinating. I would have liked to see more from their homeland and what they thought about the Return and so on.

 

More darkness, in an outspoken way. If we know that somewhere off Semirhage is plotting something really evil, doesn´t help cause we as readers don´t follow her there. Hints and subtleties are good but not all the time.

[Dakota]

The Perrin/Fail arc. They go down to Gheldean and pick up Masema. He tries to kill Perrin along the way, Fail kills him instead, and they make their way to Camelyn and have the meeting with Elayne and the Elayne/Morgase reunion there. Then they can just hang out till FoM. No capture by the Shaido or that whole arc, because instead they retreated to the Threefold Land after Couladin's death.

 

The Elayne reclaiming her throne arc. Once Elayne returns to Camelyn, she calls a meeting of the nobles. There's some disapproval due to what Morgase did before abdicating, but with Tarmon Gaidon on the horizon, they begrudgingly agree to continue to follow House Trakand, at least until after TG.

 

Rand's arc in WH. Why was him going to Far Madding to kill the rogue Ashamen there so important? Anyone would say the forsaken are more of a threat, yet all of Rand's fluff-arc in Winter's Heart was all about getting the rogue Ashamen dead before attemtping the cleansing. Fat lot of good that did.

 

The deaths of Sammael and Asmodean. The problem with Sammael's death should be obvious, the way it was written gave next to no indication that he was actually killed. And going by how RJ explicitly said that Sammael was dead without making a big mystery about it says that this should have been clearer to the reader. As far as Asmodean, with all the RAFOs that we got for over a decade about his death, the reveal should have had a lot more impact than a confirmation in the glossary.

[jwood01]

Rand is married to THREE women! Would it hurt to kill at least one of them off? More major characters needed to die IMO. I know people disagree, but it gets a little old after so many books having nobody important die other than Verin. The forsaken just don't seem to be a threat to me, the reader, anymore. Early in the series they seemed a lot more dangerous. I do know that they ARE dangerous and many of their plans have come very close to working, but now i have zero expectation of their plans being able to overcome the luck of the lightsiders. But I guess that's just the nature of the pattern and the wheel of time.

 

Hopefully whatever Demandred is doing is goign to be seriously badass, and SOMEONE major dies. i guess Rand is going to have to die at some point :p

[Kal11]

Problem is, Min is very likely pivotal to winning tLB by (finally) figuring out the meaning of Herid Fels note. Killing her would have ment you needed to find another way for Rand to learn what he must to seal off tDO again. And the storyarc with Mins research have gone on for too many books to do that, imo.

 

That would have just made her death that more impactful, leaving a dilemma about the success of TG. Sometimes killing off a character before they reach the end of their expected arc is just what the doctor ordered. He could have then balefired Cadsuane back to the First Age in punishment for losing the male a'dam as well, learning the lesson to not strike out in grief and anger. Then everybody wins.

[Goldstar]

Elayne and Rand should have never happened. I can understand his relationship to Min and Aviendha, though Avi's made more sense in TFH, and Min's makes more sense in every book since then. Elayne's just pointless. There's no real... romance between them. No history.

[Guest Emu on the Loose]

Lanfear should have won that day at the docks, spiriting Rand away with her.

[Kal11]

Elayne and Rand should have never happened. I can understand his relationship to Min and Aviendha, though Avi's made more sense in TFH, and Min's makes more sense in every book since then. Elayne's just pointless. There's no real... romance between them. No history.

 

I agree. I never really understood the dynamic between them and found it forced. She also lacks the devotion to him that the other two have, I always got the impression she just seemed infatuated with him more than anything.

 

 

 

Lanfear should have won that day at the docks, spiriting Rand away with her.

 

That actually would have been cool imo. She is one of my favorite characters in the series and I thought the Lanfear and LTT/Rand angle was pretty interesting in the early books. It would have certainly changed the arc of the story significantly lol. The end of TOM and Rand realizing he still desired her was one of the most intriguing cliffhangers for me, I am really looking forward to see how it plays out.

[True Source Creator]

Lanfear should have won that day at the docks, spiriting Rand away with her.

Yay.

[Lupy]

Mat should have been the Dragon.

 

That is all.

[Puny]

Mat should have been the Dragon.

 

That is all.

 

Mat is cool, but I dk.. I have a feeling it would have taken him much longer to accept he was the Dragon, and I don´t know if that would be good for the world.

And he would prolly come up with a weave so he could pinch 4 girls at once. =)

[Goldstar]

Mat wouldn't have been as much fun insane.

[Guest Emu on the Loose]

Mat wouldn't have been as much fun insane.

 

Pshaw. I can already imagine him throwing the dice at Shaidar Haran at a pivotal moment, knocking him into the fires of Pit of Mount Doom and saving Middle Earth Randland once and for all from the specter of one-dimensional evil deities.

[lilltempest]

There are quite a few things I would've liked to have seen done differently:

 

1. Add a few characters who aren't cookie cutter copies of the others, especially where the male/female stereotypes are concerned. All the women think all the men are stupid. All the women are bullies. All the men think women are worth more and should be protected. Yes, Nynaeve has changed her opinion, but we have yet to see one woman other than Birgitte (who doesn't count since she has been turned into Elayne's lapdog) who breaks the mold. I'd love to see a woman who shows men respect, asks their opinions as equals, and isn't trying to manipulate or bully them. On the flip side, I'd love to see a man who has no problem sending a woman to certain death if that's what she signed up for and who has no problem ripping an evil woman's head off. Granted, all the man-hating feminists would be whining about it since they want it both ways ("Show us respect and let us do what we want, but you're a pig if we get hurt doing it!"), but who the hell cares?

 

2. The Black Ajah hunters should have managed to take care of things on their own. Yes, I hate Egwene with the passion of a thousand suns, but this particular point has nothing to do with that. It would've been nice to see some semi-decent Aes Sedai (ones who aren't quite as despicable as the rest, at least) manage to kick some serious ass on their own. Instead, the whole plot point was used to ram Egwene's supposed greatness down our throats (which, with me, has the opposite effect).

 

3. I agree with Toy about being sick of TAR. It needs to either go or it needs to start eating people...starting with Egwene. Seriously, it has gotten old.

 

4. Rand and Elayne never should've happened and makes no sense. Additionally, Aviendha seems far more enamored of Elayne than Rand, so they should be together and forget Rand, who is much better off with Min - the one woman of the three who actually knows and loves him.

 

5. I agree with Logain's Pet that Mat needs someone other than Tuon. It isn't right that he got stuck with such a horribly cold and creepy woman.

 

6. Had I had my druthers, Logain would've said the hell with Rand and gone to take Taim out long ago so he could build the Asha'man's reputation as men to be respected and honored rather than loathed. He could've also made certain Rand didn't sell half of them into slavery to the Aes Sedai.

 

7. Lan needs to pull the stick out of his ass.

 

8. Nynaeve needs to bring the smack down on Cadsuane and Egwene. If they can't treat her with respect, she should kick some ass and take names. More importantly, I'd love to see her take off her serpent ring and throw it in Egwene's face. Nynaeve is too awesome to be an Aes Sedai.

 

9. Elayne's quest for the throne was the most tediously boring bunch of crap in the world...right behind the "if I keep having all the characters say how awesome Egwene is, you'll believe it!" storyline. Both were written horribly and needed to be less annoying and time consuming.

 

10. Alivia - More needs to be done with her. 'Nuff said.

 

11. I'm sick of seeing random AS POVs. Why not mix in some random Asha'man POVs? The ones who are NOT enslaved by Aes Sedai?? I find it disturbing, as well as annoying, that the Asha'man are made to be inconsequential unless they're enslaved by Aes Sedai, in which case they are still inconsequential, but are shown to be "good". *pukes*

 

12. And that point brings me to... LOGAIN NEEDS A FREAKING POV!! He's the only man in the freaking series with a backbone. I want to see inside his head, dammit!

 

I almost forgot...

 

13. Gawyn should've died. It's about time Egwene's crappy attitude caused her some pain. Then again, she probably would've have cared after the first five minutes he was dead. Her "love" for people is a damn joke. After a few seconds, she'd have decided it was his fault and that she was right all along. Still, it'd have been nice to have Gawyn dead and her suffer, even if it was only for a few moments.

[Clayden69]

id like to have seen Gawyn as a character completely erased along with the Younglings. i cnt stand Gawyn for me he has done nothing whatsoever to redeem the fact that he is a spoilt little sod. i can only think of 3 things he has done that are important, helping Siuan to escape, saving Egwene from the Bloodknives, and helping to defeat the Warders trying to free Siuan, but all 3 could have been completed by other characters or companies of soldiers

 

I personally would have preferred to have seen Gawyns "responsibilities" given to Galad, and bein Elaynes "full" brother. imagine if Galad, who as we all know becomes the Lord Captain Commander of the Whitecloaks, was to b the 1 who falls in love with Egwene, the Amyrlin Seat. and eventually being bonded to an AS. not just any old Whitecloak being bonded but THE LORD CAPTAIN COMMANDER, whilst also being the First Prince of The Sword. ad then u could have plotlines that play on Galad having to always do the right thing despite having 3 major roles that would inevitably clash

 

obviously a lot of the story would need to b changed, you could still have Galad leaving the WT for the Whitecloaks, before Siuan is deposed. the scenes where Egwnene falls in love with Gawyn in Cairhien could b changed to happen earlier in the series with Galad. No Gawyn=No Younglings' oh well just replace them with a different company or have the students fight the Warders without a true leader(or rather without a character who has significant screen-time) and then the students could have been absorbed into the Tower Guard straight away. Galad could b the 1 who saves Egwene from the Seanchan Bloodknives, im not entirely sure of the timeline but in ToM Galad is in Caemlyn meeting Elayne just after the Bloodknives attack Egwene (i think). well, have that meeting before and Galad could request to visit Egwene just as the Bloodknives are attacking and then he saves Egwene in the same way as Gawyn does and then Galad is bonded as she wakes.

[dingbat]

One for example is that I think Min should have died at Rand's hands in TGS and it would have made the story much better, not because I hate her or anything but quite the opposite.

 

It was a scene that really had me on the edge of my seat and was wonderfully written but having her die would have made it much more important both in the short and long term, seeing Rand become the Kinslayer again against his will. Having him reach for the TP while snapping after her death would not have changed that dynamic in his arc. I think it would have made the whole Darth Rand period that much more intense and unstable with him carrying that guilt. It would have also made the VOG scene atop Dragonmount more emotionally impactful in my opinion with him having to put aside that burden and forgive himself. We have seen Rand suffer repeatedly but he has never lost anyone that close to him and the effect it might have on his state of mind, it was a great opportunity that was missed imho.

 

I'd like to see some major characters bite the dust, but I can't buy into Min's death in this situation leading to anything other than a defeat for the light. Considering Rand was already seconds away from killing Tam and then again seconds away from destroying the world; I don't see how you could justify Rand not just going completely insane, or maintaining the introspection which led to his epiphany.

 

I also have to agree with others complaints about the romances in the book. In particular Rand and his 3 loves. If you're going to have him in this kind of relationship then why not explore it at all(and i don't mean the sexual aspect of it). Instead RJ took pains to make sure Rand was always only with one of them at a time excluding the brief scene in which they were together for the bonding. If you're going to have Rand essentially be in a string of regular relationships why not just make it exactly that. Elayne is a fling in Tear, Avi his girl in the middle of the series, then to have him end up with Min.

[Never]

There are a few.

 

It was very disappointing to see the Two Rivers, which had the makings of a functional democracy or at least monarchy by popular election, relagated to the status of a province, with a heridtary lord. The development of a new (for Randland) form of government in a new (or very old) nation could have been worked into the overall theme nicely. Much in the same way that we are seeing hints of the technological future.

 

 

 

I think the brand of government best suited to describing the Two Rivers is some form of anarchy, not "democracy" as we have become used to the word (that is, parlamentarism built on Montquieue (?)'s principle of divided power.)

[UGAShadow]

Elayne should not be in love with Rand. It makes no sense. I'd love to have seen her realize she was a lesbian but took Rand as a lover to secure a daughter. You know, political reasons. Then she and Egwene were in love. It would solve so many problems.

 

 

But, then you'd need something to balance it.

 

 

The best way to have handled it was thus.

 

 

Lover to Elayne to secure a political string to Rand, Wife to Aviendha as a string to Aiel and wife to Min as the woman he loves. In a series where Rand is basically a Emperor of three nations and a whole people, political marriages and accommodations would have to be made.