[OB] Raidriar vs Taravangian

[asterion137]

The end of Oathbringer reminded me a lot of the climax of Infinity Blade: Redemption when I read it, and now that I think about it the similarities go even deeper than I originally thought. 

1. Raidriar and Taravangian are both kings with a "false god": for Raidriar it's himself and for Taravangian it's the Diagram
2. Raidriar and Taravangian meet the main villain, who predates them by millenia and proves their "false god" to be flawed and inadequate
3. Raidriar and Taravangian are both set up as wise, knowledgeable people but are basically treated like babies by the Worker/Odium, who predict and understand them with ease
4. Raidriar and Taravangian both ponder the nature of rulership and authority throughout their arcs
5. Raidriar and Taravangian are both presented with the choice of whether to follow the Big Bad, and both choose to live up to their idea of a king, although with drastically different results.

What do you guys think? Are the similarities legitimate, and if so, were they intentional? 

[Silverblade5]

Huh, I never thought I'd see an Infinity Blade reference in this area. @Glamdring804 should totally ssee this 

[Glamdring804]

*sees notification in inbox*

*clicks on notification*

*sees post marked as OB spoilers*

AAAAHHHHHH RETREAT RETREAT RETREAT!!!!!

I can't say much, because I'm still reading Part 1, and I can't read the OP, but yeah, it's cool to see people still remember Infinity Blade. Good times. 

Also, now I really want to see Adolin vs Raidriar. 

[Silverblade5]

15 hours ago, asterion137 said:

The end of Oathbringer reminded me a lot of the climax of Infinity Blade: Redemption when I read it, and now that I think about it the similarities go even deeper than I originally thought. 

1. Raidriar and Taravangian are both kings with a "false god": for Raidriar it's himself and for Taravangian it's the Diagram
2. Raidriar and Taravangian meet the main villain, who predates them by millenia and proves their "false god" to be flawed and inadequate
3. Raidriar and Taravangian are both set up as wise, knowledgeable people but are basically treated like babies by the Worker/Odium, who predict and understand them with ease
4. Raidriar and Taravangian both ponder the nature of rulership and authority throughout their arcs
5. Raidriar and Taravangian are both presented with the choice of whether to follow the Big Bad, and both choose to live up to their idea of a king, although with drastically different results.

What do you guys think? Are the similarities legitimate, and if so, were they intentional? 

There's also a pretty strong Ausar-Dalinar parallel. Think about it: a brutal warlord who loses his memory, slowly starts regaining it, and becomes slightly more moral while coming to regret past actions. Then there's Sja-anat's title, Taker of Secrets 

Edited November 15, 2017 by Silverblade5

[The One Who Connects]

I see the similarities as valid, but I don't think they are intentional.

To quote The Worker of Secrets himself:

Quote

"I am not some daeril plaything," Raidriar said. "I am—"
"—your doom," the Worker said. "Yes, yes."
Raidriar hesitated. That had actually been what he'd been about to say. Can he. . . read my mind somehow?
"No, I can't read your mind, Raidriar," the Worker said. "Let's just say I've known a few versions of your personality subtype before."

Taravangian and Raidriar are similar characters because at their base, they have similar personalities. On a meta-level, similar personalities end up getting involved in similar situations. Deciding to do/say similar things, etc.. The specifics may vary, but the more you boil down aspects of a person's personality and disposition, the more patterns you start to note in their actions and behavior.

There are probably a few real life examples that we could put in this list with Raidriar and Taravangian. Besides probably being the main reason we noticed the similarities, the fact that Brandon wrote both characters merely shows that he's good at writing characters like this. It doesn't have to be anything more than that.