Yolenlightweaver Posted 21 hours ago Report Share Posted 21 hours ago On my reread of Way of Kings before book 5, I noticed something new. Kaladin and the bridgemen chose to go back for Dalinar after Sadeas betrayal. I was getting emotional due to following Kaladin’s thought process in choosing to go back but we only see a little from the bridgemen. He remarks that months ago they would let others die, but they all choose to go save others now. I assumed they had a lot of faith in Kaladin at this time, but only 3 or 4 knew the extent of his powers and most interactions led me to believe they all assumed they would die. Previously I just assumed they thought Kaladin would save them, but up to this point, he was just good at getting less killed than normal. When they choose to go back and charge the Parshendi, most of Bridge 4 is not aware of the extent of help they will get. They probably assumed they would die but it was the right thing to do. It makes sense why Windrunners have so many squires since I believe most humans can recognize nobility in this sacrifice whereas not everyone would gravitate to other orders. They weren’t as far as Kaladin on their path, but already at this point, they were on their way to Windrunners. This is not just because they were in close proximity to Kaladin, but by their own merits, inspired by Kaladin. I think that is also why the most disliked character in Bridge 4 hurts so much. He had the same resilience and desire to protect, but he threw it away. He wasn’t just loyal to Kaladin, but he was on his way to being a protector as well which is why Renarin was able to create such a powerful projection of what he could have been. Kind of a ramble, but it helped me see the valiance in Bridge 4 when I previously just thought they were offshoot followers of Kaladin. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treamayne Posted 18 hours ago Report Share Posted 18 hours ago Agreed. Though, for me it wasn't so much just when they turned to go back - it was after Kaladin expended too much Stormlight protecting them from the arrows and became nearly catatonic, and they proceeded to change the chasm without him. WoK Ch 67: Spoiler “We’ve got to go help,” Skar said to Lopen and Teft. The other two nodded, and all three—two wounded and one missing an arm—climbed to their feet. Kaladin tried to do likewise, but he fell back down, legs too weak to hold him. “Stay, lad,” Teft said, smiling. “We’ll handle it just fine.” They gathered some spears from a stock Lopen had put in his litter, then hobbled out to join the bridge crew. Even Dabbid joined them. That, to me, showed the start of their Radiant journey. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+hwiles Posted 18 hours ago Report Share Posted 18 hours ago (edited) 23 minutes ago, Treamayne said: Agreed. Though, for me it wasn't so much just when they turned to go back - it was after Kaladin expended too much Stormlight protecting them from the arrows and became nearly catatonic, and they proceeded to change the chasm without him. WoK Ch 67: Reveal hidden contents “We’ve got to go help,” Skar said to Lopen and Teft. The other two nodded, and all three—two wounded and one missing an arm—climbed to their feet. Kaladin tried to do likewise, but he fell back down, legs too weak to hold him. “Stay, lad,” Teft said, smiling. “We’ll handle it just fine.” They gathered some spears from a stock Lopen had put in his litter, then hobbled out to join the bridge crew. Even Dabbid joined them. That, to me, showed the start of their Radiant journey. This is an extremely shrewd and astute observation. From a philosophical perspective, one could even argue that every bridgeman on the crew is, in some sense of the word, far more heroic than Kaladin, for, while they may have partially lacked his personal physical and spiritual acuity in warfighting, they charged in anyway, with none of the validated or verified magical protections which he expected to guard himself. He taught them to improve themselves, and the only thing could think and feel to do when faced with overwhelming odds of defeat and an immediate death-sentence, was to attempt to protect and uplift others anyway...that is, quite frankly, a devastatingly poetic rendition of what it means to be human... Edited 18 hours ago by hwiles 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.