Thereās some Moash Discourse(ā¢ļø) flying around about how heās irredeemable, that his actions in Wind and Truth were the final straw people had for the character, he doesnāt deserve a redemption arc, etc.
These books gave Dalinar a redemption arc.
Do you really think Moash is worse than Dalinar was? Do you really think that killing a few specific people with targeted violence is worse than Dalinar conquering an entire kingdom, brutally slaughtering untold thousands of humans and singers alike for decades, burning down an entire city in a fit of rage, and killing his wife in the process? Do you really?
Maybe you do. Maybe you do think that Moashās violence being targeted at specific people, some of whom used to be his friends, makes it worse than Dalinar killing soldiers who agreed to fight via signing up for the army (but then I ask youāwhat about the civilians? What about the conscripts? The desperate, without any other options?) in which case you have a semi-principled stance I can respect even if I really donāt agree. (No, really. Dalinarās body count is in the thousands to tens-of-thousands range, and Moash has killed, what, six people, spren included? Please.)
Or maybe you agree that Dalinar was worse, and you think that he doesnāt deserve his redemption arc either, and so Moashās suitability for redemption cannot use Dalinarās as a base model. I respect the hell out of that opinion, honestly, and mostly agree with it.
But most of the āfuck Moashā crowd donāt think like this. Most of you are simply reacting to Moashās betrayal of his friends and his murder of characters you like, and crying about it. Which is fine! I also hate that he killed characters I liked! I have zero problem with people emotionally engaging with fiction like that! I do it myself!
But acting as if Moash is ontologically evil, that there is no reasoning (even if itās flawed) to his actions, that there is no way for him to decide āI was wrong, and now I must do better,ā when thatās the literal central thesis of these books? When characters far, far, worse than him have been redeemed? Come on, man. I know yāall have brains, use them.
