Sp00ks

I've never been the biggest fan of Shallan, she was okay in TWOK, slightly better in WOR, but in OB and ROW she just makes so many bad choices that it's extremely hard to relate to her, and I've grown a little tired of the constant bad choices. Even when she makes a somewhat good one, it's like pulling teeth with her. I also hated Zane. Probably the single worst thing to come out of Mistborn era one

It's certainly possible, and it makes a lot of sense. One could maybe make the argument that its "against the spirit of the agreement", but Dalinar specifically said he'd be his own, so that's a tough sell. And it definitely makes the most sense, its a very "safe" option to more or less guarantee a win. I doubt Rayse would have done it because of pride, but Taravangian probably would not care. However, it just doesn't seem right to me, narratively. Yes, the two characters are obviously foils, but fighting directly against a shard is a pretty hopeless fight. And since Dalinar will probably lose, it just seems like a kind of weak ending to this first arc. Plus, when Taravangian was thinking over the agreement, the way it was written, it sorta felt like he was going to do something really smart to deal with this situation, not just vaporize poor Dalinar with the full power of a shard. Though, perhaps there are some restrictions on Shards fully manifesting in the physical realm? Maybe that would make it more fair? I think this could work if Odium was still pretending to be Rayse, then says Taravangian is his champion. Dalinar thinks it should be an easy fight, at least in a physical sense, and its only after the fight really starts does Dalinar learn that the fight is hopeless

In that case, what's your favorite Radiant order/favorite surge?

I don't know, Gavinor didn't really strike me as someone who loved Elhokar that much. Sure, he loved and looked up to his dad, but he also seems to look up to Dalinar. And, he only met Elhokar a few times in his life, since most of the King's time was spent on the Shattered Plains. Plus, he saw Moash, clearly an enemy soldier, take down his father. Not to mention he's a little kid who would probably be way too afraid to fight the Blackthorn

Can you even forfeit though? It's pretty explicitly a fight to the death, no? Also, what would convince Gavinor to fight his own uncle?

Tough to say. I've always liked Szeth from a character perspective, definitely looking forward to seeing more from him in book 5. I also really enjoyed Spook's arc in Hero of Ages. I think overall though, my favorite would Hoid, largely due to the fact that pretty much any scene he is in tends to be one of the best in the book, at least in Stormlight. Others I like are Marsh, Sazed, Kaladin, Teft, Dalinar, Moash (strictly from a "this is an interesting arc" perspective), and Elhokar

In addition to Jofwu's points on how it doesn't work narratively, it also doesn't work logically. I know others have made this point before, but even if Dalinar absolutely refused to kill Gavinor or whomever, its still a fight to the death. This is problematic in two ways. First of all, Gavinor's a kid, sure, but he isn't an idiot. He probably grew up hearing stories about the dreaded Blackthorn. Why the heck would he ever agree to fight a man like that? Even with all the Odium influence in the world, surely he would be too afraid to agree. And even if he did, how would he win, even if Dalinar won't kill him? There's no way he would just let himself be killed, he swore "...Life before Death". He can't give up, again, its a fight to the death. Do they just wait until one of them dies of thirst? Just doesn't make sense

Hey all! Not a lot of great places to discuss Brandon's awesome works, and I've been lurking here for a good while. Really wanted to join in the discussion so I made an account. This is the username I use in a lot of places, and hilariously has nothing to do with Spook from Era one, though I guess it's a happy coincidence, since he's awsome. I've caught up with all Stormlight content, Warbreaker, and Mistborn era 1. Recently started Alloy of Law, but I am generally aware of cosmere related stuff that happens in era 2, largely due to irresponsible Coppermind use on my part. Looking forward to joining in the discussion!