[OB] Lopen's Words

[+robardin]

I tried to make it so the post's title isn't an Oathbringer spoiler in and of itself, but after re-reading Oathbringer after giving it a few months to settle in the back of my mind, I appreciated several things much more than I did the first time (which was partly due to reading the preview chapters as they were released, something I feel disrupted the feel of the pace of events for me, and partly due to my overwhelming desire to Get To The Plot Advancement Stuff ASAP).

I could make a list of things like that - such as my much better appreciation of how plausible it was that Shallan's mind was cracking in the way that it did, when the first read-through it felt much more awkward - but the biggest swing, oddly enough, was in my appreciation of the scene where Lopen swears the Second Ideal.

The first time through, I read it as straight comic relief, because, well, it was Lopen. The Lopen.

He was mugging for some injured soldiers, doing tricks with one arm (even though he now has two), and talks a bit about becoming a Radiant, and mentions that he'd been "trying to cry a lot, and moan about my life being so terrible, but I think the Stormfather knows I'm lying", to "crack" his soul more, when he casually speaks the Words of the Second Ideal - obviously not for the first time, since he screams at the SF about "Why didn't you listen earlier?!"... And has his Words accepted, with the burst of light, the frost-drawn Windrunner symbol, and everything. He is literally hopping mad, making a double-handed obscene gesture to the sky, and Rua, his spren, joins him in support (who even grows two extra arms to double-double on the gesture).

It is a funny scene, to be sure. But.. It's also really touching. Because while it's funny to us, the reader, it wasn't a joke to the Stormfather.

YOU WEREN'T QUITE READY.

I remember laughing out loud the first time I read that, like it was a punch line. But the second time, on a re-read, I teared up a little. Because it's not like the Stormfather has a sense of humor, and was pranking Lopen or something. He was - can only be - dead serious.

In the midst of the epic battle for Thaylen City, with Fused, Thunderclasts, Voidbringers parshmen singers, red-eyed humans, and even Odium himself making an appearance, Lopen had been desperately reaching for the Second Ideal, and drawing a blank. Because he really wasn't ready! He was grasping towards being like Kaladin was when he rescued Dalinar from his entrapment at the end of The Way of Kings, and "leveled up" in one of the most dramatic ways possible.

But the Ideals are, like we saw in Teft's interpretation of the Third Ideal, tailored to the Radiant who swears them. And that's not who Lopen is. That's not his metier. Only now, in giving comfort, hope, and morale to injured soldiers who'd lost limbs, with his unique blend of self-deprecating and insulting humor, is he living, and not just speaking, the Second Ideal.

Lopen has always been about being an indomitable source of humor, light, and hope - even as a one-armed bridgeman, a death sentence with a handicap - his high spirits and antics raised even those of Kaladin. Bringing that light to those wrapping themselves in darkness - that's who Lopen is.

I will protect those who cannot protect themselves... From depression, from despair, from giving up.

Thank you for what you do, Lopen. I look forward to seeing what your Third Ideal will be like.

 

 

Edited May 10, 2018 by robardin

[Naurock]

1 hour ago, robardin said:

It is a funny scene, to be sure. But.. It's also really touching. Because while it's funny to us, the reader, it wasn't a joke to the Stormfather.

YOU WEREN'T QUITE READY.

I remember laughing out loud the first time I read that, like it was a punch line. But the second time, on a re-read, I teared up a little. Because it's not like the Stormfather has a sense of humor, and was pranking Lopen or something. He was - can only be - dead serious.

I had the exact same experience! The first time it was funny, but the second time I really felt for him. He was the useless slave, deflecting all hate of himself through humor. Saying all the mean things others could say about him first but saying it with a humorous twist.

He was ready at that point because he was finally showing real leadership. It made me want to see much more real Lopen. It became apparent to me he put on a mask for everyone else. He was saved by Kaladin, and wants to help others now.