Stream of thoughts that I have (whilst probably forgetting 28955 ideas I want to write):
Rand - My favorite. I'm usually drawn to main characters as my favorite. There were times when Rand tried to stop this trend but he came through in the end. Rand atop dragonmount might be my favorite chapter in the series. Some might say love is cliche but I would argue that when it's done with the right weight, the right tone, the correct writing it is powerful.
His worst moments: the paranoia he faced from the madness mixed with the PTSD from the imprisonment down to near his worst when he almost kills Min, nearly losing his humanity were all great and awful parts to his character.
I loved the ending. I loved the trap, I loved using both sides of the one power but using the true power to keep them pure and free of taint. It's so simple that I find it funny I didn't think of it as a possibility.
My smile in the title comes from seeing Rand ride off into the distance with nobody knowing who he was except for presmably Alivia, Elayne, Min, Aviendha, and by inference Cadsuane.
Min will follow him right away. Elayne would travel to him like once a year, she's going to be busy being Queen and raising her twins. And Aviendha would come to him like once every few months. Having 4 babies and being a wise one will keep her busy. But with babies, I'm not sure what would happen. Would Rand want to be there? Would it be weird that he's not in his body?
I've read that it's never revealed how the pipe is lit, but in my head cannon he can now channel the pure one power that he channeled to close the bore, a gift from the creator. If Perrin can basically be anywhere at anytime, Mat gets luck, Rand can get this.
Mat - Mat was a character that I did not enjoy near the start of the series. There were a lot of comments to keep reading and I'm glad that he grew on me. On top of this, I think the writing around him improved a lot as well before Sanderson took over. When he was on his own his character really came out I thought. Jordan found this perfect place for him where he balanced between scoundrel and good guy. Very Han Solo in the OT of him. His constant fighting and underestimating Egwene was funny to me. I was happy when Elayne acknowledged that he was raped. His complaining decreased as the series went on. And I know what he did was different than what he said, but burn me, sometimes it was just too much.
I'm sad we won't see Mat sailing back west with Tuon to reclaim the homeland and hopefully saving her from being assassinated and even getting them to open about about the one power.
Perrin - Hated moody Perrin for like 2 books but he's basically become a god in Rand Land. Able to move anywhere at anytime is some crazy OP power. Even though he was moody, he is always a great friend, loyal, and a wolf-bro so overall I was pretty happy with him.
Aes Sedai - Basically the Jedi of the prequel trilogy. Full of themselves and near useless when it came to actual combat. For the glimpses we saw of the actual test, it seems sisters would try to use emotional personal moments to break sisters and forgot, being confronted by darkfriends? Despite this, once you find out the extent of the black, this begins to make more sense, but that begs the quesiton, how could you let like 25% of existing sisters be black.
Verin - She gets to be the first Aes Sedai listed. She saved them. I'm sure she killed and did awful things in the name of the black but it was toward the end game, when she lies to Egwene, I let out a noise that my wife looked at me odd. Could she have come out earlier? Maybe. Could she have saved lives? Maybe. But not really knowing if Rand was for real and then even when it was shown he was, not that much time changed before the end of the series.
Moraine - Gets to go second for the AS despite her missing from like 60% of the series. I enjoyed her from the start and while something in the back of my head for the first book or two questioned her motives I'm so happy she ended up being what she was. The only thing that I was confused on was the marriage to Thom. I need to re-read and see if this is hinted at. To me, it just sort of happens. Typically I like character deaths to stay, but I'm glad she came back and it wasn't a completely deus ex machina sort of way. I was happy that she was there with Rand in the end. Reading the prequel to those last pages. It just sort of hit me, the journey she was on, at times with nobody to help her. She's up there in MVP discussion. I also wonder if she knows that Rand is alive.
I'm really excited for Rosamund Pike to play her. If the show makes it all the way through, I'm really excited for her sacrifice and then for her to come back. I think it can be an amazing moment.
Nynaeve - My name is Nynaeve ti al'Meara Mandragoran. The message I want sent is this. My husband rides from World's End toward Tarwin's Gap, toward Garmon Gai'don. Will he ride alone? I got chills typing that out. Nynaeve to me at the start of the series was insufferable. Like so many here heard, "just keep reading". I'm very happy that those comments did not disappoint. While she was more in the background toward the end, the moments she did have were fantastic and I'm very happy that she was there with Rand in the end. I liked the call back of her using to help Alanna with out the one power.
Egwene - I think I go against the majority on Egwene. Usually when I saw comments about her here they were very negative. Her arc from rebel to imprisoned amyrlin seat was I think one of the best written arcs in the series. It reminded me so much of Andy Dufresne.
She butted heads with Rand near the end (and Rand didn't help her out at all with telling her nothing of the plan. Not even an "I have a plan but I really need to keep it secret for it to work") but she was what the Aes Sedai should have been. Nynaeve brought this up to when discussing power levels and how it's dumb that AS just bow to another higher in the power level despite experience or age. Egwene is pragmatic, was willing to evolve (though stubborn personally), she showed this by the changes she was going to bring to the AS, and was willing to put everything on the line for the Light, no matter the cost. I'm very curious at what a 100 year reign as amyrlin seat would have done.
Her constant fight with Mat and underestimating him was funny to me.
Her weakest link is Gawyn. I hate him. I hate her relationship with him.
Logain - I wish there was more. At times in AMOL, I was thinking to myself "bruh, you sure you didn't go dark?". The torture he endured clearly left his mark where thinking back on it I think is right because he shouldn't be normal after weeks of torture. And then in the final pages, he breaks? When the refugees say they'll send her son when he's of age if he has the talent, I just wanted to cry for him (I'm bad at crying). When Gabrelle names him Sealbreaker I smiled.
Padan Fain - Did Sanderson forget about him? He seemingly came out of nowhere at the end. Would have loved for a little more chaotic evil out of him and had him butting heads with one of the forsaken.
Lanfear - Eat shit.
Future - the future as Aviendha saw it is gone. But, with graendal on the side of the light under Aviendha and moghedien collared for the seanchan it's really interesting to think how the future will develop as they can both mine for information from the age of legends.
I read that Sanderson he could have written 3 books instead of AMOL and wish that, that had happened. I felt like AMOL despite EVERYTHING that was piled in was just pedal to the medal for the entire time. As mentioned above, I could have used more.
I'm going to read The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time by Jordan & Patterson next. If there are any other materials I should purchase please comment below. I need more.
One to a new series or back to Emond's Field, hmm.
