Ba'alzamon isn't actually the trolloc name for the Dark One, we're simply told it's *believed* to be this. In reality it was always their name for Ishamael, not the Dark One.

@thelukepillar

Жыл бұрын

That makes sense and fits with the themes of having unreliable narration, but is it explicitly stated somewhere? I'd love to have a citation.

The dome above Shadar Logoth was so black, it had to sign a contract that it wouldn't share it's darkness with Anish Kapoor. so much I want to say but can't, yet! I love seeing the women coming into their own around this point in the story! I also love that instead of turning the polygamy into a male fantasy, they're very real people bringing very unique gifts into their multi-person love bond. I really love that. The women have so much agency in the whole thing, as opposed to forced polygamy. I also absolutely love the First Sisters Ceremony. I have friendships that I would consider as close as sisters and I really enjoyed reading that connection become magically real! Elayne gets a lot of crap in the fandom (for often legitimate reasons). But I think she doesn't get enough credit for her skills as a politician and logistical thinking. She's very clever in how she deals with leaders, nobles, armies, and just people in general. It's fun to see her in action, especially when other people in the story discount her! I enjoy seeing your opinions on her not dipping into the easy criticisms!

Rand could have heard the name Chodan Kal from Asmodean. Rand not only trusts Nynaeive, but she's probably the second most powerful woman in the Power, only a person with immense ability can use the Chodan Kal.

@thelukepillar

Жыл бұрын

It's certainly possible that he heard it from Asmodean or remembered it via Lews Therin, but the usage of the term definitely popped up all at once everywhere. It's *really* nitpicky of me to call it out, but it seemed a bit odd, given that RJ's usage of terms usually feels very natural to me, so this one stuck out. I'm not really sure how much innate power matters for the Choedan Kal. It seems intuitive that a lot of power would be required, so Nynaeve would be the natural fit, but given that Nynaeve and Rand were channeling far more than the entire White Tower could have together, I'm not actually sure how much their innate power matters. I don't think that Rand chose Nynaeve for her strength, but because he trusts her not to try to spin anything to her own - or the Tower's - advantage. He also probably wanted to spare Elayne and Aviendha the risk.

I was really enjoying your joy of the book, I was smiling for the whole video. Thanks for that! Also, thanks a lot for quotes, they were exactly as I like - beautiful, precise and short :D I must say, I admire your ability to see small details and connect the dots. Few of your predictions are quite accurate. I never noticed it when I read the book, but after your explanation it's so logical. Yes, there is a lot of foreshadow in this book, so it's difficult to say something else without spoilers. I hope you'll be glad to see how the things turn up. Well, I guess, I can say that Rand is NOT at the lowest of his lows (Can I say that? I'm not sure. I hope you understand that I mean). So... you are right again here. But I should be quiet. You haven't told much about Cadsuane yet. Maybe you could say a little bit in comments? I'm really interested what you think about her.

@thelukepillar

Жыл бұрын

It's hard to put together a good, coherent bit on Cadsuane, as I always feel like I'm not quite seeing everything there. I mean, to some extent, she's just more Aes Sedai than most of the Aes Sedai we meet. She has the same arrogance that the Aes Sedai consider to be virtues (in that she always thinks about what's best for the Tower foremost) but she's less childish and short-sighted about it than the other Aes Sedai. She has rules, even for herself, but she'll break them if the situation calls for it. Her reading of Rand, the way she manipulates him, is *super* risky, as she comes very close to pushing him too far... but, if she hadn't, then I don't think he would've turned to her for help like he did. Granted, Min's reading helped, but she also just did an amazing job of reading Rand correctly. We see enough of her reasoning that this feels "real" to me: I get the impression that she spent a lot of time off-screen considering the best way to approach Rand. Really, she reminds me a lot of Moiraine, just much more experienced, but with the same level of passion. Stepping a bit further back, I think what I like most about Cadsuane is that she fills a very common trope - the old wise woman who needs to guide the hero - but RJ managed to shove a bunch of agency into a role that traditionally has almost none. She isn't just sitting around (perhaps with two sisters and a bubbling cauldron) waiting for the hero to approach her with a question, *she's* the one who decided to intervene. She also brings a lot of heroic attitude to the role. She isn't helping out because she *has* to, or even, really, out of a pure sense of duty. She enjoys the challenge. I'd generally associate "enjoying the challenge" as a motivation with protagonists and heroes, not with side characters. I'm not sure if I can think of another character who fills this role in a story who's as *badass* as Cadsuane.

@eksh6923

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! I think, Cadsuane portraits what Aes Sedai is supposed to be (in particular, arrogant because of competence, not just arrogant), so is she more Aes Sedai than most of the others. Also, she didn't live in the Tower as well as Moraine didn't. I wonder if an Aes Sedai becomes the more competent the more time she spends out of their shiny closed Tower. Interesting note about playing with the wise old woman trope. Yes, I see it.

@TheDevler23

Жыл бұрын

@@thelukepillar i like this take, especially the wise woman trope! I've never been able to pin down what it is that I like so much about her character. A character who could easily be read as antagonistic. but that's exactly it. She's the Wise Woman, but who Takes No Shit and Chose This Life for her own reasons.

Love all of this, keep it going. Don't know if anyone's mentioned but this video is missing from your Playlist. 🖖😎👍

@thelukepillar

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for letting me know! It should be fixed now.

haha you have made some pretty good predictions so far. Its nice to see the slog isnt affecting your reading too much. Are you planning on reading the prequel book in your read through? I know its next in the publication order. It was not super necessary to the overall story but it really filled in some nice gaps.

@thelukepillar

Жыл бұрын

I'll cover New Spring after Crossroads of Twilight!

Fain can create illusion, recall the trap that nearly caught Rand in TGH, the flys scene.

@thelukepillar

Жыл бұрын

Oh yeah! I didn't really understand that scene at the time, but looking back at it, that makes sense!

@johanjarvinen

Жыл бұрын

@@thelukepillar I'm pretty sure this is incorrect. The trap is likely made using an ability that isn't really laid out until the very end of the series and that even re-readers are probably not going to catch. I'd suggest thinking back to the ter'angreal which is used for Accepted testing, or the one that traps Faile in book 3. A lady in white is also spotted by one of the soldiers right before this happens, implying it was probably Lanfear behind the trap.

@thelukepillar

Жыл бұрын

@@johanjarvinen This might be a good scene for me to come back to after the end of the series - it was definitely confusing on my first read.

The Dark One can only give a new body to a dead person.