FoH Chapter 15: I now remember exactly the point where I started to hate Egwene. Every chapter from her point of view just got progressively worse, from what I remember. And then Gawyn gets involved and it’s just like, Robert Jordan, did you even want me to try to like her?
So far I kind of like show-Egwene, I wonder if Rafe will redeem the character for me?
Ugh, she’s the worst.
But I love about Wheel of Time that even when there’s a character you hate (whether because you’re supposed to, or because they are just so inadvertently awful/annoying) or a plot line you find boring or annoying, there is also so much else to love. I finished the series hating Egwene (and several others!) but I loved the series as a whole so much still.
One of the things I find so appealing about Lan/Nynaeve is that he sees this hot mess of a woman, who is both brave and stubborn to the point of getting in her own way, clever and talented but also not so much the type to step on toes as to stomp all over them, passionate to heal but also ready to punch someone, and says, “Light, she is so beautiful.”
He sees all of her faults and weaknesses, and doesn’t love her in spite of them, but because they make her who she is. She needs to be angry in order to channel? He’s ready to piss her off. She needs backup because her stubborness put her in a corner? He’s with her until the end.
Would that all of us will find someone to love us that deeply and fully
WheelTakes with Ali & Gus has been a great read through experience (I’m starting Fires of Heaven with them). As someone who sort of remembers reading all the books it’s fun to catch the little hints Gus drops with a completely straight face, when you know he’s just cracking himself up inside.
Early book 5: “Aviendha’s approach to Rand is [regarding courtship, indicating she’s being very cold to him], here’s a block of ice, here’s another block of ice, now go build yourself an igloo.”
Then in the next chapter, as Ali speculates on the chances of various ships becoming reality, with regards to Rand/Aviendha: “Probably won’t happen until hell freezes over, huh?”
I read the books once, a very long time ago, so I don’t remember a lot of the details. But on my reread (with the fabulous WheelTakes with Ali & Gus) I’ve been delighted to see some of the small details the tv series pulled in.
Like, the vow Moraine makes in episode 6 is the same vow Suian makes to Gareth Bryne in Fires of Heaven. And Thom’s knife through a female Darkfriend’s throat when one of the boys won’t take her out. And the fact that Laila was in the Two Rivers and Perrin notes that he might have married her (it’s just a different turning of the wheel).
I’ve enjoyed that I am still surprised by rhe story the show tells (even if I know the major plot twists ahead of time), but that they include all these little tidbits.
One of the first things I loved about the Wheel of Time was Moraine and Lan’s relationship.
I really enjoyed the portrayal of that relationship on the series. I loved the bath scene in the first episode, for so succinctly showing how intimate a relationship it is without it being sexual. I also appreciated that the first naked person on the show was male—it was a nice suggestion that the show will be more balanced than the books with regards to who gets naked.
They have a beautiful relationship, they type I’d love to see more of in books and tv.
I first read the series almost 20 years ago, while in my junior year at college. I don’t remember what prompted me to pick up the first book, but by the end of it I was hooked and eagerly hunted down a copy of the second volume. I scarffed down as much of the series as was available by then (nine books, I think?). I lugged these massive books all over campus, reading them in every spare moment I had between biochem labs, the theater, and studying for the MCAT. I didn’t mind sitting by myself for meals that semester, because it gave me more time to read. I managed to read them in a semester.
I remember how I felt about the books and the characters more than I remember the details (although I’m working on refreshing those details). I remember I hated Egwene and Elayne, and loved Mat, Moraine, Perrin/Faile, and Lan/Nyneave. I hated the spanking and man vs woman conflict, but I loved the strong female characters, the vivid world building, and dramatic storytelling.
I am so glad to be getting back into it all these years later, both with the show and the books!
“She gained another nightmare to join the babe in the snow and the faceless man. She sat on the Sun Throne, wearing the shawl of an Aes Sedai, and in the streets outside, the mobs were destroying the city.”
-Moiraine Damodred, New Spring
just some more art to feed the Sun Queen AU we all deserve
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