And I would agree that if a major theme of the series is that you have to struggle to reach your goals, some of the struggles/setbacks the major characters could have faced could have been greater.
However, I would point out that, in terms of reality, the rise of many young people to power in the real world has been similiarly "Blessed".
Alexander the Great's rise to power essentially was eased by the conquests of his father. Henry Tudor's (or we know him now Henry VII) rise to power was very similiar to Egwene's, in that he got to overthrow the "imposter" Richard III, rather than his brother, whom he never would have been able to unseat (and he got the chance to lead the Lancaster party because the Yorkists had killed all the other Lancaster leaders, leaving him with the only claim, which btw, was a rather lame and somewhat illegitimate claim). Augustus Caesar was able to let Mark Anthony do all the heavy lifting until it was time to get rid of Anthony and then Anthony made an extremely foolish mistake to allow himself be rid of. Henry Plantagenet married the most powerful woman in the world (and adding to the boon of this marriage, got her previous marriage to his biggest rival annulled, thus enriching himself at the same time he dealt a body blow to Louis VII)
Sometimes in the real world, it really is that easy.
However, I would point out that, in terms of reality, the rise of many young people to power in the real world has been similiarly "Blessed".
Alexander the Great's rise to power essentially was eased by the conquests of his father. Henry Tudor's (or we know him now Henry VII) rise to power was very similiar to Egwene's, in that he got to overthrow the "imposter" Richard III, rather than his brother, whom he never would have been able to unseat (and he got the chance to lead the Lancaster party because the Yorkists had killed all the other Lancaster leaders, leaving him with the only claim, which btw, was a rather lame and somewhat illegitimate claim). Augustus Caesar was able to let Mark Anthony do all the heavy lifting until it was time to get rid of Anthony and then Anthony made an extremely foolish mistake to allow himself be rid of. Henry Plantagenet married the most powerful woman in the world (and adding to the boon of this marriage, got her previous marriage to his biggest rival annulled, thus enriching himself at the same time he dealt a body blow to Louis VII)
Sometimes in the real world, it really is that easy.
Did the characters come too easily to power?
16/03/2010 11:37:31 PM
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Yes, and for Rand at least IMO, playing nice has cost dearly
17/03/2010 04:59:32 AM
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Not necessarily
18/03/2010 03:17:10 PM
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Good post.
27/03/2010 01:43:24 PM
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Unfortunately, no.
31/03/2010 10:23:58 AM
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Re: Unfortunately, no.
02/04/2010 07:54:10 AM
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All the way through, up to ripping her self-delusional assessments of her "achievements" in KoD
02/04/2010 09:27:54 PM
- 787 Views
TLDR *NM*
17/03/2010 05:43:01 AM
- 598 Views
Cmon ppl pls reply to this, Cannoli has spent such a long time writing it.... I couldn't be bothered *NM*
17/03/2010 10:31:38 AM
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I did read it and it was good
17/03/2010 02:33:26 PM
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Rand is at the perfect position after TGS for his downfall...
17/03/2010 02:49:55 PM
- 875 Views
Re: Rand is at the perfect position after TGS for his downfall...
17/03/2010 06:15:18 PM
- 825 Views
I usually read Cannoli's epic-length posts...
17/03/2010 04:08:33 PM
- 881 Views
Ha! Imagine if I didn't double-space the paragraphs. That is a fairly new practice on my part.
*NM*
18/03/2010 03:36:13 PM
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I'd suggest you had more paragraphs......with a lot of spacing.....
*NM*
19/03/2010 04:42:05 AM
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Sheesh, you people are babies. I read it. Some good points.
17/03/2010 05:35:08 PM
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Re: Sheesh, you people are babies. I read it. Some good points.
17/03/2010 10:08:34 PM
- 952 Views
Oh and I forgot to add
18/03/2010 01:41:28 AM
- 854 Views
I would say those cases are both examples of aknowledging their own limitations and priorities
18/03/2010 04:02:13 PM
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Re: Did the characters come too easily to power?
17/03/2010 06:10:22 PM
- 860 Views
I was more focussed on the cost of GETTING power, not the prices of discharging it responsibly
18/03/2010 04:27:18 PM
- 937 Views
While most of this is true...
19/03/2010 06:47:19 AM
- 752 Views
Siuan's failure to properly help Rand should motivate Egwene to overthrow...oh, right. Egwene.
19/03/2010 11:52:10 PM
- 780 Views

Re: The To'Raken
06/04/2010 06:00:07 AM
- 813 Views