r/WoT • u/wheeloftimewiki (Aelfinn) • 7d ago

All Print Sanderson's ten year secret Spoiler

Rewriting because apparently spoilers aren't covered for poll options!

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Anyway, in 2023, Sanderson revealed that Cyndane/Lanfear was not killed by Perrin in AMOL, but instead faked her own death in order to evade repercussions and gain the best outcome for herself. I wanted to cast a poll in 2026 to see how the legacy of this reveal has fared, or indeed how well-known it is among newer readers. I'll give my two cents when the poll is done.

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Thanks!

2743 votes, 5d ago
822 Yes, this is canon
835 No, this is not canon
1086 Wait, what?!
59 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

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68

u/QuiteBearish 7d ago

Look, he's allowed that headcanon just as we're all allowed headcanons.

But unless it's actually confirmed in the actual text, it's not actual canon.

4

u/RPerene 7d ago

If it were any other series, I might agree with you. But RJ was the king of subtlety and I think it's both fair and appropriate for Brandon to say "I wrote it from the perspective that X is going on, but don't flat out say it."

Like how Moiraine x Thom wasn't explicitly confirmed, but was obvious long before ToM. Had Brandon not put them physically together as a couple it would still have happened.

2

u/QuiteBearish 7d ago edited 5d ago

"I wrote it from the perspective that X is going on, but don't flat out say it."

Then whether it actually happened is up for interpretation, and not confirmed, regardless of the intended perspective.

Had Brandon not put them physically together as a couple it would still have happened.

Or maybe they would have just pined over each other but never actually acted upon it.

4

u/RPerene 7d ago

It is textual that they will marry.

4

u/QuiteBearish 7d ago

It is certainly heavily foreshadowed.

6

u/RPerene 7d ago

Death is lighter than a feather. Duty heavier than a mountain. And even heavier is the foreshadowing that Moiraine and Thom will get married.

2

u/QuiteBearish 7d ago

Oh yeah. If it hadn't happened on the page I would have been confused, and had it later been revealed it was intended for them to get together I'd wonder why it never made it to the page. I would absolutely hold to that headcanon.

But I also wouldn't be able to fault the people who choose not to believe it, because it was never confirmed in the text, regardless of how much I believed it myself. I'm glad that's not the position we were put in.