Clarity-Art

On 7/24/2020 at 9:37 AM, thesmithworks said:

After the sample Interlude of Syl's from the newsletter I am super concerned that Brandon is going to give Kaladin the Disney Luke Skywalker treatment and ruin the character.  Is anybody else concerned about that?  I understand that the characters need to grow but I really thought Kaladin had made peace with his problems now that he had chosen to protect Dalinar and his men. So the Interlude really has me concerned. Oathbringer ended so strongly with Kal and the rest of Bridge Four I was really looking forward to Strong confident Kaladin and instead it looks like we are back to square one. I understand the other characters broaden the story and give us more viewpoints to learn about the world through, but my favorite parts of these books are Kaladin being awesome as Lift would say.  Brandon, please don't ruin Kaladin. Remember you don't have to tear down a character to make another look better. I'm looking at you Disney. 

I can understand what you're saying here. It's been a while since I read Oathbringer, but I remember how it was frustrating to see Kaladin revert back to the emotional state he was in during TwoK. However, I think we should also remember that growth, healing, and recovery, especially with something as serious as depression, is rarely linear. In real life, people who are trying to overcome mental illness can regress at times, and that's most likely what we're seeing with Kaladin. Because character-driven storytelling revolves a lot around the premise of making positive steps forwards (legitimately the message of the Immortal Words), watching Kaladin go backwards is hard to deal with, both from a narrative and personal standpoint. I also wasn't a huge fan of the Luke Skywalker arc in the sequel trilogy, yet I have faith that Brandon will be able to portray Kaladin's struggles in a sympathetic way. He reassured us that Kaladin won't go the "Daenerys" route, so if anything, I'll take that as affirmation that Kaladin will ultimately be okay. 

Me: You know, maybe I should wait a few more days before backing the Kickstarter. . . 

Also me: Holy Stormfather, it's called Dawnshard?! That's it, guys, buckle up and get your freshly infused spheres ready. We're going to Aimia!