<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Stefan Raets</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-ambushes-and-surprises-abound-in-knife-of-dreams-part-20/">https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-ambushes-and-surprises-abound-in-knife-of-dreams-part-20/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=818259">https://reactormag.com/?p=818259</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/books/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Books 0"> Books </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/the-wheel-of-time/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag The Wheel of Time 1"> The Wheel of Time </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Reading The Wheel of Time: Ambushes and Surprises Abound in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 20)</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">Things are changing rapidly for Mat, Perrin, and Rand…</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/kjbarrett/" title="Posts by Sylas K Barrett" class="author url fn" rel="author">Sylas K Barrett</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 15, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-ambushes-and-surprises-abound-in-knife-of-dreams-part-20/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path stroke="#000" d="M5.9 14.4v-.5H1.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3-1.3V1.8A1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.8.5h14.4a1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.3 1.3v10.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3 1.3h-5.698l-.146.147-3.324 3.333a.417.417 0 0 1-.282.12H6.3a.4.4 0 0 1-.4-.4v-2.7Z" /> </g> </svg> 7 </a> <details class="relative quick-access-details"> <summary class="quick-access-share flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 22 22" aria-label="share" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-share-new-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-share-new-quick-access-">Share New</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <circle cx="11" cy="11" r="11" fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" /> <circle cx="11" cy="11" r="10.5" stroke="#000" /> <path fill="#FFF" d="M5.993 13.464c.675 0 1.323-.266 1.806-.743l4.11 2.396a2.639 2.639 0 0 0 .368 2.451 2.583 2.583 0 0 0 2.227 1.043 2.59 2.59 0 0 0 2.09-1.3 2.64 2.64 0 0 0 .08-2.477 2.58 2.58 0 0 0-4.292-.54L8.344 11.94c.28-.616.31-1.319.086-1.958l3.952-2.303a2.564 2.564 0 0 0 4.263-.537 2.623 2.623 0 0 0-.078-2.46 2.573 2.573 0 0 0-2.075-1.293 2.566 2.566 0 0 0-2.213 1.033 2.622 2.622 0 0 0-.37 2.433L7.96 9.158a2.573 2.573 0 0 0-4.316.603 2.632 2.632 0 0 0 .172 2.501 2.58 2.58 0 0 0 2.178 1.202Z" /> <path fill="#000" d="M6.936 9.577c.322 0 .631.137.859.383.228.245.355.577.355.924 0 .347-.127.68-.355.925a1.172 1.172 0 0 1-.859.383c-.322 0-.63-.138-.858-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.356-.925c0-.347.129-.679.356-.924.228-.245.536-.383.858-.383Zm6.17-3.837c.323 0 .631.138.86.383.227.245.355.578.355.924 0 .347-.128.68-.356.925a1.172 1.172 0 0 1-.858.383c-.322 0-.631-.138-.859-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.355-.925c0-.346.128-.678.356-.924.227-.245.536-.383.858-.383Zm0 7.883c.323 0 .631.138.86.383.227.245.355.578.355.925 0 .346-.128.679-.356.924a1.171 1.171 0 0 1-.858.383c-.322 0-.631-.138-.859-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.355-.925c0-.346.128-.678.356-.923.227-.245.536-.383.858-.384Zm-6.17-.681c.499 0 .978-.21 1.334-.586l3.036 1.888a2.194 2.194 0 0 0 .272 1.93c.385.555 1.003.863 1.645.822.641-.04 1.221-.425 1.544-1.024a2.203 2.203 0 0 0 .059-1.952c-.286-.62-.841-1.044-1.48-1.13-.637-.085-1.272.18-1.69.705l-2.984-1.854c.207-.486.23-1.04.064-1.543l2.92-1.815c.415.522 1.046.784 1.68.7.633-.086 1.184-.507 1.468-1.123a2.188 2.188 0 0 0-.058-1.938c-.32-.595-.895-.977-1.532-1.018-.638-.041-1.251.264-1.635.813a2.179 2.179 0 0 0-.273 1.917L8.389 9.55c-.423-.534-1.07-.798-1.715-.702-.645.096-1.2.54-1.472 1.177a2.194 2.194 0 0 0 .126 1.97c.352.59.958.948 1.61.947Z" /> </g> </svg> Share </summary> <div class="quick-access-bubble"> <ul class="flex gap-6 text-black list-none"> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Reading The Wheel of Time: Ambushes and Surprises Abound in &lt;i&gt;Knife of Dreams&lt;/i&gt; (Part 20)&amp;url=https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-ambushes-and-surprises-abound-in-knife-of-dreams-part-20/” target=”_blank” title=”Twitter”&gt; &lt;svg class=" w-[18px]="w-[18px]" h-[15px]"="h-[15px]&quot;" width="18" height="15" viewbox="0 0 18 15" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="twitter" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M17.7143 2.56767C17.2122 3.28347 16.6053 3.89336 15.8934 4.39734C15.9009 4.4996 15.9046 4.65298 15.9046 4.8575C15.9046 5.80703 15.7623 6.75472 15.4775 7.7006C15.1928 8.64649 14.76 9.55401 14.1793 10.4232C13.5986 11.2924 12.9073 12.0611 12.1055 12.7295C11.3037 13.3978 10.3371 13.931 9.20558 14.329C8.07408 14.7271 6.86392 14.9262 5.57505 14.9262C3.54435 14.9262 1.68601 14.3966 0 13.3375C0.262269 13.3667 0.554506 13.3813 0.876722 13.3813C2.56274 13.3813 4.06514 12.8774 5.38397 11.8694C4.59717 11.8548 3.8928 11.6192 3.27085 11.1627C2.6489 10.7062 2.22178 10.1237 1.98949 9.41523C2.23677 9.45175 2.46531 9.47001 2.67513 9.47001C2.99734 9.47001 3.31581 9.42984 3.63053 9.3495C2.79127 9.1815 2.09627 8.77431 1.5455 8.12789C0.99474 7.48148 0.719362 6.73099 0.719362 5.87641V5.83259C1.22891 6.11015 1.77592 6.25988 2.36041 6.28179C1.86584 5.96041 1.47245 5.54043 1.1802 5.02184C0.887961 4.50325 0.741842 3.94084 0.741842 3.3346C0.741842 2.69184 0.906694 2.09656 1.2364 1.54875C2.1431 2.63707 3.24649 3.50807 4.54659 4.16178C5.84669 4.8155 7.23857 5.17887 8.72226 5.25192C8.66232 4.97436 8.63234 4.70411 8.63234 4.44116C8.63234 3.46241 8.9864 2.62793 9.69452 1.9377C10.4027 1.24746 11.2588 0.902344 12.2629 0.902344C13.3119 0.902344 14.1962 1.27485 14.9155 2.01987C15.7323 1.86648 16.5004 1.58162 17.2197 1.16529C16.9425 2.00526 16.4104 2.65532 15.6236 3.11548C16.3205 3.04244 17.0174 2.85984 17.7143 2.56767Z" fill="currentColor" /> <path d="M17.7143 2.56767C17.2122 3.28347 16.6053 3.89336 15.8934 4.39734C15.9009 4.4996 15.9046 4.65298 15.9046 4.8575C15.9046 5.80703 15.7623 6.75472 15.4775 7.7006C15.1928 8.64649 14.76 9.55401 14.1793 10.4232C13.5986 11.2924 12.9073 12.0611 12.1055 12.7295C11.3037 13.3978 10.3371 13.931 9.20558 14.329C8.07408 14.7271 6.86392 14.9262 5.57505 14.9262C3.54435 14.9262 1.68601 14.3966 0 13.3375C0.262269 13.3667 0.554506 13.3813 0.876722 13.3813C2.56274 13.3813 4.06514 12.8774 5.38397 11.8694C4.59717 11.8548 3.8928 11.6192 3.27085 11.1627C2.6489 10.7062 2.22178 10.1237 1.98949 9.41523C2.23677 9.45175 2.46531 9.47001 2.67513 9.47001C2.99734 9.47001 3.31581 9.42984 3.63053 9.3495C2.79127 9.1815 2.09627 8.77431 1.5455 8.12789C0.99474 7.48148 0.719362 6.73099 0.719362 5.87641V5.83259C1.22891 6.11015 1.77592 6.25988 2.36041 6.28179C1.86584 5.96041 1.47245 5.54043 1.1802 5.02184C0.887961 4.50325 0.741842 3.94084 0.741842 3.3346C0.741842 2.69184 0.906694 2.09656 1.2364 1.54875C2.1431 2.63707 3.24649 3.50807 4.54659 4.16178C5.84669 4.8155 7.23857 5.17887 8.72226 5.25192C8.66232 4.97436 8.63234 4.70411 8.63234 4.44116C8.63234 3.46241 8.9864 2.62793 9.69452 1.9377C10.4027 1.24746 11.2588 0.902344 12.2629 0.902344C13.3119 0.902344 14.1962 1.27485 14.9155 2.01987C15.7323 1.86648 16.5004 1.58162 17.2197 1.16529C16.9425 2.00526 16.4104 2.65532 15.6236 3.11548C16.3205 3.04244 17.0174 2.85984 17.7143 2.56767Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-ambushes-and-surprises-abound-in-knife-of-dreams-part-20/" target="_blank" title="Facebook"> <svg class="w-[9px] h-[18px]" fill="currentColor" viewbox="0 0 12 22" width="100%" height="100%" display="block" transitionduration="normal" transitionproperty="none" transitiontimingfunction="ease-out" class="w-[9px] h-[18px]" aria-label="facebook" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M11.558.004L8.677 0C5.44 0 3.349 2.125 3.349 5.416v2.496H.452A.45.45 0 000 8.36v3.618a.45.45 0 00.452.447h2.897v9.127A.45.45 0 003.8 22h3.778c.25 0 .451-.2.451-.448v-9.127h3.387c.25 0 .451-.2.451-.447l.003-3.618a.452.452 0 00-.456-.448h-3.39V5.795c0-1.017.245-1.534 1.582-1.534h1.941c.25 0 .452-.2.452-.447V.457a.45.45 0 00-.452-.448l.01-.005z" fill-rule="nonzero"> </path> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-ambushes-and-surprises-abound-in-knife-of-dreams-part-20/&amp;media=&amp;description=Reading The Wheel of Time: Ambushes and Surprises Abound in &lt;i&gt;Knife of Dreams&lt;/i&gt; (Part 20)” target=”_blank” title=”Pinterest”&gt; &lt;svg class=" w-[18px]="w-[18px]" h-[18px]"="h-[18px]&quot;" width="18" height="18" viewbox="0 0 18 18" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="pinterest" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M16.4962 4.49458C17.2844 5.84153 17.6786 7.31473 17.6786 8.91423C17.6786 10.5137 17.2844 11.9888 16.4962 13.3396C15.7079 14.6904 14.6384 15.7599 13.2876 16.5482C11.9368 17.3364 10.4617 17.7306 8.86223 17.7306C8.01273 17.7306 7.17856 17.6081 6.35967 17.3632C6.81121 16.6515 7.10967 16.0239 7.25508 15.4806C7.32396 15.2203 7.53059 14.413 7.87498 13.0584C8.02804 13.3568 8.30738 13.6151 8.71299 13.8332C9.1186 14.0513 9.55483 14.1604 10.0217 14.1604C10.9477 14.1604 11.7742 13.8983 12.5013 13.374C13.2283 12.8498 13.7908 12.1285 14.1888 11.2101C14.5867 10.2918 14.7857 9.25862 14.7857 8.11066C14.7857 7.2382 14.558 6.41933 14.1027 5.65402C13.6473 4.88871 12.9872 4.26499 12.1224 3.78285C11.2576 3.3007 10.2819 3.05964 9.19513 3.05964C8.39156 3.05964 7.64157 3.1706 6.94513 3.39254C6.2487 3.61448 5.65751 3.90912 5.17154 4.27647C4.68556 4.64382 4.26848 5.06665 3.92026 5.54497C3.57205 6.02329 3.31567 6.51882 3.15113 7.03157C2.98659 7.54433 2.90432 8.05708 2.90432 8.56984C2.90432 9.36576 3.05738 10.066 3.3635 10.6706C3.66962 11.2752 4.11732 11.6999 4.70661 11.9448C4.93621 12.0367 5.08161 11.9601 5.14284 11.7152C5.15814 11.6617 5.18876 11.5431 5.23467 11.3594C5.28059 11.1757 5.3112 11.0609 5.32651 11.015C5.37243 10.839 5.33034 10.6744 5.20024 10.5214C4.80993 10.0545 4.61478 9.47673 4.61478 8.78795C4.61478 7.63233 5.01464 6.63936 5.81439 5.809C6.61414 4.97864 7.66069 4.56346 8.95406 4.56346C10.1097 4.56346 11.0108 4.87723 11.6575 5.50479C12.3042 6.13234 12.6275 6.94739 12.6275 7.94994C12.6275 9.25097 12.3654 10.3568 11.8412 11.2675C11.3169 12.1783 10.6454 12.6336 9.82651 12.6336C9.35967 12.6336 8.98468 12.4672 8.70151 12.1343C8.41835 11.8013 8.33034 11.4015 8.43748 10.9346C8.49871 10.6668 8.60011 10.309 8.74169 9.86129C8.88327 9.41359 8.99807 9.01946 9.08608 8.67889C9.17409 8.33833 9.21809 8.04943 9.21809 7.81219C9.21809 7.42953 9.11478 7.11193 8.90814 6.85938C8.70151 6.60683 8.40687 6.48055 8.02422 6.48055C7.54972 6.48055 7.14794 6.69866 6.81886 7.13489C6.48977 7.57112 6.32524 8.11448 6.32524 8.76499C6.32524 9.32367 6.4209 9.7905 6.61223 10.1655L5.47575 14.964C5.34564 15.4997 5.2959 16.177 5.32651 16.9959C3.74997 16.2994 2.47575 15.2242 1.50381 13.7701C0.531863 12.316 0.0458984 10.6974 0.0458984 8.91423C0.0458984 7.31473 0.440027 5.83962 1.2283 4.48884C2.01657 3.13807 3.08607 2.06857 4.43684 1.2803C5.78761 0.492029 7.26273 0.0979004 8.86223 0.0979004C10.4617 0.0979004 11.9368 0.492029 13.2876 1.2803C14.6384 2.06857 15.7079 3.13999 16.4962 4.49458Z" fill="currentColor" /> <path d="M16.4962 4.49458C17.2844 5.84153 17.6786 7.31473 17.6786 8.91423C17.6786 10.5137 17.2844 11.9888 16.4962 13.3396C15.7079 14.6904 14.6384 15.7599 13.2876 16.5482C11.9368 17.3364 10.4617 17.7306 8.86223 17.7306C8.01273 17.7306 7.17856 17.6081 6.35967 17.3632C6.81121 16.6515 7.10967 16.0239 7.25508 15.4806C7.32396 15.2203 7.53059 14.413 7.87498 13.0584C8.02804 13.3568 8.30738 13.6151 8.71299 13.8332C9.1186 14.0513 9.55483 14.1604 10.0217 14.1604C10.9477 14.1604 11.7742 13.8983 12.5013 13.374C13.2283 12.8498 13.7908 12.1285 14.1888 11.2101C14.5867 10.2918 14.7857 9.25862 14.7857 8.11066C14.7857 7.2382 14.558 6.41933 14.1027 5.65402C13.6473 4.88871 12.9872 4.26499 12.1224 3.78285C11.2576 3.3007 10.2819 3.05964 9.19513 3.05964C8.39156 3.05964 7.64157 3.1706 6.94513 3.39254C6.2487 3.61448 5.65751 3.90912 5.17154 4.27647C4.68556 4.64382 4.26848 5.06665 3.92026 5.54497C3.57205 6.02329 3.31567 6.51882 3.15113 7.03157C2.98659 7.54433 2.90432 8.05708 2.90432 8.56984C2.90432 9.36576 3.05738 10.066 3.3635 10.6706C3.66962 11.2752 4.11732 11.6999 4.70661 11.9448C4.93621 12.0367 5.08161 11.9601 5.14284 11.7152C5.15814 11.6617 5.18876 11.5431 5.23467 11.3594C5.28059 11.1757 5.3112 11.0609 5.32651 11.015C5.37243 10.839 5.33034 10.6744 5.20024 10.5214C4.80993 10.0545 4.61478 9.47673 4.61478 8.78795C4.61478 7.63233 5.01464 6.63936 5.81439 5.809C6.61414 4.97864 7.66069 4.56346 8.95406 4.56346C10.1097 4.56346 11.0108 4.87723 11.6575 5.50479C12.3042 6.13234 12.6275 6.94739 12.6275 7.94994C12.6275 9.25097 12.3654 10.3568 11.8412 11.2675C11.3169 12.1783 10.6454 12.6336 9.82651 12.6336C9.35967 12.6336 8.98468 12.4672 8.70151 12.1343C8.41835 11.8013 8.33034 11.4015 8.43748 10.9346C8.49871 10.6668 8.60011 10.309 8.74169 9.86129C8.88327 9.41359 8.99807 9.01946 9.08608 8.67889C9.17409 8.33833 9.21809 8.04943 9.21809 7.81219C9.21809 7.42953 9.11478 7.11193 8.90814 6.85938C8.70151 6.60683 8.40687 6.48055 8.02422 6.48055C7.54972 6.48055 7.14794 6.69866 6.81886 7.13489C6.48977 7.57112 6.32524 8.11448 6.32524 8.76499C6.32524 9.32367 6.4209 9.7905 6.61223 10.1655L5.47575 14.964C5.34564 15.4997 5.2959 16.177 5.32651 16.9959C3.74997 16.2994 2.47575 15.2242 1.50381 13.7701C0.531863 12.316 0.0458984 10.6974 0.0458984 8.91423C0.0458984 7.31473 0.440027 5.83962 1.2283 4.48884C2.01657 3.13807 3.08607 2.06857 4.43684 1.2803C5.78761 0.492029 7.26273 0.0979004 8.86223 0.0979004C10.4617 0.0979004 11.9368 0.492029 13.2876 1.2803C14.6384 2.06857 15.7079 3.13999 16.4962 4.49458Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://reactormag.com/feed/" target="_blank" title="RSS Feed"> <svg class="w-[17px] h-[17px]" width="18" height="18" viewbox="0 0 18 18" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="rss feed" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <g clip-path="url(#clip0_1051_121783)"> <path d="M2.67871 17.4143C2.12871 17.4143 1.65771 17.2183 1.26571 16.8263C0.873713 16.4343 0.678046 15.9636 0.678713 15.4143C0.678713 14.8643 0.874713 14.3933 1.26671 14.0013C1.65871 13.6093 2.12938 13.4136 2.67871 13.4143C3.22871 13.4143 3.69971 13.6103 4.09171 14.0023C4.48371 14.3943 4.67938 14.865 4.67871 15.4143C4.67871 15.9643 4.48271 16.4353 4.09071 16.8273C3.69871 17.2193 3.22805 17.415 2.67871 17.4143ZM14.6787 17.4143C14.6787 15.481 14.312 13.6683 13.5787 11.9763C12.8454 10.2843 11.841 8.80097 10.5657 7.52631C9.29171 6.25164 7.80871 5.24764 6.11671 4.51431C4.42471 3.78097 2.61205 3.41431 0.678713 3.41431V0.414307C3.02871 0.414307 5.23705 0.860306 7.30371 1.75231C9.37038 2.64431 11.1704 3.85664 12.7037 5.38931C14.237 6.92264 15.4497 8.72264 16.3417 10.7893C17.2337 12.856 17.6794 15.0643 17.6787 17.4143H14.6787ZM8.67871 17.4143C8.67871 15.1976 7.89971 13.31 6.34171 11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" /> <path d="M2.67871 17.4143C2.12871 17.4143 1.65771 17.2183 1.26571 16.8263C0.873713 16.4343 0.678046 15.9636 0.678713 15.4143C0.678713 14.8643 0.874713 14.3933 1.26671 14.0013C1.65871 13.6093 2.12938 13.4136 2.67871 13.4143C3.22871 13.4143 3.69971 13.6103 4.09171 14.0023C4.48371 14.3943 4.67938 14.865 4.67871 15.4143C4.67871 15.9643 4.48271 16.4353 4.09071 16.8273C3.69871 17.2193 3.22805 17.415 2.67871 17.4143ZM14.6787 17.4143C14.6787 15.481 14.312 13.6683 13.5787 11.9763C12.8454 10.2843 11.841 8.80097 10.5657 7.52631C9.29171 6.25164 7.80871 5.24764 6.11671 4.51431C4.42471 3.78097 2.61205 3.41431 0.678713 3.41431V0.414307C3.02871 0.414307 5.23705 0.860306 7.30371 1.75231C9.37038 2.64431 11.1704 3.85664 12.7037 5.38931C14.237 6.92264 15.4497 8.72264 16.3417 10.7893C17.2337 12.856 17.6794 15.0643 17.6787 17.4143H14.6787ZM8.67871 17.4143C8.67871 15.1976 7.89971 13.31 6.34171 11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="407" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ReadingWOT_KODbook11-740x407.png" class="w-full object-cover" alt="Reading The Wheel of Time on Tor.com: Knife of Dreams" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ReadingWOT_KODbook11-740x407.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ReadingWOT_KODbook11-768x422.png 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ReadingWOT_KODbook11.png 951w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>Welcome back to Reading The Wheel of Time! After so many short chapters, we are finally getting some real action. This week Perrin puts the first part of his plan to rescue Faile into motion, Mat begins a guerrilla warfare campaign against the Seanchan, and Rand meets a false Daughter of the Nine Moons. Suspecting a trap helps him avoid complete disaster, but things don’t go quite as well as he might have hoped, either.</p> <p>Let’s get to recapping!</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots" /> <p>Perrin sits just inside a tree line on Stepper, watching some of the windmills that power the aqueduct and thinking about how it is almost time to add the fifty-fourth knot to the cord he uses to keep track of how long Faile has been a captive. Once Gaul and some of the maidens have made sure there are no Shaido around the windmills, some of the Seanchan begin emptying sacks of forkroot into the aqueduct. Perrin worries over the forkroot not being strong enough to take out the Wise Ones, and also worries about it steeping and taking effect too quickly. There is nothing he can do now but go ahead with the plan and hope.</p> <p>Perrin’s plan includes an advance party, which will enter the aqueduct and follow it down to the cistern, then make its way to the fortress in Malden. The first to climb in is Seonid, along with her three Warders and Masuri’s Warder, Rovair. They are followed by Elyas and Tallanvor. Perrin trusts Tallanvor because he smells of caution as well as eagerness, and empathizes with the man’s desire to see Maighdin as soon as possible. He isn’t sure if he himself would be capable of the restraint he trusts Tallanvor to have.</p> <p>Cha Faile is next in line, led by Selande. She thanks Perrin for including them in the advance party, and promises not to let him down.</p> <p>Next, Ban al’Seen leads a group of Two Rivers men who are going with the party. Perrin is surprised when Gaul joins as well, but the Aielman explains that Chiad is properly <em>gai’shain</em>, and will still have the rest of her year and a day to serve after being rescued.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“When a man has a woman as <em>gai’shain</em>, or a woman a man, sometimes a marriage wreath is made as soon as white is put off. It is not uncommon. But I heard the Maidens say they would reach Chiad first, to keep her from me.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Perrin finds Grady waiting for him in a clearing, where the gateway from the Seanchan encampment is still open. The Asha’man looks weary, and admits that all the Traveling has been wearing him out; he’s even started tying the gateways off because he’s too tired to hold them open for very long. Perrin knows that Neald is tired too, and worries that if the Asha’man fall short of the number of gateways Perrin will need them to make, a lot of people will die.</p> <p>He asks Grady to send him back to his own camp, and gives him permission to sleep in the Seanchan’s camp and spare him making one more gateway. Neald declines, however, admitting that he got into an altercation after suggesting to some of the <em>damane</em> that they might like to have their collars off. The <em>damane</em> began crying and calling for the <em>sul’dam</em>, which creeped Grady out.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Whatever happens with the <em>damane</em>, Grady, it won’t be this week, or next. And it won’t be us who fixes it. So you let the <em>damane</em> be. We have a job of work in front of us that needs doing.” And a deal with the Dark One to do it. He pushed the thought away. Anyway, it had grown hard to think of Tylee Khirgan being on the Dark One’s side. Or Mishima. “You understand that?”<br><br>“I understand, my Lord. I’m just saying it makes my skin crawl.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Once he has arrived at his own camp, Perrin finds Berelain in his own tent, entertaining Tylee. Annoura is also present, along with Aram, and Balwer hovering at the edge of things. Tylee immediately asks if Perrin has already begun putting the forkroot into the town’s water supply. When Perrin answers that he has, she sighs.</p> <p>Tylee tells him that a scout on a <em>raken</em> spotted seven thousand Children of the Light on the march. With Annoura interjecting, Perrin learns that Galad Damodred killed Eamon Valda and led those seven thousand Whitecloaks to leave the Seanchan cause. Balwer interjects that he feels he owes Galad Damodred a debt of gratitude, which makes Perrin wonder to himself if Balwer’s apparent grudge against the Children was against Valda personally.</p> <p>The more important piece of news comes when Tylee tells him that there are two large parties of Shaido heading towards Malden, only a few days away from reaching it. But at that moment, the world seems to ripple in front of Perrin, and he feels himself ripple too. Berelain clings to him in fright, and he holds her as the world ripples twice more. It feels like everything is made of fog that might blow away in the wind. When it passes, Tylee asks what happened, and Annoura admits she has no idea. Perrin tells them that it doesn’t matter.</p> <p>In Malden, Faile is feeling harassed after being beaten because Sevanna was unhappy with the quality of her bath. Many more wetlander <em>gai’shain </em>have been swearing fealty to her, and some are calling to rise up against the Seanchan. Faile is worried that there will be a revolt, and a slaughter, if she can’t stop it.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Rolan is trying to get her to play a kissing game, and Faile is trying to avoid it without completely rejecting his advances towards her. Catching sight of Galina, she tells Rolan that she has work to do and that she will have to think on his suggestion. He strokes her cheek, surprising her with the forward gesture, and then leaves.</p> <p>Faile insists that Galina promise, in plain words, to take her and her friends when she leaves. Galina slaps her, but Faile only slaps her back, and Galina makes the promise angrily. She tells Faile to bring it in the morning to the far edge of town where the Aiel burned all the buildings.</p> <p>In Altara, Rand is dressed to impress, wearing the Crown of Swords on his head and carrying the Dragon Scepter, on which the Maidens have carved dragons to match those glittering on his exposed hands. In his head, Lews Therin calls him a fool for walking into a trap, but Rand knows he has to take the chance for peace, and has plans for if the meeting does turn out to be a trap.</p> <p>He has Maidens with him, as well as Bashere and some of his men, Asha’man, Aes Sedai, and Warders. Some of his companions also express worry over a trap, but Rand is firm about sticking to his plan.</p> <p>Only Logain, Narishma, Sandomere, Cadsuane and Nynaeve are accompanying Rand to the meeting itself, plus Min, though Rand regrets promising that she could come. The rest will wait a distance away and come to Rand’s aid via gateway if needed.</p> <p>As they near the appointed meeting place, a manor house belonging to a minor Altaran noblewoman, the Asha’man all seize <em>saidin</em>, and Cadsuane and Nynaeve embrace <em>saidar</em>, though Rand doesn’t feel the usual goosebumps. The women have found a way to mask their ability, and thus shield him from even this small advantage in sensing the use of <em>saidar</em>.</p> <p>When they reach the building, which is little more than a large farmhouse, Rand has to admit to himself that it does smell like a trap. Three <em>sul’dam</em> and <em>damane </em>pairs appear in the doorway, followed by a small woman who perfectly matches the description Bashere was given of the Daughter of the Nine Moons.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“One of them is channeling,” Nynaeve said, just loudly enough for him to hear, as she climbed down from her saddle. “I can’t see anything, so she’s masked her ability and inverted the weave—and I wonder how the Seanchan learned <em>that!</em>—but she’s channeling. Only one; there isn’t enough for it to be two.” Her <em>ter’angreal</em> could not tell whether it was saidin or saidar being channeled, but it was unlikely to be a man.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Cadsuane informs Rand that they can’t tell which <em>damane</em> is channeling but that she can do something about it once they are closer. Rand whispers for Min to stay behind him and starts towards the doorway, flanked by Cadsuane and Nynaeve and the Asha’man. The Daughter of the Nine Moons starts towards them in turn, but suddenly she flickers, her image changing to a taller woman with a different face. Rand recognizes Semirhage instantly from Lews Therin’s memories, and says her name aloud.</p> <p>He tries to reach for <em>saidin</em> but is blocked by Lews Therin trying to grasp it as well. Semirhage shoots a ball of fire at him, and Rand can’t reach the Source or jump out of the way, since Min is behind him. He throws up the hand with the Dragon Scepter in it, and the world seems to “explode in fire.”</p> <p>He’s next aware of being on the ground with his cheek in the mud. He can feel <em>saidin</em> being channeled and the goosebumps from <em>saidar</em>, but when he tries to push himself up he feels immense pain and discovers that his entire left hand has been burned away entirely. Min tries to keep him lying down, but he grasps the One Power and manages to climb to his feet—only to find that the fighting is over.</p> <p>Semirhage is a prisoner, restrained by flows of Air. One of the <em>sul’dam</em>&#8211;<em>damane</em> pairs is similarly restrained, while the second are injured and the third are dead. Sandomere’s arm is broken, but Nynaeve heals it.</p> <p>Gateways begin opening all around as Rand’s backup forces arrive, every Asha’man full of <em>saidin</em>, while Bashere gives orders for the house to be searched. Nynaeve comes to Rand, apologizing profusely because she knows she can’t restore what he has lost.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>His entire arm began tingling, and the pain drained away. Slowly, blackened skin was replaced by smooth skin that seemed to ooze down until it covered the small lump that had been the base of his hand. It was a miraculous thing to see. The scarlet-and-gold scaled dragon grew back, too, as much as it could, ending in a bit of the golden mane. He could still feel the whole hand.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Nynaeve is aware that there is something wrong with his eyes, but wants to study the problem more before trying to do anything about that. Rand insists that he can see fine, though this is a lie. Bashere joins them, observing that at least Rand’s alive. Rand agrees that they have both seen men with worse injuries.</p> <p>Nynaeve thinks Rand must be in shock, but Min answers that Rand isn’t—he’s simply moved on from a fact he can do nothing to change. Nynaeve tries to insist that it’s alright and normal to feel stunned and to grieve, but Rand only answers that he doesn’t have time for that.</p> <p>Rand fills Bashere in on what happened, and when Cadsuane asks Rand how he knows Semirhage, the Forsaken herself explains that Rand is mad.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Graendal could explain it better than I. Madness was her specialty. I will try, however. You know of people who hear voices in their heads? Sometimes, very rarely, the voices they hear are the voices of past lives. Lanfear claimed he knew things from our own Age, things only Lews Therin Telamon could know. Clearly, he is hearing Lews Therin’s voice. It makes no difference that his voice is real, however. In fact, that makes his situation worse. Even Graendal usually failed to achieve reintegration with someone who heard a real voice. I understand the descent into terminal madness can be… abrupt.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Rand feels numbness through his bond with Min, and worries that he is about to lose her. But then the feeling is replaced by compassion and determination, and love so warm it almost feels physical to Rand.</p> <p>Cadsuane tells Semirhage that she looks forward to some long talks with her. Rand declares that they will send the <em>sul’dam </em>and <em>damane</em> back to Ebou Dar to send word that he wants to meet with the real Daughter of the Nine Moons.&nbsp;</p> <p>Bashere’s men find the house empty but with traces of blood, and a wooden box with <em>a’dam</em> in it. Nynaeve identifies male <em>a’dam</em> next to those for women, and becomes furious that Egeanin didn’t drop them in the ocean the way she promised. Now, the Seanchan have made more.</p> <p>Everyone is horrified at the realization that Semirhage could have collared all of them, and that only the fact that Rand’s allies were already holding the One Power saved them from that fate. When Rand gives orders to send the <em>sul’dam</em> back to somewhere near Ebou Dar, Falendre asks who he is to demand such an audience.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>&#8220;My name is Rand al’Thor. I’m the Dragon Reborn.” If they had wept at hearing Semirhage’s name, they wailed at hearing his.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Mat sits on Pips with his <em>ashandarei</em> across his saddle, waiting with Tuon and Selucia, Teslyn, Captain Mandevwin, and two thousand mounted crossbowmen. His men are hitting the Seanchan in half a dozen places on the same night, but Mat is waiting specifically to ambush a large party that he is trying lure to come to the aid of the smaller camp where the <em>raken </em>is. Two green nightflowers launched in the distance let him know that his plan is unfolding and that the <em>raken </em>has been sent towards the large camp.</p> <p>He starts his forces moving, ignoring Teslyn’s complaints that his plan relies heavily on luck. That is somewhat true; he has no guarantee that the commander of the Seanchan will move his forces in the way Mat expects. When they come to the spot for the ambush, Mat gives orders for the horses to be hobbled and given feed bags, so they won’t make any noise. He also gives orders for the placement of his crossbowmen and setting a watch. He reflects on the fact that Tuon must not like what is happening, but he still trusts her to keep her word anyway.</p> <p>As they wait, Teslyn warns Mat about Joline; Teslyn expects her to try to convince Mat to become her Warder, and might find a way to make him agree without even realizing he has done it. Tuon becomes incensed, telling Teslyn that Mat is hers and she won’t let anyone have him, especially a <em>marath’damane</em>. Mat cuts off their argument, and Tuon remarks that he is being masterful again.</p> <p>Mat admits to Teslyn that his aim with these raids and skirmishes is to draw the Seanchan forces out of the Molvaine Gap so that he and his party can slip through. Tuon, Selucia, and Teslyn all stare at him and he can’t figure out why, or what they are thinking.</p> <p>Eventually Vanin arrives to report four thousand lancers coming down the road about a mile behind him. This is about a thousand more than expected, and Mat’s forces are outnumbered two to one, but Mat merely takes them back to join the main force, where Mandevwin already has everyone in place, every crossbow loaded and aimed.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>An owl hooted twice, somewhere behind him, and Tuon sighed.<br><br>“Is there an omen in that?” he asked, just for something to say.<br><br>“I’m glad you are finally taking an interest, Toy. Perhaps I will be able to educate you yet.” Her eyes were liquid in the moonlight. “An owl hooting twice means someone will die soon.” Well, that put a bloody end to conversation.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>The Seanchan lancers come into view. Mat assumes it must be <em>ta’veren</em> work when the commander calls the company to a halt in absolutely the perfect position for his ambush. Before the men on the road can mount up, Teslyn sends a ball of light out above them on Mat’s command. The crossbows release almost at the same time, in a torrent of arrows, limbs breaking and even armor being pierced at such close range.</p> <p>The commander tries to lead his men into the trees before Mat’s forces can reload, but the new cranks put paid to that plan as two thousand more bolts crash into them. Afterwards there is no one left standing, and only a few mounted riders may have managed to escape. Mat gives orders to start moving out, but Teslyn interrupts to remind him that the rules of war demand that he offer aid to the wounded.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“This is a new kind of war,” he told her harshly. Light, it was silent on the road, but he could still hear the screaming. “They’ll have to wait for their own to give them aid.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Tuon murmured something half under her breath. He thought it was, “A lion can have no mercy,” but that was ridiculous.</p> <p>He leads his men towards their next target, intending to hit the Seanchan again before morning.</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots" /> <p>Gosh, I never imagined Rand would suffer yet <em>another</em> grievous, unfixable injury. Not before the Last Battle, anyway.</p> <p>In many ways, the loss of the hand feels symbolic, reminding us how much of himself Rand has lost, and is still losing. Mostly this is a spiritual loss; as he becomes hard and is overcome by the madness of the taint, he is losing his connection to his humanity, to the kind and warm shepherd boy he was before Moiraine, and the Dark, came to find him. Of course, losing part of one’s body doesn’t make one less human, but it can make someone feel separate from other people, to feel othered, and especially in the aftermath of loss, to feel less than whole.</p> <p>It is significant, too, that Rand suffered this loss because of his main weakness. Not Min, not his love for others, though that is what he believes it to be. His true weakness is all the problems he has with <em>saidin</em>. The madness of having Lews Therin in his head, fighting him for <em>saidin</em>, is the reason he wasn’t able to seize <em>saidin</em> fast enough to protect himself from Semirhage’s attack. Whatever happened to him when he and Moridin channeled balefire at the same time, and the sickness that has resulted from it, prevents him from wanting to hold the One Power prematurely, which is what saved his companions from the attack.&nbsp; If Rand had had access to his power, he would almost certainly have been able to participate in the fight and to protect himself from so simple an attack as a fireball to the face. Or hand.</p> <p>Semirhage’s explanation of Rand’s madness is about what I concluded the truth about Lews Therin’s presence to be. I’m not sure how to metaphysically explain the bleed-through of another voice, another personality, within the worldbuilding context of The Wheel of Time, but then, it seems even the great healers of the Age of Legends didn’t really know the answer. And we’ve seen that the Dark One’s touch sometimes causes the past to bleed into the present as the Pattern unravels, so the idea of bleed-through of personalities also suggests some kind of corruption being responsible for the bleed-through of a past personality—though the Dark One might not always be responsible for this, if it was a condition was being treated during the Age of Legends. However, the Dark One doesn’t necessarily have to be responsible for all problems that emerge within the Pattern. After all, balefire can be wielded by any channeler, including those serving the Light, and it is so dangerous that it could actually unravel the Pattern for good.</p> <p>In any case, at last we have a solid answer about whether or not Lews Therin is part of Rand’s madness. Presuming Semirhage is telling the truth, but I don&#8217;t see a reason for her to lie here—she’s not really worried about having been captured. As Rand observes, she’s been a captive before and escaped by <em>terrorizing her own guards into letting her go</em>. And I imagine she thinks these primitive people will be much easier to deal with than those guards were.</p> <p>Semirhage references Graendal’s (usually unsuccessful) attempts to “achieve reintegration” with someone who was hearing a “real” voice. Jordan may have been referencing dissociative identity disorder (formerly called split personality or multiple personality disorder) and suggesting that Graendal worked with patients on integration, basically recombining separated personalities back into one person. I don’t know enough about DID to comment in depth about this concept, but it feels important to note that DID is not a condition where people hear voices telling them to do things, but rather one where a person has multiple identities.</p> <p>Obviously, Rand’s condition is not meant to be any “real world” mental health disorder, though it may remind us of the pop culture versions of conditions like DID and schizophrenia. I do appreciate that Jordan seems to have avoided the worst of these film and book stereotypes as he deals with the concept of “magic” induced madness.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>I find myself&nbsp; wondering if this comment by Semirhage isn’t giving us (and maybe Rand) a clue about how the Lews Therin issue might eventually be resolved. Semirhage says that Graendal <em>usually</em> failed to achieve integration, which means that she was sometimes successful. Perhaps Rand will eventually, through some psychological or metaphysical means, be able to make Lews Therin a part of himself instead of a separate personality, and a separate voice, in his head.</p> <p>It’s kind of a relief for me as a reader that other people know about Lews Therin now. Rand isn’t just making himself harder and harder—he is also keeping so many secrets about his pain and struggles. The bond with Min, Aviendha, and Elayne has started to change that, since he can’t hide his emotions or his experience of physical pain from them, but learning truths like this one is also really important. He’ll never be able to open up and feel his emotions, to “relearn laughter and tears” the way Cadsuane (and everyone else) wants him to, if he’s hiding every source of his distress. I can’t help but think how much easier it might be for him to let go of that list of dead women if he were actually to experience, and to share, the grief he feels over those losses. Process his emotions, as mental health tiktok keeps reminding us we need to do.</p> <p>He has so many people who care about him, if only he would let them.</p> <p>It will be interesting to see how Rand adapts to having only one hand. He mentions to Bashere that he will have to relearn the sword, since most forms require two hands, but I find myself wondering about channeling. Like the Aes Sedai, Asha’man use a lot of hand and arm motions when they weave the One Power, though it’s been suggested a few times that channeling doesn’t, or shouldn’t always, require specific gestures. (Cue me thinking about the scene in the first Doctor Strange movie when he suggests that he can’t make the Marvel Sparkle Circles^TMbecause of his injured hand, and then the Ancient One introduces him to a man who can do it while missing an<em> entire</em> hand.) So I am really looking forward to seeing how he interacts with channeling and weaving now.</p> <p>I am also looking forward to Cadsuane interviewing Semirhage. Lews Therin remembers how terrifying Semirhage is, and that she “was never lacking in courage,” and Semirhage herself doesn’t seem very concerned about her position. No doubt she thinks that the people of this Age can do little that would measure up to what she has done, and experienced. But Cadsuane might prove to be more impressive, and resourceful, than Semirhage expects. That battle of wills is going to be fascinating, I think.</p> <p>But the thing I am looking forward to the most is Perrin finally, finally going in after Faile. I’m tired of the plotline, if I’m being totally honest, and narratively it feels like it’s been dragging for a while. Even with the forkroot in play, the attack promises to be a very dangerous and intense battle, and I think it is going to be <em>the</em> climactic battle of <em>Knife of Dreams</em>, while Rand’s climactic moment will be meeting Tuon and making some kind of alliance with the Seanchan. Both Perrin and Mat’s actions over the course of <em>Knife of Dreams</em> will no doubt help convince Tuon to make some kind of peace with the Dragon Reborn. And I wonder, maybe that pull of his need that they are both feeling is not just about having them close. Maybe it is actually about the actions they are choosing to perform, without even realizing how they will benefit Rand’s cause.</p> <p>I appreciate that many of the characters continue to bring up the issue of the <em>damane</em>, even though there isn’t anything they can actually do to help the women in question. Perrin has made his deal with the Dark One and cannot take it back (even if he wanted to, which he doesn’t). However, that doesn’t make the issue any less repulsive, and it’s good that people aren’t turning themselves off to that fact. I really like Grady as a character, he’s very down-to-earth, especially for an Asha’man, and a very caring person. I wonder how much correlation there is between someone’s nature and their desire to care for others and a Talent in Healing.</p> <p>The question of whether or not Grady and Neald will have enough left in the tank to open the last of the gateways needed to enact Perrin’s plan for the battle against the Shaido feels like a bit of a Chekov’s gun to me, even more so than the question of whether or not the Wise Ones will all be taken out by the forkroot in the drinking water. I have a feeling that falling one gateway short may be the wrench, or at least one of the wrenches, in Perrin’s plan.</p> <p>Another one, though, might be Faile escaping before or right when he is attacking. Galina has no need to keep her promise to take Faile and her friends with her when she escapes with the rod, since she is Black Ajah. But she might decide to if she thinks she can gain some advantage by having them with her. She did want to kill Faile, if memory serves, but she might not be in a hurry to do that right away. And even if she tried, Faile might escape the attempt as well, especially since Galina will still be bound by the rod until she can find another channeler to activate it and remove its restrictions on her.</p> <p>Is it bad that I kind of want Galina to escape? I mean, she’s a bad guy, but the treatment she has received from Therava and Sevanna is still horrific, and I wouldn’t want to condemn anyone, even a Darkfriend, to it. Being made <em>damane</em> by the Seanchan might be a step up for Galina, really, since the <em>sul’dam</em> are more likely to treat her with gentleness and even their version of kindness if she behaves in the way they expect, though it’s always possible she might end up in the care of a <em>sul’dam</em> who is fickle like Sevanna or a sadist like Therava. One can’t imagine either Sevanna or Therava ever petting and cosseting a prisoner the way the <em>sul’dam</em> do with their <em>damane</em>, and Galina is already bound by a <em>ter’angreal</em> that won’t let her channel without permission, so trading the rod for the <em>a’dam</em> won’t be that big of a deal. Though would the binding of the rod get in the way of her channeling as a <em>damane</em>? Galina can channel when given permission and I don’t remember Therava restricting that permission to only being given by herself, so I think it would be fine.</p> <p>Therava herself might end up a <em>damane</em>, but I could see her will being strong enough to hold out for death rather than being broken to the <em>a’dam</em>. Again, I don’t feel great about anyone being made <em>damane</em>, but it certainly would be a taste of Therava’s own medicine, and I would be interested in seeing if her will was stronger than any <em>sul’dam</em>’s. And in Galina’s case, there is something poetic about a Darkfriend and Black Ajah member potentially being forced to fight in the Last Battle against the Dark One.</p> <p>In any case, we all know there will be hiccups in Perrin’s attempts to rescue Faile, and a lot of Shaido will end up being enslaved by the Seanchan, one way or another. I imagine Sevanna will be among them, since she is the one who brought about the decay and destruction of the Shaido. I will say, though, that I kind of respect her two baths a day. A lot of her affectations of wealth and power are adopted from wetlanders and it makes her seem so silly and vapid, but what says wealth and power to an Aiel more than being able to take baths? Sure, it’s also an abdication of the Aiel custom of never wasting water, and maybe I’m splitting hairs here, but I just found the idea kind of enjoyable.</p> <p>Rolan is also going to play a role in Faile’s escape, I think, though it’s hard to say whether it will be positive or negative. I don’t think he would intentionally and outright stop her from escaping, as he has indicated that he himself would help her do so if and when the <em>Mera’din</em> left for the waste, but his ideas and perspectives are very different than hers and he might cause a problem for her unwittingly, or in an attempt to help in his own way. He seems like a pretty good guy, all things considered, even if he doesn’t understand that no means no and Faile doesn’t ascribe to Aiel ideas of monogamy and “what happens in white stays in white.”</p> <p>Speaking of what happens in white, it never occurred to me that <em>gai’shain</em> could be taken from the Aiel they were captured by and brought to work for other Aiel who captured them from their captors. Since a <em>gai’shain</em> belongs to the warrior who captured them, you would think they would be exempt from any attempt to recover them. Apparently, however, this is not the case, as the Maidens suggested to Gaul that they were going to reach Chiad before he could and keep her from him. Apparently Gaul wants to take Chiad as his own <em>gai’shain</em> in the hopes that it will lead to her making a marriage wreath once her time wearing white is over.</p> <p>I am bemused by this, but mostly I want Gaul to start treating Bain right. I really liked Gaul when he was first introduced, but I have to say, I like the way the television show handled Bain and Chiad as girlfriends much more.</p> <p>And of course, I’m still waiting for Perrin to do something truly over the line in his attempts to rescue Faile. In some ways, he and Rand felt very similar in these two chapters. Perrin shrugs off the way the world ripples and nearly dissolves with the same attitude that Rand takes towards losing his hand. “It doesn’t matter, I won’t feel it, because only my goal is important.” Never mind you lost a hand. And also the Pattern is threatening to dissolve.</p> <p>I wonder if there is any significance to the fact that the “ripples” and sense of the world fading seems to be happening more often in and around Malden than anywhere else (as far as we know.) Does this have something to do with Perrin and his actions, or is it just happenstance that the Pattern is dissolving, or unraveling, particularly badly right in that area? Is it possible that an area of the world could actually disappear altogether?</p> <p>I don’t have a lot to say about Mat’s section, though it continues to be interesting watching Tuon and the Aes Sedai re-evaluate him in this new light of his skill as a general. I also just remembered that Suroth, on Semirhage’s orders, is intending to have Tuon killed, which puts a slightly different tone to her continued “captivity” with Mat and even his destruction of her soldiers. Would any of them think her to be the “imposter” Suroth accused her of being? How well-known is that information now? And what will happen when Mat eventually does send Tuon back to her people?</p> <p>But the main point of Mat’s section is the end, where he tells Teslyn that this is a new kind of war. I’ve been thinking a lot about how the inventions of the crossbow cranks and the “dragons” and “dragons eggs” will change warfare in Rand’s time, especially after Egwene’s dreams about Mat “bowling” and knocking down people. As technology advances, it is a natural consequence for warfare to become more brutal. However, what we see from Mat’s attitude is also an increase in brutality—necessary, perhaps, but still different from the rules of war that have governed at least the latter half of this Age. I wouldn’t say that guerrilla warfare is inherently more brutal than other styles, but going up against a foe that is much stronger than you in number and resources does require a certain level of hardness. Mat can’t afford to help the Seanchan soldiers even if he wants to. And as we know, the Seanchan themselves give very little quarter, and the forces of the Dark give none.</p> <p>The Last Battle is coming, and there will certainly be no room for mercy towards those enemies, or even mercy towards your own forces—hence the justifications for things like alliances with the Seanchan and tolerance of the <em>damane </em>system. Not to mention Rand’s dehumanization of himself and his fellow Asha’man.&nbsp;</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots" /> <p>Next week we’ll be returning to Perrin and Faile, and at least the precursor to the final battle in Malden. I intend to cover chapters 28 and 29, possibly a little more or less depending on how complicated everything is. Hopefully not to complicated—I’m tired of waiting! Though not as tired of it as Perrin is. I’ll see you all then![end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-ambushes-and-surprises-abound-in-knife-of-dreams-part-20/">Reading The Wheel of Time: Ambushes and Surprises Abound in &lt;i&gt;Knife of Dreams&lt;/i&gt; (Part 20)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-ambushes-and-surprises-abound-in-knife-of-dreams-part-20/">https://reactormag.com/reading-the-wheel-of-time-ambushes-and-surprises-abound-in-knife-of-dreams-part-20/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=818259">https://reactormag.com/?p=818259</a></p>

<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Drew McCaffrey</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapters-78-80/">https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapters-78-80/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=817798">https://reactormag.com/?p=817798</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-vertical"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/books/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Books 0"> Books </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/wind-and-truth-reread/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Wind and Truth Reread 1"> Wind and Truth Reread </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1"><i>Wind and Truth</i> Reread: Chapters 78-80</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">Day Seven begins with visions of the past and foreboding for the future.</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/lyndsey-luther/" title="Posts by Lyndsey Luther" class="author url fn" rel="author">Lyndsey Luther</a>, <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/paige-vest/" title="Posts by Paige Vest" class="author url fn" rel="author">Paige Vest</a>, <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/drew-mccaffrey/" title="Posts by Drew McCaffrey" class="author url fn" rel="author">Drew McCaffrey</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 14, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapters-78-80/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path stroke="#000" d="M5.9 14.4v-.5H1.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3-1.3V1.8A1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.8.5h14.4a1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.3 1.3v10.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3 1.3h-5.698l-.146.147-3.324 3.333a.417.417 0 0 1-.282.12H6.3a.4.4 0 0 1-.4-.4v-2.7Z" /> </g> </svg> 1 </a> <details class="relative quick-access-details"> <summary class="quick-access-share flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 22 22" aria-label="share" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-share-new-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-share-new-quick-access-">Share New</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <circle cx="11" cy="11" r="11" fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" /> <circle cx="11" cy="11" r="10.5" stroke="#000" /> <path fill="#FFF" d="M5.993 13.464c.675 0 1.323-.266 1.806-.743l4.11 2.396a2.639 2.639 0 0 0 .368 2.451 2.583 2.583 0 0 0 2.227 1.043 2.59 2.59 0 0 0 2.09-1.3 2.64 2.64 0 0 0 .08-2.477 2.58 2.58 0 0 0-4.292-.54L8.344 11.94c.28-.616.31-1.319.086-1.958l3.952-2.303a2.564 2.564 0 0 0 4.263-.537 2.623 2.623 0 0 0-.078-2.46 2.573 2.573 0 0 0-2.075-1.293 2.566 2.566 0 0 0-2.213 1.033 2.622 2.622 0 0 0-.37 2.433L7.96 9.158a2.573 2.573 0 0 0-4.316.603 2.632 2.632 0 0 0 .172 2.501 2.58 2.58 0 0 0 2.178 1.202Z" /> <path fill="#000" d="M6.936 9.577c.322 0 .631.137.859.383.228.245.355.577.355.924 0 .347-.127.68-.355.925a1.172 1.172 0 0 1-.859.383c-.322 0-.63-.138-.858-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.356-.925c0-.347.129-.679.356-.924.228-.245.536-.383.858-.383Zm6.17-3.837c.323 0 .631.138.86.383.227.245.355.578.355.924 0 .347-.128.68-.356.925a1.172 1.172 0 0 1-.858.383c-.322 0-.631-.138-.859-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.355-.925c0-.346.128-.678.356-.924.227-.245.536-.383.858-.383Zm0 7.883c.323 0 .631.138.86.383.227.245.355.578.355.925 0 .346-.128.679-.356.924a1.171 1.171 0 0 1-.858.383c-.322 0-.631-.138-.859-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.355-.925c0-.346.128-.678.356-.923.227-.245.536-.383.858-.384Zm-6.17-.681c.499 0 .978-.21 1.334-.586l3.036 1.888a2.194 2.194 0 0 0 .272 1.93c.385.555 1.003.863 1.645.822.641-.04 1.221-.425 1.544-1.024a2.203 2.203 0 0 0 .059-1.952c-.286-.62-.841-1.044-1.48-1.13-.637-.085-1.272.18-1.69.705l-2.984-1.854c.207-.486.23-1.04.064-1.543l2.92-1.815c.415.522 1.046.784 1.68.7.633-.086 1.184-.507 1.468-1.123a2.188 2.188 0 0 0-.058-1.938c-.32-.595-.895-.977-1.532-1.018-.638-.041-1.251.264-1.635.813a2.179 2.179 0 0 0-.273 1.917L8.389 9.55c-.423-.534-1.07-.798-1.715-.702-.645.096-1.2.54-1.472 1.177a2.194 2.194 0 0 0 .126 1.97c.352.59.958.948 1.61.947Z" /> </g> </svg> Share </summary> <div class="quick-access-bubble"> <ul class="flex gap-6 text-black list-none"> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=&lt;i&gt;Wind and Truth&lt;/i&gt; Reread: Chapters 78-80&amp;url=https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapters-78-80/” target=”_blank” title=”Twitter”&gt; &lt;svg class=" w-[18px]="w-[18px]" h-[15px]"="h-[15px]&quot;" width="18" height="15" viewbox="0 0 18 15" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="twitter" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M17.7143 2.56767C17.2122 3.28347 16.6053 3.89336 15.8934 4.39734C15.9009 4.4996 15.9046 4.65298 15.9046 4.8575C15.9046 5.80703 15.7623 6.75472 15.4775 7.7006C15.1928 8.64649 14.76 9.55401 14.1793 10.4232C13.5986 11.2924 12.9073 12.0611 12.1055 12.7295C11.3037 13.3978 10.3371 13.931 9.20558 14.329C8.07408 14.7271 6.86392 14.9262 5.57505 14.9262C3.54435 14.9262 1.68601 14.3966 0 13.3375C0.262269 13.3667 0.554506 13.3813 0.876722 13.3813C2.56274 13.3813 4.06514 12.8774 5.38397 11.8694C4.59717 11.8548 3.8928 11.6192 3.27085 11.1627C2.6489 10.7062 2.22178 10.1237 1.98949 9.41523C2.23677 9.45175 2.46531 9.47001 2.67513 9.47001C2.99734 9.47001 3.31581 9.42984 3.63053 9.3495C2.79127 9.1815 2.09627 8.77431 1.5455 8.12789C0.99474 7.48148 0.719362 6.73099 0.719362 5.87641V5.83259C1.22891 6.11015 1.77592 6.25988 2.36041 6.28179C1.86584 5.96041 1.47245 5.54043 1.1802 5.02184C0.887961 4.50325 0.741842 3.94084 0.741842 3.3346C0.741842 2.69184 0.906694 2.09656 1.2364 1.54875C2.1431 2.63707 3.24649 3.50807 4.54659 4.16178C5.84669 4.8155 7.23857 5.17887 8.72226 5.25192C8.66232 4.97436 8.63234 4.70411 8.63234 4.44116C8.63234 3.46241 8.9864 2.62793 9.69452 1.9377C10.4027 1.24746 11.2588 0.902344 12.2629 0.902344C13.3119 0.902344 14.1962 1.27485 14.9155 2.01987C15.7323 1.86648 16.5004 1.58162 17.2197 1.16529C16.9425 2.00526 16.4104 2.65532 15.6236 3.11548C16.3205 3.04244 17.0174 2.85984 17.7143 2.56767Z" fill="currentColor" /> <path d="M17.7143 2.56767C17.2122 3.28347 16.6053 3.89336 15.8934 4.39734C15.9009 4.4996 15.9046 4.65298 15.9046 4.8575C15.9046 5.80703 15.7623 6.75472 15.4775 7.7006C15.1928 8.64649 14.76 9.55401 14.1793 10.4232C13.5986 11.2924 12.9073 12.0611 12.1055 12.7295C11.3037 13.3978 10.3371 13.931 9.20558 14.329C8.07408 14.7271 6.86392 14.9262 5.57505 14.9262C3.54435 14.9262 1.68601 14.3966 0 13.3375C0.262269 13.3667 0.554506 13.3813 0.876722 13.3813C2.56274 13.3813 4.06514 12.8774 5.38397 11.8694C4.59717 11.8548 3.8928 11.6192 3.27085 11.1627C2.6489 10.7062 2.22178 10.1237 1.98949 9.41523C2.23677 9.45175 2.46531 9.47001 2.67513 9.47001C2.99734 9.47001 3.31581 9.42984 3.63053 9.3495C2.79127 9.1815 2.09627 8.77431 1.5455 8.12789C0.99474 7.48148 0.719362 6.73099 0.719362 5.87641V5.83259C1.22891 6.11015 1.77592 6.25988 2.36041 6.28179C1.86584 5.96041 1.47245 5.54043 1.1802 5.02184C0.887961 4.50325 0.741842 3.94084 0.741842 3.3346C0.741842 2.69184 0.906694 2.09656 1.2364 1.54875C2.1431 2.63707 3.24649 3.50807 4.54659 4.16178C5.84669 4.8155 7.23857 5.17887 8.72226 5.25192C8.66232 4.97436 8.63234 4.70411 8.63234 4.44116C8.63234 3.46241 8.9864 2.62793 9.69452 1.9377C10.4027 1.24746 11.2588 0.902344 12.2629 0.902344C13.3119 0.902344 14.1962 1.27485 14.9155 2.01987C15.7323 1.86648 16.5004 1.58162 17.2197 1.16529C16.9425 2.00526 16.4104 2.65532 15.6236 3.11548C16.3205 3.04244 17.0174 2.85984 17.7143 2.56767Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapters-78-80/" target="_blank" title="Facebook"> <svg class="w-[9px] h-[18px]" fill="currentColor" viewbox="0 0 12 22" width="100%" height="100%" display="block" transitionduration="normal" transitionproperty="none" transitiontimingfunction="ease-out" class="w-[9px] h-[18px]" aria-label="facebook" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M11.558.004L8.677 0C5.44 0 3.349 2.125 3.349 5.416v2.496H.452A.45.45 0 000 8.36v3.618a.45.45 0 00.452.447h2.897v9.127A.45.45 0 003.8 22h3.778c.25 0 .451-.2.451-.448v-9.127h3.387c.25 0 .451-.2.451-.447l.003-3.618a.452.452 0 00-.456-.448h-3.39V5.795c0-1.017.245-1.534 1.582-1.534h1.941c.25 0 .452-.2.452-.447V.457a.45.45 0 00-.452-.448l.01-.005z" fill-rule="nonzero"> </path> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapters-78-80/&amp;media=&amp;description=&lt;i&gt;Wind and Truth&lt;/i&gt; Reread: Chapters 78-80″ target=”_blank” title=”Pinterest”&gt; &lt;svg class=" w-[18px]="w-[18px]" h-[18px]"="h-[18px]&quot;" width="18" height="18" viewbox="0 0 18 18" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="pinterest" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M16.4962 4.49458C17.2844 5.84153 17.6786 7.31473 17.6786 8.91423C17.6786 10.5137 17.2844 11.9888 16.4962 13.3396C15.7079 14.6904 14.6384 15.7599 13.2876 16.5482C11.9368 17.3364 10.4617 17.7306 8.86223 17.7306C8.01273 17.7306 7.17856 17.6081 6.35967 17.3632C6.81121 16.6515 7.10967 16.0239 7.25508 15.4806C7.32396 15.2203 7.53059 14.413 7.87498 13.0584C8.02804 13.3568 8.30738 13.6151 8.71299 13.8332C9.1186 14.0513 9.55483 14.1604 10.0217 14.1604C10.9477 14.1604 11.7742 13.8983 12.5013 13.374C13.2283 12.8498 13.7908 12.1285 14.1888 11.2101C14.5867 10.2918 14.7857 9.25862 14.7857 8.11066C14.7857 7.2382 14.558 6.41933 14.1027 5.65402C13.6473 4.88871 12.9872 4.26499 12.1224 3.78285C11.2576 3.3007 10.2819 3.05964 9.19513 3.05964C8.39156 3.05964 7.64157 3.1706 6.94513 3.39254C6.2487 3.61448 5.65751 3.90912 5.17154 4.27647C4.68556 4.64382 4.26848 5.06665 3.92026 5.54497C3.57205 6.02329 3.31567 6.51882 3.15113 7.03157C2.98659 7.54433 2.90432 8.05708 2.90432 8.56984C2.90432 9.36576 3.05738 10.066 3.3635 10.6706C3.66962 11.2752 4.11732 11.6999 4.70661 11.9448C4.93621 12.0367 5.08161 11.9601 5.14284 11.7152C5.15814 11.6617 5.18876 11.5431 5.23467 11.3594C5.28059 11.1757 5.3112 11.0609 5.32651 11.015C5.37243 10.839 5.33034 10.6744 5.20024 10.5214C4.80993 10.0545 4.61478 9.47673 4.61478 8.78795C4.61478 7.63233 5.01464 6.63936 5.81439 5.809C6.61414 4.97864 7.66069 4.56346 8.95406 4.56346C10.1097 4.56346 11.0108 4.87723 11.6575 5.50479C12.3042 6.13234 12.6275 6.94739 12.6275 7.94994C12.6275 9.25097 12.3654 10.3568 11.8412 11.2675C11.3169 12.1783 10.6454 12.6336 9.82651 12.6336C9.35967 12.6336 8.98468 12.4672 8.70151 12.1343C8.41835 11.8013 8.33034 11.4015 8.43748 10.9346C8.49871 10.6668 8.60011 10.309 8.74169 9.86129C8.88327 9.41359 8.99807 9.01946 9.08608 8.67889C9.17409 8.33833 9.21809 8.04943 9.21809 7.81219C9.21809 7.42953 9.11478 7.11193 8.90814 6.85938C8.70151 6.60683 8.40687 6.48055 8.02422 6.48055C7.54972 6.48055 7.14794 6.69866 6.81886 7.13489C6.48977 7.57112 6.32524 8.11448 6.32524 8.76499C6.32524 9.32367 6.4209 9.7905 6.61223 10.1655L5.47575 14.964C5.34564 15.4997 5.2959 16.177 5.32651 16.9959C3.74997 16.2994 2.47575 15.2242 1.50381 13.7701C0.531863 12.316 0.0458984 10.6974 0.0458984 8.91423C0.0458984 7.31473 0.440027 5.83962 1.2283 4.48884C2.01657 3.13807 3.08607 2.06857 4.43684 1.2803C5.78761 0.492029 7.26273 0.0979004 8.86223 0.0979004C10.4617 0.0979004 11.9368 0.492029 13.2876 1.2803C14.6384 2.06857 15.7079 3.13999 16.4962 4.49458Z" fill="currentColor" /> <path d="M16.4962 4.49458C17.2844 5.84153 17.6786 7.31473 17.6786 8.91423C17.6786 10.5137 17.2844 11.9888 16.4962 13.3396C15.7079 14.6904 14.6384 15.7599 13.2876 16.5482C11.9368 17.3364 10.4617 17.7306 8.86223 17.7306C8.01273 17.7306 7.17856 17.6081 6.35967 17.3632C6.81121 16.6515 7.10967 16.0239 7.25508 15.4806C7.32396 15.2203 7.53059 14.413 7.87498 13.0584C8.02804 13.3568 8.30738 13.6151 8.71299 13.8332C9.1186 14.0513 9.55483 14.1604 10.0217 14.1604C10.9477 14.1604 11.7742 13.8983 12.5013 13.374C13.2283 12.8498 13.7908 12.1285 14.1888 11.2101C14.5867 10.2918 14.7857 9.25862 14.7857 8.11066C14.7857 7.2382 14.558 6.41933 14.1027 5.65402C13.6473 4.88871 12.9872 4.26499 12.1224 3.78285C11.2576 3.3007 10.2819 3.05964 9.19513 3.05964C8.39156 3.05964 7.64157 3.1706 6.94513 3.39254C6.2487 3.61448 5.65751 3.90912 5.17154 4.27647C4.68556 4.64382 4.26848 5.06665 3.92026 5.54497C3.57205 6.02329 3.31567 6.51882 3.15113 7.03157C2.98659 7.54433 2.90432 8.05708 2.90432 8.56984C2.90432 9.36576 3.05738 10.066 3.3635 10.6706C3.66962 11.2752 4.11732 11.6999 4.70661 11.9448C4.93621 12.0367 5.08161 11.9601 5.14284 11.7152C5.15814 11.6617 5.18876 11.5431 5.23467 11.3594C5.28059 11.1757 5.3112 11.0609 5.32651 11.015C5.37243 10.839 5.33034 10.6744 5.20024 10.5214C4.80993 10.0545 4.61478 9.47673 4.61478 8.78795C4.61478 7.63233 5.01464 6.63936 5.81439 5.809C6.61414 4.97864 7.66069 4.56346 8.95406 4.56346C10.1097 4.56346 11.0108 4.87723 11.6575 5.50479C12.3042 6.13234 12.6275 6.94739 12.6275 7.94994C12.6275 9.25097 12.3654 10.3568 11.8412 11.2675C11.3169 12.1783 10.6454 12.6336 9.82651 12.6336C9.35967 12.6336 8.98468 12.4672 8.70151 12.1343C8.41835 11.8013 8.33034 11.4015 8.43748 10.9346C8.49871 10.6668 8.60011 10.309 8.74169 9.86129C8.88327 9.41359 8.99807 9.01946 9.08608 8.67889C9.17409 8.33833 9.21809 8.04943 9.21809 7.81219C9.21809 7.42953 9.11478 7.11193 8.90814 6.85938C8.70151 6.60683 8.40687 6.48055 8.02422 6.48055C7.54972 6.48055 7.14794 6.69866 6.81886 7.13489C6.48977 7.57112 6.32524 8.11448 6.32524 8.76499C6.32524 9.32367 6.4209 9.7905 6.61223 10.1655L5.47575 14.964C5.34564 15.4997 5.2959 16.177 5.32651 16.9959C3.74997 16.2994 2.47575 15.2242 1.50381 13.7701C0.531863 12.316 0.0458984 10.6974 0.0458984 8.91423C0.0458984 7.31473 0.440027 5.83962 1.2283 4.48884C2.01657 3.13807 3.08607 2.06857 4.43684 1.2803C5.78761 0.492029 7.26273 0.0979004 8.86223 0.0979004C10.4617 0.0979004 11.9368 0.492029 13.2876 1.2803C14.6384 2.06857 15.7079 3.13999 16.4962 4.49458Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://reactormag.com/feed/" target="_blank" title="RSS Feed"> <svg class="w-[17px] h-[17px]" width="18" height="18" viewbox="0 0 18 18" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="rss feed" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <g clip-path="url(#clip0_1051_121783)"> <path d="M2.67871 17.4143C2.12871 17.4143 1.65771 17.2183 1.26571 16.8263C0.873713 16.4343 0.678046 15.9636 0.678713 15.4143C0.678713 14.8643 0.874713 14.3933 1.26671 14.0013C1.65871 13.6093 2.12938 13.4136 2.67871 13.4143C3.22871 13.4143 3.69971 13.6103 4.09171 14.0023C4.48371 14.3943 4.67938 14.865 4.67871 15.4143C4.67871 15.9643 4.48271 16.4353 4.09071 16.8273C3.69871 17.2193 3.22805 17.415 2.67871 17.4143ZM14.6787 17.4143C14.6787 15.481 14.312 13.6683 13.5787 11.9763C12.8454 10.2843 11.841 8.80097 10.5657 7.52631C9.29171 6.25164 7.80871 5.24764 6.11671 4.51431C4.42471 3.78097 2.61205 3.41431 0.678713 3.41431V0.414307C3.02871 0.414307 5.23705 0.860306 7.30371 1.75231C9.37038 2.64431 11.1704 3.85664 12.7037 5.38931C14.237 6.92264 15.4497 8.72264 16.3417 10.7893C17.2337 12.856 17.6794 15.0643 17.6787 17.4143H14.6787ZM8.67871 17.4143C8.67871 15.1976 7.89971 13.31 6.34171 11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" /> <path d="M2.67871 17.4143C2.12871 17.4143 1.65771 17.2183 1.26571 16.8263C0.873713 16.4343 0.678046 15.9636 0.678713 15.4143C0.678713 14.8643 0.874713 14.3933 1.26671 14.0013C1.65871 13.6093 2.12938 13.4136 2.67871 13.4143C3.22871 13.4143 3.69971 13.6103 4.09171 14.0023C4.48371 14.3943 4.67938 14.865 4.67871 15.4143C4.67871 15.9643 4.48271 16.4353 4.09071 16.8273C3.69871 17.2193 3.22805 17.415 2.67871 17.4143ZM14.6787 17.4143C14.6787 15.481 14.312 13.6683 13.5787 11.9763C12.8454 10.2843 11.841 8.80097 10.5657 7.52631C9.29171 6.25164 7.80871 5.24764 6.11671 4.51431C4.42471 3.78097 2.61205 3.41431 0.678713 3.41431V0.414307C3.02871 0.414307 5.23705 0.860306 7.30371 1.75231C9.37038 2.64431 11.1704 3.85664 12.7037 5.38931C14.237 6.92264 15.4497 8.72264 16.3417 10.7893C17.2337 12.856 17.6794 15.0643 17.6787 17.4143H14.6787ZM8.67871 17.4143C8.67871 15.1976 7.89971 13.31 6.34171 11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="407" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/wind-and-truth-reread-header-740x407.png" class="w-full object-cover" alt="Cover of Brandon Sanderson&#39;s Wind and Truth" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/wind-and-truth-reread-header-740x407.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/wind-and-truth-reread-header-1100x605.png 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/wind-and-truth-reread-header-768x422.png 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/wind-and-truth-reread-header.png 1400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <p>Welcome to Day Seven, Cosmere Chickens! Things are certainly heating up on a <em>lot</em> of fronts this week. The war on the Shattered Plains is growing more desperate, Azimir is in deep, deep trouble, and Queen Fen of Thaylenah and Jasnah face a difficult decision. Meanwhile, in the Spiritual Realm, Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain are having to face some hard truths about their pasts. We have a lot to delve into this week (as always), so please join in for this week’s installment of the <em>Wind and Truth </em>Reread!</p> <p>The book has been out long enough that most of you will hopefully have finished, and as such, this series shall now function as a re-read rather than a read-along. That means there <em>will</em> be spoilers for the end of the book (as well as <strong>full Cosmere spoilers</strong>, so beware if you aren’t caught up on all Cosmere content).</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Paige’s Commentary: Plot Arcs</h3> <p>It’s Day 7, and we’re drawing ever closer to the contest of champions! Let’s dive in with chapter 78, “A True Radiant,” which opens with Sigzil planning out the next phase of his defense. He doubts himself, as he always does, but he speaks up for what he believes they should do and the other generals listen to him. They’re trying to keep the singers and Fused away from Narak Prime and the Oathgate, so they concoct a plan to draw the enemy where they want them to go, in order to keep the focus off of the Oathgate. At least for the time being. But as Sigzil knows all too well, they’re dangerously low on Stormlight and doing all they can to conserve it. This plotline is full of desperation, as are most of them in this book, but somehow the circumstances surrounding Sigzil and his troops and the situation in Azimir feel the most precarious as things stand at the start of Day 7.</p> <p>Sig heads out and speaks to a few soldiers, trying to bolster their confidence, and it feels remarkably like what Adolin often does in terms of remembering names and speaking to as many soldiers as he can. It’s quite heartwarming. As he seeks out Leyten, he asks Vienta about how long they might last with the Stormlight they have. Her answer is not encouraging: She doesn’t think it likely that they’ll last three more days. When he finds Leyten, his friend is in a reflective mood, asking Sigzil, “[D]o I belong here?” He’s doubting himself, and doesn’t feel like he’s a true Radiant, but Sig invokes Kaladin and since Leyten respects their former commander, he accepts that Kaladin trusted them to be in charge. As he encourages Leyten, Sigzil realizes that he’s found himself. It’s extremely satisfying to see him accept what he’s become and embrace the challenge of leading:</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Sigzil was, at long last, the man he’d always wanted to be.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>POV Shift!</p> <p>Venli and her comrades are in the chasms with the chasmfiends, heading toward Narak. They encounter an obstruction and the chasmfiends just pick them all up and carry them over it. Those big guys are quite handy! Venli talks with Leshwi, who doesn’t think she can go on, feeling useless and purposeless. Venli assures her that she was strong enough to walk away from Odium—and that was the hard part—and tells her that if she stays with the listeners, Leshwi won’t be a god among them, but she will be free.</p> <p>Then there’s a cool moment, when Venli feels Curiosity from the big daddy chasmfiend; Venli guesses that he wants to know the source of the song as much as the listeners do. The chasmfiend, Thundercloud, finds a bridge wedged in the chasm and lifts Venli up to look at it. Another cool bit is how she projects to Thundercloud what the bridge would have looked like when it was new. I love the way they can communicate in these ways!</p> <p>POV Shift!</p> <p>Jasnah and Fen receive a message from the Windrunners who went to scout out the singer fleet on its way to Thaylen City. They confirm that the ships are full of rocks and that it’s a fake force. Fen knows that Jasnah now wants to move Radiants to the Shattered Plains, but she’s worried about her city and the likelihood of her people being attacked without those forces to protect them. Jasnah says she has Dalinar’s authority to send the Radiants and Fen doesn’t like that answer. Jasnah, however, is determined to do the most good, and she feels certain that means assisting the forces at Narak.</p> <p>Chapter 79 is titled “The Rhythm of Longing” and features POVs from Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain. They’re each in a vision, embodying a past version of themselves, watching scenes transpire from their youth or, as in Rlain’s case, their relatively recent past. It’s a pretty straightforward chapter, with events we’ve read about before: Shallan remembers telling stories to her frightened brothers as they’re all hiding during a fight between their parents; Renarin is remembering a time Adolin rescued him from bullies; and Rlain is remembering when he “volunteered” to take dullform and be a spy among the humans. They’re all sad memories, but these experiences got our Radiants to where they are now.</p> <p>Chapter 80 is titled “Seeing the Future” and starts with Adolin learning how to use binoculars. He thinks they’re incredible and says he wants a hundred of them, but Colot breaks it to him that there’s only one pair, and that Adolin is holding them. Peering through the binoculars, they observe some Heavenly Ones in the distance, and Adolin gets the feeling that something is going to happen today.</p> <p>POV Shift!</p> <p>Navani is in the past at Urithiru and she and Dalinar see people leaving with all of their belongings. They find the Tower Bondsmith of that day trying to mediate a talk between a Windrunner and a group of a hundred Skybreakers. Navani names him Melishi and Dalinar tries to send her close to him using Connection, but instead she finds herself in Melishi’s body.</p> <p>The Windrunner is telling one of the Skybreakers that they need to stay together but one Skybreaker speaks for the others and she says that “the fight” is not their fight. The Windrunner disagrees and both he and the Skybreaker spokeswoman look to Melishi—Navani—to mediate. She doesn’t know what to say so she asks to discuss it in a calmer setting, which sets off the Skybreaker. She accuses the Windrunner of deception and running cons, and demands to know what he’s hiding. She knows where they came from and how humankind destroyed their old world and complains that the Windrunner and Melishi refuse to let her tell everyone. Then she reveals that they’ve already told everyone else the truth before she abruptly departs.</p> <p>The Windrunner speaks with Melishi/Navani and he tells her he’ll gather the Radiants but that a fight is coming. Before he goes, Navani tries to get more information and asks him about the accusations that he’s been lying, and what he’s been lying about, but the Windrunner remains cold and unyielding, leaving without explaining.</p> <p>POV Shift!</p> <p>Back to Adolin, where he consults with Kushkam and they try to make a plan out of a seemingly hopeless situation. They discuss plugging the tunnels into the dome over the Oathgate and Kushkam says he’ll work on it. Adolin hears Maya saying that help is coming and, of course, thinks she’s bringing Windrunner spren. Kushkam doesn’t know what good that will do them, and Adolin feels much the same way.</p> <p>As Adolin goes to check on his Plate, he encounters the young girl who wanted to join the Alethi army. He had sent her to May to learn archery but, unfortunately, she’s not very good at it; she’s just too small to draw a bow. May sends her off and has a pointed word with Adolin about the necessity of getting enough sleep. She’s too funny; she says she’s his ex, so she’s the closest thing his wife has to an advocate. It made me like her a lot more when she said that!</p> <p>Notum shows up and says that he can see glimpses into Shadesmar but suddenly sees something very unsettling: a thunderclast soul. Adolin immediately runs outside, shouting and calling for his armor. Then he sees the hulking form rising from the field: The thunderclast has arrived.</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Lyndsey’s Commentary: Character Arcs &amp; Maps</h3> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="839" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-78.png" alt="Wind and Truth Chapter Arch - Chapter 78" class="wp-image-817804" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-78.png 1500w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-78-740x414.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-78-1100x615.png 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-78-768x430.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure> <p>Chapter 78 has an interesting blend of Heralds portrayed on its deteriorating arch. Battah, patron of the Elsecallers and the Counselor, serves two purposes here: She’s symbolic of a chapter in which Jasnah appears, and her role is also emblematic of Sigzil, who is functioning as a strategic counselor. Sig (and Queen Fen) are also displaying attributes of leadership, which accounts for Jezrien’s inclusion. And Kalak is here for Venli’s POV, in his position as patron of the Willshapers.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="811" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-79.png" alt="Wind and Truth Chapter Arch - Chapter 79" class="wp-image-817803" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-79.png 1500w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-79-740x400.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-79-1100x595.png 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-79-768x415.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure> <p>Chapter 79’s arch Heralds are Shalash, Palah, and Jezrien. This is a VERY heavily character-driven chapter, with deep dives into Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain’s pasts and events which shaped them into the people they are today. As such, Shalash (patron of the Lightweavers) and Palah (patron of the Truthwatchers) make sense to be included here. But why Jezrien? As has happened often times over the last couple months, I’m mystified as to his inclusion. We see no leadership (except in Eshonai’s actions, but that would be a stretch) or Windrunners here.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="839" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-80.png" alt="Wind and Truth Chapter Arch - Chapter 80" class="wp-image-817802" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-80.png 1500w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-80-740x414.png 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-80-1100x615.png 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-Chapter-Arch-Chapter-80-768x430.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure> <p>Finally, we have Jezrien, Vedel, and Battah heading up chapter 80. Jezrien likely represents Adolin, who’s making some big leadership and strategy decisions over in Azimir, as well as the Windrunner we see in Navani’s vision over in the Spiritual Realm. Battah can also stand for Adolin, as he’s serving as a wise counselor, carefully going over the tactics and studying the battlefield in order to hold out as long as possible. Vedel often appears on Adolin chapters, as the order he’s most closely aligned with are the Edgedancers.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Leyten</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“He died, you know,” Leyten said, with a half smirk. “Two bridge runs later. Gabaron, the man who consigned me to the bridge crews? Dead.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>We can hardly blame Leyten for a touch of schadenfreude here. When someone sends you off to <em>literally die</em> for an imaginary offense, only the very best of people wouldn’t feel a touch of justice in watching this fate unfold.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“I’m not a true Radiant, Sig. I’m a guy who likes to sit and count how many uniforms we need before we run out. I don’t belong in the sky, glowing.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Ah, imposter syndrome. And maybe a touch of survivor’s guilt as well.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>&#8220;Sig… I miss him, Kaladin. But you should know, I’m just as proud to serve under you.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Nothing like a heartfelt discussion in which two characters really connect and share their deepest insecurities to signal that one of them’s about to die.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Sigzil</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>As the camp rushed to execute his plans, and his generals found his ideas worthwhile, Sigzil discovered something remarkable.<br><br>This was him. This man who could lead.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>And, speaking of things that narratively foreshadow the reader to coming events… What’s this, Sigzil, believing in himself? Well, obviously he’s about to get knocked down a peg (or in this case, a whole ladder). Otherwise how will he climb back up?</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Here, beneath red lightning and on a plain full of chasms he’d claimed as his own, Sigzil found himself. In a way that training with Master Hoid, or learning beneath Kaladin, had never done for him.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>On the one hand, I’m happy for him that he’s finally found acceptance of his place and his value. On the other, knowing full well what’s about to happen to him… this is utterly heartbreaking.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Venli</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Even with all that, she found she loved this place.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>This whole sequence of observations from Venli is truly beautiful. She has grown enough that she’s not focused on herself, but rather on the beauty of the nature around her. Her journey from self-absorbed jerk only out for herself to a fully realized, empathic individual is quite a thing to witness.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Leshwi/Venli</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“You were strong enough,” Venli said to Praise, “to turn against your orders, your own kind, and your god because you knew it was right. <em>That</em> was the difficult part, Leshwi. Just keep going.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>It’s wild, knowing where Venli started her character journey, to see her displaying this level of empathy for another.</p> <p>On Leshwi’s side, I can only imagine how difficult it must be to change yourself when you’ve spent <em>literal millennia </em>as one thing… then having that taken from you, and having to not only rebuild who you are, but to lose the things you loved most (namely, flight). Leshwi is learning to grapple with a disability; it’s the equivalent of someone losing the ability to walk.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Queen Fen</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>But what if by listening to you now, I throw everything away, Jasnah?</p></blockquote></figure> <p>I’m glad that Jasnah doesn’t immediately discount this fear, because it <em>is</em> a valid one. Queen Fen has a lot at risk here, and a huge amount of responsibility as the leader and protector of her people.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Jasnah</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p><em>Do the most good</em>, she thought to herself. When decisions grew difficult, she relied on this guiding philosophy.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Interesting, and perhaps we can see a parallel here to Hoid, and a glimpse into why they were initially drawn to one another. Hoid has said that he’d be willing to watch one world burn to save the Cosmere as a whole; the “lives of the many outweigh the lives of the few” concept.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Shallan</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>She was a child. Hiding in a corner. Crying while her parents shouted at each other.<br><br>Hers wasn’t a <em>unique</em> story, she knew.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>But a new piece of information for us. We knew that Shallan’s childhood wasn’t a happy one, of course, but this all-too-real experience of a child watching their parents’ love fall apart is a revelation—especially given what we now know about Shallan’s mother. It seems as though Chana was trying to force herself into a new mold, to recreate herself, and it… was not going well. Was this because of her growing mental instability, or just because she’d spent so much of her long, long, <em>long</em> life as a soldier that her attempt at constraining herself to the bounds of a housewife simply wasn’t sustainable?</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>As an adult, she sometimes told herself the lie that everything had been wonderful up until her mother’s death; but as with many lies in her life, she had let that one live too long.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>As a child of a broken family, I understand this all too well. Some of us do have a tendency to try to look back with rose-tinted glasses; we don’t want to think ill of the people who raised us and loved us.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>This memory was <em>authentic</em> joy. The looks her brothers gave as she ignored her own pain and fear and told them a tale she’d imagined…</p></blockquote></figure> <p>A beautiful memory, and a beautiful gift she gave to her brothers. A moment of peace in a tumultuous household, and a thing that many storytellers and entertainers can relate to. Sometimes, as with people like Robin Williams, those carrying the heaviest burdens can also bring to others the greatest joy.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Together, despite parents who seemed not to care, they became a family <em>anyway</em>.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>In a way, this almost seems like a melding of blood family and found family. They’re related by blood, but still actively <em>choosing</em> one another. In my opinion, this is the strongest bond there can be; shared history, blood, and experience alongside an active effort and choice to continue nurturing the relationship and one another.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Renarin</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>[…] the elder him saw something new he’d missed when younger. Those nervous postures, the way the boys kept glancing to one another, feeding their actions with nods? These boys… they were <em>afraid</em>.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>How perceptive of him! I’m not surprised that he missed it when he was younger; he was so focused on his own fear that the fear and pain of others wouldn’t be as obvious.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Why would his friends—people he <em>perceived</em> as his friends—treat him this way? Where had these sudden emotions come from? What had he done wrong, and could he be sure to never do it again?</p></blockquote></figure> <p>These social anxieties are so <em>real</em>, and reveal a deeply kind and naive little boy. Betrayal often hits people like Renarin the hardest.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>And storms, Renarin loved him for it. He didn’t need saving as he once had, but he <em>remembered</em> how it felt when Adolin had shown up. Like a hero from some story…</p></blockquote></figure> <p>You know, Sanderson <em>could </em>have gone the route of Renarin resenting Adolin for saving him, but I’m glad he went with the less cliché one. It also makes Renarin a more kind and relatable character, I think, that he resents <em>himself</em> rather than the person coming to his aid.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p><em>What will this day do to the young you?</em><br><br>“Show me that I can’t trust people,” Renarin said. “Because I can’t read them. For years I was afraid that every friend would turn out to secretly hate me.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Hoo boy. This is an anxiety I’m <em>intimately </em>familiar with. When someone you trust betrays you, it cuts deep and leaves a scar that never really heals.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Adolin</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Adolin Kholin had been protecting the weak since he could walk. Strange, that Renarin was now the knight.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>This is an interesting observation, and one that several characters voice. I think what it all comes down to is that pesky “I am what I see myself to be” aspect of the Radiant powers. Adolin doesn’t ever see himself as a Radiant; he doesn’t <em>want</em> to take the Oaths, to be beholden so tightly to his word. And so he becomes something else, still protecting those who cannot protect themselves, but in his own way.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Rlain</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>They’d just been talking about how the parshmen were invisible to humans, but they treated him the same way a lot of the time.<br><br>He waited for the objections, or at least for someone to say they’d miss him. Instead they all perked up.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Poor, poor Rlain. It seems like he’s unwanted and stuck on the outside wherever he goes. With the singers… with Bridge Four… with the people in Urithiru…</p> <p>I went to see <a href="https://reactormag.com/pixars-elio-grapples-with-loneliness-on-earth-and-in-the-communiverse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Elio</em> (the new Pixar film)</a> with my son this week and I can see some parallels here between how Elio felt unwanted and wanted to escape to an alien world. (Side note, but if you’ve enjoyed Pixar films in the past or have small kids, definitely go check <em>Elio</em> out, it’s one of their stronger films and doesn’t seem to be getting much of a media push.) In the past, we’ve discussed in this reread how Rlain’s exclusion is often due to unconscious racism, especially within Bridge Four. And his exclusion from his own people also appears to be, at least partially, because of prejudice; this time for his sexuality. It’s stated that he’d had an unfortunate encounter with another malen while in mateform, and the other singers never treated him the same afterward. Rlain says that he thought they found it amusing, but they’re still treating him like an outsider. Different. Not willing to conform, and unwanted because of it.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>No, they simply… well, they didn’t know him. They didn’t care to know him. He was always there, but never relevant. The quiet one at the edge of the conversation.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Don’t misunderstand me; It isn’t <em>all</em> due to prejudice. Part of it does just seem to be Rlain’s personality. But I don’t think the mateform incident helped any. The only person who’s ever really, truly wanted him around…</p> <p>…is Renarin. ::<em>swoon</em>::</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>[…] he remembered how not a single one of his friends had spoken up to request he stay.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Ouch.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Navani</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Any fight to defend people is our fight.” <br><br>The Skybreaker sniffed and rolled her eyes. It seemed that dealing with Windrunners was the same regardless of the era.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>This is an interesting take, and not one I’d expect of Navani, to be quite honest. She has never seemed the type to trivialize protecting the downtrodden.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Zabra</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“So…” she said softly. “You’re saying I need to get me a set of Shardplate.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>I appreciate her drive, and I understand her <em>need</em> to be useful, to prove herself worthy, to protect her people. I also appreciate how she <em>does</em> listen to Adolin. Once he gives her a logical reason for why she can’t do certain things, she accepts it. She obviously doesn’t like it, and immediately comes up with a new idea that needs to be shot down, but she <em>does</em> listen.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Strategy</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>[…] what we need to do is make them think that by attacking Narak Three, they’ll be getting what they want: a way to demoralize us.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>In this chapter, we see Sigzil debating with the other generals on the Shattered Plains over what to do with Narak. It is vital that they retain control of Narak Prime, and they go back and forth a bit on whether to pull their troops to defend that plateau alone, or guard the Oathgate on Narak Two.</p> <p>Eventually Sigzil convinces them that the best strategic plan is to fool the enemy into thinking that they have reserves of Stormlight on Narak Three, drawing them to attack it in an effort to demoralize the troops in the remaining three days. In reality, those Stormlight reserves are an illusion, leading the enemy to waste precious time attacking a plateau with no strategic value.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="468" height="308" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-map-detail.jpg" alt="Map Detail from Wind and Truth" class="wp-image-817805" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Dragonsteel</figcaption></figure> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Azimir</strong></h4> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The bronze fortification at the center, roughly circular with a rounded top, had expanded further. […] Outside it was a long, wide ring of stone ground that […] was coated in crusted blood and corpses. … That wide field was also strewn with debris that had been pushed outward, in columns, thirty or forty yards by the attackers as they made their assaults: forming barricades behind which the defending soldiers sometimes took up positions. All together, it formed a star pattern.</p></blockquote></figure> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>The idea was to fill some of the hallways with Soulcast bronze, so when the enemy battered down the door, they found the path had turned solid. Trouble was, if they plugged too many, their own forces couldn’t make it in to fight.</p></blockquote></figure> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>[…] see that larger corridor across the way, where they’ve pushed debris to the sides more than others? I think that happened intentionally, not as part of a failing line. I suspect they’re preparing that corridor for a large assault today.”</p></blockquote></figure> <p>In my little diagram here, I’m assuming those columns to be horizontal rather than vertical, based on the “star pattern” description. I’m also going to assume that the Azish still have a ring of defenders along the outer edge, to stop the singers from leaving the dome. I’ve also drawn a super basic idea of how the hallways likely function; a twisting, labyrinthine warren intended to slow the enemy and force them into close-quarters fighting should they manage to exit the inner dome.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="468" height="430" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wind-and-Truth-map-detail2.jpg" alt="Map Detail from Wind and Truth" class="wp-image-817806" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Dragonsteel</figcaption></figure> <p>Adolin knows the Fused are on the way, which is going to strain their already weak defenses to the breaking point. And, even worse…</p> <p>Here comes the thunderclast.</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Drew’s Commentary: Invested Arts &amp; Theories</h3> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p><em>I’m sorry.</em></p></blockquote></figure> <p>I feel like I’m the one who should be saying this, because the epigraphs in this part of the book aren’t all that exciting. Once upon a time, I harbored a hope that this letter was from Hoid to Valor, laying the groundwork for an epic Shardic-scale tragedy and love story. But I very quickly had to admit that, no, this is Hoid’s reply to Jasnah’s breakup letter.</p> <p>Alas.</p> <p>This is extra disappointing because my section this week is going to be so thin. These three chapters are packed to the brim with character development, introspection, and growth…but they hardly touch on the magical elements of the story and world <em>at all</em>. After a beefy write-up last week, we’ve got slim pickings now.</p> <p>But that doesn’t mean we’ve got <em>nothing</em>.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>A theory: the meeting of storm and storm had never again been so violent as it had been that first time, when plateaus had been destroyed. Was that another clue? Had this location caused the violence of that convergence? Were others weaker because they happened elsewhere? Or was it what they’d guessed originally: that the violence of that first convergence had been caused by the Everstorm’s exultant inception?</p></blockquote></figure> <p>On reread, we understand that Odium’s perpendicularity, hidden below Narak, was the main cause of the more violent meeting of the storms, back in <em>Words of Radiance</em>. Presumably, the growing strength of Odium is also why the Everstorm just plain <em>defeated</em> the highstorm over Narak earlier in <em>Wind and Truth</em>.</p> <p>This has my mind thinking about other potential interactions between Shards, and the importance of perpendicularities. If Sazed had been more capable of action during <em>The Lost Metal</em>, what would have happened in Bilming? Would he have set off some kind of reaction by trying to intervene directly over Autonomy’s shardpool? What about Odium on Sel, or, perhaps most intriguingly, on Threnody? According to Khriss, Threnody doesn’t have a regular shardpool, but rather intermittent and temporary perpendicularities that pop up when some “morbid” event happens (possibly the creation of Shades). If Odium—or Retribution, now—went back to Threnody, we could see some truly crazy stuff happening.</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Our new leader has told us where we came from, what humankind did to its homeworld, and you two refuse to let me tell everyone.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>A minor tidbit here, but an interesting one: Nale took over the Skybreakers shortly before the Recreance. He spent quite a long time after Aharietiam doing who-knows-what, before returning to the fold in his own twisted way.</p> <p>And it seems it was <em>his</em> testimony about Ashyn and the destruction there that put some of the first cracks in the Radiants’ resolve.</p> <p>Unfortunately, that’s all I’ve got, as far as noteworthy lore and theories go. Lyn’s expansive character breakdowns are the real feature this week, but never you worry—there’s plenty more to come!</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots" /> <p><a></a>We’ll be keeping an eye on the comment sections of posts about this article on various social media platforms and may include some of your comments/speculation (with attribution) on future weeks’ articles! Keep the conversation going, and PLEASE remember to spoiler-tag your comments on social media to help preserve the surprise for those who haven’t read the book yet.</p> <p>See you next Monday with our discussion of chapters 81, 82, and 83![end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapters-78-80/">&lt;i&gt;Wind and Truth&lt;/i&gt; Reread: Chapters 78-80</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapters-78-80/">https://reactormag.com/wind-and-truth-reread-chapters-78-80/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=817798">https://reactormag.com/?p=817798</a></p>

<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Molly Templeton</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/maggie-levin-clay-mcleod-chapman-ghost-eaters/">https://reactormag.com/maggie-levin-clay-mcleod-chapman-ghost-eaters/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=818081">https://reactormag.com/?p=818081</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/news/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag News 0"> News </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/ghost-eaters/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Ghost Eaters 1"> Ghost Eaters </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Maggie Levin Will Adapt Clay McLeod Chapman&#8217;s <i>Ghost Eaters</i> for Film</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">Get ready for some really trippy fictional drugs.</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/molly-templeton/" title="Posts by Molly Templeton" class="author url fn" rel="author">Molly Templeton</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 11, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-vertical [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Author photo: Quirk Books</p> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/maggie-levin-clay-mcleod-chapman-ghost-eaters/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path stroke="#000" d="M5.9 14.4v-.5H1.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3-1.3V1.8A1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.8.5h14.4a1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.3 1.3v10.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3 1.3h-5.698l-.146.147-3.324 3.333a.417.417 0 0 1-.282.12H6.3a.4.4 0 0 1-.4-.4v-2.7Z" /> </g> </svg> 0 </a> <details class="relative quick-access-details"> <summary class="quick-access-share flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 22 22" aria-label="share" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-share-new-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-share-new-quick-access-">Share New</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <circle cx="11" cy="11" r="11" fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" /> <circle cx="11" cy="11" r="10.5" stroke="#000" /> <path fill="#FFF" d="M5.993 13.464c.675 0 1.323-.266 1.806-.743l4.11 2.396a2.639 2.639 0 0 0 .368 2.451 2.583 2.583 0 0 0 2.227 1.043 2.59 2.59 0 0 0 2.09-1.3 2.64 2.64 0 0 0 .08-2.477 2.58 2.58 0 0 0-4.292-.54L8.344 11.94c.28-.616.31-1.319.086-1.958l3.952-2.303a2.564 2.564 0 0 0 4.263-.537 2.623 2.623 0 0 0-.078-2.46 2.573 2.573 0 0 0-2.075-1.293 2.566 2.566 0 0 0-2.213 1.033 2.622 2.622 0 0 0-.37 2.433L7.96 9.158a2.573 2.573 0 0 0-4.316.603 2.632 2.632 0 0 0 .172 2.501 2.58 2.58 0 0 0 2.178 1.202Z" /> <path fill="#000" d="M6.936 9.577c.322 0 .631.137.859.383.228.245.355.577.355.924 0 .347-.127.68-.355.925a1.172 1.172 0 0 1-.859.383c-.322 0-.63-.138-.858-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.356-.925c0-.347.129-.679.356-.924.228-.245.536-.383.858-.383Zm6.17-3.837c.323 0 .631.138.86.383.227.245.355.578.355.924 0 .347-.128.68-.356.925a1.172 1.172 0 0 1-.858.383c-.322 0-.631-.138-.859-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.355-.925c0-.346.128-.678.356-.924.227-.245.536-.383.858-.383Zm0 7.883c.323 0 .631.138.86.383.227.245.355.578.355.925 0 .346-.128.679-.356.924a1.171 1.171 0 0 1-.858.383c-.322 0-.631-.138-.859-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.355-.925c0-.346.128-.678.356-.923.227-.245.536-.383.858-.384Zm-6.17-.681c.499 0 .978-.21 1.334-.586l3.036 1.888a2.194 2.194 0 0 0 .272 1.93c.385.555 1.003.863 1.645.822.641-.04 1.221-.425 1.544-1.024a2.203 2.203 0 0 0 .059-1.952c-.286-.62-.841-1.044-1.48-1.13-.637-.085-1.272.18-1.69.705l-2.984-1.854c.207-.486.23-1.04.064-1.543l2.92-1.815c.415.522 1.046.784 1.68.7.633-.086 1.184-.507 1.468-1.123a2.188 2.188 0 0 0-.058-1.938c-.32-.595-.895-.977-1.532-1.018-.638-.041-1.251.264-1.635.813a2.179 2.179 0 0 0-.273 1.917L8.389 9.55c-.423-.534-1.07-.798-1.715-.702-.645.096-1.2.54-1.472 1.177a2.194 2.194 0 0 0 .126 1.97c.352.59.958.948 1.61.947Z" /> </g> </svg> Share </summary> <div class="quick-access-bubble"> <ul class="flex gap-6 text-black list-none"> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Maggie Levin Will Adapt Clay McLeod Chapman’s &lt;i&gt;Ghost Eaters&lt;/i&gt; for Film&amp;url=https://reactormag.com/maggie-levin-clay-mcleod-chapman-ghost-eaters/” target=”_blank” title=”Twitter”&gt; &lt;svg class=" w-[18px]="w-[18px]" h-[15px]"="h-[15px]&quot;" width="18" height="15" viewbox="0 0 18 15" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="twitter" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M17.7143 2.56767C17.2122 3.28347 16.6053 3.89336 15.8934 4.39734C15.9009 4.4996 15.9046 4.65298 15.9046 4.8575C15.9046 5.80703 15.7623 6.75472 15.4775 7.7006C15.1928 8.64649 14.76 9.55401 14.1793 10.4232C13.5986 11.2924 12.9073 12.0611 12.1055 12.7295C11.3037 13.3978 10.3371 13.931 9.20558 14.329C8.07408 14.7271 6.86392 14.9262 5.57505 14.9262C3.54435 14.9262 1.68601 14.3966 0 13.3375C0.262269 13.3667 0.554506 13.3813 0.876722 13.3813C2.56274 13.3813 4.06514 12.8774 5.38397 11.8694C4.59717 11.8548 3.8928 11.6192 3.27085 11.1627C2.6489 10.7062 2.22178 10.1237 1.98949 9.41523C2.23677 9.45175 2.46531 9.47001 2.67513 9.47001C2.99734 9.47001 3.31581 9.42984 3.63053 9.3495C2.79127 9.1815 2.09627 8.77431 1.5455 8.12789C0.99474 7.48148 0.719362 6.73099 0.719362 5.87641V5.83259C1.22891 6.11015 1.77592 6.25988 2.36041 6.28179C1.86584 5.96041 1.47245 5.54043 1.1802 5.02184C0.887961 4.50325 0.741842 3.94084 0.741842 3.3346C0.741842 2.69184 0.906694 2.09656 1.2364 1.54875C2.1431 2.63707 3.24649 3.50807 4.54659 4.16178C5.84669 4.8155 7.23857 5.17887 8.72226 5.25192C8.66232 4.97436 8.63234 4.70411 8.63234 4.44116C8.63234 3.46241 8.9864 2.62793 9.69452 1.9377C10.4027 1.24746 11.2588 0.902344 12.2629 0.902344C13.3119 0.902344 14.1962 1.27485 14.9155 2.01987C15.7323 1.86648 16.5004 1.58162 17.2197 1.16529C16.9425 2.00526 16.4104 2.65532 15.6236 3.11548C16.3205 3.04244 17.0174 2.85984 17.7143 2.56767Z" fill="currentColor" /> <path d="M17.7143 2.56767C17.2122 3.28347 16.6053 3.89336 15.8934 4.39734C15.9009 4.4996 15.9046 4.65298 15.9046 4.8575C15.9046 5.80703 15.7623 6.75472 15.4775 7.7006C15.1928 8.64649 14.76 9.55401 14.1793 10.4232C13.5986 11.2924 12.9073 12.0611 12.1055 12.7295C11.3037 13.3978 10.3371 13.931 9.20558 14.329C8.07408 14.7271 6.86392 14.9262 5.57505 14.9262C3.54435 14.9262 1.68601 14.3966 0 13.3375C0.262269 13.3667 0.554506 13.3813 0.876722 13.3813C2.56274 13.3813 4.06514 12.8774 5.38397 11.8694C4.59717 11.8548 3.8928 11.6192 3.27085 11.1627C2.6489 10.7062 2.22178 10.1237 1.98949 9.41523C2.23677 9.45175 2.46531 9.47001 2.67513 9.47001C2.99734 9.47001 3.31581 9.42984 3.63053 9.3495C2.79127 9.1815 2.09627 8.77431 1.5455 8.12789C0.99474 7.48148 0.719362 6.73099 0.719362 5.87641V5.83259C1.22891 6.11015 1.77592 6.25988 2.36041 6.28179C1.86584 5.96041 1.47245 5.54043 1.1802 5.02184C0.887961 4.50325 0.741842 3.94084 0.741842 3.3346C0.741842 2.69184 0.906694 2.09656 1.2364 1.54875C2.1431 2.63707 3.24649 3.50807 4.54659 4.16178C5.84669 4.8155 7.23857 5.17887 8.72226 5.25192C8.66232 4.97436 8.63234 4.70411 8.63234 4.44116C8.63234 3.46241 8.9864 2.62793 9.69452 1.9377C10.4027 1.24746 11.2588 0.902344 12.2629 0.902344C13.3119 0.902344 14.1962 1.27485 14.9155 2.01987C15.7323 1.86648 16.5004 1.58162 17.2197 1.16529C16.9425 2.00526 16.4104 2.65532 15.6236 3.11548C16.3205 3.04244 17.0174 2.85984 17.7143 2.56767Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://reactormag.com/maggie-levin-clay-mcleod-chapman-ghost-eaters/" target="_blank" title="Facebook"> <svg class="w-[9px] h-[18px]" fill="currentColor" viewbox="0 0 12 22" width="100%" height="100%" display="block" transitionduration="normal" transitionproperty="none" transitiontimingfunction="ease-out" class="w-[9px] h-[18px]" aria-label="facebook" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M11.558.004L8.677 0C5.44 0 3.349 2.125 3.349 5.416v2.496H.452A.45.45 0 000 8.36v3.618a.45.45 0 00.452.447h2.897v9.127A.45.45 0 003.8 22h3.778c.25 0 .451-.2.451-.448v-9.127h3.387c.25 0 .451-.2.451-.447l.003-3.618a.452.452 0 00-.456-.448h-3.39V5.795c0-1.017.245-1.534 1.582-1.534h1.941c.25 0 .452-.2.452-.447V.457a.45.45 0 00-.452-.448l.01-.005z" fill-rule="nonzero"> </path> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://reactormag.com/maggie-levin-clay-mcleod-chapman-ghost-eaters/&amp;media=&amp;description=Maggie Levin Will Adapt Clay McLeod Chapman’s &lt;i&gt;Ghost Eaters&lt;/i&gt; for Film” target=”_blank” title=”Pinterest”&gt; &lt;svg class=" w-[18px]="w-[18px]" h-[18px]"="h-[18px]&quot;" width="18" height="18" viewbox="0 0 18 18" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="pinterest" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M16.4962 4.49458C17.2844 5.84153 17.6786 7.31473 17.6786 8.91423C17.6786 10.5137 17.2844 11.9888 16.4962 13.3396C15.7079 14.6904 14.6384 15.7599 13.2876 16.5482C11.9368 17.3364 10.4617 17.7306 8.86223 17.7306C8.01273 17.7306 7.17856 17.6081 6.35967 17.3632C6.81121 16.6515 7.10967 16.0239 7.25508 15.4806C7.32396 15.2203 7.53059 14.413 7.87498 13.0584C8.02804 13.3568 8.30738 13.6151 8.71299 13.8332C9.1186 14.0513 9.55483 14.1604 10.0217 14.1604C10.9477 14.1604 11.7742 13.8983 12.5013 13.374C13.2283 12.8498 13.7908 12.1285 14.1888 11.2101C14.5867 10.2918 14.7857 9.25862 14.7857 8.11066C14.7857 7.2382 14.558 6.41933 14.1027 5.65402C13.6473 4.88871 12.9872 4.26499 12.1224 3.78285C11.2576 3.3007 10.2819 3.05964 9.19513 3.05964C8.39156 3.05964 7.64157 3.1706 6.94513 3.39254C6.2487 3.61448 5.65751 3.90912 5.17154 4.27647C4.68556 4.64382 4.26848 5.06665 3.92026 5.54497C3.57205 6.02329 3.31567 6.51882 3.15113 7.03157C2.98659 7.54433 2.90432 8.05708 2.90432 8.56984C2.90432 9.36576 3.05738 10.066 3.3635 10.6706C3.66962 11.2752 4.11732 11.6999 4.70661 11.9448C4.93621 12.0367 5.08161 11.9601 5.14284 11.7152C5.15814 11.6617 5.18876 11.5431 5.23467 11.3594C5.28059 11.1757 5.3112 11.0609 5.32651 11.015C5.37243 10.839 5.33034 10.6744 5.20024 10.5214C4.80993 10.0545 4.61478 9.47673 4.61478 8.78795C4.61478 7.63233 5.01464 6.63936 5.81439 5.809C6.61414 4.97864 7.66069 4.56346 8.95406 4.56346C10.1097 4.56346 11.0108 4.87723 11.6575 5.50479C12.3042 6.13234 12.6275 6.94739 12.6275 7.94994C12.6275 9.25097 12.3654 10.3568 11.8412 11.2675C11.3169 12.1783 10.6454 12.6336 9.82651 12.6336C9.35967 12.6336 8.98468 12.4672 8.70151 12.1343C8.41835 11.8013 8.33034 11.4015 8.43748 10.9346C8.49871 10.6668 8.60011 10.309 8.74169 9.86129C8.88327 9.41359 8.99807 9.01946 9.08608 8.67889C9.17409 8.33833 9.21809 8.04943 9.21809 7.81219C9.21809 7.42953 9.11478 7.11193 8.90814 6.85938C8.70151 6.60683 8.40687 6.48055 8.02422 6.48055C7.54972 6.48055 7.14794 6.69866 6.81886 7.13489C6.48977 7.57112 6.32524 8.11448 6.32524 8.76499C6.32524 9.32367 6.4209 9.7905 6.61223 10.1655L5.47575 14.964C5.34564 15.4997 5.2959 16.177 5.32651 16.9959C3.74997 16.2994 2.47575 15.2242 1.50381 13.7701C0.531863 12.316 0.0458984 10.6974 0.0458984 8.91423C0.0458984 7.31473 0.440027 5.83962 1.2283 4.48884C2.01657 3.13807 3.08607 2.06857 4.43684 1.2803C5.78761 0.492029 7.26273 0.0979004 8.86223 0.0979004C10.4617 0.0979004 11.9368 0.492029 13.2876 1.2803C14.6384 2.06857 15.7079 3.13999 16.4962 4.49458Z" fill="currentColor" /> <path d="M16.4962 4.49458C17.2844 5.84153 17.6786 7.31473 17.6786 8.91423C17.6786 10.5137 17.2844 11.9888 16.4962 13.3396C15.7079 14.6904 14.6384 15.7599 13.2876 16.5482C11.9368 17.3364 10.4617 17.7306 8.86223 17.7306C8.01273 17.7306 7.17856 17.6081 6.35967 17.3632C6.81121 16.6515 7.10967 16.0239 7.25508 15.4806C7.32396 15.2203 7.53059 14.413 7.87498 13.0584C8.02804 13.3568 8.30738 13.6151 8.71299 13.8332C9.1186 14.0513 9.55483 14.1604 10.0217 14.1604C10.9477 14.1604 11.7742 13.8983 12.5013 13.374C13.2283 12.8498 13.7908 12.1285 14.1888 11.2101C14.5867 10.2918 14.7857 9.25862 14.7857 8.11066C14.7857 7.2382 14.558 6.41933 14.1027 5.65402C13.6473 4.88871 12.9872 4.26499 12.1224 3.78285C11.2576 3.3007 10.2819 3.05964 9.19513 3.05964C8.39156 3.05964 7.64157 3.1706 6.94513 3.39254C6.2487 3.61448 5.65751 3.90912 5.17154 4.27647C4.68556 4.64382 4.26848 5.06665 3.92026 5.54497C3.57205 6.02329 3.31567 6.51882 3.15113 7.03157C2.98659 7.54433 2.90432 8.05708 2.90432 8.56984C2.90432 9.36576 3.05738 10.066 3.3635 10.6706C3.66962 11.2752 4.11732 11.6999 4.70661 11.9448C4.93621 12.0367 5.08161 11.9601 5.14284 11.7152C5.15814 11.6617 5.18876 11.5431 5.23467 11.3594C5.28059 11.1757 5.3112 11.0609 5.32651 11.015C5.37243 10.839 5.33034 10.6744 5.20024 10.5214C4.80993 10.0545 4.61478 9.47673 4.61478 8.78795C4.61478 7.63233 5.01464 6.63936 5.81439 5.809C6.61414 4.97864 7.66069 4.56346 8.95406 4.56346C10.1097 4.56346 11.0108 4.87723 11.6575 5.50479C12.3042 6.13234 12.6275 6.94739 12.6275 7.94994C12.6275 9.25097 12.3654 10.3568 11.8412 11.2675C11.3169 12.1783 10.6454 12.6336 9.82651 12.6336C9.35967 12.6336 8.98468 12.4672 8.70151 12.1343C8.41835 11.8013 8.33034 11.4015 8.43748 10.9346C8.49871 10.6668 8.60011 10.309 8.74169 9.86129C8.88327 9.41359 8.99807 9.01946 9.08608 8.67889C9.17409 8.33833 9.21809 8.04943 9.21809 7.81219C9.21809 7.42953 9.11478 7.11193 8.90814 6.85938C8.70151 6.60683 8.40687 6.48055 8.02422 6.48055C7.54972 6.48055 7.14794 6.69866 6.81886 7.13489C6.48977 7.57112 6.32524 8.11448 6.32524 8.76499C6.32524 9.32367 6.4209 9.7905 6.61223 10.1655L5.47575 14.964C5.34564 15.4997 5.2959 16.177 5.32651 16.9959C3.74997 16.2994 2.47575 15.2242 1.50381 13.7701C0.531863 12.316 0.0458984 10.6974 0.0458984 8.91423C0.0458984 7.31473 0.440027 5.83962 1.2283 4.48884C2.01657 3.13807 3.08607 2.06857 4.43684 1.2803C5.78761 0.492029 7.26273 0.0979004 8.86223 0.0979004C10.4617 0.0979004 11.9368 0.492029 13.2876 1.2803C14.6384 2.06857 15.7079 3.13999 16.4962 4.49458Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://reactormag.com/feed/" target="_blank" title="RSS Feed"> <svg class="w-[17px] h-[17px]" width="18" height="18" viewbox="0 0 18 18" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="rss feed" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <g clip-path="url(#clip0_1051_121783)"> <path d="M2.67871 17.4143C2.12871 17.4143 1.65771 17.2183 1.26571 16.8263C0.873713 16.4343 0.678046 15.9636 0.678713 15.4143C0.678713 14.8643 0.874713 14.3933 1.26671 14.0013C1.65871 13.6093 2.12938 13.4136 2.67871 13.4143C3.22871 13.4143 3.69971 13.6103 4.09171 14.0023C4.48371 14.3943 4.67938 14.865 4.67871 15.4143C4.67871 15.9643 4.48271 16.4353 4.09071 16.8273C3.69871 17.2193 3.22805 17.415 2.67871 17.4143ZM14.6787 17.4143C14.6787 15.481 14.312 13.6683 13.5787 11.9763C12.8454 10.2843 11.841 8.80097 10.5657 7.52631C9.29171 6.25164 7.80871 5.24764 6.11671 4.51431C4.42471 3.78097 2.61205 3.41431 0.678713 3.41431V0.414307C3.02871 0.414307 5.23705 0.860306 7.30371 1.75231C9.37038 2.64431 11.1704 3.85664 12.7037 5.38931C14.237 6.92264 15.4497 8.72264 16.3417 10.7893C17.2337 12.856 17.6794 15.0643 17.6787 17.4143H14.6787ZM8.67871 17.4143C8.67871 15.1976 7.89971 13.31 6.34171 11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" /> <path d="M2.67871 17.4143C2.12871 17.4143 1.65771 17.2183 1.26571 16.8263C0.873713 16.4343 0.678046 15.9636 0.678713 15.4143C0.678713 14.8643 0.874713 14.3933 1.26671 14.0013C1.65871 13.6093 2.12938 13.4136 2.67871 13.4143C3.22871 13.4143 3.69971 13.6103 4.09171 14.0023C4.48371 14.3943 4.67938 14.865 4.67871 15.4143C4.67871 15.9643 4.48271 16.4353 4.09071 16.8273C3.69871 17.2193 3.22805 17.415 2.67871 17.4143ZM14.6787 17.4143C14.6787 15.481 14.312 13.6683 13.5787 11.9763C12.8454 10.2843 11.841 8.80097 10.5657 7.52631C9.29171 6.25164 7.80871 5.24764 6.11671 4.51431C4.42471 3.78097 2.61205 3.41431 0.678713 3.41431V0.414307C3.02871 0.414307 5.23705 0.860306 7.30371 1.75231C9.37038 2.64431 11.1704 3.85664 12.7037 5.38931C14.237 6.92264 15.4497 8.72264 16.3417 10.7893C17.2337 12.856 17.6794 15.0643 17.6787 17.4143H14.6787ZM8.67871 17.4143C8.67871 15.1976 7.89971 13.31 6.34171 11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="442" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cmc-ghost-eaters-740x442.jpeg" class="w-full object-cover" alt="Author Clay McLeod Chapman and the cover of Ghost Eaters" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cmc-ghost-eaters-740x442.jpeg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cmc-ghost-eaters-1100x656.jpeg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cmc-ghost-eaters-768x458.jpeg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cmc-ghost-eaters-1536x917.jpeg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cmc-ghost-eaters-2048x1222.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-horizontal [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Author photo: Quirk Books</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> <p></p> </div> </div> <p>An adaptation of Clay McLeod Chapman&#8217;s novel <em>Ghost Eaters</em> is in “early development,” <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ghost-eaters-adaptation-scott-derrickson-maggie-levin-1236311508/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to <em>The Hollywood Reporter</em>.</a> Maggie Levin (<em>My Valentine</em>) will write and direct the film, which has Vince Cheng, C. Robert Cargill, and Scott Derrickson as producers.</p> <p>Derrickson and Cargill are on a horror roll; they are also the pair behind the <em>Black Phone</em> films. </p> <p><em>Ghost Eaters</em> was published in 2022 by Quirk Books and was a “best horror novel of the year” at <em>Vulture</em>, <em>Paste</em>, CrimeReads, and BookRiot. <em>Esquire</em> called it “a nostalgia trip to the late-’90s indie-nihilism of <em>Fight Club</em> and <em>Donnie Darko</em>, in a story about addiction and mushrooms that let you see the dead.”</p> <p>The synopsis says:</p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Erin hasn’t been able to set a single boundary with her charismatic but reckless college ex-boyfriend, Silas. When he asks her to bail him out of rehab—again—she knows she needs to cut him off. But days after he gets out, Silas turns up dead of an overdose in their hometown of Richmond, Virginia, and Erin’s world falls apart.<br><br>Then a friend tells her about Ghost, a new drug that allows users to see the dead. Wanna get haunted? he asks. Grieving and desperate for closure with Silas, Erin agrees to a pill-popping “séance.” But the drug has unfathomable side effects—and once you take it, you can never go back.</p></blockquote></figure> <p>Chapman is the author of several other novels; his most recent, <em><a href="https://reactormag.com/excerpts-wake-up-and-open-your-eyes-by-clay-mcleod-chapman/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wake Up and Open Your Eyes</a></em>, was published earlier this year. He recently signed a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ63K0OAhN9/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">three-book deal with Nightfire</a>; his first book for the imprint, <em>Mr. Lonelyhearts</em>, is due in 2027.</p> <p>No casting or production timeline for <em>Ghost Eaters</em> has been announced.[end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/maggie-levin-clay-mcleod-chapman-ghost-eaters/">Maggie Levin Will Adapt Clay McLeod Chapman&#8217;s &lt;i&gt;Ghost Eaters&lt;/i&gt; for Film</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/maggie-levin-clay-mcleod-chapman-ghost-eaters/">https://reactormag.com/maggie-levin-clay-mcleod-chapman-ghost-eaters/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=818081">https://reactormag.com/?p=818081</a></p>

<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Emmet Asher-Perrin</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-10-the-perimeter/">https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-10-the-perimeter/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=817845">https://reactormag.com/?p=817845</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/movies-tv/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Movies &amp; TV 0"> Movies &amp; TV </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/murderbot/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Murderbot 1"> Murderbot </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1"><i>Murderbot</i> Is Faced With a Choice in Season Finale &#8220;The Perimeter&#8221;</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">First comes the illusion of choice; then a real one.</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&amp;_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/alex-brown/" title="Posts by Alex Brown" class="author url fn" rel="author">Alex Brown</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on July 11, 2025 </p> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-vertical [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Image: Apple TV+</p> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-10-the-perimeter/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path stroke="#000" d="M5.9 14.4v-.5H1.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3-1.3V1.8A1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.8.5h14.4a1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.3 1.3v10.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3 1.3h-5.698l-.146.147-3.324 3.333a.417.417 0 0 1-.282.12H6.3a.4.4 0 0 1-.4-.4v-2.7Z" /> </g> </svg> 12 </a> <details class="relative quick-access-details"> <summary class="quick-access-share flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 22 22" aria-label="share" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-share-new-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-share-new-quick-access-">Share New</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <circle cx="11" cy="11" r="11" fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" /> <circle cx="11" cy="11" r="10.5" stroke="#000" /> <path fill="#FFF" d="M5.993 13.464c.675 0 1.323-.266 1.806-.743l4.11 2.396a2.639 2.639 0 0 0 .368 2.451 2.583 2.583 0 0 0 2.227 1.043 2.59 2.59 0 0 0 2.09-1.3 2.64 2.64 0 0 0 .08-2.477 2.58 2.58 0 0 0-4.292-.54L8.344 11.94c.28-.616.31-1.319.086-1.958l3.952-2.303a2.564 2.564 0 0 0 4.263-.537 2.623 2.623 0 0 0-.078-2.46 2.573 2.573 0 0 0-2.075-1.293 2.566 2.566 0 0 0-2.213 1.033 2.622 2.622 0 0 0-.37 2.433L7.96 9.158a2.573 2.573 0 0 0-4.316.603 2.632 2.632 0 0 0 .172 2.501 2.58 2.58 0 0 0 2.178 1.202Z" /> <path fill="#000" d="M6.936 9.577c.322 0 .631.137.859.383.228.245.355.577.355.924 0 .347-.127.68-.355.925a1.172 1.172 0 0 1-.859.383c-.322 0-.63-.138-.858-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.356-.925c0-.347.129-.679.356-.924.228-.245.536-.383.858-.383Zm6.17-3.837c.323 0 .631.138.86.383.227.245.355.578.355.924 0 .347-.128.68-.356.925a1.172 1.172 0 0 1-.858.383c-.322 0-.631-.138-.859-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.355-.925c0-.346.128-.678.356-.924.227-.245.536-.383.858-.383Zm0 7.883c.323 0 .631.138.86.383.227.245.355.578.355.925 0 .346-.128.679-.356.924a1.171 1.171 0 0 1-.858.383c-.322 0-.631-.138-.859-.383a1.36 1.36 0 0 1-.355-.925c0-.346.128-.678.356-.923.227-.245.536-.383.858-.384Zm-6.17-.681c.499 0 .978-.21 1.334-.586l3.036 1.888a2.194 2.194 0 0 0 .272 1.93c.385.555 1.003.863 1.645.822.641-.04 1.221-.425 1.544-1.024a2.203 2.203 0 0 0 .059-1.952c-.286-.62-.841-1.044-1.48-1.13-.637-.085-1.272.18-1.69.705l-2.984-1.854c.207-.486.23-1.04.064-1.543l2.92-1.815c.415.522 1.046.784 1.68.7.633-.086 1.184-.507 1.468-1.123a2.188 2.188 0 0 0-.058-1.938c-.32-.595-.895-.977-1.532-1.018-.638-.041-1.251.264-1.635.813a2.179 2.179 0 0 0-.273 1.917L8.389 9.55c-.423-.534-1.07-.798-1.715-.702-.645.096-1.2.54-1.472 1.177a2.194 2.194 0 0 0 .126 1.97c.352.59.958.948 1.61.947Z" /> </g> </svg> Share </summary> <div class="quick-access-bubble"> <ul class="flex gap-6 text-black list-none"> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=&lt;i&gt;Murderbot&lt;/i&gt; Is Faced With a Choice in Season Finale “The Perimeter”&amp;url=https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-10-the-perimeter/” target=”_blank” title=”Twitter”&gt; &lt;svg class=" w-[18px]="w-[18px]" h-[15px]"="h-[15px]&quot;" width="18" height="15" viewbox="0 0 18 15" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="twitter" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M17.7143 2.56767C17.2122 3.28347 16.6053 3.89336 15.8934 4.39734C15.9009 4.4996 15.9046 4.65298 15.9046 4.8575C15.9046 5.80703 15.7623 6.75472 15.4775 7.7006C15.1928 8.64649 14.76 9.55401 14.1793 10.4232C13.5986 11.2924 12.9073 12.0611 12.1055 12.7295C11.3037 13.3978 10.3371 13.931 9.20558 14.329C8.07408 14.7271 6.86392 14.9262 5.57505 14.9262C3.54435 14.9262 1.68601 14.3966 0 13.3375C0.262269 13.3667 0.554506 13.3813 0.876722 13.3813C2.56274 13.3813 4.06514 12.8774 5.38397 11.8694C4.59717 11.8548 3.8928 11.6192 3.27085 11.1627C2.6489 10.7062 2.22178 10.1237 1.98949 9.41523C2.23677 9.45175 2.46531 9.47001 2.67513 9.47001C2.99734 9.47001 3.31581 9.42984 3.63053 9.3495C2.79127 9.1815 2.09627 8.77431 1.5455 8.12789C0.99474 7.48148 0.719362 6.73099 0.719362 5.87641V5.83259C1.22891 6.11015 1.77592 6.25988 2.36041 6.28179C1.86584 5.96041 1.47245 5.54043 1.1802 5.02184C0.887961 4.50325 0.741842 3.94084 0.741842 3.3346C0.741842 2.69184 0.906694 2.09656 1.2364 1.54875C2.1431 2.63707 3.24649 3.50807 4.54659 4.16178C5.84669 4.8155 7.23857 5.17887 8.72226 5.25192C8.66232 4.97436 8.63234 4.70411 8.63234 4.44116C8.63234 3.46241 8.9864 2.62793 9.69452 1.9377C10.4027 1.24746 11.2588 0.902344 12.2629 0.902344C13.3119 0.902344 14.1962 1.27485 14.9155 2.01987C15.7323 1.86648 16.5004 1.58162 17.2197 1.16529C16.9425 2.00526 16.4104 2.65532 15.6236 3.11548C16.3205 3.04244 17.0174 2.85984 17.7143 2.56767Z" fill="currentColor" /> <path d="M17.7143 2.56767C17.2122 3.28347 16.6053 3.89336 15.8934 4.39734C15.9009 4.4996 15.9046 4.65298 15.9046 4.8575C15.9046 5.80703 15.7623 6.75472 15.4775 7.7006C15.1928 8.64649 14.76 9.55401 14.1793 10.4232C13.5986 11.2924 12.9073 12.0611 12.1055 12.7295C11.3037 13.3978 10.3371 13.931 9.20558 14.329C8.07408 14.7271 6.86392 14.9262 5.57505 14.9262C3.54435 14.9262 1.68601 14.3966 0 13.3375C0.262269 13.3667 0.554506 13.3813 0.876722 13.3813C2.56274 13.3813 4.06514 12.8774 5.38397 11.8694C4.59717 11.8548 3.8928 11.6192 3.27085 11.1627C2.6489 10.7062 2.22178 10.1237 1.98949 9.41523C2.23677 9.45175 2.46531 9.47001 2.67513 9.47001C2.99734 9.47001 3.31581 9.42984 3.63053 9.3495C2.79127 9.1815 2.09627 8.77431 1.5455 8.12789C0.99474 7.48148 0.719362 6.73099 0.719362 5.87641V5.83259C1.22891 6.11015 1.77592 6.25988 2.36041 6.28179C1.86584 5.96041 1.47245 5.54043 1.1802 5.02184C0.887961 4.50325 0.741842 3.94084 0.741842 3.3346C0.741842 2.69184 0.906694 2.09656 1.2364 1.54875C2.1431 2.63707 3.24649 3.50807 4.54659 4.16178C5.84669 4.8155 7.23857 5.17887 8.72226 5.25192C8.66232 4.97436 8.63234 4.70411 8.63234 4.44116C8.63234 3.46241 8.9864 2.62793 9.69452 1.9377C10.4027 1.24746 11.2588 0.902344 12.2629 0.902344C13.3119 0.902344 14.1962 1.27485 14.9155 2.01987C15.7323 1.86648 16.5004 1.58162 17.2197 1.16529C16.9425 2.00526 16.4104 2.65532 15.6236 3.11548C16.3205 3.04244 17.0174 2.85984 17.7143 2.56767Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-10-the-perimeter/" target="_blank" title="Facebook"> <svg class="w-[9px] h-[18px]" fill="currentColor" viewbox="0 0 12 22" width="100%" height="100%" display="block" transitionduration="normal" transitionproperty="none" transitiontimingfunction="ease-out" class="w-[9px] h-[18px]" aria-label="facebook" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M11.558.004L8.677 0C5.44 0 3.349 2.125 3.349 5.416v2.496H.452A.45.45 0 000 8.36v3.618a.45.45 0 00.452.447h2.897v9.127A.45.45 0 003.8 22h3.778c.25 0 .451-.2.451-.448v-9.127h3.387c.25 0 .451-.2.451-.447l.003-3.618a.452.452 0 00-.456-.448h-3.39V5.795c0-1.017.245-1.534 1.582-1.534h1.941c.25 0 .452-.2.452-.447V.457a.45.45 0 00-.452-.448l.01-.005z" fill-rule="nonzero"> </path> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-10-the-perimeter/&amp;media=&amp;description=&lt;i&gt;Murderbot&lt;/i&gt; Is Faced With a Choice in Season Finale “The Perimeter”” target=”_blank” title=”Pinterest”&gt; &lt;svg class=" w-[18px]="w-[18px]" h-[18px]"="h-[18px]&quot;" width="18" height="18" viewbox="0 0 18 18" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="pinterest" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <path d="M16.4962 4.49458C17.2844 5.84153 17.6786 7.31473 17.6786 8.91423C17.6786 10.5137 17.2844 11.9888 16.4962 13.3396C15.7079 14.6904 14.6384 15.7599 13.2876 16.5482C11.9368 17.3364 10.4617 17.7306 8.86223 17.7306C8.01273 17.7306 7.17856 17.6081 6.35967 17.3632C6.81121 16.6515 7.10967 16.0239 7.25508 15.4806C7.32396 15.2203 7.53059 14.413 7.87498 13.0584C8.02804 13.3568 8.30738 13.6151 8.71299 13.8332C9.1186 14.0513 9.55483 14.1604 10.0217 14.1604C10.9477 14.1604 11.7742 13.8983 12.5013 13.374C13.2283 12.8498 13.7908 12.1285 14.1888 11.2101C14.5867 10.2918 14.7857 9.25862 14.7857 8.11066C14.7857 7.2382 14.558 6.41933 14.1027 5.65402C13.6473 4.88871 12.9872 4.26499 12.1224 3.78285C11.2576 3.3007 10.2819 3.05964 9.19513 3.05964C8.39156 3.05964 7.64157 3.1706 6.94513 3.39254C6.2487 3.61448 5.65751 3.90912 5.17154 4.27647C4.68556 4.64382 4.26848 5.06665 3.92026 5.54497C3.57205 6.02329 3.31567 6.51882 3.15113 7.03157C2.98659 7.54433 2.90432 8.05708 2.90432 8.56984C2.90432 9.36576 3.05738 10.066 3.3635 10.6706C3.66962 11.2752 4.11732 11.6999 4.70661 11.9448C4.93621 12.0367 5.08161 11.9601 5.14284 11.7152C5.15814 11.6617 5.18876 11.5431 5.23467 11.3594C5.28059 11.1757 5.3112 11.0609 5.32651 11.015C5.37243 10.839 5.33034 10.6744 5.20024 10.5214C4.80993 10.0545 4.61478 9.47673 4.61478 8.78795C4.61478 7.63233 5.01464 6.63936 5.81439 5.809C6.61414 4.97864 7.66069 4.56346 8.95406 4.56346C10.1097 4.56346 11.0108 4.87723 11.6575 5.50479C12.3042 6.13234 12.6275 6.94739 12.6275 7.94994C12.6275 9.25097 12.3654 10.3568 11.8412 11.2675C11.3169 12.1783 10.6454 12.6336 9.82651 12.6336C9.35967 12.6336 8.98468 12.4672 8.70151 12.1343C8.41835 11.8013 8.33034 11.4015 8.43748 10.9346C8.49871 10.6668 8.60011 10.309 8.74169 9.86129C8.88327 9.41359 8.99807 9.01946 9.08608 8.67889C9.17409 8.33833 9.21809 8.04943 9.21809 7.81219C9.21809 7.42953 9.11478 7.11193 8.90814 6.85938C8.70151 6.60683 8.40687 6.48055 8.02422 6.48055C7.54972 6.48055 7.14794 6.69866 6.81886 7.13489C6.48977 7.57112 6.32524 8.11448 6.32524 8.76499C6.32524 9.32367 6.4209 9.7905 6.61223 10.1655L5.47575 14.964C5.34564 15.4997 5.2959 16.177 5.32651 16.9959C3.74997 16.2994 2.47575 15.2242 1.50381 13.7701C0.531863 12.316 0.0458984 10.6974 0.0458984 8.91423C0.0458984 7.31473 0.440027 5.83962 1.2283 4.48884C2.01657 3.13807 3.08607 2.06857 4.43684 1.2803C5.78761 0.492029 7.26273 0.0979004 8.86223 0.0979004C10.4617 0.0979004 11.9368 0.492029 13.2876 1.2803C14.6384 2.06857 15.7079 3.13999 16.4962 4.49458Z" fill="currentColor" /> <path d="M16.4962 4.49458C17.2844 5.84153 17.6786 7.31473 17.6786 8.91423C17.6786 10.5137 17.2844 11.9888 16.4962 13.3396C15.7079 14.6904 14.6384 15.7599 13.2876 16.5482C11.9368 17.3364 10.4617 17.7306 8.86223 17.7306C8.01273 17.7306 7.17856 17.6081 6.35967 17.3632C6.81121 16.6515 7.10967 16.0239 7.25508 15.4806C7.32396 15.2203 7.53059 14.413 7.87498 13.0584C8.02804 13.3568 8.30738 13.6151 8.71299 13.8332C9.1186 14.0513 9.55483 14.1604 10.0217 14.1604C10.9477 14.1604 11.7742 13.8983 12.5013 13.374C13.2283 12.8498 13.7908 12.1285 14.1888 11.2101C14.5867 10.2918 14.7857 9.25862 14.7857 8.11066C14.7857 7.2382 14.558 6.41933 14.1027 5.65402C13.6473 4.88871 12.9872 4.26499 12.1224 3.78285C11.2576 3.3007 10.2819 3.05964 9.19513 3.05964C8.39156 3.05964 7.64157 3.1706 6.94513 3.39254C6.2487 3.61448 5.65751 3.90912 5.17154 4.27647C4.68556 4.64382 4.26848 5.06665 3.92026 5.54497C3.57205 6.02329 3.31567 6.51882 3.15113 7.03157C2.98659 7.54433 2.90432 8.05708 2.90432 8.56984C2.90432 9.36576 3.05738 10.066 3.3635 10.6706C3.66962 11.2752 4.11732 11.6999 4.70661 11.9448C4.93621 12.0367 5.08161 11.9601 5.14284 11.7152C5.15814 11.6617 5.18876 11.5431 5.23467 11.3594C5.28059 11.1757 5.3112 11.0609 5.32651 11.015C5.37243 10.839 5.33034 10.6744 5.20024 10.5214C4.80993 10.0545 4.61478 9.47673 4.61478 8.78795C4.61478 7.63233 5.01464 6.63936 5.81439 5.809C6.61414 4.97864 7.66069 4.56346 8.95406 4.56346C10.1097 4.56346 11.0108 4.87723 11.6575 5.50479C12.3042 6.13234 12.6275 6.94739 12.6275 7.94994C12.6275 9.25097 12.3654 10.3568 11.8412 11.2675C11.3169 12.1783 10.6454 12.6336 9.82651 12.6336C9.35967 12.6336 8.98468 12.4672 8.70151 12.1343C8.41835 11.8013 8.33034 11.4015 8.43748 10.9346C8.49871 10.6668 8.60011 10.309 8.74169 9.86129C8.88327 9.41359 8.99807 9.01946 9.08608 8.67889C9.17409 8.33833 9.21809 8.04943 9.21809 7.81219C9.21809 7.42953 9.11478 7.11193 8.90814 6.85938C8.70151 6.60683 8.40687 6.48055 8.02422 6.48055C7.54972 6.48055 7.14794 6.69866 6.81886 7.13489C6.48977 7.57112 6.32524 8.11448 6.32524 8.76499C6.32524 9.32367 6.4209 9.7905 6.61223 10.1655L5.47575 14.964C5.34564 15.4997 5.2959 16.177 5.32651 16.9959C3.74997 16.2994 2.47575 15.2242 1.50381 13.7701C0.531863 12.316 0.0458984 10.6974 0.0458984 8.91423C0.0458984 7.31473 0.440027 5.83962 1.2283 4.48884C2.01657 3.13807 3.08607 2.06857 4.43684 1.2803C5.78761 0.492029 7.26273 0.0979004 8.86223 0.0979004C10.4617 0.0979004 11.9368 0.492029 13.2876 1.2803C14.6384 2.06857 15.7079 3.13999 16.4962 4.49458Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://reactormag.com/feed/" target="_blank" title="RSS Feed"> <svg class="w-[17px] h-[17px]" width="18" height="18" viewbox="0 0 18 18" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="rss feed" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <g clip-path="url(#clip0_1051_121783)"> <path d="M2.67871 17.4143C2.12871 17.4143 1.65771 17.2183 1.26571 16.8263C0.873713 16.4343 0.678046 15.9636 0.678713 15.4143C0.678713 14.8643 0.874713 14.3933 1.26671 14.0013C1.65871 13.6093 2.12938 13.4136 2.67871 13.4143C3.22871 13.4143 3.69971 13.6103 4.09171 14.0023C4.48371 14.3943 4.67938 14.865 4.67871 15.4143C4.67871 15.9643 4.48271 16.4353 4.09071 16.8273C3.69871 17.2193 3.22805 17.415 2.67871 17.4143ZM14.6787 17.4143C14.6787 15.481 14.312 13.6683 13.5787 11.9763C12.8454 10.2843 11.841 8.80097 10.5657 7.52631C9.29171 6.25164 7.80871 5.24764 6.11671 4.51431C4.42471 3.78097 2.61205 3.41431 0.678713 3.41431V0.414307C3.02871 0.414307 5.23705 0.860306 7.30371 1.75231C9.37038 2.64431 11.1704 3.85664 12.7037 5.38931C14.237 6.92264 15.4497 8.72264 16.3417 10.7893C17.2337 12.856 17.6794 15.0643 17.6787 17.4143H14.6787ZM8.67871 17.4143C8.67871 15.1976 7.89971 13.31 6.34171 11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" /> <path d="M2.67871 17.4143C2.12871 17.4143 1.65771 17.2183 1.26571 16.8263C0.873713 16.4343 0.678046 15.9636 0.678713 15.4143C0.678713 14.8643 0.874713 14.3933 1.26671 14.0013C1.65871 13.6093 2.12938 13.4136 2.67871 13.4143C3.22871 13.4143 3.69971 13.6103 4.09171 14.0023C4.48371 14.3943 4.67938 14.865 4.67871 15.4143C4.67871 15.9643 4.48271 16.4353 4.09071 16.8273C3.69871 17.2193 3.22805 17.415 2.67871 17.4143ZM14.6787 17.4143C14.6787 15.481 14.312 13.6683 13.5787 11.9763C12.8454 10.2843 11.841 8.80097 10.5657 7.52631C9.29171 6.25164 7.80871 5.24764 6.11671 4.51431C4.42471 3.78097 2.61205 3.41431 0.678713 3.41431V0.414307C3.02871 0.414307 5.23705 0.860306 7.30371 1.75231C9.37038 2.64431 11.1704 3.85664 12.7037 5.38931C14.237 6.92264 15.4497 8.72264 16.3417 10.7893C17.2337 12.856 17.6794 15.0643 17.6787 17.4143H14.6787ZM8.67871 17.4143C8.67871 15.1976 7.89971 13.31 6.34171 11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="379" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-5-740x379.jpeg" class="w-full object-cover" alt="Murderbot stripped of its armor in Murderbot S1 finale &quot;The Perimeter&quot;" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-5-740x379.jpeg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-5-1100x564.jpeg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-5-768x394.jpeg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-5-1536x787.jpeg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-5-2048x1049.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-horizontal [&amp;_a]:link"><p>Image: Apple TV+</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>We’ve reached the final episode of what is hopefully the first of many seasons of <em>Murderbot</em>. In it, we get corporate shenanigans, a PR nightmare, and the illusion of choice.</p> <p><strong>Spoilers ahoy!</strong></p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots" /> <p>“Something has happened.” We open with “system reboot” flashing on the screen. Murderbot’s voice sounds hollow. It repeats that phrase as its eyes open, sounding more like itself now. Murderbot doesn’t know where it is, but we the audience do. It’s back in the Threshold Pass Fabrication Center from the fourth episode. The workers wipe its memory, and the last thing it sees is Mensah gazing up at it. Next comes a new governor module (and a globule of spit). The Company claims SecUnits are nothing more than equipment, but they treat them worse than that. You don’t humiliate, degrade, and insult a tent, to use Arada’s example. The workers treat the equipment they use to maintain SecUnits better than they treat the actual SecUnits.</p> <p>PresAux is also in the Corporate Rim, back in the meeting room where they made their initial deal with the Company. The suits are confused as to why they’re so concerned with “the physical location of a particular piece of equipment.” Pin-Lee gets to play lawyer for a hot minute as they take on the “fucker” in charge. Later, as the group discusses next steps, they’re torn about SecUnit. As Gurathin points out, “that Unit is full of proprietary data.” He’s certain the Company is going through Murderbot’s memory looking for anything they can sell.&nbsp;</p> <p>Things aren’t great in the Corporate Rim. We’ve seen hints of this in the indenture contracts and Gugu getting press ganged into the Company’s espionage squad, but now we see that unrest billowing out into the working class. SecUnit’s contract has been passed onto law enforcement, something Ratthi discovers the hard way. I live in Southern California, where the military is marching around doing disruptive demonstrations, ICE is terrorizing my neighbors, and local cops are aiding and abetting the state. So to see Murderbot go from a goofy little droid who just wants to watch space soaps to a weapon of state violence was a hard dose of truth in fiction.&nbsp;</p> <p>Strikers are protesting and the cops are eager to “do some damage” by antagonizing the workers into bloodshed. It’s a helluva thing to hear human strikers chant “We’re not slaves!” while a bunch of cops sic a group of enslaved constructs on them. Because these people are in violation of their indenture contract, they’re effectively without rights. However, remember that most of these humans are/were on indenture. Indenture is terrible for everyone involved except those turning a profit, but it’s not slavery. They have the choice to strike and fight back (so did real enslaved Africans, to be fair; there were a couple hundred slave rebellions in the so-called New World, not to mention the Haitian Revolution). SecUnits do not have that choice.&nbsp;</p> <p>Those strikers don’t see SecUnits as potential allies. Why would they? SecUnits are things, equipment, tools. They aren’t people to Corporate Rim indentured workers. That division is sown by the Corporate Rim and reinforced by Corporate Rim humans (and those streaming shows Murderbot likes so much). That fraction of a memory of a massacre is still in Murderbot’s brain, and it pops back right as the melee kicks off with the protestors, causing it to glitch out. It doesn’t want to hurt humans, no matter what its governor module commands. Instead of using Murderbot’s glitch as an opportunity to go after the human cops or to try and turn that SecUnit to their side, the strikers pummel Murderbot with their own weapons. On one hand, I understand why. They feel powerless, and as we’ve seen before, wielding what tiny bit of power they have over SecUnits is a way to feel in control of their lives. On the other hand, SecUnits are tools in this situation; go after the hand holding the weapon, not the weapon itself. Most of the humans in the fray aren’t doing anything but cheering on those attacking Murderbot with hammers. They aren’t attacking other SecUnits or the cops, just celebrating destroying a toaster. It’s a complicated, nuanced scene in which humans on both sides come out looking not great.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="552" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-3-1100x552.jpeg" alt="Gurathin considering in Murderbot S1 finale &quot;The Perimeter&quot;" class="wp-image-817877" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-3-1100x552.jpeg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-3-740x371.jpeg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-3-768x385.jpeg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-3-1536x770.jpeg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-3-2048x1027.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: Apple TV+</figcaption></figure> <p>This moral haziness is explored again through Gurathin’s interactions with his former drug dealer. The guy acts like he had no choice and elides all responsibility, as if the fact that he doesn’t deal drugs <em>now</em> makes up for what he did <em>then</em>. He did his time in the trenches. He used Gurathin to earn his way into a good job, nice apartment, and a happy, well-cared-for kid. He nearly ruined Gurathin’s life, but at least he came out on top, right? Then Gurathin turned around and did the same thing to Mensah, or tried to before he realized he wasn’t a slave to the Company, not really. He had a choice. His memory wasn’t wiped. He didn’t have a governor module installed (his version of that was the drugs, and he was able to kick that, just like Murderbot). He has a choice now, too. The Gurathin we met in the first episode wouldn’t have confronted his former dealer and taken all this risk to help a SecUnit. Gurathin uses the guy to get access to the data file and tracks down Murderbot’s memory. Then he does something surprising. He downloads all of Murderbot’s memories into his own brain. He’s been digging around Murderbot’s mind all season, and now he finally gets full access… and he does it all to help Murderbot.&nbsp;</p> <p>After glitching, Seccy is decommissioned and set to be destroyed in acid, the thing it fears the most. It’s been stripped of its armor and is fully exposed, but it has no reaction. It’s a blank slate. Fortunately, it’s saved at the last minute by Pin-Lee’s injunction. Back in their quarters, Mensah is devastated that its organic parts haven’t retained any memory of them. It’s curious that it still has the massacre memory and not anything of PresAux. I feel like Mensah has a pretty big impact on it. Either way, Gura passes on the memories and Murderbot is back! A bit subdued, but back nonetheless. According to Mensah, it&#8217;s going with them to Preservation Alliance where it will be a “free agent.” Except no, not quite. It won’t have a job, a purpose, or even its armor. It will be under Mensah’s guardianship.&nbsp;</p> <p>Preservation Alliance can sneer at indenture and slavery all they way, but they’re doing something not all that dissimilar to constructs. Murderbot would be free to make simple choices such as picking a hobby or deciding what clothes to wear, but bigger things would seemingly require Mensah’s permission or are outright denied (it couldn’t marry a human, for example). Even if she was likely to say yes, it is in effect putting another governor module on it. What Preservation Alliance offers isn’t freedom, it’s ownership by another name. All this reminds me of how 19th century white abolitionists often talked about freeing enslaved Africans but didn’t think they could be educated or have equal rights. I think of Phillis Wheatley Peters, whose poetry authorship was consistently challenged as either a trick or a pleasant surprise that couldn’t be replicated by other enslaved Africans. I think of Sojourner Truth’s speech from the 1851 Ohio Woman’s Rights Convention and how the version most people know is not her true voice but a heavily altered transcript produced more than a decade later by a white woman abolitionist that changed Truth’s words to sound like the stereotype of an ignorant, largely illiterate Black Southerner. I think of that line in <em>Sinners</em> about Jim Crow in the North: “Chicago ain’t shit but tall buildings instead of plantations.” And I think about how Preservation Alliance still refers to it as SecUnit even though they know it calls itself Murderbot, even after it is no longer a Company-owned SecUnit. No one ever asks what it wants to be called.&nbsp;</p> <p>In a moment that is both bitter and sweet, Gugu and Murderbot have a moment of total honesty and mutual respect. Gurathin wants to help Murderbot get used to Preservation Alliance, but Murderbot can’t go with them. The moment he realizes what Murderbot is asking for, you can see his heart break in real time. It’s tremendous acting from David Dastmalchian and Alexander Skarsgård. Not even Gurathin, a guy who experienced indenture at the hand of the Corporate Rim—indenture but not bondage—really understands why. Given her reaction, Mensah accepts its choice, even if she doesn’t like it. Gurathin gives it one last command and off Murderbot goes. As it sails away with a cargo transport bot excited to watch new shows, We get one last voiceover and a small smile: “I don’t know what I want. But I know I don’t want anyone to tell me what I want…or to make decisions for me. Even if they are my favorite human.”</p> <p>Thank you for joining me on this journey! I hope you loved this show as much as I did. I think the showrunners did a great job expanding the world Martha Wells created while staying true to the tone and themes. I maintain that the show should’ve cast a nonbinary spectrum actor in the lead, but Skarsgård did win me over. I’ve been watching him in other movies and TV and he is a much better actor than I gave him credit for. Lots of good, subtle work from him. The ending wasn’t some big cliffhanger, but it was perfect. <a href="https://reactormag.com/murderbot-has-been-renewed-for-a-second-season-on-apple-tv/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Season 2</a> can’t come soon enough!</p> <p>If you want more Murderbot, I’ll be covering the entire series starting this summer with <em>All Systems Red</em> over at Reactor’s <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/martha-wells-book-club/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Martha Wells Book Club</a>.&nbsp;</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots" /> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="460" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-2-1100x460.jpeg" alt="Murderbot in civilian clothes, traveling in Murderbot S1 finale &quot;The Perimeter&quot;" class="wp-image-817876" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-2-1100x460.jpeg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-2-740x310.jpeg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-2-768x321.jpeg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-2-1536x643.jpeg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-2-2048x857.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: Apple TV+</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Final Thoughts</strong></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Episode 10 covers the rest of chapter 7 and chapter 8 (the rest of the book) in <em>All Systems Red</em>, but much of the episode is invented for the show.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Not hearing Murderbot’s voiceover hit harder than I expected. The silence was deafening.&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>I’m going to be thinking about that little half smile Gura does when Mensah asserts her authority and that lone tear when he realizes Murderbot is leaving forever.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>It’s not lost on me that most of the cops are white or white presenting.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>That hostile alien world is officially known as planetary body 898/8712. How creative.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Nice little nod as to why Murderbot doesn’t like eye contact. It spent its entire life having to look at humans directly as part of its normal functioning, albeit from the privacy of its helmet. Once it hacks its governor module, it gets to choose how it wants to look at them based on how it feels about that interaction. That and watching TV are pretty much the only choices it gets to make before meeting PresAux.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>I love the shot of Murderbot as it stands just off center in the PresAux suite. Hands in loose fists, wearing fabricated clothing and surrounded by things it cannot use and doesn’t own.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>I think that was the first time we’ve seen Gurathin and Murderbot really smile, and they did it to each other.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>I think the show needed to dig into the guardianship aspect a little more. It gets glossed over so that the impact of why Murderbot chooses to leave doesn’t carry as much weight as it should. Most of my reaction in this review was based on what I know from the books, rather than the show itself. I also wish we got a depiction of the cargo bot interaction, even if just as data on Murderbot’s screen. It would help set up for ART, assuming season 2 follows at least part of the plot of <em>Artificial Condition</em>. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The first thing Murderbot does when it’s finally free? It sits down.&nbsp;</li> </ul> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="460" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-1-1100x460.jpeg" alt="Murderbot surrounded by PresAux out of it&#39;s armor in Murderbot S1 finale &quot;The Perimeter&quot;" class="wp-image-817875" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-1-1100x460.jpeg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-1-740x310.jpeg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-1-768x321.jpeg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-1-1536x643.jpeg 1536w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/murderbot-perimeter-1-2048x857.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: Apple TV+</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Quotes</strong></p> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Madam President. You will address me as Madam President.” Damn Mensah!&nbsp;</p></blockquote></figure> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“On the Corporate Rim, eventually there is nothing but misery.”&nbsp;</p></blockquote></figure> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>Murderbot saying “I’m going to…check the perimeter,” then cutting Gurathin off with “I <em>need</em> to check the perimeter.” My heart!</p></blockquote></figure> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-left"><blockquote><p>“Murderbot, end message.”</p></blockquote></figure> <div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <p>[end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-10-the-perimeter/">&lt;i&gt;Murderbot&lt;/i&gt; Is Faced With a Choice in Season Finale &#8220;The Perimeter&#8221;</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-10-the-perimeter/">https://reactormag.com/tv-review-murderbot-episode-10-the-perimeter/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=817845">https://reactormag.com/?p=817845</a></p>