kadolin Posted August 1, 2014 Posted August 1, 2014 "But he is in a clear state of mind," you say. I argue that Adolin is injured, exhausted, and angry from the recent battle. He's been bested again by Szeth. His father nearly died. Kaladin and Shallan have both turned out to be Radiants. His horse got shot. He's obviously emotionally unstable. Furthermore, when Sadeas reveals his plan to basically diss Dalinar, Adolin just loses it. He practically goes crazy and knifes Sadeas before realizing what he just did. Adolin has resisted the urge to kill Sadeas before in a calmer setting. He doesn't now, and that just screams "BAD!" to me. There is a lot on his mind for sure while he was trying to make sense of the events that occurred. But I do not think it implies he is emotionally unstable while he was exploring the city and contemplating. He is just deep in his thoughts. What Sadeas brazenly declared in front of Adolin is something significant in Adolin's realization of the threat. Sadeas has previously discredited Dalinar mainly due for his visions. Even after Dalinar proved himself right, Sadeas still intends to step up his efforts to bring them down for his own selfish gains. Whatever Sadeas is capable of if left unchecked has culminated to something serious enough for Adolin's instinct to kick in. Basically, my argument boils down to: Adolin is not in a clear state of mind, and he did something he would not do if he was in a clear state of mind. That's why it was wrong for him personally to do so. Don't get me wrong: now I think it's awesome that he did it, and I'm glad Sadeas is gone. I just don't think it was the right thing for Adolin to do. If Jasnah had done it, I'd have no qualms. If Sadeas were executed by Dalinar for treason and willful rebellion against the throne, I wouldn't have batted an eye. But the fact that Adolin does this in such a brutal way convinces me that it was the wrong thing for him to do. Adolin is reckless by nature but I do not think he "lost it" or "went to dark side". In this case, his recklessness will cause political ramifications if he was revealed to be involved, he went on to cover it up to protect his father against his actions (not so much for himself I believe). There seems to be no regret in him killing Sadeas, only concerns for ramifications. As for the act itself, he did not kill Sadeas while displaying perverse satisfaction. He did it suddenly and ended it as fast as possible. There was no excessive actions to indicate brutality as well. It was a straight forward elimination of a threat. I speculate his actions leads him to his KR path not necessarily a broken/lost journey of self discovery, perhaps something about emotions or instinct that guides his actions.
Guest Posted August 1, 2014 Posted August 1, 2014 "But he is in a clear state of mind," you say. I argue that Adolin is injured, exhausted, and angry from the recent battle. He's been bested again by Szeth. His father nearly died. Kaladin and Shallan have both turned out to be Radiants. His horse got shot. He's obviously emotionally unstable. Furthermore, when Sadeas reveals his plan to basically diss Dalinar, Adolin just loses it. He practically goes crazy and knifes Sadeas before realizing what he just did. Adolin has resisted the urge to kill Sadeas before in a calmer setting. He doesn't now, and that just screams "BAD!" to me. There is a lot on his mind for sure while he was trying to make sense of the events that occurred. But I do not think it implies he is emotionally unstable while he was exploring the city and contemplating. He is just deep in his thoughts. What Sadeas brazenly declared in front of Adolin is something significant in Adolin's realization of the threat. Sadeas has previously discredited Dalinar mainly due for his visions. Even after Dalinar proved himself right, Sadeas still intends to step up his efforts to bring them down for his own selfish gains. Whatever Sadeas is capable of if left unchecked has culminated to something serious enough for Adolin's instinct to kick in. I am with Chrono here. Adolin is not in his best state of mind when he accidentally stumble on Sadeas. From his POV, he admits having been wandering alone more and more, lost in his thoughts and pondering to his own pertinence in a world where Radiants are back. Physically, he had to not been feeling all right: he was trashed down to the ground by Szeth, his wrist was broken, he got hit on the head... A few days is not a long time to recover, he had to be at the very least slightly tired. Emotionally, he saw his horse being killed, he had to fight without the thrill for the first time, he watched his father died then come back, he got defeated and was waiting for the killing blow, he learned his betrothed and his future best bud are Radiants... All this is not a good combination. Unlike most other characters we have met so far, Adolin is not a rational person. He gets involved emotionally in things, a lot, and when he gets too deep into it, he tend to loses his common sense. I believe that, by the end of WoR, he is not just unstable, he is unhinged and he'll get worst as the story goes. He lost it. He snapped. I still believe it was the right thing to do, for the world, for Dalinar, but for Adolin, as a person, it will go down horribly. As Chrono points out, he is a nice guy. Adolin is reckless by nature but I do not think he "lost it" or "went to dark side". In this case, his recklessness will cause political ramifications if he was revealed to be involved, he went on to cover it up to protect his father against his actions (not so much for himself I believe). There seems to be no regret in him killing Sadeas, only concerns for ramifications. As for the act itself, he did not kill Sadeas while displaying perverse satisfaction. He did it suddenly and ended it as fast as possible. There was no excessive actions to indicate brutality as well. It was a straight forward elimination of a threat. While reading the scene, I felt Adolin snapped, lost it, murdered Sadeas and then came back to himself and realizes what he had just done. I believe he goes through a shock state of some sort where he just hides the facts... It is a very normal reaction. You know, when you do something really terrible how your first instinct often is to want to make it disappear? To act as if it did not happened? I recalled when I broke this really nice cup at my mother-in-law's house.... I stupidly hid the broken parts because I could not face her with the truth I have always felt Adolin went through the same. He didn't try to covert himself like a trained assassin would have, but more like a panicked man struggling to get some control over his life back. Also, if he were acting rationally, he would not have left his knife into the body.... It was not straight-forward. If it were straight-forward, he would have pulled his shardblade into Sadeas, he would have slit his throat: he would not have jumped on him trying to strangle him! No, no, no. When you are trying to consciously murder someone, you don't try to strangle them with your off-hand knowing full well the other one is broken. That is not sound tactic, that is the reaction of a man who acts spontaneously, without thoughts, a man who loses himself into his anger. Personally, I think he lost it. He did not went to the dark side, but he did lose it. He snapped. Basically, he has shown his main vulnerability: his temper, his emotions and he is bound to get worst as he'll try to deal with it. He has shown he has a threshold: unhinged him enough and he loses common sense. I see him going through a spiraling loop self-depreciation, stress and anxiety as he'll try to maintain his composed exterior while being a complete emotional wreck on this inside. Is it incompatible with any KR order? I don't think so, but how he'll chose to deal with it the ramifications will be crucial and he'll have to learn to control himself better. This is why I believe he'll make the perfect Dustbringer bound through obedience to keep himself under control.
kadolin Posted August 1, 2014 Posted August 1, 2014 I believe the strangling part was not to let Sadeas alert others but I sense the author did not describe excessive stabbing, maniacal smile and blood lust in the scene as a positive sign. I have to agree that what was described in the scene can be interpreted in either way, I dont like the way it was going if he was viewed as going mad and losing his control. Id prefer that he acted on instinct and emotions, something reasonable for his KR path.
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