The Seanchan are monsters.
Last time on The Wheel Of Time,
Rand and Moiraine were on the run from the queen of evil exes. Selene, Rand’s innkeeper
and hookup, was revealed to be Lanfear, one of the Forsaken and ally of Ishamael.
They distracted her by using a stablemaster to lead her towards Tar Valon while
they doubled back to Cairhien. At the city, they met Moiraine’s nephew Barthanes,
who seems like a nice lad. After rushing around for a bit, Moiraine’s sister
Anvaere has her stop and ask herself the question “does Rand really need protection,”
which gives her an idea. Perrin, meanwhile, learns that Elyas was leading him
away from his friends and the two break off. Perrin tries to go it alone but
Hopper the wolf follows him and shows him through wolf vision that Uno’s body was
left on display in the village. He goes to give Uno a proper burial but is
distracted talking to a captured Aiel woman and then is caught by a Whitecloak,
Dain Bornhald. Perrin hides out for little bit, learning that Dain’s superior
is Valda from last season, before freeing the Aiel. The two beat the crap out
of the Whitecloaks, but Perrin stops her from killing Dain as Dain had shown
her some mercy. They introduce themselves and we learn she’s Aviendha, and that
she’ll follow Perrin to fulfill her life debt to him. Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne are brought through
the Ways and given to High Lady Suroth of the Seanchan by Liandrin. But, as a
screw you to the Aes Sedai enslaver, Liandrin frees them and gives them the chance
to escape. Nynaeve and Elayne escape but Egwene is captured and collared,
becoming a Damane. She’s presented to High Lord Turak, the leader of the
Seanchan force here in Falme, as a means of Suroth reclaiming some face that
she lost after following Ishamael into attacking the small town to get the Loial,
Perrin and the Shienarans. Rand is encouraged by Moiraine to finally sleep, as
she believes they can draw Lanfear to them and pump her for information.
Ep 14: Eyes Without Pity
I’ll also add a trigger warning for this, as this episode depicts
violence, abuse, and slavery in a very intense light. You’ve been warned.
We open with Egwene being dragged
kicking and screaming into the Seanchan’s Damane kennels. Yeah, they are very
in your face with how they few channelers, with everything associated with them
being tied to dog terms, there’s a kennel and mistress of the kennel as well. Egwene
tries to punch her Sul’dam enslaver, Renna, but is knocked back by the force of
her blow. Renna explains that the a’dam makes Egwene feel twice as much pain as
Renna does if she tries to attack her and cannot be removed by her. Renna says
she believes in cultivating a friendship between Sul’dam and Damane to get
Egwene to tell her name, but she refuses. Renna uses her a’dam bracelet to make
Egwene feel pain until she answers. She tells Egwene that she’ll let her keep
her name and that she should rest as training begins soon. She takes off the
bracelet and hangs it on a peg. Egwene tries to grab it but can’t even get within
a foot of it before she’s forced back by the pain. She scampers back and glares
at the a’dam.
We shift focus to Rand, strapped to
a wheel in a desert in Tel’alan’riod. Tel’alan’riod is the World of Dreams, or
the Unseen World. Lanfear, dressed in an outrageous outfit, waited for him, and
seemed to be gloating. Rand asks what she wants, and when she gives him a
non-answer about the importance of names, he wonders aloud how he ever trusted
her. She asks why he can’t trust her and when he looks at the shackles holding
him, she releases him. She says that she’d been protecting him for months,
keeping Ishamael out of his dreams and that he’s acting just like he did as
Lews, pushing people away to protect them. When Rand says she doesn’t know him,
Lanfear asks where all his friends are. She goes on say that by thinking he’s
dead, he left his friends open and vulnerable to Ishamael who will try to turn
them to the Dark and enslave him by extension. He says they’ll never turn, but
Lanfear counters that she thought that once too. She asks him how he can trust
Moiraine, when she so obviously pulled him to Cairhien to keep an eye on him.
Rand tells her to prove that she can be trusted and tell him where Ishamael is.
She agrees, but under a condition. Rand wakes up and says he needs to get away
from Moiraine, that that was Lanfear’s condition. Moiraine tries to tell him
not to go. Rand asks if she did in fact send Logain here to Cairhien to lead him
there, to which she admits that, yes, she did. Because here he can get near
Logain and potentially learn from him instead of at the White Tower where he
wouldn’t have been able to get close. Rand storms off.
Out in the Foregate, Min and Mat
have arrived. Mat is having fun with all the partying but Min tries to convince
him that they should move on. Mat gets them some drinks and tries to pull Min
deeper into the party.
In Falme, Elayne and Nynaeve are
stuck in Ryma’s attic. Nynaeve is pacing in frustration, and when Elayne tells
her to stop because it might draw attention to them, Nynaeve snaps and asks if
they can really trust Aes Sedai right now. They start fighting, but Basan, Ryma’s
Warder comes in to tell them he can her them bickering from the market and then
leads Ryma up. Ryma has brought up a tonic of elderberry and astragalus, a
calming drink to hopefully help them have a peaceful conversation. A
conversation about two young women running from the Tower. Nynaeve reveals to Ryma
that Liandrin is a Darkfriend and them to the Seanchan. When Elayne confirms
she broke all Three Oaths, Ryma seems sick to learn that the Black Ajah exists.
She tells them that if what they say is true, all their Sisters are in danger.
Back at the Tower, Liandrin is
visiting her son and apologizing for leaving him for so long. She hears someone
walk up and she throws a fireball at them. Lanfear catches it and extinguishes
it, saying everyone gets a freebie but she’ll flay Liandrin if she tries that
again. Lanfear says that she watched Liandrin’s dreams to learn of this place
and asks why Liandrin works for Ishamael. When Lanfear asks, Liandrin reveals
her son’s name is Aludran. Lanfear realizes she swore her oaths to keep her son
alive, but this isn’t life, and worse, he’s the last thing tying her to her old
life. She lists off the horror’s of Liandrin’s early life, which imply she was
an often beaten and abused child bride before coming to the Tower. Liandrin
kills Aludran, and offer Liandrin alternative employment.
Loial is being held as a Da’covale,
a personal slave, to Suroth, who orders him to sing when he brings her food. Loial
tries to say no but is ordered to. He inhales and begins to Treesing. It’s a
rare talent among the Ogier, it’s a kind of magic that helps plants grow
quickly and strong. A bonsai tree basically doubles in size with a short song.
He’s dismissed along with Ingtar. Ingtar tells Loial that he’s found that the Horn
is being held with other curiosities of Turak’s with virtually no guards as the
Seanchan are so fixated on honor in their culture that they don’t think anyone would
steal it. Loial asks about Egwene, Ingtar saying she’s being held in the Damane
kennels. He says that is more guarded than the horn. Loial is sure they’ll get
her out, and that Egwene is strong enough to survive it.
We cut to Egwene in the kennel. She
has a vision of herself grabbing her water jug, smashing it on Renne’s face and
beating her to death. But when she tries to enact that plan, she can’t even
touch the jug without being forced double over with pain. Renna puts the
bracelet on nonchalantly and says that Damane can’t touch anything that they view
as a weapon while wearing the a’dam. Egwene tries to punch her and gets hurt
instead. Renna tells her that it must be difficult to have spent her life
living as a person only to learn she was Damane as an adult. She tells Egwene
to pour her a glass of water. Egwene goes to, thinks about of attacking her
with it, and then doubles over n pain again. Renna tells her that this will be
their training until Egwene can accomplish this task, as it’ll prove to her she
can’t ever hurt Renna. She says that she can feel Egwene’s strength through the
a’dam and that custom says that the strongest Damane are the hardest to break. She
leaves Egwene. Egwene climbs up to her barred window and looks out at Falme.
She’s in a fortress that is being constantly being patrolled.
Min is sleeping when Ishamael visits
her dream, musing that she could have been a profit or wealthy with her gifts but
instead chooses to live with Rats and drunks. She says she brough Mat to
Cairhien so wants her payment, but Ishamael isn’t cutting her loose just yet. He
tells her that the Dragon is in Cairhien and that if she wants to be free, he
needs to make sure Mat leaves with him. He says he’ll take away the visions if
she does this, and when she asks if she doesn’t, vanishes with a smile.
Lan and co, arrive at a temple for
the Forsaken. Lan says that they’ll need the Amyrlin’s permission to return to
the Tower, as Moiraine’s banishment applies to him as well until their bond is
formerly removed from the records. Alana tells him that the Amyrlin will return
from a trip to Caemlyn in a few days. Lan asks if they believe the Forsaken
really had powers the Aes Sedai don’t, weaves forgotten in this age, which they
all agree that as the Dark One’s generals them most assuredly did. Later, when
it seems that Alana and her boys are indisposed, Lan tries to leave but Maksim
cuts him off and Ihvon joins them. Maksim asks Lan where he’s going and when he
refuses to answer, Ihvon repeats the blood poem to Lan, and they ask if he’s a Darkfriend.
Lan tells them to move aside but Alana captures him in Weaves of air. She says that
the Amyrlin didn’t banish him, that he wanted to know where she was and asks
why he wants to know. He says he needs to find her, that he needs to talk to
her about Moiraine. Alana demands the truth and Lan tells them they found the Dragon
Reborn.
We cut to Rand having that
nightmare about killing all of his friends with his sword because of the
madness. Ishamael joins him, saying this is where he’s headed. Lanfear arrives
and tells “Ishy” that if Rand doesn’t want him there, he shouldn’t be there. She
seems to banish Ishamael and tells Rand that the World of Dreams is a powerful
place, that he can travel through and even communicate with others as if they
were face to face. As a sign of good faith, Lanfear offers him a gift of a dream.
He asks to see Egwene.
Rand finds Egwene slumped on the
kennel floor and calls out to her. She gets up and faces him, clearly confused about
seeing her ghost boyfriend. Rand reaches out to touch her, but Lanfear pulls
them back to the Two Rivers. Rand asks to know where she is, screams at her to
tell him. Lanfear tells him Ishamael has her and Rand says he’ll do anything to
save her.
Egwene wakes up and calls Rand, but
obviously can’t find him. She starts talking to herself, telling herself to
pull herself together. She hears a voice on the others side of her wall and
tries to talk to her but the woman on the other side is just reciting the Sul’dam’s
rules.
In town, Damane and Sul’dam are searching
for them. Ryma tells Nynaeve and Elyane that she’s arranged a ship for them to get
them back to the Tower. The news about Liandrin is too important to trust to a
Letter or so she thinks. Nynaeve tells her to go, as she’s not leaving without
Egwene. Elayne says, respectfully, that Ryma is underestimating them and this situation,
neither of them are leaving without Egwene. Ryma tells them if they want to
rescue Egwene, they need to figure out how to open a Damane collar.
Shifting to Moiraine, she seems to
be trying to write a letter to Siuan about being stilled. Barthanes joins her
with a sandwich and tries to talk to her but Moiraine is really focused on her
letter and is only half listen. Anvaere is watching them from the hall. He
leaves, apologizing for intruding. In the hall he tells his mother she was right,
but that was worth a try. Anvaere storms in and starts yelling at Moiraine for abandoning
the family. Telling her that their father kept asking for her as he was dying.
She demands to know what was so important that she stayed away. Moiraine doesn’t
answer and Anvaere tells her she wants her gone tomorrow. Moiraine counters by saying
as the eldest the house is hers and Anvaere and Barthanes are there on her good
graces. Anvaere tells her that she has nothing that made their father good in
her and she’s there mother through and through. Moiraine goes back to her
letter, an open letter with Siuan’s seal on her desk.
Siuan, meanwhile, is traveling when
she hears someone calling for her carriage to stop. She weaves knives of air
around her head before the door opens and she sees Lan. Lan tells her something
happened with Moiraine.
In the garden, Logain is setting up
a stones board. It’s like Sternhalma… Chinese Checkers. Rand joins him and once
again demands Logain to show him battle weaves. Logain says that he spent years
figuring weaves out on his own and why would he hand those over for free. Rand
tells him that it’s because he wants his life to matter and with him being
Gentled, the only way that can happen is through Rand. Logain tells him to embrace
the Source, to grab it and make it his. Rand does so, being encircled by white and
black light that’s all but blinding. Logain warns him to let go or he’ll burn
himself out, Rand does so and throws up. Rand says that there’s not enough time
to learn to fight, but Logain tells him with that much power he can fight
anyone.
Rand goes through the Foregate and
stumbles upon Mat trying to win at gambling. The two see each t other and they
hug, both crying. Mat tells him he looks bloody awful and asks where the others
are. Rand says its complicated, and Mat says it’s a good thing that he has
nothing but time. And the first round is on Rand for screwing up his roll.
Back in Falme, Nynaeve, Elayne and
Ryma are trying to open the collar. Ryma warns them they need to be careful
about channeling here, as Sul’dam and Damane can sense them. Elayne feels the
collar with a weave and determines it’s got no latch or separate pieces, she
dubs it a ter’angreal. Nynaeve asks where Ryma got it. Ryma says there were
rumors of strange invaders with enslaved channelers, and strange beasts and a
group of Aes Sedai were sent to investigate. It’s only when they got there that
they realize they were super boned. She shows them three rings, a blue, green,
and gray gem in each. She says two were killed with their Warders and one
captured, the Blue. The Blue was a Sitter for the Hall, so she was super important
and respected. Ryma says she only has the collar because her sisters paid for
it with their lives.
In the kennel, Egwene tries to get
the collar off again as Renna joins her. She seems perplexed that Egwween is
still fighting her. She tells Egwene that a sister from the White Tower made the
a’dam. Renna tells her that the Tower wants to hold them back, to make her
happy with parlor tricks, and that the Seanchan want to use her to her full potential.
Egwene says it’s impossible to be powerful with a collar around her neck. Renna
tells her that she hopes the White Tower told her how special she was, and
Egwene looks pleased for just a second before looking like she’s going to vomit.
Renna tells her to stand up and come with her. Renna has them link, to become “complete”
as the Seanchan say. She tells Egwene to reach out to a tree in the courtyard
she can see. She makes Egwene burn the tree down with the One Power. She says
that this is what it’s supposed to be like, their power combined. Renna tells
her to pour herself some water, and that she deserves it. Egwene goes to before
being doubled over in pain again. Renna kicks her for still being so willful
and then storms off.
Back at the house, Nynaeve tells
Elayne that if they don’t find Egwene before the ship prepares to depart,
Elayne should go to warn the Amyrlin. Elayne refuses as she wants to save Egwene
too. When Nynaeve demands to know why she’s trying so hard to protect someone she
barely knows, Elayne says she’s her friend, and she’s never had one before.
Rand and Mat have a drink and Rand
admits to leaving the others behind after the Eye of the World, thinking they’d
be better off without him. Mat tells him that’s not true, and Rand says that’s
true of Mat as well. Rand tells Mat that Egwene is being held in Falme by
Ishamael, and Mat says that they’ve got to go. Mat says he needs to ‘break a
lady’s heart’ and that he’ll meet Rand at the gate in an hour.
Min is in her room drinking alone.
Mat knocks on her door and she invites him in. Mat tells her that he ran into
Rand and Min tells him that he can’t go. She tells him he had a vision of him
killing Rand. Mat refuses to believe it, even when Min tells him where they’re
going. Mat asks her how she knows Rand. He realizes she set him up and that she’s
been playing him since prison. Min apologizes, telling Mat that she is his friend
and if he loves Rand, he should stay away.
Moiraine gives her butler the letter,
saying it’s for Aniya Sedai of the Blue. He goes to deliver it and Moiraine
goes to speak to Barthanes. She apologizes for how she’s acted, and that she
thinks he’ll make a wonderful king, a king to make their house proud. He hugs
her and that clearly weirds her out. Anvaere comes in and says the Amyrlin has
arrived with 14 sisters and is asking for her.
Siuan arrives. Liandrin is in her retinue,
and she comments that the last time the Amyrlin came to Cairhien with such a
big group it was to install a new ruler on the Sun Throne. Siuan says that
maybe this Amyrlin is just being frivolous.
Rand waits for Mat outside the gates,
while Mat watches from a hidden spot. Rand realizes that Mat isn’t coming and
decides to go alone. As he walks out, Rand is stopped by Alana, Lan, Ihvon and
Maksim. Lan tells Rand he’s sorry but he can’t let them leave.
Egwene is trapped in her cell and
pacing about. In town, Ryma and Elayne are still trying to get the collar open.
Ryma asks Nynaeve to add her strength, as they need a little more power but if
either of them draws anymore, they may draw attention. Nynaeve tries but says
she can’t control it like that. Ryma
says to treat it like treating a patient, you don’t decide to help you just
help. Nynaeve tries but unleashes too strong a pulse. She says that she feels that
the collar needs to be put on a channeler, it’s the only way it can be complete.
They get a knocking sign from Basan that the Seanchan are at the door. Ryma
decides to sacrifice herself to protect the other two, giving Nynaeve the three
rings plus her own to bring back to the Tower.
Egwene is visited by Renna again,
who tells her to pour the water. Egwene limps over to her but drops again. Renna
insists that she pour the water. Basan and Ryma go to face the Seanchan. Egwene
is told to pour the water but can’t. Basan and Ryma fight Seanchan taking
several of them out. Renna grabs Egwene in frustration and hangs her from a beg
by her collar, choking her. Renna tells
Egwene that there’s nothing exists beyond filling her cup. Ryma tells Basan to
kill her instead of being captured, but he’s killed before he can. In her fury,
Ryma uses her healing weaves to break a Sul’dam into pieces. Ryma is collared
while Elayne and Nynaeve watch. Ryma tells Egwene that the water will never be
a weapon and Egwene will never leave her, so pour the water. Egwene finally
touches the vase and pours, her face showing just how much doing so broke her.
Renna pours the water out and calls Egwene a good girl. Egwene drinks from the
vase and starts screaming. On the other side of the wall, her fellow prisoner tells
her not to cry as she lasted longer than her, and she was a Sitter for the
Blue. Yep, her prison buddy is Maigan. … She’s the one that wanted Moiraine to stay
at the Tower in her place while she went to investigate what was happening at Falme.
Okay, that episode was a lot.
Seeing Egwene being continually tortured and beaten is just not a fun time even
if this is a necessary plot element to show how brutal the Seanchan are and why
Egwene is going to come away from this experience hating this Empire like no
one else. In the books, the Seanchan use the mental pain attack on their Damane
as they’re viewed as too valuable a resource to risk causing physical pain.
That works in the books because we can hear the suffering Egwene is going through,
but in a visual media you do just need to see the blood and bruising to get
across her suffering. Seeing her break at the end and pour the water hurt
on an intense level. I do like that Maigan broke from her chanting to encourage
Egwene. Nynaeve and Elayne being forced to work together despite clashing
personalities is great and foreshadowing how these two women work together. Nynaeve
is the blunt one, she tells it like it is, doesn’t sugar coat things and can
come across as a bit stubborn. Elayne is the sensible one, who speaks very politely
and diplomatically, but is also a bit stubborn. They’re pretty much what happens
whenever you stick two cats in a room, seconds away from fighting, playing, or
ignoring each other. I liked seeing Rand and Mat together. It was only for like
two scenes but getting to see two friends meet up again after months is just
good for the soul. I loved that Mat was supportive the whole way through and
was 100% willing to drop everything to save Egwene, until finding out it could
potentially lead to Rand’s death. Mat’s going to have a complex about not being
a hero pretty soon. Rand doing his best to manipulate Lanfear is good too. I
like how it seems like Lanfear knows he’s playing her, at least a little, but is
willing to go along with it for now. His scene with Logain was great. Getting a
glimpse of how strong he is and hearing the warning that he might draw too much
and burn himself out a great scene visually. Logain believing Rand is strong
enough to overpower anyone is good but also a sign that maybe he’s still kind
of out of it. No one is that strong. Him being captured by Lan to, assumedly,
see Siuan is going to be… interesting. I liked that Moiraine apologized to her
nephew for being cold, it felt like a bit of character growth admitting that
her family means something to her even after decades apart. And I liked Anvaere
yelling at Moiraine. As we know what was so important to keep her away from her
dad as he lay dying, but that clearly has pained Anvaere for years. We’re
gearing up for the finale, and I can’t wait to see it. See you tomorrow for
number 7.
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Twitter; @BasicsSuperhero
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