This review was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
The first three episodes of The Wheel of Time season two have dropped today, and all in all, they are glorious. A few missteps hamper the opening of the show, but there is also a lot to be excited about. I can’t wait to dive in with you!
This is a spoiler review for “A Taste of Solitude,” “Strangers and Friends,” and “What Might Be.” It may also contain some references to Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time novels—I will do my best not to talk about important plot or character points from the books that will result in spoilers for the future of the show, but as opinions on what constitutes a spoiler may vary from person to person, consider this a general warning.
[Please note that the discussion in the comment section may contain spoilers.]
Recap
“A Taste of Solitude”
A little girl (Amy Sharp) plays outside a house, then sees Trollocs approaching. She runs inside to hide under a table, around which hooded figures sit. Padan Fain (Johann Myers) is revealed as one of them. Ishamael (Fares Fares) comforts the child and carries her outside. He explains that sometimes things that people call monsters are not actually monsters, and encourages her to stroke the creature’s face.
Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) carries water from a well and heats it over a fire for her bath. We see her grieving for her lost ability to touch the True Source. Lan (Daniel Henney) tells Verin (Meera Syal) that his relationship with Moiraine is suffering. She explains that most women who lose the ability to touch the Source die. Moiraine meets with a ship captain (Julian Lewis Jones) who brings her a poem that was written on a cuendillar clock that shattered at the same time Rand confronted Ishamael at the Eye of the World.
Nynaeve (Zoë Robbins) and Egwene (Madeleine Madden) are working in the kitchens of Tar Valon as part of their training as novices. Nynaeve refuses teaching from Sheriam (Rima Te Wiata) while Egwene struggles to channel. Elsewhere, Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) and Loial (Hammed Animashaun) travel with a group of Shienarans who are looking for Padan Fain and the stolen Horn of Valere. They are joined by a tracker with yellow eyes named Elyas (Gary Beadle). They find corpses of people murdered by Fain. While burying Fain’s victims, Perrin tells Ingtar (Gregg Chilingirian) about his desire to kill Fain. Ingtar tells him that anger can’t bring back the dead.
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City of Bones
In the White Tower, Ivon and Maksim advise Nynaeve to find the reason she came to Tar Valon. Egwene asks Alanna how to channel more than one flow at a time. Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood) attacks Nynaeve with the One Power to get her to channel. Nynaeve and Egwene read a letter from Perrin; Nynaeve has forgotten that it is Beltine. They set out a lantern for Rand; Perrin sets a lantern out on the water for Laila. Mat (Dónal Finn) is revealed to be a prisoner of Liandrin.
Lan realizes he has been taking Moiraine’s silence too personally, and takes her dinner to her room. Moiraine is saddling her horse when she is attacked by several Fades. She kills one and then is knocked down. Lan arrives and fights off several more but is badly injured. They are saved by Verin, her Warder Thomas (Heikko Deutschmann) and Adeleas (Nin Aalia).
“Strangers and Friends”
Rand (Josha Stradowski) dreams of murdering his friends. Waking, he is comforted by Selene (Natasha O’Keefe). Rand goes to his job in a sanatorium where his charge Errol (Nasser Memarzia), a survivor of the Aiel War, is initially afraid of him, but then trusts him. There is a confrontation with another caretaker.
Elyas leads the Shienarans to a building where they find a Myrddraal nailed to the door. Perrin has strange visions of a family being killed by Fain; his eyes turn yellow. Liandrin takes Nynaeve to watch an Accepted of the White Tower heal a sick girl. Egwene learns she has a new neighbor in the novice quarters, Elayne Trakand (Ceara Coveney), who is the daughter-heir to the Queen of Andor.
On the road, Verin tells Moiraine that she has guessed at Moiraine’s connection to the Dragon Reborn. Moiraine considers trying to kill Verin. Rand follows the other caretaker into an alley and beats him badly. As he fights, the One Power swirls around him.
Elayne receives punishment for bringing her maids into the novice tower. Nynaeve follows Liandrin and discovers the Red Sister tending to an elderly man. She tries to help but is sent away, and a sobbing Liandrin apologizes to the man, who is her son. In the tower, Mat digs through the wall into an adjoining cell where he meets Min (Kae Alexander). They share a drink. Min has a vision of Mat stabbing Rand to death.
In bed, Selene tells Rand that she is using him to remember someone she loved and lost. He admits he is using her to try to forget someone. Nynaeve overhears Egwene talking about her frustrations with their relationship and Nynaeve’s desire to protect her. Nynaeve is summoned to the Accepted Test. Lan finds the poem in Moiraine’s saddlebag and secretly takes it. She tells him that she chose him to be her Warder because she knew that he’d be able to survive without her one day. She is cruel to him and orders him to leave her, then rides away.
Perrin is awoken by an attack on the inn where he is staying. He, Loial, and the Shienarans are defeating their attackers when two women who can channel arrive and knock everyone out. At his job, Rand is told that he has a new patient to care for, since the other orderly has had an accident. He is let into a special garden area where he greets Logain.
“What Might Be”
Sheriam, Liandrin, and Leane (Jennifer Cheon Garcia) explain the process of the Accepted Test; Nynaeve is given the opportunity to turn back, but declares herself ready. She steps into the first arch. Nynaeve is a child again, reliving the bandit attack in which her parents were killed. She grabs a knife to go to their aid, but the arched doorway appears. Vaguely remembering, she goes through it. Leane Heals a wound she received.
Nynaeve goes through the second arch and finds herself in the Two Rivers, where the new Wisdom is performing mercy killings on plague victims. When the doorway reappears she goes through it, despite Tam al’Thor (Michael McElhatton) begging her to stay.
Nynaeve goes through the third arch and comes back out covered in blood with no memory of what happened. She is offered the Aes Sedai ring, but refuses it, deciding to return home instead. She says goodbye to Egwene, and then on the road she encounters Lan, who agrees to go back to the Two Rivers with her. She has the sense that there is something behind her, but the flickering arch disappears before she can see it. Outside the arch, the three Aes Sedai see the portal close and believe Nynaeve is dead. Sheriam blames Liandrin for pushing Nynaeve to be tested before she was ready.
The attacking soldiers assemble their prisoners, including Perrin, Loial, and the Shienarans. A woman with a metal gag and collar picks other women out to be taken away. The rest of the prisoners are addressed by a woman on a pedestal (Jessica Boone), who tells them they must swear oaths and bow before the High Lady Suroth (Karima McAdams). A soldier signals out one of the Shienarans to be the first to swear. When he refuses he is brutally killed, and everyone prostrates themselves and swears. Ishamael stands beside Suroth, and makes eye contact with Perrin.
Logain tells Rand that he recognizes him from Tar Valon and that he could see then that Rand is the most powerful channeler Logain has ever encountered. Rand asks how to control it. Logain asks for a jug of Ghealdanin wine before he will answer Rand’s question. In the market Rand sees people preparing to hunt for the Horn of Valere. He asks Selene where to find the wine.
Egwene finds Sheriam cleaning out Nynaeve’s room and learns that her friend died in the Accepted Test. Liandrin tells Mat that he is nothing and not worth her time, and tells him that Egwene is in the Tower. She sets him free. Egwene confronts Liandrin over Nynaeve’s death, accusing her of wanting Nynaeve killed, and tells Liandrin that she has no idea what she’s capable of.
Selene and Rand obtain the wine at a noble’s party. Lady Anvaere (Lindsay Duncan) tells Rand that the Hunt for the Horn is just a way for the Queen to get rid of the poor people living in the Foregate outside the city. Later, Selene admits to Rand that she knew the Hunt for the Horn was a sham, and laughs at Rand’s naiveté. Rand leaves her abruptly. He brings Logain the wine, and Logain tells him there is no way to stop oneself from touching the True Source. It can’t be contained, and will always spill out in the end. He claims that the madness brought on by male channeling is a lie made up by the Aes Sedai, and that he is the only one who can teach Rand. Selene confronts Rand and the two sleep together. She says she wants to see his power. Later, Rand accidentally channels and burns their home down.
Mat finds Egwene crying but hesitates, then leaves without speaking to her. He sets Min free from the cells, and they leave together. Min meets with Liandrin, admitting that everything with Mat is going as planned. Liandrin promises that, after this, they will both be free from Moiraine.
Ishamael joins Perrin in the wagon where he is being held prisoner, telling Perrin the more wolf Perrin is, the more he belongs to Ishamael. Wolves begin attacking the caravan, killing soldiers. The women in gray dresses fight them with One Power. Ishamael leaves and Elyas breaks Perrin out of the wagon, setting a wolf to guide him.
In the White Tower, Egwene is trying to turn on the arches to save Nynaeve. Elayne says that Nynaeve wouldn’t want Egwene to throw her life away. They decide to stay the night in the room. Inside the arch, Nynaeve has a life with Mat, Perrin, Lan, and their daughter. It is idyllic, but at night Trollocs attack, killing the three men. Nynaeve channels and kills the Trollocs. As Nynaeve weeps over Lan, the archway opens. She tries to carry her child through and comes out the other side alone, covered in blood and weeping. Egwene holds her.
Analysis
One of the greatest joys of season one was the way the show introduced us to the main characters, and “A Taste of Solitude” replicates that joy beautifully as it catches the audience up on where they all are now, months after the confrontation at the Eye of the World and Rand’s supposed death, and one year after the Trolloc attack that changed Rand, Perrin, Mat, Egwene, and Nynaeve’s lives forever.
There are many visual parallels that show us how things have changed for our heroes: Moiraine filling and heating her bath manually instead of using the One Power, and then bathing alone instead of with Lan; Egwene and Nynaeve and Perrin quietly celebrating Beltine alone; Moiraine and Lan fighting Trollocs again, but this time instead of saving people, they are the ones who need to be rescued. It’s a very poignant stage the show has set, thematically and visually, and all in all it does a very good job of re-situating the viewer in the world of The Wheel of Time.
The fights are really good, particularly Moiraine and Lan’s battle against the Myrddraal. Like all shows these days, the night scenes are a bit dark, but The Wheel of Time is much better than average in that respect, and you can actually see most of the action.
The portrayal of the initiates’ life in the White Tower is also particularly well done, and we get to learn more about Aes Sedai culture very quickly and effectively. (We also get reminded why Nynaeve is the best.) The conflict Nynaeve and Egwene are both having, with each other and with the Tower, reminds us of their history and also shows us what these two characters are up against in their journeys to become channelers. It is a journey that they are taking together in some ways, while in other ways they are both walking their own paths, entirely alone. And while we haven’t seen much of Elayne yet, her introduction was cute and funny, and her immediate liking for Egwene makes the viewer like her too. It will be interesting to see how their relationship develops over the course of the season, as Elayne herself points out.
So far, Liandrin is the best antagonist in the show by a mile, and her character has been very much expanded and changed from the book. One of the greatest challenges of adapting a work as expansive as the Wheel of Time is the fact that there are so many characters and so many themes and plot points to choose from, but the medium of an eight episode per season television show can only cover a fraction of that. Choosing what to focus on is a huge undertaking, and they are clearly pulling several thematic and plot points into the character of Liandrin, very effectively in my opinion.
Less effective is the way the show is handling Padan Fain. His introduction in season one was intriguing, but by the beginning of season two, after an almost two-year break, it’s hard for the audience to remember what his deal is, or why he is so important. In both seasons of The Wheel of Time, important plot information like this has a tendency to slip through the cracks. Things either aren’t explained at all, or they are explained in a way that is too off-handed for the average viewer to catch, especially one who is not familiar with the books.
The Horn of Valere is also a problem; watching with my partner, they didn’t even realize that the thing the Illianers are hunting for was the same item that Perrin and the Shienarans found buried under the throne in Fal Dara. It’s also hard to catch why the Shienarans and Perrin are so desperate to catch up to Fain; it seems as though they are merely angry at him because he’s a Darkfriend, and the fact that he stole this very important artifact isn’t made clear enough. For that matter, it’s also unclear why Perrin has chosen to travel with them. We know he is feeling unmoored from the loss of all his friends, and he tells Ingtar about his desire to kill Fain as revenge for the death of Laila and the Trolloc attack on the Two Rivers. But we need more than a recap at the beginning of the episode to remind us of the stakes—we need the actual episode to pull those threads together. Perrin’s segments fail to communicate his struggles effectively both in showing and telling.
Perrin is one of my favorite characters in the books, but his journey is a difficult one to portray on screen. How do you show an audience an internal struggle against your own tendency towards anger, violence, and revenge? How do you explain how it feels to have conflicting impulses towards pacifism and war, both complex and dynamic concepts in and of themselves, even before they come into conflict? Perrin is a man of few words, a thoughtful and quiet person, in both the source material and in his portrayal in the show. But a television show only has so many ways to communicate a character’s feelings, and I think that it’s notable that we know exactly what all our main female characters are thinking and feeling because they talk to each other, and to the men around them. Even Moiraine, who has been very closed off from Lan and everyone since losing her ability to touch the source, has communicated a lot both to her companions and to the audience. We understand her pain, we can guess at her fear, and we know that all those things she says to Lan to get him to leave her and return to Tar Valon alone are that old trope, usually played as romantic but in some ways even more powerful here, of saying hard things to drive away someone you care about “for their own good.”
Oh, but Aes Sedai can’t lie. Or… can they?
Most of the male characters are less clear in their motivations and their desires. And with Mat it works. On the one hand, not knowing what he really wants and existing mostly in a space of loss and regret is kind of where he is as a person right now. Also, he’s become wrapped up in the mystery of what Liandrin is up to, as has Min, and while we don’t know the answer to that mystery, the stakes of it are pretty clear. There is a story to follow, to watch as it slowly unravels. But what Perrin and the Shienarans are doing, who Elyas is, who the Seanchan are, and what exactly Rand is planning? That’s all much harder for the audience to suss out.
I’m really enjoying Flinn’s portrayal of Mat. In the last season he seemed too dour and lacked the playfulness of the Mat in the books, which made the character pretty one note, and hard to relate to. Even though the Mat of this season is depressed and guilt-ridden, we still see playful aspects of him in his lines, his body language, and his facial expression. For the first time, I recognized the character, and I connected easily to the guilt he was carrying over leaving his friends, the guilt that ultimately kept him from reaching out to Egwene.
With Rand I don’t have a complaint yet—I kind of liked the ambiguity of his long game to gain access to Logain. We see how kind he is to the wartime survivor in his care and find ourselves wondering: How much of it is genuine? Was Rand’s violence towards Logain’s former caretaker heightened by a genuine affection towards the old man? Was the assault purely and coldly calculated, enacted with little emotion purely because it was the only way for Rand to get to Logain? Or did Rand’s increasing contact with the One Power cause him to attack the man in a much more brutal fashion than he would have otherwise?
Rand is the Dragon Reborn, after all, and these questions the audience has about his actions and motivations will be shared by everyone in his world once they learn who he is. Still, I worry that his story will eventually suffer from the same problem as Perrin’s and that, as the series continues, the audience will struggle to understand and connect with him.
Logain remains incredible, and I’m obsessed with Morte’s performance. I always found Logain to be a very intriguing person in the books, not just because of his role in the story but just in the type of character he had, and I’m happy to see Morte bring such a powerful, if unhinged, charisma to screen Logain. He is a useful foil for Rand, allowing the audience to better understand what male channeling is and does, and what the concept of the Dragon Reborn actually means.
I found myself wishing we had the same kind of dynamism from Ishamael, who interestingly has been named by on-screen Moraine but is still billed as The Man in the credits. Fares has charisma on screen and could clearly bring a lot more to the character—his scene with the little girl and the Trollocs is very good—but the script is limiting him too much, and I think the character would benefit if Fares was allowed to bring a greater sense of danger and drama to him. The man had fire eyes in the last season! I want a bit more flair.
It’s unclear what Ishamael is doing with the Seanchan, and both book fans and viewers new to the story are going to hypothesize wildly, I’m sure.
As much as I appreciate the show’s desire to bring in the Seanchan (the mysterious attackers who took Perrin and Loial prisoner), I think their arrival so early in the show is a mistake. We don’t know the villains we already have that well, especially Fain and the concept of Darkfriends in general. More importantly, we don’t know enough about this world. Unless they’ve read the books, a viewer has no context to understand why it matters that no one, even Loial, has ever heard of these new people. I also didn’t think their costuming was as effective as I’d hoped for. From a distance it plays well, but aspects of it look quite cheesy—especially the channelers in the gray dresses, who I think are supposed to look like they are gagged or have their mouths sealed somehow, but instead just look like they have metal pacifiers in their mouths. There is a lack of cohesion to the Seanchan costuming and makeup as well, which stands out in comparison to the very effective way the costuming visually built cultures like the Two Rivers’, the Shienarans’, and the Aes Sedai’s. This is actually a missed opportunity to pull from the books, since the Seanchan have some of the best visual descriptions of any culture, inducing blue and green armor with helmets that look like insect heads, dresses with lightning designs on the women who control the slave channelers, and blue lacquer on those very long nails Suroth is sporting.
One of my favorite aspects of the books is how Robert Jordan is constantly building parallels between different characters, often ones who have very different lives or different backgrounds. So I was especially enthused by the parallels that the first three episodes of season two built between Rand and Nynaeve. In a way, his (ultimately doomed) attempts not to touch the One Power mirror Nynaeve’s block against channeling. In both cases there is a fear of what that power can do to a person—Rand has the added problem of the corruption of male channeling to worry about, but both he and Nynaeve are positioned by the narrative as the most powerful channelers alive, and we can see how they both fear and distrust that kind of power, and the authority it brings. Rand’s burning of the unopened invitation parallels Nynaeve’s drinking of the dirty water as they both reject the conventions of authority around them.
Nynaeve’s experience in her Accepted Test also had some similarities with the vision Rand was given when he confronted Ishamael at the Eye of the World. Both were tempted by the idea of a normal, idyllic life in the Two Rivers with marriage to the person they love and a child. Both had to confront the fact that such a life can only ever be a dream, and that the darkness of the real world, as well as the power inside them, made the life they dreamed of nothing more than an illusion that they must let go of in order to embrace their true identity. And just as Logain tells Rand that he cannot stop himself from channeling, so do we see that Nynaeve’s fate is similarly decided for her.
Through these parallels we can also infer some of Rand’s unspoken feelings—they are probably the same as those that Nynaeve is all too happy to voice. In Tar Valon, Nynaeve tells the Aes Sedai that no one should have that much power, that she doesn’t want to become an Aes Sedai if it means turning her back on the people in her life who need her, while in another part of the world Rand’s identity makes him hide, even from his friends, while he confronts a man who truly believes that he was destined to rule the world by virtue of the Power he once wielded. Power that Nynaeve surpasses by a mile, and that Rand, the viewer presumes, must surpass by at least as much.
Despite its flaws, I’m very excited about the launch of season two, and looking forward to seeing what the next five episodes have to offer. Among my hopes for future episodes are that Elyas’s character will be more completely introduced; that Min and Mat will have some fun and funny scenes together, amidst whatever it is Liandrin is making Min do; and that we’ll spend more time with Verin. I love Verin in the books, and I’m very happy with what we’ve seen of her so far. I’m not particularly invested in Sheriam in the books, but I also love what we’ve seen of her so far, and excited for more.
Also, I must give a tip of the hat to the way the show has introduced Selene. This is pretty different from the book, and I think that the show has struck exactly the right balance of keeping what is thematically important about the character while positioning her, plot-wise, in a way that makes sense for the television series. Book fans get the excitement of knowing her full story while new audience members have everything they need to be intrigued by, and suspicious of, the new lady in Rand’s life. What’s her deal, exactly? Only time, and more episodes, will tell.
Fun Facts!
- “A Taste of Solitude” is the title of Chapter 18 of Lord of Chaos, the sixth book in The Wheel of Time series.
- “Strangers and Friends” is the title of Chapter 15 of The Eye of the World. It is the chapter in which Rand meets Min for the first time.
- “What Might Be” is the title of Chapter 37 of the Great Hunt.
- The opening scene of “A Taste of Solitude” shows stone work bearing the symbol of the ancient Aes Sedai, which looks like the symbol for yin and yang without the dots. In the book, this symbol is meant to reflect the opposing but interconnected male and female halves of the One Power. Though relevant because of the corruption the Dark One inflicted on male channelers, the worldbuilding in the show has put less of an emphasis on the differences between genders and their relative experience of the One Power. This symbol is also seen on the jug Liandrin holds during Nynaeve’s Accepted Test.
- The little girl in the opening scene is named “Niko” in the credits. She is an invented character for the show, but does get her name from a small character in the book series, who was a scientist and inventor. Show-Niko is dressed as one of the Tuatha’an, or Traveling People, some of whom Perrin and Egwene traveled with in season one.
- The sick girl who Liandrin takes Nynaeve to see has breakbone fever. In the books, the first time Nynaeve channels is as a girl when Egwene contracts the disease and Nynaeve fears she is going to die. Nynaeve doesn’t know that this is what she did until much later in her life, when Moiraine talks to her about it.
- Book fans are probably whooping wildly at the first appearance of Rand’s red heron coat. I know I was.
- My favorite scene was definitely Egwene going to talk to Alanna about “managing two things at once” and Alanna thinking that she was talking about threesomes instead of channeling. A close runner-up would be Nynaeve choosing to drink the dirty water rather than participate in the lesson Sheriam was trying to teach.
- Favorite Quote: “Every woman’s fears are her own property, do not burden us with them.” There are several iterations of this phrase said to Nynaeve, each increasingly less empathetic. The Aes Sedai tell Nynaeve that she doesn’t have to talk about her experiences, making it sound like a kindness, only to later reveal that it’s a demand that she keep her experiences to herself and not bother the sisters with them.
- Runner up: “Any old Warder can protect you from a Trolloc. But the right one can protect you from yourself.”
In addition to the show reviews, Sylas K Barret runs a weekly read of The Wheel of Time here on Tor.com!
I liked the episodes, and good write up by Sylas. Too many specifics to comment on at this point.
I’ve had a few days to write this out, so sorry :) I do not envy Sylas having to try and review all 3 of these at once, I was bursting after the end, haha. I think they are doing a really good job with Perrin and his particular struggle, and I agree that keeping Rand a bit more mysterious/close to the chest works. I’ve really enjoyed the character moments/conversations between the characters.
I wasn’t sure if I would watch Season 2 because the finale left such a horrible taste in my mouth; not just due to some of the lore deviations that I felt undermined parts of the story, but also some of the narrative tropes it fell into that I just can’t stand. It just felt like lazy/cheap storytelling.
However, I had liked most of the first season and figured I’d give Season 2 a try. Some of the variations are interesting and in some ways it’s fun not knowing exactly where things are going to go, or how a particular character/plot element will manifest.
So far I’ve enjoyed Season 2 a lot more, so we’ll see how it goes! I’m sure it helps that a lot of the big plots are starting up and the mysteries are deepening. I also enjoy how long/meaty the episodes are and that they really allow a chance for the character beats/quiet moments to settle (something I’ve been missing in the Disney+ shows I’ve watched).
-I was convinced that little girl was about to get eaten. I still am not quite sure what they are going for with this (are they trying to pull a thing similar to what they are doing in Rings of Power with the orcs). But also – who brings their kid to a Darkfriend meeting? Bring Your Kid To Work Day does not apply!
-I’ve enjoyed watching the interplay between Moiraine and Lan. Loved getting to see Domon and it’s clever how they pulled the poem back in (I knew exactly what it had to be as soon as they mentioned it), as I love that poem. It’s also neatly done (saying the poem showed up in Cairhien) as (assuming Selene is who we think she is) she’s in Carhien right now. It was definitely satisfying to watch her out-barter him and I appreciated his good natured acceptance of the defeat, haha.
-VERIN AHHHH! I don’t want to say too much here because I don’t know if Sylas reads these comments! I’m hoping that at the current pace, Sylas will still reach the end of the series before the show gets there, but I’m just saying they better not do my girl Verin dirty. Even though the Adeleas/Vandene relationship was important in its way, I can see why they have condensed the characters for economy and I’ve enjoyed the various interactions/conversations between all the characters. Verin is maybe a bit too ‘sharp’ as in the books she’s generally a bit more ‘preoccupied’ but ah well.
-Likewise it seems like Alanna is basically going to also be Myrelle, although I really do wonder if they will have her try to bond Rand. While I do think her sidetrack to Egwene was funny, I do think it kind of beggars belief she thinks that is what Egwene was actually asking about. Then again I could also see her doing that just to get a rise out of her.
-I also think they’re doing a pretty good job at getting at both Egwene and Nyneave’s personalities/approaches to training in the Tower.
-I’m REALLY curious what they are doing with Liandrin. For now I’m assuming she’s stilL Black Ajah (and might be eventually responsible for them meeting up with the Seanchan), especially as we see her flat out lie to Mat when she tells him there is no mention of him in the letters (which is an active lie, not just failing to read those parts to her) but she does seem to care a little (in her twisted way) about Nyneave or the Tower. Then again, that is probably all for her own purposes. I’m truly not sure what the point of her secret son is supposed to be, aside from just giving her some “nuance”.
-Speaking of potential Darkfriends, I wonder if they will be keeping Ingtar’s ‘repentant Darkfriend’ arc…it might serve to explain some of the actions he’s taken so far and his more measured approach to the dead Sheinarians they came across, and his advice to Perrin.
-It makes a certain kind of sense to combine Hurin, the ‘sniffer’ with Elyas, haha. I’m also trying to determine if Perrin’s “visions” are intended to just be the show’s way of visualizing the wolf images he sees.
-They did a great job casting Selene. And honestly, I kind of appreciate that they just jumped right into that and established it.
-So, I guessed right away that the more “famous guest” was probably Logain (which my husband thought was funny, because I hadn’t actually watched any of the trailers) but I appreciated the way they showed Rand both showing his normal kindness to the old man, but still ultimately getting what he needed, in such a way you’re not totally sure if he’s planning all this from the start or not (at least until it all plays out).
-The little hint of the Game of Houses was fun to watch too.
-I loved Elayne’s intro and the growing relationship between the pair. At first I was a bit miffed that she had been allowed to bring all of her royal stuff (as it seemed very against what I know of the Tower) but the resolution was a good way to highlight her character. I also noticed they’ve mentioned her love of “tinkering”.
-I’m assuming Moiraine is doing the ‘I’m being cruel to push you away from me’ thing as she’s on a death wish. She can lie since she’s stilled (assuming it still works that way in the show).
-I do feel some aspects of Lan’s characterization are suffering – he has his own fight and I feel like they aren’t really leaning into that.
-I really don’t like what they are doing with Min so far, but I guess we’ll see.
-The Seanchan – okay, I was not expecting them to show up there! I admittedly am not entirely sure WHERE they are though. I agree that the weird ‘gag’ visual is not the greatest, but I actually did love the costuming of Suroth and her voice. THE ACCENT! It is sublime, lol. I never was able totally picture what it was supposed to sound like because when I think ‘drawl’ I think more of a Texan accent, but of course it would be one of those high class southern aristocratic accents. That said I was not in any way prepared for the level of brutality the show was about to reach. I had joked to my husband that this was all very Game of Thrones with the forced Oaths and bending the knee and all that, and then they REALLY went Game of Thrones. Alas Uno.
-This is another one of those areas it will be interesting to see how the various plots interweave (the Seanchan, the Wolfbrothers, eventually getting to Falme/Toman Head, I’m still assuming Egwene is going to end up there since I did see a preview that hinted at it). I know there was a mention earlier in the episode of the fight in the sky with Rand and his flaming sword.
-They also seem to be slimming down the Forsaken with having Ishamael at Suroth’s side; I suppose there is still room for Semirhage if they eventually bring Tuon in, but we will see. From an ‘economy’ standpoint I suppose it makes sense. On the other hand, it’s maybe tipping your hand TOO much? The Seanchan don’t have to be Darkfriends to be villains (even though they are being manipulated by them, Ishamael in particular). It’s kind of how I feel about potentially merging Elaida/Liandrin – Elaida WAS manipulated by Darkfriends but she herself wasn’t. But, I can also see how it makes sense from a TV standpoint to condense some of it.
-Also wondering how/when the Horn of Valere will come in, and the Hunt. Part of me is still hoping for Faile to show up!
-The Arches might be my favorite part, although I do have a quibble about it. I will say I was not at all prepared for the fakeout where her storming out and leaving the Tower was just part of the Arch, haha. In fact, I was wondering if they were REALLY accelerating the plot because in some ways it foreshadows one of my FAVORITE Nyneave moments way later in the books (that Sylas hasn’t gotten to yet). I’m not often truly ‘surprised’ by twists so when the third arch appeared I was like, “oh man, they got me!”.
-And then the part I have a bit of a quibble about which is that we get yet ANOTHER Nyneave death fakeout. I was fairly sure they hadn’t actually killed her off, but I’m also a little unclear about what actually happened. Why does the Arch show up twice for her? The first time it seemed really faint, as if it hadn’t fully appeared, so did the Arch really just conjure up a multi day stay for her? I don’t really love that for whatever reason Nyneave gets to bend the rules here. I dislike when stories have to break their own rules just to show how important/special the character is. Like, Nyneave is awesome, but I don’t think it means the Arches should work in some special way JUST for her. Unless the implication is she is so powerful, she just managed to channel her way out herself? Does more power mean you can make things work in a fundamentally different way? I am not articulating this well, but it’s kind of a big part of what I hated about a certain scene in the finale.
-Speaking of limiting the Forsaken, I wonder if Logain is just going to take the place of Asmodean in a narrative sense (teaching Rand).
-Not really sure if I like the new Mat. I know Sylas disagrees, but he still seems too mopey and I just don’t believe he would decide not to approach Egwene.
-Future stuff – since we’ve skipped Caemlyn, I do wonder if characters like Galad, Gawyn, Morgase or Elaida will show up. I could see Morgase merely being an off screen character. I am wondering if they will be doing the coup at all, or if Liandrin and Elaida will still be merged somehow. Or, if Moiraine and her stilling will take the place of that whole subplot with Siuan and Nyneave will eventually heal HER. Perhaps her running off to confront Lanfear (if that is where she is going) is what is going to lead to her banishment/death? It will be interesting to see what plot points they include and how the threads weave together.
@2 – “But also – who brings their kid to a Darkfriend meeting? Bring Your Kid To Work Day does not apply.” Apparently, a Darkfriend Tinker.
“I’m assuming Moiraine is doing the ‘I’m being cruel to push you away from me’ thing as she’s on a death wish. She can lie since she’s stilled (assuming it still works that way in the show).” I don’t believe she is stilled; she’s shielded like Liandrin later in the books – bet she can’t lie but she is doing the Aes Sedai wordplay thing – they are not equals, she considers Lan her superior for purposes of her responses.
“This is another one of those areas it will be interesting to see how the various plots interweave (the Seanchan, the Wolfbrothers, eventually getting to Falme/Toman Head, I’m still assuming Egwene is going to end up there since I did see a preview that hinted at it).” Episode 5 is entitled “Damane” so yes I expect to see Egwene in a mouthpiece by episode end.
“It’s kind of how I feel about potentially merging Elaida/Liandrin – Elaida WAS manipulated by Darkfriends but she herself wasn’t. But, I can also see how it makes sense from a TV standpoint to condense some of it.” I’m strongly betting on getting Elaida in Season 3. Oscar nominated actress known for other genre series (cough cough The Expanse) has been seen on set, and would fit the role perfectly.
“Part of me is still hoping for Faile to show up!” Actress has been cast. Expect her in Season 3.
“since we’ve skipped Caemlyn, I do wonder if characters like Galad, Gawyn, Morgase or Elaida will show up.” Yes, all but possibly Morgase have been cast and seen on set for Season 3. Can’t wait for the Mat fight v. the two Gs.
.
I really enjoyed these first few episodes, and it’s all down to the performances. I don’t think there’s a weak link in the cast. As for the story, it’s very interesting to have read the books and still have next to no idea what’s going to happen. A lot of readers have complained about this, but I am just enjoying the ride. It’s like watching a remix of a story I know.
@3 – ah, interesting – I’ve been avoiding a lot of the news to try and stay mostly unspoiled.
Hah, love the ‘superior’ twist, that makes sense :) I was more or less assuming she was stilled (and that maybe Nyneave would be healing her instead of Siuan) but that makes more sense.
Overall, I’m enjoying this season so far. I’ve had even more time to accept it as a standalone fic rather than a faithful adaptation. So some of the weird changes, for the most part, hit more like, “Oh, THAT’S what they’re doing with that…interesting.” I do think Ishy’s track is kind of weird, and I have to groan at a few of the character assassinations, but otherwise it’s fine, because I’m enjoying it so far.
I think some of the writing is still sloppy– it’s probably not clear to non-readers exactly WHY they’re chasing Fain, or that he has the same Horn that the hunters are going for. But for me, nothing so far in the writing has been a eggregiously bad as the season 1 finale.
For a bit I had maybe convinced myself that the tendrils of Power we see when Rand beats that guy up are not his, but rather Lanfear’s Compulsion. But that’s probably wishful thinking.
I think the performances are all really solid. I did really love the Seanchan accent. I feel they got the right dialect to give them the drawl without making it sound too twangy or hokey. In fact, I had dreams all that night of joking around with people about it. It was delightful.
I think some of the departures are now almost making it more interesting as a book reader. It has me wondering where they are going to go with certain characters and plot lines. I’m guessing instead of knowing, so there’s a sense of mystery.
Overall I’ve been having fun with the first three episodes.
@2: I think one review I saw pointed out that in the book, Nynaeve does channel into the arch to get it to open again. So I think we’re meant to infer from the show is that her channeling that burst of Power is what causes it to open again, but that didn’t seem explicitly clear from the editing.
I’m definitely enjoying the show. As has been noted the casting is very strong, and the set design and art direction I think is excellent. As a long-time book reader who has been immersed in the world for over 20 years, it’s extremely disconcerting/disorienting to see the plot changes! I absolutely get why they are doing most of them, but others are inexplicable, at least so far as has been revealed.
For example, I had it in my mental head that Perrin, Ingtar, Uno and company were traveling south after Fain, heading towards Cairhien. And then out of nowhere the freakin’ Seanchan show up! I actually paused there to collect myself, and if you haven’t done that in Prime Video it is very helpful. It not only shows the actors/roles on screen at that moment, for WoT it also shows the location! Which was Atuan’s Mill on Toman Head. And that’s when I realized that the showrunners had done some solid misdirection for book fans. Nothing they said indicated where the party was or where they were going and they let us assume they were on the far side of the continent. But instead they just had the hunters travel all the way west to the coast to meet up with the Seanchan.
I definitely screamed at the screen at what they did to Uno however. Look, I get it, it’s not that Uno does anything later on that couldn’t be done by any other character, but I am just going to miss him dammit. And why oh why couldn’t they have offed Masema instead?
I am not a huge fan of what they’re doing to Moiraine. I’m not quite ready to call it a character assassination, as they could redeem it. But despite the “hurt them to save them” trope, I can’t see book Moiraine ever being so disrespectful to Lan as that, at least after they went through New Spring and she grew up a bit more.
Humanizing Liandrin… is interesting, and the Kate Fleetwood is crushing that performance. I’m guessing they’re making her more complicated in order to make her Heel Turn more of a gut punch. It is interesting that she seemed genuinely invested in Nynaeve. But again that’s probably so that Nynaeve could be “hers,” and guided towards the Red and the Black. Liandrin probably thinks she’s got enough innate rebelliousness and resentment to be a prime candidate.
I really like new Mat. I didn’t find him unduly mopey, I mean he’s been basically imprisoned in solitary for 6 months. I’d be unhappy too. I found him to have a much lighter and more likeable side, and really liked the interactions with Min. Definitely can’t explain why he didn’t talk to Egwene. I think that was a misstep. And no freakin’ clue how to interpret Min’s vision of him. Book Mat obviously had his issues with Rand, but he’d never stab Rand, literally or figuratively. On that note, I was tickled by Nynaeve’s vision of dead Mat with his eye missing in the Acceptatron.
Speaking of the Arches. When Nynaeve came out of the 3rd arch and “didn’t remember” I totally called it to my wife that they were faking us out. It was the good old “waking up from a nightmare only to find you’re still in the nightmare” that has been used everywhere… including elsewhere in the WoT books. As many changes as they were making, I didn’t think they’d foreclose Nynaeve’s Aes Sedai journey.
@2 – it actually happened somewhat similarly in the book that Nynaeve missed the first “way back.” She then channeled powerfully at the spot that the arch had appeared, and it reappeared for her. And then the Aes Sedai were nonplussed because they knew that she shouldn’t have been able to channel inside that ter’angreal. The only difference here was that Nynaeve was in the Arch-dream-world for much, MUCH longer both in real world time and dreamworld time. And man, they really found a way to make that experience even more heartbreaking for Nynaeve than it already was. Kudos.
Finally, I totally loved the little Easter egg for book readers they put into Selene’s first shot in Ep. 3, featuring a well-known chapter icon. I’d link to it, but I can’t find it anywhere on the internet yet!
Another easter egg – Lady Anvaere.of Carheinian party fame, is Moiraine’s sister. Someone had to point it out for me but well played.
For the folks who are enjoying the show, I’m happy for you. I just can’t get past the drastic changes, which make the story and characters barely recognizable to me. If I had never heard of “The Wheel of Time” I might like the series, but I’m incapable of evaluating the show on its own merits because those changes are just so jarring. It reminds me somewhat of my initial reaction to Jackson’s adaptation where it took me multiple viewings before I could get past changes he made, e.g. emo Aragorn, and enjoy the films for themselves, and the changes made to Lord of the Rings are infinitesimal in comparison to Wheel of Time. It seems to me that the creators made a conscious decision not to appeal to existing fans, but to make a series that they thought would be more attractive to non-readers of the series
Aha, I stand corrected! I totally forgot that in the book Nyneave actually IS that badass to just…make the Acceptatron work differently, haha.
Now, if I recall, Egwene is the one that had the dream ter’angreal hidden in her clothes which interfered with it…
I did a binge rewatch of the first season before I watched the first three eps of Season 2. My rewatch reminded me of a couple of things, namely (1) that the scenes and storylines with Aes Sedai characters are, so far, the most interesting parts of the show, and (2) that some parts of Season 1 were… quite underwhelming and boring, even to someone who has read the series multiple times like myself. The finale was really not a great episode, although I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt since they had to film it during COVID. We already know that Barney Harris wasn’t able to return during that time, and Brandon Sanderson has said he wasn’t able to read the scripts for the final two episodes until they’d already filmed.
In other words, the finale isn’t terrible, but to me just feels like it could have some used some more work/edits… and that really may have been the case. For example, I didn’t like Egwene bringing Nyn back from the dead or whatever, not because it was a change from the books, but because I just didn’t understand the purpose of it. Like, the narrative purpose. Then in Episode 1 of Season 2, Nynaeve says “No one should have that much power” and like, that one little bit of dialogue clarified the whole thing for me, and how it tied into their character arcs. That bit of dialog should have been at the end of the finale.
But luckily, I found the first three eps of Season 2 much improved. I agree Rand and Perrin continue to be the weak link. I’m mostly enjoying Perrin’s storyline for the book easter eggs (Elyas! The Seanchan! The wolves!) and less for Perrin himself. As for Rand, I’m really starting to worry about them establishing his character as someone likeable. There’s nothing about his plotline so far that is… outright incongruent with the character we see in the books, but, I’m just not getting anything from him to make me interested in seeing more of him. And that is a real problem.
I really feel like are trying to dive into “dark Rand” too soon. That character journey for him is a long, long descent in the books (possibly too long… I remember some readers were really starting to ask, am I still meant to be rooting for this guy? before his epiphany in GS). But the reason we do continue to root for him, despite how far he goes, is because we knew the person he used to be. The kind, likeable farmboy. And I just feel the show hasn’t given us enough of that Rand yet, and I’m worried they’re not going to.
On the other hand, I’m happy to report that I also find Mat much improved by Flinn. I don’t want to blame Barney Harris, becaues it’s honestly hard to say if Mat seemed off last season because of Harris’ portrayal, or just because of the way he was written (and directed). But Flinn really seems to embody what Harris brought to the role, as well as bring in some of the more lighthearted Mat from the books. I’m definitely interested in seeing what Min is up to with him.
The Aes Sedai continue to be the most interesting though. I love the addition of Verin so far. The fight scenes with the Fades and Moiraine/Lan was fantastic; the buildup was so scary and then when Lan came in like bam! It was awesome.
I, at first, didn’t care for the drawn-out sequence of Nynaeve being stuck in the arches – I know it happens in the books like that, but when they started showing scenes of Egwene finding out and grieving, I felt like the show was wasting screen time on what was ultimately going to be a fakeout, essentially. (Although having since read some other comments and reviews, apparently some people, both book readers and non-book readers, were surprised, so… I guess well done, show! I am usually the last person to figure out a twist ahead of time.) However, I think they ended up doing some important character work there, and the end when Nynaeve had to leave her family in the arches and emerged was much more emotionally gut-wrenching than I expected. It was well done.
I also thought they did a good job with making the Seanchan suitably frightening and upsetting. By the end of the series, we kind of like the Seanchan more because of characters like Tuon and because of the changes she begins to enact, so I’d almost forgotten the really visceral reaction of horror I first felt when we meet them in the series. I didn’t think it too odd to see Ishamael with them since we know there was a Forsaken influencing them in the series (Semhirage), but I was kind of surprised they decided to reveal that already, and I’m not sure I like it. I feel like non-book readers will immedaitely associate the Seanchan as working for the Dark One as a whole, which is not true and really reduces their complexity as villains. But we’ll see where it goes.
Overall, I’m very much excited for the rest of Season 2. Honestly, I have never been the kind of reader – not just for WOT, but for anything – that wants to see an exact replica of the books on-screen. Honestly, when the adaptation is too like the books, I find it boring lol. Whereas one of the reasons I’m enjoying this show so much is because I don’t totally know where they’re going with everything, and that’s exciting as a viewer.
First I want to point out that I HATE HATE recent trend of filmakers to film everything in the dark, and unless you have most expensive current TV with excellent collection the whole series is dull and strains your eyes. What they saw Game of Thrones being bashed by viewers and critics for doing just that and thought “I’got to have some of that!”?
Other than that, I felt this season was far better and more faithful to books, than anything from last season. Let’s hope they keep it up!
Liandrin is still Dark Ajah, they are just giving her background story for turning evil (save her son and give him immortality, perhaps). She obviously working on making sure that Mat is going to Falme, and then will try to get Nynaeve and Egwene there just as in the books to “save Mat and Perrin” (sneak preview of next ep). Sheriam is also Dark (notice that she ALWAYS agrees with Liandrin’s arguments, just plays “reluctant” for Alanna’s sake. Alanna will replace Myrelle. I hope they won’t do her bonding Rand, it reflects bad on her character and in the books it’s a very minor storyline. Nynaeve’s Accepted tests is very similar to books with arcs appearing twice in last tests, they just made it with a bit more dramatic flourish. Hope they stop with fake death tropes, filmmakers seem overly fond of this trope and it’s getting annoying. Perrin storyline is also kind of faithful, only Shienarians encountered Seanchans instead on riding to aftermath of their ‘pacifying” , same village name too. Also its best to show their tactics on characters we know and like instead of implying, as it was in the books. Rand, pretty sure that’s all of the Cairhien Great Game we will see that involved him in TGH. Logain obviously replaces Asmodean in the show. Serene will make sure Rand arrives at Falme last of all friends a la The Empire strikes back style. Also, didn’t Rafe mention he is combining TGH and DR? In DR is getting pretty dark being pursued by Dakrfriends and to lack of sleep. Here Serene looks to be sending him dreams and trying to corrupt him.Dont think Moiraine is stilled just shielded, after all that wasted time in s1 about broken Warder link, I would think they would show Lan being more broken about cut Link. Moirane hid their link prior to being Shielded, it’s still there but it can’t be sensed. Plus Alanna can’t take his bond unless it still exists.
@12: I don’t understand the narrative purpose of the Nynaeve resurrection either–just one of the examples of why the writing of that episode irritates me so much. Including that scene, we’ve now had at least three Nynaeve death fakeouts, and I don’t get their infatuation with it.
Having not opened the books in many years and being close to a “non-reader” in terms of familiarity, I’m not so bothered by the plot changes and the storyline seems… OK? But in terms of worldbuilding the settings outside Tar Valon seem both vague and generic compared to the cultural variety that Robert Jordan sketched out. If you’re a fan of the books, you’ll know the map, but watching the show all the landscape being traversed looks the same, all the villages look like generic fantasy, everyone speaks the same language (with random accents), and there’s no sense of where anyone or anyplace is in relation to the others.
Above, fernandan mentions being faked out about where the team searching for Padan Fain was and I couldn’t say whether that’s a result of intention or vagueness.
@13 Masha
As the new episode 4 seems to show, the Darkfriends want Mat to go to Cairhien.
I am surprised there isn’t more reaction here to Uno’s execution. He was a “mid-Major” character, present from Fal Dara to Salidar to Ebou Dar to The Last Battle, and played fairly significant roles in Nynaeve and Elaine’s character arcs.
I feel it was a real waste of an interesting character, and another jolting reminder that this is NOT The Wheel of Time brought to the screen, but a parallel and similar story set in that world but uncoupled from the canon we all have loved for so many years.
@17 – I was pretty upset at Uno’s execution. But I do get it because they’re trying to condense 15 books and 4.4 million words into a few dozen eps of TV. And nothing that Uno does is so significant that it couldn’t also be done by another character, like Juilin or Thom. But I think it is worth looking at this as another turning of the Wheel, and not the one we know.
I like the series enough to keep watching it and find the changes from the original material annoying but also like to point out how it differs to my wife who just HATES how it is different. But then again she never finished the series either so…
I do agree that Moiraine is just shielded due to the ‘net’ being woven over her by Ishy at the eye of the world and the fact she was never stilled in the books, unless they are trying to merge characters.
I thought the fight scene with Lan and the fades was good but showed Lan as more of a wimp than he’s supposed to be. He should’ve been able to take care of all those fades with barely a scratch.
thought the collar to the pacifier for the damane was weird. How are they going to show Moghedien with the pacifier, inverted weaves, she wouldn’t be able to talk
last but not least. Didn’t like how they showed Lanfear getting sliced, diced and stabbed through the heart and coming back from the dead like a zombie. I know the forsaken are immortal but that only means they can be put in a different body if they are killed not that their current body heals itself and pops back up after a time
signed, still on the fence
I’m also a book reader who’s on the fence about this series. I’m pretty happy with what I’ve seen from season 2, and it’s awesome seeing the locations and characters from the book being brought to life on screen.
But speaking of bringing characters back to life… Am I the only one who saw all of the Shienarians (plus Loial) slaughtered at the end of season 1? Are we to just assume that Padan Fain only had his Myrdraal goons vulcan pinch everybody before Perrin arrived? Or that Egwene, with her recently discovered mass ressurection ability, just healed everybody up when she came back to Fal Dara?
Seriously, this seems like such an enormous plothole, and nobody is talking about it at all. I’m starting to think I fever dreamed that entire scene.
Masha said,
+1. I have a cheap TV so the dark scenes are pixilated to the point of cartoonishness.. and there are a lot of dark scenes. It’s an absolute relief to get a daytime scene.
RobM said,
oh yay. I hope they get Faile right, one of my favorite characters..
The wolves throw me, being so obviously Alsatian dogs and small ones at that. It’s probably tough to get a real wolf to behave onscreen, though maybe CGI could have worked here.