WoT Spoilers

Seth and Travis welcome first-time guest Alex R. London to discuss the boxiness of Cairhien, the boxes Rand is already in, the boxes he will be in, and why he wishes he could be alone in his own head for a minute. While this episode was recorded, the Pacific-Northwesters can also taste wildfire smoke in addition to the quarantine-enforced solitude. Rand visits his prototype graduate school/research university, where discussing familiar technology through new eyes is almost as fun as imagining how cuendillar could be applied to our engineering problems. Herid Fel makes an impression, a romance in the background is given a head-canon ending for the Fourth Age, and Egwene inspires many tangents. Alex is an author (The Armean Journals), a Texan, a WoT fan in a family of WoT readers, and a member of the WoTS Discord. You too can join the conversations that make the podcast there! Find Alex’s book on Amazon: The Stranger's Orphan  Remember, Seth is still a “nerd in a basement” who would rather be creating content full time than working a 9-5. You can help us create the content you love and become full time podcast creators by donating on Patreon  Email: wotspoilers@gmail.com   Twitter:  https://twitter.com/wotspoilers   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wot_spoilers/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WOTSpoilers/

The Wheel of Time and the wheel of a man’s life turn alike without pity or mercy. It would be easier to have a mad voice in your head if it made sense, wouldn’t it? The nihilism gets pretty strong. What is the difference between a diadem and a tiara? More information about Sharra leads to more speculation about Forsaken plots, and alternative plotlines that RJ might have written. Mangin breaks all of our hearts. Seth totally forgets that Havien Nurelle is a critical background character throughout the rest of the series, much to Aradia’s disdain, but then Seth gets his own back when Aradia forgets that Toram Riatin shows up later in Far Madding. The Cairhien young people admire the Aiel, and inspire a discussion about cultural exchanges. Rand suffers tremendously in this chapter, and in all of his chapters in this book, creating the behaviors that set up the harrowing chapter of Dumai’s Wells.  Aftershow discusses the experience of the heavy smoke and fires in the Pacific Northwest. Aradia recommends you look at www.earth.nullschool.net for geo-visualizations of atmospheric data, and Seth recommends you listen to Michael Kramer and Kate Reading narrate The Stormlight Archive.   WoTSpoilers is a twice weekly book-club.  You can join the conversations that make the podcast on Discord.  Remember, Seth is still a “nerd in a basement” who would rather be creating content full time than working a 9-5. You can help us create the content you love and become full time podcast creators by donating on Patreon  Email: wotspoilers@gmail.com   Twitter:  https://twitter.com/wotspoilers   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wot_spoilers/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WOTSpoilers/

WoTSpoilers is a twice weekly book-club.  You can join the conversations that make the podcast on Discord.  Remember, Seth is still a “nerd in a basement” who would rather be creating content full time than working a 9-5. You can help us create the content you love and become full time podcast creators by donating on Patreon  Email: wotspoilers@gmail.com   Twitter:  https://twitter.com/wotspoilers   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wot_spoilers/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WOTSpoilers/

The episode starts with puns, be warned. Piles of hints dig into our brains, while Egwene ignores most of what is going on in hers. The Pattern is headdesking so much with all of these prophecy dreams that our characters don’t take seriously. Aradia annotates the book, but has no idea where any of the WoT rivers are. We awkwardly discuss the mechanics of dream romance and the importance of Gawyn as a plot device that deserves more than just our hate. Egwene has the same oddly dual prophetic dream as Min, causing us to contemplate the many branching paths made possible in that moment. Lots of other clues are scattered throughout her dreams, even the paranoid ones. Egwene suffers from headaches for almost as much of this series as Rand suffers from his various burns and stab wounds. Chronic pain is an under-appreciated drag on our characters, and by extension in our society. Leanne’s method of managing her network of spies leads us to a discussion about toxic masculinity and the value of touch to someone who might go for years without a hug. Elayne, Nyneave, and Suian are all grouchy in the aftermath of a bubble of evil.     WoTSpoilers is a twice weekly book-club.  You can join the conversations that make the podcast on Discord.  Remember, Seth is still a “nerd in a basement” who would rather be creating content full time than working a 9-5. You can help us create the content you love and become full time podcast creators by donating on Patreon  Email: wotspoilers@gmail.com   Twitter:  https://twitter.com/wotspoilers   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wot_spoilers/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WOTSpoilers/

Seth is joined by a new guest, SuperSkyLake from the Discord server! They nerd out on audio production in addition to the vagueness of prophecies.  Egwene explores the space between dreams, considers who all is sneaking around in Tel’aran’rhiod with her, and has a fateful encounter with Gawyn that raises questions (and eyebrows). Salidar wakes up to a bubble of evil, so we explore some of the mechanics of linking, and Nicola leads us to speculate on what the Fourth Age might look like.   WoTSpoilers is a twice weekly book-club.  You can join the conversations that make the podcast on Discord.  Remember, Seth is still a “nerd in a basement” who would rather be creating content full time than working a 9-5. You can help us create the content you love and become full time podcast creators by donating on Patreon  Email: wotspoilers@gmail.com   Twitter:  https://twitter.com/wotspoilers   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wot_spoilers/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WOTSpoilers/

Blood and bloody buttered onions, SpoilerCon is really soon! Check out the schedule at www.spoilercon.org/schedule. This episode was published on the 13th anniversary of Robert Jordan’s death, and we appreciate that he wrote never-ending fractals of details into his world-building. That’s part of why we keep coming back for more and more rereads!  Theodrin and Nyneave have fun with a bucket of water. Your hosts conclude that chronic stress is bad for you, whether it is the anger that Nyneave cultivates to channel or living under the smoke choking the Pacific Northwest.  Elayne really wants to unite the Aes Sedai behind Rand, and constructs what would be a brilliant plan to achieve that end, if only she had more complete information to work with. Creative uses of the World of Dreams lead to several tantalizing plot opportunities in Tar Valon and Ebu Dar. WoTSpoilers is a twice weekly book-club.  You can join the conversations that make the podcast on Discord.  Remember, Seth is still a “nerd in a basement” who would rather be creating content full time than working a 9-5. You can help us create the content you love and become full time podcast creators by donating on Patreon  Email: wotspoilers@gmail.com   Twitter:  https://twitter.com/wotspoilers   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wot_spoilers/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WOTSpoilers/

Seth and Travis wait anxiously with Nyneave and Elayne in Salidar, as the little Hall stalls for time with the Tower emissary, as they wait for “the biddable child” to arrive. Travis points out that if you cut a hole in a net, you have fewer holes in the net. Thanks, we hate it. The Spider crawls inside Nyneave’s head and disturbs her equilibrium. Even if she is a captured coward, she is still a clever and crafty Forsaken. Nyneave berates herself for being afraid while taking stupidly brave actions, like the lovable hypocrite she is.  Nyneave and Elayne’s experience with authority in Salidar is like moving back in with your parents after being in college. They know what they need to do, and the Aes Sedai have some serious soul-searching to do with respect to how they feel about the Dragon Reborn before they will earn the Super-girls’ respect. WoTSpoilers is a twice weekly book-club.  You can join the conversations that make the podcast on Discord.  Remember, Seth is still a “nerd in a basement” who would rather be creating content full time than working a 9-5. You can help us create the content you love and become full time podcast creators by donating on Patreon  Email: wotspoilers@gmail.com   Twitter:  https://twitter.com/wotspoilers   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wot_spoilers/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WOTSpoilers/

Seth and Aradia watch as Verin and Alanna deal with the fallout of Alanna’s impulsive non-consensual bonding, and contemplate if the tradeoffs that she forced on Rand justify her actions. We get a rare and information-rich Verin POV, including a rare instance of Verin being wrong about something!  Aradia grumbles about the trope of people fainting from fear, and Seth gets schooled by a Discordian on the actual effects of wearing corsets. The mechanics of ta’veren sperm are discussed at length, and we decide that the word “ward” is used far too freely in this series.   Rand visits the farm that will one day become the Black Tower, and observes the first classes being held with some of the most important future asha’man of the series. We admire Taim’s long-term plans getting underway, and give thanks that Logain also has a long story to tell.  WoTSpoilers is a twice weekly book-club.  You can join the conversations that make the podcast on Discord.  Remember, Seth is still a “nerd in a basement” who would rather be creating content full time than working a 9-5. You can help us create the content you love and become full time podcast creators by donating on Patreon  Email: wotspoilers@gmail.com   Twitter:  https://twitter.com/wotspoilers   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wot_spoilers/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WOTSpoilers/

Seth and Travis discuss an infamous, dark, and complicated moment in Rand’s journey, when Alanna becomes much more than just another Aes Sedai. The chapter accelerates really quickly, and by the end you see hints of Darth Rand coming through. Content warning for discussions of assault.  Death is lighter than a feather, duty is heavier than a mountain – and Rand feels that he is being beaten to death with feathers. He is a far more reluctant adventurer than any hobbit ever was! He is in Camlyn trying to figure out how to run a palace and also prepare the world for the Last Battle, setting the seeds for the fateful trip to Shadar Logoth in A Crown of Swords. Worried at the arrival of two Aes Sedai, he walks into an inn to the surprise of a gaggle of girls from back home, and then is bonded by Alanna in one of the most serious violations of consent in the entire series.   How much did Verin influence Alanna’s actions in this moment? How much does the warder bond protect and benefit Rand for the rest of the series? How differently could this situation have been, if a different woman had bonded him first and with his consent? What does this conversation have to do with the very real issue of male sexual assault? Seth and Travis take their best shots at these questions, but the discussion is never truly over.  Registration for SpoilerCon2020 is open! Go to www.spoilercon.org for all the details, and sign up for the SpoilerCon2020 newsletter to be up to date on all the things!  WoTSpoilers is a twice weekly book-club.  You can join the conversations that make the podcast on Discord.  Remember, Seth is still a “nerd in a basement” who would rather be creating content full time than working a 9-5. You can help us create the content you love and become full time podcast creators by donating on Patreon  Email: wotspoilers@gmail.com   Twitter:  https://twitter.com/wotspoilers   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wot_spoilers/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WOTSpoilers/

WoTSpoilers returns to regular content! It is not the beginning, but it is A beginning. Seth unveils the new co-host plan, re-introduces Aradia, teases SpoilerCon, and tackles his first read-in. Robert Jordan was a master of anticipation and red herrings, particularly in this book.  In Amador, Abdel Omerna gets his news from the Randland equivalent of Facebook memes, while Sebban Balwer knows better, and Pedron Niall makes fateful choices. Off-screen, Mattin Stepaneos has an important moment that will bedevil international politics for several books, and the Borderlands are ignited by Hurin finally arriving with news of Rand doing his thing over Falme. Morgase makes plans upon plans, and has a moment that reminds us of her younger son.   Seth and Aradia discuss the eerie parallels between Fain’s corrupting paranoia and the mentality that leads to climate change denial, the many flavors of “evil” that don’t come from the Dark One, the complex relationship between Niall and Morgase, and the process of changing our mental images of the characters to match the actors’ faces.   Sign up for the SpoilerCon2020 newsletter to be up to date on when registration will open!   WoTSpoilers is a twice weekly book-club.  You can join the conversations that make the podcast on Discord.  Remember, Seth is still a “nerd in a basement” who would rather be creating content full time than working a 9-5. You can help us create the content you love and become full time podcast creators by donating on Patreon Email: wotspoilers@gmail.com   Twitter:  https://twitter.com/wotspoilers   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wot_spoilers/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WOTSpoilers/