If I've actually named BS' sly reference the "Big Unnoticed Thing."

I'd love the idea of this, but I don't know if it's remotely possible. One big problem in the WoT series is exactly the same as one with "Lost" : a lot of information is given out on some major subjects; you know that people might be misinformed, but you're asked to take a lot of other info at face value too; to undo some of what you're asked to just accept means that everything else is destablized.

And this would mean that the writer cheats on a huge scale. There's always been ambiguity relating to Verin - we're given reasons to question her loyalties. Still, the truth didn't really undo everything that she had said before...

So here are some thoughts:

Time again, despite the warnings that our heroes only know so much, we're told that the seals have to break for the Dark One to be as free. Or, at least, as free as he was when the AoL world was almost beaten by the Shadow; that distinction might be big.

I can think of this solid evidence to your theory: the DO IS clearly having an effect on the pattern. Places shifting, ghosts walking, all that stuff. And Taim - almost conclusively a DF - gave a seal to Rand. It would either be a trick (fake seal, but close), or it would be a way to gain Rand's trust.

Then again, the seals didn't seem to work as planned, either. I think the seals were made from cuendillar because cuendillar doesn't break. We have been repeatedly told that the seals are weakening - that can fit with the effect on the seals, and the DO's effects on Randland. And a few seals were broken before the weather went all crazy and such. The more they break, the greater Shaitan's influence is...

I'll be happy for you if you're right. Still, this sort of complication would be very "unfair" to readers with only two books left in the series. I would feel quite annoyed at RJ (though respectfully) for letting the situation develop like this. Take it from an amateur film-reviewer: I watched "Fight Club" exactly as I would a summer "popcorn blockbuster." Why? Because it was clearly an absurd, if entertaining, movie. If I watched it as a serious piece, I would've been annoyed by the end. We see people interacting with two characters, and then we're told to completely disregard one of them. It's showing the finger to the audience, but "Fight Club" had an attitude of giving the whole world the finger. So, popcorn was the right approach for me.

My instincts say that if you pull that sort of trick, you don't do it with something that will completely unravel one of the most important aspects of the series. Or, you do it with a good amount of story left - like in book 3 out of 6. That way, readers have a chance to adjust and adapt to the change, and it's not simply some lame M. Night Shyamalan twist.

I don't mind that the odds against the Light are ludicrously unfair (the DO has a Power? it can't be sensed?). I would seriously mind if the readers are subjected to massive 11th hour changes.