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
1741 Views
I cannot follow your assumptions.
- 06/01/2010 04:07:33 AM
1151 Views
Re: I cannot follow your assumptions.
- 06/01/2010 04:59:12 AM
972 Views
Wait!
- 06/01/2010 05:10:33 AM
1073 Views
Re: Wait!
- 06/01/2010 05:20:02 AM
979 Views
Re: Wait!
- 06/01/2010 05:58:00 AM
967 Views
Re: Wait!
- 06/01/2010 11:46:13 AM
928 Views
I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 07:30:56 AM
1035 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 03:32:24 PM
933 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 09:52:47 PM
1034 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 11:19:56 PM
952 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 07/01/2010 12:21:50 AM
1007 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 07/01/2010 12:56:26 AM
951 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 07/01/2010 01:46:16 AM
1005 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
1438 Views
Rand crossed a line
- 06/01/2010 02:36:42 PM
1037 Views
Doesn't Balefire remove your thread from the Pattern permanently?
- 06/01/2010 02:55:38 PM
1018 Views
No, RJ stated balefired people can be reborn. *NM*
- 06/01/2010 03:26:00 PM
498 Views
But not in this turning of the Wheel. So they'd miss out on MANY lifetimes.
- 06/01/2010 05:46:04 PM
945 Views
No, balefire just kills you backwards in time. It is not super-death. *NM*
- 06/01/2010 09:58:18 PM
511 Views
LOL ... super-death!
- 06/01/2010 11:59:31 PM
887 Views
Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 06:51:15 PM
1018 Views
Re: Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 07:16:14 PM
966 Views
Re: Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 08:58:40 PM
961 Views
Re: Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 10:47:11 PM
968 Views
let me ask the question in a different way
- 06/01/2010 11:26:43 PM
968 Views
Re: let me ask the question in a different way
- 06/01/2010 11:40:56 PM
946 Views
actually that quote supports my thoughts
- 06/01/2010 11:50:40 PM
1017 Views
Re: actually that quote supports my thoughts
- 07/01/2010 12:10:07 AM
900 Views
yet it could take him some undetermined amount of time to figure out your dead?
- 07/01/2010 12:34:34 AM
907 Views
Re: yet it could take him some undetermined amount of time to figure out your dead?
- 07/01/2010 01:13:40 AM
876 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
1017 Views
Sigh. What mass murder?
- 07/01/2010 12:15:01 AM
849 Views
In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 03:14:32 PM
925 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 03:57:43 PM
947 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 07:13:21 PM
953 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 07:52:24 PM
883 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 08:56:43 PM
973 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 09:26:01 PM
918 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 09:30:45 PM
853 Views
Personally I'm kind of sick of Rand being the only person killing FS!
- 07/01/2010 09:42:57 PM
1017 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 09:56:02 PM
970 Views
OK I'm sorry but this gets a huge ROFL :lol:
- 07/01/2010 10:30:19 PM
973 Views
Yes. Anakin Skywalker all over again
- 06/01/2010 11:01:02 PM
1043 Views
Meh
- 06/01/2010 11:30:24 PM
884 Views
The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 06/01/2010 11:33:32 PM
880 Views
Re: The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 06/01/2010 11:50:37 PM
968 Views
Re: The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 06/01/2010 11:55:03 PM
944 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
937 Views
Re: The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 07/01/2010 12:23:11 AM
868 Views
I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 12:52:25 AM
901 Views
Re: I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 01:24:32 AM
952 Views
Re: I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 03:33:52 PM
885 Views
Re: I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 04:28:18 PM
1035 Views
right cause all Generals are so well versed in medical conditions 
- 07/01/2010 09:44:09 PM
1006 Views
- 07/01/2010 09:44:09 PM
1006 Views
Nice way to avoid the argument.
- 07/01/2010 10:00:17 PM
943 Views
I'm just done talking in circles. You seem to think that because people
- 07/01/2010 11:53:05 PM
969 Views
I concede
- 07/01/2010 01:09:11 AM
871 Views
You weren't wrong overall, but there were some serious flaws in your reasoning.
- 07/01/2010 02:43:17 AM
1005 Views
Morals are subjective anyhow,
- 07/01/2010 06:23:09 AM
955 Views
Re: Morals are subjective anyhow,
- 07/01/2010 03:23:59 PM
892 Views
I have religious beliefs and that is an absurd contention
- 09/01/2010 12:00:02 AM
958 Views
You are treating Graendal's "pets" as though they were enemy combatants
- 07/01/2010 03:40:03 PM
1017 Views
Like I give a damn what a group of professional killers would do.
- 08/01/2010 11:39:11 PM
877 Views
Graendal captured these people as part of the Shadows offensive, Operation Chaos Rules
- 09/01/2010 12:00:40 AM
1180 Views
Well, I still liked your first argument. It's a freaking war. The argument ...
- 07/01/2010 07:08:53 PM
927 Views