Sorry if this had been posted before but I had some random thoughts about the trilogy as a whole. I also apologize for the slightly long read.
I guess I'll start by asking who writes the synopsis on the backs of the books? This question is kind of important because my thoughts center around a part of it.
On the back of "The Final Empire" it says: "What if the prophesied hero had failed to defeat the Dark Lord?" Now at first it would appear to be a red herring concerning the Lord Ruler, but he is obviously defeated at the end of the first book. It could be referring to Ruin, but I'll elaborate on that in a minute.
I'm putting forth this hypothesis. Each title of each book is misleading in a way. I'll try to break it down.
Book 1: The Final Empire
Not being able to figure out how this can be misleading until reading The Well of Ascension, where on page 733 (paperback version) when Elend returns to the city after letting Vin pewter-drag herself back to find the Well, this passes between them:
"I'm sorry. I think I did something bad."
"Oh?" He asked. "What is that"
"I made you emperor" Now this may have just been a passing thing between the two, but after reading the sample chapter for "Hero of Ages," it continues.
"Wait," Fatren said, causing the stranger to pause. "Who are you?"
The newcomer turned, meeting Fatren's eyes. "My name is Elend Venture. I'm your emperor." Now I know it's not specifically stated anywhere that an Emperor has an Empire, but if it is true, then the "Final Empire" is not actually the final empire so to speak. Elend has a whole new Empire as Emperor.
Book 2: The Well of Ascension
This one I don't really have anything to go on, other than the knowledge that we as readers learn through Sazed that the Well isn't all it's cracked up to be. Through Ruin's machinations, knowledge about the prophesied hero was altered to allow an expedited freeing of him. (him? it? lol)
With subtle misleading titles, it is my thoughts that the Hero of Ages will have a similar twist. Referring back to the blurb on the back of the book, if Ruin is indeed the "Dark Lord" mentioned, then the prophesied hero will fail to defeat him.
Another thing that caught my attention was in one of Mr. Sanderson's annotation for "The Final Empire," more specifically "Mistborn Prologue Part One" where he writes
Somewhere in the italicized pre-chapter blurb of the prologue here is the clue one needs to figure out the over-arching mystery of the entire series. If you figure it out, good for you! If you don't, you'll have to wait until the last chapter of the final book to get it explained. . . . Now the pre-chapter blurb is from the journal and references the Hero doubting himself. Could this doubt carry over to the Hero actually never defeating the "Dark Lord?"
I know it would seem like a cop out, and I really feel bad for bringing it up, but in a series that likes to take conventional fantasy cliches and turn them upside down, what better way than having the bad guys win?
Again, sorry for the long post, I was rambling through most of it. Unfortunately, once I get random ideas in my head, it is hard to keep them in.