The conversation earlier got me thinking. Two series down and there are a few issues that I think haven’t been clearly established.
- Being a make Channeller means madness and a wasting disease leading irrevocably to death (and probably killing a lot of innocent people around you)
- The Dark One is bound with the Forsaken in Shayol Ghul by the Creator
- The last battle… or the fact that the horn of Valere is needed in order to win it.
- Who the Seanchan actually are.
- Who Elaine actually is and why she is important.
- Who the Aiel are and the Aiel War.
- The breaking of the world - who did it and why.
All these things seem to me to be pretty crucial elements that were bedded in really early in the books (with the exception of the Seanchan). It means that a lot of the elements don’t really carry much weight or things that are important seem incidental. My concern is that later elements that are really momentous won’t actually matter much because things leading up to them haven’t been established early enough.
“‘What do you mean the source was tainted, Why’s that? Who’s the Dark One?”
There’s a real risk that it just ends up as Young-Folks-With-Powers like every other fantasy TV series. Without any of the cost that sets Wheel of Time aside.