In all of your arguments, you assume that just because someone gets to give input, they would automatically run the show and therefore ruin the plan. C'mon now. Arguing all the ins and outs of what the author didn't write is pointless, so I'll address your real points.


One, I would have expected Elayne to make my objection, if she weren't so gleeful to have found the BA. I mean seriously, she thinks that. What person in her right mind is gleeful over something like that, once they've put any kind of thought into the situation? "Grimly satisfied" to be able to deal with such a problem, yes. "Gleeful," no. If she had paused for even just a minute and talked to even just Birgitte, she would have given herself that time to adjust to reality. And, if you ask me (which I know you wouldn't), reviewing the comments from someone you know may be your enemy can be enlightening.

Two, having poor judgement in political maneuvering doesn't mean that a person is an idiot in all other matters. That's part of why Elayne is such a strong character- she gets all that crap that others don't always see.


I'm not refusing to see that, I'm talking about something completely different. You seem to believe that by suggesting they try to know more about the situation, I'm saying she shouldn't have gone at all, or that she should have taken a bunch of useless kin. I'm not. I'm saying that if you know your enemy and what you're facing, you're much less likely to be caught unaware. She had to move quickly, yes. But she should have spent more time assessing the house, checking for channeling etc. SHE knows how many they've stumbled upon before, SHE knows what they might have with them, SHE knows what they are capable of, and she still makes no substantial effort to verify Hark's statement before entering. That is my argument, and miles of text from you will not change that.


Well since you seem to think there is no way she could have been any safer, I suppose you don't think that the blunt dagger could have been of any help. I mean, if she's ok risking herself anyway, she could have at least tried to use potentially helpful weapons. It's all well and good to expect Nyn/Cad/Rand to assume something is a trap and to gather as much as they can (even several items Nyn isn't exactly sure of) for meeting "Tuon," but the same cannot be asked of Elayne. I have no problem conceding your point that there are difficulties to what I suggest, but there are other steps that could be taken, and while we're being over the top, this could include a masked-ability Elayne in power-wrot camo checking out the house (not fail-proof, obv, but neither was the plan she chose), the question of Careane and Sareitha nullified by Vandene linking with them before Elayne went up the street.


Yes, and I still concede it. However, if we go with my plan of trying to be a hair more certain, she would really only have had to wait about, what? five minutes? Five minutes that would have been taken up by her assessing the situation? Chesmal/etc turned up really damn quickly, and that is a fluke for BOTH our arguments. It's not a deciding factor either way.
I like how you're willing to blather on and on about how you think things could have changed for your side of the debate, but are completely unwilling to assume that any of this is possible for mine. Elayne's plan would have resulted in the worst possible result, if not for her warder's ability to track her, and her unique position at the head of the army. And yes, I'll also concede the first sentence of your next paragraph as an extension of this conversation, but gees, that's an awfully slim thread to go on, eh? She doesn't assess the situation, she doesn't give orders to Birgitte covering what to do if she's caught, etc. She didn't set up the win, she stumbled upon a situation she couldn't handle and had to hope others could save her.


Elayne failed in her attempt to capture her two BA. Whether you think she could have known better or not, she still failed. Her actions laid the groundwork for others to have to do some very fancy footwork to save her. Again, if this were Egwene, you'd be having so much fun with this that we'd have to scrape you off a wall. And as much as we both dislike it, I have to say again that it worked out so well for her because RJ wanted two unrelated situations to turn into a win for her. There are a million other points of conjecture we could discuss, like: if the attack on the city had been in any other place or any other time, the soldiers would have been fighting Arymilla's men while Birgitte tried to save Elayne. Or, they'd have been losing the city while saving her. IF the windfinders had thought they had sufficient reason to stay out of AS business, they wouldn't have been there to help her. It worked out, and I'm glad her quest for the crown is over, but I still don't agree with you that all of her decisions were the right ones.

If you feel like replying, I'm sure I'll enjoy reading your rich grasp of the English language and reviewing your spectacular ability to form insults, but I am not arguing this again. We disagree, and that's fine. I don't have time or the inclination to write more novels.