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You can't have it both ways.... fionwe1987 Send a noteboard - 02/10/2009 06:47:21 AM

I'm saying they're generally difficult to kill, which they are. But the Forsaken themselves haven't managed to kill a single major protagonist. Sorry, I don't care that there's anarchy in Seanchan, or that Eben and Cabriana died. We're intimately involved with the main characters and our emotions are seated with them. There's nothing more poignant than Rand recalling fallen comrades who died fighting these people - but we'll never see that now, unless Leah gets your heart going. Too bad, you'd have to have your head read to join the Shadow... apart from the obvious reasons. Nynaeve can rest assured - with almost every Forsaken dead, and every darkfriend dead in a grave, she's the safest woman in the world.

Either they are competent and capable or lame. Just because you don't have an emotional response to the results of their competence, you cannot call them lame!

Fair enough, you don't care about millions of deaths, you want a few deaths among the fifteen or so major characters you're reading about. The rest of the deaths are insignificant to you. But a Forsaken's, or any villains, competence can hardly depend on the number of people he kills who you care about!

RJ has chosen, so far, to not have any of the major protagonists killed. Personally, I don't see why they have to die to make the story interesting, but that's a personal preference. You can criticize RJ for not having major characters killed. But why heap scorn and blame on the Forsaken? Many of them have died after exciting fights where they've certainly done a great job, and it is a combination of unfortunate (for them) circumstances that lead to their defeats.

And while you don't care, they have also spread chaos in the world, resulting in who knows how many deaths.

And all this despite being in a world that is far removed from the one they grew up in and having access to none of the technology they are used to.
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Are women really bad generals? - 01/10/2009 07:05:03 PM 1541 Views
I think that all we can conclude from this... - 01/10/2009 07:39:49 PM 835 Views
No. - 01/10/2009 07:41:35 PM 993 Views
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Ishamael's destroyed Civilization twice - 02/10/2009 04:25:37 AM 774 Views
Re: Ishamael's destroyed Civilization twice - 02/10/2009 03:48:13 PM 699 Views
but you are difficult to please - 02/10/2009 05:10:13 AM 745 Views
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Re: but you are difficult to please - 03/10/2009 06:17:21 AM 700 Views
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You can't have it both ways.... - 02/10/2009 06:47:21 AM 788 Views
Why not? - 02/10/2009 08:45:35 AM 743 Views
Re: Why not? - 02/10/2009 04:27:00 PM 645 Views
Re: Why not? - 03/10/2009 06:34:16 AM 765 Views
Re: Why not? - 03/10/2009 07:40:16 AM 707 Views
Re: Why not? - 03/10/2009 05:07:51 PM 679 Views
Yeah - 01/10/2009 09:57:01 PM 735 Views
Re: Yeah - 01/10/2009 10:40:28 PM 769 Views
I thought the same in the past... - 02/10/2009 07:01:18 AM 742 Views
Gah! Hate! - 02/10/2009 04:11:49 PM 754 Views
Ah, come on... - 02/10/2009 04:41:37 PM 725 Views
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Yeah, I can understand that! - 03/10/2009 12:23:25 PM 590 Views
Unless... - 01/10/2009 10:49:55 PM 798 Views
Re: Unless... - 02/10/2009 05:07:14 AM 828 Views
Well, it's entirely hypothetical, - 02/10/2009 06:31:32 AM 709 Views
Re: Or RJ just loves stacking ridiculously unfavourable odds against the male Forsaken generals... - 01/10/2009 09:51:30 PM 823 Views
What about Mat and Ituralde? - 02/10/2009 04:28:49 AM 774 Views
Re: What about Mat and Ituralde? - 02/10/2009 03:52:24 PM 710 Views
Good points! Also, these "generals" haven't actually fielded any troops - 01/10/2009 11:23:40 PM 699 Views
Further... - 02/10/2009 12:14:44 AM 737 Views
But as individuals they are meant to be deadly too - 02/10/2009 05:09:21 AM 695 Views
Just one point ^_^ - 03/10/2009 12:51:50 AM 719 Views
nope - 01/10/2009 08:06:57 PM 827 Views
Re: nope - 01/10/2009 09:32:38 PM 920 Views
Tylee Kirgan, Birgitte, and one other, Egeanin - 01/10/2009 09:47:00 PM 1130 Views
Birgitte's not a soldier though. - 01/10/2009 10:10:50 PM 722 Views
She says she's not, but so does Mat. - 01/10/2009 10:34:04 PM 636 Views
Mat's not a soldier, either - he's a general - 01/10/2009 10:51:29 PM 774 Views
Right, which was what we were discussing at first. - 02/10/2009 04:13:43 PM 718 Views
Yeah, I'm supporting your point about them both being generals - 02/10/2009 06:10:31 PM 730 Views
true, but she does pretty good - 02/10/2009 01:06:03 AM 772 Views
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A ship captain is like a calvary general - 02/10/2009 01:24:37 AM 707 Views
Right. - 02/10/2009 01:36:59 AM 714 Views
Well said. (And its short and to the point.) - 02/10/2009 03:54:23 AM 827 Views
Birgitte is too cautious to be better than an adequate tactician. - 02/10/2009 04:22:45 AM 755 Views
Isn't this more of an outgrowth or her respective specialty? - 07/10/2009 08:40:46 PM 682 Views
My opinion - 02/10/2009 01:30:12 AM 1123 Views
That's a poor excuse - 02/10/2009 11:59:42 AM 661 Views
That's a poor argument - 02/10/2009 04:02:53 PM 885 Views
Re: That's a poor argument - 03/10/2009 04:26:55 AM 746 Views
I disagree - 02/10/2009 04:26:28 PM 760 Views
Re: I disagree - 02/10/2009 08:31:29 PM 970 Views
Oh, puh-lease. - 02/10/2009 09:09:30 PM 907 Views
Re: Oh, puh-lease. - 03/10/2009 04:52:37 PM 727 Views
Re: Oh, puh-lease. - 03/10/2009 08:26:27 PM 619 Views
Re: Oh, puh-lease. - 05/10/2009 05:08:27 PM 3173 Views
I always know I've out-argued an idiot when they fall back on the tired old "RJ wanted it that way" - 06/10/2009 04:42:11 AM 768 Views
um - 08/10/2009 07:36:52 PM 1013 Views
Monday morning quarterbacking at its worst - 04/10/2009 07:28:36 AM 816 Views
Men and football. - 05/10/2009 04:49:35 PM 736 Views
It's the only thing men are allowed to do in Randland - 02/10/2009 03:09:19 AM 751 Views
My thoughts - 02/10/2009 03:12:46 PM 675 Views
.... - 04/10/2009 03:38:44 AM 669 Views

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