Well, regardless of what RJ may or may not have implied in later Q&As about balefire, I re-read that scene a few times and Min and Nynaeve were horrified because in their understanding, he burned innocent threads from the Pattern never to be Reborn.
Rand should just tell them they are being idiots.
Without having omniscient abilities, neither would have known that killing one villain was worth sacrificing hundreds of innocent lives in a permanent matter.
Other than the fact that Min atleast should realise that if balefire truly destroyed souls, the wheel would have run out of them a long time ago. Still you may be right.
I think this is one of the scenes that really made Nynaeve come to the realization that Egwene, Elayne, Moiraine, Cadsuane and the Wise Ones had already come to; if Rand adopted such tactics, saving the Wheel using such scorched earth practices, he would have crossed a line where what he saved might not be any better than what Ishamael or any of the Forsaken intended.
Except that Min and Nynaeve are WRONG. Balefire does NOT destroy souls and all those drones will be reborn in better happier lives.
So while the ignorance of Min and Nynaeve explains their reaction, it still means that what Rand did here was not the true atrocity they think. Rand should tell them that. Maybe in the next book he will, explaining to Min for instance that the souls are quite safe. BS himself apparently thought that balefire destroyed souls until he was disabused of that notion by the team when the book was being written. So it is possible that having been wrong himself, he will want to clarify this to the readers. We shall see.
Rand the psycho?
- 06/01/2010 02:53:30 AM
1660 Views
I cannot follow your assumptions.
- 06/01/2010 04:07:33 AM
1064 Views
Re: I cannot follow your assumptions.
- 06/01/2010 04:59:12 AM
894 Views
Wait!
- 06/01/2010 05:10:33 AM
1019 Views
Re: Wait!
- 06/01/2010 05:20:02 AM
925 Views
Re: Wait!
- 06/01/2010 05:58:00 AM
898 Views
Re: Wait!
- 06/01/2010 11:46:13 AM
848 Views
I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 07:30:56 AM
971 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 03:32:24 PM
877 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 09:52:47 PM
947 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 11:19:56 PM
855 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 07/01/2010 12:21:50 AM
922 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 07/01/2010 12:56:26 AM
856 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 07/01/2010 01:46:16 AM
914 Views
Of course, I agree with you, esp since I just put forth the idea you support earlier in the thread.
- 11/01/2010 04:58:26 PM
1329 Views
Rand crossed a line
- 06/01/2010 02:36:42 PM
961 Views
Doesn't Balefire remove your thread from the Pattern permanently?
- 06/01/2010 02:55:38 PM
942 Views
No, RJ stated balefired people can be reborn. *NM*
- 06/01/2010 03:26:00 PM
453 Views
But not in this turning of the Wheel. So they'd miss out on MANY lifetimes.
- 06/01/2010 05:46:04 PM
872 Views
No, balefire just kills you backwards in time. It is not super-death. *NM*
- 06/01/2010 09:58:18 PM
481 Views
LOL ... super-death!
- 06/01/2010 11:59:31 PM
819 Views
Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 06:51:15 PM
932 Views
Re: Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 07:16:14 PM
852 Views
Re: Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 08:58:40 PM
894 Views
Re: Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 10:47:11 PM
888 Views
let me ask the question in a different way
- 06/01/2010 11:26:43 PM
894 Views
Re: let me ask the question in a different way
- 06/01/2010 11:40:56 PM
885 Views
actually that quote supports my thoughts
- 06/01/2010 11:50:40 PM
910 Views
Re: actually that quote supports my thoughts
- 07/01/2010 12:10:07 AM
838 Views
yet it could take him some undetermined amount of time to figure out your dead?
- 07/01/2010 12:34:34 AM
827 Views
Re: yet it could take him some undetermined amount of time to figure out your dead?
- 07/01/2010 01:13:40 AM
801 Views
Meh. I just think advocating mass-murder is the opposite direction RJ meant for this to take.
- 07/01/2010 12:00:44 AM
935 Views
Sigh. What mass murder?
- 07/01/2010 12:15:01 AM
785 Views
In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 03:14:32 PM
861 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 03:57:43 PM
869 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 07:13:21 PM
886 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 07:52:24 PM
830 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 08:56:43 PM
897 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 09:26:01 PM
846 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 09:30:45 PM
783 Views
Personally I'm kind of sick of Rand being the only person killing FS!
- 07/01/2010 09:42:57 PM
953 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 09:56:02 PM
889 Views
OK I'm sorry but this gets a huge ROFL :lol:
- 07/01/2010 10:30:19 PM
874 Views
Yes. Anakin Skywalker all over again
- 06/01/2010 11:01:02 PM
967 Views
Meh
- 06/01/2010 11:30:24 PM
805 Views
The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 06/01/2010 11:33:32 PM
813 Views
Re: The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 06/01/2010 11:50:37 PM
894 Views
Re: The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 06/01/2010 11:55:03 PM
854 Views
I do have to guiltily say, though, that if Rand had balefired the Seanchan and THEN became good...
- 07/01/2010 12:03:20 AM
861 Views
Re: The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 07/01/2010 12:23:11 AM
801 Views
I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 12:52:25 AM
812 Views
Re: I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 01:24:32 AM
877 Views
Re: I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 03:33:52 PM
826 Views
Re: I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 04:28:18 PM
965 Views
right cause all Generals are so well versed in medical conditions 
- 07/01/2010 09:44:09 PM
916 Views
- 07/01/2010 09:44:09 PM
916 Views
Nice way to avoid the argument.
- 07/01/2010 10:00:17 PM
865 Views
I'm just done talking in circles. You seem to think that because people
- 07/01/2010 11:53:05 PM
905 Views
I concede
- 07/01/2010 01:09:11 AM
804 Views
You weren't wrong overall, but there were some serious flaws in your reasoning.
- 07/01/2010 02:43:17 AM
912 Views
Morals are subjective anyhow,
- 07/01/2010 06:23:09 AM
894 Views
Re: Morals are subjective anyhow,
- 07/01/2010 03:23:59 PM
814 Views
I have religious beliefs and that is an absurd contention
- 09/01/2010 12:00:02 AM
893 Views
You are treating Graendal's "pets" as though they were enemy combatants
- 07/01/2010 03:40:03 PM
947 Views
Like I give a damn what a group of professional killers would do.
- 08/01/2010 11:39:11 PM
810 Views
Graendal captured these people as part of the Shadows offensive, Operation Chaos Rules
- 09/01/2010 12:00:40 AM
1118 Views
Well, I still liked your first argument. It's a freaking war. The argument ...
- 07/01/2010 07:08:53 PM
846 Views