When I was younger, I found the Siuan/Bryne side plot distracting. Now it’s one of my favorites. Odd, that.
It might go back to the fact that, having the ending of the series in hand, I no longer feel anxious about waiting for an ending.
As RJ matured as a writer, the depth of romantic relationships grew. Mat/Tuon and Siuan/Bryne are more complex than earlier romances.
Not that I mind some of the early ones. Simple is sometimes good too. But it is a shift I’ve noticed in the books.
I dunno—Nynaeve/Lan was done in much the same manner as Mat/Tuon. And is anything more complex than Moiraine/Thom?
From their very first scene together, there was sexual tension. Read where Moiraine speaks of knowing the face of the man…
…she will marry, or when she tell Thom she will show him not all Aes Sedai are bad in The Shadow Rising . The subtlest of romances…
Maybe complex is the wrong word. Nynaeve/Lan was very well done. But it also wasn’t in the forefront.
Also, they both fell in love quickly and and easily—there are just lots of obstacles.
True. Though the scene where Rand over-hears Nynaeve and Lan in The Eye of the World breaks my heart every time.
Rand/Elayne and Gawyn/Egwene hardly spent any time together before declaring undying love.
You hit on the two basic ones that sometimes I feel lack depth in the early books.
Of course, you could argue this has to do with the age of the participants more than anything else.
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