Pattern's Betrayal

[Kvothe the Bloodless he/him]

Did anyone else feel really betrayed after you found out that Pattern was the traitor. I know later it turned out that he was only trying to help Shallan, but when Shallan realized Pattern betrayed her, honestly thought that Pattern was actually a super evil double agent spy or something like that.

[Inkspren_K she/her]

I'm more concerned about the implications of this. First, if spren can betray their Radiants, this could cause issues for other characters as well. Second, Pattern also keeps going to Wit, who I don't fully trust either. Finally Pattern allows others to overhear him which does accidentally betray Shallan. The leaders think about which human characters know about secret plans, but is the same vetting done for spren? Many spren aren't that mature and I worry about what other secrets might be given away accidentally by a spren who's too trusting. 

[+Czernobog]

Cryptics are literally referred to as liespren. Why would it be surprising that they can lie to their own Radiants?

[Kvothe the Bloodless he/him]

2 hours ago, Czernobog said:

Cryptics are literally referred to as liespren. Why would it be surprising that they can lie to their own Radiants?

True, I had forgotten about this

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

I honestly believed that Pattern was evil for a while there, and that made his dialogue shift for me. Suddenly all the wierd things he said felt more alien and scary, and not as funny or friendly as usual, which goes to show how much context can change things. 

[Honorless he/him]

I was in denial in the beginning but I also thought it would've been interesting to see a dysfunctional Radiant-spren relationship or one where the spren is the "leader" of the pair, instead of magical companion, like the spren just goes I Bonded you for this purpose, so I can use our powers to this end. That would've been interesting.

[kaellok he/him]

On 11/25/2020 at 6:54 AM, Blood Of My Fathers said:

Did anyone else feel really betrayed after you found out that Pattern was the traitor. I know later it turned out that he was only trying to help Shallan, but when Shallan realized Pattern betrayed her, honestly thought that Pattern was actually a super evil double agent spy or something like that.

I mean, yes--that's what it was intended to do.  Much of the Shadesmar Arc took place in Part 2 and deliberately ended with that point in order to increase the dread readers were feeling on that end and then back to Urithuru Invaded and taken over.  Dread overload from all directions, making the entire situation seem helpless.  Even Jasnah and Dalinar leaving and fighting the battle was part of that--those scenes are short and serve to show that there is no outside help coming to Urithuru (they do more than just that, of course, but that's a major reason for including them where they are in the novel).

I also don't know that I think that in the end Pattern betrayed her.  He used the box to speak to Wit without telling her that he was doing so, and was willing to lie about it.  Assuming that's all that he did, though, that's no betrayal.

[mariapapadia she/her]

I'm happy it turned out to be a misunderstanding and Pattern had a reasonable explanation for this. For a while I really was in denial and kept hope that there had to be another catch or something like that. He did feel wierd this entire book though and I noticed his absence way before Shallan started suspected him. Especially until part 4 when this is explained. In hindsight I think it was Brandon's intention to make him different, so we had a plausible reason to suspect him as the spy by the end of part 2.