Welcome back to my re-read, recap, and reaction to Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. This post will only have spoilers through the current chapter.
You can find my previous chapter recaps HERE.
Chapter 7: A Matter of Thought
NOTE: The following chapter summary comes from wot.fandom.com
Point of view: Elayne Trakand
Elayne and Nynaeve are preparing for bed and a meeting in Tel’aran’rhiod. They are hoping to see Egwene but she has been kept from Tel’aran’rhiod since her encounter with Lanfear six weeks ago. This meeting will be with the Aes Sedai so they can learn some things before meeting with the Aiel Wise Ones the next night. Siuan and Leane wait with them until Sheriam, Carlinya, Morvrin, Myrelle, Anaiya, and Beonin appear. The group moves to the White Tower so they can look through Elaida‘s correspondence and try to find out what is happening in the world. Leane disappears and Nynaeve is sent after her.
The rest divide themselves between Elaida’s correspondence and Alviarin‘s. They find a warrant for Moiraine‘s arrest, which means that Elaida still does not know that Moiraine is dead. Shemerin ran away after being demoted from Aes Sedai to Accepted. The Blight is quiet. No news is coming from Tarabon or Arad Doman. Elaida still wants Elayne returned to the tower, no matter the cost. Suddenly there are screams from outside the room. The Aes Sedai rush out and are caught in a nightmare.
Instead of a hallway there is a cavern filled with Trollocs. The three Aes Sedai that had been in the other room are being tortured. The other three try to fight the nightmare but are drawn in to it also, despite Elayne trying to warn them. Elayne and Siuan try to dispel the nightmare but it is too large. They decide to enter the nightmare and get the Aes Sedai to deny its existence. Finally they banish the nightmare, then return to the waking world to heal their injuries.
Elayne makes a quick trip to the palace in Caemlyn and notices the changes Rand has made, then returns to the waking world.
Point of view: Demandred
Demandred notices Elayne, sees she dislikes changes Rand have made, but takes no action saying “let the Lord of Chaos rule”.
REACTION:
I’m not much of a criticize the author’s choices guy, but felt like a cheat of the circumstances that none of the Aes Sedai died in the nightmare. Honestly, most of them should of have died. Elayne was in there less time than the others and the blade to cut her throat was literally sliding across her neck when they finally escaped. It doesn’t make sense to me that everyone survived. At the very least, there should have been frantic attempts at major healing that needed to happen when they escaped. I’m not really rooting for anyone to die, mind you, but consequences should match the direness of the situation. That was as dire as it gets. Everyone was essentially fine.
If we put on the logical garb of a member of the White Ajah… was it logical to jump into a nightmare to save the others, or should Elayne and Siuan have let them die? It’s probably good for everyone that there is no universe wherein Elayne is a White. But it was madness to jump into a nightmare. What would Siuan have done if left to her own devices? She’s a lot colder than Elayne. She might have let them go.
Is it a coincidence that a nightmare popped up when they were poking around and snooping on Elaida? Probably not. It seems likely to me that this was a trap set by the White Tower’s resident Forsaken. The Salidar resistance was nearly decapitated in one blow. “Let the Lord of Chaos Rule.”
I honestly tire of Elayne. I know Jordan wants me to find her charming or endearing, in a good-hearted, naive, and yet brave Victorian princess kind of way, but most of the time she just strikes me as crazy. Setting aside the nearly suicidal decision to jump into a Shadowspawn nightmare, does it make sense for her to be angry at Rand after he purged her country of its Forsaken Ruler and made it clear that he does not intend to rule in Andor? Not at all. He’s doing what she would want him to do. Is she mad anyway? Of course. Even in her own mind, she kind of acknowledges that there was nothing else he really could have done, and that he has proven himself to be a very good ruler elsewhere, but she’s openly angry anyway.
It’s all just so tiring. Why not try respecting the guy you profess to love? Nah? Okay. The only woman in Randland (among those in an authority position, or from his home village) not perpetually under the impression that Rand needs her guidance is Min. She’s the only one who is just trying to help him.
I guess to be fair to the others, though, most of them are now watching him mutter quietly to himself, and then answer himself, so maybe they have a point.
The end of the chapter is kind of weird. Was Demandred just waiting and hiding in that room for no reason? Why? He had no idea Elayne was going to suddenly show up. Why hide? And I guess he knows now that she’s using a dream ter’angreal. I don’t know if that will matter later, but it might. We also know that he’s just kind of hanging around in Andor, at least sometimes. Is Jordan trying to lead us to conclude he’s Taim? Is he overseeing Taim? There are definitely some clues in that direction. (Someone showed Taim how to find out whether a man could learn to channel and the only candidates are the Forsaken.)