Originally Posted by
bethany
To me Mordred reeked of soap opera drama. You know, two characters do something they're not supposed to, a PREGNANCY occurs and all kinds of drama revolves around the PREGNANCY. Then the writers are stuck with a baby, an unfortunate side effect of pregnancy, and having to deal with a new character is now where near as fun or exciting.
You know, that's a good point. And what do babies in soap operas usually do once they're born? They hang around for a week, then disappear completely for a few months, at which point they return as 18-year-olds.
...which is what happened to Mordred, really. He was born, and there was a big scene at that moment; but afterward he served no real purpose except to follow the tet and grow into an adult really really quickly so that when the time came, he could launch a pathetic attack and die like a punk. You see Roland getting closer to the Tower, where the Crimson King is waiting for him, and Mordred is hot on his heels, and you expect some awesome showdown to take place there....but no. It was a whole lot of buildup and no follow-through. Like Jonas in some ways - a whole book is spent exposing and developing his character as some total physical and intellectual hardass; and then when the time comes he's just simply shot dead, disposed of as quickly and curtly as any minor throwaway character.