I liked the reveal that the Yda we know has actually been Lyse all along. It makes sense for the character than Yda's an airhead with the no attention span. Remember that the members of the Circle of Knowing are all Sharlayan Archons. The thing is that all Archons are (or are supposed to be) academics. Being an Archon seems to be like being a scientist. Yda was constantly lost when the conversation reached highly technical levels, which if she was a true Archon she would have been able to follow.

As for Papalymo's death, it was unfortunately necessary to develop Lyse. When Lyse was being Yda, she was constantly following Papalymo's lead. Losing Papalymo means that Lyse now has to stand on her own and decide for herself. She has to grow up now.

I miss the dynamic that Yda and Papalymo had (I legit thought they were a couple when I first met them in game), but I'm not unhappy with the direction in which the story has