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Toaster Retribution

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Toaster Retribution

Toaster Retribution

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Inspired by the now legendary, award-winning five-page thread about overhyped characters, I now introduce to you the Underrated Character thread! Is there any Stormlight characters you think should be discussed more? Who gets more hate than they deserve? Who should be praised more than they are? 

Discuss!

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Nathrangking

Nathrangking

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I suppose I might have to go with Roshone on this one. I mean yes on the one hand the man deserved everything that came to him and more, but without him could or would Kal have ever become a radiant? Would he even be the kind of person that we have come to know and love if everything had been flowers and sunshine?

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StormblessDave

StormblessDave

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30 minutes ago, Nathrangking said:

I suppose I might have to go with Roshone on this one. I mean yes on the one hand the man deserved everything that came to him and more, but without him could or would Kal have ever become a radiant? Would he even be the kind of person that we have come to know and love if everything had been flowers and sunshine?

He deserves the hate. This makes people not like him, there's nothing "good" about him to talk about but yeah He did help break Kaladin even more. But imo that doesn't add to his ratings.

Most underrated character-Teft and Rock, I love them and was surprised they don't get talked about too much in the forums. 

Edited by StormblessDave
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Ciridae

Ciridae

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The listeners as a whole probably. I know a lot of people don't like Eshonai that much, and Rlain hasn't undergone a lot of development yet, but I think as a people, especially because of their versatility and diversity through the forms, they are fascinating. I love details like the rythms, their oral history and their biology. I actually like Eshonai a lot, and I'm very excited to see Rlain continue coming to terms with fighting his own people. The potential of the other forms is enticing too, and one of the things I'm most excited for in Oathbringer. There's so much we don't know about then yet. I really hope Venli is fleshed out as a villain as well, I think she has a lot of potential.

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Nathrangking

Nathrangking

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5 minutes ago, StormblessDave said:

He deserves the hate. This makes people not like him, there's nothing "good" about him to talk about but yeah He did help break Kaladin even more. But imo that doesn't add to his ratings.

Most underrated character-Teft and Rock, I love them and was surprised they don't get talked about too much in the forums. 

Oh I agree that the man is less than crem and deserved his fate, but at the same time I feel that there is far more to say about this underrated villain. 

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Malim

Malim

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Lin Davar.  He gets a lot of hate and rightfully so for everything that he did for his family.  However, I can't forget that what started him down that path was an act that any good father would do: He was trying to protect his daughter from people that wanted to kill her.  He fought tooth and nail to keep Shallan safe from her mother and "friend" who wanted to kill her for what she was becoming.  When Shallan killed them, Lin let it be rumored that he was the murderer in order to keep protecting her.  That lie not only destroyed his reputation, it destroyed his family and broke him so much that Odium could gain influence over him.  To me this is the most tragic episode in the series so far.  Yes, we can hate him for what he became, but as a father I will always have quite a bit of compassion and sorrow for the events that made him that way.

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robardin

+robardin

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49 minutes ago, Malim said:

Lin Davar.  He gets a lot of hate and rightfully so for everything that he did for his family.  However, I can't forget that what started him down that path was an act that any good father would do: He was trying to protect his daughter from people that wanted to kill her.  He fought tooth and nail to keep Shallan safe from her mother and "friend" who wanted to kill her for what she was becoming.  When Shallan killed them, Lin let it be rumored that he was the murderer in order to keep protecting her.  That lie not only destroyed his reputation, it destroyed his family and broke him so much that Odium could gain influence over him.  To me this is the most tragic episode in the series so far.  Yes, we can hate him for what he became, but as a father I will always have quite a bit of compassion and sorrow for the events that made him that way.

I agree that Lin Davar is something of a tragic figure who gradually turned dark after starting having mostly good intentions, but are you referring to anything specific in terms of saying that "Odium gained influence on him", or using that as a general expression of his descent into violence? (Which can happen all on its own)

 

 

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Toaster Retribution

Toaster Retribution

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53 minutes ago, Malim said:

Lin Davar.  He gets a lot of hate and rightfully so for everything that he did for his family.  However, I can't forget that what started him down that path was an act that any good father would do: He was trying to protect his daughter from people that wanted to kill her.  He fought tooth and nail to keep Shallan safe from her mother and "friend" who wanted to kill her for what she was becoming.  When Shallan killed them, Lin let it be rumored that he was the murderer in order to keep protecting her.  That lie not only destroyed his reputation, it destroyed his family and broke him so much that Odium could gain influence over him.  To me this is the most tragic episode in the series so far.  Yes, we can hate him for what he became, but as a father I will always have quite a bit of compassion and sorrow for the events that made him that way.

Wholeheartedly agree. I like Lin.

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Malim

Malim

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Quote
12 minutes ago, robardin said:

I agree that Lin Davar is something of a tragic figure who gradually turned dark after starting having mostly good intentions, but are you referring to anything specific in terms of saying that "Odium gained influence on him", or using that as a general expression of his descent into violence? (Which can happen all on its own)

 

 

I seem to remember a WoB that implied that Odium had control over Lin.  Looking through the database to find it.

*edit* Found it  

Quote

Interview: Mar 13th, 2014

Macen

Was Shallan's father influenced at all by Odium?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Tags

 

Edited by Malim
update WoB
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WhiteLeeopard

WhiteLeeopard

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37 minutes ago, StormblessDave said:

Aladar and Roion are very underrated, I loved how they(along with Sebarial)teamed up with Dalinar.

Absolutely, when the time came they showed they were actually worthy of leadership. Not like the other spoiled children in the playground.

For my underrated character I'd say Szeth. He isn't mentioned nowhere near as much as I think he deserves. Specially as the times I see his name its 60% of the time because of Nightblood. He is the most honorable man in Roshar, the height of showing why honor can be very twisted. He hated what he did, but he did it as  his honor demanded it. And then it was all for a lie. Will be fascinating to see where he goes in the future, and his conflict with Dalinar will be doubtlessly delicious. I actually think the worst thing he ever did was kill the bridge 4 men, as they were not on his list of targets. Finally, he has a lot of very juicy information. Mr T, Stone Shamans, Honorblades, probably knows more of the KR than even Jasnah (until her Shadesmar trip at least), and finally I think there is somewhere a WoB that he might have trained with the other honorblades too.

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Toaster Retribution

Toaster Retribution

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I agree about Aladar and Roion. Im very interested in seeing where Aladar goes in Oathbringer. Hope to see him as Dalinars right-hand man or something (if Adolin gets punished for Sadeas, Dalinar will need a new guy to trust). 

As usual, I think that Elhokar and Amaram gets more hate than they deserve. I also see surprisingly little discussion of Shallan, which is a shame. I like her more than Kaladin and Dalinar, to be honest. Pattern is up there too. He is the coolest spren, but nobody talks of him.

Also, I really like Graves. He is cool. But I can see why people don't talk of him. There aren't much to discuss yet (fingers crossed for Oathbringer).

 

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StormblessDave

StormblessDave

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12 minutes ago, Toaster Retribution said:

I agree about Aladar and Roion. Im very interested in seeing where Aladar goes in Oathbringer. Hope to see him as Dalinars right-hand man or something (if Adolin gets punished for Sadeas, Dalinar will need a new guy to trust). 

As usual, I think that Elhokar and Amaram gets more hate than they deserve. I also see surprisingly little discussion of Shallan, which is a shame. I like her more than Kaladin and Dalinar, to be honest. Pattern is up there too. He is the coolest spren, but nobody talks of him.

Also, I really like Graves. He is cool. But I can see why people don't talk of him. There aren't much to discuss yet (fingers crossed for Oathbringer).

 

I'm more of a Kaladin fan and like Syl better,but that's just me.

As for Graves, he has a lot of potential, I cant wait for the adventures of Graves and Moash!

Another mention for underrated character would be Lirin and Hesina, Lirin had his flaws but in the end they were loving parents, who brought their children up in the right way(instilling in them good values) and cared about their children more than anything.

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mariapapadia

mariapapadia

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I agree that Shallan and Pattern are my favourite "power couple" so far.  As someone who usually has problems with female characters, I feel like Shallan is one of my favourite characters of all time, which is why WoR has to be my favourite BS book so far. I can only admire the journey she's been through and the character growth. Also I think it shows how much Sanderson grew as a writer when it comes to female characters. Even though I liked Vin, she wasn't particulary a favourite. 

Also Elhokar gets points from me for the ending of WoR. I started by being so annoyed with him in WoK and rolling my eyes everytime he was speaking and I ended up finding some redeeming qualities to him. I think he will become a very interesting character in the future books. His discussion with Kaladin from the end of WoR made him very human for me.

Even though I usually like the "good" characters, Graves also seems really intriguing.

Edited by mariapapadia
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Aon Ene

Aon Ene

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I have to say Lopen. He's got an interesting mixture of carefree and intense. He's always making jokes and is ever-optimistic, appearing to take everything in stride. He's unswervingly loyal to Kaladin and is resourceful. I really enjoyed the Lopen POV in WoR, and thought it was particularly interesting when it was mentioned he "practiced" inhaling stormlight every day after Kaladin had recognized his abilities. 

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Toby_H

Toby_H

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Some of the responses here surprise me, such as Shallan & Pattern, as they are main characters in the current storyline. Even suggestions like Rock & Teft caught me off guard as they have such significant screen time. It's true they aren't often mentioned on forum, but that's likely because they are supportive characters without many individual branches of their own. All 4 great characters, just not what I'd consider underrated... 

 

My Vote: Lin Davar

and here's why... (minor spoilers within, reader beware)

A very important detail within my opinion of him, please remember that before he broke, he was a good man, a good father and a good house lord. Also remember that the act that broke him was an incredibly selfless and noble act. Also remember that that act took place around 10 years before the current timeline, about 9 years before his death. 

His house was ancient but unimportant (according to Shallan), yet he was making considerable political advancement. He was somewhat successfully positioning himself to make a run at becoming High Prince. He made quite successful advancement within a powerful organization (GhostBloods), enough for them to trust him with a priceless fabrial (SoulCaster). Keep in mind, chances are, both of these were well underway long before he broke himself (Shallan mentioned every time a quarry ran dry, he immediately went out and found a new one, suggesting he has had the SoulCaster for quite some time).

This part is laced with more speculation, but that's often the fun part. We know for certain at a very young age (7 or so) his daughter bonded a spren. Bonded well enough to use him as a shardblade. And not just any spren but the first spren in over two millennia of one of the two most powerful political spren factions. What possibly could have brought this child to the attention of the spren BEFORE she killed her mother?... There is a reasonable theory that Shallan isn't the only SurgeBinder in the family, but her eldest brother Helaran is Skybreaker. Keep in mind that, being the eldest, Helaran had the most association with Lin before he broke himself (and as the gem of the Davar House, Shallan had the closest). Do you find it odd that his two closest children became SurgeBinders? As we've seen among the Kholins, spren like to keep it in the family. Now consider that the guy had a "broken SoulCaster". Where is the only other non-functioning SoulCaster referenced? Oh yea, Jasnah! But it's not broken, it's a fake to cover up that she herself can SoulCast... So is it possible that, maybe, Lin Davar had bonded a spren and could SoulCast? Maybe that was the secret behind his political rise both in both Jah Keved and the Ghost Bloods? Is it possible that while saving his daughters life, hiding her secrets, being hated by his family, being loathed by peers who used to respect him, etc, etc... he broke his oathes and killed his spren... which in turn absolutely broke him as a human being? 

I know, I know... lots of speculation in there. Lots of unfounded and unfoundable assumptions. But also no major obstacles in the proposed path. Of course we can't say it's for certain, but possible... 

I'm not willing to assume it's true and label him a great man who got totally shafted... but I am willing to say his story worth of great consideration and is thus underrated... 

 

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Beggar

Beggar

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Renarin has always been a very interesting character to me. If radiants first have a broken past, then what broke him? The death of his mother?

Lopin's mother (I don't remember if her name was ever given and can't look it up since my husband is asleep and I'm under the blankets)  is a favorite character of mine. I love that she helped Lopin be strong and to laugh at his lost arm. I also love how she treats the king when he is in hiding. Makes me laugh just thinking about it.

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eveorjoy

+eveorjoy

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Posted (edited)

Palona: A dark eyed Herdazian woman is able to get a highprince to fall in love with her, giving her all the perks of a highlady without the responsibility. Not that she doesn't run Sebarials's house. She does and quite well. She is also among Dalinar's advisors at Urithru. She also has a fun personality. I enjoy reading about her whenever she shows up in a chapter. 

Skar: Almost as skilled as Moash. Practical, loyal, and a good leader to the bridgemen. Will fight when injured to protect his friends. Moash took the spotlight because of the drama surrounding him in WoR, but Skar is a good soldier and friend. 

Leyten: Without him, Bridge Four would not have had proper armor at the end of TWoK. 

Hobber: The first of the bridgemen to accept Kaladin completely. He has a nice smile and an earnest heart. It was a tragedy what happened to his legs, but at least he didn't die. Hopefully, being a squire or one of the healing KR will help him walk again. 

Edited by eveorjoy
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Wax

+Wax

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Posted

A few underrated characters.

One of Shallan's brothers ( I think Jushu?) got a viewpoint chapter in WoK.

The aimian who got mugged in WoK seemed an interesting character.

Taravangian seems underrated as he seemed to get a lot of kingdoms under his control, kill kings and yet seem like a side figure in the battle v Odium

 

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