SomeRandomPeasant

Honestly, this pairing is just so funny, but it will never happen. Kaladin needs a partner who acts like Tien or Syl. Someone who is a light in his life that can drag him out of his melancholy. I don’t know what the hell Jasnah wants, whether that be a particular type of person or no person at all. But I don’t see any type of romance between them, just a healthy level of antagonism.

As I said, Adolin could become an Edgedancer, just like he could become anything. But the point is that he isn’t there now. It is also possible that Szeth could forsake his vows or that Lirin will become a Dustbringer. I just think there is not that much evidence supported in the text. For example, I think there are far more hints in the series that indicate that Navani will become the next Bondsmith bonded with the Sibling.

Well, in that case, I guess we can't blame people like Roshone and Dalinar for committing foul deeds while in the service of others. Roshone simply had no choice in sending Tien off to die in a border dispute. After all, Roshone knew his Highlord needed more recruits. Poor Roshone was forced to act the way he did. Dalinar had to burn Rathalas to ground, regardless of the massive amount of innocents inside. His brother, the king of Alethkar, wanted the problem solved. Are Dalinar's actions seen as permissible even though he did not pursue alternative solutions, such as only executing the conspirators? At what point is someone unable to use the excuse: "I was simply following orders"? All three men went above and beyond the call of duty when it came to fulfilling the commands of their superior. Taking away personal responsibility is something that Odium or Moash would advocate for. It is possible for Gaz to be redeemed but he must first accept that he was personally responsible for a lot of cruelty. I am unsure why so many people are willing to give Gaz a pass when he should be, at the very least, held accountable for his actions.

I am kind of shocked that Gaz isn't expected to accept any kind of accountability for what he did. Of course Sadeas is responsible for creating such a horrid system in the first place. But Gaz did not have to behave as vindictively and maliciously as he did. There is a difference between a boss who has to fire an employee but is polite about it, between a boss who takes sadistic pleasure in bullying the people who work for them. One boss is going out of their way to be cruel simply because they can, simply because their subordinates have no power to resist. At a certain point in WoK, Gaz was indeed pressured by his light-eyed superiors to get Bridge Four killed. He shouldn't be blamed for not sticking his neck out for some people he barely knew. But before Bridge Four became infamous, Gaz went out of his way to pick the wings off of the unfortunate slaves who worked under him. Of course there are greater villains out there than Gaz. But you can not simply handwave Gaz's behavior as if he was simply doing his job.

I simply do not understand why people insist that Adolin will become an Edgedancer. I know a lot of people want this to happen but frankly, you could squeeze him into a lot of orders based on what little we know about the Knight's Radiant. Don't forget that, before Oathbringer, a lot of fans believed that he was going to be a Dustbringer on the grounds that he was brave and obedient to a fault. When it was revealed that Maya is a cultivationspren, everyone jumped to the conclusion that he would become an Edgedancer. But, to me, this seems to be like trying to fit a square peg into a triangle-shaped hole. After all: if Maya was an honorspren, people would argue that he is well on his way to becoming a Windrunner. They would cite his desire to protect people in need like the prostitute in Sadeas's camp, his brother, and his mother. If Maya was a Stoneward spren, people would argue that he would become a Stoneward. In Shadsmar, he stands firm when Kaladin and Shallan are going through their own mental breakdowns. He has proven that he is Shallan's reliable rock when she is awash in a sea of uncertainty If Maya was a lightspren, people would argue that his love of fashion is proof of his love of novelty that the Willshapers are known for. If Maya was a highspeed, people would argue that Adolin always follows the law according to Alethi tradition. Hell, even his murder of Sadeas could be whipped under the rug considering that Szeth has murdered thousands. My point is that we simply do not have enough data to assume he is currently best suited to becoming an Edgedancer. With enough mental gymnastics, you could fit him anywhere. Down the road, he could swear oaths. Maybe Adolin's arc will involve him trying to swear the oaths of the Edgedancers out of a desire to revive Maya. But at the moment, it would a little too convenient if Adolin happened to stumble upon the spren that embodies the order he is best suited for.

Everyone of these posts brings up good points, and I am proud of the 17thshard to act so civilly in such a discussion. Therefore I would like to add a point of my own: My problem isn't so much that he lacks a tragic backstory or that he is doesn't have Radiant powers. Having someone without crazy problems or superpowers is an important perspective, and characters like Navani are essential to foiling the more outlandish characters. I don't dislike Adolin because he is boring, or that he is a nice guy. I think he is to close to being perfect. There is a fine line between making a good, noble hero who usually does the right thing between a character who is to perfect (to an almost Mary Sue level). For the record, I don't think Adolin is to perfect, but, to me, he weighs to heavily on the perfect side. To be fair, I don't think every character needs a tragic backstory but a good character at the very minimum a character has to have a flaw, or a blind spot so as not be perfect who have no conflict at all in their lives. Something that a character needs to overcome, whether internally or not. I think flaws are important even to characters that are good, or nice most of the time because no one is perfect and well written literature characters shouldn't be either. You can still have good, noble character and not sacrifice good writing with conflict. In Hero of Ages, Elend Venture was an idealist and, as Vin was constantly telling him, a good man. But his idealism cost him the throne, and weakened the crown for a while. And despite losing because of his own somewhat idealist government, he still remained honorable and proved himself when he spoke with the council. There was still internal problems with him. I'd hate to make a non-Cosmere comparison, but Eddard Stark from A Song of Ice and Fire, was also a good man of supreme honor, who was likable and did the right thing. However his very code of honor was stained when he was outmaneuver because of his very nobility. His honor cost him. He still faced problems and didn't get away with everything. Adolin, to me, has a lot of funny quirks, like his love of fashion, but no flaw to speak of. His flaw could be that he is a little slow and not very smart, but the moment Adolin needs to navigate a sticky diplomatic situation with Ialai Sadeas, he handles it perfectly, not just with a genuine smile but with well placed words. Adolin can can be a good guy and have a comfortable childhood, but he has to fail at least once. He has never been out of his comfort zone. Even after the fall of Kholinar he just tells himself to not think about it, and for the most part moves on. I will say that completely in the face of what I have just said, this forum has helped me see new value in Adolin, and I thank you people for that. I am be perfectly happy with those who like Adolin in this forum. I am glad people like him even if I don't.

I would like to polity and respectfully ask why some readers like Adolin, because right now I hate him. Sure, I would love to be his drinking buddy or friend, but as a character I fail to see any compelling inner conflict or struggles. He's just to good to be true. It bugs me that a main character is that, especially in a book in which everyone is broken, where the Heralds themselves turned their back on humanity at the very beginning of the book. It is hard to care for him when he is written alongside: A: A young women who is apparently suffering a mental breakdown due in part of a lack of a self assured identity and past emotional trauma at the hands of an initially well meaning father B: Mr. Chronic Hero Syndrome (which thank god is proper deconstruction) who is being constantly thrust into situations that he fears most (watching those he worked to protect die while he survives, and his struggle with depression) With such a wide and varied cast, there is no way someone will like all of them, and that's good. My favorites happen to be Jasnah, Szeth, and, after Oathbringer, Dalinar, in that order. But even those who I don't personally like I can say that they are well written, compelling characters that add something to the story. For example, I personally don't like Lift, but there is no doubt value in showcasing a destitute street urchin seeking a higher and vital purpose. It is interesting to see such a bizarre and chaotic child become a freakin Knights Radiant. I want to understand so could Adolin fans please explain why his story is worth caring about or is compelling in any way. There are no wrong answers, I just don't see him being worthy of holding up the mantle of a main character, especially when we have yet to see much insight into his brother. I will say that while I don't like him at the moment, my thoughts of Adolin are similar to how I thought of Dalinar in the beginning of Way of Kings. Dalinar at first was also to noble, even though he had struggles with putting honor before reason. But Dalinar's growth has been nothing short of amazing and his slow change from becaming a diplomat to forming a coletion to seeking forgivness have injected depth into his character, depth that right now Adolin simply does not have. Back in Words of Radiance, my ears started to perk up a bit when I read Adolin showing a thirst for battle during his duels. However, this plot point seems to have fizzled out and, after Oathbringer, going down this path would obviously be redundant. But like I mentioned above, I have grown to love Dalinar, despite his less then interesting beginning, the same could happen to Adolin. But three books later and I still having doubts seeing the point of Adolin. Until his character gets interesting I will be calling him "Poor Man's Dalinar". Hopefully this will change, maybe he will be worthy of the name "A(n)dolinsm". Am I alone in hating him? Why is he so popular with readers?

I agree, even though I loved the entire Oathbringer journey, the lead up to the Oathgate felt pretty bland. However, I thought the killing of Shallan's street urchin was much needed step in Shallan's character development and an essential failure. This was a visceral reminder that well meaning Shallan is not as smart and clever as she thought she was. She was also reminded once again that leaning on a personality is not a healthy approach. I am curious why you say Shallan didn't need a failure, but Kaladin did. In WoR, it was Kaladin who became totally blinded by vengeance and light-eyed racism, culminating in him breaking his oath and killing Syl. Shallan saw relatively nothing but success such as unlocking the Oathgate and infiltrating the Ghostbloods. The only failure i see is that the Ghostbloods eventually discovered who she truely is, and she got some servents killed by the Ghostbloods. Unless you are refrencing that it is Kaladin who often saves the day like fighting the assassin in white, in which again i would agree with you. I am glad Kaladin couldn't say the words and Dalinar saved their asses.

I may be in the extreme minority here, but I don't want Adolin to conveniently resurrect Maya. At the very least, it should take a long time, and Adolin has to put in much for effort then him talking to and respecting his sword. The breaking the Nahel Bond of a full Knights Radiant has been implied to have very extreme consequences. The Honorspen on Honor's Path that the bond is not to be taken by those not fully committed and involves the merging of two souls. The lightspren captain says that Adolin's bond with Maya, while different, there still nothing that can be done. Even the Stormfather has no clue how to resurrect the dead spren, and he has the most vested interest in seeing the return of his lost children. The breaking of the bond is apparently the ripping out someone's soul. This is worst then taking someones breath in Warbreaker, worst then even killing someone by destroying there physical body. If people can just resurrect the blades, then the whole betrayal of an oath would be minimized, something that would go against Honor's nature. It would be a shame if something so seriously, something so intiment, so life threatening could be cured by the power of friendship. At the moment we need much more progress to cure a lost spen when all the spren who are much more knowledgeable about who the bond works say that curing is impossible.