Well we could easily assume she also had a plan for the eventuality that Rand's people wouldn't find the conspicuous poisoner and find out the name of the lair from him. The idea that she would calmly seat on compulsed human chair in her mansion while the homicidal Dragon Reborn was just outside her mansion is bizarre.



I never thought that Semiharge planned it all along. I know it's tempting to believe in your incompetent fools theory but the big problem with it is that if true, we must then conclude that, excluding some few exceptions like the main heroes in the books, everyone else in the world are even bigger fools, more ridiculously incompetent than even the most incompetent of the forsaken, since by all account they fell into the forsakens' scheme at the drop of the hat every single time.



I really don't see why the Great Lord would give Rand his aid against Semiharge if he didn't want him to escape her. Even supposing a cabal of Aes Sedai and Wise Ones manage to subdue the linked Semiharge Elza and Rand (that are using Rand as their human shield) why would the Great Lord need to interfere? He seems to be a vengeful lord and because Rand used Balefire he will now be unable to punish Semiharge soul. The obvious answer is that the Great Lord wanted Rand to use the True Power all along because it made Rand a darker character, easier to control, and it made him subject to the supposedly irresistible temptation of the True Power that only the Dark Lord can give.

Not every Forsaken dramatically faced turned out dead. Lanfear reappeared on the scene after her dramatic confrontation in Cairihien. Ishmael reappeared three times already after being soundly given mortal blows. Graendal didn't even get a really dramatic sence.



As I said the style fits her better than it does him or the Great Lord. Why would he labor and scheme to torment Rand when he already assigned his capable minion Graendal to it?