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
1616 Views
I cannot follow your assumptions.
- 06/01/2010 04:07:33 AM
1019 Views
Re: I cannot follow your assumptions.
- 06/01/2010 04:59:12 AM
853 Views
Wait!
- 06/01/2010 05:10:33 AM
972 Views
Re: Wait!
- 06/01/2010 05:20:02 AM
889 Views
Re: Wait!
- 06/01/2010 05:58:00 AM
856 Views
Re: Wait!
- 06/01/2010 11:46:13 AM
805 Views
I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 07:30:56 AM
930 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 03:32:24 PM
837 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 09:52:47 PM
901 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 11:19:56 PM
788 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 07/01/2010 12:21:50 AM
881 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 07/01/2010 12:56:26 AM
813 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 07/01/2010 01:46:16 AM
853 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
1283 Views
Rand crossed a line
- 06/01/2010 02:36:42 PM
923 Views
Doesn't Balefire remove your thread from the Pattern permanently?
- 06/01/2010 02:55:38 PM
868 Views
No, RJ stated balefired people can be reborn. *NM*
- 06/01/2010 03:26:00 PM
426 Views
But not in this turning of the Wheel. So they'd miss out on MANY lifetimes.
- 06/01/2010 05:46:04 PM
828 Views
No, balefire just kills you backwards in time. It is not super-death. *NM*
- 06/01/2010 09:58:18 PM
459 Views
LOL ... super-death!
- 06/01/2010 11:59:31 PM
776 Views
Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 06:51:15 PM
895 Views
Re: Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 07:16:14 PM
814 Views
Re: Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 08:58:40 PM
853 Views
Re: Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 10:47:11 PM
846 Views
let me ask the question in a different way
- 06/01/2010 11:26:43 PM
834 Views
Re: let me ask the question in a different way
- 06/01/2010 11:40:56 PM
829 Views
actually that quote supports my thoughts
- 06/01/2010 11:50:40 PM
847 Views
Re: actually that quote supports my thoughts
- 07/01/2010 12:10:07 AM
806 Views
yet it could take him some undetermined amount of time to figure out your dead?
- 07/01/2010 12:34:34 AM
788 Views
Re: yet it could take him some undetermined amount of time to figure out your dead?
- 07/01/2010 01:13:40 AM
760 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
863 Views
Sigh. What mass murder?
- 07/01/2010 12:15:01 AM
750 Views
In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 03:14:32 PM
820 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 03:57:43 PM
827 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 07:13:21 PM
841 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 07:52:24 PM
786 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 08:56:43 PM
856 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 09:26:01 PM
785 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 09:30:45 PM
729 Views
Personally I'm kind of sick of Rand being the only person killing FS!
- 07/01/2010 09:42:57 PM
907 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 09:56:02 PM
842 Views
OK I'm sorry but this gets a huge ROFL :lol:
- 07/01/2010 10:30:19 PM
823 Views
Yes. Anakin Skywalker all over again
- 06/01/2010 11:01:02 PM
919 Views
Meh
- 06/01/2010 11:30:24 PM
761 Views
The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 06/01/2010 11:33:32 PM
769 Views
Re: The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 06/01/2010 11:50:37 PM
845 Views
Re: The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 06/01/2010 11:55:03 PM
791 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
823 Views
Re: The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 07/01/2010 12:23:11 AM
769 Views
I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 12:52:25 AM
774 Views
Re: I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 01:24:32 AM
836 Views
Re: I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 03:33:52 PM
778 Views
Re: I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 04:28:18 PM
922 Views
right cause all Generals are so well versed in medical conditions 
- 07/01/2010 09:44:09 PM
878 Views
- 07/01/2010 09:44:09 PM
878 Views
Nice way to avoid the argument.
- 07/01/2010 10:00:17 PM
829 Views
I'm just done talking in circles. You seem to think that because people
- 07/01/2010 11:53:05 PM
862 Views
I concede
- 07/01/2010 01:09:11 AM
757 Views
You weren't wrong overall, but there were some serious flaws in your reasoning.
- 07/01/2010 02:43:17 AM
866 Views
Morals are subjective anyhow,
- 07/01/2010 06:23:09 AM
847 Views
Re: Morals are subjective anyhow,
- 07/01/2010 03:23:59 PM
772 Views
I have religious beliefs and that is an absurd contention
- 09/01/2010 12:00:02 AM
852 Views
You are treating Graendal's "pets" as though they were enemy combatants
- 07/01/2010 03:40:03 PM
854 Views
Like I give a damn what a group of professional killers would do.
- 08/01/2010 11:39:11 PM
766 Views
Graendal captured these people as part of the Shadows offensive, Operation Chaos Rules
- 09/01/2010 12:00:40 AM
1077 Views
Well, I still liked your first argument. It's a freaking war. The argument ...
- 07/01/2010 07:08:53 PM
803 Views