EddyJ

Great episode all around! I particularly enjoyed the Stormfather discussion and the discussion on the Heralds' timeline. Regarding the so-called "female Herald problem" (Shalash and Battar: "What are we to you?") It's entirely fine for them to be off doing other things (yes, including giving birth to Shallan)! The male Heralds we've seen are all doing things which fit their characters/madness and it wouldn't make any sense to swap them around for another Herald in the name of "inclusion" or some other meaningless platitude. Think about this: In a society like Ashyn's which can produce a man like Taln - who essentially represents the peak of masculinity in the series thus far - no woman would have been allowed to carry the burden of being a Herald. The chivalry of men (or even just Taln) would require self-sacrifice before letting a woman put herself at risk. So, if you can suspend your belief enough to accept that half of the Heralds are female, you can probably manage to suspend your belief enough to accept that their plot threads (again, sans Shalash, Battar, and now Chana) have not been relevant yet. tl;dr Let Brandon tell his story the way he has it planned out, you'll like it.

We can only hope. Seems like he's doing ok. Hope tomorrow's news will help him keep a healthy pace.

Happy, hopefully. Glad to help!

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/475/#e14990 Yeah, Brandon has confirmed that Hoid was tricked by confirming that he will figure it out in the early chapters of Stormlight 5. (See link above)

I think it's awesome that the main characters in the Cosmere learn that the circumstances of their lives (being skaa, darkeyed, etc.) have infinitely less affect on their happiness than the focus of their lives (helping others, swearing oaths, bringing down the Lord Ruler, becoming a better individual, etc.). Initially a lot of them are angry at their circumstances, but most (if not all) of the good characters move past that and focus on bettering themselves, and that's a really good message for today's world.

Skybreaker/Stoneward for me.

Great idea! I'm grateful that Rhythm of War finally released, and the Cosmere drought is over! Also, yes, I've finished it, no, I won't spoil anyone, and yes, it's incredible.

Mad respect.

Dalinar was repentant; Sadeas was unrepentant. That's the difference.

I, for one, am 100% on board with the plan to kill Ialai. I'm also a Skybreaker. Checks out.

58% Skybreaker. 49% Stoneward, Truthwatcher, and Windrunner. Seems about right!

Yep, Warbreaker and WoT get content warnings, though WoT's potentially objectionable content is much more...pervasive, let's say.

Read Warbreaker. You'll pick up on some important stuff in Words of Radiance, and it will prepare you for Oathbringer.

Well said! I meant to use the word protect, and I think your wording is superior.

I think the generally proposed theory is along those lines - that the oath may be "I will accept that I can't save everyone." It's an internal goal - coming to terms with your own limitations, which is a really powerful character moment for Kaladin.