Rand's bonding.

[AshSnow 0]

I'm reading LoC and I just read the part where Rand meets with Verin and Alanna in Caemlyn.

 

As their privately talking Alanna suddenly bonds Rand. Then they both try to shield him, but Rand is more powerful and beats them to it. So what I don't get is...if he has them shielded, a few Maidens outside and soldiers, (Though they have two warders, but he could wrap them up in air) he's in a pretty good position. So why doesn't he demand Alanna to unbond him as her warder?? He could even have them arrested and locked away. So on and so on till she unbond's him.

 

Instead he just threatens them to leave the shield intact (Which if he kept with that threat, or even threatened to still them...should be good to get her to unbound him) and just leaves. Why does he leave it at that and just leave?

 

Is Rand just that dumb? Does he not care being a warder? Is he too confused or maybe sees benefits in this? Or am I missing something?

[Olivia 26]

Yes, my dear boy, Rand is just that dumb. Because of his foolish-beyond-words policy of not harming women, he wasn't willing to do what was necessary to force Alanna to release the bond on him (or just kill her; if anyone is cold enough to get over the Power-induced trauma of having your bonded Aes Sedai die on you, Mr. IHaveToBeHarderThanSteelToWinArmageddon could).

 

Besides, RJ wanted it as part of the plot so he let Alanna get away with what, to me, is worse than rape, although still not as fucking disgusting as what happened to some of the Aes Sedai who encountered male channelers later in the books (don't want to spoil).

[Marie 73]

I like Alanna, so I admit to being rather forgiving of her. That whole plot line only gets more annoying as the story continues.

 

Rand should just get the bond removed: it would be better for everyone.

[AshSnow 0]

Thank you very much Olivia =].

Now I can continue on with the book .

 

Originally I liked Rand, but after everything that's happened, plus this now as Olivia explained to me...I no longer like him at all, and I fully know why everyone here hates him now. Dumb Rand

[Brynefan 2]

I think I started to hate him when he thought he had killed the DO in book one. Stupid Rand!

[Asmodean82 0]

Here I am, the one fan of Rand here. This is a young guy thrust into unasked for circumstance against every evil (petty and Major) the world has to offer.

 

He's in perpetual pain, he has a madman in his head, everyone he ever knew is afraid or at least wary of him. The power he wields racks him and sends him into uncontrollabe rages. And at the end of the ride, he's guaranteed a painful, hideous death.

 

When he finally accepted these as realities he still thought he could get kings and nobles on board to unite everything. Yet everyone spent their time trying to manipulate him to their own ends. It's a constant barrage that while he doesn't always deal well with -

 

I hated how he treated Moiraine, but they changed each other and she proved to be the coolest character in the story as a result. Complain all you like about his inability to kill women, but if he weren't that way...

 

1st, no dramatic defining moment for Moiraine against Lanfear.

2nd, how long would his sanity really last without some level of compassion?

 

For my part I love his story arch because it's an arch loaded with contridictions and no easy answers. Much like real people.

[Kaitlin 22]

Besides, RJ wanted it as part of the plot so he let Alanna get away with what, to me, is worse than rape, although still not as fucking disgusting as what happened to some of the Aes Sedai who encountered male channelers later in the books (don't want to spoil).

 

Quoted For Truth.

 

I always say this, and I liked Alanna before so maybe it's clouding my judgement, but I think Verin supersneakily coerced Alanna into that force bonding. I can't explain my reasoning, but it has something to do with characters later on. If she didn't "do the thing with the thing" than even just pushing her past her limit by bringing up certain things might have influenced the already highly unbalanced Green.

 

Not that what she did wasn't completely disgusting, and not that Rand shouldn't have done what it took to get her to drop that bond, female or no.

[Tosh 8]

how long would his sanity really last without some level of compassion?

If he benefits so from it is it really compassion?

 

Here I am, the one fan of Rand here.

I actually enjoyed reading about Rand and his escapades. My only real grievance with him is the same as with all the characters as of the last few books, that being the fact that there is no character development. They are thrown into an increasing amount of precarious situations and manage to overcome them, yet they do not grow from the experiences.

 

The only real character development I can think of, sligh as it is, is actually provided by Nynaeve and her slow ascent (or descent depending on your views) to donning the crown of the Queen of Malkier.

[Ishmael Moridin 0]

I think Rand's character showing a vulnerability to killing/hurting women added a whole new dimension to the story ... if he had forced Alanna to release his bond then and there, we would have been robbed of a (potential) pivotal twist in aMoL

 

Moreover, I don't think he fully knew the extent of his control of the situation when he was bonded, or he would have forced Alanna to release his bond.

[Tosh 8]

I always thought he was so shook up by it that he didn't think to anything but storm out, especially with what happened outside with the Two Rivers girls. By the way, did that happen before or after he was bonded?

[AshSnow 0]

It happened after. I thought the same at first...but he thought enough to shield both of them, threaten them, and give them orders to stay out of the inner city, and whatever else he thought/said. So I figured he should have been able to think of demanding to be unbonded.

 

But then again you could be right...sometimes when a thing shakes you up enough, you seemingly somehow forget the most important thing, but not everything else.

[Marie 73]

Rand isn't always the smartest or quickest on the uptake, let us be honest.

[Ishmael Moridin 0]

Yep, in these matters, he is a little slow.

[jan 14]

In his defence, though -- and I have to add here that I am NOT a Rand fan -- what he's had thrust upon himself is a HUGE, huge deal. I can't imagine anyone could have dealt with it "well".

[Kaitlin 22]

I somehow want Moiraine to help him with the Alanna thing. Maybe smack some sense into him, maybe give him an (awkward!) hug and make him tell Alanna to drop it. Or something. I don't know what, but his weird thing with women is all from Lews and he doesn't need to stupidly lose another hand to the most evil of Forsaken just because they have boobies.

 

All the Forsaken should grow breasts. Rand would be defeated forever.