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Though I too have wished for them to make really hard choices... Cannoli Send a noteboard - 15/01/2013 09:37:34 AM
...I think the bit with them always making the honorable choice might have been necessary as part of the whole "desperate straits" that the Light has been in. A battle between the Light & the Shadow, with all the importance of moral choices hinted at through the series, is about doing good stuff, rather than tactically clever things. I think a major mistake of Jordan's was the failure to emphasize that aspect of the battle. There are hints, like the Pattern being made out of life-threads or the fate of Aridhol or Min's recurring vision of lights fighting darkness, but it is not explicitly detailed how the situation vis a vis the Shadow is the cumulative result of everyone's behavior. "Belief and order give strength" and too many moral slipups by the important characters would leave the situation too far beyond redeeming.

Jordan always talked about the issue of how the Light is at the very end of their rope with the Shadow way ahead on points, and depending on a miracle to actually have a chance at the Dark One, and that was the situation as I perceived it from the text, but IMO, it was not sufficiently stated for most readers. Part of having their backs to the wall is that they have zero margin of error. By certain contemporary standards of character development, that is a weakness in the story, since they have to go from win to win, but there are too many parallel situations in the series for me to believe that's an accident.

One such example (which I recall writing a post complaining about, on either this board or wotmania) is how none of the good guys have to dirty their hands with their predecessor's blood in order to achieve the power they do. Rand does not have to kill any recalcitrant rulers in order to take power over a particular nation, Elayne does not have to depose Morgase, Egwene does not have to depose Siuan (or for that matter, Elaida, who gets conveniently removed right at the moment the Ajah Heads are most open to considering Egwene's leadership qualifications), Perrin does not have to seize power in the Two Rivers, or fight his in-laws, or depose the long-standing ruler of Ghealdan, Tuon doesn't have to overthrow her sociopathic mother (recall in tGH, she is cited as amusing herself by playing an a'dam equivalent of Russian Roulette with her damane and male courtiers) and Galad does not have to remove the Fain-tainted Pedron Niall. All of those old rulers who were in place when the series started, who were tied into the inadequate status quo, and thus a "part of the problem" who needed to be excised for the protagonists to do their thing, were all conveniently removed by other circumstances, allowing the characters to all climb to the summits of power with relatively clean hands. For all that Rand whines about the dirt he has to do, it's really only to people who have it coming, and very little is morally offensive, just mildly unpleasant for Mr. Nice Guy.

While I might have bemoaned this issue on previous occasions, now I can't help but think it might have been necessary in order to preserve the moral certainty and clear consciences of the leadership of the Light for Tarmon Gaidon. For here on out, Lan, Perrin, Cadsuane, Elayne and Tuon might have to make a lot of unpleasant-but-necessary moral choices in their positions as rulers of the world, but they needed to go into the Last Battle with pure hearts and clear consciences.
Cannoli
“Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.” GK Chesteron
Inde muagdhe Aes Sedai misain ye!
Deus Vult!
*MySmiley*
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Somehow, I Actually Hate Faile MORE Now - 14/01/2013 12:16:05 PM 3129 Views
Faile made Perrin less interesting - 14/01/2013 01:15:22 PM 1131 Views
She paralyzed his character development even when Jordan thought she advanced it. - 14/01/2013 02:38:29 PM 1234 Views
I skipped those chapters during my re-read - 14/01/2013 10:36:11 PM 1377 Views
Re: She paralyzed his character development even when Jordan thought she advanced it. - 15/01/2013 12:39:23 AM 1095 Views
You just hit on probably the major structural weakness of the series with respect to characters. - 15/01/2013 02:54:59 AM 1088 Views
I think this is why I still enjoy Rand as a character so much - 15/01/2013 03:37:52 AM 1007 Views
There were plenty of hard choices, but they might have been handled better. - 15/01/2013 06:58:30 AM 1186 Views
Though I too have wished for them to make really hard choices... - 15/01/2013 09:37:34 AM 1139 Views
I'm glad you have seen the Truth. - 14/01/2013 01:35:36 PM 1064 Views
It was neck and neck with her and Min for a long while, but Min finally saw past her own nose. - 14/01/2013 02:09:13 PM 1038 Views
I just added a sentence at the end to make the series end properly. - 14/01/2013 10:47:18 PM 1122 Views
Works for me. - 15/01/2013 06:13:16 AM 2066 Views
In all fairness Egwene did in fact pay homage to Bela - 14/01/2013 08:36:40 PM 995 Views
Bela has been there for Egwene all the time. - 14/01/2013 10:16:22 PM 1208 Views
Egwene and Bela - 15/01/2013 08:13:17 AM 965 Views
I thought Noal was riding Bela... *NM* - 14/01/2013 10:47:56 PM 508 Views
I did, too, at first, but "horse"=/="pony." - 15/01/2013 06:08:03 AM 948 Views
The real problem - 15/01/2013 11:30:37 AM 1034 Views
The women in WoT are monsters - 15/01/2013 11:59:39 AM 1476 Views
I do not consider most of the others all that bad, just idiosyncratic. - 15/01/2013 03:05:51 PM 1265 Views
Oh...I think we know :-) *NM* - 16/01/2013 04:31:18 PM 603 Views
I try to give them, or rather her, the benefit of a doubt. - 16/01/2013 04:48:22 PM 920 Views
Re: Tuon - 15/01/2013 03:33:34 PM 1186 Views
I had not noticed that before, but you are right. - 15/01/2013 07:45:53 PM 968 Views
I agree completely... - 15/01/2013 05:19:40 PM 1219 Views
Not to argue, but I think RJ created a world where women had the power - 20/01/2013 01:17:11 AM 1077 Views
Agreed ... Nynaeve and Lan are the closest thing to "Healthy" in the series - 20/01/2013 01:09:29 AM 915 Views
Tell me then... - 18/01/2013 09:08:08 AM 981 Views
That's a fallacious question - 18/01/2013 03:21:56 PM 1063 Views
Are you saying... - 18/01/2013 09:21:34 PM 981 Views
That is a pathetic answer. - 19/01/2013 04:56:13 AM 933 Views
You're a pathetic ass - 19/01/2013 06:48:47 AM 955 Views
LOL - that's funny, coming from you, one of the most pathetic fanboys around here. *NM* - 19/01/2013 02:32:18 PM 479 Views
Sad for you. *NM* - 19/01/2013 09:24:59 PM 510 Views
Oh, gosh, this could take a while. - 18/01/2013 05:58:15 PM 1018 Views
How exactly was Faile the cause for Hopper's death? - 19/01/2013 12:31:55 AM 931 Views
Because her kidnapping was the reason Perrin led his hodge podge army to rescue her, and got trapped - 19/01/2013 01:00:26 AM 853 Views
Her kidnapping... - 19/01/2013 01:32:40 AM 872 Views
I said outright I do not fault her as a character for that (only Jordan for writing it that way. ) - 19/01/2013 07:35:57 PM 939 Views
No it wasn't ... The dreamspike plot would have happened even had she not been kidnapped - 20/01/2013 01:24:25 AM 896 Views
Exactly - 20/01/2013 06:59:33 PM 1173 Views
Wow... - 19/01/2013 01:49:56 AM 1005 Views
Culture is sometimes a reason, but never an excuse. - 19/01/2013 08:04:52 PM 989 Views
Just off color - 19/01/2013 10:03:58 PM 1087 Views
? - 19/01/2013 10:44:28 PM 975 Views

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