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(Note: If you plan on reading this, plan on doing a lot of it, because this is a long one.)
For those not in the know, we're currently awaiting clips from the new Dark Tower film to surface so that we may draw feats from them. (Refer to this thread for more info on that) Among those feats is a newfound, unexplained resistance to mind/emotion manipulation that Roland has acquired, as he is able to resist Walter's mind hax in this film.
Only, now that I've reread the first and fourth books (and the comic adaptation of The Gunslinger), I've realized that this ability isn't new at all. In fact, Roland has had this since as far back as the very first novel.
Let's look back to the middle of The Gunslinger, where he encounters an Oracle. (which in this novel is another word for 'succubus') He first encounters this thing when he essentially catches it in middle of mind-screwing Jake. After saving the poor boy from the oracle by using a speaking-demon's jawbone to drive it away (it makes sense in context...sort of), Roland heads back to the circle of stones where it was initially located, seeking to gain some info from it. And then he proceeds to resist every single mental advance it throws at him, including what appear to be a few minor mental illusions. (Yes, I know the imagery is a bit hard to follow, but that's what's happening.)
Next one comes straight from the comic book cycle. Roland has gone eight days without food and two days without water, and as such ought to be completely delirious by now. He allows his mind to wander for just one moment, and then...well, I'll let this one speak for itself.
Now we go back to the tail end of The Gunslinger, where Roland is 'palavering' (read: talking) with The Man In Black. We get a very clear sense of this one; Walter puts Roland to sleep with a spell (not a psychic spell, mind you, and you'll see why in a bit) and then proceeds to send Roland a vision of the birth of the universe. After it's all said and done, one of the very first things Walter tells him is that his father would have essentially gone insane if he had experienced this vision. ('I never could have sent that vision to your father. He would have come back drooling.')
And if any of you are wondering, this happens in the comic adaptation as well.
Now for the last bit that sews this whole thing together. At first glance this seems like a completely mundane detail, but there's a line that's said during Flagg's appearance near the end of Wizard and Glass. See if you can spot it. There's a clue in this one's title.
That's right. 'Roland, I don't know what you're thinking of'. Randall Flagg, the same man who can read other people's minds without them even noticing, doesn't know what Roland is thinking of. In other words, it isn't just Roland's willpower that allows him to fight against outside mental influence. (since using your will to resist such things would require you to be aware of them in the first place) He has some sort of innate resistance to mind abilities, and it's strong enough to block psychics on the level of Flagg, just like in the film.
So I ask this; Does this evidence seem sound enough to warrant 'resistance to Mind Manipulation' being slotted into Roland's profile? Or is it all a load of crap? Leave your opinions below.
EDIT: Second link has been replaced with the correct one.
For those not in the know, we're currently awaiting clips from the new Dark Tower film to surface so that we may draw feats from them. (Refer to this thread for more info on that) Among those feats is a newfound, unexplained resistance to mind/emotion manipulation that Roland has acquired, as he is able to resist Walter's mind hax in this film.
Only, now that I've reread the first and fourth books (and the comic adaptation of The Gunslinger), I've realized that this ability isn't new at all. In fact, Roland has had this since as far back as the very first novel.
Let's look back to the middle of The Gunslinger, where he encounters an Oracle. (which in this novel is another word for 'succubus') He first encounters this thing when he essentially catches it in middle of mind-screwing Jake. After saving the poor boy from the oracle by using a speaking-demon's jawbone to drive it away (it makes sense in context...sort of), Roland heads back to the circle of stones where it was initially located, seeking to gain some info from it. And then he proceeds to resist every single mental advance it throws at him, including what appear to be a few minor mental illusions. (Yes, I know the imagery is a bit hard to follow, but that's what's happening.)
Next one comes straight from the comic book cycle. Roland has gone eight days without food and two days without water, and as such ought to be completely delirious by now. He allows his mind to wander for just one moment, and then...well, I'll let this one speak for itself.
Now we go back to the tail end of The Gunslinger, where Roland is 'palavering' (read: talking) with The Man In Black. We get a very clear sense of this one; Walter puts Roland to sleep with a spell (not a psychic spell, mind you, and you'll see why in a bit) and then proceeds to send Roland a vision of the birth of the universe. After it's all said and done, one of the very first things Walter tells him is that his father would have essentially gone insane if he had experienced this vision. ('I never could have sent that vision to your father. He would have come back drooling.')
And if any of you are wondering, this happens in the comic adaptation as well.
Now for the last bit that sews this whole thing together. At first glance this seems like a completely mundane detail, but there's a line that's said during Flagg's appearance near the end of Wizard and Glass. See if you can spot it. There's a clue in this one's title.
That's right. 'Roland, I don't know what you're thinking of'. Randall Flagg, the same man who can read other people's minds without them even noticing, doesn't know what Roland is thinking of. In other words, it isn't just Roland's willpower that allows him to fight against outside mental influence. (since using your will to resist such things would require you to be aware of them in the first place) He has some sort of innate resistance to mind abilities, and it's strong enough to block psychics on the level of Flagg, just like in the film.
So I ask this; Does this evidence seem sound enough to warrant 'resistance to Mind Manipulation' being slotted into Roland's profile? Or is it all a load of crap? Leave your opinions below.
EDIT: Second link has been replaced with the correct one.
