Knots are untied as The Wheel of Time season two approaches its finish

Lee: We’re rounding the bend to the top of the season with episode seven of eight right here, and there is a number of floor to cowl earlier than we get to that enormous battle within the sky that no person appears to have the ability to shut up about. (It is not spoilers if all of the characters on display are speaking about it!) This episode concerned a number of shifting items round on the board—an enormous chunk of the scenes exist with a view to get all of our characters in Falme for subsequent week, together with and particularly regardless of the hell is occurring with Mat proper now.

However earlier than we get to any of that, we now have to speak concerning the opening for not less than only a second. Final season, we bought to see Rand’s delivery on the slopes of Dragonmount because the Aiel Conflict stumbled to a detailed, however now we’re given a peek into the different necessary occasion that occurred on the similar time: the Aes Sedai Gitara Moroso (Hayley Mills) and her “Foretelling.”

Foretelling is seemingly a uncommon expertise that doesn’t present up in Aes Sedai fairly often, and Gitara Sedai was apparently one of many strongest at it—or not less than one of the crucial correct. Proving that prophecy typically comes on the most inconvenient of occasions, we’re proven a flashback the place a a lot youthful Moiraine and Siuan enter Gitara’s rooms within the White Tower, and Gitara virtually instantly collapses underneath the load of her imaginative and prescient of the Dragon’s return to the world. The Aes Sedai appears to really feel what Rand’s mom is feeling throughout her battle, and we’re led to imagine that each Gitara Sedai and Rand’s mom expire on the similar time.

We all know from the books that that is the second that kick-starts Moiraine’s and Siuan’s secret-squirrel membership—the explanation why they’re actively searching the Dragon Reborn. The inconvenient bit, in fact, is that nobody else was there—nobody else witnessed Gitara’s Foretelling. Will surely have been nicer if she’d collapsed in the course of the Corridor of the Tower with extra witnesses, however so goes historical past, I suppose.

Lee: Yeah—I suppose it is a side-effect of getting the Forsaken be such main characters on-screen, relatively than doing most of their motion within the shadows. They usually’re simply so rattling likable—Fares Fares as Ishamael feels downright fatherly at occasions, and thus far all Natasha O’Keeffe’s Lanfear has accomplished is put on revealing outfits, have loopy intercourse with Rand, kill an previous man, and blow up the Foregate. She’s not precisely flaying kids alive or defenestrating widows or something.

Which I feel is sort of doing the supposedly legendary standing of the Forsaken no favors. Close to the top of the episode, when Lanfear walks into the courtyard with Moiraine and Siuan and mates, nobody freaks out at an precise residing non-bound member of the Forsaken strolling into the courtyard—Moiraine is rather like, “Oh rattling, it is Lanfear.” My impression is that Lanfear strolling up into your assembly, even should you’re a supposedly omnipotent Aes Sedai, could be like actual-for-real Jason Voorhees unexpectedly shambling by the door to your own home. The right response is a few sort of mixture of “Oh my God wait Jason is actual?!” and Scooby Doo-style cartoon panic-running in a number of instructions concurrently. Probably with some pants-wetting tossed into the combo for good measure.

I additionally sort of need to discuss regardless of the hell it’s that Ishy was doing with Mat. I used to be sort of left feeling clueless by the scene with the tea, however my spouse has sort of a idea.

Lee: I used to be a bit of let down by Ishy’s promise that he was brewing up some tea to let Mat see previous lives—I assumed the identical factor as you, that we may be about to present Mat the shove he wants to begin doing the issues he does within the e-book, however as a substitute of precise previous lives, we simply bought extra bizarre stuff with Mat’s (show-only) abusive mom and his (show-only) points together with his (show-only) abusive father. I am genuinely undecided the place it is purported to be going, aside from to only abuse Mat some extra on display and get him to the purpose the place he is even extra in thrall to the Forsaken.

My spouse’s quick-n-dirty idea is that the tea was only a sleeping brew, and that the sequence was really Ishamael screwing with Mat within the World of Goals. I would class that as a particular “possibly”—the factor that retains me from absolutely agreeing with it’s I simply do not see what the scene is for, whether or not it is Magic Spirit Journey Tea or simply plain sleeping tea and the Magic Spirit Journey is in Tel’Aran’Rhiod.

Okay, I’ve bought like… paragraphs to drop in right here about Moiraine, however provided that you are prepared to show to her, and to the decision of one in all this season’s largest mysteries.

Lee: Precisely so. We be taught that Moiraine was shielded this whole time, with the protect weaves tied off into knots and left to sit down. However your level concerning the further-changed nature of protecting feels prefer it’s a part of the bigger set of adjustments which have been made to how the One Energy works with women and men within the present.

It has been sort of a thriller why Moiraine herself hasn’t accomplished some extra intensive troubleshooting to search out the extent of her situation. When a sure set of characters (to stay anonymous, to spare non-book readers) finally figures out easy methods to take away the Aes Sedai Three Oaths in a future e-book, one of many VERY FIRST issues these temporarily-oathless characters do is begin mendacity and laughing—as a result of, let’s face it, having the ability to say “THE SKY IS GREEN!” for the primary time in years might be fairly exhilarating. Why would not Moiraine have merely began busting out with the lies, if for nothing else than to check whether or not or not she’s TRULY stilled?

There are two solutions that I can consider. The primary is the extra in-universe one: few Aes Sedai have ever bothered finding out the consequences of being stilled. Stilling is just too viscerally horrifying to confront, even for the knowledge-minded Browns. Stilled ladies have a tendency to go away the White Tower in order to not be surrounded by reminders of their previous and are thought to shortly die (as Lan makes evident when he asks Moiraine if she considered ending her personal life prior to now few months). There are merely no information of what occurs, aside from that the ladies who DO survive the method have a tendency to take action by totally occupying themselves with necessary duties that take the place of the One Energy of their lives. Moiraine would possibly merely haven’t identified that stilling unbinds the Oaths, and having lived her life by them for many years, stored up the habits of residing by them purely as a result of she would not know some other approach to be.

(Although, I suppose the REAL reply is much more apparent: “Son, the explanation the nice cowboys do not simply shoot the dangerous cowboys’ horses is that in the event that they did, there’d be no film.”)

Lee: Agreed—and there are much more of these contrivances popping up round how the One Energy appears to operate, particularly round stilling and gentling and shielding. As you accurately level out, being shielded within the present does certainly appear to do kind of what being stilled does within the books—for ladies, not less than. Male channelers, however, appear to have gotten some upgrades. Logain—gentled and undoubtedly not-screwing-around lower off from the Supply by Liandrin—apparently retains the flexibility to each choose one other man’s power with the One Energy, and in addition to really see weaves. The books make it very clear that being stilled or gentled is a everlasting and whole factor that transforms the channeler into a standard human with not more than regular human skills, so it is a main swerve.

And why did they do it? In order that Logain can educate Rand just a few issues, which has occurred, and in addition in order that Logain can do precisely what he did and inform somebody that he sees Moiraine surrounded by weaves. That individual Chekov’s gun has now been fired.

Why could not Rand see the weaves round Moiraine earlier? Horses, film, and so on, I suppose. It is not how I might have accomplished it, not less than.

However! On the optimistic facet of issues, we really get a scene that I feel each single reader has been ready for—Lan offers Rand a crash course on easy methods to seem assured earlier than the Amyrlin, and Rand then takes that data and makes displaying in entrance of Siuan.

Lee: Sure—and let’s lower over to Nynaeve and Elayne, doing their factor. They nonetheless have the a’dam snatched by Ryma (previously of the Yellow Ajah, and now carrying a collar herself), and after some dialogue with Loial, they ambush a lone sul’dam in an alleyway and snap the factor round her neck.

It is a large second within the present, because it’s the primary actual indication that the Seanchan are literally weak in any significant approach—their weapons can be utilized in opposition to them! However we lack the additional context—thus far, not less than—that the books are capable of present when the occasion occurs. In any case, an a’dam solely works as a leash on a girl who can channel. So why does it work on a sul’dam?

Evidently, there are potential implications for, oh, the whole thing of Seanchan society—implications we’ll seemingly be taught extra about subsequent week in the course of the finale. (And if not, look to season three!)

The final bit I would love to speak about is Perrin and Aviendha, who’re additionally converging on Falme with fan-favorites Bain and Chiad in tow. I used to be a bit of confused concerning the geography—for a minute, it seemed just like the scene was beginning off within the Aiel Waste (as evidenced by the Vince Gilligan-esque yellow colour grading), however apparently there is a desert surrounding Toman Head and Falme?

Lee: And, with a closing scene of Egwene calmly informing her sul’dam that Egwene is undoubtedly going to kill her sooner or later, we end this week’s recap. The board is about, the items are shifting, and we come to it eventually—the battle within the sky the place the Dragon goes to proclaim himself. I imply, I assume we come to it. We’ve not seen the final episode but, however you’d want to return in time and get your self an actual-for-real telegraph to telegraph the finale any more durable.

There are some things unsettled, although—what about that Horn of Valere? The factor that each one these hunters have been getting branded for in earlier episodes? And—and many different issues I am unable to actually articulate due to potential spoilers!