Too late

[LuckyJim]

Something I noticed in the epilogues is that there's kind of a recurring pattern of characters arriving late or missing something crucial.

In The Way of Kings, Hoid directly states that Taln has arrived too late to warn people of the coming desolation.

In Words of Radiance, Jasnah escapes from Shadesmar, only to find that the Desolation has come and Urithiru has been discovered without her.

The next two books don't fit as well, but if we're a little generous with the definitions, you could say that in Oathbringer Hoid meets Design, who was too late to bond Elhokar before he died, and Hoid himself was too late to meet with Rayse before he was killed (or something like that).

I'm not sure it's a solid enough pattern to really point to anything, but its something I thought was kinda cool, and could make for interesting foreshadowing in what the potential end of book 5 could be if that is what Brandon is going for.

[Windrunner2319]

I personally like the idea that we could see a major set back for our heroes at the conclusion of book 5, and I feel like it would be thematically appropriate for the thing that could have saved them show up and the end, leaving us all sitting on for the next 5+ years til stormlight 6. 

[Unite Them]

On 7/16/2021 at 0:35 AM, Windrunner2319 said:

I personally like the idea that we could see a major set back for our heroes at the conclusion of book 5, and I feel like it would be thematically appropriate for the thing that could have saved them show up and the end, leaving us all sitting on for the next 5+ years til stormlight 6. 

I personally am kinda hoping that the end of book 5 leaves things looking just impossibly bleak and hopeless.