Episode Grade: (8.7/10)
The Amyrlin makes her way to Cairhien after learning of Moiraine’s predicament. The Seanchan tighten their grip on the Aes Sedai in Falme.
Plot (41/50)
The Amyrlin’s arrival to Cairhien moves the show firmly away from the White Tower as she’s deployed 14 of the most powerful Aes Sedai with her to decide on what to do Rand. Moiraine has seen her control over the situation gradually slip, and now she will no longer be able to hold on to Rand, her last bit of leverage. Over in Falme, the situation is getting more dire by the day as women who can channel are relentlessly hunted down in the city. Egwene has it worst of all, but Nynaeve and Elayne also find themselves heavily outmatched and without any allies.
Cairhien
Rand follows through with Moiraine’s plan to keep his relationship with Lanfear going as a way to get to Ishamael. Lanfear bites, but on the condition that Rand leave Moiraine’s side. As he prepares to leave the city, Lanfear shows him Egwene’s desperate situation. As a result, he sets his path to Falme. However, on his way out of the city, he runs into Mat, who’s just arrived to Cairhien thanks to Min’s deal with Ishamael. As the two catch up, Rand explains his current situation to Mat, who decides to join him on his journey to Falme.
However, when he goes to say his goodbyes to Min, she tells him of her vision. With the knowledge that he’s “destined” to kill Rand, he doesn’t show up to the rendezvous point as agreed upon earlier. Rand is disappointed, but he knows he must continue his journey regardless. That’s when Lan, Alanna, Ihvon, and Maksim intercept him. Alanna and co. had confronted Lan about the poem earlier. They accused him of being a Darkfriend, so he was forced to reveal that they had found the Dragon Reborn so they they might let go see the Amyrlin.
When he gets to the Amyrlin, he presumably tells her of Moiraine’s stilling and of Rand’s presence in Cairhien. This prompts her to set course for Cairhien immediately. She calls forth 14 sisters and demands an audience with Moiraine. The matter of the Dragon Reborn will now be decided by the Aes Sedai.
Falme
The Seanchan’s dominance over Falme was demonstrated in length in this episode. Loial and Ingtar are nothing more than servants and amusement at Lady Suroth’s court. The palace is lurking with guards, but Ingtar has managed to find out where they’re keeping both Egwene and the Horn of Valere. The Horn isn’t well-guarded, but Egwene is. Breaking her out is not going to be easy, but Loial insists that they do.
Unfortunately, Egwene’s situation is even more dire than Loial could possibly imagine. She is subjected to grueling rounds of psychological torment until her spirit is broken by Renna, her sul’dam. As long as she is collared, she won’t be able to fight back in any way. It’s not just her either. Any woman who can channel is captured and collared, including Maigan, a Sitter of the Blue Ajah. This extends to Ryma, who was captured in this episode.
Ryma gave herself up to give Nynaeve and Elayne a chance to fight back. As far as we can tell, they’re the only two significant figures that remain outside of the Seanchan’s grasp in Falme. We know that Perrin and Aviendha are on the way, and that Ingtar and Loial would be ready to fight given the opportunity, but none of that will matter if Nynaeve can’t figure out a way to unlock the collars.
Final Thoughts
Much of the episode was dedicated to Egwene (more on her in a bit), but there were still some important advances in the plot. The most important development is that the secret is out about the Dragon Reborn. Moiraine and Rand will now have to deal with the Amyrlin and her council of 14 Aes Sedai. And while they try to sort out a course of action, the Seanchan’s grip on Falme grows stronger. Maigan’s capture was an unexpected revelation that effectively demonstrated the Seanchan’s ambitions. They aren’t afraid of the Aes Sedai, in fact, they’re coming right for them.
The Seanchan have been consistently presented as a serious threat, and this episode punctuated that sentiment. What was not consistent was Verin’s role. We last saw her hot on Liandrin’s trail, but she was completely absent as Liandrin went about her business until we catch a glimpse of her in Cairhien having been called there by the Amyrlin. There are a couple of logical explanations to this: either Verin’s also a Darkfriend or Liandrin subdued her after sensing her suspicions.
Moving forward, the focus will be split among Cairhien and Falme, with the White Tower out of the picture for the time being as the important characters there have all been deployed elsewhere. There are a few things to keep an eye on. What will the Amyrlin do with Moiraine and, more importantly, Rand? What exactly is Lanfear planning? Will Nynaeve be able to unlock the collar?
Character Development (15/15)
This was quite possibly the best episode of the entire series with regards to character development. There was an intentionality about the interactions between characters from start to finish. The most significant development happened with Egwene, of course. She has gone through an experience that will change her forever. Others have also had important moments, but they all pale in comparison to what Egwene experienced here.
Egwene
Egwene went through a level of psychological torment that will change her forever. The fact that she fought as hard as she did but still ultimately succumbed to her status as a slave will haunt her for the rest of her life. When she is eventually freed, she will be a completely different person. Here’s a more detailed breakdown: https://x.com/haveyasceneit/status/1705782457126224207?s=20.
Moiraine
Moiraine’s had an increasingly rough time ever since she was stilled by Ishamael. Even so, she’s been able to anchor herself with the fact that she’s found the Dragon Reborn, and that others don’t yet know of his existence. With him by her side, she can still make a difference. That’s all about to change. In order to gain Lanfear’s trust, Rand has to abandon Moiraine. Furthermore, Lan shared news of the Dragon with Alanna and presumably news of Moiraine’s stilling with Siuan. Moiraine’s made a concerted effort to hide both facts up until this point because without them, she has no leverage.
She had come to this conclusion even before learning of the Amyrlin’s arrival at Cairhien. As soon as Rand left, she began drafting a letter to Siuan to tell her that she’d been stilled (and update her on Rand’s progress as well probably). She struggles with this task because she doesn’t want to burden Siuan with her grief, but also because she’s kept it a secret for so long. The task is so distressing that Moiraine pushes away even her beloved nephew, Barthanes. This sparks a reaction from Anvaere.
Anvaere feels abandoned by Moiraine as a result of her absence over the past two decades, but there’s more. At some point during the time Moiraine stayed away, their father died. As he was dying, he kept asking for Moiraine. They sent word to the White Tower, but Moiraine never showed up. Anvaere feels this was especially inconsiderate given how much Moiraine loved their father. Moiraine is shaken, but she offers no explanation. Is it possible that she never got the letters? Finally, Anvaere tells Moiraine that she’s just like their mother. It’s clear that Moiraine’s upbringing shaped her. Her relationship with her mother will reveal much.
Rand and Mat
Rand needed to walk a fine line between feeling hurt by Lanfear’s betrayal and distrustful as a result. He managed to do just that, and by doing so, he took a big step towards earning Lanfear’s trust. He then took an even bigger step by abandoning Moiraine per Lanfear’s condition. Lanfear then granted him the ability to see one person, and he chose Egwene. At first glance, this may seem like a bad choice because it might make Lanfear jealous, but it actually works out in his favor.
Rand is not a very good liar, so for the act to work, it needs to be based in reality. His desperation to help Egwene is real, and Lanfear can see that. And because she can sense his honesty as well as his weakness, she will feel a sense of security towards him. She has also kept good on her promise to shield him from Ishamael. However, as we know, Ishamael is very resourceful. As Rand prepares to journey to Falme, he runs into Mat. The two share a warm embrace as Rand catches Mat up. They bond over their sense of guilt over abandoning their friends, and Mat decides to join Rand on his journey.
There’s just the small matter of Min that remains. He goes to tell her goodbye, but she tell him not to go. She shares her vision of him killing Rand, and while Mat is hurt by her betrayal, he can’t deny her abilities. He’s forced to watch as Rand realizes that he won’t show up. Rand’s disappointed but not surprised, it is Mat after all. This was especially agonizing for Mat because it perpetuated the belief that he’s a coward who’s not there for his friends. He had a lot of time to think about how he’d right his wrongs, but his first opportunity to do so is ruined by a vision that has him killing his best friend.
Others
We didn’t see much of Liandrin in this episode, but what we did see was critical. Lanfear visits her as she tends to her son, and she sheds some light on Liandrin’s past. Her hatred for men stems from the trauma of being a child bride. She swore her Oaths to the Dark in order to keep her son alive, but in his current state, he’s better off dead. Liandrin can’t bring herself to do it, but Lanfear can. The way Lanfear sees it, ending his life is a mercy both to him and his mother. It also means that Liandrin has nothing left to hold her back, which is convenient seeing as her loyalty is still to the Dark.
Speaking of loyalty, Lan finally brought himself to do what needed to be done to help Moiraine: ask for help. In truth, he was pretty much forced into it by Alanna, Ihvon, and Maksim when they accused him of being a Darkfriend. He tells them about the Dragon Reborn so that they may allow him to go to the Amyrlin, which he does. There, he presumably tells Siuan that Moiraine’s been stilled. She immediately mobilizes the Aes Sedai and heads to Cairhien. And the final order of business is to keep Rand in Cairhien, which he does with the help of Alanna and co.
Nynaeve and Elayne were lucky to be found by Ryma and Basan because their bickering would’ve otherwise gotten them captured. Their brief time with Ryma proved invaluable for a number of reasons. First, she explained to them the gravity of the danger they face in Falme. Second, she gave them access to a collar so that they might find a way to unlock it. Nynaeve uses too much power, which draws the Seanchan in. Ryma sacrifices herself to give Nynaeve a chance to find a way to unlock the collar and save all those that have been captured. Finally, the trauma of the experience bonded Nynaeve and Elayne to a common cause.
Theme/Messages (4/5)
- How well can people who don’t like each other work together?
- Having a great deal of willpower can prevent people from accepting their fate for no longer, but at what point does this become a harmful trait?
Acting (14/15)
I have been super critical of Madeleine Madden (Egwene) for the entirety of the series, but she put in the performance of her life here. She captured the appropriate emotions at the right times. That’s especially impressive given the sophisticated psychological torment her character faced. Hopefully she builds on this performance. I could say the same for Dónal Finn (Mat). He didn’t make a good impression, but he was solid here. As for Josha Stradowski (Rand), I’ve never been able to make up my mind on his acting, but he was good here as well.
We have gotten used to great performances from the likes of Rosamund Pike (Moiraine), Natasha O’Keeffe (Selene), Kate Fleetwood (Liandrin), and Lindsay Duncan (Anvaere). This episode was no different. What was different was how much of an impression the newcomers made. Nyokabi Gethaiga (Ryma) and Bentley Kalu (Basan) were outstanding in their roles, but it was Xelia Mendes-Jones (Renna) that stole the show. Her endearing portrayal was so disarming that it made her character’s vicious turn all the more shocking. Overall, this was probably the best-acted episode of the series.
Cinematography (13/15)
- Shot of Egwene in the corner of her cell with nothing but a pitcher in the cell and a window shining a dim light (4:29)
- Cool shot of the volcanic-like landscape in Rand’s dream (4:57)
- Shot of Rand and Lanfear face-to-face with the desert range and the cloudy sky in the background (5:49)
- Cool stonehenge and stone structure in the mountain (21:46)
- Shot of the tower at Falme by the water (40:21)