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There's still so many Stormlight topics left to do (and such little time) but it's time to do a deep dive about Jasnah! We delve into her philosophy and a certain lesson, her "lunacy," and what happened with her in Rhythm of War! 

This episode we have Eric (Chaos), Alyx (Feather), Ian (Weiry), Jessie (Lady Lameness), Evgeni (Argent), and Shannon (Grey).

Brandon's Rhythm of War Chapter 17 Annotation on Jasnah's sexuality: https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/jmwe4r/last_weeks_annotation/

Today's amazing thumbnail is by Grant Hansen: https://www.instagram.com/p/BTXpUsJlBpB/

00:00 Introductions and Show & Tell
06:46:29 Jasnah
13:27 Personality, Philosophy, and the Lesson
1:05:50 "Lunacy"
1:32:17 Jasnah and Hoid; Jasnah's Sexuality
2:23:11 Wrapping up
2:25:54 Who's That Cosmere Character

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I think one of the most exciting things about Jasnah being one of, if not the main character of the back 5 is how that will affect the general framing of ideals in the series. Like you said, so far it's been very Windrunner defined, but with Jasnah being a major focus it's possible her own more utilitarian ideas will be a big part of shaping the interpretation of ideals.

Plus, she likes to debate, so maybe conflicting ideologies will be a bigger focus in the back half as well, where we get to see the benefits and failings of each. I'd really like to see that.

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My head canon for her "lunacy" is that she heard or saw things that other people could not (radiant spren, shadesmar, unmade etc.) and told people about it. This led to her parents locking her in a dark room for an extended period of time, presumably under the care of ardents. 

This taught her at an early age she has to be extremely careful with what she says, even to her family, or she'll get locked in the dark room again. That's where a lot of her guarded, fiercely independent personality traits come from or at least they were reinforced to an extreme by this experience. 

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Hi guys!! I want you to know that (A) this is the VERY first time I've watched y'all on youtube, and it feels like NONE of your faces match your voices in my mind.

And (B) I particularly appreciated your discussion of Jasnah's "lunacy", and the point you brought up about schizophrenia. Thank you for mentioning it, Grey.

Some thoughts below:

Notes/Thoughts on Jasnah's "Lunacy" (Potential Psychosis / Schizophrenia)

  • I do think it would be extremely interesting (albeit cruel) for Jasnah to end up schizophrenic, since her mind/perception is what she values most beyond anything — but I think this would be a huge undertaking for Brandon. Writing in the POV of a character whose schizophrenia is worsening (which is what would happen as she ages) would presumably be very challenging for a man who hasn't experienced it. I also wonder if this would take away from Taravangian's story slightly; since a huge motivating factor for him was trying to "get back" to "smarter" days again, when he could better trust the inner workings of his mind.
  • All of this said... this article made me think it could indeed be childhood psychosis/schizophrenia, maybe. I didn't know that flat affect was a symptom in children with schizophrenia; this might fit with Navani's quote to Dalinar about how different/unusual Jasnah seemed as a preteen. 
  • Thematically, it would also make sense to try an tie a mental illness in with Jasnah, since it seems like a very common theme in his Stormlight works. [But does everyone need to have a defined mental illness, I wonder?]
  • Lastly... if the lunacy was caused by environmental/outside factors... My bet is on some Unmade/Splinter nonsense, or having started a proto bond with a spren.

Thoughts on Jasnah/Hoid

Evgeni perfectly summed up the icky feeling about Jasnah/Hood; it feels incredibly transactional. He gives her secrets, she gives him sex, and neither of them are happy. The only benefit of this pairing = the potential for a messy breakup and some INTERESTING "evil ex" dynamic stuff in the future!

Shannon said it well too: Are we supposed to believe Jasnah doesn't know how to define boundaries? Are we supposed to believe Hoid, who's like 10,000 years old, doesn't give a crem about Jasnah's feelings/comfortability in these sexual situations?

I'd have rather seen Jasnah explore her sexuality (or lack thereof) and/or romantic feelings with almost anyone else. Jasnah/Kriss sounds like a wonderful ship. I also kinda like the idea of Jasnah/Radiant. 

P.S. —

@FeatherWriter: You convinced me to try the Chestnut Praline latte an hour ago! IT'S AMAZING.

20211127_114228.thumb.jpg.7b18332db38ce2ef6430b622128a5e39.jpg

Edited by sugjesstive

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@sugjesstive Oops, it's on me for not checking the 17th Shard post too often, so this is very late - but thank you! I was going in with schizophrenia, but I found a similar link on childhood psychotic episodes pretty much as we were filming there. Thanks so much for your thoughts!

PS - I love your hair!

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