While this is not specifically about Egwene, it is relevant to the discussions going on in this thread.

Earlier in this thread, I commented on how I felt what Gawyn did in going after Demandred was out of character and didn't make sense. After reading more on this topic, I believe that I've been viewing that entire sequence from the wrong perspective--focusing on Gawyn and his resulting effect on Egwene.

While I do still think it was out of character for him to do what he did, I believe the point of those who went directly after Demandred was more about Lan (and indirectly Rand) and less about Gawyn and Galad. There have been several times in the books where it boasts how good of a swordsman Gawyn was, but there were also several points where it mentions that Galad has always been a little better than Gawyn. So, Brandon sends Gawyn in first. He fails. Then he sends in Galad, who is a little bit better. He doesn't die, but he's defeated pretty severely. He can't send in Rand or Mat (it needed to be a common man to set up for Rand's dialog at the end). So, he sends in Lan who is repeatedly mentioned as harder and more stubborn than stone (and we've had glimpses of his skill in action, as well as how much others respect his ability). Third time is a charm and Lan (someone much more seasoned and hardened than the other two) is the one who stands back up (in case it wasn't obvious before, now we know just how good/determined/honed Lan is). Brandon knew he had to kill off Egwene anyway, and it was probably long ago determined that she would be the source of the "Light" that was their signal to break the seals. So, why not kill off Gawyn rather than just have him wounded like Galad.

The progression of events didn't read smoothly, but I'm willing to bet this is close to the lines of thinking.

Hello all! I started reading the series in high school in 1990 and had been eagerly awaiting the conclusion. I wasn't disappointed with the story (though there are a few parts I've picked apart). It's nice to see the opinions of others and be able to share my thoughts.

While I liked Egwene, I think I agree with the person who suggested she was designed to die. Everything that she had accomplished and all the hardships she had to overcome were necessary for her to become the type of person who not only would make the ultimate sacrifice but doing it knowing that her actions would change the outcome of the battle. And the story went even further to drive this home by making her continue to do what was necessary after immediately losing her warder. No other Aes Sedai would have been able to continue on like that. This was also probably why she didn't end up being ta'veren along with the boys.

Alternatively, I think what Gawyn did was a bit out of character, regardless if it was foreshadowed by him getting the rings or whatnot. So, I was a bit disappointed with that means of taking him out of the picture. If they were going to take him out, it should have been at a point of direct threat to Egwene's life (i.e. intercepting a bolt of balefire).

The death scene itself, though, I liked.