A villain who takes power from pain is hardly suspenseful at all. In fact, Semirhage was quite predictable (and pretty dumb, given KoD's events).
What tGS showed was that aside from Moridin, the "chosen" are exactly as Verin described - selfish, arrogant children.
The REAL suspense comes not from the cardboard villains, but from the should-be heroes. Rand al'Thor nearly destroying the Borderlander army is far, far scarier than Semi ever was. And when he strangles Min, and then nearly kills Tam - well, honestly, is there any fear more deep-seated than that of loved ones turning on us?
What tGS showed was that aside from Moridin, the "chosen" are exactly as Verin described - selfish, arrogant children.
The REAL suspense comes not from the cardboard villains, but from the should-be heroes. Rand al'Thor nearly destroying the Borderlander army is far, far scarier than Semi ever was. And when he strangles Min, and then nearly kills Tam - well, honestly, is there any fear more deep-seated than that of loved ones turning on us?
Semirhage vs Cadsuane - in Sanderson's words...
19/11/2009 09:58:19 PM
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The two of you are pathetic
19/11/2009 10:09:34 PM
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Your problem is...
19/11/2009 10:21:40 PM
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No.
20/11/2009 08:15:32 AM
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And now he's not "blind" anymore
20/11/2009 08:20:56 AM
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You know, I agree
19/11/2009 11:12:49 PM
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But she gave us a clue as to how she might be broken.
20/11/2009 08:17:04 AM
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I would love to see tSR and tFoH from Moiraine's perspective
20/11/2009 08:22:55 AM
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I imagine it took A LOT of frustration and anger management. *NM*
20/11/2009 08:27:13 AM
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I agree with Cannoli completely. (Did I just say that?)
19/11/2009 11:18:09 PM
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And I agree with Rand al'Thor.
19/11/2009 11:35:55 PM
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I didn't like it for the same reason I don't like the Aes Sedai much anymore
20/11/2009 07:40:31 AM
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WoT isn't pure fantasy - it's humans within a fantasy world
20/11/2009 08:20:23 AM
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Oh, totally- but humans can act in more than one way. "Real" humans can be terrifying, too!
20/11/2009 08:33:53 AM
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I'm pretty sure that AS are meant to be a parable for the government...
21/11/2009 06:20:14 PM
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Re: I didn't like it for the same reason I don't like the Aes Sedai much anymore
08/05/2010 12:46:31 AM
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Are you feeling all right? If you are, Cannoli is right, and you're pathetic.
19/11/2009 10:18:54 PM
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See my response to Cannoli. *NM*
19/11/2009 10:25:15 PM
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That was barely a response...
20/11/2009 12:43:07 AM
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There's always more than one way for a story to "logically" progress
20/11/2009 08:07:44 AM
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Evil IS cool! This is storytelling, not a morality play.
20/11/2009 08:01:17 AM
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Re: Evil IS cool! This is storytelling, not a morality play.
20/11/2009 10:50:07 PM
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Re: Evil IS cool! This is storytelling, not a morality play.
08/05/2010 01:17:07 AM
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Oh, they're quite good at killing people.
08/05/2010 06:47:35 AM
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Re: Oh, they're quite good at killing people.
09/05/2010 06:09:38 PM
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Actually, it's why they're still alive.
09/05/2010 06:32:22 PM
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Are they? Why are Mat, Perrin and the Wondergirls still alive?
13/05/2010 12:47:57 AM
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Nobody's even tried to kill them since Ishamael died, until he gave the order again in KoD.
13/05/2010 01:13:02 AM
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It'd be harder to kill them now as they have come into their own power
21/06/2010 01:18:31 AM
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I loved that scene - it's actually dog-eared because it's one of my favorites.
19/11/2009 10:37:33 PM
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Actually... what happened to Semirhage was BEAUTIFUL.
19/11/2009 11:28:29 PM
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I agree with your second half
20/11/2009 08:27:07 AM
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I agree with Cannoli and Fionwe's on the best way to handle Semirhage
20/11/2009 04:17:41 AM
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So would you enjoy seeing Moridin pulled over Cadsuane's knee and spanked?
20/11/2009 07:48:45 AM
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You're upset about the spanking and have missed the reason for it.
20/11/2009 03:05:50 PM
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Don't avoid the question...
20/11/2009 03:27:23 PM
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20/11/2009 10:36:36 PM
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I'm not avoiding anything, just pointing out how silly this post is
20/11/2009 04:50:17 PM
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Re: I'm not avoiding anything, just pointing out how silly this post is
08/05/2010 01:07:13 AM
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Re: You're upset about the spanking and have missed the reason for it.
08/05/2010 12:58:52 AM
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Except that Demandred is the one Darksider who knows about Elayne
21/11/2009 06:30:26 PM
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Re: Except that Demandred is the one Darksider who knows about Elayne
22/11/2009 10:13:44 AM
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He was dispatched 'fairly easily' because he was betrayed by Moridin
.
22/11/2009 08:09:38 PM
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I think it was an excellent look at just how pathetic most of the Forsaken are and why they sold out
20/11/2009 04:21:36 AM
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The weird thing is, (or maybe not so weird), that I feel like she suffered the same way in tGS
20/11/2009 08:36:45 AM
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Re: I think it was an excellent look at just how pathetic most of the Forsaken are and
08/05/2010 12:13:20 AM
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How many people
08/05/2010 12:30:17 AM
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At least two.
10/05/2010 02:10:31 PM
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Re: At least two.
21/06/2010 01:24:53 AM
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Shame has traditionally been one of the greatest ways of enforcing public order
21/06/2010 02:55:54 AM
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