Calyx

I don't think this is entirely fair to Laral, who is only 15 at the time. Her father died, she was basically imprisoned in her own home and not allowed to see anyone, another family with pretty strong views and plans for her waltzed into town and took things over, and she has to marry the son to survive. Regardless of her personal thoughts, I don't see how she could have gone against him in that scene. She was as good as a prisoner there.

As far as I remember, Kaladin and Jasnah have only one scene together in Oathbringer, and they definitely clash. I believe at the end Kaladin suggests that he can find some eels for Jasnah to cuddle, or something to that effect, and her only response is a smile. This doesn't imply romance, but it does imply they could grow to actually be friendly. I like the Laral idea that @Dreamstorm explores above, I can definitely see that working if Roshone is killed somehow (not difficult to imagine) and Hearthstone is evacuated to Urithiru.

I don't think not wanting to marry Amaram points in that direction. Guy seemingly was always a douche. I also love Jasnah! She is a fantastic character, and I feel like most of Shallan's problems could be solved by confiding in her. Jasnah is also clearly the strongest radiant (possibly except for Dalinar) at the moment, and there are indications that she even has her armor.

If he is looking to avoid attachments (which I'm not sure of), he is doing quite a bad job of that with Shallan. He has, without doubt, been the most helpful person to her so far.

I agree, and additionally I don't think Jasnah/Kaladin will happen - and I don't want it to. But of the currently present and available characters, Jasnah might be the only one who would be on equal (or, knowing Jasnah, superior) footing with Kaladin. And it would be amusing to watch Kaladin learn that she doesn't need his protection at all. I can't really see what Jasnah would get out of the relationship, though. As an aside to this, Lyn seemed to be featured fairly prominently in several of the bridge 4 scenes.

Haha yes, Kaladin doesn't deserve that additional internal conflict. Though Jasnah is what, about 10 years older than Shallan/Kaladin (and also still super beautiful)? Age difference is probably a less big deal than Kaladin's aversion to the position and Jasnah being way too pragmatic to consider a relationship like that.

I hope Rysn gets a larger role. I really like her character, and her Larkin is both interesting and very funny. It was nice to see her actions actually involved in the plot in Oathbringer - she even got a scene with Dalinar! My hope is that Rysn's involvement will increase as someone who Fen brings with her when Fen takes up residence in Urithiru after becoming a bondsmith. Probably won't happen, but I can dream. I do want more Rysn, though!

I imagine it would be someone strong who disagrees with him very often, at least at first. Jasnah actually comes to mind, though I doubt (and don't think) that will be a thing.

I think there are three main problems: People on Roshar wear metal stuff Mistborn are highly mobile Mistborn can attack from range The ideal strategy for a mistborn would be to keep distance from the windrunner by pushing on metal in their clothing (i.e. Kaladin wears a metal dagger) and using their own pushes/pulls while continuously pelting their opponent with metal to force them to use stormlight to heal. Once their stormlight runs out, the mistborn wins without difficulty - though engaging at close quarters is probably still a really bad idea due to shard blades. This dynamic might change once Kaladin gets his armor, though - I doubt a mistborn could push on him then.

I'm really rooting for Rysn.

I think the main problem here is that while Shallan spent a lot of time with both Kaladin and especially Adolin, most of their actual interactions were either off screen or glossed over. She has been going on dates with Adolin, and Radiant has been regularly training with her shardblade / flirting with him. Meanwhile, she has definitely spent time with Kaladin, as in their flight to Theylen City or when he flies her to the mountains near Urithiru to draw. Plus all of the time the three of them spent in Kholinar / shadesmar together. The problem is, we don't actually see these interactions that must have taken place. We get some of their internal thoughts - well some of Kaladin's, anyway. Not much of Adolin, and Shallan's internal thoughts are totally messed up until (debatably) the very end. I think there was just too much stuff happening for these relationship building moments to be really explored, which is a shame - it makes the decision at the end seem to under-deliver on a lot of the initial build up.

I think Brandon has stated that the reason Odium shatters shards instead of killing their holders and taking up the shard himself is that he doesn't want another shard to interfere with his intent, which he likes. I also seem to remember Hoid saying (in one of the letters?) that Rayse was a loathsome individual, and a particularly good fit with his shard's intent.

I'd have to say mine is probably Steris - she really grows on you in BoM. If Jasnah doesn't count as 'main' - which I think she doesn't yet, but will - she is also awesome. As is Pattern. (Guess who my favorite 'main' character is...) I also really like Sigzil - if I were somehow transported to Roshar, I would probably be most like him. I hope we get to see more development from him and especially more testing in the next Stormlight book. Queen Fen is another great character in Oathbringer.

I think Odium is trying to destroy the oathpact, which - despite being abandoned by most heralds - still clearly has some impact. If the gem in the dagger is designed to bind a herald, why is it so clearly sensed as death? Jezrien seems to know that he is actually dying, and Ash knows when it happens.

My guess is that this won't happen until he speaks at least the 4th ideal.

Honestly, I'm glad Kaladin didn't kill Amaram. I feel like that would have been a step towards vengeance, which I really wouldn't like to see Kaladin taking. On the other hand, Amaram definitely deserved to die, so its good that someone killed him. Personally I was hoping it would be Adolin.

Unlike you, Shallan is my favorite of the main characters, but I am in total agreement that we need more Jasnah. I want a lot of Jasnah/Shallan scenes (not to mention Ivory/Pattern, which I can't help but think would be hilarious) in the next book.

Haha yeah, I agree. Moash isn't a super villain. Just an idiot and a jerk. I still hope he dies soon.

In his last scene, he was murdering an insane homeless guy in cold blood.

I was really looking forward to a Szeth/Kaladin scene after the battle: "wait, didn't I kill you?"

I think many of Shallan's viewpoints included interaction with other important characters, most notably Kaladin, Adolin, and Azure. This might be one reason for how much of Shallan we saw. I actually feel that we didn't see enough of Shallan, really, and would have liked more (though, she is my favorite character after Pattern and maybe Jasnah). Her character arc ended in a very good but seemingly very, very tenuous place - I was hoping her split personas would be resolved by the end of the book. Hopefully the next book will see her spending a lot more time with Jasnah and actually fixing herself.

Sure, if you assume Moash is just standing around doing nothing. He appears to be someone that many, many people may need protection from.

Yeah, I think thats the point - Moash could have been like Kaladin, except he made the opposite choice at every opportunity. Looking at Moash is kind of like looking at a Kaladin who doesn't care about others and seeks only vengeance. It isn't pretty, and I really look forward to Moash dying. Hopefully killed by a bunch of angry Bridge 4 members while Kaladin is not actually there.

She does hold him in Shadesmar, though I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more interaction there - I really expected Kaladin to be excited that he could actually physically interact with Syl.

I really like this idea, and if we do get another bondsmith I hope that its Fen. She is an awesome character, and - while I love Navani - another Kholin bondsmith might not be great for the coalition. Plus, Dalinar and Navani are already enough of a power couple. Fen is one of the few characters who speaks to Dalinar as an equal, and I really hope we see more of her in the future.