Viewer Log: Wheel of Time ep 3

 Very few places of safety are found in this episode.

               Last time on the Wheel of Time, our heroes were on the run. They spent several days running from Trollocs and the Fade. They also crossed path with a group of Whitecloaks, religious zealots looking to purge the world of Shadowspawn, Darkfriends, and Aes Sedai, in reverse order. They’re able to bluff the commander and his Questioner Eamon Valda. The Emond’s Fielders also started having nightmares, involving bats with broken necks and a man with burning red eyes and mouth. Moiraine’s shoulder wound gets slowly worse and worse, until she’s basically comatose. The group runs for Shadar Logoth, the dead city, cursed since the Trolloc Wars two thousand years before. Within, Mat finds a golden dagger with a ruby in the hilt. A destructive rust or ash spreads across the ground, Mashadar, separating the group in three groups of two, Rand and Mat, Egwene and Perrin, and Moiraine and Lan. Outside the city, Lan tries to look after Moiraine when a sword is placed at his neck. Nynaeve has survived her Trolloc kidnapping and She. Is. Pissed.

 

Episode 3: A Place of Safety

 

Sacred pool, don't fail me now!

We open on a flashback to what happened to Nynaeve on Winter Night. The Trolloc that grabbed her… let’s call him… Petey, Petey dragged her out of town by the braid, but dropped her when he came upon another Trolloc, this one wounded. Petey eviscerated and started eating the entrails of the other Trolloc as Nynaeve woke up and then ran like hell to get away from it. Petey noticed and chased her to the sacred pool cave. Nynaeve hid in the pool, going unnoticed as the Trolloc searched for her. Eventually he started stabbing at the water with a spear, and then got in. Nynaeve snuck up behind it, grabbed the sword at its belt and stabbed it. The two of them fight for several seconds before going under, blood welling up to form another Yang like symbol in the water. Nynaeve pulls herself from the water with the sword, flipping her braids behind her in a clear “I’m so DONE with this,” motion.

 

Believe it or not, holding a sword to his neck isn't
 a deal breaker for Lan Mandragoran.

We return to Nynaeve with a sword at Lan’s neck. She wants to know where everyone is. Lan obviously doesn’t know where they are and tries to talk Nynaeve down, trying to persuade her to heal Moiraine so they can find the others. She keeps the sword at his neck as he tries to walk closer, and even tries to stab him when he doesn’t keep his distance, but he grapples her and gets her into a choke hold. He is impressed that she tried to kill him, but less so when she bites his hand, he knocks her out.

 

We cut to Rand and Mat walking across a rocky landscape. I guess they ditched the river fast after last night. Rand is calling for Egwene and Perrin, but Mat convinces him to stop, you know, because they’re being hunted. Mat tries to convince Rand to go back home, but Rand is dead set on going to the Tower, now, as Egwene WILL go there. He wants to know how they’ll get there, “Walk?” and there’s a pretty funny exchange where Rand says, “They say all roads lead there,” to which Mat replies “That’s not how roads work!” They know the Tower is east, though. While Mat clearly want to still return home, he follows Rand when he starts walking.

 

Meanwhile, Perrin and Egwene are running from wolves on a freezing cold plain. They take cover behind a fallen tree, Perrin trying to light a fire to scare them off. He tries for a solid minute, cutting his hand in the process, Egwene starts doing the practice exercise that Moiraine showed her, and the fire starts. They blow it to life and start warming their hands, Perrin asking the obvious question, “Was that me or you?” The wolves keep howling in the distance, but don’t get closer, so they can relax a little. Perrin asks if they’ll be alright. Egwene isn’t sure, but she’s pretty sure Rand will be headed home. Perrin disagrees, pointing out the simple fact that Rand will be headed toward where he thinks she’s going. They hug for warmth.

 

We jump back to the one trio of our groups, Lan is administering to Moiraine’s wounds, and Nynaeve is bound to a tree, gagged, and looking surly. He goes to Nynaeve after checking the wound, uncovering her mouth, and helping her drink. He asks if she’s ready to help, to which she says she only will if Moiraine gives her the info she wants. When Lan asks if she’s in position to demand anything, she counters by saying it’s a threat. When she reminds him Moiraine will die without treatment, he frees her. Nynaeve gathers plants, with Lan watching a distance away. He watches her in silence for a few minutes, and then from her prompting, asks how on earth Nynaeve tracked him all the way from the Two Rivers to Shadar Logoth. To which Nynaeve replies, “I said you could ask, not that I’d answer.” Oh, Nyny, you tricky lady you. They return to Moiraine and Nynaeve mixes up a salve for her. As she administers, she mentions that she’s heard that through the Warder bond, Lan feels what she feels, and that he should prepare, because this is going to hurt. It’s not like a mirroring thing, though, Lan’s left shoulder isn’t going to start/has been hurting this whole time, more like he senses when she’s in pain on an… instinctual level. Does that make sense? Good. Nynaeve administers her salve, and Moiraine starts looking a little better. They still need to give her time, though.

 

We cut to Perrin waking up back in his house, a storm raging. As he gets out of bed, you can see a pair of angry glowing eyes looking at him through the window. He goes to check on Leila, who wasn’t with him. He finds her corpse by the forge, a wolf chewing on her. Leila looks at him with dead, filmy eyes, he sees the burning eyed man, but then is awoken by Egwene. The wolves are closing in and they run. The wolves chase them for a while, before stopping mysteriously. They keep running, though.

"That's not how roads work" will never not be funny
to me.

 

Rand and Mat, meanwhile, are still walking through the rocky, mountainous area. Mat whines about being cold, asking Rand if they can change coats. Rand teases him, telling him to think of the story’s kids will tell of them someday, “Mat Cauthon, the man who once walked while a little chilly.” They find a small mining town called Breen’ Spring when they crest a rise and head toward it. As they get close, they see a man in bizarre gab, dead in a cage. Mat sees a big jewel on a string in the man’s pocket before following Rand. They’re glared at pretty much the whole way in towards the town inn, the Four Kings. … Oh no. More on that later. They make it inside and buy a meal from the barkeeper, a woman named Dana. They ask if any other travelers around their age have come to town, but she says the only other stranger in town is the gleeman, who’s just about to start playing. Oh, Hi Thom! Thom gets on stage, grabs his guitar, and starts playing, singing of a song of the “Man who can’t forget” who caused the breaking. After, Rand and Mat sit down to eat, Mat pumping into a man as they head to a table. Thom also bumps into the man, before coming over to ask for a donation and to chat a little with his fellow out of towners. When it’s time to pay for the food, Mat finds out he’d been robbed by the man that bumped into him. Thom stole the money back, but keeps it, telling Mat that it’s a donation to the gleeman and payment for the life lesson, not to trust anyone.

 

Back with Perrin and Egwene, they’re still walking, running from the wolves, but they come across some tire tracks in the dirt. They don’t know who it is, but they’re headed east, so they start following. Egwene mentions it’s like the wolves lead them there. How interesting. They start following the trail.

 

Oh, hi Thom, bout time you showed up.

Rand and Mat, needing a place to stay, ask Dana if they could work for a room. Mat tries to charm her, but it doesn’t work so well, so Rand offers their labor. She takes them out back to start chopping wood. Rand starts chopping. When Rand sees his friend staring at Dana, he asks if she isn’t a bit young for him, as Moiraine was more to his taste. Interesting. Mat just says he makes exceptions. Rand gets to chopping, but Mat isn’t interested in chopping and just complains some more. Rand wonders why he’s being such a dick about this, but Mat just gets angry, telling Rand that Egwene and Perrin are probably dead. He goes on to say that he shouldn’t go to the Tower for Egwene, as she wouldn’t do it for him. He calls Mat a prick and tells him to do whatever he wants, like he always does. Mat goes inside and convinces Dana to have him wait tables for her. Mat gets a small tip from the table he waits, and he tells Dana that he’s saving up to head back west, to Baerlon. Dana clearly isn’t happy being stuck in her little town and seems to want to convince Mat to keep going. Interesting… Mat must get back, though, as his sisters need him and he’ll beg, borrow and steal to get back to them. She advices him to drop that last part if he doesn’t want to end up in a cage like the dead man outside of town.

 

Over with Nynaeve, Lan and Moiraine, while Moiraine isn’t getting worse, she’s not getting better, either. The poison isn’t anything like she’s faced before. Lan goes to do some scouting, telling Nynaeve to keep Moiraine safe while he’s away.

 

Tinkers make a fine stew, it seems.

Perrin and Egwene reach a weird mist that’s just hovering in the air. Perrin wants to head in alone, to protect Egwene, but she’s not having it. She tells Perrin that Leila’s death isn’t his fault, which clearly cuts him up worse, and hugs him. They start walking again. They run into a group of travelers with massive dogs. They ask if they know the song. A young man of the new group walks up and tells them the ritual response, which they repeat. They are then introduced to Ila and her husband Raen, and the young man is their grandson Aram. They lead the two back to their camp, and reveal they’re Tuatha’an, The Traveling People, The Tinkers. Perrin and Egwene re clearly both a little freaked out by that but keep eating.

 

Back in Breen’s Spring, Dana goes out back to tell Rand she cut Mat an hour ago and she assumed he told him he could be done too. Yes, Mat is a bit a dick. Dana, feeling generous, offers Rand a back storeroom to be used as a room. It has a pair of beds, though Dana assumes that the two will only need one. Rand is a bit shocked by the suggestion that he and Mat are lovers, claiming that if he wanted a man, he “could do better.” Mat burn. She leaves them a pitcher of beer, but Rand offers to split it with her because, again, Mat is a dick.

 

Lan rides up to a cliffside and sees large campfires. He looks… concerned. Back at camp, Moiraine’s color is a little better but she’s still out. Lan returns and tells Nynaeve that he’s found what they’re looking for and asks if Moiraine can ride. Nynaeve thinks so, but she will need help after.

 

Jumping to Mat, he’s looking up at the man in the cage when Thom Merrilin the gleeman comes to speak with him. They have a bit of a stand-off, trying to size each other up. When Thom threatens him, Mat rather stupidly states that he didn’t survive Trollocs to die at the hands of a singer. The tension breaks when Thom reveals that he came to bury the man but comes back a bit when he asks what a farm boy from the Two Rivers has seen a Trolloc. Mat tries to hide his origin, but Thom has been around enough to know a Two Rivers man when he sees one. They cut the man down and get to burying him. Thom rather angrily tells Mat that the man here was murdered. He was an Aiel, a desert dwelling warrior of peerless skill, that the owns people killed when they found him sleeping. Thom also add this tidbit that while the man’s clothes, and presumably his accent pre-death, are a good sign of where he’s from, the bigger one is the fact he’s a red head. Don’t see many redheads outside the Aiel Waste. Mat has heard stories that claim they’re as bad as Trollocs, but Thom disagrees. They’re fierce warriors, in his stories, but honor bound. When an Aiel veils their face, that’s when you’re in trouble. Otherwise, they’re very chill. Thom asks what Mat was doing here, again, and Mat reveals that he needs money to get home, so he was going to loot the corpse. Thom doesn’t judge him though, saying everyone has had desperate moments, and to just tell him when Mat is finished. Mat takes the crystal he saw and a carving of a stone dog, before telling the man that he’s sorry, but he has sisters who need him. Mat and Thom bury the man.

 

Rand and Dana are having a fun time chatting and drinking. Rand stumbles on the lies that Mat has already established for them, but Dana doesn’t seem to notice. Dana expresses a desire to travel again, wanting to see the Stone of Tear, the Lion throne in Caemlyn, and all that jazz. Rand asks why she hasn’t, and she says that the Wheel of Time hasn’t given her many options. Rand muses about how he never really thought about the Wheel of Time before now, but now can’t not think about it. Dana leans in to kiss him, but Rand pulls back. She says she came on to strong, gets up, shuts, and locks the door before asking if it was the hair. She says she braided it and it makes her look too much Egwene. She tells him to get on the bed and make it easy on himself. Rand tries to fight her, but she slaps his dagger away and holds Rand’s sword to his throat. When he asks what she’s doing, she claims to be waiting for Mat as she needs them both.

 

Mat and Thom finish burying the Aiel, Thom saying that he hopes his soul can find water and shade. They formerly introduce themselves, and Mat asks for his money back. Thom goes to give him back the purse, but then realizes Mat already stole it back, he’s just being a bit of a git. He tells Mat to take care and wanders off.

 

Rand keeps trying to break the door down, but it’s made of Ironwood, to thick for three men his size to break down. Rand keeps ramming into it, though, and the door finally breaks down, allowing him to run. He runs into Mat and they both start fleeing. Dana is able to chase them down, though, cornering them in an alley. Dana says that she’s seen all five of them in her dreams, but only one matters, only one is the Dragon. She reveals that she’s a Darkfriend, a servant of the Dark One. She claims that the last person to bring the Dragon to the Shadow is still remembered to this day, Ishamael, and that she’ll go down in history just like him. She claims that the Dark One doesn’t want to kill them, that is what the Aes Sedai want. She claims the Dark One will “Save Them” by destroying the Wheel, ending the cycle of rebirth, and stopping all the pain of existence. She has already called a Fade and it’s on its way, before she can react, a knife hits her throat. Thom walks up and tells them they need to run, now. Rand is hesitant to follow, but when given the choice between Thom and a Fade, they side with Thom. Rand retrieves his sword.

 

Is that a Dragon in a Cage? ... Kinda.

Back with Nynaeve, Lan and Moiraine, they reach their destination. Moiraine is roused enough to greet Liandrin, one of her Aes Sedai sisters, the leader of the Red Ajah group from episode one. She tells Moiraine that she’s too late to help, as they have captured a man that is calling himself the Dragon Reborn. They bring up a caged man, Logain Ablair. And that’s the end of the episode. Damn.

 

I’m loving this show and am super happy that each episode seems to be a step up from the previous. Nynaeve’s flashback was great. Granted, I think I would have liked to see a bit of her tracking the group cross country before jumping back to hear holding a sword to Lan’s neck, but I’ll take what I can get. Also, snorted out loud when we cut back to them after Lan knocked her out and we find her tied to a tree and gaged. Solid visual joke. Her and Lan have solid chemistry, in that I could believe them going for hate-hate to love-hate at some point in the future. Perrin and Egwene running from the wolves only to wonder if they wolves somehow led them to the Tinkers was a solid bit of foreshadowing to what is happening to Perrin. I actually enjoyed the Tinkers thus far in this which was surprising. I always found them to be very preachy and condescending in the books, but thus far they seem just like pretty nice traveling people. I even liked Aram, but that’s probably because he isn’t actively and badly trying to seduce Egwene in this one. Rand and Mat in Breen’s Spring was interesting. We are starting to see the Dagger start to make Mat more aggressive and angrier, which is even more noticeable to me in this version. In the books, we had gotten very little of Mat by this point, so he went from a pranking dick to an angry and paranoid dick. Not much change. In this, Mat has been characterized as an empathic dude and nice, so now that he’s starting to snap at Rand and pick at Rand’s worries about Perrin and Egwene is much more noticeable. I thought Dana’s motivation was… interesting. In the books, 99.99% of Darkfriends were in it because they believed the “Father. Of. LIES.” When he promised to make them kings in his new world. Really, just one of the Forsaken expressed a desire to destroy reality in an effort stop the pain of existence. Having more Darkfriends who want this will at least make some evil pontifications more interesting. Also, loved Thom. It took a while to bring him in in this Turning of the Wheel, but I’m happy with this introduction. He’s a very intense dude, and his performance is great. I mean both the acing performance of Alexandre Willaume as Thom, and the character of Thom’s ability to perform on a stage. He’s a bit of a dick, but a charming one. Looking forward to more of him, and the rest of them. Next time, we’ll look at episode 4. 

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