The Lanfear Appreciation Thread

[True Source Creator]

Let's get to it.

[Vambram]

Let's get to it.

 

Alright, so why do YOU like Lanfear so much?

[ironisles]

I think that out of all the Forsaken she might be the one to repent. She's been much more enjoyable than any of the others, and we know most about her. The torture scene perhaps foreshadows her turning back to the light.. or might be a trap. Guess we will see.

[True Source Creator]

Let's get to it.

 

Alright, so why do YOU like Lanfear so much?

I've always enjoyed her character. Of the Forsaken, she was one who was always there in the beginning. She's also the most powerful of the females, very haughty, and very attractive. She's compelling, and the whole Lews Therin/Lanfear storyline was interesting to me. I would have liked to see where that went, and her defeat at the docks was awesome. She's always been my favorite Forsaken and one of my favorite characters.

[Lama Chemist Ho]

I seriously loved when we got her perspective at the end of winter's heart. her emotional reaction at sensing rand using the access keys with another woman...she might be one of the most passionate / emotional villains in the series (which might bode well for a possible repentance)

[True Source Creator]

That was great. I had been missing her since Fires of Heaven. Of all the Forsaken, she was the only one who would get close to Rand without trying to attack or harm him in any way, but rather trying to seduce him. I've always found her to be the best villain in the books and one of the best characters.

[WhiskyJack]

Hot..why else...?

[JTmin5]

She is definately the only forsaken with enough lust for power to actually suggest taking on the dark lord. So I mean thats saying something. Kinda seems like it would be a horrible idea to date her though, she might brashly decide to kill you if your late for supper.

And i hope the dream occurence is not a trap it would be quite the twist if she turned back to the light.

[BKVMC]

People ( men) like to THINK that lanfear would repent because she is Hawt if she was described as ugly no one would care if she repented lol.I dont think we will see any of the forsaken repent the reasons they went to the DL and the things they have done in his service havent changed with time just grown sharper. IMO our Big darkfriend repent was Ingtar doubt we see anymore but i guess we will have to rafo :P

[Cybertrolloc]

Her good throw away dialog is actually spoken? Moridin and Semirhage's are better, but tend to be internal.

[Guest Emu on the Loose]

Mierin is my favorite character in the series, but I'm not really interested in the whole "even more flawlessly beautiful than you imagined" angle. (Her most interesting appearances were as Silvie and Keille, I'd say.) Rather, what captures my fancy is her clarity of vision, her desire to overthrow the gods, her generally noble intentions juxtaposed with the terrible outcomes of her choices, the reality of her power level being high enough to achieve anything a human is capable of achieving, her prowess as the best channeler in the series, her convincing mental problems (e.g., jealousy and obsession), and the tragic arc of her storyline as a great person who fell to the lowest depths. People say that Ishy is the only one who really understands what the DO wants...but how could Mierin not? She chose the Shadow not because she didn't know what the Shadow was all about, but because she was only human and was in a situation that, for her, was unbearable.

 

In another story, under another author, she could easily be the protagonist of a great work of epic fantasy. In Wheel of Time, I still don't know if she's going to turn out to be a good guy or the ultimate non-DO villain. One thing's certain, for me, though: Even if RJ never intended it, I think Mierin has had an even rougher road to walk than Rand has. It's too bad that we're never likely to get the full exploration of her psyche and motivations that the Light-siders get.

 

I'm really disappointed that she's been effectively absent from the series since TFoH and that her incarnation as Cyndane has been thus far almost a total waste, and I'm disappointed that we're going to have to wait another year-and-a-half, till AMoL, to finally learn what happens to her. The series lost a lot of gas beginning in LoC, and her disappearance is a big part of that. I hope she lives through the end of the series in a positive way. If not, I hope she at least gets a more meaningful death than most of the Forsaken have gotten.

[Zentari]

Mierin is my favorite character in the series, but I'm not really interested in the whole "even more flawlessly beautiful than you imagined" angle. (Her most interesting appearances were as Silvie and Keille, I'd say.) Rather, what captures my fancy is her clarity of vision, her desire to overthrow the gods, her generally noble intentions juxtaposed with the terrible outcomes of her choices, the reality of her power level being high enough to achieve anything a human is capable of achieving, her prowess as the best channeler in the series, her convincing mental problems (e.g., jealousy and obsession), and the tragic arc of her storyline as a great person who fell to the lowest depths. People say that Ishy is the only one who really understands what the DO wants...but how could Mierin not? She chose the Shadow not because she didn't know what the Shadow was all about, but because she was only human and was in a situation that, for her, was unbearable.

 

In another story, under another author, she could easily be the protagonist of a great work of epic fantasy. In Wheel of Time, I still don't know if she's going to turn out to be a good guy or the ultimate non-DO villain. One thing's certain, for me, though: Even if RJ never intended it, I think Mierin has had an even rougher road to walk than Rand has. It's too bad that we're never likely to get the full exploration of her psyche and motivations that the Light-siders get.

 

I'm really disappointed that she's been effectively absent from the series since TFoH and that her incarnation as Cyndane has been thus far almost a total waste, and I'm disappointed that we're going to have to wait another year-and-a-half, till AMoL, to finally learn what happens to her. The series lost a lot of gas beginning in LoC, and her disappearance is a big part of that. I hope she lives through the end of the series in a positive way. If not, I hope she at least gets a more meaningful death than most of the Forsaken have gotten.

Now how to pick this apart ? Let's start with the intentions ; her intentions were bad from the beginning, she was never a great person ,she became so obsessed with LT that she went ahead and swore oaths to the DO just to get more power, something she lacked since she broke up with LT.She also kinda tortured and killed people in their dreams.Apart from being a highly placed forsaken with all that implies.

 

In another story , by another author, maybe she would actually have those motivations you claim she has.Unfortunately , she hasn't in this one.

 

 

On topic now, the reason she is well liked is because 1)she's hot 2)she actually seems to have more backstory than the rest of the Forsaken 3) her interactions with Rand are interesting and so is her character in general.

 

All in all she is one of the most interesting characters in the series so it's not surprising she's popular.

 

That does not mean she's good or simply misguided however, she's powerhungry to the bone.

[SuperFade]

I personally think it's sad that Robert Jordan stated point blank that Lanfear was pure evil and never loved Lews Therin and that he never loved her. It would have made her a far more ambiguous and interesting character.

[Guest Emu on the Loose]

Now how to pick this apart ? Let's start with the intentions ; her intentions were bad from the beginning, she was never a great person ,she became so obsessed with LT that she went ahead and swore oaths to the DO just to get more power, something she lacked since she broke up with LT.She also kinda tortured and killed people in their dreams.Apart from being a highly placed forsaken with all that implies.

A jejune interpretation, but a valid one. There's room for more than one way to read a story, did you know?

[sora114]

Now how to pick this apart ? Let's start with the intentions ; her intentions were bad from the beginning, she was never a great person ,she became so obsessed with LT that she went ahead and swore oaths to the DO just to get more power, something she lacked since she broke up with LT.She also kinda tortured and killed people in their dreams.Apart from being a highly placed forsaken with all that implies.

A jejune interpretation, but a valid one. There's room for more than one way to read a story, did you know?

 

Emu had a really convincing argument regarding lanfear

http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/57976-why-rand-never-joined-with-lanfear/page__st__40

[Zentari]

A jejune interpretation, but a valid one. There's room for more than one way to read a story, did you know?

Would have been if the author hadn't said so.You might interpret it that way but it's clearly not.

[True Source Creator]

I personally think it's sad that Robert Jordan stated point blank that Lanfear was pure evil and never loved Lews Therin and that he never loved her. It would have made her a far more ambiguous and interesting character.

I agree. I know she's evil, that's obvious, but in her interactions with Rand, she felt human, playing the role of the seductress she is. I would much rather she be a grey character, with light and shadow, than just a black character through-and-through.

[Guest Emu on the Loose]

There's nothing "clear" about it, Zentari. One of the first rules of critical analysis is that the author's intentions must be considered separately from the work itself. I'm well aware that Lanfear makes an easy one-dimensional villain; a lot of the stuff in WoT is one-dimensional. Anyone who wants to read her that way has plenty of ground to stand on. But if you really look at the guts of her character, she's one of the more complex of the cast--certainly among the antagonists--and my interpretation of her is valid because it fits with the text itself. I think folks need to get over themselves if they're having such a hard time accepting that others will read the same books and take different opinions.

[randsc]

Yeah, that whole flaying-alive-of-people-unfortunate-enough-to-have-to-give-her-bad-news? Completely understandable. Almost noble, really.

 

Christ.

[Puny]

For me there is no doubt that she loved LTT...BUT she loved the power and the social status that he could give her more. Plus that she is jealous to the extreme and doesn´t want anyone to have him I do find fascinating. She has done some really evil things but her take on the DO is interesting.

 

Being evil, flaying people, murdering children and all that... she can still be redeemed. No one has walked in the Shadow for so long .. that they won´t get bubbly to see some sunshine.

Being Moridin´s pet seems to be kinda... filled with horror and pain so maybe she does indeed find the Light. Would be nice tbh... A bad guy turned good. Now if we could also get a good guy turned evil )=)

[Guest PiotrekS]

People ( men) like to THINK that lanfear would repent because she is Hawt if she was described as ugly no one would care if she repented lol.I dont think we will see any of the forsaken repent the reasons they went to the DL and the things they have done in his service havent changed with time just grown sharper. IMO our Big darkfriend repent was Ingtar doubt we see anymore but i guess we will have to rafo :P

 

I'm so guilty of that - I can't really internalize that she's utterly evil because she's so beautiful...Is this immature or what?

 

I have always enjoyed Lanfear's character and it's a shame that RJ tried so hard to show that every appearance of something other than one-dimensional evileness from her was only an illusion. Her love for LTT was really love for power, her decision to join the DO wasn't really the matter of her despair after breaking up with LTT - no, she'd been "ripe" for the Shadow long before that. When she says that she does not hurt without cause, we're shown poor Kadere flayed alive etc.

 

I think the books would be more interesting if RJ decided to actually explore the potential dimensions of her character rather than so unequivocally flatten her into a one-dimensional, crazy villain.

 

Whatever you say about Lanfear, she is at least able to think about opposing the DO, even if for crazy, delusional and egoistic reasons. All other Forsaken are oddly faithful - to be one of them and harbor even a thought about defeating the DO requires courage and independence. Maybe crazy courage, but still better than this pathetic, sheepish attitude of other Forsaken apart from Moridin.

[csarmi]

Hold on tight

You know she's a little bit dangerous

She's got what it takes to make ends meet

The eyes of a lower that hits like hit

You know she's a little bit dangerous...

 

Now joke aside, I thinnk Lanfear ucks.

[Sharaman]

She's well up there on the dominatrix scale as well as being the best-evah female channeler and smoking.

Could she become a kind and caring dominatrix?

I don't think so.

Can she have a great redemption-in-dying scene? Perhaps.

She could also have a nasty "Muhahaha, I've trapped you Lews Therin" scene.

Interesting certainly but --

[Zentari]

There's nothing "clear" about it, Zentari. One of the first rules of critical analysis is that the author's intentions must be considered separately from the work itself. I'm well aware that Lanfear makes an easy one-dimensional villain; a lot of the stuff in WoT is one-dimensional. Anyone who wants to read her that way has plenty of ground to stand on. But if you really look at the guts of her character, she's one of the more complex of the cast--certainly among the antagonists--and my interpretation of her is valid because it fits with the text itself. I think folks need to get over themselves if they're having such a hard time accepting that others will read the same books and take different opinions.

Yes there is : the author's statement.No matter what you say about her motivations or reasons the author has stated them outright so you have no ground to stand on.

[Guest Emu on the Loose]

That's also called letting other people tell you what to think.