Yeah, the two different locations feel a bit disjointed and you're right, the stakes feel very low for the non-Ilus scenes due to the urgency there.
It will be worth it, though!
I love Burn Gorman's wink at the camera "I must just have that kind of face" as if to lampshade how he always gets cast in these roles.
Sinewmire
2023-10-31 00:40:37 +0000 UTC
It’s best to think of the novels as three interconnected trilogies, rather than a single nine novel story. Books one, four and seven are very much setting the stage for what’s to come, providing context and perspective to understand stakes and motivation. This season is about the change the opening of the ring gates is triggering across the system, positive and negative. The individual plot lines may seem disconnected, but they are very much about the same thing.