Full spoilers for the Wheel of Time, the show up to season 1 and all books.

Hello, everyone. You stumbled upon one of my wordy texts, thoughts I put down instead of letting them run around endlessly in my head. This time, I'm writing some general thoughts about early Min from the Wheel of Time. This is all subjective, interpretation and lengthy discussion that may go beyond the explicit scope of the source material. Enjoy reading and please share your thoughts afterward. Cheers.

Content relevancy and spoiler potential

In writing about the Wheel of Time, I try to focus up to some reference of progression, where the show has reached so far, translating to one season and the EotW book. I did read all books and do make a number of reference to their content as well. When talking about Min, it is hard not to look forward to future events. Even in discussing her early appearance, you have to describe her while having in mind future developments, because a character is innately more than you observe, and always a sum of layers, which uncover for you over the pages and the frames.

Note that I reference a few characters from other fictions here, breaking my own rule of avoiding making comparisons. I keep it as vague as I can, if you wish to expand on those or give other examples, please remember to warn about spoilers accordingly.

Seer

Min has been referred to as a seer in the show. I am not quite sure if she ever gets a title or a name for her power in the books, as she just says she has viewings, until she becomes a Truthspeaker for the Seanchan. I guess seer or oracle would be the generic name for her, more than prophet, which has a more religious meaning. There are also Cassandra and the Pythia, mythological figures which sometimes get used as just nouns.

From my experience, characters with some kind of supernatural foresight fall into one of a few archetypes. The first is the oracle, a priest for a god, barely acting human as they relay divine visions. This would be the Pythia (in WoT, Gitara). Then you have the guide, a secondary character which issues warnings and sends people on their quest. They are not necessarily a full blown seer, but are heralds of prophecies. There are probably hundreds of examples for that one, depending on how loose your definition of foresight is, considering how every single mentor character does that: Medivh, Merlin, Gandalf, Yoda, you name them (in WoT, Elaida maybe?). Finally there is the prisoner of fate, often a main character, who knows the future and attempts to control it, yet they are often unsuccessful in straying from their own destiny. There are several major examples of this in recent fictions, which I will avoid naming due to spoilers (in WoT, Rand to some extent).

I believe Min does not quite fit in one category. The first impression would be a guide, but she behaves like a regular person, rather than a supernatural being with a mission. She is a prisoner of fate, but not a main character (not a primary main character at least, you need like twenty tiers for WoT characters!), and the fates she sees are mostly about other people. I think this makes Min a pretty interesting character, because she is not any kind of divine being and she has little agency in regard to destiny. Rather, she is an ordinary person, who by chance got the ability to see glimpses of the future, which she can interpret to a degree. She chooses to use that power in service of Rand and tries to navigate her tumultuous life as best she can.

Cassandra was the first name in my mind when starting this, although her character has some major differences. Cassandra is a Trojan princess who gets bestowed the power of foresight by the god Apollo but is cursed to never be believed. In particular, she prophesies the fall of Troy very early on but its leaders, her own family, ignore her.

The image I have of Cassandra may be wrong (or just one of hundred of interpretations) but I find Min and her to be similar. They both get a power they do not really want, are at the front seats for the disaster they themselves foresee, witness loved ones being victims of fate, have few if any means to intervene. While Cassandra warns about disasters and is met with disbelief every time, Min attempts to prevent them or instead to run away from them. In the end, both see the tragedies occurring anyway, because their prophecies will always come true.

Glimpses of the Pattern

Let's delve into Min's power a bit more: her viewings. I would love to write at length about particular visions, even though I completely despise the prevalence of prophecies in fantasy, but that is for another article. Here I will instead focus on the blurry rules of Min's foresight.

Min's power is introduced as seeing pieces of the Pattern, images of events yet to come, clues to the future. Min is the only person bestowed with this ability in WoT, and thus the only vector for describing it. Min has a hard time explaining it herself, like a particular trait to her sight, something that is innate and natural to her. She sees auras and visions around people, sometimes she is able to decipher their meanings.

One feature of Min's viewings is that they appear around notable characters, heroes, Aes Sedai, nobles, generals, etc. While they are just characters of importance to the story, often major characters, the WoT universe allows us to talk about these as points of focus for the Pattern, ta'veren and the like. It is matter of debate to see history as shaped by great persons or not, but there's certainly something to say about figures who had enough agency and power to shape events to an extent. Min sees history before it happens, its twists and turns, rather than a full painting.

I am not quite satisfied with how Min's power is presented in the WoT show, because in trying to display it ostensibly, it leans into making it just another power, rather than the particular sight Min exhibits. Min's viewings are always there, she can ignore them but hardly dismiss them. She has no need to focus to make them appear. Furthermore, her viewings are often very far off, hard to interpret and restricted to people of interest. This last point is even relevant to the plot at some event, if I recall correctly, as Min can easily pick out channelers out of a crowd.

Depicting Min as a simple seer to preview future events is diminishing her character to a plot device, which would always be a major risk with a seer. I think the episode 7 actually introduced her well, when Moiraine thinks she understands Min's power but not really, while Min herself uses it as just another sense, and sees so much more than she reveals. We can infer that last part from her protecting Rand's identity as the Dragon, and from her having a curious way of drinking in the middle of conversation. In her point of view later on, it is stated that she hides a lot, even from Rand himself.

Furthermore, Min does not exactly see the future, as may be somewhat implied when Rand meets with her and then when the Two Rivers folks interrogate her. The first one is her having expectations, because she would meet up with Rand at one point or another, and the second one is almost a joke about foresight, so it is not too much to dismiss but I would avoid this type of stuff when presenting Min.

A major trait of Min's viewings is that they will always come true, and often she is able to interpret them with certainty long before the event itself occurs. This, combined with her inability to completely ignore the auras, makes her power into a curse and causes her to expect tragedy after tragedy. Min would prefer to live out her life ignorant rather than be haunted with constant previews to the Last Battle. However, Min does not lack courage and will end up standing at Rand's side rather than flee.

Min Farshaw

Min's behavior in always using the diminutive is revealing of her story. She was Elmindreda and wished to be her own person, assuming a more assertive demeanor than her father and aunts would have liked, and looking for a path in life. Min hides who she was born as and raised to be, to build herself anew. Funnily, this is a description I could give of not one but two characters named Max, never to be called Maxine.

Min's early character struggles between two opposite goals. On one hand, she wants to be free of her power, away from Aes Sedai, away from the war. On the other hand, she wants to assert herself, to be of use, not to mention she is drawn into the maelstrom by Rand due to matters of fate and of heart. Min's presence in Fal Dara is intriguing, although she may be from somewhere else, since she at least visited Tar Valon as a kid, and flees unimpeded before the attack. Yet it fits, she is both right next to the danger and has but one wish, to get far away from it. Min is where her power can be useful and respected, and she is also hiding as a simple barmaid.

Min's personality parallels her goals, it is a balancing act between her needing to stay discreet, to hide her power, and her audacious and sassy behavior. This is exemplified many times. Min hides from Aes Sedai, and is hidden by Aes Sedai; she is safe thanks to them and also despises them. With Rand and the others in Baerlon, she should stay out of sight but instead she rapidly makes a show of herself, interacting forcefully with Rand and lashing out at his companions. With people in general, she attempts to hide her power but rarely manages to, or is resolved to, keep her viewings for herself.

In EotW, Min is a a playful young woman, if serious and threatening, who shows an odd interest in Rand and who interacts with Moiraine in the background. In the show, Min is an ordinary barmaid who hides her power and dislikes it for being invasive, yet she is also has a very obvious tell when she keeps secrets to herself, and she does not shy away from revealing what she knows when she deems it important. Despite her principles and worry about her own safety, Min is reluctant to only be an observer and a bird of ill omen. Her sassiness and candidness, toward Moiraine and Rand notably, tell the story of her mind and announce the kind of person she will reveal herself as.

Interestingly, Min is very similar in personality to the Two Rivers folks, which should not that surprising considering Baerlon's location. Min is headstrong, protective, sassy, caring, brave, loyal. However, she could be said to lack what the main characters have, destiny and duty, one way or another, and even though she considers herself prisoner of fate too, she may be one of the characters with the most agency for her own choices. Min could remain hidden in her inn, or later in Tar Valon, and she flees Fal Dara without hesitation, whereas the heroes are forcefully led to the front lines. When Min will join the battle, she will do so from her own volition. In the end, Min takes decisions following her head and her heart, not some prophecy, great design or twist of fate.

Philosopher

Min is not a warrior, even though she learns to defend herself; she is not a channeler, even though she has her own magical power; she is not a leader or a politician, even though she ends up hanging out in these circles a lot. Even her power is just an aspect of her rather than an occupation. When we meet her, Min hides away in an inn, working as a barmaid, or whatever she is supposed to be doing in EotW.

Min ends up as a mix of adviser, bodyguard, emotional support, and other things. I find compelling that her role and traits put her apart from a large portion of the usual fantasy characters, who gain agency through might, magic or political power. Wisdom, intellect and curiosity are often characteristics of secondary characters, when they are not for villains. Maybe these persons will not win you a war, but they are important to tell about more than just a fight for survival or for power, and the Wheel of Time is especially suited for philosophical discourse.

The reason I am bringing this up, even though it is hardly relevant to early Min, is that I hope the show, and fantasy fiction in general, succeeds in making philosophers, artists and scientists into more than decoration and tools which comes up with solutions out of a hat. It is strange to champion the good side, the right side, when your victory is awarded through might and power, more than justice and benevolence.

I am sure there are many examples of great characters like that, I can name Baru Cormorant and Phèdre nó Delaunay, perhaps Fitz (I read that a long time ago), characters who lean into their own particular aptitudes and intelligence, rather than relying on raw power. What I am saying is stop giving weapons to characters who are defined by not being warriors, even if I easily admit that it is hard to make philosophy or science compelling in stories with fantasy and wars and intrigues.

As for Min herself, while she is among my favorite characters, I think she is written too much into just being Rand's lover and support, and her later search for information unfortunately is summed up as "she looks through books". I am looking forward to an alternate depiction which could better highlight her character and role.