The Eye of the World: Chapter Thirty-Three

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: THE DARK WAITS

I don't really know what this chapter accomplished. It's yet another travel montage, and I'm really starting to wonder how many of them this book needs (and at this point I'd much rather see one of the captive Perrin and Egwene, or even with Nynaeve's party). Admittedly, I don't have too much experience writing stories myself, but I'm not sure if this is just too much world- or mood-building. I hesitate to call the chapter padding, because things do happen in this chapter, but I don't see how those things could possibly effect the plot in the grand scheme of things.

Another thing about this chapter that baffles me is that it's not in chronological order. It begins with Mat and Rand riding on the cart of a friendly merchant, who takes them far enough to be two days from Caemlyn. In the beginning, I had no idea how they met up with this guy, and just sort of assumed that those circumstances weren't of much consequence. Then, after a break of white space (which I think is only the second time I've seen such a break in this book), Rand and Mat go through some other events, ending the chapter with them meeting the merchant for the very first time. What was the point of going anachronic for this one chapter? I don't mind things being told out of order, but it helps if the audience knows that's how you're doing things!

Since this break with tradition makes no sense to me, at least for now, I'm going to present things in the order that they actually happened:

1. Another dream with Ba'alzamon, this time at the Dancing Cartman with Gode's burned, barely-alive body turning to dust. When they guys talked about Gode and how they hoped he was dead, I took that as a sign to mean that he would survive and become a recurring villain, but I guess not.
   
   It's at this point that I have to admit that I like how Jordan can come up with decent names - with just a hint of exoticism because FANTASY - for a handful of incidental characters who pop up here, at least some of which will undoubtedly never show up again for the rest of the series. It conveys the impression that there are things that exist in the world outside the story's main narrative, along with news from far-off places like the capture of Logain.
   
   But what I don't admire is the villain cliche of the main bad guy instantly disposing of his minions the instant they fail at a task he gives them. I just pictured Ba'alzamon disintegrating a henchman for putting too much foam on his latte, which isn't a good sign for the depth of his character. Honestly, if he doesn't get any deeper than this, I would have preferred it if he pulled a Sauron and never made a personal appearance.
   
   
2. Mat not only has a similar dream, but wakes up completely blind. Not to worry, he does get most of his vision back by the end/beginning of the chapter, which again makes me wonder what this contributes to the grand scheme of things.
   
   
3. They meet a kind man who gives them another ride on a cart, and can tell that they're running from something. He graciously gives them each a woolen scarf, and Rand says that he's "the best we've met in days," which kind of broke my heart a little. I still noticed that this guy repeated a bit of his own dialogue, as did Ba'alzamon in Rand's dream. Weird.
   
   
4. They stop at another inn, where rising prices part them from most of their remaining money. Mat starts seeing again, and Rand looks forward to getting to Caemlyn and seeing Moiraine again. Whatever misgivings about her he had before have been swept away by the experience of living without her. Then a twitchy young man comes by and is almost immediately guessed to be a Darkfriend. Rand and Mat waste no time hurling verbal abuse at him, and he tries to convince them to talk before just losing it and blowing his cover in a common room with people in it. It was a sad, pathetic display which reminded me of a drug addict desperately trying to get another fix that he doesn't have the means to acquire.
   
   I also noticed that Mat initially asked the guy what he wanted to talk about before hearing Rand shut him down, at which point he joined in. I think I know where this is going.
   
   
5. They leave for another village and hear the news of Darkfriends appearing in the town they just left. The stories naturally vary from the truth; some say there weren't any Darkfriends while others claim that dozens had gathered for some sort of ritual orgy or something.
   
   
6. They reach another inn, which Rand notes to be about the same small size of the last one, prompting this paragraph:
   
   Strange, to think of the Winespring Inn as small. Rand could remember when he thought it was about as big as a building could be. Anything bigger would be a palace. But he had seen a few things, now, and suddenly he realized that nothing would look the same to him when he got back home. If you ever do.
   
   Rand collapses from an illness he caught from being soaked in the rain and is forced to sleep in the stables. There is no Wisdom to help him out, and thus he hallucinates guilt-provoking visions of all the people who aren't with him until his fever breaks.
   
   
7. A woman comes in, offers to look at Rand, and turns out to be another Darkfriend. Mat foils her assassination attempt, disarms her, and kicks her out (after being urged to spare her by Rand). Then they leave town and quickly meet up with the merchant guy. End chapter.
   
   
8. They ride with him, and see a procession of the Queen's Guard. The merchant has to explain to Mat and Rand who these are, and Rand thinks on his ignorance of the queen, noting that Two Rivers always seemed completely autonomous to him. It seemed that way to me, too; I didn't even know that there was a queen until a few chapters ago. Then they get off two days from Caemlyn.
   

None of that really seemed essential to me, and I can't see how I'll be proven wrong.

NEXT TIME: Tourists and politics.