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[OB] Favorite character in Oathbringer


amulligan99

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After a long break from the forums here I just had to make a return. I finished OB earlier today and holy cow I love this book! This book made Shallan's character arc possibly my favorite so far, I love her slow decent into madness and how she eventually became functional with three personas fighting for control. Her story is a heart wrenching one but I can't help but to love how well Sanderson wrote it. What about the rest of you, is there a character that OB made you love?

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I love Shallan’s arc too! She and Jasnah in WoK were my favorite sections, and I felt the same here. I felt like Shallan showed such depth and growth, and her scene 

Spoiler

with Wit? Heart wrenching. One of the best scenes in the book. I cried at my desk at work. Particularly when she heard his voice in her head when battling the unmade. 

 

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In WoK and WoR, I always said Adolin was my favourite. And I love him to pieces, that's still true! But I think I have to give up the ghost and admit that Dalinar is my favourite. He was so good in OB, I can hardly stand it. He had such a powerful story, and it's so striking how he never gives up, and keeps going on, and on, and on. Even when he'd done genuinely terrible things, and people would understand if he just didn't anymore. But he doesn't let even himself get in his own way, he knows what's important now is to keep trying, and he achieves such good. I just admire him to pieces. 

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1. Jasnah.  As I mentioned in another thread, she manages to steal pretty much every scene she is in. She gets to be the one in the book, on whose scene the tide turns. She also has this little conversation with her mother and Fen on the wall of Thaylen City, which is one of the best scenes in the book.  Basically, she continues to be smart, badass, and continues to look ahead.  And now, she comes with compassion. And a crown.

 

2. Lift.  She is an annoying little snit, and most of the time she is completely overboard. But she gets to be the one who joined Dalinar during his "I am all alone against the enemy moment", and this alone wins her  the second spot.

 

3. Adolin. Because he is the badass normal Roshar needs. Because he is the one person in the whole gang who never stopped ticking. Because he is just a really nice guy.

 

4. Evi. Because she is practically a hippie saint.  

 

5, Elhokar.  I predicted his arc up until the moment he was killed. That I did not see. For all his weaknesses, the man did try to be better and almost succeeded.

 

Honorable mentions: Nightblood, Navani, Rock, Wit, Szeth.

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There are SO many!

I have loved Adolin since WoK, and he keeps on being awesome here. He never backs down and keeps on caring for others. 

Elhokar was great as well. The scenes with Shallans drawing of him were beautiful.

Taln. Partly because he is tankier than anyone else, but also because of his reaction to the others betrayal. He is a true hero.

Amaram. He is a tragic figure, and I did not see that end coming, but I still love the guy.

Szeths entire attitude and humbleness, along with some comments that seems very dry but unintentional made him a fun badass. I loved when blasted through the Thunderclast to save Lift. 

Dalinar just had a beautiful story, and I love the contrast between him and the man he once was.

Pattern, for being Pattern. I will keep on stressing the fact that Pattern is far and away the best spren (he might be the nicest one as well).

Mraize, because he has slippers. 

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2 hours ago, Leyrann said:

Syl on a bad day beats Pattern easily.

Nah. Syl likes to push her will on Kaladin. She is supportive, but sometimes she comes across as a bit of a self-absorbed douchebag. Pattern is supportive and fun, without the level of douchiness that Syl can have. He is much more chill as well.  

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I seem to be on my own in the Kaladin camp :(

Seriously though, I still love him. Everytime I saw it was about to be a Kaladin chapter I smiled. I just want him to be happy so badly

That aside, I loved Lift - she literally 'lifts' every scene she is in.  Renarin, because OMG corrupted spren and still a good guy? amazing. Lastly Wit, because who doesn't love "The Girl that Stood Up"? 

From the perspective of the most interesting characters, Shallan wins out by a mile. The writing of her developing a dissociative identity disorder is fascinating and very well done, unlike most fictional renditions of the conditions that form the spectrum. I still like her, but I liked her better in WoR. 

Best villain? Moash because I hate him. Hate him. Even Amaram gets nowhere near as close now. He may have betrayed his men, but Moash is betraying his friends. Includng Kal, who is, as mentioned, my favourite. 

And finally, just to be controversial, I will admit to being a bit "meh" about Adolin. I do understand why people like him, and I like the juxtaposition of a normal, likable bloke to the crazies round him, but honestly, he leaves me a bit flat. I suppose, not being a likeable, normal person myself, I simply don't get him! 

Added: Argh, forgot to give Pattern an honourable mention for best one liners: "Like dividing by zero?", "Yes, seven people. Odd." and "No mating!". Math jokes ftw.

Edited by PhineasGage
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So, I'm gonna cheat and not go with my favorite character, but instead my second favorite character moment in the book.  (Dalinar saying "I am Unity" being the #1 scene/portion/moment of any character in OB by far.)

When Teft says the words--"I will protect those I hate.  Even...even if the one I hate most...is...myself."  Not gonna lie, that brought a tear to my eyes.  Teft's scenes in general hit close to home, reminding me very strongly of an old friend.  It was nice to see him get a win, despite (because of,  even, the self-loathing that addiction brings).

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@PhineasGage I am with you on the Kaladin love. He had me at book 1 chapter 1 and will always and forever have my heart. :wub: I also love Syl, Pattern, and Dalinar, and they all remained at the top of my list of favorite characters. I went up and down with Dalinar,  he had extreme highs and lows in this book, but the net result at the end is that he remains an amazing character that is never boring or stagnant, with some very real struggles that he overcomes in the end.

Several other characters shifted place for me. Jasnah went way up. She had two of my favorite scenes: reading Way of Kings to Dalinar and the wonderful "I love you, I will not kill you" scene with Renarin. Who knew Jasnah could be so loving? Not to mention she is a strong, independent warrior woman, which is needed in this series.

Szeth is also steadily on the rise. I need to see more interactions with the other characters, but I can foresee him becoming on of my favorites in future books.

My Adolin appreciation also continues to rise in this book. He doesn't carry the depth of emotion that some other characters do, but he is light and steady and a reliable friend, which is a much needed contrast to the angst and drama of all of the other characters. His love of fashion could be seen as frivolous, but I quite enjoyed it as a way to lighten up all the heaviness of everything else going on. Lift is also in this category... not the most profound of characters, but fun to read in the midst of the world coming to an end.

Shallan unfortunately took a fall in this book. I liked her in part 1, especially the fight with Re Shephir took control of the situation and kicked butt, but the personality conflicts became tedious to the point that I couldn't relate to her at all. I felt unnerved that I disliked her so much by the ends and hope she can stabilize in future books so I can like her as a character again.

 

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One of my favourite things about this book is that so many characters had time to get the spotlight and grow.

Some of my favourites:

Adolin. He had a great arc in the last half of the book. He was something solid that two Knights Radiant depended on. I also love that he is trying to revive Mayalaran. He also owned that he killed Sadeas, and is even proud he did. He's humble has an all around good heart. I'm very glad that he stood up for himself about kingship as well, knowing he best serves elsewhere.

Elhokar. Brandon really turned my opinion of Elhokar in these books. In the first book, I didn't like him, and it got worse for most of WoR. But at the end, I was mainly indifferent. But in Oathbringer we see him starting to make more mature decisions with Dalinar, and see him wanting to be a hero. Even if that was a bit of a selfish goal, he still died one step from Radiancy, and the fact that I cared is evidence that he had improved.

Jasnah. As others have said, she owns every scene she's in. After seeing her from Shallan's point of view almost exclusively, it was refreshing to be in her head. She's inquisitive, and human, but is good at controlling how others see her. Her secrets are the ones I most look forward to delving into. Some great scenes with her: wrecking Amaram, choosing to love Renarin, casually offing several Fused when most Radiants were struggling, and so many more. She didn't get that much screen time, but I loved what we got.

Dalinar. Very painful to read his backstory, but very informative. I wonder what Evi would think of him now, trying to peacefully Unite Roshar, and owning his pain in the face of Odium. His Oaths brought shivers.

Rock. Can I get some appreciation for this man? I swear he is the only thing holding Bridge Four together. His viewpoint chapter was beautiful and one of my all-time favourites.

Taln. Not to steal your man @Steeldancer, but I agree that Taln is probably definitely the strongest person in our cast. He suffered 4,500 years for the world, and didn't blame the nine Heralds who betrayed him, but thanked them. Thanked them for giving Roshar 4,500 years of peace from the Desolations. He would have definitely supported their decision in the beginning.

Edit: I would be amiss not to mention that Kaladin and Shallan had great arcs too, but as they've had the spotlight a while now, this is me appreciating some others. Kaladin probably remains my favourite in the series, and some of his chapters and growth are my favourites. I'm also glad that he let someone else be a hero; that will come a long way in his Oaths. Shallan was also one of the most interesting characters. I was very worried about her, and watching her work through her brokenness was amazing.

Honorable mentions: Teft, Skar and Drehy, Szeth, Venli.

Edited by Rider of Storms
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Hard to decide who my fav. character actually is - I like so many and for different reasons

Kaladin because he's the man. (But he's only Stormblessed with Syl - without Syl he's interesting but meh.)

Lift just because...

Jasnah has definately grown on me.

Dalinar's moment on Unity was awesome.

Most Tragic character moment was definately Elhokar holding his son trying to state the first Ideal only to be roflstomped by Moash... (Storms I now hate that rusting bastard).

Venli looks to be becoming an interesting character and gives me hope for her book (complete with Eshonai flashbacks).

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57 minutes ago, Rider of Storms said:

One of my favourite things about this book is that so many characters had time to get the spotlight and grow.

Some of my favourites:

Adolin. He had a great arc in the last half of the book. He was something solid that two Knights Radiant depended on. I also love that he is trying to revive Mayalaran. He also owned that he killed Sadeas, and is even proud he did. He's humble has an all around good heart. I'm very glad that he stood up for himself about kingship as well, knowing he best serves elsewhere.

Elhokar. Brandon really turned my opinion of Elhokar in these books. In the first book, I didn't like him, and it got worse for most of WoR. But at the end, I was mainly indifferent. But in Oathbringer we see him starting to make more mature decisions with Dalinar, and see him wanting to be a hero. Even if that was a bit of a selfish goal, he still died one step from Radiancy, and the fact that I cared is evidence that he had improved.

Jasnah. As others have said, she owns every scene she's in. After seeing her from Shallan's point of view almost exclusively, it was refreshing to be in her head. She's inquisitive, and human, but is good at controlling how others see her. Her secrets are the ones I most look forward to delving into. Some great scenes with her: wrecking Amaram, choosing to love Renarin, casually offing several Fused when most Radiants were struggling, and so many more. She didn't get that much screen time, but I loved what we got.

Dalinar. Very painful to read his backstory, but very informative. I wonder what Evi would think of him now, trying to peacefully Unite Roshar, and owning his pain in the face of Odium. His Oaths brought shivers.

Rock. Can I get some appreciation for this man? I swear he is the only thing holding Bridge Four together. His viewpoint chapter was beautiful and one of my all-time favourites.

Taln. Not to steal your man @Steeldancer, but I agree that Taln is probably definitely the strongest person in our cast. He suffered 4,500 years for the world, and didn't blame the nine Heralds who betrayed him, but thanked them. Thanked them for giving Roshar 4,500 years of peace from the Desolations. He would have definitely supported their decision in the beginning.

Edit: I would be amiss not to mention that Kaladin and Shallan had great arcs too, but as they've had the spotlight a while now, this is me appreciating some others. Kaladin probably remains my favourite in the series, and some of his chapters and growth are my favourites. I'm also glad that he let someone else be a hero; that will come a long way in his Oaths. Shallan was also one of the most interesting characters. I was very worried about her, and watching her work through her brokenness was amazing.

Honorable mentions: Teft, Skar and Drehy, Szeth, Venli.

Don't even try. 

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Maybe we should speak about our favorite secondary character, as we are already settle on the main ones.

Tan was the revelation for me. Also loved bridge 4, every single one of them, specially Skar and Drehy. Venli started very low, but she grew on me.

Moash was a pain, for a moment I thought he would be redeemed. I liked having the opportunity to follow him as a contrast to everyone else.

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Hey all, new here. 

Lift has turned into my favorite character without a doubt. 

I love her nonchalant attitude, and how she reacts to everything, especially danger. 

Speaking of Lift, I have a theory about her bokn and curse from the Nightwatcher... sorry if it has been discussed.

Spoiler

Lift asked to never get older, but obviously she has. Her boon was to always be 10. Her curse is that it is in her head, keeping her at that awkward age mentally for the rest of her life.

 

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Kaladin - the guy just has presence...and can apparently go toe to toe with everyone in the cast (lookin' at you Jasnah) and manages to not get railroaded. 

Jasnah and Dalinar are tied for me. Dalinar became so much more real but his backstory was horrifying. I'm seriously wondering how his kids turned out so normal.   Jasnah is just awesome. I want to be her when I grow up :P....at least until we learn what horrors/trauma lay in her past...

Adolin- 2 defining moments for me. Stepping up and being the support to keep Kaladin together after he had a meltdown during the fight in Kohlinar and appreciating Maya. This guy... can't wait to see his arc grow

Nightblood- for the oddly humanizing effect he had on Szeth 

Lift: she's responsible for being in some pretty pivotal moments- it's hard not to respect  influence

honorable mention: Rlain- I really wanted to see more than we got of him. Syl- because syl 

characters that went splat:

shallan...someone get this girl a therapist stat. 

Moash. You know some characters you love to hate?....yeah there's no love here at all. I haven't liked him since WoK. He always rubbed me wrong. I would prefer he go the Amaram route and poof. 

Venli: to be fair in order to go splat you have to be high enough to fall from. Like moash i need a little more convincing to even be interested in her redemption arc. 

 

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Talenelat'Elin, my favorite character. He reminds me of Sir Arthur Dayne, Sword of the Morning from ASoIF, the whole information about them can barely fill a page, nevertheless it feels enough.

Dalinar Kholin, the hypocrite, Blackthorn, Animal, Highking, He didn't kill a child even in bloodlust. I was as happy as Evi when I read it.

Kaladin, not enough, I really liked the way he forced the captain on Honor's Path, to free Syl, even his failure to say the words was masterfully done.

Jasnah, the Radiant! She's the only one with absolute control over her surges. I really don't like the wordplay from Alethi women but I can put them aside and only look at the bright side.

Shallan, the same thing as Jasnah, her insults sounds forced and artificial. But I liked everything else. I really loved Kholinar's scene, and Veil coming back to earth.

Adolin, really who can hate this guy? I kinda tried to hate him in the beginning of WoR. I loved his talks with his deadeye.. Maya. It was so beautiful.

Venli, I loved that our traitor wasn't Eshonai. Venli makes more sense, and everything about her was great.

 

To be honest, the only one that I hated was Moash, even Taravangian makes sense. Moash doesn't. He is so pitiful.

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1. Dalinar stole the show for me in OB. His arc was so moving and different from anything I had ever seen before, and the Nightwatcher asking if he was Son of Honor or Son of Odium showed just how contrasting his life has been. But he is just so storming good now I can't get over it! What a journey.

2. Kaladin has always been up there for me, and I loved how he failed to say an ideal this time because it fit his character extremely well and I just loved his interactions with the Parshmen and ugh he was just the pure sad strong boi I have always loved.

3. Honestly Taravangian was also great. He is despicable but also a villain that makes sense. 

4. Rock! Sacrificing his oath to not fight to save Kaladin's life was a really big deal and was great to see from him.

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Guest Edonidd

I am infatuated with Rysn and especially her little Chiri-Chiri.  Can't wait for her story to be more fleshed out.  Was cool that her part ended on the cliffhanger of Chiri-Chiri being noticeably larger after "eating" that much Stormlight and Voidlight.

 

Does she attract a spren and turn into KR?  Does she somehow bond one of the greatshell spren from her larkin or bond it directly?  Does that bond allow her to use stormlight to heal her broken back?  Does she stay crippled but get to ride a giant flying greatshell?

 

Also Kaladin has claimed the skies, and he can compete or beat any of the fused singlehandedly, even before he gets his plate.   But nobody is claiming the skies away from a flying chasmfiend that eats stormlight and may or may not have a KR riding on its back.  Will be very interested to see how that turns out.

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