Tarah is missing from RoW. Why?

[JoyBlu]

I finished RoW awhile ago but something has been nagging me at the back of my brain. Where is Tarah? She was mentioned in the previous 3 books and with all the RAFO’s I received when asking about her Father and family I assumed that she and her family would be playing a part in future books. My first theory that Tarah was an illegitimate grandchild (and named after) Taravangian was destroyed by Brandon, but I still felt there was a role/part/story for her to still play or reveal about her time with Kaladin. Do you guys think we are done hearing from/about her, or do you think she will show up again? I wonder what drew her and Kal together initially? Was she also an aspiring radiant?
 

Any thoughts on if she did show up in RoW and was just not called by the name of Tarah? Any other characters that could be her by description only? I searched for her name in the kindle version and she didn’t show up in RoW. 

I missed her. 

[Trutharchivist]

I'm sorry to say I don't quite see the point. Tarah was a side character that appeared on-screen exactly once, as far as I know. I don't know why Brandon would RAFO questions about her, but to tell you the truth, she was the one person I didn't miss in RoW. Could it be that the RAFO'd questions were pre-OB? I believe she is still a scribbe somewhere, though she lives in Alethkar, so she's under singer occupation. Probably what happened to her in the occupation was RAFO'd, but IMO i doesn't necessarily means she's important.

[agrabes]

I think it just came down to the story Sanderson was telling in RoW.  After thinking about it a while, it seems like he wanted to tell the story of Kaladin, alone figuring out how to conquer his own demons.  He put in the story of the failed relationship with Lyn to show that having a relationship with someone wouldn't help Kaladin.  That he needed to figure it out on his own.

I think that Tarah is probably not important for her own sake.  I doubt she's a secret child of a king or somehow really important to the overall story.  But, I could see her returning in SA5 to be a potential love interest or just friend to Kaladin.  I'd like to see something like that happen.  But then, I would have liked to see at least some interaction between Kaladin and Laral in RoW.  So, we'll just have to see.  I'd like to see Kaladin have a heart to heart with either Tarah, Laral, or both.  I think he could learn a thing or two about himself by doing that - get a glimpse of himself from an outside perspective and a better idea of why he sometimes struggles with personal relationships.  But I'm not holding my breath.  I think it's more likely that Kaladin is 100% mission focused in SA5.

[The Sovereign]

7 hours ago, Trutharchivist said:

 I believe she is still a scribbe somewhere, though she lives in Alethkar, so she's under singer occupation. Probably what happened to her in the occupation was RAFO'd, but IMO i doesn't necessarily means she's important.

We actually have some contextual clues that she may be in Urithiru. In Oathbringer when Veil is giving her team lessons about being a spy in the breakaway she details a women at the bar who is Alethi but dressed in a Thaylen style dress. This may well be Tarah as her preference for Thaylen style dresses is noted in one of Kaladin's flashbacks.

Edited January 5, 2021 by The Sovereign

[AquaRegia]

1 hour ago, The Sovereign said:

We actually have some contextual clues that she may be in Urithiru. In Oathbringer when Veil is giving her team lessons about being a spy in the breakaway she details a women at the bar who is Alethi but dressed in a Thaylen style dress. This may well be Tarah as her preference for Thaylen style dresses is noted in one of Kaladin's flashbacks.

I can't say this is impossible, but I find it extremely unlikely.  The only people living in Urithiru are those who were living in the warcamps, right?  The Oathgate to Kholinar was never activated (except for the raid to get Jezrien's honorblade, maybe?).

My guess is that the most likely reason for a RAFO is that Tarah might show up later, married to someone else, just to give Kaladin yet another thing to be depressed about and then to eventually work through.

[Theoryspren]

Another thing in the same flash back Kaladin remembered that Tarah liked to wear really colorful cloths and in the Veil bar scene she is described as wearing a bright green Thaylen style shirt and a bright purple blouse.

[JoyBlu]

Thank you @The Sovereign and @Theoryspren for those nice tidbits. It’s those little details that I love about Sanderson. So many of those little things turn out to be clues to something later. 
 

When I re-read RoW I’ll look for more clues. I had hoped she would have showed up in one of Sadeas’s houses or working with Ialia somehow but that didn’t happen. With her dad being a quartermaster assistant and her knowledge of weapons I wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up in the fighting or war camps somewhere. 
 

I do believe that Sanderson has a backstory for Tarah & her father that hasn’t been told yet and I’m eagerly awaiting to hear it. I’m betting she was somehow in RoW and I missed it but I also can see  @agrabes point on how Kaladin needed to come to terms with himself in his own and more writing about Tarah was just distracting. 
 

Thanks for all the thoughts!

[Mythic Drink]

On 1/5/2021 at 2:00 AM, Trutharchivist said:

I'm sorry to say I don't quite see the point. Tarah was a side character that appeared on-screen exactly once, as far as I know. I don't know why Brandon would RAFO questions about her, but to tell you the truth, she was the one person I didn't miss in RoW. Could it be that the RAFO'd questions were pre-OB? I believe she is still a scribbe somewhere, though she lives in Alethkar, so she's under singer occupation. Probably what happened to her in the occupation was RAFO'd, but IMO i doesn't necessarily means she's important.

The point is that Tarah is a love interest and an important person from Kaladin's past. If and when she comes back some people (myself included) ship Kaladin with Tarah. And I would be pissed if that didn't happen. 

[Anomander Rake]

On 1/5/2021 at 9:59 AM, agrabes said:

I think it's more likely that Kaladin is 100% mission focused in SA5.

I agree and disagree!  I think you are totally correct that Kal is gonna be locked in and focused next book, but I think he'll still get some relationship developments and similar in book 5 - they just wont be a weight to him anymore, but something positive!  Brandon has said Kal turned a corner with the conclusion of RoW, so fully expect our capable bridgeboy to really come into his own this book.

Maybe I'm being a little hopeful here, and will need to wait for the back 5, but this is my guess!

[Trutharchivist]

15 minutes ago, Mythic Drink said:

The point is that Tarah is a love interest and an important person from Kaladin's past. If and when she comes back some people (myself included) ship Kaladin with Tarah. And I would be pissed if that didn't happen. 

Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry, really. The thing is... I, personally, don't search for a love interest for Kaladin in every corner. Yes, I'd like him to have someone, but I won't start going off and wonder where is Tarah just so we could ship them again. It still is a valid opinion, and I really shouldn't have replied here on the first place. My bad.

There are enough women in the Tower, I'm sure. No real need to theorize about the return of a former love interest. Then again, it's only my opinion, you may think whatever.

If anyone thinks it's a better idea, I can hide both my earlier comment and this one.

[agrabes]

On 12/28/2021 at 1:02 PM, Anomander Rake said:

I agree and disagree!  I think you are totally correct that Kal is gonna be locked in and focused next book, but I think he'll still get some relationship developments and similar in book 5 - they just wont be a weight to him anymore, but something positive!  Brandon has said Kal turned a corner with the conclusion of RoW, so fully expect our capable bridgeboy to really come into his own this book.

Maybe I'm being a little hopeful here, and will need to wait for the back 5, but this is my guess!

I'd love to see him doing something on the romance front, but I'm not hopeful.  Then again, Syl was very adamant to Kaladin that he shouldn't be content with being alone and that he needs more meaningful connections.  So, maybe the theme will come back.  But I think that SA5 has to be really soon after SA4 in world time based on the bargain Dalinar made right?  So there probably isn't going to be time for Kaladin to really develop a love interest.  He might run into Tarah or have an on screen meaningful conversation with Laral, or maybe Lyn.

[Anomander Rake]

56 minutes ago, agrabes said:

But I think that SA5 has to be really soon after SA4 in world time based on the bargain Dalinar made right?  So there probably isn't going to be time for Kaladin to really develop a love interest.  He might run into Tarah or have an on screen meaningful conversation with Laral, or maybe Lyn.

You are totally right, I spaced on the fact SA5 is gonna be right after 4.  Guess we'll have to wait for the time skip :')

[AquaRegia]

I cannot get out of my head the image of Syl (who finds the idea of HAIR disgusting) watching Kaladin being intimate with someone.  And commenting.  The WHOLE.  STORMING.  TIME.  "Is... that how that's supposed to work...?  EWWW."

I know it's a scene we will never see.  I'm mostly glad.