Unused ideas from earlier books

[Erika 4]

I am starting a re-read of the Wheel of Time to prepare for final book and am reminded of various plot points or ideas that Jordan introduced but then dropped.

 

One I'm sure we are all aware of Moiraine using a staff she never replaces.

 

I know there are more but I am still on the first book so they are not coming to me.

[Olivia 26]

Good topic

 

Well, we all thought the "forcibly turning a channeler to the Shadow" was an unused idea, until 10 books after it's introduced it finally comes up in ToM.

 

One thing I am especially bitter about (and I've said before) is how, since book 2, we have been told how the revelation that sul'dam can channel will shatter the Seanchan empire, and yet it still hasn't happened. Even now that the new Empress is aware of this fact. Feels like RJ either didn't get around to that fulfilling that plot point or changed his plans for the Seanchan's role in Randland.

 

I'm blanking on more. I swear there are others but I'm too slow right now to remember them. Interested to see what others say!

[Erika 4]

Yes, the Seanchan downfall has never panned out, has it? Perhaps he grew too fond of Tuon.

 

Another thing is Elaida once called Logain, I think it was him, an "unbeliever". She never says what that even means and I do not think anyone else has ever used the term.

[Deadsy 19]

I don't think he changed his plans for the Seanchan. I just think in general people hate them so much they just want them to go away. But it does seem like it's been left for way too long and now if it actually is resolved there isn't much time for it. I've never thought the Seanchan would fall apart from the revelation. I just guessed that somehow they would decide to quit collaring channelers once they made the discovery. I knew it would be more complicated than just throwing them away, but that's what I thought would happen eventually. Especially after we had book four and discovered that there are Seanchan who aren't jerkfaces and they do have some redeeming characteristics on the whole.

[Kaitlin 22]

Yeah, but how long has it taken the US to still not get it's head out of it's ass about slavery and how long did we have slaves to begin with and keep people in those conditions even though there were some amount of people back then who were abolitionists?

 

Lincoln didn't even care as much as we now want him to about freeing people, but at least he didn't keep and train people like Tuon. So. If looked at realistically some people can act decently in general but that doesn't mean people will stop acting like evil bastards when it serves their own interests.

 

I draw parallels to slavery because RJ has said that the Seanchan remind him of Americans. It has taken a long time and there are still fools stomping around in sheet sets.

Edited January 30, 2011 by ~Romanda~

[Olivia 26]

The thing Moiraine does in TEoTW where she attunes the silver coins to the three boys so she can track them. I was always curious about that and was surprised it wasn't used in the later books or elaborated on, since it seems like a pretty handy weave. The only other time I can think of it being mentioned is in KoD when Elayne puts this Finder weave on a guy's buckle so she can trace him (he was spying on the BA in Caemlyn for her).

[Olivia 26]

Hark, a doublepost! I have a question:

 

In TGH the Draghkar that attacks Moiraine while she is with Adeleas and Vandene was warded so that a channeler's/Warder's ability to sense Shadowspawn would not detect it.

 

Do we ever see this warding used again by the Shadow? I can't recall off the top of my head and wondered if anyone else had thoughts on it. It seems like it would've been useful for all those failed Gray Man assassination attempts, and those Trolloc attacks (though that's assuming the ward can be used on large numbers of Shadowspawn simultaneously).

[Marie 73]

I can't recall it being used again. The grey men already have a warding of sort built in by way of their de-soulfying; Moiraine didn't notice them in tdr, Perrin did, so an actual warding might be counter predictive. Unless it's from for smell.

[Sam 19]

Seanchan...there doesnt seem to be enough time left for anything to happen with them one way or another.