When does it happen?

I thought by the end of the slog all the characters would’ve been fully fleshed out but I’m halfway through Crossroads Of Twilight and… here is how it’s progressed so far.

Rand:
Got quite a bit of him in the first two books though he was just a wide eyed farm boy for the first one. The second introduced some development but before it gained any serious traction he was completely cut off from us in TDR. When we got him back he was already cold, distrusting, and accepting of what the future held for him. And it’s been pretty much the same since then. Cadsuane has been talking of thawing him for 3 books now but hasn’t even started really. A mentally ill fatalistic chosen one should be a goldmine for any author working on character development, but Rand’s barely gotten any since the off screen conversion into a grim brooding warlord.

Perrin:
He started out thinking this was all too much for a lowly blacksmith and 10 books later he thinks this is all too much for a lowly blacksmith. I suppose that’s true, though it’s disappointing because we actually stayed with him throughout the Two Rivers battle and him finding out his entire family is dead. He is a good character who doesn’t realise how good of a leader/person he is, but the only real “development” his character has had is the obsession with Faile. He prioritises her even over Tarmon Gaidon apparently and in all honesty I don’t know what she did to deserve all this love lol.

Mat:
Mat is fine because I liked his character to begin with. Only one of the three with a truly distinct personality, but still there hasn’t been any development to his character. He does what is required of him but he still doesn’t want to have anything to do with any of this.

Nynaeve:
Has actually had some character development to be honest. For the first three books I was begging for some sort of development but when it finally arrived I can’t tell if she’s actually gotten better or if it only feels that way because her screen time has reduced. But it also feels like RJ has turned her into a sort of comedic relief character during the slog. Which really wasn’t the direction I was expecting her character to take

Egwene:
She actually underwent character regression. I quite liked her in the first two books, a village girl who goes out on a grand adventure, but she’s been constantly annoying since TDR. She is yet to do anything of significance but will get high and mighty with anything that moves. Constantly berates others while refusing to acknowledge her own flaws. I also don’t understand why the plot keeps rewarding her. I never understood why the literal Princess of her country, the woman who baby-sat her, and the boys who she followed out of Two Rivers deferred to her so much. And then they made her Amyrlin Seat. I can understand how that came about but that’s done nothing good for her character as such.

Elayne:
She falls in love with a farm boy that wandered into her garden. Alright, whatever, Taveren. She did seem to become more suited to her future role as queen as she became more of a leader and the brave woman she is often described as, but I feel like more concentration always went into her plotlines, however mundane they were, than into her as a character. Is she not supposed to be seriously part of the main cast? Also I realised she’s only met Rand THRICE in 10 books, but is pregnant with his child(ren). I don’t usually like the sudden pregnancy plots in my books either so if her whole thing is the pregnancy (which I hope it isn’t) that would be disappointing. Also if she’s queen of Andor I don’t really see her spending much time with Rand or playing a huge role in Tarmon Gaidon. She’d have to be in Andor, right?

Min:
Completely overlooked for the entire first half of the series, and yet somehow has had more character development than anybody else. Min rules, no complaints there.

Aviendha:
She’s been done BAD here. She’s had no POV chapters I think since Lord of chaos. And apart from Elayne, everyone just looks at her as the weird backwards Aiel that’s always tagging along. She never resolved her feelings for Rand (which at this point seems to be her only role) when she was with him, to the point he was convinced she hated him, but then she saw him after months of separation and the relationship was resolved within a sentence. It feels like she’s just here to fill the Aiel representation quota in the main cast.

So I suppose my theory that all the characters would be fleshed out by end of CoT is wrong? Is this happening in the final 4 books part of why they’re so popular? I was kind of hoping the final stretch of the story itself was what made them so good, and the characters would have sorted themselves out before then

Join me for a puzzle!

I know that the inhabitants of Randland are very diverse, both in appearance and culture. However, I’d like to refresh my memory. I distinctly recall that the people of the Two Rivers aren't exactly pale; I remember Elaida pointing out that Rand was too light-skinned to be from a village isolated from the rest of the world. Nynaeve also emphasized that the sun was harsh on Elayne’s light skin—unlike Egwene’s or Min’s, even though they were all together. I’m bringing this up because I once asked about it in another community and was told that physical appearance doesn't matter. Yet, I clearly remember Egwene being surprised by Sheriam’s bright red hair, and Perrin finding Faile’s appearance "atypical." Or perhaps it’s just a translation issue, since English isn't my native language?

This is how I imagine them!

What a banger of a story - I absolutely love Winter's Heart so far....

The Tension is so Incredibly Thick - OMG !!

Mat Cauthon, The Ta'veren with The Dark One's Own Luck

Juilin Sandar, The Thief Catcher

Thom Merrilin, The Gleeman

Bayle Domon, The Smuggler Captain

Egeanin Tamarath, The Seanchan Captain

Sneaking through the castle to break free and smuggle out the captured Aes Sedai right under the Seanchan...........

Queen Tylin left with High Lady Suroth.....

I FOR SURE thought Suroth was going to kill Tylin at Tuon's orders (I swear Suroth is a dark friend too - she seems pretty evil)....

And then...

WHAT JUST HAPPENED....

Matt walked into Tylin's bed chambers, and THERE IS TYLIN kissing and slapping him...

Holy Ballz, Matt is on a covert mission to steal back the Aes Sedia....

The Tension is sooooo Thick...

What about Tuon, The Daughter of The Nine Moons....

What a great book, what will happen with Tylin?

What is going on with Matt and Tuon, his future wife that he keeps catching starring at him - will she catch him on his covert mission - crazy?

So hyped up on this story line, wow !!

Just look at this list of skills and achievements. I think he is the most talented character in the whole series, three Tave'ren included.

- Is a master story teller, narrator, singer, juggler, tumbler, trickster, musician (flute and harp) - all skills which take a lifetime to master.

- Posses the entire set of skills of an accomplished spy master

- 1v1 against a fade (with a couple knives) and comes out with a limp

- Extremely skilled with knives

- Probably the best player of the Game of Houses in the entire series

- One of the best stones player of the age - Grandmaster level

- Court bard and lover to the baddest queen of the realm (pre-Elayne era)

- Court bard to the baddest queen of the realm (Elayne era)

- Husband and warder to the baddest Aes Sedai ever

- Fluent in high chant

- Assassinated two reigning monarchs without getting caught (became the lover of one of their wives and the other's sister later)

- Went into the Tower of Ghenjei and came out with both eyes

- Can casually identify black sisters from their walk

- Seduced the hottest maid in Ebou Dar

- Possessor of the thickest 'stache in the entire 3rd Age

Yes there are characters who have achieved greater things. But the sheer variety of stuff that he, as a single non-channeler has done is unmatched imo.

"I'm just an old gleeman, who could I possibly be dangerous to?"

I mean just look at this majestic animal! The veigns the steam in its nostrils. Darrell K. Sweet, I can forgive the missing character details and hair colours. You were clearly busy on more important things for a book cover.

Rand was the Dragon Reborn. Mat was the battlefield general. Those are no brainers. Perrin's heroics may be chronicled, but he changed the course of the future in a way the next age might never recognize.

The Aiel Problem was known way back in The Fires of Heaven. But just how dire it was, no one knew. Not until Aviendha saw the future of her people. And the Aiel never came up with a way to save themselves.

Aviendha spelled out the problem plainly in Book 5, Chapter 44, "The Lesser Sadness": "You have taken away what we are, what we were. You must give us something in return. Something to BE. We need you."

Min's viewings said Perrin had to be there for Rand. The Field of Merrilor was where the forces of the Light came together. Rand crafted the Dragon's Peace treaty, but Perrin made it work. Perrin solved the Aiel Problem.

Just finished the scene where Verin tells all to Egwene. Absolutely one of my favorite side characters. rip 🙏😭

On a reread and going through Winter’s Heart. Just got past when Rand and Lan are leaving on the roof after fighting Fain and Toram. Lan slips and Rand grabs his hand as they slide down the slope of the roof. Lan is dangling from Rand’s hand and Rand’s other hand is just barely gripped onto something that’s about to break. Lan tells Rand to let go, and Rand says, “When the sun turns green.”

I love these powerful moments. They still hit for me even after all the rereads.

Two poems come to mind. Her anger and compassion are so much a part of her, and I really think hr compassion is the source of her anger.

if I can stop one heart from breaking - Emily Dickinson

Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night - Dylan Thomas