I think most of us expect(or at least want) Moiraine to be rescued from Finnland. Many things point to it- Min's visions, Egwene's dreams, the Wise One Rings, and the fact that Moiraine knew Thom would survive Tanchino*

But if she comes back... what will she do?

A few points to consider:

1. The political landscape has changed- massively. Moiraine no longer has the backing of the Amyrlin Seat, for instance, and a host of other changes.

2. She may be burned out. While this can probably be healed (I think? We know stilling can be, I assume that burning is the same thing), she'd be relegated to the same status of tFoH Siuan and Leane, or pre-channeling Egwene. To put it harshly, a powerless busybody.

3. Even if she is at her normal OP power, everyone has become Supercharged in the last few books. Moiraine was once considered one of the strongest Aes Sedai in the Power- yet she can't even reach Cadsuane's level, let alone Egwene, Elyane, Nynaeve, Alivia, any of the superpowered novices, any of the male channelers, any of the Forsaken... Moiraine used to be a big fish in a small pond, but that pond's gotten a lot bigger in the last year or two.

4. Still, you say, she could be an advisor! I suppose, except Cadsuane's already there (Gods, would I love to see a showdown between those two!), and Rand is much less... amenable to advice than he once was.

So! Some powerful obstacles to overcome. Yet as I see it, our lady in Blue has a few things going for her:

1. Rand. Was Moiraine the first woman to die because of him? I'm not sure, but her name heads that masochistic list in letters of fire. If she came back, Rand would probably never let her out of his sight again.

2. Her reputation. Girl killed a FORSAKEN, back in the days before anyone with a braid and a bad attitude could beat them. There have been hints that she's already becoming a legend amongst the Aes Sedai, and I suspect returning from death at the hands of the Eelfinn will not hurt her in that regard.

3. Herself. It's been a dozen books. We've seen a good chunk of this world by now. To us, Aes Sedai are no longer mysterious bogeywomen of unknowable power. No, they're mostly just the superpowered equivalent of that annoying old lady who calls the town on you if you let your bushes get too wild. They're arrogant, pushy, often immature, and believe that the world dances at their slightest whim, or at least that it should.

Moiraine, however, is a one-woman badass Adventure Lady. She has Lord of the Rings adventures, not Andoran politics adventures. She's tough. She's smart. And she's dedicated her life to making sure Rand can save the world the way he thinks is best (though it took her a bit to come to that way of thinking).


Conclusion? Moiraine's role will be whatever the hell she wants it to be.

Prediction? Moiraine will pull off a few tricky maneuvers and end up dominating the world with her silly forehead necklace.




*Admittedly, that last one's a bit of a stretch. However, if Moiraine's answers at all related to being with Thom again, then she would have known that he would survive Tanchino... and if said interaction was something like "You will marry Thom", or anything else that she had not yet done when she tackled Lanfear, then that's another strong point in favor of her return.