I know it’s crazy, but in rereading tEotW I started thinking about Thom’s character and some weird things around him.
First off, he knows who Fain is before they “first” met in the Two Rivers. This is very strange, why would Thom know Fain?
Fain likes bringing old news to backwater towns. Thom travels through backwater towns and probably hears about Fain second hand (and meets him on the road once or twice for good measure. There aren't that many main roads.) enough to know a bit about him. Since most darkfriends don't know each other, that isn't an explanation.
Second, Thom isn’t afraid of the Fade at Whitebridge like a normal person should be. This in itself is really weird because this is likely the first time Thom ever saw a Fade let alone fought one. Most people would be terrified but Thom is not. Yes Thom could just be crazy brave but it is still strange.
He knows not to look at it's face. He seems to know a lot about Shadowspawn, so it's not surprising that he doesn't react like a "normal person".
Third, Thom doesn’t discourage the boys from exploring Shadar Logoth. Thom, above all but Moraine and Lan, should know the stories of Shadar Logoth and its dangers. The question then is, why doesn’t he tell the boys about how dangerous it is?
Because he was in another room having a smoke.
Fourth, he is not afraid to kill people. Yes this likely means nothing but he kills the King of Cairhien, a known Darkfriend, just off the cuff. It doesn’t make Thom a Darkfriend to kill the King, however why did the King have Thom’s girlfriend killed besides the Game of Houses?
Because he was seen talking to Rand, who seemed to be allied with Barthanes. Thom was the target, not his girlfriend.
Maybe the King knew Thom was a Darkfriend and wanted to slight Thom in order to make himself appear to be better in the eyes of the DO. Also, Thom kills the King without a second thought, and yes Thom was angry but never before or after has Thom done anything similar.
Darkfriends don't try to randomly kill each other. Unless they want a promotion into the other's spot. Also most darkfriends don't know each other.
Fifth, we know nothing of Thom before he was a court bard. This is not evidence of him being a Darkfriend but it seems strange not to know more of him especially when he such a large secondary character.
It's not evidence of anything, really.
Sixth, Thom knows a lot about the DO and shadowspawn. Yes this knowledge could come from the stories but when considering if Thom is a Darkfriend I think this merits consideration as well.
He could have travelled to the Borderlands at least once in his lifetime. Not that most darkfriends know much about Shadowspawn anyway.
Seventh, Thom and Rand have not seen each other since well before Rand’s epiphany and Rand gaining his "Darkfriend vision ability". Again, this proves nothing but you never know.
Lots of characters haven't seen Rand since then. This just leaves him outside a list of people we know are definitely not a darkfriend.
Most of this can be explained through simple reasoning and nothing here is solid proof he is a Darkfriend but it is something to think about none-the-less. Additionally there is much more solid evidence for him being good then bad (Occam's razor) that it is hard to consider this a real possibility.
Again, I know it is crazy, and I personally don't believe this myself, but I think Thom is someone we know very little about. I could see the DO wanting to put someone near Rand, so if all else failed, the DO could still win. So why couldn't it be Thom?
Thom Merrilin, Darkfriend?
- 13/02/2011 07:14:54 PM
3309 Views
You're confusing the rich mysteriousness of WoT's beginnings for an actual mystery
- 13/02/2011 09:53:31 PM
1178 Views
Re: You're confusing the rich mysteriousness of WoT's beginnings for an actual mystery
- 14/02/2011 12:43:36 AM
1034 Views
That'd be a pretty big deception...
- 14/02/2011 03:02:27 AM
1407 Views
Re: That'd be a pretty big deception...
- 14/02/2011 03:15:50 PM
987 Views
As crazy theories go, that's pretty crazy...
- 14/02/2011 03:32:03 AM
1320 Views
Galldrian was not a Darkfriend
- 14/02/2011 04:08:17 PM
1006 Views
not even reading. Should I? *NM*
- 19/02/2011 12:57:31 PM
458 Views
Depends. Are you the type who laughs at silliness or the type who bursts blood vessels? *NM*
- 19/02/2011 08:00:37 PM
455 Views
Ya know...
- 19/02/2011 09:30:41 PM
828 Views
Re: Ya know...
- 22/02/2011 11:58:19 PM
849 Views
*NM*