Alright, So For A Brief Rundown Of Some Of What I *think* The Themes Of Cradle And The Last Horizon Are:

I’M A FUCKING GENIUS.

Stormlight Spoilers

Hmmm…. Okay so I have a weird theory stuck in my head. It’s- bad and doesn’t make sense, especially because Renarin has already demonstrated a traditional Surge, but: While reading, I keep getting the vibe that Renarin’s spren bond is wrong. I don’t fully understand why, but I keep thinking he’s perhaps bonded to a renegade void spren.

The numbers in Words of Radiance were ABSOLUTELY done by Renarin. I don’t doubt it for a second. I’m so confident about this. But… well we know the two surges of the Truthwatchers, and future prediction was NOT one of them. Beyond that, when Shallan is fighting the Unmade in Urithiru, it mentions trying to take Pattern’s place, which all but STATES non-Radiant spren can form bonds with humans… ergo, it’s feasible for Renarin to have bonded one of the Void Spren, which would facilitate the future stuff!

Anywho, that’s that! I think it’s likely I’m wrong, but could be interesting!

Wind and Truth Spoilers (Maybe)

Yeah so I’m like… 90% sure Taravangian!Odium is going to elect like- some total innocent as his champion. I don’t remember he or Dalinar imposing any like… restrictions on who could be chosen as a champion. So like… while there’s a chance it’s a powerful Fused, I think a more surefire bet would be something akin to a Singer child. A sickly, frail Singer child. A blind sickly Singer child with no parents. Taravangian listened to Dalinar rant about “journey matching the destination” so many times. It’s uh! Yeah. I’m worried for our man.

True and real, I honestly want that MORE

God I NEED a Warbreaker sequel so badly.

Now the big question… which God did Humanity bring with them… On one hand, Honor is their sponsor and seemed to have loved them, but in the other… well, their homeland was totally destroyed, and that seems to me like how Odium rolls.

Bands of Morning Spoilers

I have a feeling this Twinborn Terrace kid that Wax shot in the eye is gonna end up the main antagonist of this book. Let’s see if my wild and absurd ability to predict things makes a comeback.

God fucking dammit. I hate being right so damn much what the fuck.

Mmmm…. Elhokar death flags. He’s too likable. I think I’m starting to see the patterns and I don’t know if this is good or not.

So we have multiple statements by Jorge Rivera-Herrans that he was inspired by video games in the creation of Epic the Musical. This is pretty plainly seen in the multiple “boss battles” that cap off most albums in the musical.

Two of the most important examples of “boss battles” come from the characters recognized as “monsters” in the canon of the story: Polyphemus and Scylla. These two are important, because they are the only two characters with songs named after them. This sets them apart as unique and special, which is substantiated even further by the impact they have on the wider story of Epic.

“…but wait” you may be asking. “Odysseus has a song named after him as well, no?” That is correct! This is because, like Polyphemus and Scylla, Odysseus is a monster. So much so that there’s an entire song in the Underworld Sage.

Okay so- what does this mean effectively? Well… the final boss of the musical isn’t the suitors. It’s Ody. The song Odysseus has a lot of parallels to Polyphemus and Scylla (the line “keep your head down he’s aiming for the torches!” Being a direct callback to Scylla), but the one I’d like to focus on is the narrative framework of the song.

He’s the antagonist. The song’s narrative is carried by the disparate Suitors as they are hunted by our old king and try to survive. (heh. See what I did there?) The background chanting of Odysseus’s name is even in the same style of how Polyphemus is sung in Survive!!! He’s the FINAL BOSS. (and tbh. He’s a LOT better at murdering everyone who wronged him than anyone else in the story. Polyphemus should take notes.)

So… what does this mean? He kills every suitor. And like- as he should. They sucked. So what? The final boss isn’t defeated in Epic?

…well no. He is firmly defeated in the end. By Penelope. Something very important in the story from No Longer You onward is this division between the “Old Odysseus” and the “New Odysseus”. It’s this Old Odysseus who is a monster, and it’s THIS man who Penelope defeats.

Her defeat of Odysseus is shown in two parts: Lyrically and Musically. The first is very clear. Odysseus argues that he is no longer the man who married Penelope, and she disagrees. She is the only one to effectively trick Penelope, responding to his rhetorical statement of “I am no longer the man you fell in love with” with a trap that ends with Odysseus confirming beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is, in fact, her husband. Furthermore If you payed any attention at all while listening to Epic, Jorge’s love for motif is very clear, and this is relevant in understanding the emotional “defeat” of the Monster Odysseus.

Ody has two key instruments: a soft guitar and a harsh, electric one. These correlate to the two unique Odysseus’s we’ve established. We hear inklings of the soft guitar when Odysseus and Penelope first reunite, but it quickly fades to that harsh electric guitar as they begin to “fight.”

But. Here’s. Where. It. Gets. Fun. Because after he’s deceived and defeated, the soft guitar returns. He is finally, after twenty years, being allowed to return to the kind man he once was. He’s finally, *finally* home.

And that, my friends, is why I conclude, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Penelope tops Odysseus after Epic.

Oh interesting, so is this going to be set with like… the return of the Radiants and stuff? Big open world where Stuff Is Happening? Sounds neat!

hey. you're interested in the stormlight au rp server i'm making where you get to do stuff in the sunmaker's empire that spans from azir all the way to eastern roshar because he bothered to choose an heir. i wish there was a more concise way to describe it but it sounds so fun doesn't it you get to experience worldbuilding and do roled play with ocs quick let me know if you would want an inviiiiite............. fades away like a force ghost

God I NEED a Warbreaker sequel so badly.

Stormlight Archives Spoilers

Eshonai would have been an amazing Bondsmith, what the fuck. We missed out so badly with her it’s genuinely making me sad.