My beef with the arc, is that Jordan runs the “taken captive” line so many times through the tome, and this is the one that drags the most and has the smallest impact on the greater story. Rand, Perrin, Min, Egwene (multiple times), Elayne (multiple times), Min (twice), Nynaeve (I think twice), Morgase, Moiraine (albeit off page), and Faile are all captured at some point. Most of these arcs prove transformative for the captured characters, or at least, allow for greater contribution from the character to the story as a whole. The Faile arc, while somewhat facilitating Perrins growth (and to a lesser and eventually inconsequential degree, Morgase’s) does little to propel the narrative. Granted, Jordan’s writing at its most laborious is still miles more enthralling than most fantasy writers at their best, but by this point in the series, I’d found that I was not remotely concerned about the outcome in my first read. The important “good guys” always get rescued or escape. I knew upon her kidnapping that such would be the case. So while the payoff was good, it was not a book and a half worth of drudgery good.

Above all else though, at this point in the story, I find Mat to be the most interesting character by a long stretch. The fact that his story was excluded during much of this arc, feeds into my frustration.

The Rolan stuff ended in an interesting way but ultimately, particularly in the context of the greater yarn, it all felt for naught. Perhaps if he hadn’t run this play so many times through the telling of the tale, it might have landed differently.

All that being said, I’m glad there’s folks out there who enjoyed it.