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Even if the Unmade was attracted by Shallan, she was still just a little kid, and it doesn’t negate the fact that she was defending herself when she killed her mom.

I think that at the end of OB Kaladin is still stuck in that refusal to return state (refusal to swear the fourth oath), on the way to that (hopefully) metaphorical “death” as a hero and that in future books his resurrection will come when he accepts certain things about himself and then swears the next oath. I think it would be cool for oaths four and five to come pretty close together for Kaladin, as sort of a major breakthrough moment (or series of moments), hopefully in the next book so that he’s ready to stand against the main external conflict with Odium in book five. Also, his breakthrough moment shouldn’t be an “I’m suddenly cured of my depression” moment, because that’s really unrealistic, but more of an “it’s okay that I’m like this and I can be a good leader and protector anyways because I don’t have to do it all alone” kind of moment.

I’m also in the camp of hoping her last truth(s) isn’t that she killed some other person, either accidentally or on purpose. I really suspect that it’s going to be about whatever abuse that caused her to create her first alter, which came before she bonded Pattern. I’d bet it was something that happened in that garden where she met Pattern for the first time. I also suspect it was the creation of said alter, the first big “lie,” that attracted Pattern in the first place. It will be recognizing, from an adult perspective, the truth that what she did really was self-defense and that her family was super messed up before she ever killed her mother, that will finally allow her to recognize that her family’s collapse was not her fault, that it was something that happened to her rather than something she caused. She needs to learn to see herself as a survivor of abuse, as someone who found a way to fight back when she bonded Pattern. And I absolutely agree that her final spoken truth as her fifth ideal needs to be something positive about herself. Something like, “I am a survivor who did not deserve the abuse I suffered.” This truth may or may not lead to her alters’ integration, but it should at least allow her to become aware of all her alters and set up a healthier inner world for managing them so that she can function as a system. By the way, the terms “inner world” and “system” come from doing a bunch of research about DID and OSDD (which is very similar and might actually be a more accurate diagnosis for Shallan since she does’t have amnesia barriers between the three main alters). There’s a whole vocabulary to the study of DID that makes it way easier to talk about, and I highly recommend doing a bit of research on it to anyone who hasn’t already.

I could see that. Or maybe she could become like a hypodermic needle or something? Wouldn’t need a bandaid after getting a shot! I’m not sure how she’d get whatever medicine in the needle in the first place though... Hmmm.... Wasn’t there a WoB somewhere (having to do with Szeth’s resurrection and the retcon changes in WoR I think) about shardblades having some potential for healing a person’s spirit web or something? I know most people were interpreting that as a person’s own Shardblade healing them, but I was wondering if he meant that Szeth dying by shardblade and then being brought back was somehow going to help him heal on a spiritual/emotional level. Maybe Kaladin will be moving that direction with his healing, like how Lopen helped that soldier in Oathbringer. It’d be an opportunity for him to see how his ability to protect people’s minds and hearts is just as valuable as his ability to protect them physically.

I was just wondering the same thing... if he can’t actually use it to cut flesh, are there any other potential medical applications for a shardblade-scalpel? However I am excited to see Kaladin’s story going in a new direction, and I really hope he gets to learn some new ways of coping with his depression so that he can be a functional Radiant and progress to the next oath. I also want to see him spend time with his adorable baby brother.

Actually, steel and iron making attractors and repulsers might be exactly what “reversing polarity” means. In magnets, the polarity is what determines which sides repulse vs which sides attract (taking two North/South polarized magnets, Putting the two north sides together or two south sides together they will repel each other, but putting a north and a south together they will attract). Polarity is about the internal alignment of a thing. It could also be used in determining how conjoined fabrials work, whether they move the same or opposite directions. I imagine that manipulating the polarities could be used to achieve a number of different effects depending on what sort of fabrial we’re working with.

So... two sort of mini theories, which should maybe be separate topics, but oh well. First, considering that Yalb is alive and Shallan drew a picture of him almost like she was having a vision, and the similar drawing she does of Shalash, I’m wondering if the spiritual side of the illumination surge is something like limited Clairvoyance. This is also somewhat based on how Renarin’s future sight works, he only really sees the future of people he has Connection with so far right? This is of course corrupted because of Sja-anat’s influence, but I’m thinking that in a more normal Truthwatcher bond, something similar might manifest, only it would be about seeing things in the past or present rather than in the future. Clairvoyance instead of precognition. This is probably a stretch and would definitely need a lot more evidence to make it really creditable. My second, mostly unrelated, mini-theory sort of tangentially relates to Lightweaver powers as well, in this case Soulcasting, but the fabrials. Knowing from recent pre-release chapters that they found a big stock of Soulcasters in Aimia, that Soulcaster stones don’t have the normal spren in them, and that Brandon’s said we’ve technically seen evidence of Dawnshards on-screen, what if the Soulcasters are somehow technology directly derived from the Dawnshard in Aimia. Either created through researching the Dawnshard, or somehow made from pieces of that Dawnshard. I’m leaning toward the first, perhaps through a mix of the Dawnshard research and knowledge of the Soulcasting surge. I’m also now wondering if the Dawnshards are like “stone tablets” of information that come from Yolen about the nature of investiture and Adonalsium and such. Rather than a literal weapon that caused the Shattering, it’s the knowledge and blueprints of how it was done. That whole splitting up dangerous knowledge or tech and spreading it throughout the universe trope... although I’m sure Brandon would find a fun way to turn it upside-down or subvert it somehow. Thoughts? And have these ideas already been discussed somewhere?

The person delivering the gemstone and the person writing on the other end of the spanreed do not necessarily have to be the same person. Perhaps the ruby was placed by a Sleepless working as an agent for someone else, such as the Sibling, the Nightwatcher, or one of the Heralds. It could also have been placed by a spy disguised as a servant who cleans the room for Navani. Lots of possibilities there, although I personally like the idea of a Sleepless working for the Sibling somehow.

That’s a good point since Teft’s third has a different ending too. So an alternative: “I will protect even those who hate me, even if they’re fools”

I think it could actually go the other way around for Lopen, as in, “I will protect even those who hate me, so long as it is right”. Considering Rysn’s personality, I could see her finding The Lopen a pain to deal with. Or maybe he’ll be dealing with some other situation where he needs to protect people who are prejudiced against him in some way.

Perhaps then, considering the divine attribute of leadership, it will be more about choosing sides or prioritizing the people in his line of command, like, “I will protect my leaders and those under my leadership over all others.” He was oathbound to Elhokar, but not to the parsh he’d helped. It could also be about being willing to kill enemy soldiers(those not under his leadership), even if he likes them or sees them as innocents, if it means protecting his own people. But I also like the idea of it being about not throwing his life away, and I agree that self-forgiveness should be 5th.

Dalinar did treat Evi badly at times and often neglected her. He wasn’t as bad as Gavilar though. What’s really important is that Dalinar is owning his mistakes and is genuinely repentant. We don’t know, and I highly doubt, that Gavilar would have ever done the same.

Perhaps Kaladin’s failure to swear the fourth ideal is part of why many honorspren are still so skeptical. They could be holding out to see if any of the Windrunners will actually be able to progress further.

This point is also emphasized by Moash’s arc in OB, where he justifies all his mistakes by blaming society. It’s a lot like blaming peer pressure. While the magic influence of the Unmade and Odium may make this pressure harder to resist, it is a significant aspect of the concept of Honor that each individual is ultimately responsible for their own actions, whatever the circumstances. Knowing those circumstances may make a character more sympathetic, but only in the sense that we understand them better, not in the sense that they are absolved of the bad choices they made. This applies to Gavilar too, and I think the question people are wondering about is whether he would have eventually done like Dalinar and taken responsibility, or whether he would have gone the way of Moash and blamed circumstance, or like Amaram where he believes the ends justify the means, or full Odium where he essentially doesn’t believe in good and evil or morality in the first place. I think that the truly honorable will feel remorse and take responsibility when they hurt other people, even when they didn’t intend to hurt them.

Finally got Starsight for Christmas and just finished it. A few thoughts: I loved the kitsen! Did anyone else immediately think of them as space-age Redwall characters? Note, I loved the Redwall books and think it’s a totally worthy allusion to make; I’m wondering if it was intentional. I’m super sad about M-bot and I really hope he doesn’t turn into a bad guy because of his resentment towards Spensa for abandoning him. That whole AI turned evil after feeling wronged by a human is too cliche. I hope he retains/regains his cheerfulness and sense of humor and makes the choice to keep being Spensa’s friend. I also was sad not to see more of Skyward flight, and would love to see Spensa’s new friends interacting with them in the next books, as well as the real Alanik. And I’d like to see Spensa and Jorgen’s relationship grow too, particularly in light of Jorgen’s cytonic abilities. I hope they learn to communicate telepathically the way Gran-Gran did in this book. Speaking of, Gran-Gran teaching Jorgen to bake was possibly my favorite scene.

I'd like to see what happened to Azure/Vivenna, especially if she manages to catch up with Szeth and Nightblood or with Zahel/Vasher. Also, Rysn needs to become a KR and heal her legs. Shallan's brothers, broken as they all are, are also good candidates for bonding spren. And another interlude with the Worldhoppers looking for Hoid would be good.

Invocation even sounds a little bit like a Shard name. And then there's the whole bit about him coming from a place lacking stimuli... like maybe he came from a sort of cognitive/spiritual dimension rather than a physical one?

I agree, I don't really want to see any of the Kholin's die either. I'm just thinking of what Brandon said about possibly doing a character's flashback book after they die, and thinking something like that could work along those lines. Actually, if there's a Kholin I wouldn't mind seeing killed off, it's Elhokar's wife (possibly assassinated on Jasnah's order after the mess she's made in Kholinar). I am hoping we get to see Elhokar with his kid at some point though. I'd kindof like to see him actually go back to Kholinar and grow into a decent dad and king as he tries to get his country ready for the desolation. I do hope the brothers survive. I also hope they end up basically adopting Kaladin into the family. They already have a little bit. And it'd be very sad if Navani became a widow again, so I hope Dalinar sticks around too. I'm just not sure how likely that is to happen. Maybe the two of them will go out together in a heroic sacrifice-themselves-for-the-sake-of-the-kids sort of thing. .

So, getting back to the discussion about Adolin's character arc, etc.... I don't want Adolin to die. If a Kholin has to die I think it will be Dalinar. I could see a cool arc where Dalinar dies at the end of book four, (probably in some event involving Eshonai as that is supposed to be her book). Then book five has Dalinar's flashbacks, while Adolin takes the forefront in the present, as he is trying to fill his father's shoes and hold everything together. Over the course of books three and four Adolin will go through his dark period, possibly becoming estranged from his family for a time. Then he reunites with them just before Dalinar's death. That event forces further growth, which could propel Adolin to awaken his blade and become a KR himself. Then again, the whole prodigal son trying to fill his Father's shoes bit is something of a trope too, but Brandon has a history of either turning these tropes on their head, or using them, but in unexpected ways. Of course, Brandon will come up with a much better story than any of us could predict. I half expect all the Kholins to live simply because everyones been saying one of them should die.

I would love to see have a section from Lirin or Hesina's POV taking place just before Kaladin returns to Alethkar. Not sure if it should be an interlude or just a brief POV within another chapter though. I would also like to see some new interlude characters in some of the locations we haven't seen yet. Like maybe one of Rock's relatives up in the Peaks, or someone living in one of the other little countries we haven't been to yet. Also WoK there was a conversation Dalinar had with the foreign dignitary and one of the other highprinces and they mentioned something about a Holy War over in the Emul/Tashikk/Tukar area. An interlude from someone involved in that stuff could be really interesting and we'd get a glimpse of other world events. I would love to see some interludes that could clue us in on how other cultures regard the highstorms and how they then react to the Everstorm situation. Edit: Oh, also, an interlude in some random place where they have parshmen workers and people going about their boring daily lives and then the Everstorm passes over and suddenly the parshmen go crazy on them.

There is a point in the book where Kaladin notices an ardent hanging around bridge four. When he asks Rock about it, he says that the ardent's been trying to draw pictures of bridgemen. They write it off as normal ardent weirdness, but I was thinking that this could be Nazh trying to get a good look at their tattoos. If Vasher can blend in as an ardent, I figure other world-hoppers might have the same idea.

I really don't think Renarin is bonded to a voidspren. And I can totally see how the surges Progression and Illumination could lead to precognition/clairvoyance. The surge illumination is described in the Ars Arcanum as being not just about light, but about all waveforms which are pretty much all described (in mathematical terms) using time as a variable. Also the very word Progression implies a sense of the future. I definitely think Renarin's future-sight is a Cultivation thing.

Well, as Seon's and spren and such are splinters... Surgebinders at least could maybe be thought of as splinter-holders... but it doesn't quite translate over to all the other magic types. I suppose we could call all the magic users in the cosmere Investors, but that makes it sound like we're talking about share holders in a company.

I'm pretty sure he was talking about the name "Wit" specifically. As in, Hoid sees his wit as being one of his greatest virtues.

Also, Syl's wasn't trapped in Shardblade form when Kaladin disconnected from her, which could make a difference. That and I think I remember there being a hint in the book that resurrecting a spren would require the person to whom that spren was originally bonded. I can't remember where that was though. I'll have to look for it on my re-read.