It's the WOT Red Shirt syndrome - Edit 1
Before modification by ajfurst at 29/11/2010 04:37:41 AM
One I've been lamenting since around book 4. As much as almost everyone I want the Light to win (and I don't classify the Seanchan taking over all as a win by the Light - just a loss by the Shadow). I don't want everyone to win and end up happily ever after though.
Sure Rand, Mat and Perrin need to at least survive to the Last Battle. The rest though:
How much more dramatic would it have been if Faile died in the rescue of Malden and Perrin in TOM Perrin almost went like Noam to escape it before coming back and accepting he's still needed as a leader?
Or even taking a less important character - Gawyn. What if Egwene awakened during the battle with Messana to see if she could leave TAR only to see Gawyn dying and had the choice of Healing him and letting her escape or risking his death to return. And then Gawyn dying. I want a real price for victory for them.
Or Elayne - injured by Mellar before he escapes and goes into labor. The children are saved, but she dies, that would have been both a blow to Rand, the Light and a fitting end to 'Min's viewing means I'm invincible' Elayne.
It doesn't matter that now ten's of thousands of red-shirts are dying instead of hundreds or thousands before, they are still just red-shirts.
And I'm already 98% certain AMOL is going to have the latest installment near the start with Lan rescued at Tarwin's Gap. Now Lan is one of my favourite characters, but FFS someone, ANYONE that can be classified as just a semi-major Lightside character, liked by fans, please die (for real *cough* Moraine *cough
.
Sure Rand, Mat and Perrin need to at least survive to the Last Battle. The rest though:
How much more dramatic would it have been if Faile died in the rescue of Malden and Perrin in TOM Perrin almost went like Noam to escape it before coming back and accepting he's still needed as a leader?
Or even taking a less important character - Gawyn. What if Egwene awakened during the battle with Messana to see if she could leave TAR only to see Gawyn dying and had the choice of Healing him and letting her escape or risking his death to return. And then Gawyn dying. I want a real price for victory for them.
Or Elayne - injured by Mellar before he escapes and goes into labor. The children are saved, but she dies, that would have been both a blow to Rand, the Light and a fitting end to 'Min's viewing means I'm invincible' Elayne.
It doesn't matter that now ten's of thousands of red-shirts are dying instead of hundreds or thousands before, they are still just red-shirts.
And I'm already 98% certain AMOL is going to have the latest installment near the start with Lan rescued at Tarwin's Gap. Now Lan is one of my favourite characters, but FFS someone, ANYONE that can be classified as just a semi-major Lightside character, liked by fans, please die (for real *cough* Moraine *cough
.