Song

I can't think of things I missed but somethings take on deeper meaning. Re-reading Way of the King, and seeing how much Adolin wishes he could meet the Blackthorn of the stories, that his Father could go back to the warrior he was, just shows how little he really knew of his Father and his past. And seeing the way that Dalinar cares so sweetly for Renarin in WoKs is such a stark contrast to what we see in the Dalinar flash backs.

Nale seemed more interested in proto-Radiants than criminals. He simply used their "criminal" past to justify their deaths to himself.

Yes! I started disliking Shallan for the way she treated Renarin in WoR, so I was glad she turned that around.

It is a really interesting thought, particularly with Wits presence at hunt

I assume since it wasn't answered explicitly that it was the same crew who tried to kill him in WoR (at least some of whom were Diagramists). I hope it wasn't Hoid. It also seems a bit too sloppy for him.

I think we will get a real sense of the listeners history, since the two sister's mother was like a historian for the listeners. We have two very different sisters and a mother who develops the listener equivalent of Alzheimer's. That will be an incredibly emotional story and will probably help us see why the sisters turned out as they did. It will also help us to see things from the listeners perspective and why it is so important that the Listeners are not wiped out by our heroes and can once again resist their "gods".

Theory: Taln's blade is important. The way the Herald's refused the Oath pact is by giving up their swords. Taln is the only one who didn't and therefore his sword is the only thing that makes another Oathpact possible. If, as many have suggested, someone is going back to Braize to give humanity time, that person will need his sword to take up the pact. Which makes it's location very important. Just an idea.

I have been thinking this for a while, mainly because a pregnancy would be a weird thing to try to fit into the story and a year gap is convenient for fitting it in.

When Renarin comes and bring the bottle to Dalinar, and says "I miss her too". I am crying even thinking about It!

Hello! I have been writing on the OB wall for a few weeks so I thought it was time to say hi here too. I am pretty new to the Cosmere but the S.A. books are some of my favourites of all time and I was so excited for Oathbringer. I enjoyed reading comments as the preview chapters came out on the TOR website so after finishing OB I went searching for discussion on it and found this. It has been great to hear so many interesting theories and it has encouraged me to take the plunge into the wider cosmere. I adore Renarin particularly. Partly because he is a terrific character but also because I have an awesome son who is on the autism spectrum. Brandon has done such a beautiful job with Renarin and I can't wait for my boy to read these books when he is older. I live in Australia, and am in the process of writing a fantasy novel. I have been learning heaps from both reading Brandon's work and from his lectures and podcasts. Thanks for providing this space fellow forumers, it has brought an added richness to an already terrific series.

I was sad to loose Eshoni, but I think this way is best. She would be more intereting as a flash back than in the current conflict. Her flash back will be an introduction to the Listeners pre-war and her perspective would be rich and interesting. But for book 4, Venli's guilt about her sister and being responsible for the Everstorm, while fighting Odium from the inside and learning her surges will make a much richer story than Eshoni. Brandon would also have to say that flash back characters can be dead, otherwise we would know that Jasnah, Lift and Renarin have to survive to the back half which would take heaps of tension out of the story (Not that I want them to die. I nearly threw OB across the room when I thought Renarin was going to be killed by Jasnah)

I have been working on the basis that Hoid took the Taln's blade and did a swap with a plain old Shardblade. This seems to me to be the only reason why he would have been waiting at the gates of Kholinar for Taln's arrival.

This is a great question! I wonder if Toh will make an appearance in future books. He is living in Herdaz from memory? As much as it broke my heart I thought the death was done so well. Dalinar deliberately put that barrel in the cave because that is where he thought T's family were hiding. Dalinar was willing to kill innocents for his revenge and he did, but it turned out to be his wife.

Thanks for posting this topic. It is good to get the wider picture, as I am only just getting my head around the cosmere, and being very attached to Renarin this post makes me very nervous. I am not sure whether he has been actively trying to prevent the future before this point (because he seemed resign to it being set in stone). Now that others know about his 'gift' they might try to use it to work against Odium, and given this post I am starting to feel that is a very dangerous idea.

But why would the gate be operable at that point? It wasn't when Kholinar was being ransacked. Spanreed is more likely

I was really confused by this. Even if you could argue that Shallan opened it on the Kholinar side, how did Mr T communicate with the forces in Kholinar to let them know that his Radiant would open the way for them at the right time in the battle so the corrupt spren could let them through? Did span reeds work by then? Who did they know to pass on the message? I am sure there are answers!

Thanks for a great episode. I loved the section on the bromance particularly. I love the scenes with Adolin and Kaladin, but having you put them all together by you all reminded me what a fantastic job Brandon did with their friendship arch. And I am also very relieved that the triangle didn't end up breaking up the bromance!

Glys seemed quite unclear about the corruption process or what happened before bonding, so while that's possible it doesn't seem to be a given.

I am sure this is a hint- though I'm not sure what it means: "Kaladin, Syl said. You don't need another reason to berate yourself. She was right. Storms, he could be down on himself sometimes. Was that the flaw that had prevented him from speaking the Words of the Fourth Ideal? For some reason, Syl sighed. Oh Kaladin." - Chapter 120 The Spear that would not break

I assumed it was because Lightweaving uses much less stormlight.

I meant the one with the Parshman and Kaladin. Yixli?

Is that why Ulim and the yellow one could think without a bond? I was curious about that.

An interesting hint from OB about the future is the way both Venli and Rlain mourning that they are the last of the listeners. I think they will have a reunion in book 4, potentially finding some of the listeners who escaped. Also, I am less confident on this but I would love of Rlain became a Truthwatcher squire under Renarin (if that is possible with a corrupted spren)

I was all set to pick Rock who is the heart of Bridge 4. Then I saw Renarin on the list. Can't go past my boy! I loved having PoVs of Bridge 4 and getting something of their histories. And I love that in so many ways Bridge 4 is becoming so much bigger than just a plot point in Kaladin's story.

It's like trying to pick your favourite child! In the end I go with Syl. She is funny and sweet and I love Kal and she pushes him to be better and to push through his darkness. For that she gets my vote.