So, my brother & his wife have to pick today of all days to announce they're having a kid. More f@#$ing socialization today than f@#$ing Christmas. And we had to go out for lunch to celebrate and all that. And when discussing names, of course no one takes Rand or Thom seriously (and she specifically wanted four-letter boys names, too).

Anyway, some thoughts at this point:
- I really expected better of Egwene. I don't know why, at this point, but I really did. I figured she would at least have some genuine reasons to be annoyed at him beyond his refusal to include the 18-year-old leader of one of the smallest channeling factions in the world, with absolutely zero experience in worldly affairs, in on his ultimate plans for the Last Battle! What could SHE possibly have to contribute? For all her boasting about her skills, and showing off her strength, she doesn't really know a lot about channeling and next to nothing about any other metaphysical topics outside of dreams. And in spite of everything, Rand was incredibly nice to her, especially considering her behavior towards him, back when she was a nobody apprentice to some Wise Ones with an imaginary Aes Sedai status. Based on that scene, who needed to have their swollen head taken down for their own good?

- I ALSO never expected to be on Gawyn's side in anything, but she's increasingly being a right royal bitch to him. The difference in rank between Rand and Min is vastly greater than that of Amyrlin Seat and royal prince, but you don't see him demanding subservience and fealty and obedience from his girlfriends, despite there actually being some benefit to bringing Min (and her ego) under control. Only Egwene can expect to demand that sort of thing from her love interest without getting a tongue-lashing. Also, there is her arrogance in presuming to lecture Gawyn on proper Warder-Aes Sedai relations, when he has been training in that field far longer than she. Even Tuon is not as demanding and rank-conscious as Egwene so far. The next few weeks will be amazingly enlightening as fionwe1987 & darius sedai and their ilk try to explain how right and proper this is for a relationship.

- Continuity check! I find it REALLY hard to believe that Maria is as involved as B-Sand implies given the sudden illiteracy Mat displays. Yes, his handwriting was bad. That does not mean his intellectual level has regressed to that of Huckleberry Finn! Also, back in LoC, when Rand brought Taim to the future Black Tower, Grady's father was taking care of his farm for him, but now it turns out the Red Ajah got him not long after Grady was born.

An interesting issue would be then what Moiraine's beef is with the Reds who did the EXACT SAME THING to Thom's nephew that seems to have worked for old man Grady, enabling him to survive more than twenty years? Moiraine promised to help Thom avenge that wrongdoing, but why? Does she think it would have been better to take him away from his family and job and keep him in the Tower surrounded by people who can do what he cannot? Leaving him with his work and family seems to have helped Mr. Grady survive. So either Moiraine's a bitch who is just as petty and vengeful towards the Reds as Siuan the Amyrlin, or B-Sand screwed up. Again. Because this is the same conversation where he "breaks the news" to Perrin of the Cleansing, despite Perrin knowing about it back in Knife of Dreams. Also, this time Perrin says "If you say so, that's good enough for me," whereas he had not believed Grady back then.