[OB] Kaladin's love life ?

[Zefandrius]

I think it will be Tarah. She has been mentioned several times and I have a strong feeling she will show up. Maybe very soon! There was a particular part in OB when shallan was in a tavern practicing espionage. One of the women in the bar was an alethi woman wearing a thalin dress. Now i may be a bit overly suspicious but i dont think that would be something many alethi would wear. She was described as acting strange looking around as if searching for someone. Perhaps my mind is just stretching but I think it was Tarah who was in the war camps and heard of storm blessed saving dalinars army and was just hoping she would stumble across him. Perhaps I am wrong and just coincidence but would be interesting.

[BethG]

2 hours ago, Zefandrius said:

I think it will be Tarah. She has been mentioned several times and I have a strong feeling she will show up. Maybe very soon! There was a particular part in OB when shallan was in a tavern practicing espionage. One of the women in the bar was an alethi woman wearing a thalin dress. Now i may be a bit overly suspicious but i dont think that would be something many alethi would wear. She was described as acting strange looking around as if searching for someone. Perhaps my mind is just stretching but I think it was Tarah who was in the war camps and heard of storm blessed saving dalinars army and was just hoping she would stumble across him. Perhaps I am wrong and just coincidence but would be interesting.

Maybe.  Interesting.  But Tarah wasn’t developed enough to make me WANT her to be back in Kaladin’s life.  He wasn’t really in love with her or he wouldn’t have let her leave so easily.  Brandon would need to do a HUGE storyline with her for me to like them together.  Kaladin needs an INCREDIBLE significant other.

[Aon Tia]

3 hours ago, BethG said:

Maybe.  Interesting.  But Tarah wasn’t developed enough to make me WANT her to be back in Kaladin’s life.  He wasn’t really in love with her or he wouldn’t have let her leave so easily.  Brandon would need to do a HUGE storyline with her for me to like them together.  Kaladin needs an INCREDIBLE significant other.

I think that he Loved her but she found him at a bad time in his life. Tien has just died and kaladin had immersed himself into training. Besides he was too young to appreciate what he had. 
But kaladin thinks very fondly of her and hopes that things could have gone differently. Whatever I saw of her in that one flashback scene showed a mature determined strong woman. I have no objections to getting to know more about her. I personally think she has been mentioned enough times and they had a falling out she is not dead, sounds like foreshadowing to me of a future possibility.

[Honorless]

I took the whole Tarah's leaving, and closure with Laral and Shallan as indication that this chapter of Kaladin's life is closed for now. I don't think he'll have any significant romantic interests and I'm getting tired of every main character needing to get paired off anyway.

[Zefandrius]

9 hours ago, BethG said:

Maybe.  Interesting.  But Tarah wasn’t developed enough to make me WANT her to be back in Kaladin’s life.  He wasn’t really in love with her or he wouldn’t have let her leave so easily.  Brandon would need to do a HUGE storyline with her for me to like them together.  Kaladin needs an INCREDIBLE significant other.

I dont know but we will soon see. He has to be mentioning her for a reason. I think it is a seed that Brandon is cultivating for later.

[Aon Tia]

4 hours ago, Honorless said:

I'm getting tired of every main character needing to get paired off anyway.

Jasnah has no current romantic interests neither do Renarin nor Lift nor Szeth. But Kaladin being the main central character, i think, who has already been a part of a love triangle-ish scenario, will be getting some serious romantic relationships.  

[Honorless]

30 minutes ago, The traveller said:

Jasnah has no current romantic interests neither do Renarin nor Lift nor Szeth. But Kaladin being the main central character, i think, who has already been a part of a love triangle-ish scenario, will be getting some serious romantic relationships.  

I was being meta there, rather than refer specifically to SA but even so every other Cosmere book has a main pairing. Kaladin being a main character means there could be an entire subplot built around this hypocritical romance. I'm tired of it.

[Aon Tia]

1 minute ago, Honorless said:

I was being meta there, rather than refer specifically to SA but even so every other Cosmere book has a main pairing. Kaladin being a main character means there could be an entire subplot built around this hypocritical romance. I'm tired of it.

Well it is a common complain about Fantasy genre that every main character has to find their One True Love!! 

But i think it is a tool that authors use to make their readers emotionally invested in the stories. Something i agree SA does not really need. But the reason why want kaladin to find someone because i think, he has expressed desire to want that in OB. He can have a few failed relationships before finding one that works for him in the 2nd arc of SA! 

[Honorless]

Just now, The traveller said:

Well it is a common complain about Fantasy genre that every main character has to find their One True Love!! 

But i think it is a tool that authors use to make their readers emotionally invested in the stories. Something i agree SA does not really need. But the reason why want kaladin to find someone because i think, he has expressed desire to want that in OB. He can have a few failed relationships before finding one that works for him in the 2nd arc of SA! 

Fine as long as it's not a protracted love triangle

[Aon Tia]

1 minute ago, Honorless said:

Fine as long as it's not a protracted love triangle

Right there with you on this! I absolutely hated the love triangle! I am glad that whole thing is over and i want it to remain that way! 

[Vissy]

For the record, I know Brandon is never going to do it (unfortunately) but I am still on the Kadolin train

[Honorless]

10 minutes ago, Vissy said:

For the record, I know Brandon is never going to do it (unfortunately) but I am still on the Kadolin train

Seconded

[Aon Tia]

26 minutes ago, Vissy said:

For the record, I know Brandon is never going to do it (unfortunately) but I am still on the Kadolin train

hmm thirded..

Already their friendship is the best relationship in the love triangle!! I just love the begrudging respect they have for each other! 
 

[Karger]

I kind of like Shallan and Adolin but if we could clone him I would be more then happy to fourth the motion. 

[+Oltux72]

On 06/12/2019 at 2:02 AM, BethG said:

Brandon would need to do a HUGE storyline with her for me to like them together.  Kaladin needs an INCREDIBLE significant other.

Why? For issues of balance?

I am afraid I will need to be callous again. Alethkar is a feudal, preindustrial land. Its people marry for a lot of reasons (including sets of shard plate). Love and attraction is not the only one, nor the most important. This is not the Western World in the 21st century.

Kaladin is under a lot of pressure to marry. The poor man is supposed to lead the Windrunners but cannot even read his own mail or any reports. He is coming home to a cot in an army camp, if he comes home at all. He is a very young man. He is disappointed with women in general. There is a high chance he would marry just to get it over with and just to have somebody at home.

[Aon Tia]

24 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

Kaladin is under a lot of pressure to marry. The poor man is supposed to lead the Windrunners but cannot even read his own mail or any reports. He is coming home to a cot in an army camp, if he comes home at all. He is a very young man. He is disappointed with women in general. There is a high chance he would marry just to get it over with and just to have somebody at home.

That is a very very sad way to look at it. I think if this the direction it is going to go, i would then have to agree with @Honorless and have him unattached. it just reminded me of Dalinar when he married Evi.

It may be me alone, but, i fail to see the supposed pressure on Kaladin to marry! 

Windrunners, i am sure, have hired some female clerks for the correspondences and reports by the time book 4 starts. I also fail to see where he has shown any disappointments with women! 

Edited December 9, 2019 by The traveller

[+Oltux72]

1 hour ago, The traveller said:

That is a very very sad way to look at it. I think if this the direction it is going to go, i would then have to agree with @Honorless and have him unattached.

We are talking about a man who considers a 'shash' brand part of his identity. Who watched a dozen men under his command whom he cared for die many of them while he desperately tried to stop the bleeding, spent like ammunition, treated worse than animals used for pulling carts. A man whose brother was killed almost before his eyes. A man living in a world threatened with population loss of 90% in a clash between deities.
The Stormlight Archive is a tragedy. It may be written in a comparatively light tone, but the content of the stories is about as dark as it gets.

1 hour ago, The traveller said:

it just reminded me of Dalinar when he married Evi.

Yes, of course. Without individual differences pointing to a different behavior, you expect Alethi to act like Alethi, don't you?

[Aon Tia]

20 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

Yes, of course. Without individual differences pointing to a different behavior, you expect Alethi to act like Alethi, don't you?

I just don’t see the pressure on Kaladin to get married the way you do! 
Dalinar was a highprince of a fledgling kingdom who saw to gain a shardplate through marriage. I just don’t see Kaladin needing to get a women clerk to do the reports as an equally compelling reason for him to marry. 

 

It is not necessary that what Alethi lighteyes Do is the same as what Alethi darkeyes do too.
 

Alethi Nobility often goes for political arranged marriages but I am not sure that in the darkeye culture it is the same or Kaladin will see it as the same.

A lot of time has passed too between then and now !

Edited December 9, 2019 by The traveller

[Honorless]

Plus Kal has Sigzil for this and scribes have joined the Bridge 4 as of OB. And well, Kal himself has changed, I doubt he'll let himself be forced into any political marriages. Dalinar might not be in a position to order people to do so and I'll be very disappointed if he tries to abuse his position and respect. Jasnah wouldn't either, she's chosen the same for herself, she wouldn't impose this kind of decision on anyone. I don't see Navani doing this either. Kaladin wouldn't seek out a political match himself either. I don't think Kaladin is under any pressure to marry, he has bigger priorities right now. The political landscape of Alethkar is fractured and the social stratification with lighteyes and darkeyes is another consideration, Kaladin's past is openly known.

Edited December 9, 2019 by Honorless

[Use the Falchion]

2 hours ago, Oltux72 said:

Kaladin is under a lot of pressure to marry. The poor man is supposed to lead the Windrunners but cannot even read his own mail or any reports. He is coming home to a cot in an army camp, if he comes home at all. He is a very young man. He is disappointed with women in general. There is a high chance he would marry just to get it over with and just to have somebody at home.

...from who? Bridge 4 needs him as a leader and stabilizing force. Dalinar needs him as a Radiant. The rest of society might need him as a lighteyes, but probably more as a soldier. As others have mentioned, he has clerks (and some members of Bridge 4) to read any reports or mail he needs. His lands are far off and are not an immediate concern. And the social structures of the world are falling apart at the moment; with the return of Radiants being a lighteyes might not amount to much. (This is a problem I have with Kaladin x Jasnah political marriage, despite being a shipper of the two). 

Oathbringer makes it clear very early on that Kaladin looks for love. It was just lust or a companion, he wouldn't have passed up the ardent (IIRC) in the first part of the book. But Kaladin wants more. He needs more. He's not going to settle...or if he is, it'll be "for the greater good," ala Wax Landrian more than Dalinar's "I need to move on, and everyone gets what they want." 

[BethG]

I don’t see Kaladin under pressure to marry.  I just want him to have a girl (yes, he’s always been attracted to women—forget Kadolin) who will give him what he needs to be happy.  She needs to be sweet, wise, and patient like his mother, see the joy and beauty in the world and point it out to him with childlike innocence like Tien and Syl, and be able to smile through her own terrible pain like Shallan.  She needs to love him more than anything on Roshar, and he love her the same way.  We don’t have that character yet.  I have been married to a Kaladin for nearly 44 years.  I know what it takes to keep one happy.

[Use the Falchion]

Okay, here's a crackpot ship: The Vessel of Cultivation and Kaladin (assuming Kaladin isn't related to Tanavast despite being called "Son of Tanavast" instead of "Son of Honor"). So at the end of Book 5, Cultivation somehow relinquishes her Shard as a trap for Odium - who falls for it - but the power is then taken by someone else (I really want Harmony to have it now), and Cultivation finds new love in Kaladin. 

...yeah, this would never, ever, EVER happen. But it's fun to imagine. 

[BethG]

LOL!  Actually I see Kaladin marrying a “Daughter of Cultivation”.  I think an Edgedancer would appeal to him.

That is why I wrote my story about a love interest for him as an Edgedancer.  It’s in the fan fiction.  Elebet Kholin is the name of the story.

[+Bliev]

If Kal gets a sig other, I think someone like Rysn would be a great choice. Both of them could heal each other, and it would get away from the whole "you have to love yourself before you love another" trope--they can grow together. I also think that it's not likely to happen until the back 5...I don't really think that he's in the mindset for romance, tbh. His attraction to Shallan wasn't really romantic "love"; neither was his attraction to Laral or Tarah. He's the guy who likes the idea of being in a relationship, but doesn't feel he deserves it, nor does he really know what it means. And he has enough truly deep relationships in his life--whether Adolin and Shallan, or with Bridge 4, that it's not like he's devoid of love all together.

I didn't ever really see a love "triangle" per se, because i never thought Shallan/Kal was ever a "thing", other than an attempt to escape from growth for both of them, but I totally see how others might have thought so. I can see Brandon shying a way a bit from exploring that part of Kal and substituting his relationship with his father/brother/mother for his growth vehicle in this next book instead. 

[agrabes]

2 hours ago, Bliev said:

If Kal gets a sig other, I think someone like Rysn would be a great choice. Both of them could heal each other, and it would get away from the whole "you have to love yourself before you love another" trope--they can grow together. I also think that it's not likely to happen until the back 5...I don't really think that he's in the mindset for romance, tbh. His attraction to Shallan wasn't really romantic "love"; neither was his attraction to Laral or Tarah. He's the guy who likes the idea of being in a relationship, but doesn't feel he deserves it, nor does he really know what it means. And he has enough truly deep relationships in his life--whether Adolin and Shallan, or with Bridge 4, that it's not like he's devoid of love all together.

I didn't ever really see a love "triangle" per se, because i never thought Shallan/Kal was ever a "thing", other than an attempt to escape from growth for both of them, but I totally see how others might have thought so. I can see Brandon shying a way a bit from exploring that part of Kal and substituting his relationship with his father/brother/mother for his growth vehicle in this next book instead. 

Probably depends on your definition of love triangle and what you think of Kaladin's "you remind me of my brother" "revelation" at the end of OB.  In my view, if two people have romantic interest in the same person and decide to compete for their affection that is a love triangle.  That definitely happened in OB.  I don't think Shallan/Kaladin was "thing" in the sense that it was a one sided interest from Kaladin, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a love triangle.  IMO, it's pretty common for a love triangle plot to have one side of it be unrequited or mostly unrequited.  I don't think you could call it an attempt to escape growth from Kaladin's side either, it was an attempt to seek growth, an attempt to let go of his slavish devotion to his men and his work and go after something that he wanted for himself.  And he learned something about himself by doing it, so I would say he did achieve growth.  It's hard to say much about Shallan's side with how messed up she was mentally during OB when Kaladin was trying to get serious about it.

I personally think Kaladin has shown that having a romantic relationship is important to him, or at least having a relationship that brings him joy and is not one that is a burden/responsibility to him.  In his mind (and seemingly Syl's) he seems to believe that a romance is the place he can find that, but maybe he'll learn in Book 4 that he can have it from platonic friends.  There are hints he might be headed down that path.  If you look at the close relationships he has in the book so far (other than with Syl), they are all the type of relationship where he gives more than he gets in return.  His closest friends are all in Bridge 4 and while they are friends and make him happy he also sees them first and foremost as an obligation and duty.  He is looking for someone who can be on a more level footing with him - where they each support each other.  That's what he saw in Shallan, but that didn't work out.  Adolin could become that for him, but they aren't close emotionally as of the end of OB.   Shallan could become that as a platonic friend, but I have a feeling they will not try to become close friends out of respect for Adolin and Shallan's marriage.  So, I could see really any of the primary romance candidates of Laral, Tarrah, or even Rysn as being that person for him. 

I think before he does get in a relationship though, he has to develop more as a person.  I could really see a budding relationship push him toward personal growth and learning to let go and accept that it's OK for him to build relationships in pursuit of his own goals.  If he does meet up with Tarrah again, I think that would be an easy way for it to happen.  He knows what he did wrong to lose her, it's just a matter of whether or not he is willing to change his ways.  So it would come up - hey Kaladin you idiot you can't just live your life for your fellow soldiers and sacrifice everything for others.  She's already shown that she is her own woman and would not put up with Kaladin trying to "rescue" her.  I think she wanted to rescue him from himself when they first met in the aftermath of his brother's death.  We only have Kaladin's memories of their relationship, but I imagine if we saw it from a more neutral eye we would learn there's a lot more to her than we've seen so far.  Whether or not they actually get together, I think meeting Tarrah again will be good for Kaladin.