favourite character? most respected character? the character that made you laugh?

[rob al'thor]

i am currently re-reading the series as i absolutely love it. This time im focusing hard on the characters individually, in such a big series with a lot going on you can miss some things. i would like everyones opinions on the characters

[Ryrin]

My favorite's are Siuan Sanche, Moiraine and Gareth.

 

I like how both Siuan and Moiraine placed self interest last.  I found Siuan endearing at times, how she never hid her humble background and was able to find a new purpose in life after she was stilled.  Moiriane, also, did not hide her royal background, was not haughty, but did not hesitate to use it if it would further her purpose.

 

Gareth, I found to be a gentleman, he exhibited courage and treated everyone well despite their status in life.

 

I would have liked to know more about Myrelle. 

[EmperorAllspice]

I'm a villain man. So I like most of the Forsaken a whole bunch whenever Robert Jordan actually allows them to be competent.

 

I love Galina. Mostly because Villainous Valour kicked in hard for me when she still managed to get an almost successful scheme going despite being rendered a humiliated magically bound slave.

[NeverTame]

I have always loved Mazrim Taim. It took me years to get over that certain passage in Winter's Heart, in which his Shadow allegiance is first made obvious, but I have since come to terms with that and I love him more than ever.

 

Other favourites include, in no particular order;

 

Tam al'Thor - He's such a solid, reliable person, and I can't decide if I'd rather marry him or have him for a father. x)

 

Davram Bashere - I love the everliving Light out of his relationship with Rand. He respects and ultimately obeys Rand's commands, but he's not in awe or afraid of the Dragon Reborn, he doesn't hesitate to tell him what he actually thinks and he's just precisely the kind of person Rand needed to have around. And his first encounter with Rand was epic; "Hi, are you the Dragon Reborn? Cool, I brought booze."

 

Rodel Ituralde - The one Great Captain we've actually seen doing great things on the field. The campaign against the Seanchan... And Maradon. Maradon killed me.

 

Damer Flinn & Corele Hovian - I love these two, especially together but also both in their own right.

 

Sarene Nemdahl - Aes Sedai of the White Ajah who secretly writes poetry about her Warder and "diplomatically" spanked the Sea Folk Sailmistress? Yes, please. :D

[EmperorAllspice]

I have always loved Mazrim Taim. It took me years to get over that certain passage in Winter's Heart, in which his Shadow allegiance is first made obvious, but I have since come to terms with that and I love him more than ever.

 

I still don't understand how merely being on team evil can make it harder for someone to like a character. I just don't get it.

[NeverTame]

 

I have always loved Mazrim Taim. It took me years to get over that certain passage in Winter's Heart, in which his Shadow allegiance is first made obvious, but I have since come to terms with that and I love him more than ever.

 

I still don't understand how merely being on team evil can make it harder for someone to like a character. I just don't get it.

 

It doesn't necessarily. Not in the case of, say, Asmodean or Elan (whom I forgot to mention, to my profound embarrassment; Elan is another long-time love of mine). But in the case of a character that I read as a morally ambiguous grey character, someone who was a bit of a jerk and had a host of attitude issues but wasn't evil... To have him "turn" evil (or "confirmed" evil, or whatever phrasing you folks prefer) was somewhat jarring.

[rob al'thor]

i agree with many of your opinions:) i find myself loving Flinn, and davram bashere, he is a man of loyalty and trust, he is howevere not blinded by his loyalties. Galad also does what is right and i find i respect him immensely.:) Logain also made an impression one me, especially when we see how much of a figurehead he is at the black tower.He doesnt fight for the Dragon Reborn he just fights for the men loyal to him, i really started to admire him in the last book when he gives up his own inhibitions to help others:) 

[Plato]

Since tGH I found Egwene's storyline to always be interesting.  From Falme to the Waste to the Rebel Camp to Amyrlin, it was fun to read.

[thom_merrilin]

Favourite character is a toss up between Mat and Thom. Both showed capabilities and strength when needed. Plus Mat made me laugh. For respect, it has to be Tam, he saved Rand as a baby and treated him as his own flesh and blood. There is much that can be said about Tam and what he did.

[rob al'thor]

Favourite character is a toss up between Mat and Thom. Both showed capabilities and strength when needed. Plus Mat made me laugh. For respect, it has to be Tam, he saved Rand as a baby and treated him as his own flesh and blood. There is much that can be said about Tam and what he did.

i agrre, i always found when the book centered on matt it was interesting and funny, thom is also one of my favourites he has suprising capabilities and skils

[Rhienne]

My favourite character would probably be Nynaeve.  I love the way that she is written - one moment you are frustrated with her, the next you are laughing at her, and after that you are admiring her courage/loyalty/sense of justice.  Close second. would be Rand; not because he's the hero, but because he just wants to what's right, and the way he battles to come to terms with his sad fate.  Of the less major characters, I really like Tallanvor, Bashere, Gaul, Hopper, Galad, and Dyelin.

 

The characters I have most respect for would be Lan, Moiraine, and Siuan.  All three of them put aside their own desires to pursue their duty.  I also have a lot of respect for Morgase, who is perhaps dragged through the mud more relentlessly than any other character but at the end is still able to have enough faith in herself to facilitate the rescue in Malden).

 

The characters which make me laugh most are Mat and Birgitte, with Aiel humour and Nynaeve a little behind.

[elric]

favorites:

 

Nynaeve -> one of the character of grow the most in the story

Perrin -> i love his mixture of humility /responsebility and total BAD -ASSery :))

Min -> one of the very few young female char who aint a bully/idiot/presempteous bitch  (Nyn started as such but she grown out of it :)   )

Thom -> gleeman job is to get likd by people :)

 

respected:

 

Tam

Lan

Bridgit

the wise ones , all the wise one presented to us (except the Shaido) was worthy of respect

Siuan and Morrain

Rodel Ituralde

Verin

Theodrin

Paulin -> nasty woman but she got guts and morality

 

make me loughed

 

MAT !!! (his latter to Eilean is pure comic gold "your royal pain in my ass" )

Valen Loca -> bit pissed he never met Lan :)

[Lavaliar]

So far, Book 4:

 

Moiraine

Aviendah

Min

Padan Fain

Lan

Loial

Rand/Mat

 

I'm kind of enjoying the Aes Sedai parts more than the "hero's journey" parts, at this point.

[Bannakaffalatta]

1) Lan - Calm, cool, collected and the consummate bad-A$$. The only times he is truly out of countenance is when dealing with the woman he loves(who annoys the piss out of me the ENTIRE series)

2) Perrin - I love wolves, 'nuff said. And he has Faile, she makes up for anything he does wrong.

3) Tam - Solid and reliable with a heart of gold.

4) Gaul - Sticks with Perrin no matter what happened. And his part in AMOL was epic, if small.

5) Cadsuane - She is just so no nonsense, "Do it my way, or get away from me."

 

All of the Aiel get an honorable mention, they are honestly my favorite group of people as a whole throughout the series. (I don't count the Shaido as Aiel, as they abandoned ji'e'toh)

[M'Hael93]

Probably my most respected character throughout the entire series was Perrin. Not only does he grow, I feel the most from the first book through the last, but he in my opinion has the hardest battle to face. Many of you will probably say that Rand does, considering that he has to save the world and all, but I think that while he has a very tough inner struggle, Perrin's is greater and for the following reasons. 

1. He has to figure out his sense of self: The Wolf within Perrin not only makes him stronger but it is his greatest weakness. Until he can figure out that he must the wolf and Perrin at the same time he is actually rather ineffective.

2. He never wanted to command and until he figures out number 1 he can't do that effectively

3. His battles are fought essentially with much less at his command than Rand so he can't just blast through things with no thought to what happens

 

Just my thoughts, but overall, I feel like Perrin wins this one hands down. 

 

[Sabio]

I have always loved Mazrim Taim. It took me years to get over that certain passage in Winter's Heart, in which his Shadow allegiance is first made obvious, but I have since come to terms with that and I love him more than ever.

 

Other favourites include, in no particular order;

 

Tam al'Thor - He's such a solid, reliable person, and I can't decide if I'd rather marry him or have him for a father. x)

 

Davram Bashere - I love the everliving Light out of his relationship with Rand. He respects and ultimately obeys Rand's commands, but he's not in awe or afraid of the Dragon Reborn, he doesn't hesitate to tell him what he actually thinks and he's just precisely the kind of person Rand needed to have around. And his first encounter with Rand was epic; "Hi, are you the Dragon Reborn? Cool, I brought booze."

 

Rodel Ituralde - The one Great Captain we've actually seen doing great things on the field. The campaign against the Seanchan... And Maradon. Maradon killed me.

 

Damer Flinn & Corele Hovian - I love these two, especially together but also both in their own right.

 

Sarene Nemdahl - Aes Sedai of the White Ajah who secretly writes poetry about her Warder and "diplomatically" spanked the Sea Folk Sailmistress? Yes, please. :D

 

 

I never liked  Mazrim Taim simply because like many toons in the books he was never really in enough as I would of liked, and even with the super magic mace at the end he still seemed whimpy. 

 

 

Perin lost all my respect when he became the cry baby I would sacrifice the world to get Faile back Perrin.  I don't respect many of the females in the book simply because most suffer from the I was born to rule, men are dumb, everyone should obey me syndrome.  I have the most respect for Min, because of everyone who tried to use her she finally got to Rand and contributed.  She did things that hurt Rand like making him meet Elyane, because she knew it was best for him.

[Leopoled Boothe]

My favorite character is and has always been Perrin.  I know this is not a popular choice but he was the one that I most identified with when I began reading the series.  I could relate to the way he longed for the simple life and I liked that he returned to his home town when they needed help.  I also loved the way that he always had Rand's back.  Even when he went astray and annoyed the piss out of everyone (myself included) I never gave up on him.

 

My other favorite characters are Nyneave and Thom.  I always admired the way Nyn would stop and nothing to protect the people she cared about even if she could be a bit overbearing in doing so.  Thom was just a cool cat with a lot of style and an interesting back story.  I like the way he tended to take the young ones under his wing.

 

The one's that make me laugh are Mat and Talmanes.  Loved them both individually and for there interactions with one another.  I wasn't a fan of Mat early in the series but starting with TDR he quickly became one of my favorites.  Suian also made me laugh out loud every time she said "Fish guts!"

 

Most respected: Moiraine and Suian because they took it upon themselves to make sure TDR was prepared for the last battle.  Logain because he overcame so much adversity and rose to a position of honor.  Lan because, well just everything about Lan demanded respect.  Daveram for basically acting as life coach to Rand.  He was a loyal follower of TDR but at the same time was not afraid to speak his mind.  Tam because he is solid, reliable and wise. Much like Lan everything about him just demands respect.  Verin because she sacrificed everything for the cause of the light and found away to use her oath to the Shadow against them.

[Mr Ares]

Probably my most respected character throughout the entire series was Perrin. Not only does he grow, I feel the most from the first book through the last, but he in my opinion has the hardest battle to face. Many of you will probably say that Rand does, considering that he has to save the world and all, but I think that while he has a very tough inner struggle, Perrin's is greater and for the following reasons. 

1. He has to figure out his sense of self: The Wolf within Perrin not only makes him stronger but it is his greatest weakness. Until he can figure out that he must the wolf and Perrin at the same time he is actually rather ineffective.

So does Rand, having his struggle with LTT.

2. He never wanted to command and until he figures out number 1 he can't do that effectively

So, he's the same as Rand in that respect.

3. His battles are fought essentially with much less at his command than Rand so he can't just blast through things with no thought to what happens

 

Just my thoughts, but overall, I feel like Perrin wins this one hands down.

Rand may have more resources, but he has never been in a position to just blast things with no thought to what happens, and his struggles are correspondingly larger, the risks if he fails greater.

[Crafty86]

I like heaps of the characters but i do have a few who really stood out to me. Also, i wondered what kind of friend they would be if they were real?

 

Mat:- Of course he stands out, he's one of the main characters. But when i first read EoTw i actually pictured Mat as an annoying little S%*t

Im not sure when i changed my mind exactly. But i love the back and forths that happen between him and some of the other characters. Especially the more prudish ones. which will explain the next favourite on my list.

Mat would be the type of friend who assures you that you can do another beer bong, and a few more shots. Also those girls over there have their eyes on us........probably

 

Talmanes:- This guy doesnt come up too often as far as i know, but i loved him. Firstly (and probably mostly) the banter between himself and Mat. Polar opposites make for hilarious converstations. Reading how they think of one another in each POV also made me crack up. His sense of humour was very subtle but very funny. especially when he was taking jabs at Mat, to Mats great confusion.

Talmanes would be the friend who was watching you and Mat all night, occassionally objecting to your behaviour but never really doing anything about it, beaming with joy on the inside at the thought that you will probably spend the next morning hugging the toilet bowl.

 

Androl Genhald:- He's a late comer so i cant write too much in fear of adding in spoilers. But those who are familiar would probably understand why. He's a great bloke, a mentor to his peers despite his downfalls. But he makes the most of it and turns out to be a badass of epic proportion (in my opinion anyway). A perfect case of using brain over braun.

Androl would be the guy who bails you and Mat out of lock up the next morning, and makes your crippling hangover seem fantastic compared to the pain of seeing his "im not angry, im just disapointed" look.

 

Anyways thats all ive got. hope you dont mind the end parts i made up. I was just trying to think of who i liked best and why, and it sort of popped into my head. lol

[Rachel_VIP.]

Favorites:

 

 

Men - Rand, Matt, Perrin and Lan :)

 

 

Women - Egwene and Nynaeve. I don't care what haters say. They have always been favorites of mine and I love them. :)

 

 

Most respected - all of the above and also:

 

Moiraine, Siuan and Gareth Bryne for the reasons Ryrin has pointed out. I fully agree with you, Ryrin. And let's not forget that if it wasn't for Moiraine, Rand would never know who he truly is, he would never leave Two Rivers and would never be able to save the world. She is the woman with whom everything began. :)  She discovered the future Amyrilin and Nynaeve, who also had a major role in winning the last battle as Moiraine herself. :)

 

Tom Merilin - He is always so selfless, he tries very hard not to care but he never succeeds and he always ends up saving one or another of our protagonists. :) Not only with his actions but with his advises and experience. I think he and Moiraine are actually quite alike. :)

 

Darvam Bashere, Gaul, Galad, Birgitte, Elayne, Aviendha, Min and many others.

 

Characters who make me laugh: Matt, Nynaeve. Birgitte and Elayne. :)  Especially Mat and Nyn. :)

 

 

[Sabio]

Nynaeve, I came to respect more and more as the series went on.  But Egwene from the start was just an annoying I know better than you type, I never liked her and the attempt to write her as all powerful jut made me hate her more.

[PhantomSoul]

I think my favorite character was Perrin. He grew from kind of like the outcast kid in the group into the Lord of the Two Rivers, if not king of resurrected Manetheren, depending on what Faile might have helped him get from Elayne, though I suppose we'll never know. I also liked Androl, who despite being introduced as a physical weakling, was able to develop strength from alternate unexpected resources and defeat Taim to save the Black Tower. I really wish there was more on him...

 

The most respected character has got to be Tam. A real, every-day, down-home hero who continues to remind us throughout the series that its author is about as American as it gets, Tam really is about as close to the perfect father that just about anyone would want. Also, Gaul, and the Aiel as a whole. Gaul stands out in particular because of how he bonded with Perrin and overwhelming loyalty that most of us couldn't even dream of, but the Aiel in general are very respectable. Our world could definitely use a little ji'e'toh.

 

The funniest character has got to be Mat. His soldier's potty mouth, alone, had me howling many times, not to mention all the other rather unconventional ways he had to go about just about anything. Also, Nynaeve for her temper and Siuan for her unabashed grittiness, despite being the Amyrlin Seat, and even after. Who here hasn't at least chucked at all the passages describing Siuan trying to ride a horse? I think RJ must have amused even himself with that one... 

[proctermma]

Lan and Gaul probably for the men!  Thom too! Then Perrin & Mat, then Rand, too many once I get thinking about it!

 

Women................Birgitte of course, then probably all the wise ones,  and last - Elayne!

[James al'Dylan]

When I first started reading the series I think Perrin and Egwene were my favourites. I know she’s not everyone’s cup of tea but Egwene’s probably the character that I think has the most inspiring moments – for me anyway. I also like Elayne and Nynaeve when they’re together, but otherwise I find them individually infuriating. By the end of the series, like a lot of people I really enjoyed Mat’s POV’s and after initially disliking him (up until tDR) he finished very strongly.

 

They didn’t have much in the way of POV sections but Min and Moiraine were also two of my favourites, and right from her first appearance I thought Tuon was awesome.

 

I like all the Asha’man for the forces of light: Logain, Flinn, Narishma, Neald & Grady and Androl. I know Androl was very much a BS addition but I thought he was great.

 

I really wanted to get into the Forsaken characters more, but the male ones are so stupid and one dimensional – essentially different variations on the same ‘jealous of Lews Therin’ guy. Aginor and Asmodean were missed opportunities. My favourite by a long way is Graendal.

 

Finally, I never liked Lan and still don’t. Except in tGH he’s a cardboard cut-out character. But my wild-card favourite is Verin. She’s the ultimate Aes Sedai - finding a way even around the Dark One’s oath!

[damandred]

Tam al'thor i know we dont see much of him but the whole warrior in the shadows thing is great. Reminds of a western.

Nynaeve because no matter how irratating she gets shes never selfish.

But the winner is mat, pre tGS mat, hes a bit of a moaner in 4 and 5 ( though like the bit when couldins head is laughing at him) but the amount of lol moments in ebou dar with tylin and on the road with tuon really made those books and made mat mine and many others favorite, there is some genuine comedy there. Its a shame BS had to ruin him, though to be fair i dont think anyone could of written him as well as RJ.