I read the book relatively quickly... one of those situations where I almost couldn't turn the pages fast enough, and upon finishing it I was most disappointed with the way that they just killed off Padan Fain off-screen somewhere...

...that is, until I was talking to a friend, went back, and realized I had accidentally turned past the page where he and Mat had their little exchange.  /facepalm

All in all not a perfect book, but I'm grateful for what we have.  Thanks to Brandon Sanderson, Team Jordan, and Tor for doing their best (I know some would disagree, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that they did do the best they could) to bring us the conclusion to the Wheel of Time.  I don't know that it was the ending I wanted for a lot of the character's (although I did like Rand's ending), but it was an ending.

Egwene... she was one of the Aes Sedai, wasn't she?

All in all, Egwene was a character that annoyed me throughout most of the series.  Don't get me wrong, I could understand where she was coming from, and thought she was well-written, and I enjoyed parts of her overall story arc... I think what always irked me is that she often acted like a teenager throughout the series (which is appropriate, because she was), very convinced of her role and her power, discussing how the Dragon needs her guidance, how the Aes Sedai need her guidance and leadership... but unlike others in the story who acted similar, she never got called to task for this line of thinking.  Whereas other characters came face to face with their own limitations and were forced to say "Huh, maybe I don't have things as together as I thought," Egwene was ultimately a character that had things fall in place for her.  This doesn't mean it was easy (being made damane, being beaten in the White Tower, etc), but even in those negative situations, she found a way to turn them positive, without ever having to really learn humility.

Now, don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that it's a character flaw.  That lack of humility and almost juvenile sense of control is a part of her character, and is a part of real life - but that doesn't mean that I enjoyed her character because of it.  Ultimately life worked out the way she planned that it would - even, to some extent, her death fighting Taim - counteracting the balefire and more or less becoming the "Flame of Tar Valon."  A far more painful experience for her would have been a long depression following Gawyn's death, the pain of rebuilding a broken White Tower, etc.  Again, I don't fault her for her personality or the fact that things worked out for her to pretty much always be right, but it made her less appealing to me... maybe she reminds me too much of myself. 

Still, I think her death was appropriate, and I think, in many ways, that it is exactly what she would've chosen for herself.  That gets back to the juvenile sense I was talking about - better to die in a blaze of glory and live in legend forever than to face the monotony and heartache of rebuilding a world that had been shattered.  I think she remained, in many ways, the youngest of the Two Rivers folk... in her motivations if not in her actions.  Gawyn was much the same way.  They want a Romeo and Juliot ending, not a King Lear one.  The fire and passion of youth.

Quick random question I think I may have missed when I was reading:

When an Aes Sedai is collared, what happens to their Warders?  I don't really remember an Aes Sedai with Warders having been collared yet except Joline, but that was only for about a minute.  Is there any indication thus far what happens to the Warder long-term if their Aes Sedai is leashed?

Well, there is fairly strong evidence that Mat is Aemon reborn, the last king of Manatheren.  After all, he began shouting Aemon's battlecry even before they went to Shadar Logoth, and had a dream of leading the King's personal bodyguard into battle against the Trollocs.  So I think he's definitely reborn... I'm just not sure if Aemon was super lucky or not... although his battlecry was "It is time to toss the dice" so it's certainly possible.

Is there any indication in legend that one of the HotH is spectacularly lucky? We don't know a lot about those. I'm thinking Mat may be one of them reborn (though one we didn't see at Falme).

 

there are many times forsaken think/speak of lews therin as having a lot of luck, or making a lot of luck. to me after awhile I just thought that mat was that luck come back, for rand, meaning of course perrin has a gap to fill but can't recall anything the forsaken may have thought/said in regards to him

In Knife of Dreams, Birgitte does mention that they'll need Mat Cauthon's luck for this plan to succeed.  When Elayne asks her what she means, she senses that Birgitte is amused, and asks Elayne if she's ever seen Mat play dice.  Elayne says, of course, that she doesn't frequent places where there is a lot of dicing, and Birgitte comments that Mat Cauthon is the luckiest man she's ever seen.  Elayne dismisses Mat from her mind, but at the end comments that if Mat is the luckiest man Birgitte has ever met, he must be lucky indeed.

Now, I know that it's not the best evidence, but I sort of get the feeling from the way that exchange is worded that when Birgitte says that Mat is the luckiest man she has ever met - she means EVER, speaking as a Hero of the Horn.  But, like I said, that's not the best evidence.

I always understood the dice in his head as being part of Egwene's (I think) dream, where she see Mat dicing with the Dark One.  Usually, the dice began shaking somewhere prior to a major event in Mat's life - and then when the important event happens, it stops, for the dice have been cast.  I always took it that every time he hears those dice rolling, it is related to that vision of Egwene's.  Mat testing his luck against the Dark One's Own Luck, to see who comes up the victor (albeit unconciously on Mat's part).  Sort of like good fortune vs. bad.  The thing I'm not sure about, though, is whether it's really luck, or if the "outcome" of the die cast is decided by the actions Mat takes at the time.

I still could've sworn I saw something, somewhere that gave me the impression that the Eelfinn fed off your power, especially if you were a channeler, and that it was dangerous to be there too long... same reason I always thought Moiraine wouldn't be able to channel anymore when she comes out... and I don't remember what made me think that.  I just know that I remember thinking it like it was fairly obvious... hmm...

Hmm... I think I took it in part from this:

"Sensations," Moiraine replied with a grimace.  "sensations, emotions, experiences.  They rummage through them; you can feel them doing it, making your skin crawl.  Perhaps they feed on them in some manner.  The Aes Sedai who studied this ter'angreal when it was in Mayene wrote of a strong desire to bathe afterwards.  I certainly intend to."

~The Shadow Rising, Chapter 15 - Into the Doorway

Now, clearly that doesn't mention feeding off people's power, so maybe I either extrapolated that or it references it somewhere else later, but I do seem to recall thinking that would be the case as well.  For some reason I always thought it was made apparent to the readers that Moiraine would not be able to channel when she comes out... but maybe I've been making that up.

Although, it does make you wonder, if they DO feed off sensations, etc. (Moiraine is only speculating), whether or not Moiraine will remember any of her rescuers when they meet her in the Tower of Ghenjei.

I still could've sworn I saw something, somewhere that gave me the impression that the Eelfinn fed off your power, especially if you were a channeler, and that it was dangerous to be there too long... same reason I always thought Moiraine wouldn't be able to channel anymore when she comes out... and I don't remember what made me think that.  I just know that I remember thinking it like it was fairly obvious... hmm...

I don't know if this has been asked but does it ever say that Cyndane/Lanfear actualy died in finnland. I always thought that she had gone once before and got her beauty and power, I remember from TGH Min's warning to Perrin about running away from the most beautiful women he's ever seen and Lolial's comment on her beauty which made it seem to me that it was unnatural and I think in WH Cyndane mentions something about power.

 

I always thought that they returned her to her original form and power

 

Just to clarify is it ever mentionned that she actualy dies?

That's actually a pretty interesting idea... you should look and see if they ever describe what Mierin looked like.  Although if it was a wish of some kind that gave her more power than she has now, that may be why she was so certain that she was as powerful in sai'dar as it was possible for a woman to be... and she was a researcher, so who knows what she had uncovered... still, something like that might feel like it came out of nowhere, since I don't know she's ever talked about having met the Eelfinn before.