Episode Grade: (8.2/10)
The focus shifts firmly onto Rand as multiple parties converge onto his location. The loyalties of key characters are made hazy.
Plot (42/50)
Outside of a couple brief developments in the background, the focus was almost entirely on Rand. Despite the fire he caused the previous night, Selene remains by his side. Meanwhile, Moiraine arrives to The Foregate in search of Rand, but she is met with some resistance both from Logain and from her sister, Anvaere. Back at the White Tower, Liandrin makes some questionable calls. All the while, Ishamael continues to make an impact from afar.
Returns
The episode opens with Ishamael resurrecting a creature of blood later revealed to be Lanfear, one of the most powerful Forsaken. The poem Moiraine discovered prophesizes Lanfear’s return, which explains her sense of urgency in getting to Rand. However, when she arrives at The Foregate, Selene had already taken Rand to her family’s cabin at a nearby cliff. As a result, she must contend with her Lady Anvaere, who is surprisingly revealed to be her younger sister. Moiraine also visits Logain to ask about Rand’s progress. It seems Moiraine orchestrated both Rand and Logain’s presence in Cairhien all along.
While Moiraine is busy making moves in Cairhien, Lan is still trying to find his way forward. He’s gone with Alanna and her Wardens to Alanna’s hometown. Peace is in the air, but Lan is obviously still troubled by Moiraine’s breaking of their link. Maksim and Ihvon take turns comforting Lan, but it’s Alanna’s revelation that something happened to Moiraine 20 years ago that’s most interesting. Apparently, she used to be happier before. At this point, Lan reads the poem, but it appears as if he hasn’t fully grasped its contents.
Liandrin’s Scheming
Back at the White Tower, Nynaeve is having trouble settling into her new status as an Accepted. She’s still traumatized by her experience in the Arches, so she remains distant from Egwene and everyone else. Liandrin keeps an eye on her from a distance as she contends with more pressing matters. She’s gotten news of the attack on the western shore. She takes this information to Leane, who is acting as chief executive in place of the absent Amyrlin. Leane is not too concerned, as she’s already sent scouts. Liandrin is dissatisfied with Leane’s nonchalance, so she issues a solemn warning that if the Amyrlin was to fall, Leane would fall with her.
Liandrin then visits Nynaeve at the Arches. She consoles her with more details on her son, and that seems to help. Then, she informs Nynaeve that Perrin and Loial were captured in the attack on the western shore, but that she is to do nothing. Nynaeve ignores this order and plans to sneak out later that night. Egwene and Elayne tag along, but they’re all caught and subdued by Liandrin.
At this point, we shift over to Mat and Min. They’ve arrived at a bar so that Min is to secretly meet with some character, per Liandrin’s instruction. Well, that character is shockingly revealed to be Ishamael. Min had asked Liandrin to take her seer abilities away, but she didn’t expect to be sent to a Forsaken. She tries to back out, but Ishamael insists that she take Mat to Cairhien. This was quite the twist because it puts Liandrin’s loyalties into question. What is the nature of her relationship with Ishamael? Or do they simply have the common goal of subduing Rand?
House Damodred
Speaking of Rand, Moiraine’s comes up empty-handed in her search for the Dragon. However, when she returns home, Anvaere is waiting for her. She tells the story of how she built up their family from beggars to nobles while Moiraine was away becoming an Aes Sedai. Now, her son is set to wed the queen. House Damodred is well-respected, and Anvaere will not let Moiraine jeopardize their reputation. Furthermore, Moiraine’s contacts are now loyal to Anvaere, which explains why she wasn’t able to get much out of them. Anvaere knows where Rand is, and after a conversation over tea, she shares that information with Moiraine.
Meanwhile, having spent the day in peace, Rand and Selene sleep outside on the cliff outside the cabin. Rand is awaken by some evil presence which turns out to be a Fade. After failing to defeat it in combat, Rand is forced to channel the One Power to eliminate it. Selene is taken aback by the revelation that Rand can channel, even though it looked like she saw him channel on a couple occasions. However, after Rand expresses his love for Selene, she decides to stay by his side after all.
Back to Alanna. Earlier on, Maksim snatched the poem and shared it with Alanna. And with Lan now asleep, they share its contents with Ihvon. The poem prophesizes the return of Lanfear. As the poem is read, we shift back to Rand and Selene getting intimate. Everything is normal until Selene reveals that she too is a monster as she starts channeling. Luckily for Rand, Moiraine arrives just in time to “kill” Selene. Rand is enraged as Moiraine reveals that Selene is Lanfear, the most dangerous of the Forsaken. She just about manages to convince him that they should flee as Lanfear reawakens.
Final Thoughts
We’ve grown accustomed to Moiraine’s scheming, but we’re now seeing Liandrin’s scheming grow more and more influential. Her alliance with Ishamael is intriguing in that it opens up the possibility that the White Tower might be too divided to form the necessary resistance against the Seanchan or the Forsaken. The Amyrlin’s absence further flames the sense of instability amongst the Aes Sedai. Where is the Amyrlin, anyways?
Moiraine was just as active upon her arrival to the Foregate, which turns out to be her hometown. We’re quickly hit with a couple of twists: Anvaere is her sister, and she sent both Rand and Logain to the Foregate on purpose. Then, we’re hit with the biggest twist: Selene is Lanfear. This would explain the inconsistency surrounding Selene. She must’ve seen him channel on at least a couple occasions, so how could she be surprised unless she was lying, of course. In any case, Rand is now at the center once again. With multiple parties converging onto him, Moiraine will have to act quickly to get him prepared.
Character Development (12/15)
After not making an appearance in the previous episode, Moiraine was right back it here. Seeing her interact with her sister in their hometown gave up a glimpse into the origins of an otherwise stoic character. On the other side of the spectrum, Liandrin’s influence continues to grow. Rand and Selene’s time together might’ve come to an end, but Rand’s feelings will complicate matters in the future. Finally, the likes of Lan and Perrin are still on the sidelines as they try to find their purpose.
Liandrin
Liandrin’s journey from bit-part player to critical decision maker continues thanks to some controversial actions. Nynaeve’s initial failure to return from the Arches severely damaged Liandrin’s reputation, but her subsequent return reversed the damage and probably even added to her credibility. Furthermore, she has Nynaeve’s trust in a way no one else does at the moment, not even Egwene. Liandrin recognizes this and looks to build on it by sharing news of Perrin and Loial’s capture. She tells Nynaeve not to act, but she knows she will. Perhaps it was all a ploy to gain some leverage over Nynaeve, seeing as she was caught with Egwene and Elayne.
This was not the only instance where Liandrin’s intentions aren’t clear. Take her threat to Leane, for example. Liandrin’s inclined to meet aggression with aggression, but her conversation with Leane had deeper meaning. The power struggle Liandrin started with Moiraine in the previous season seems to be shifting towards the Amyrlin in Moiraine’s absence. Perhaps she has ambitions for the Seat. Nonetheless, she’s playing a dangerous game.
She doesn’t mind the danger if her partnership with Ishamael is any indication. The extent of their relationship is unclear at this moment. What we do know is that she initiated a secret meeting between Min and Ishamael where Ishamael instructs Min to take Mat to Cairhien. Presumably, Liandrin and Ishamael share the common goal of subduing Rand, so this could be a one time deal. Regardless, teaming up with a Forsaken in any capacity is risky business. Look for this to backfire at the worst possible time.
Moiraine
We learned more about Moiraine’s past in this one episode than we have in a season and a half. She came from a family of peasants whom she completely left behind in her pursuit of becoming an Aes Sedai. There’s bound to be an explanation, but the fact of the matter is that she was gone for decades, and she only returned out of necessity. Outside a couple faint hints of nostalgia, the woman is cold beyond measure. According to Alanna, something happened to Moiraine 20 years ago that sucked the happiness out of her and replaced it with this cold-hearted demeanor.
Anvaere does her best to welcome Moiraine back, but when it becomes clear that her return is entirely selfish, Anvaere loses her patience. She forces Moiraine to play by her rules and bluntly warns her against jeopardizing what she’s built for herself and for their family. Moiraine eventually gets what she wants, but a pattern is forming.
Whether it be Anvaere, Lan, Rand, or others, there’s a limit to how much of Moiraine’s antics can be tolerated. No one likes to be used, and all she seemingly does is use others. It’s worked for her thus far because of how incredibly good she is at offering up something in return. Look to Logain, for example. She wants him to train Rand in exchange for an end to his suffering. Logain reluctantly accepts because Moiraine offers him what he wants most. You can apply this to just about everyone Moiraine’s dealt with. But what happens when she has nothing more to offer?
Others
Just when it looked like Rand had gotten over Egwene, he’s hit with the revelation that Selene is Lanfear. Mind you, this was mere moments after he’d expressed his love to her. Moiraine manages to calm him down enough to force a retreat, but this situation is already beyond messy. Rand will surely question how much of his relationship with Selene was real, and it very much might turn out to be such. Or it could be that Selene was interested in him for his powers all along. Either way, Rand will have a hard time keeping his emotions in check, and that doesn’t bode well for his mental stability.
Lan, Egwene, and Perrin are making little progress in their personal battles. Lan is being constantly bombarded by three differing perspectives. He seems intent on finding his way back to Moiraine, but he can not do so if he doesn’t know what she wants. Egwene expresses her guilt about not having been there for Rand when he needed her, much like Nynaeve. This is very one-dimensional stuff. Finally, Perrin makes some progress thanks to Elyas. The more he knows about his wolfbrother abilities, the more comfortable he’ll be accepting his identity.
Theme/Messages (4/5)
- “No one and nothing ever gives you what you want. If you want something, you have to take it.”
- “People don’t understand that we quiet ones are quiet because the conversation’s always playing out in our own heads.”
- “You need to give someone the chance to love all of you.”
Acting (12/15)
Rosamund Pike (Moiraine) brought about a good deal of stability after her absence in the previous episode exposed some glaring weaknesses amongst the cast. Natasha O’Keeffe (Selene), Álvaro Morte (Logain), Kate Fleetwood (Liandrin), Fares Fares (Ishamael), and Lindsay Duncan (Anvaere) brought about a level of acting that can be expected from seasoned professionals. The less-experienced actors did not have as much to do, so they were generally fine.
Cinematography (12/15)
- Cool shot of the White Tower from the outside (7:15)
- Nice shots of the Tower’s interior design (7:38 onwards)
- Beautiful shot of the scenery (29:26)