Both of which were disastrous if Perrin didn't. To me, he is Sam  given command, while Mat is Merry given it. Quite cool actually.

Sammael's long range attack makes me feel that that is something only men can do?? I do not remember Hessalam getting that range, I know Demandred did in AMoL, when he kept flinging balefire in the Last Battle. It might be a balance to the bridge thing that Rand thought getting to that Sea Folk ship in Cairhein. The fact that women could make far longer bridges with saidar.

Except Dragonmount is more like Taranaki in New Zealand. There are no mountain ranges close to it. It is just like it came out of the ground, as opposed to the Maori legends which say otherwise. Dragonmount is closer to the Mountains of Mist, but still quite a distance. The Spine of the World-which is the Dragonwall's true name in the books-is further away from Dragonmount.

Mary Poppins the original movie character was gifted by Verity Lambert because Walt Disney was a big fan of Doctor Who, and wanted to do a movie based on him.... Mary Poppins is the Doctor's wife and Susan's Grandmother. 

Of course, Walt went on to do Chitty Chitty Bang Bang using his male character inspired by the Doctor.

Mat's part in the rescue was what allowed them to get her out. Mat's part to the Last Battle made it absolutely certain that the Pattern needed him, Thom and Jain to go in. Mat going in was not a mistake. It had to happen, or the Dark One and Demandred win.    

Which is great. The only other Trinity in anything besides Star Trek is DC's way more famous Trinity. To see a Fantasy variant because the Comic and Sci-Fi ones are awesome is a sign of respect and admiration. To see a fantasy equivalent play out is awesome, too.

Or, more likely she is the Doctor's wife

Then that makes the mirror world a nod to a sci-fi world . Perhaps the grolm are mutations of frogs, caused by use of technology like nuclear weaponry and the power plants melting down?? Maybe a parallel of Orson Scott Card's world between the First and Second Bugger Invasions which was weakened by the previous Trolloc Wars?? It has to be a sci-fi world that was on the brink of destruction. The only one that fits to me is the world where Ender comes from.

The great battle done quote is Nicola Foretelling of Moridin holding Callandor. She is saying the Last Battle is won, but the Dark One has still to be dealt with, and Moridin now at that moment has Callandor.

Four Kings is far too important of a moment to cut out though. That has to be in, and Rand suffering the aftereffects of that in the Barn needs to be included as well. That could be done in two or three episodes, but Mat's changes are important to his story and character later. That journey has to be shown.

I started reading the series when I was 13, and never looked back. I consider the characters friends as well. You are not alone in feeling the loss of not seeing where the characters any more in new stories. As for The Wheel Of Time, it brought Epic High Fantasy back from death in the 80's, and turned it into the powerhouse book genre it is today. It is as influential as Watchmen is for comics.

The Wheel would have still used Fain as a counterpoint to the Creator if the DO died, because of the issue of Balance. The Creator does not balance the DO. Rand has that purpose. Who balances Fain with that in mind? Mat is the answer to that question. Fain was just present in the story, because the Wheel took Rand's free will and right to choose into account. He just hung around too long, because Rand had to figure out the right choice in the right circumstances, something the battle with the DO actually showed. The very instant that was showed and he had decided, Mat killed Fain, because Rand had chosen a different course. Fain surviving any longer would have destroyed the Wheel , because the encounter was supposed to happen the way it did. Put Fain in there, what would Moiraine had done if Thom died. He was guarding the entrance to the Pit itself. One way this could have gone down is if for example, Rand cannot grab the DO, Moridin gets free, since Callandor functions as a male Adam requiring two women to control him, both sides of the One Power are tainted, leaving only Mat to stop Fain. If Moridin does not kill Mat first. One REALLY bad outcome. Actually I would say a complete disaster.

Mat was needed because he has bargained with the snakes and foxes twice before, and knew how difficult they could be to agree to anything. Thom and Jain had zero chance of finding Moiraine, because they had never encountered the snakes and foxes before. The game only has the leavetaking, not the actual negotiations that have to happen. As a result their chances of escaping without Mat were below zero.

I think that had Fain gone into the Prison, then Rand is no longer the Dragon, since he cannot deal with Fain. Mat would have taken his place as Champion. Plus, Artur Hawkwing hints that Mat is well known to all the Heroes, but he is not counted amongst them. This is possibly because he is Rand's replacement if Fain had taken the DO's place.

I would have changed The Gathering Storm and focused more on Loial and the Great Stump, and moved Perrin's story from there to the Towers Of Midnight.. We never got a good look at the Ogier and how they communicate with each other when it is only their people. We saw how the Aiel behave when it is themselves. I would have liked the Ogier from their own perspective. The Knife Of Dreams was great with the hint of that community and customs. Such a missed opportunity.

Yes, he can bring the apple trees back into bloom, because the dead apple trees were the Dark One's work. Rand at that point on can do that because it is Rand's taveren nature being used to fight back against the Dark One. The Pattern needs that balance, and as the touch from the Dark One grew, so does Rand's direct localised influence on the land. All he is doing then is restoring what the Dark One is tearing apart.

Or, what if Rand with the pipe is like him becoming the first angel?? It struck me while reading, and something that was bugging me. The idea of balance is critically important to the series. I think the Creator does have a essence that equals the True Power. But the pipe hints to me it can only be accessed by prayer. If it is our world, then that would make sense. Considering how our world handled religions, it fits, even more so if Demandred is the stories equvalent of a fallen angel, as Moridin becomes the stories equivalent of Satan. The Sharan prophecy could be pointing to something that was suppose to happen in the fourth age. The reveal of the Creator's identity?

That is Lanfear's markers though. She manipulates peoples minds by constantly disrupting their dreams and hence their sleep. These almost always triggered riots. That is mostly what she did in the AoL, though Moghedien was far more dangerous in this regard, just as Graendal was more dangerous in the mental battles. What I mean is that Masema's activities in Ghealdan point to Lanfear being behind them. It also happened before the FoH, since there were rumours of the Prophet and what he was doing in the FoH after Rand got to Cairhein. I also always thought that Lanfear had alot to do in TGH, just not sure if that included Masema. Could Verin have been ordered by Lanfear to do something? That does not make sense. The only way is if Lanfear did it in Ghealdan, using Masema's devotion to Rand against him.

It would have started after he arrived in Ghealdan. You are also correct that it was Lanfear herself. Specifically before the events at FoH at the Docks.

Because Aviendha was taught by Wise Ones, whom had Aes Sedai from the Age of Legends to teach the first Wise Ones, and so the knowledge of that weave, and others, was passed down.

I like Logain more. Stopping the Trolloc attack at the Ruins in AMOL gives me tears in my eyes each time I read that and the reaction of everyone he saved. It is beautiful. It really makes me enjoy his arc through the books. A truly heroic journey, that sums up the message of the story. That anyone can be a hero and play a part no matter how big or small in saving the world.

He was Luc. In many ways, it was Luc killing Janduin because he failed to look after his sister. The Shadow had no idea of Rand yet being the Dragon Reborn, and that he was Luc's nephew. He knew to go there because he was probably sent, maybe by Ishamael.

Ishamael is in Rand's body that took all the damage through the course of the series. The funeral that everyone thinks is Rand's, is in truth Ishamael's. It is how he could leave with only a small group knowing about it. It is also stated that anyone channelling the True Power or saidin at Shayol Ghul gets burned out. It is the one thing that stopped Demandred from killing Shaidar Haran in the LoC Prologue.

It is not just Rand that experiences that tingle. All the men that channell experience it. It might be because Saidin uses heat as a base, while women use water or air, both of which have cooling properties. Since these things do not mix, it would make sense that heat sources would react more to the presence of the opposite when it is tapped.

It was the beginning of the Wheel removing a Great Captain. We know that the Last Battle was preceded by four war fronts, so four Great Captain's were needed. Pedron Niall was a wild card and totally unpredictable. Someone that the Wheel could not have involved in that conflict. Further more, his presence would have shattered the Alliance formed to deal with the crisis. He had to go, and it started by the Pattern getting rid of Niall's most trusted and greatest commander. I firmly believe that Geofram would have joined the Alliance like Galad did had he been the one in Niall's position, if he lived through everything everyone else did.