Things have gotten very dark this week in The Wheel of Time, and although there are a few moments of connection between some characters, the theme of isolation continues to ramp up. For better or worse.
Recap
The sul’dam, Renna (Xelia Mendes-Jones), takes Egwene to a cell and tells her how the collar, an a’dam, works. When Egwene is uncooperative Renna uses the collar to torture Egwene, then leaves her alone in her cell.
In a dream, Lanfear tells Rand that she’s been protecting him by keeping Ishamael out of his dreams and that Ishamael is going to turn his friends to the Dark in order to control him. She also tells him that Logain is in Cairhien because Moiraine wanted to lure Rand to Cairhien. Rand asks Lanfear what Ishamael is planning, and she tells him that she has a condition if they are going to work together.
Rand wakes and tells Moiraine that he has to leave her—staying away from Moiraine is Lanfear’s condition. He confronts her about Logain, then leaves despite Moiraine’s pleas.
Min and Mat arrive in Cairhien during a celebration, and Min suddenly wants to leave. Mat is undeterred.
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Ryma and her Warder Basan (Bentley Kalu) convince Nynaeve and Elayne to trust them. They explain what Liandrin did, and Ryma realizes that Liandrin is a Darkfriend Aes Sedai, a member of the Black Ajah.
Lanfear visits Liandrin and her son, Aludran (Vladimír Javorský). She tells Liandrin that she is sworn to the Dark, not Ishamael, and suggests that Liandrin should serve Lanfear instead. She kills Aludran to free Liandrin from the last tie to the person she used to be.
Suroth forces Loial to performing tree singing for her and her court. Loial’s song makes a tree grow taller until Suroth cuts him off. Later, Loial and Ingtar discuss plans to steal back the Horn of Valere, and whether or not it’s possible to rescue Egwene. Loial assures Ingtar that if anyone is strong enough survive the torture of the damane kennels, it is her. Egwene tries to attack Renna with her water pitcher, and learns that the a’dam will prevent her from touching anything she thinks of as a weapon.
Alanna, Ihvon, Maksim, and Lan stop to camp near a Darkfriend temple. They act coldly towards Lan. That night Lan tries to sneak away, but Ihvon and Maksim confront him over the poem, asking if he is a Darkfriend sworn to Lanfear. Lan is ready to fight them but Alanna traps him with the One Power and he is forced to tell them the truth: that he and Moiraine found the Dragon Reborn, and that he needs to tell Siuan.
Rand dreams that he has killed all his friends and is confronted by Ishamael. Lanfear arrives and banishes Ishamael from the Dream. She offers Rand a gift, to see anyone in the Dream World he wants to see. Rand asks to see Egwene and sees her cell. Lanfear tells him that Ishamael has captured her, just as Lanfear warned he would. Rand says he will do anything. Egwene wakes from her dream of Rand. She tries to talk to her neighbor in the cell next door, but the woman only repeats the rules of the damane.
Nynaeve and Elayne refuse to leave Falme despite Ryma’s urgings. The three sit down to study one of the a’dam.
Moiraine tries in vain to write a letter to Siuan. Barthanes brings her a sandwich and tries to talk to her, but she is cold to him. Anvaere confronts Moiraine for abandoning her family and threatens to kick her out. Moiraine answers that she is the elder sister, and the house is hers if she wants it. Riding in a gilded coach at night, Siuan hears a commotion outside and prepares to defend herself. But when the door opens it’s Lan, who tells her about Moiraine.
Rand urges Logain to teach him, pointing out that Rand is Logain’s only chance to make a difference in the world now that Logain has been gentled. Logain walks him through embracing the Source but Rand takes too much power. Logain shouts at Rand to let go before he burns himself out and Rand collapses, vomiting. In the Foregate, Rand hears Mat’s voice at a dice table. The two embrace, and Mat asks where everyone else is.
Ryma warns Elayne and Nynaeve that some of the damane can sense channeling, so they must be careful. She tells how her sisters died to obtain it, and one, a Sitter of the Blue Ajah, was collared.
Renna tells Egwene that the a’dam was created by an Aes Sedai. Manipulating Egwene’s power through the a’dam, she has Egwene destroy the tree outside Egwene’s window by heating its sap until it catches fire. Renna exalts in the teamwork and connection, but when she asks Egwene to touch the pitcher she still can’t. Furious, Renna kicks and beats her.
Rand tells Mat about what happened, how he is the Dragon Reborn and that he let everyone believe he died at the Eye of the World. When he tells Mat that Ishamael has Egwene, Mat is eager to come with him. He tells Rand to meet at the gate in one hour. Mat finds Min drunk and tells her that he ran into his friend and Min tells him not to go, that she had a vision of Mat killing Rand with the ruby-hilted dagger. Mat realizes that Min has met Rand before, and that their entire relationship has been a setup. She tries to tell him that she is still his friend, and that if Mat loves Rand he must stay away.
Moiraine tries to apologize to Barthanes and tells him she believes he will make a wonderful king. Anvaere comes in to report that the Amyrlin, along with fourteen Aes Sedai, has arrived in Caemlyn, and has summoned Moiraine to an audience. In the courtyard Liandrin tries to fish for information but Siuan brushes her off. Rand waits for Mat but realizes he isn’t coming, while Mat watches from a hidden spot. Rand starts to leave but Lan is there with Alanna and her Warders. He tells Rand that he can’t let him leave.
Elayne and Ryma study the a’dam with the one power. Nynaeve struggles to channel until Ryma gives her advice. She uses too much power, but discovers that the a’dam is wounded, that it won’t be whole until it is around a woman’s neck. They realize that they have been detected by the Seanchan and Ryma determines to sacrifice herself so that Nynaeve and Elayne can stay hidden. She gives Nynaeve her ring to carry back to Tar Valon.
She and Basan fight the damane and sul’dam as long as they can, but Basan is unable to kill Ryma before he is killed himself, and Ryma is collared. Elayne stops Nynaeve from going to their aid.
Renna comes to Egwene again and Egwene is able to touch the pitcher. After several tries and more beatings by Reanna, Egwene is able to touch the pitcher. When Renna leaves, Egwene screams in anguish, and the woman in the cell next door tells her not to cry. Egwene did better than she did, and she was a Sitter for the Blue Ajah.
Analysis
This was a really difficult episode to watch, and even as someone who has read the books and knew what was coming with the damane, I felt completely blindsided with the tonal shift this episode has made in comparison to everything that came before it. I found much of the torture and violence in this episode gratuitous, and I can only imagine how unprepared a viewer who hadn’t already read the books might have felt when faced with such a dramatic and sudden increase in the intensity and volume of violence, both physical and psychological, in this episode.
It’s going to be difficult to review as well. But I’ll start with the things I do like about the episode.
Ryma is a wonderful character, and beautifully portrayed. I was very moved when, as a healer herself, Ryma was able to talk about channeling in a way that made sense and was accessible to Nynaeve.
My favorite scene was the confrontation between Min and Mat. I really love Dónal Finn as Mat, he brings all the sunshine to the character that was missing in season one, and he really sells Mat’s struggle coming to terms with abandoning his friends when they went into the Ways. His open vulnerability around Min is really moving, especially when he learns of her betrayal, and I appreciated that there was no outward expression of anger there. Finn and Alexander have a great chemistry, and I love the way that Min’s character is written for the series. She’s a bit more jaded and tired than the Min of the books, and she and Mat make a great pair with their matching attitudes of sardonic optimism and secret inner shame.
(Aside: Both Min and Aviendha’s introductions are different from those in the books, and I think both are handled really well by the show. Book fans will know why I think it’s fascinating that The Wheel of Time has paired the two off as initially Mat and Perrin’s friends, respectively. I am so curious about what this might mean for certain later developments that may or may not unfold according to the book canon.)
I also loved Mat’s conversation with Rand and his adorable reaction to learning that Rand is the Dragon Reborn. His determination to go with Rand and not abandon his friends this time was really moving, and made the fallout from his conversion with Min that much more emotionally wrenching.
She’s not in the episode much, but I was so pleased to see Siuan again. I loved the way she prepared to defend herself with the daggers made of air, and honestly I’d watch a whole episode of Sophie Okonedo walking around in incredible costumes and sitting at writing tables.
I was sort of disappointed that Rand leaving undid Moiraine’s progress with her family, but it does make narrative sense, since Rand has been Moiraine’s entire reason for existing even before she lost her ability to channel. Watching her try to write to Siuan was heartbreaking. And Barthanes is an unexpected joy in the series. I absolutely adore him, and I would like him to make me a sandwich with extra butter, please. I really need it.
The middle ground for me was the confrontation between Lan, Alanna, Ihvon and Maksim. The idea that they were worried that one of their closest friends was a Darkfriend, that they would be willing to kill him unless Lan could provide another explanation, was pretty powerful, and I liked the way it harkened back to the conversation Ihvon and Lan had about how Ihvon knows that Alanna wants the same thing he wants—the triumph of the Light over the Dark. When asked what Moiraine wanted, Lan couldn’t answer, and I can see how finding the poem in Lan’s saddle bags threw that conversation into a suspicious light for Ihvon.
However, even writing it out makes me feel like I had to do a lot of mental work to figure out what was going on there, and everything with them in regard to the discovery of the poem and the decision to go to the Amyrlin was executed in a very clumsy and unclear way. As a The Wheel of Time fan, I was able to reverse engineer my way to understanding what was going on, but my partner, who was watching with me and hasn’t read the series, was utterly lost.
I loved getting to hear Loial’s treesinging, but I really wish we had been introduced to the concept in a moment where its beauty could actually be appreciated. Also, it’s a rushed moment where I feel a viewer might not have understood what this skill of Loial’s is and what it means. In general, I wish that we had more Loial, and I think it was a disservice to the character to have him kidnapped instead of staying with Perrin. That being said, however, I loved the way the show made the treesinging sound, and I continue to enjoy Hammed Animashaun’s portrayal of Loial despite how little we get.
I also liked the confrontation between Lanfear and Liandrin, though it would have been just as effective, in my mind, without Lanfear’s drawn-out murder of Aludran. The idea that Lanfear wants to offer Liandrin the ability to follow her, instead of Ishamael, is cool and interesting, especially with Lanfear relating her own turning to the Dark to Liandrin’s experiences. The whole build up to revealing Liandrin’s Darkfriend Status has been connected to her son and to Liandrin’s connection to Nynaeve, and while it is acknowledged here that Liandrin swore her oaths to the Dark to keep her son alive, it’s not clear how the oaths work. Is Aludran being kept alive by the Power of the Dark? If Lanfear kills him, how has that oath not been forfeited? Once again the rules aren’t clear, and the show seems to assume we already know or just don’t care.
In general, season two has been a lot less welcoming to new viewers than season one was. I’m really surprised that the show doesn’t choose to use maps at any time—this is an entirely new world and the show does absolutely nothing to let us know where cities are in relation to each other, or how long it takes to get anywhere, or what makes one culture different from another. Where was the Amyrlin traveling to (or from?) that she could show up to Cairhien at what appears to be a moment’s notice? How did Lan and the others find her if she was on the road?
On the map in the books one can see that Tar Valon is pretty close to Cairhien, but the show doesn’t tell us that, so when suddenly the Amyrlin has arrived there and has summoned a bunch of Aes Sedai from the White Tower, the audience doesn’t know how that’s possible, or where all these people came from, or how long it took from Lan telling Suian about Moiraine to everyone being summoned to and arriving in Cairhien, apparently ahead of the Amyrlin. The show also does a poor job of telling us how much time has passed at any point in the season. It makes sense that to Egwene, torture feels timeless and endless, and she might not know how many days have passed, but Nynaeve and Elayne’s attempts to help Ryma figure out the a’dam seems to only take a very short time. (An hour? Maybe less?)
There is so much material in the series, so many places and events and important characters, that it was always going to be a struggle to adapt to television, especially an eight-episode format. (Imagine what could be done with the old-fashioned twenty-two episode seasons!) But if the show can’t manage to be clear in these ways now, it will only become more inaccessible in the future, and that would be a real shame.
What I found even more inaccessible about this episode, however, was how much torture it contained. Again, I expected some—the general shape of Renna’s attempt to break Egwene to the collar is more or less the same as in the books—but the volume of it, and the outwardly visceral way Egwene’s torture is depicted, surprised me. If I’m being honest, if I hadn’t been watching it to review I probably would have turned it off halfway through. Partially this is because my threshold for graphic violence is lower than a lot of people’s, which is why I’m upset that the show surprised us with it. I didn’t watch Game of Thrones, for example, because I knew what I was going to get, and I guess I thought I had a better sense of where The Wheel of Time would probably draw the line than I actually did.
The other reason, however, stands regardless of my personal threshold. I think too much of the torture we see on screen in this episode isn’t necessary serve the plot or the themes of the story, and that the show isn’t sensible enough to the way this violence read when almost everyone being harmed is a woman, and they are all people of color.
I think what disappoints me the most is the fact that the gratuitous brutalization of women is one of the hangups of the original series—I actually just talked about this issue in the most recent installment of my read of The Wheel of Time books. Although there is so much I love about The Wheel of Time, this problem, and issues of sexism in general, often hampers the other excellent aspects of it as a fantasy epic. And I thought season one of the show did a really good job in honoring what is great about the series while moving away from some of the outdated gender dynamics—the dragon can be reborn as any gender, Nynaeve and Egwene are also ta’veren, the difference between the male and female halves of the one power is less important and less dwelt upon than it is in the books, etc. Because of these improvements, I had a lot of hope that the show would also strike a better balance when deciding which elements of violence and subjugation served the plot and theme elements, and which were unnecessary torture porn.
This is especially important when most of the characters put through these experiences are women. Not only that, but because the show has done a good job of casting diversely, everyone (with the nominal exception of Liandrin and her son) who is harmed, tortured and/or enslaved in this episode is a person of color, which gives an additional aspect to the violence that the audience is witnessing. The show has even gone so far as to show more than is in the books—in the series, Loial was never captured by the Seanchan, and although Ryma does become a damane, most of what happens to her is not shown.
I am very upset about what the show did with Ryma and Basan. They are introduced to us in much the same way that the Two Rivers folk met Moiraine and Lan, and the dynamic between Warder and Aes Sedai is also very similar to Lan and Moiraine’s. Gethaiga is incredible in her role as Ryma, from her noble Aes Sedai bearing, to her fierceness in battle, to her chemistry with Kalu, and I can’t stop thinking about what a disservice the plot does to these characters. I was shocked when Ryma was taken, fully assuming that she and Besan would die heroic deaths, sacrificing themselves so that Nynaeve and Elayne could save Egwene and hopefully prevent more Aes Sedai from falling into the Seanchan’s clutches.
That fate is clearly what Ryma and Basan intended. Ryma has watched her sisters be killed or taken by the Seanchan, she knows the danger of being sensed channeling, and she has seen just what the damane can do. So someone please explain to me why she didn’t have a better plan to avoid capture than hoping that the Warder bonded to her won’t hesitate even a moment to kill her at the last possible second. A woman who knows medicine as well as or better than Nynaeve could have a vial of poison around her own neck in case she is taken. An Aes Sedai who knows that drawing too much of the One Power can burn you out or even kill you could use that fact as a weapon when faced with the only alternative that would be worse than those two. Instead, this incredible pair of talented, brave, self-possessed people seem to falter at the last moment, and the audience is robbed of one powerful (though still tragic) moment that could have taken the edge off the horrible things that are happening everywhere else.
Nynaeve could still have struggled with her guilt over not trying to help. She and Elayne would still have been on their own in their quest to save Egwene. Nothing in the plot demanded that Ryma end up this way; the only reason to include it in the story is to show just how horrible a fate this is… but we already know that, because we have been watching Egwene, and because of the revelation of what happened to the Blue Sitter who is on the other side of Egwene’s cell wall.
Now, the facts of the a’dam and the damane comes from the books, and unless the show was willing to completely change or remove it from the narrative altogether, there is no way of avoiding the brutality of what it means, of the fact that it is an enslavement of the mind— of the soul, if you will—as well as the body. In a series that has a lot of violence and torture in it, the damane are still probably the darkest thing in the entirety of The Wheel of Time books, even more so because, though there are Darkfriends among every group of people, most of these horrors are being perpetuated by people who believe that they stand in the Light. It is horrific the way Eamon Valda is horrific, not in the way that Ishamael and Lanfear are horrific.
So yes, if the a’dam is going to be included in the show, its existence shouldn’t be sugarcoated or shied away from. But we have already seen Egwene’s experience; Ryma’s doesn’t bring us anything new. The revelation that the woman in the other cell was once a Blue Ajah Sitter communicates everything we need to know, and much more effectively because of the quiet, broken sadness of it all. And if Ryma had been allowed to make her sacrifice that would have been more powerful too, as we would see what a sister was willing to do to save herself and others from enslavement.
It also seems relevant to point out that Besan and Ryma are Black, and so there is the added context for the viewer of seeing the brutal murder of a Black man and the brutal enslavement of a Black woman, whose trauma is lingered on in a way that reminded me of the way historical dramas tend to linger. There is an ongoing social conversation as to when such lingering is warranted and necessary, when it is effective and when it is gratuitous, that I don’t feel qualified to speak to in a larger sense. However, The Wheel of Time isn’t actually in conversation with the history of our real world, and so this scene in particular seems gratuitous and potentially traumatizing for people of color who aren’t expecting to see (even accidentally) racially coded violence in this fantasy story.
There is of course a place for depicting real violence, rape, and other trauma in stories. Egwene’s journey in particular and how she will be affected by her experiences as a damane in the books has some interesting parallels to Rand. However, it is also very common for fantasy to use such violence in an attempt to show the audience that this story is “serious.” If not handled with extreme care, it can quickly cross into trauma porn, and unfortunately, the entirety of this season has struggled with the questions of what aspects of the source material to spend a lot of time on, what to cover quickly, and what to skip altogether.
As a result, despite doing many good things, the episodes have often felt disjointed and confusing, and have now also made a significant jump in the way it presents violence to the viewer. This entire episode almost never let up, leaping from the murder of Liandrin’s son (also a murder that served no thematic purpose, since the conversation between Lanfear and Liandrin would have been just as moving without the dragged-out murder of an elderly man) to Egwene’s ongoing torture, to the absolutely confusion of whatever was going on with Lan, Alanna, and the boys.
As mentioned above, the confrontation scene between Mat and Min was really good, but I felt like it was drowned out by everything else. I wanted to spend time in the emotions that they were both experiencing, but everything else in the show being turned up to eleven made Mat’s hurt feelings seem less important than they should have been. Mat is sad his friend was only pretending to be his friend; meanwhile Egwene is literally having her humanity stripped away. Oh and Rand’s doing… something. I think.
All in all, I’m disappointed with this episode, and deeply worried about the final two. I’m hoping the show will pull up a little bit, and that we’ll have more time for interesting developments, for Elayne and Nynaeve to sneak and plan and stage a heroic rescue, for Perrin and Aviendha to joke and hang out, and for Mat to just be on screen a lot more than he has been. And also for Siuan and Moiraine to get some time alone together and Siuan to kiss all Moiraine’s pains away, if only for a minute.
Okay, I know I’m not going to get most of that, but let a person dream. And keep Lanfear out of there.
Facts and Easter Eggs:
- Eyes Without Pity is the title of the 29th Chapter of The Eye of the World. It has nothing to do with the Seanchan, and is actually more about Perrin than Egwene. In it, Perrin, Egwene, and Elyas are pursued by a murderous army of ravens that belong to (work for?) the Dark One. If caught they will be horribly pecked to death, and Perrin contemplates mercy-killing Egwene rather than let her suffer such a fate. But they escape, and Perrin faces a crisis around the idea that he would murder his friend. This kicks off his ongoing struggle with his own capacity for violence the way Layla’s death does in the show.
- Treesinging is a talent which some Ogier posess the ability to sing to trees and plants to make them grow. They can also use tree singing to make a tree grow a beautiful, high-quality wooden craft item without harming the tree. Loial is considered to be one of the most talented tree singers to be born in a very long time.
- In the books, Barthanes is one of Moiraine’s cousins, and a rival of King Galldrian. I like that they gave Moiraine a nephew, and that they made Galldrian a Queen. I agree with Moiraine, I think he’ll make a great king. If he doesn’t get murdered. People get murdered a lot in The Wheel of Time, especially if they’re connected to Rand or Moiraine.
- In Rand’s dream, Lanfear calls Ishamael “Ishy,” which is one of fandom’s nicknames for him.
- Favorite Quote: “We’re not better off without you, Rand, I promise you that.” “We’re not better off without you either, Mat.”
- Runner Up: “There are many paths to walk through the night.”
Sylas K Barrett has one good takeaway from this episode, which is Mat and Rand reminding each other that they belong with their friends. If season 3 happens, I’m hoping that discovery will shape how the Two Rivers folks (and the new additions to their group) handle their lives and their separate journeys.
I actually thought this was the best episode yet in terms of how intense it got. I understand some of this is subjective in terms of how much violence seems gratuitous, and I probably have a higher threshold (I thought Uno’s death crossed that line, for me, in some ways). But in some ways I found this tame/restrained in its violence. Renna kicks her pretty savegly, and then chokes her, but I didn’t feel like it was inordinately graphic; almost all of the pain of the a’dam is mental. I think I would have had more of a problem with Egwene’s captivity if they had tried to sexualize it in some way (eg, stripped her or tried to add some element of sexual violation) – which also is not done in the books – that’s the kind of thing I tend to be more sensitive to. But I found this sequence of scenes to be really good at showing you the devastation she feels, how strong she is (and how far she has sunk into despair), AND how abhorrent the whole practice is despite how Renna might try to couch it or convince herself that it’s for everybody’s good. I think all of that is really important to show. “No woman has power with a collar around her neck” was a standout line for me. Plus we know Egwene will rise from this and it will be a huge part of her ongoing character development, so it’s not just useless suffering to make her suffer.
I’m also not entirely sure how to balance – from a meta/creative perspective – stories where women (and people of color) start taking more active roles in a setting where a lot of bad things happen. I did have a similar thought about the optics regarding Ryma’s collaring, but it’s also possible that (depending on what they bring in from the books) her character will be important later so giving her a death on her own terms might not have worked. On the other hand I really loved her character and performance – to the point where I felt quite attached to her/emotional about it after just one episode with her, so I am not sure I would change it! Especially if her collaring means there is hope for her to be rescued later.
Anyway, while I do not particularly enjoy watching the suffering, nor am I clamoring for more – I do think in both cases I felt really connected to the characters’ struggle and story, and what it said about their character. So in that sense, for me it succeeded from a storytelling perspective.
As for the rest of the show – I am still not quite sure where they are going with Lan and Moiraine’s plot (although I do like how they have set up Rand meeting Siuan and Lan coaching him to happen), and I do kind of agree about Lanfear and Liandrin and whatever is going on with her son. I’m still unclear – did Liandrin swear to the dark to just keep her son alive indefinitely? But I guess it’s also not out of character for Lanfear to not be cruel in that way.
Did anybody else think the presence of a ‘Darkfriend Temple’ was a bit odd? Were the really openly practicing Darkfriends such that they had actual brick and mortar temples that would be recognized as such by non-DarkfriendS (and not completly razed to the ground)? I thought that was kind of an interesting choice.
I agree that this season is harder to follow than the previous one. I hadn’t read the books before I watched season one, and I had no problem following it. Now that I have read the books, I am still having a little trouble following season two. I also agree about there being too much “trauma porn” in this episode. All the physical and metal anguish was difficult to sit through.
The rationalisation I came up with for the early travelling done by Siuan and Alanna’s group is that the scene with Lan and Alanna and her warders occurred earlier than the other scenes, i.e not all scenes in this episode are on a linear timeline. I too was surprised by how graphic they were with Egwene’s training. While it is good that they make it very clear how horrible the Seanchan generally are I don’t think we needed to spend this much time on these scenes.
Posting some thoughts before reading the comments.
First of all, this was easily one of the best episodes all season (all series!). While majority of plot-lines are very different (nigh-on unrecognizable for some) from the books, the show itself feels sharper and interesting in and of itself. I am very eager to watch next episode and wish I could watch it now!!! That being said, of course there’s many things I can nit-pick and I guess that’s one of the curses of being a book-reader. A few of my random thoughts, in no particular order..
Egwene. Wow. Madden killed it this episode (as she’s been doing for a while – surely Egwene is one of the strongest characters in the show, next to Moiraine). So brutal. Definitely rough to watch, although I think the show handled it well. Was speaking with a friend(Celebrinnen!) about it and I think since it’s so hard to show the mental torment on a TV screen, it makes sense they leaned into the physical brutality. Everything – from Egwene burning the tree and almost having a bonding moment with Renna – to the last scene of Egwene howling in her cell – just…wow. It was brutal and rough and terrifying in all the right ways for Egwene’s story. At the very end, I was very much hoping the episode would end with Renna saying “good damane” and it pretty much did!! “Good girl” is close enough and just hammered home the utter savagery and inhumanity of the Seanchan sul’dam/damane system that their culture is built upon.
Elayne and Nynaeve didn’t have a ton to do, but I did like their moments together, working on solving the adam. Very book-reminiscent. Mat and Min? I’m sorry, as it seems other people really liked their scenes, but I continue to struggle just because this Min feels so far away from the Min I know and love. Mat’s character is actually starting to shine a bit and I’m really loving this actor. Mat and Rand together was everything and it made me so happy to see them hug each other and hang out a bit!! Even though I was a bit confused that Mat asked Rand about Egwene when…he just saw her? Was that deliberate on his part to hide the fact that he had left her?
Lan’s storyline continues to feel wonky and that he is shoved into things just to give his actor things to do. Who would believe Lan a Darkfriend!? Also. It seems everyone and their sister knows Rand is the Dragon/man-who-can-channel now. Definitely not something that’s being kept secret by Moiraine/Siuan! Seems we’re building up to a confrontation between Siuan and Rand in next episode, which I CANNOT WAIT for. It’s interesting because I still don’t honestly find Rand’s character in the show that interesting, yet I’m the most excited for his story in the next episode purely because of book knowledge and anticipation of how things might go down. Siuan has…enough sisters with her to shield/sever Rand from the source, if they deem it necessary. I assume the confrontation will go poorly and Rand will escape to Falme to go after Egwene. Siuan bungling things with the Dragon will likely lead to advancement of her storyline and events next season mirroring book 4. I REALLY HOPE and WOULD DIE if Lan gives Rand some tips on his meeting with the Amyrlin and this gives us the “Cat Crosses the Courtyard” moment. I will forgive so much if we get this scene in next episode. PLEASE.
Besides all that? Pike continues to be amazing as Moiraine and I am more and more seeing her as true Moiraine. Lanfear is absolutely incredible – this may be my favourite casting of the whole show. She called Ishy “Ishy” and I almost died laughing. Her every facial expression and move is just perfection. She is Lanfear. Love the show getting more confident doing stuff in TAR – some of the best scenes in past two episodes have been in TAR.
Closing thoughts – I still have lots of issues with the show. So hard being a book reader and shoving that knowledge away. Rand doesn’t really feel like Rand (or even, an interesting character). Perrin, same. Min I don’t even want to talk about. Lan’s plot has all been weird. But I’m loving Egwene. Nynaeve is phenomenal. Elayne is Elayne!! Moiraine is more and more becoming one of my favs. And Ishy and Lanfear….wow, love them so much. Last season, I was struggling with this show, it was not keeping my attention, I was not excited for the next episode. This season, I’m intrigued and enjoying. Not sure if my extra book knowledge helps or hinders (as I still feel the show hasn’t done a good job of laying out clear character motivations and plot drivers), yet I’m happy that this show is finally approaching competency. Leaps and bounds better than S1.
Thanks for the interesting discussion!
I did find the portrayal of Renna’s terrorizing of Egwene this episode compelling in one way, that it portrays well one aspect of abuse: the way that an abuser will pretend to or even genuinely believe that they love their victim. Xelia Mendes-Jones plays eerily well the moments where Renna is laying on the “I’m the only one who truly appreciates you” manipulations.
In fact, I’ve seen other reactions to the episode arguing that Renna is a sympathetic character in her own way, also a kind of victim of abuse in Seanchan society. I can see where those people are coming from, but I think that read is also giving Renna too much credit, taking at face-value the moments where she acts friendly towards Egwene. I think the better, more honest reading is that Renna knows full well what she’s doing.
Your review makes me wonder how the writers could potentially have played more into the psychological manipulation aspect, maybe having Renna stick to the charm offensive longer before breaking out the physical violence.
As is, I thought this episode, structurally, was very effective (most dramatic pouring of a cup of water I’ve seen in a while), but I sympathize with the perspective that the (very many) torture scenes got gratuitous. Silver lining, at least they’re giving Madeleine Madden more heavy lifting to do acting-wise?
I also thought this was the best episode of the entire series so far. Egwene’s torment seemed deeper and more relatable than some of the manufactured trauma they’ve come up with for other characters this season. As Lisamarie said @1, at least we know that this is going somewhere for Egwene and is serving the story. I’m still not really sure what story purpose some of the non-book plotlines serve.
I very much liked the episode but I agree with many I’m troubled by the Min arc – really crappy show invention to try to get rid of her powers when she knows she’ll need that to help Rand out later. I’m also expecting a big fake out re her Mat-Rand dream. No possible way Mat does that in real life.
I loved all of the things in Falme. Egwene and Renna, Nyn, Elayne, Ryma and her warder – all top class. The Loial tree singing but was heartbreaking – what a great concept and execution. Note: Ryma is a book character much later in the books but won’t discuss context for spoiler purposes. Moiraine and her family interactions were good as well. Logain-Rand was good as well but I’m having book reader problems with stilled people seeing weaves. Lan – still a dumb plotline and misuse of excellent actors. Get him back with Moiraine and training Rand stat. I’m hoping an expecting a 1-2 month time jump before the final so that Moir, Lan, Rand, Mat and Min can travel by horse to Falme, with training, Eg can level up as a saidar user, and Nyn and Elayne can get really frustrated but finally figure out the a’dam and formulate the rescue plan.
One additional note to my earlier comments – love love love Lanfear and the interactions with “Ishy”.
The pairings of Mat and Min and Perrin and Aviendha feel off. I don’t believe Mat and Min ever interacted onscreen before A Memory of Light. Also that alliteration should be regarded as a Class 2 Screenwriting Misdemeanor. AFAIK Perrin and Aviendha never interacted in the books. Plus there’s the perilous nature of Composite Characters. An Alanna/Myrelle Composite Character could work. But IMO an Aviendha/Gaul Composite character is a lost cause.
Having never read the books, and never will, I see WOT on AP just as what it gives us — which mostly makes no sense, and presents as a video game, particularly as there are such rules’ dictated neat categories of figures and organizations, with names that have no base in anything ‘real’ and thus are impossible to remember.
Beyond that, in this episode, it was horrifying to see the techniques and methods used on the captured Wisdom that are the same as the sex traffickers use to break in their kidnapped, seduced, scammed young children and men and women for the enslaved sex trade. The language is also the same, including ‘breaking in.’
Have no idea if books’ author went even further in the books depicting and reveling in these horrors than the episode has. This was all sorts of horror, which left this viewer, feeling depressed and hopeless.
One other thing I forgot to mention – while I’m still not sure where some of the non-book plots are going (especially with Mat/Min) I have enjoyed all of Moiraine’s scenes. I am hoping they are not going the ‘Barthanes is a DF’ route but in general I think it’s a good exploration of what being an Aes Sedai actually costs a woman (and how it can impact those left behind). In some ways it’s a foil to Liandrin’s story and desire to hold on to her son that she knows she would otherwise outlive by decades.
On further reflection, it seems to be the presentation of such ‘breaking’ as sex traffickers are using all over the world every minute on thousands and thousands of children and young men and women for their own financial gain — and pleasure — being provided to us as ‘entertainment’ — as so much other entertainment — is what has left me depressed and hopeless.
I’m apparently less bothered by the scenes of torture, etc. However, one part of the show bothered me compared to my memory of the books.
When Egwene was being tortured by Renna in the books, Renna never lost her temper. Egwene wasn’t human, and a good dog trainer never kicks the dog because it didn’t learn the trick. You only get mad at people.
I think Renna getting mad and kicking Egwene undercuts just how much Egwene’s humanity no longer exists to Renna.
Renna was supposedly a good trainer.
Also, what Renna did wasn’t (to her) torture. It’s only torture if you’re doing it to a human being. For a dog, it’s merely training.
Loved this episode too, so I also disagree that it was too much. It’s brutal in the text, and it needed to be brutal on screen. Plus, if you’re a showrunner in the current media landscape, you are committing malpractice if you don’t do everything you can to stand out from the rest, especially when it’s straight up textual.
Certainly the overall story writing is confusing for new viewers, I imagine, and they need to either do better with characters enunciating foreign names and places or better sound mixing so all that dialogue can be heard. I have a TV that shows darks pretty well, and I have above-average speakers, but the dialogue is still tricky, and I’ve heard from friends who have a hard time both seeing and hearing the show.
Laughed out loud and rewound it for “Ishy!” Agree with all the comments about Lanfear, Ishamael, Egwene, Ryma, and Moiraine being awesome.
I wouldn’t eat a sandwich made by Barthanes if you paid me, and Sylas, I wouldn’t recommend you do so either. Also, please tell me when the Earl of Sandwich lived in Randland and how that meal got his name. :) I kid, mostly, obviously they are translating the Common tongue into English as proven by Moiraine’s writing. It also bothered me in TPOD when Moridin was hiding behind a wrought iron screen of “arabesques” in Ebou Dar.
@7 Ryma is in TGH, not just in later books. Though more often referred by her “damane name,” Pura. <spits> Her show character is seriously great, and I hope she gets some redemption later. It may be possible because perhaps Maigan, the captured Blue sitter, may be taking that place in the arc as the Aes Sedai who is completely broken.
@9 When they first paired up Mat and Min I laughed immediately because you could view it as an elaborate retcon to fix the fact that the two of them never spent time together prior to AMoL and then were greeting each other like chums.
In the books, Darkfriends were largely portrayed as sociopaths, with the remainder usually being varying degrees of pathetic (yes, there are exceptions). I’m glad that the show is taking a broader view of them, and showing the viewers the sorts of things that might make a person swear to the Dark. It makes the whole thing more believable. I’m also glad that it’s showing us the Dark’s biggest weakness, namely its tendency towards self-sabotage. Liandrin will make someone pay for her son’s death (the look on Kate Fleetwood’s face during that scene!)
It also shows us that simply opposing the Dark doesn’t make one good. We saw that with the Whitecloaks, and we get a much more object lesson with the Seanchan. They didn’t hold much back on the “training,” and they couldn’t afford to. They had to show the depths of that brutality. I personally don’t think it crossed the line into gratuitousness. I also don’t want to see too much more of it. Now that we know, showing the aftermath will be enough.
(Also, good lord Madeleine Madden! Brilliant from start to finish, and it can’t have been easy)
Nyokabi Gethiaga killed it as Ryma, and she and the writers created a character who doesn’t just give Nynaeve a positive reason to want to become Aes Sedai, but who shows what the Aes Sedai could and should be. The books have few sisters as awesome as her, and I hope for her to have a different fate in the series.
Natasha O’Keeffe is fantastic as Lanfear. All she needs is the white dress.
Rosamund Pike is a perfect Moiraine (almost; she has the Hugh Jackman problem: embodies the character perfectly but is too tall). All this Damodred family drama makes me wonder if the series will spell out relationships that the books never did. All they need to do is mention a half-brother that neither Moiraine or Anvaere cared for, and the children he had…
I understand the levels of comfort regarding the depictions of enslaving, and particularly breaking someone’s spirit would differ. It is harrowing, and it does take a long a while. I do think it’s necessary though. Two of Egwene’s defining characteristics throughout the series is her strong will, and the determination to never be put in chains again. In the books, that doesn’t come into play until later. This part of the story is glossed over.
What this episode does is both show how horrible what it is the Seanchan do, and how much work is required to break Egwene. And that first one is also important because a lot of people in the story make concessions to the Seanchan. On the basis that apart from that one absolutely horrifying they do, they’re actually pretty cool as governments go in the Westlands. Like most of the episode, it’s setup for what comes next.
That said, I hope Ryma gets rescued because that is indeed a messed up thing to do to your darkest skinned characters in the episode. This season seems smarter than the last though, so I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
I’ve just had an unsettling thought. What if Aviendha isn’t going to be an Aviendha/Gaul Composite Character, but an Aviendha/Gaul/Faile Composite Character. YMMV of course.
@17 – I believe Sylas mentioned in a previous installment that he thinks that’s what they’re doing, and he alluded to that in this post as well. And adding that he thought they might be pairing Min and Mat. I don’t particularly like that if that’s the case.
Sylas seems to think that Rand’s trio of women is a sexist trope, or wish fulfillment or something anti-feminist. I see it as just a lifestyle choice on the part of all four of them who are equal participants. If anything, poly relationships are less outré today and slightly more acceptable than when RJ wrote those books in the ’90s.
On the flip side, if they were to pair Aviendha with Perrin instead of Rand, it creates a weird power imbalance because now she has to carry water (oath) for Perrin, pun intended. And it would mean Rand has lost a major connection with the Aiel. And it’s even worse if that’s what’s happening with MIn because Min is simultaneously the most humanizing force acting on Rand, and also a huge weakness for him that the bad guys like to exploit. It would create all kinds of new problems. Plus, NOT pairing Mat with Tuon makes bringing the Seanchan into the alliance much harder to believe. Really the only positive change would be that we lose the PLOD and I’m not sure that’s a good enough tradeoff.
So yeah, pitfalls abound and I hope they don’t go that route.
Personally, I am a fan of the books, but also have many issues with them. So, I am on-board with substantial changes to the plot and characters, as long as the resultant show is cohesive and interesting.
For me the first season was passable, but this one is really good so far except for whatever they are doing with Lan. Villains in particular are a huge improvement over the source material and all the character merges work so far.
IMHO shying away from the horror that Egwene goes through as a captive of Seanchan would have been a disservice both to the character and to the theme. Her suffering isn’t gratuitous torture porn – it reveals and informs her character in a number of ways. As to the physicality of Renna – it would have been impossible to depict her making Egwene feel like she was submerged in boiling water or whatever else, so it is an effective visual short-cut.
Thumb @16:
It is not just the _one_ thing that Seanchan do – they also enslave normals in the usual way and it is hereditary. It is just that in the books it happens to bit and/or unpleasant characters, so many readers don’t seem to care. And of course the few native Seanchan in this situation are “happy slaves” in privileged positions and blindly loyal to their owners. Sigh.
@17 I believe failenhas already been cast.
I’m on the disagree wagon here. I think the abuse of egwene was exactly what was needed to depict the Damane. In the books it was similar and I have no problem with it.
@17 – Faile is believed to have been cast, so (if true) that should cut the legs off of this possible plot direction. Except – I want to see Gaul in the show.