Interested in how the Prophecy could possibly be considered an unreliable narrator especially considering how they all seem to come true. If you are giving the prophecies the definition of a narrator, which i am not sure you can, they seem to be incredibly reliable. People forgetting knowledge over millennia also does not meet the definition of the unreliable narrator.

I don't think that you can really describe this as an unreliable narrator. Firstly the information in it is correct. Secondly even if you are examining it in relation to the act of not being able to remember things long in the past that in itself does not make it false. These openings are purely to establish the cyclical nature of the world and the vast scale of the time that they represent. I do not believe even if this was to be true that it makes unreliable narrator the main theme or even a core theme of the series.

I tend to think of it as just fantasy, however I believe that you could also trace a progression throughout the series with it being far more applicable to place the first few books into a YA category as opposed to the later books. I may be biased however as I read the first book when I was 12 I think.

I feel this is a disingenuous argument. The vast majority of beatles tribute bands would be an exact copy of the original works with inferior vocals and acoustics and the relative abilities of the bands could be debated. If you were to then start changing the words to the songs then you get into a different set of arguments. If you changed the words in Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds to include unambiguous references to Heroin and Cocaine then you can start to have conversations like we have had on these boards in regards to changing the meanings behind the songs. The difference between these is stark the first is simply an opinion on the ability of the artist to copy the original the second is a discussion on significant changes to the original work, you can approve or find fault with this per the evidence and your feelings. So saying people here are the equivalent of screaming you are not the real beatles is a poor framework for the argument simply because they are not as good.

Mat had caught a badger when he meets Rand in the village that he was going to release on the green to scare the girls decorating the Bel Tine pole.

You saying something is a red herring does not make it true. You can continue to ignore the facts that Elayne was the most gifted Aes Sedai with Ter'Angreal making her a valuable component to a mission to locate and possibly use one. Elayne was one of only two people to have seen the location of the bowl. Nynaeves eyes were enough? It's a bloody city not a one tavern backwater hamlet! Just imagine trying to search any city by yourself on foot with barely any landmarks to work from. Doubling the ability to search is a major advantage. Elayne could have gone to Camelyn at any point prior to Egwenes arrival but was not being allowed to by the Rebel Tower. Could have Travelled there after Egwenes arrival but was still being prevented by the Tower and herself considered locating the bowl to be more important. So in fact all this conversation about her going to Andor at this point is actually irrelevant. On a final note I am not going to get into a back and forth with insults, you have started your last two posts with insults about my comprehension, I responded to the previous one which I am sorry for, please cease this.

I disliked Nynaeve the most out of the group and it mostly falls back to her using a switch or stick to hit people she argued with and it flows through to Cadsuane in the same way of her use of physical punishments simply for arguing with her. I very much enjoyed Tam standing up to Cadsuane after his meeting with Rand.

No it is you who is not reading so good. You can argue the benefits of either approach but claiming things are red herrings is just silly. Elayne herself actually says that finding the bowl is more important than claiming the throne. Facts Without a doubt the most gifted person with Ter'Angreal that the Aes Sedai had was Elayne. She had already established that it was a device for controlling the weather. Only 2 people on the planet had seen the location of the Ter'Angreal and Elayne was one of them making her uniquely helpful in finding its location, a 2nd hand description is far less useful than her firsthand sighting. The fact that this ended up not being a factor is irrelevant. The band is actually entirely irrelevant to Elayne going to Andor as she could have travelled there at any point via gateway or even gone with the delegation sent by the rebels before they got to travel. I also believe that the rebel hall was against letting Elayne out of their control and go to Rand who was based in Camelyn at this point. The fact that she was unable to use the bowl is entirely irrelevant as the qualifying factor is who had the best chance among the Aes Sedai and again that is unarguably Elayne.

Did we ever learn the reason for the original Mat leaving?

No I say it because having the person with the greatest talent with Ter'Angreal known to the Aes Sedai handling a Ter'Angreal that is crucial to averting an apocalypse level event is a valid reason for her to go. The other support she could have sent would not have had the first hand advantage of having seen the location and thus would have been far less useful. I notice you have failed to address any of the concerns I stated about the band actually being of assistance to Elayne in retaking the throne because you could not explain it. You have also failed to address the fact that the endless summer was the greater threat out of the 2.

I feel having the most skilled Ter'angreal user known to the Aes Sedai in place to deal with a Ter'Angreal that was vital to the survival of the world is fairly self-explanatory. Having only 1 person to search an entire city is a daunting prospect having 2 makes it half that.

Having the most talented person with Ter'angreal present when searching for that item is a valid reason. Which was more important ending the endless summer that was crushing the world or gaining control of 2 kingdoms? I am falling on the side of ending the summer. Could Elayne have used the Band to reclaim Andor. Problematic considering Mats association with Rand and I am not sure the Bands size would have been sufficient to the job at the time. From the way it seemed using outside forces would have massively turned needed houses against Elaynes bid especially one so strongly attached to Rand. You have to remember as well that Elayne was only one of two people who had seen the location and it was not like they had a postal address to use, hell they even debated between the 2 of them how many stories the building had. Could it have been done differently, yes, but to claim it as the insane mistake you have is going too far.

They met Sea Folk in the shadow rising, however it was a different crew than they met in Altara and the Wavemistress if I remember was furious and demanded to know who had told them of the weaving of the winds. The point I was trying to make is that the bargain was only made after they arrived to search for the bowl so using it as a reason for Elayne to go there is not valid. I fully agree that the bargain later helped and played a role in Elaynes rise.

In fairness I believe the bowl deal only occurred after they had already arrived, so it is moot by this point.

I also disagree. You could rewrite that section but it would require removing the Gholam and the hallway battle with Matt protecting Elayne is one of my absolute favourites in the entire series, I almost always read that section a few times on my rereads. Elayne also had legitimate reasons for going to find the bowl. Elayne was the expert on Ter'angreal and only she and Nynaeve had actually seen the room and location of the bowl. While Elayne claiming the thrones would have been important does it outweigh stopping the endless summer that was crushing the world. Elayne could also not use the Band to reclaim the Andoran throne. It would have been the equivalent of using the Aiel in the minds of many.

It would have been the Tower doing it a 2nd time no one in the Rebels had done it before.

The rebel Aes sedai and Egwene had not deposed an Amyrlin. The Tower Aes Sedai had.

The rebels had no idea that Eladia was gone so the thought that the tower would be reunited was a certainty is misplaced. If they had known the chances would have been far greater, however the fact that miscommunication could still lead to bloodshed provided good tension. A small rebel force led by a weak unknown wilder would have been relegated to inconsequential by Tower forces and their only real possible role was fulfilled in the rescue of Egwene. Egwene being with the rebels made for a more satisfying conclusion to me than her being inside the tower when that reunification occurred. Also allowed for her to more aptly set up the Rebels having to apologize for their splintering of the Tower. I dont feel the mark was missed in giving Egwene her moment for reuniting the tower, but this is open to interpretation and it is a little while since i have read that section.

The rebels had no idea that Elaidia was gone. Egwene specifically confronted them at the bridges on in they were deposing another Amyrlin and was only then informed that Elaidia had been captured by the Seachan.

It could have been written that way but I am not sure it is better. You lose the drama of the stand off at the bridges when Egwene with extreme reluctance moves her forces into position to take the tower and then holds them back. In no way is the scenario of Egwene being forced into attacking the tower at that moment far fetched. She had defended the tower from the external threat but the time for delaying the reunification was now over and the rebels had their best chance to take the tower with the lowest cost to lives. You miss the pay off of having the rebels being successful. The tower was not in a state after the attack to deal with a Black Ajah purge and Egwenes place was not as established as it was within the Rebel camp. Siuan and co would never have been folded into the defence of the tower and would have been almost useless as they were a small squad of soldiers (2 boats maybe 20 to 30 soldiers and 1 weak channeler) even if they were. Egwenes being a hero was secure with or without her waking in the Tower. You may have liked the immediate pay off but I thought the chapter following the attack was great with the purge of the Black sisters and the tension of the decision to finally move the troops forward.

Could have been worse.

@Ogier Jr. I never thought that Elan balefired LTT from recollection he was not at dragonmount till after the mountain was formed and the description was of a lightning strike. So unless we are going down the unreliable narrator track it is not what happened. On self-balefire it could be similar to healing in that you are simply unable to use it on yourself. In my opinion the actual weave would be nullified at the moment of creation so it would not matter what amount of power was actually used and you would remain alive.

I am aware that the whole thing is conjecture, but I am not sure that the 2 different ways the power emerges are ever linked directly to bloodlines in that way.

I am no fan of the show, your comments which have been solely attempting to get a rise from show supporters with shallow attacks months after the announcement are pathetic. In no way did my response miss the point of the post quoted.

Double.