Most Improved Character

[Frustration]

3 minutes ago, An Inkspren said:

Just out of curiosity... How did you skip her WoR chapter? Did you skip all interludes or just that one?

Lift only had one interlude in Words of Radiance.

and please don't double post.

[An Inkspren]

1 minute ago, Frustration said:

Lift only had one interlude in Words of Radiance.

and please don't double post.

Sorry I'm new to these forums.

To clarify my previous message addressed to @Aspiring Writer : how does one end up skipping Lift's interlude? Did you start the interlude and say "storm this" and just go on to the next interlude in WoR (skipped only this interlude) or do you just not read interludes at all (skipping ALL interludes, going from part to part while never reading interludes in all books).

[Frustration]

9 minutes ago, An Inkspren said:

Sorry I'm new to these forums.

Don't worry about it, we all did it at first.

9 minutes ago, An Inkspren said:

To clarify my previous message addressed to @Aspiring Writer : how does one end up skipping Lift's interlude? Did you start the interlude and say "storm this" and just go on to the next interlude in WoR (skipped only this interlude) or do you just not read interludes at all (skipping ALL interludes, going from part to part while never reading interludes in all books).

Probably got started and was like "This sucks"

[Sequence]

I believe Elhokar fits this. I absolutely despised him in the first book, being the paranoid little kid who seems hell-bent on ruining Alethkar, but I came to respect him much more throughout Oathbringer. Still not the best character of them all. I would have respected him a lot more if he hadn't

Spoiler

cut that girder belt

himself, although I don't think he's worse than Amaram or Moash.

[Aspiring Writer]

On 9/12/2021 at 6:58 PM, An Inkspren said:

Just out of curiosity... How did you skip her WoR chapter? Did you skip all interludes or just that one?

Not all, but if I didn't know the character, I used to skip thinking it wasn't important out of impatience. I have since learned to read everything or pay the price of ignorance. 

 

... Frustrations guess was actually pretty accurate.

Edited September 14, 2021 by Aspiring Writer

[MGershone]

Probably Renarin. In TWoK, he was kinda a background character and I was kind of like, "So he's a sad guy in the background. Great." WoR improved him a bit, especially with his efforts to join Bridge 4, but in OB and RoW, I really liked him both as a person and in terms of character arc.

[salka]

I had no idea when I read the original post, I just really love all the characters.. or maybe I hate some of them but they are still good for the story and I like them in that respect.

But after reading the comments I have to agree with @Sequence on Elhokar and @MGershone on Renarin. They were both pretty lame in the beginning but grew to become fine characters. Especially Renarin.

[Letryx13]

On 9/17/2021 at 6:28 AM, salka said:

I had no idea when I read the original post, I just really love all the characters.. or maybe I hate some of them but they are still good for the story and I like them in that respect.

But after reading the comments I have to agree with @Sequence on Elhokar and @MGershone on Renarin. They were both pretty lame in the beginning but grew to become fine characters. Especially Renarin.

I agree.  Renarin and Elhokar both improved a lot over the first three books.  Renarin still has some confidence issues, but I bet we'll get to explore that more in his book.  But another character that I think grew a lot over the series so far was Venli.  She seemed so obnoxious and arrogant at first, and I suppose she still is somewhat, but she seems to be trying to do better.  I remember when the previews for RoW came out and the first chapter that featured her mentioned at one point how she was sorrowful and remorseful for what she had done to her people. But later in that same chapter, she resented the fact that she never received the honors from Odium she expected.

By the end of RoW, though, she's not completely transformed, but in the process.  She recognized that not all the humans she's met are bad, and she seems to be trying to make amends.

[Truthwatcher94]

Shallan and Dalinar for me. 

I hated Shallan in WoK, but I slowly liked her in the second and third book. But by the end of Oathbringer when her DID was clearer, I can’t think of anything else other than be scared for her and the people around her. Just as her arcs are not something I just read because it must be integral to the story but something I really enjoy (I really liked the thriller Brandon made with her Veil-reconnaissance scenes), she just keeps on getting more broken. And I didn’t think I can support her decisions anymore. But by the end of RoW, when Kaladin and Shallan accepted and understood that being Radiants doesn’t fix how broken they are but to keep on fighting harder, I can really say Shallan made it very far from the girl she once was. 
 

Dalinar’s story and progress had the most impact for me. Introducing him as an honorable man then breaking him with the truth of his forgotten past (credits to one dragon), then choosing to rise up back again because he needed to, really shows how Bondsmith-worthy he is. I can’t stop shaking while reading the Battle of Thaylenah and I think that was one of Brandon’s best yet. I have to admit that reading the first SA book, all I cared about was Kaladin’s chapters. I didn’t care much for Dalinar’s and certainly not for Shallan’s. 

[Olmund]

I'm on team Navani for most improved -- the way she was presented in TWoK and WoR really didn't endear her to me, but she was easily one of the best characters in RoW. I'm also a little surprised we haven't seen any nominations for Gaz, though I suppose he hasn't gotten a ton of screen time. I'll give him an honorable mention just for the fact that he was despicable in TWoK, and he's become a mildly decent person.

[Letryx13]

On 10/13/2021 at 2:13 PM, Olmund said:

I'm on team Navani for most improved -- the way she was presented in TWoK and WoR really didn't endear her to me, but she was easily one of the best characters in RoW. I'm also a little surprised we haven't seen any nominations for Gaz, though I suppose he hasn't gotten a ton of screen time. I'll give him an honorable mention just for the fact that he was despicable in TWoK, and he's become a mildly decent person.

I actually considered Gaz, but the thing is, aside from him becoming a radiant (a significant achievement, to be certain) we haven't really seen him do much since he deserted Sadeas' army. Sure, he's supported Shallan, but that was for a second chance and out of loyalty, and we haven't really seen him do anything to confront who he was.  I think he definitely has the potential to become one of the series' most improved characters, and I'm hoping that happens in book 5, but he hasn't really shown that yet.