Exploring the death of Torol Sadeas

[Bigmikey357]

Anyone who has read WoR  is aware of that climatic scene in the epilogue. Sadeas takes a stroll in the caverns of Urithiru, sees Adolin, taunts him with threats to his family and the mission to save the world and catches a knife to the eye for his trouble. Straight forward right? Not so fast. I propose that there was an underlying factor involved in how those events played out. It was Sadeas' addiction to the Thrill.

Take a look at what we know about Sadeas. Torol was a devious man. He was also careful, pragmatic, intelligent and could read people when he could be bothered to pay attention. He knew how to needle and prod people, forcing them to act in whatever manner he chose, even when the subject mistrusted him or his motives. He never had just one plan, and always operated with a back door. 

However, Torol was also a Thrill addict, and Nergoul had been working on him for a long time. He admitted to having no pleasure in anything other than fighting anymore, and not even fighting Parshendi. For all the gifts the Thrill grants in battle, it takes something away as well. From Dalinar it stole all his pleasure in anything not related to battle. I think that Nergoul consumed Sadeas' sense of caution, self preservation and intelligence. Sadeas was losing something off his fastball ever since his efforts were foiled at the Tower by a budding Radiant. He nearly got caught flat footed by the results of the 4 on 1 duel, his man bungled the assassination attempt during Dalinar's Shattered Plains expedition, and he made all the wrong moves both precceeding the Battle of Narak and its immediate aftermath.  The Sadeas of 10 years prior doesn't make those same mistakes. 

Now let's look at the scene again. Sadeas, careful and wise, someone who always has an exit strategy, meets up with Adolin. Sadeas was willingly alone, no guards, with a man he described earlier as Blackthorn like only with less control. Instead of trying to escape the room and get to a place where he'd be again in a position of strengthen, he chooses to stick around with someone he tried to murder at least 2wice in the narrative. He knows Adolin's temper is on a regrettably short leash yet he taunts a master duelist in his athletic prime with every reason to hate him. What advantage did Sadeas see in threatening Adolin's father in this situation? How does the conversation further his stated goals? 

Two possibilities exist as to why Torol would act in a manner totally against his natural inclination, and both are related to the Thrill. Either he wants a challenge, something he has stated he longer for, and picked a particularly difficult opponent. Or his normal inclinations have for years been eroded by the influence of the Thrill to the point where he's routinely taking suicidal chances. He didn't misjudge Adolin's reaction; a noted manipulator such as him would never misread someone as open and transparent as Adolin unless Nergoul robbed him of his wits. And it of course could be both possibilities running in parallel. Sadeas had it coming, this is undeniable. What may be less clear but equally undeniable to me is that he unconsciously engineered his death. And he did this because of the Thrill.

[Karger]

I think much the same.  I would also add that the thrill confers a sense of invincibility that while useful in some types of combat(not knowing when to quit is often a major advantage) is an extremely dangerous state for a human to be in.  

[Ripheus23]

Maybe Odium is trying to form his own set of Heralds and so the Thrill provoked Sadeas into getting himself killed so he can become a Cognitive Shadow?

[Bigmikey357]

Man would that be terrifying. Makes me wonder who else would make the roster in this hypothetical situation. Then again I'm not sure how willing Odium is to make more cognitive shadows when he already has a army of Fused.

[Karger]

1 hour ago, Ripheus23 said:

Maybe Odium is trying to form his own set of Heralds and so the Thrill provoked Sadeas into getting himself killed so he can become a Cognitive Shadow?

As Bigmikey said.  Odium has several thousand fused that are kind of his Herald counterparts.  Why would he want another one who he would have trouble integrating into the rest of his human hating army?

[stormbourne]

good duckin riddance

[Diego98]

When Sanderson was signing here in Spain, I was able to ask him sonething that was bugging me about that scene. Later on, on Oathbringer, Odium says that he has been preparing Sadeas troops for quite a long time. I asked him if Odium had something to do with Sadeas murder, either controling bia thrill Adolin or using Sadeas. Ive got instanly RAFOed, so maybe it has some importance in the future.