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
1705 Views
I cannot follow your assumptions.
- 06/01/2010 04:07:33 AM
1110 Views
Re: I cannot follow your assumptions.
- 06/01/2010 04:59:12 AM
930 Views
Wait!
- 06/01/2010 05:10:33 AM
1047 Views
Re: Wait!
- 06/01/2010 05:20:02 AM
955 Views
Re: Wait!
- 06/01/2010 05:58:00 AM
944 Views
Re: Wait!
- 06/01/2010 11:46:13 AM
884 Views
I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 07:30:56 AM
1004 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 03:32:24 PM
907 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 09:52:47 PM
983 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 06/01/2010 11:19:56 PM
911 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 07/01/2010 12:21:50 AM
967 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 07/01/2010 12:56:26 AM
903 Views
Re: I doubt he meant 'in one go' as a single stream of balefire.
- 07/01/2010 01:46:16 AM
962 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
1387 Views
Rand crossed a line
- 06/01/2010 02:36:42 PM
1002 Views
Doesn't Balefire remove your thread from the Pattern permanently?
- 06/01/2010 02:55:38 PM
982 Views
No, RJ stated balefired people can be reborn. *NM*
- 06/01/2010 03:26:00 PM
477 Views
But not in this turning of the Wheel. So they'd miss out on MANY lifetimes.
- 06/01/2010 05:46:04 PM
909 Views
No, balefire just kills you backwards in time. It is not super-death. *NM*
- 06/01/2010 09:58:18 PM
493 Views
LOL ... super-death!
- 06/01/2010 11:59:31 PM
846 Views
Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 06:51:15 PM
981 Views
Re: Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 07:16:14 PM
906 Views
Re: Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 08:58:40 PM
932 Views
Re: Yes it was.
- 06/01/2010 10:47:11 PM
931 Views
let me ask the question in a different way
- 06/01/2010 11:26:43 PM
921 Views
Re: let me ask the question in a different way
- 06/01/2010 11:40:56 PM
918 Views
actually that quote supports my thoughts
- 06/01/2010 11:50:40 PM
963 Views
Re: actually that quote supports my thoughts
- 07/01/2010 12:10:07 AM
870 Views
yet it could take him some undetermined amount of time to figure out your dead?
- 07/01/2010 12:34:34 AM
867 Views
Re: yet it could take him some undetermined amount of time to figure out your dead?
- 07/01/2010 01:13:40 AM
831 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
985 Views
Sigh. What mass murder?
- 07/01/2010 12:15:01 AM
819 Views
In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 03:14:32 PM
885 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 03:57:43 PM
911 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 07:13:21 PM
919 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 07:52:24 PM
858 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 08:56:43 PM
940 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 09:26:01 PM
879 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 09:30:45 PM
811 Views
Personally I'm kind of sick of Rand being the only person killing FS!
- 07/01/2010 09:42:57 PM
980 Views
Re: In this book Rand was a wimp and a bully.
- 07/01/2010 09:56:02 PM
927 Views
OK I'm sorry but this gets a huge ROFL :lol:
- 07/01/2010 10:30:19 PM
927 Views
Yes. Anakin Skywalker all over again
- 06/01/2010 11:01:02 PM
1005 Views
Meh
- 06/01/2010 11:30:24 PM
841 Views
The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 06/01/2010 11:33:32 PM
843 Views
Re: The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 06/01/2010 11:50:37 PM
930 Views
Re: The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 06/01/2010 11:55:03 PM
897 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
909 Views
Re: The worst part about his atrocities is his rationalizing them!
- 07/01/2010 12:23:11 AM
834 Views
I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 12:52:25 AM
859 Views
Re: I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 01:24:32 AM
922 Views
Re: I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 03:33:52 PM
855 Views
Re: I don't think Rand or LTT (who has/have) little capacity for Healing
- 07/01/2010 04:28:18 PM
1001 Views
right cause all Generals are so well versed in medical conditions 
- 07/01/2010 09:44:09 PM
959 Views
- 07/01/2010 09:44:09 PM
959 Views
Nice way to avoid the argument.
- 07/01/2010 10:00:17 PM
902 Views
I'm just done talking in circles. You seem to think that because people
- 07/01/2010 11:53:05 PM
931 Views
I concede
- 07/01/2010 01:09:11 AM
838 Views
You weren't wrong overall, but there were some serious flaws in your reasoning.
- 07/01/2010 02:43:17 AM
965 Views
Morals are subjective anyhow,
- 07/01/2010 06:23:09 AM
920 Views
Re: Morals are subjective anyhow,
- 07/01/2010 03:23:59 PM
845 Views
I have religious beliefs and that is an absurd contention
- 09/01/2010 12:00:02 AM
918 Views
You are treating Graendal's "pets" as though they were enemy combatants
- 07/01/2010 03:40:03 PM
983 Views
Like I give a damn what a group of professional killers would do.
- 08/01/2010 11:39:11 PM
842 Views
Graendal captured these people as part of the Shadows offensive, Operation Chaos Rules
- 09/01/2010 12:00:40 AM
1146 Views
Well, I still liked your first argument. It's a freaking war. The argument ...
- 07/01/2010 07:08:53 PM
888 Views