[OB] Confidence Builder

[Fifth of Daybreak]

I don't spend much time talking about Renarin, so I wanted to talk about his role in chapter 29 and whether or not it will serve as a trial by fire for him and his confidence in the future. 

I think the groundwork has been laid. He's comfortable enough with Bridge Four that Shallan noticed it, and then has been well trained enough to fall in line when given orders. Finally, he will have tangible evidence of his value in battle from his ability to heal his friends and comrades I'm Bridge Four. He'll come to understand that he was instrumental in the victory and grow from here, having been part of the first battle against the ancient spren of the enemy.

[shawnhargreaves]

Yes, but...

I suspect Renarin has always had rather more confidence than those around him give credit for.  We've only seen him through the eyes of others, who are mostly expecting him to be like Adolin and thus perceive him as coming up short.  His conversations with Dalinar during WoK do show some uncertainty about what role he should fill, but my sense is he'd pretty much figured that out during WoR.  Choosing to join Bridge 4 because he wanted to gain that experience, and even more so choosing to help Adolin in the duel, weren't exactly the actions of someone who lacked internal confidence!

So, I agree these new developments are important, but I think they'll be more about others catching up to how he already perceived himself.