I remember the talk of Demandred and the Sharans, but I also thought it got shot down because of something RJ had said.
I didn't expect him to be Roedran, as he had talked of a very large army, so logically it must be the Sharans, but in my head, it had been ruled out
What happened that was totally unexpected?
For me, Demandred and the Sharans, though that was mostly because of suggestions that we wouldn't be seeing them, which may have been misinterpreted
Also, Egwene dying, Birgitte's sudden death and Olver blowing the horn