Adam’s Review
So these reviews are supposed to be brief and my first draft was anything but. The White Tower arcs are still very strong this episode, but now we have two of them. This which brings our narrative threads to keep track of up to SIX. I’ll do a sentence or two on each, which means brief reviews are a Season 1 thing.
Rand is in Cairhien fucking his landlord named Selene. His brutal beating of a bully from his caretaking job shows his actions are ultimately self-serving and he’s losing control as his powers begin to surface. Moiraine and Lan’s characters are broken. We get a red herring they may repair it, but then they both act completely out of character again and separate. Verin reminds Moiraine (and the audience) of the plot and is the only interesting thing about this groups time on screen.
Mat is pointless and manages to reintroduce Min. They hang out and exchange pleasantries. 25% of the season down, Mat hasn’t moved or had literally anything to do. Elayne arrives and befriends Egwene. She takes the fall for a friend, showing her character. Nynaeve is being recruited by Liandrin and both characters get much needed depth and development. Nynaeve heads to take the Accepted testing.
Perrin continues his hunt and rejection of his new powers. The Seanchan arrive, new look and all, and kick the shit out of a tiny village and Perrin’s party. Ishamael is with them because… just because? I apologize for the short recap that leaves out so much, but look how long this already is. It really illustrates the point that splitting the party so much IS A BAD DECISION BECAUSE NO ONE CAN FOCUS ON ANY OF THE CHARACTERS.
The White Tower characters (excluding Mat) carry the episode. Perrin’s arc is interesting. Rand is in for a slow burn this season, likely only becoming interesting in Episode 8. We’re a quarter of the way through the season and the pacing is a disaster.
Rating: On a scale of Expulsion to Valedictorian, this episode was a “Has potential, but see me after class.”
Garrett’s Review
Despite my issues with Rand’s uncharacteristic violence towards his co-worker, this maybe the best episode the show has had to-date. To the purist in me, the staked Myrddraal was a visual treat, and to the lover of good story-telling, the season-spanning set-up and reveal of Liandrin’s “man she sees at the North Gate” was brilliant. I cannot confirm if this is from the literature or if this is an addition by the Rafe and the writers, but this was a superbly emotional moment. Now leave it be and don’t fuck it up!
Rating: On a scale of 1920 to 2023, this was the ’85 Bears
Fei’s Review
This episode annoyed me less than the first. I think maybe the Wheel of Time just has an issue with opening and closing episodes for seasons, since I had the same thoughts last season as well.
I really enjoyed getting to know the Aes Sedai on a deeper level, and of course, meeting Elayne Trakand is a real treat this episode. Also, love that Liandrin is getting more character depth and probably taking over the roles of some other characters in the books. This is a deviation I don’t mind at all, as I seriously could not keep track of every single Aes Sedai that RJ mentions.
Perrin’s storyline is also getting some cool development, and I LOVE that they ended up showing the murdered Fade – it makes you realize that maybe Padan Fain is not just a creepy peddler that has fallen in with the wrong crowd, but something incredibly powerful and sinister in his own right.
The only other gripe I have is with the depiction of the Seanchan. I just… hate their outfits. This is very superficial and probably not relevant as otherwise I think they were depicted well. But I just don’t like it, ok? They need to step up their wardrobe game. I am, in fact, the fashion police.
Rating: On a scale of tennis outfits, this is Jelena Ostapenko.