Re-Reading "The Dragon Reborn": "Chapter 55: What is Written in Prophecy" and "Chapter 56: People of the Dragon"
The third book in "The Wheel of Time" comes to a rousing conclusion, as Rand claims Callandor and various other characters show their remarkable heroism.
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Well, fam, we finally did it. We made it all the way through The Dragon Reborn! Before I plunge head-first into The Shadow Rising, it’s time to take a few minutes to finish up our weekly engagements with this book. This week we’re just looking at two chapters but man, they are filled with a lot of action, as everything that’s been building up during the course of the book as a whole finally comes to a head in the Stone of Tear. Rand claims Callandor, Mat helps to save Egwene and the others, Perrin rescues Faile and, just as importantly, Moiraine manages to balefire Be’lal before he can destroy Rand. It’s heady stuff, to be sure, and these last few chapters are Jordan at his best.
As was the case with The Great Hunt–and, to a lesser extent, The Eye of the World–the end of The Dragon Reborn is a true race to the finish. In fact, there’s something almost cinematic about the way that Jordan has paced this novel, so that we have several quick cuts–from Mat to Egwene to Rand to Perrin–that in the hands of a less competent author than Jordan it would all be hopelessly confusing. As it is, it’s the type of pacing that literally keeps you turning the pages in a fever as you try to figure out what happens next and how this is all going to play out. Everyone gets their chance to shine, whether it’s Mat finally finding the cell where Egwene and the others are imprisoned or Perrin dashing through the World of Dreams even as his body starts to die behind him.
I have to admit that Mat is finally starting to grow on me. This might be because of Dónal Finn’s interpretation of the character, or maybe I’m just mellowing out in middle-age, but whatever the case, I find myself genuinely looking forward to his chapters. In these last two chapters alone he really goes the extra mile to make sure that Egwene and the others are safe, even if that means he has to keep putting himself in the soup pot with them. Time will tell whether this is going to be a lasting part of his character, but we’ve seen throughout The Dragon Reborn that he’s not nearly as selfish or self-centered as he wants others, including himself, to believe.
Perrin, likewise, shows himself to be a real stand-up guy, going to extraordinary lengths to rescue Faile from the trap that was laid for her. It’s not every guy who would literally make their way through a horde of falcons shredding his face to save the woman that he has grown to love, but if anyone was going to do it, it would be Perrin. The two of them are going to have a very long and winding road ahead of them, but I’m hoping that I’m less annoyed with them than I used to be.
Like I’ve said before, Moiraine is nothing less than a badass. This is a woman who’s managed to survive several run-ins with the Forsaken, to say nothing of her encounters with various other types of Shadowspawn. Now, as if all of that weren’t enough, she’s also earned herself eternal fame for destroying one of their number with balefire. She might not have as much raw power as Nynaeve or Egwene, but these are tremendous accomplishments. And, of course, she remains her enigmatic and no-nonsense self right up to the end. Say what you will about her, but she isn’t the type of person to let emotions or feelings get in the way of what needs to be done.
It’s particularly fitting that the book ends in part with a missive from Lanfear, who once again makes it clear that she earnestly believes that Rand (or Lews Therin, as she continues to believe) is hers and no one else’s. We’ve already seen the lengths she’ll go to in order to make sure that he stays under her dominion. Nevertheless, it says a lot that she’s willing to hand Rand over to Moiraine’s keeping while it’s convenient to do so, which suggests that Lanfear respects her more than she does any of the other Aes Sedai of the Third Age. Considering just how powerful Lanfear is and how much contempt she’s shown for anyone who isn’t a Forsaken or Rand, this is further testimony to Moiraine’s badassery.
It’s hard not to feel sorry for poor Rand. Along with everyone else, he seems to be under the illusion that he has in fact won the Last Battle, when in fact this is just the beginning (though I doubt Jordan or his readers realized how many more installments remained when The Dragon Reborn was first published). The poor guy has endured all sorts of horrors and now has Callandor in his grasp, but he’s about to find out that there’s a very big difference between declaring oneself the Dragon Reborn and bringing the world under his dominion so it can be united when it’s time to face the Dark One and his minions in the Last Battle.
These last two chapters are also remarkable in that they show not one but two Forsaken being defeated. The brief glimpses we get of Be’lal suggest that, like so many other his brethren, he was quite close to Lews Therin before turning to the Shadow. As such, he’s also another reminder that these villains are in some ways the tragic heroes of their own stories, led astray by their own petty hatreds and jealousies. For his part, Ishamael almost seems surprised to be defeated by Rand at last and, strange as it might seem, even a bit terrified. Then again, considering the fact that the Dark One rules over death, one can see why he would be so frightened. When it comes right down to it, he’s just another mortal man brought low by his own hubris, all of his desperate efforts to kill Rand or bend him to his will coming to naught in the end but abject failure.
Overall, I found myself enjoying The Dragon Reborn much more than I expected. Don’t get me wrong. I love The Wheel of Time as much as ever, but I will be the first to admit that its sluggish pace can be a bit trying at times, particularly in books like this one, where not a lot happens until right near the end. However, as I’ve written here before, I’m happy to just immerse myself in the marvelously detailed world Jordan has created. The world might be chaos outside, but at the very least we can all lose ourselves in the world of The Wheel of Time, spending time with characters who might be frustrating but are, in the end, good and decent people doing their part.
Until next week, friends, when we’ll begin our reading of The Shadow Rising!