I disagree, and think you need to look at the greater impact on the storyline. - Edit 1
Before modification by RugbyPlayingAshaman at 24/03/2010 01:55:13 PM
I'm talking about the greater plot and storyline.
The Aes Sedai kneeling and swearing fealty A) enabled a prophecy to be fulfilled, B) set off story ramifications that as of TGS still resonate and set off lines of inquiry and C) was announced in such a way that it was clear that this was a huge event.
The Ashaman winning the battle not only A) showed Taim in the role of Rand's savious, B) showed the tension between Rand and his Ashaman, C) showed the first time the Ashaman acted en masse on a battlefield and D) decisively cowed Sevaana's Aiel sending them running and triggering Perrin's own storyline.
Perrin, on the other hand, gets no mention in the larger scheme of what that battle meant, and Rand's "moral compass" was a more personal thing that really didn't take center stage until further on in the storyline. Just because Rand and Perrin are main characters, doesn't mean that every action of significance on the larger scale of things is involved with their personal beliefs or well-being. In many ways, the Pattern drives them to events in order to set off larger scale shifts without their consent.
The Aes Sedai kneeling and swearing fealty A) enabled a prophecy to be fulfilled, B) set off story ramifications that as of TGS still resonate and set off lines of inquiry and C) was announced in such a way that it was clear that this was a huge event.
The Ashaman winning the battle not only A) showed Taim in the role of Rand's savious, B) showed the tension between Rand and his Ashaman, C) showed the first time the Ashaman acted en masse on a battlefield and D) decisively cowed Sevaana's Aiel sending them running and triggering Perrin's own storyline.
Perrin, on the other hand, gets no mention in the larger scheme of what that battle meant, and Rand's "moral compass" was a more personal thing that really didn't take center stage until further on in the storyline. Just because Rand and Perrin are main characters, doesn't mean that every action of significance on the larger scale of things is involved with their personal beliefs or well-being. In many ways, the Pattern drives them to events in order to set off larger scale shifts without their consent.