Realistically more people need to know about the death of the Semirhage and the Mesaana for it to be a major blow to the shadow. I see your point that it makes a big difference to the people who saw it directly but it's not big enough in the grand scheme to be a major blow. The black ajah cleansing was way more important, as were the events at the Eye of the World.
I wonder if the Tower advertised the execution of the Black Ajah though? They've strongly denied the existence of the Black since their founding, and I wouldn't put it past them to officially declare that the executions were due to treason i.e. breaking the Tower.
But no need to advertise... It's still a much larger blow than the deaths of Semirhage and Mesaana. Several reasons
1. Losing the Black Ajah cost the Shadow over a hundred trained women channelers
2. Massive loss of influence, the BA gave the Shadow an insider angle into one of their most powerful enemies that in turn allowed them to exert influence over many other groups
3. As others have mentioned this limits their mixed circle capabilities
4. Your own point about Semirhage and Mesaana holds some truth here too. The AS have seen that the Shadow can Ben beaten now, they have witnessed their own weakness and overcome it making them a more potent enemy than before. This coupled with Egwene personally defeating Mesaana makes this event even more significant.
I'm not going to fight too much with you on this, mostly because I think you may be right. I guess it comes from my own huge disrespect for the BA. Thirteen of them escaped in TDR and they accomplished nothing and were defeated easily by Elayne and Nynaeve on different occasions. I think the Forsaken, although defeated, are a hundred times as competent than the Black Ajah. The BA are more like a cult, and most of them have never met more than a few others, meaning that they are disorganized and would suddenly be pulled out of the Tower and then asked to fight with the Power at the Final Battle. It's chaotic and slightly pathetic if you ask me. The dark Ash'aman seem to be far more organized and dangerous.
People mock the Forsaken but they were incredibly destructive in many ways. I'd much rather kill Demandred than a hundred evil Ash'aman.
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Biggest blows to the Shadow...
12/03/2012 07:15:32 PM
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Re: Biggest blows to the Shadow...
13/03/2012 12:37:55 AM
- 817 Views
Those were the exact three I had first on my list. Good call. *NM*
13/03/2012 04:55:29 AM
- 374 Views
Re: Biggest blows to the Shadow...
13/03/2012 04:51:32 AM
- 906 Views
Re: Biggest blows to the Shadow...
14/03/2012 06:22:51 PM
- 675 Views
Re: Biggest blows to the Shadow...
14/03/2012 11:36:00 PM
- 805 Views
Another Concord...
15/03/2012 12:33:51 AM
- 719 Views
The LB started in the epilogue of TOM, if you ask me...
15/03/2012 04:24:43 PM
- 576 Views
This is a wonderful summary of what I feel the situation at Merrilor wil be and I wish I wrote this
29/04/2012 07:41:53 PM
- 697 Views
Re: Biggest blows to the Shadow...
13/03/2012 08:03:59 PM
- 699 Views
I disagree on number three don't think it's broad enough
17/03/2012 02:53:08 PM
- 567 Views
I wonder if it was advertised though?
17/03/2012 04:25:23 PM
- 642 Views
I very much doubt it
17/03/2012 04:48:56 PM
- 547 Views
Re: I very much doubt it
17/03/2012 07:33:48 PM
- 501 Views
It's funny because I don't think the Forsaken have proven particularly effective either
17/03/2012 07:47:58 PM
- 590 Views
I think they've been pretty effective
19/03/2012 10:46:11 AM
- 577 Views
Yet they have done very little to move the grand plan forward
19/03/2012 11:51:59 PM
- 542 Views
What plan?
20/03/2012 08:18:40 AM
- 761 Views
I disagree ... The DO seems to have a plan and Moridin showed us he is following a prophesy
20/03/2012 01:05:40 PM
- 618 Views
Up until the very end of TGS, wasn't the plan to turn Rand/make him do the DO's job for him?
29/04/2012 07:46:04 PM
- 617 Views
Re: I very much doubt it
17/03/2012 09:59:15 PM
- 575 Views
Regarding Demandred
19/03/2012 11:11:22 AM
- 517 Views
Re: I disagree on number three don't think it's broad enough
17/03/2012 05:46:31 PM
- 665 Views
I always thought of the victory at the Eye as the Lights first big win in the series
17/03/2012 07:27:12 PM
- 624 Views
Re: I always thought of the victory at the Eye as the Lights first big win in the series
17/03/2012 09:16:08 PM
- 672 Views
Re: I always thought of the victory at the Eye as the Lights first big win in the series
30/04/2012 07:04:06 PM
- 596 Views
"Seemingly young girl"? Is she actually old or something? Maybe she's not a girl?
19/03/2012 01:39:12 AM
- 657 Views
Re: "Seemingly young girl"? Is she actually old or something? Maybe she's not a girl?
19/03/2012 03:34:11 AM
- 631 Views
Re: "Seemingly young girl"? Is she actually old or something? Maybe she's not a girl?
19/03/2012 10:35:57 AM
- 726 Views