I cannot help but think that Choedan Kal-toting Dark Rand paying a visit to Taim would have been an awesome scene in tGS. It makes sense given Rand's way of dealing with problems in the period between killing Semirhage and his Dragonmount moment, namely - quickly, with brute force and little to no concern for collateral damage or consequences (balefiring Natrin's Barrow, bullying Tuon, telling the Borderlanders to go get stuffed (I'm not British but I love their insults).

I picture it going like this: Rand seizing enough of saidin (through the access key) to make any non-True Power or non-gholam resistance futile, taking a couple of Aiel and Ashaman for a token guard and gating to the Black Tower (let's ignore the dreamspike for argument's sake, he can ride the last couple of miles). Then he summons Taim and demands to know what exactly he's been doing since their last meeting (end of tPoD?) and why, making it clear that anything other than the truth will result in a gentle brush of balefire. Maybe I'm missing something but how does that not solve the Black Tower problem in a day or so? I was aching for this confrontation ever since Dark Rand was introduced.

I would love to hear your take on this - fire away