Mary: Well, here we are with another Wheel of Time update. It feels like we haven’t made one in forever (okay, since August 2023), but a lot has changed in terms of where we are in the series. Do you want to explain where we are now, Todd?

Todd: Sure! We have finished Knife of Dreams and are about a third (or 38% according to Storygraph!) of the way through The Gathering Storm, the first of the books in the series to be co-written by Brandon Sanderson. Many people like to say that Knife of Dreams is a return to form for the series, but I know you had some conflicted thoughts about it, Mary, so how are you feeling as we round the bend and head into the end-game of this massive series?

Mary: You say “co-written,” but really Brando Sando has taken the reins. While the content is more or less the same, the pacing is wildly different to me. The Gathering Storm starts with so much action, so many big things happening, that it’s hard to compare to what Jordan did. The man did love a 100-page prologue with a character you’ve never heard of.

That said, there’s still a lot of waiting around for the last battle, which is kind of frustrating. I know there are a lot of moving pieces that need to be settled, but I really want to see all of our main players back together again. How long has it been since that happened??

Todd: I believe we have not had every character together in the same place since…The Shadow Rising? Book Four? Once everyone leaves The Stone of Tear, there’s really no looking back. And it does feel like the characters have suddenly realized they are in the final chapters of an epic fantasy series. The sky seems to be constantly on the verge of breaking out into a…gathering storm, and the world no longer seems to work by the same rules. We saw a man just burst into a bunch of beetles and another man just caught on fire? So, the body horror and the horror-horror is really ramping up as we approach the Last Battle. 

Mary: The taint is gone, though! 

Todd: That’s true. Are we happy about it, though? And also: does it even matter at this point? Rand is, charitably, unwell. He also (spoiler alert) lost a hand to Semirhage, one of the last Forsaken to really make herself known. Lots of really annoying threads have been tied up, finally, though. Can we give a round of applause for the Shaido (and Sevanna) finally being dealt with? Thank the Light!

Mary: I do want to circle back to note that my favorite, favorite weird thing that’s happened so far is at one point birds just started falling out of the sky, dead. And everyone was just like, hm, isn’t that weird? No! It’s horrifying! People need to react appropriately! 

Rand is…not doing well and he never has been. This is one of my biggest gripes with the series as a  whole, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. Rand is constantly in a mental prison of his own making, beating himself up about any casualties (and especially women casualties) that happen in his name, or in the name of the Light or whatever. He hates himself so much that he can’t fully appreciate what a dope life he’s having. He’s the chosen one, he has incredible magic powers, the likes of which no one has seen in forever. He’s changing the world and remaking it the way he sees fit— without the taint, without the Shaido, whatever— and yet he HATES himself. He has three women — all of whom are very cool in their own way…well, except for Min — throwing themselves at his feet and demanding to marry them, but he kind of…doesn’t care? It’s frustrating to say the least.

Todd: Quick side tangent to say that Min’s arc is maybe the most disappointing in the whole series. She’s a cool, future-seeing badass who wears pants and doesn’t care what people think of her at the beginning of the series and now she…really only cares about keeping Rand alive. Which, fair! She loves him! But I wish she had more agency throughout the whole series and didn’t feel like a character who is constantly at the whims of the Pattern.

Mary: She could be doing some very helpful things, especially considering she can see the future, but she’s just fawning over Rand and bouncing in his lap like an idiot.

Todd: Mmmhmmmm. And yes, Rand is sooo frustrating. One of RJ’s big things with the whole series is trying to convey what it would be like to actually be a Chosen One, and the way that Rand is characterized pushes a little too hard into the “it would suck” without reveling in any of the very cool things that come along with it, as you just pointed out.

Also, thank goodness, Elayne is Queen now. But also, maybe the most annoying she has ever been? She just walks into a Black Ajah trap without even thinking about it and gets two Aes Sedai killed! That’s bad! Honestly, the less we think about Elayne, maybe the better. Yesterday, as we are writing this, was Valentine’s, so can we talk about loOoOove? And maybe one of the most complicated ‘ships in the series: Mat and Tuon.

Mary: Also, I am very tired about hearing Elayne’s pregnancy woes. It’s just very clear that it’s written by two men who do not know what pregnancy is like. I’m also very disbelieving that she magically got pregnant with TWINS the first time she ever had sex. I also refuse to believe that the first time she had sex with Rand was good (Aviendha and Min felt it through the bond, right?). I’m sorry girl, but the first time you have sex might be intimate, might make you feel closer as a couple, but idk that it’s going to be, like, a rollicking good time. Sorry bout it. Sorry to Todd too.

Todd: I mean, Rand’s first time at sex seemed like it was an accident when he was trying to keep Aviendha warm, so I am not convinced that it would be good for Elayne or him.

Mary: I want you to think about how you could hypothetically accidentally have sex. Does that make sense to you really?

Todd: It…does not! It is a weird thing that I think we as readers are meant to understand is a symbol for how they are “meant to be” or something. But in a world that is so devoted to trying to make the fantasy epic “more realistic,” it is absolute nonsense.

Mary: I’m very interested in the Mat and Tuon relationship. I’m enjoying it, and even more so that we’re now getting some Tuon perspective chapters. The one thing I struggle with is that Tuon thinks slavery is a-okay, and that’s…terrible. I understand that she was raised in a culture that is fine with slavery, and I understand that she doesn’t seem like a bad person in general, but the whole thing is kind of icky.

However, I’m very into the weird relationship dynamic they have. Tuon is clearly the boss here, and Mat is just lucky she likes him.

Todd: Totally! And, they are now married and also now separated once again. It is such an interesting dynamic, and reading the series for the third (I think?) time now, you can really see how RJ is laying the foundation for the Mat-Tuon relationship throughout all the books. I also have to say, once again, how much I love Nynaeve just dropping Lan off at the end of the world and telling him to ride for Malkier while she secretly recruits a bunch of old Malkieri people to join Lan! It is sweet and romantic and seems perfectly in character for who Nynaeve is.

Mary: Oh totally. It also seems perfectly in line with Nynaeve’s belief that all men are stupid. She thinks she’s getting one over on him.

I think, at the end of the day, this series really wants to be (partially) about the power of love and how important it is in people’s lives, but I’m not sure it’s very good at portraying that. It mostly just seems to show Jordan’s own personal kink of powerful women that could kill you. Or spank you. Or whatever the situation calls for.

I’d like to talk about the Forsaken for a moment, if we could.

Todd: Yes, please! Love to talk about the Forsaken…or The Chosen, depending on who you are.

Mary: It seems that in the last couple of books we’ve gotten more chapters from the Forsaken’s point of view. Sometimes, these chapters are just good old fashioned villain-bickering, but other chapters seem to show the humanity behind some of the Forsaken. I’m thinking specifically of when there was…a battle? The taint getting cleansed? And all the Forsaken were scared. Moghedien was hiding in the woods. 

Todd: Classic Moghedien! We have also had another member, Aran’gar, aka Corlan Dashiva, knocked off the board. And we recently discovered that only balefire can perma-kill them! Way to go, Light followers! Also, Egwene finally realized that Halima was in fact a Forsaken all along, which is a huge relief because the fact that she couldn’t put that together made her seem very dumb. While Moridin has claimed his place as Nae’blis, it does seem like a lot of the Forsaken are content to plot in the backgrounds and not really get their hands dirty. Graendal and Mesaana haven’t really tipped their hands yet, and we’re still not totally sure what Demandred is up to.

Mary: I mean, we knew Halima was a Forsaken, Todd. She was literally causing headaches.

Todd: Yes, but Egwene didn’t know!

Mary: Uh-huh, her headaches — inhuman headaches she’d never experienced before — just HAPPENED to occur when this weird woman was around.

Todd: Right, but there’s no way that could have to do with the One Power! It’s not like they’ve heard of anyone inverting their weaves or anything!

Mary: Whew, is there anything else that feels relevant?I will say, I think the pacing with Brandon Sanderson is much better, but it’s still plugging along slower than I’d like.

Todd: Yes, I agree! I love how much has already happened, but it still feels a little like feet-dragging. I also think the stuff with Egwene in the White Tower has been done well, while I am also begging for the Tower Aes Sedai to stop putting up with Elaida’s crap already!

But hopefully all of that will be resolved as we move ever closer to the Last Battle! 

Mary: IF we ever move closer to the Last Battle.

Todd: Who can say! There’s only one way to find out…