Wheel of Time

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Reading Book 1 (having seen the TV series) ... any guidance on looking out for foreshadowing? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I'm currently up to the part where they've split up after Shadar Logoth and Perrin+Egwene have just met Alyas.

Only now though did I remember that foreshadowing is a thing in this series and that I may already be able to pick on the meaning of some if knowing plot points from the show, but also maybe I could be keeping a look out generally.

Without any spoilers for the rest of the story ... anyone have any guidance on whether I should keep a look out for foreshadowing and if so what sort of things I might want to look out for, especially anything that's likely to link up with seasons 1 and 2 of the show (as I'm unlikely to catch up to the show before the end of season 2)?

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[–] SzethFriendOfNimi 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

By lookout which of these do you mean?

You want to avoid potential soft spoilers

You want somebody to gently say “take note of this… it’ll be a pleasant surprise later”

To say “This thing that just happened? Huge. Like by the end of the book(s)/arc it’s surprising that with just this little tidbit you could have foreseen everything that will happen if you knew what to look for?”

note: this is meant generally and is unrelated to the eventsyou described

I will say, since to me it seems you’re asking more along the lines of #2 that in the books there’s a kind of… echo and repetition to human events and the wheel of time. Everything that has happened has already happened and will happen again. Not exactly the same but, like a river, there will be variation but over the years the same general path flowing and meandering.

So while there may not be as much foreshadowing where it’s obvious something will happen there are some elements where it’s “of course this happened because it had to”.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thanks for the thoroughness!

For me, definitely 2, but even with a bit of 3 thrown in if it’s vague and fun and not at all spoilery if possible.

That being said, what you’ve said is already helpful because I didn’t know that that’s what many referred to when they mentioned foreshadowing.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If you're a fan of foreshadowing you picked a great series, its everywhere. Heres some things I would like to note note

First, watch out for characters talking about their own future. Ex. "I'll X before I ever Y" a few of these end up more literal than you might expect in fun ways.

Second some characters have strong parallels with mythological figures, and catching those hints can be very revealing

Third, keep an eye on any and all Aes Sedai you see. The Aes Sedai are very inderect, and often are working towards their own aims in the background, they're worth paying attention to if you can keep their names straight XD

Fourth, watch for language / customs. Robert Jordan created a rich and diverse word and often you can catch things where people use specific language expected of certain groups but not others.

Hopefully those are fun hints to get you started, but dont expect to catch most things the first time through. The foreshadowing is such that I find new things every time I read through the books and I've been reading them on and off for over 20 years. I hope you enjoy the books and the series!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thanks so much for the reply!

I’m a little confused what you mean by language. Are saying that some people might use phrases from or even the specific language of a group other than the wine they’re supposed to belong to?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Yes, many characters good and bad will try to pass themselves off as things they are not. You'll see this from both perspectives at various points too. For one example what a character calls a myrdraal can tell you where they are from, and what they call an aes sedai can clue you in to some political leanings. Some of these foreshadow pretty large events