DRAGONMOUNT

Thom DeSimone was a fan of The Wheel of Time long before he was first tagged to be part of the ‘official’ fandom as a Director at JordanCon, a literary convention themed for The Wheel of Time. Which is where he met the illustrious leader of Dragonmount, Jason Denzel, and the rest is as they say…history.   (Note from the editor: You can see Thom in action on Dragonmount’s Wheel of Time Community Show!)   A wind blew down from the mountains of mist...and carried with it the acrid smell of wood smoke.   That is due to the fact that at the open of Episode 2 ‘Shadows Waiting,’ of Amazon Prime Video's sure to be mega hit series The Wheel of Time, Eamon Valda, played by the amazingly talented Abdul Salis, is sinfully snacking on a small song bird as an Aes Sedai is burned alive. (See Ortolan Bunting)   I want to mention in particular the Whitecloaks in this episode because Abdul Salis’ performance as Eamon Vlada is STELLAR. You just LOVE to hate his character. For my Harry Potter fans out there, he is throwing off series Dolores Umbridge vibes.   In the pages of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time the Whitecloaks are a military order with a blinding level of fanaticism dedicated to their own view of what it means to "walk in the Light." This group most resembles that of real life Knights Templar, a dash of the Spanish Inquisition, and topped off with the Klu-Klux-Klan.   Amongst lines of pristine white canvas tents that are only out shone by the gleaming white armor and dress of the Whitecloaks themselves an Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah, whose hands were recently removed, is tied to a pole set above a recently kindled fire.   The Whitecloaks of the books are, for the most part, buffoons and pose little to no threat throughout the series to the Aes Sedai or the main characters. It seems Rafe Judkins and the writing staff are setting up the Whitecloaks, to be much more of a threat.   This move up the ladder for the Whitecloaks sets up much more interesting story implications for Perrin in particular later on. I am interested in seeing where it goes.   Our next encounter with this particular batch of literary human garbage is when they cross paths with our heroes. At first it seemed like a good cop, and bad cop routine from Geofram Bornhold and Valda’s interaction with Moiraine and Lan, but after seeing their exchange as they part ways it really plays up an internal conflict with the Questioners and the Whitecloak regulars. Which is really driven home by Bornhold's earlier instruction to Moiraine to seek Aes Sedai healing for the wound caused by the Trolloc blade. Here I always imagined the Whitecloaks would choose death, over being touched by the one power. For themselves… or anyone really. This I feel sets up an interesting dynamic and plot for later interactions. Though I would love to talk about the Whitecloaks and the comeuppance I am sure they will receive from Moiraine and the Aes Sedai, I want to get to the ‘meat and potatoes’ of this episode, which of course are…rules. Oh you thought I was going to say Shadar Logoth. Nope. I want to talk about the rules, limitations and expectations the writers are building and breaking for us as the viewers.   Best displayed by what we learn of the Aes Sedai, the One power and Moiraine herself in this episode.    Are the Aes Sedai Healers? As seen in Moiraine healing the sick and injured after the events of Winternight.   Are they monsters? Though we want to think they are given this moniker by the Whitecloaks for no reason.   Moiraine does essentially tear down the Winespring Inn and sink a ferry, in so doing, kill the ferryman who only wanted to save his family. A necessary evil? I think so, but nonetheless questionable. Moiraine, master manipulator she is, then leads Eqwene through the events. having her come to the same conclusion herself.   Objection! Leading the witness! Moiraine made a choice between the lesser of two evils. Which is still kinda evil?   Not only are viewers maybe now questioning the Aes Sedai’s intent, but we also see other limitations built around them, via their ‘Three Oaths’ and to the One Power itself.   Aes Sedai, and as far as we know as viewers at this point, all users of the One Power, cannot heal themselves. Also, they cannot channel the One Power if you remove the users hands, as displayed by the Sister being burned at the stake earlier not tearing the entire Whitecloak camp apart. (Personally, I think this is a set up for later, when we find out that this is only due to the fact that this is the way Aes Sedai are taught/believe the One Power works. I’m sure it will be a fun surprise when we learn Aiel and other Channelers manipulate the Power in as many different ways as there are people in the world.)   Ok now yes we will talk about Shadar Logoth or, as this episode is titled ‘Shadows Waiting.’ For those who have read the books, yes, there are many differences between Amazon’s depiction of the city and what occurs with the party inside to that of the book. Though the results are the same, we learn of a corruption brought on not by the Dark One, though feared by its minions. A corruption born of very human failings. Greed, isolationism, and nationalism, which can all really be summed up as selfishness. Mashadar manifests as a creeping shadow in this adaptation but is no less terrifying and deadly. A major difference here is the absence of ‘Mordeth’ who was a physical manifestation of the corruption that permeates the city.   Personally, I think a sentient Mashadar still exists. How else do you explain Mr. Cauthon being lured to a dagger? More on this in a minute. Just before Mashadar leads Mat by the nose into a dark corridor and to the very thing he is just recently lacking, a dagger. We hear whistling. Which is eerily similar to the whistling we hear leading into our first meeting with Padan Fain in the previous episode (and several other times throughout these first two episodes). This I believe is a set up from the showrunner for a later flashback of Padan Fain in the ruined city himself possibly meeting Mordeth or at least being ‘touched’ by Mashadar, aka the corruption of Shadar Logoth.   Ok now back to Mat gifting his dagger to Perrin. This particular scene is poignant to me in that it gives us a deeper understanding of the loving relationship between the Emond’s Fielders. Mat essentially tells Perrin he loves him by giving this dagger. By way of the back story of how he go the dagger from Laila. As she made said dagger for Mat to ‘protect someone he loves’ and it seems Mat thinks this promise is fulfilled by giving Perrin this dagger. IE he loves Perrin. This type of loving relationship between male characters in entertainment at all, let alone fantasy, is a breath of fresh air. It’s something that has been lacking for many years. Amazon Prime Video’s the Wheel of Time seems to be doing away with the toxic masculine tropes of the past, and I could not be happier. Hopefully it does not end there.   Of course, the rest of the sequence within the ruined cities walls are the separation of the party and a chase through the streets. But it is the final scene in this episode that is this blogger’s favorite! A knife to the throat of al’Lan Mandragoran with Nynaeve al’Mera at the other end fully ready to end his life to protect her people. Zoë Robins is AMAZING, Nynaeve is the perfect character for her and I CANNOT wait to see Zoe crush some of the things that goes on later in the series!

REVIEW: Episode 103: A Place of Safety   To bring epic fantasy adaptations to life, carefully chosen edits must be made. There is a heavy weight of responsibility on Rafe Judkins and his team with The Wheel of Time. Our fanbase is one full of passion and entrenched with heavy expectations. To those of us initiated we know these characters better than ourselves. I encourage fans new to The Wheel of Time to dive in and join the longtime fans in the world of Robert Jordan’s creation. With all of us aware that the story we see before us is just yet another turning of the Wheel: “There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel.”   Episode three, “A Place of Safety” of The Wheel of Time series by Amazon Prime Video delivers nearly an hour of epic journeys all of which point east towards Tar Valon and the White Tower. They have all escaped the clutches of Shadar Logoth and are scattered to the wind. In a shocking surprise Nynaeve al’Meara has emerged as my favorite heroine. The performance Zoë Robins delivers is fierce and convincing, but it is the subtle changes made to her story that makes Nynaeve shine. While book purists may decry the changes, I insist that in Nynaeve’s case they have only made her stronger; I harken back to episode one “Leavetaking” as she stands with her hand on her knife when the strangers arrive. For character development’s sake they ramp up her hatred for the Aes Sedai, using her former Wisdom and surrogate mothers’ dismissal from the White Tower to draw a hard line between us and them. In episode three the visual representation of Nynaeve’s strength as she escapes her trolloc captor was breathtaking. In the span of only hours her village has been attacked by beasts she had likely believed were only a myth, she had seen her people slaughtered and watched as everything around her was consumed by blood and fire. As a capstone to her induction into her new reality, she is knocked unconscious and headed for death in a trolloc’s belly. Yet, when faced with a situation that would have many giving up or paralyzed with fear she fought on. Not only to save her own life, but to carry on and save her friends.   Nynaeve made use of the sacred pool to save her own life. While we do not yet know its intended use, it is a place of great importance and leant its strength to Nynaeve once again as she hid in its depths and used the trolloc’s own blade to end its life. As the camera pans out, we see the blood filling the pool and resolving into the shape of a Dragon’s Fang. Much like we saw the slaughtered sheep arranged as the Dragon’s Fang in episode one, it is another subtle reminder that the Two Rivers companions are being hunted by the dark. Up to this point we have not learned the true power of the Dark One’s reach, but there are subtle clues if you know where to look.   The largest representation of his strength is seen at the end of the episode when Dana (Izuka Hoyle) is revealed to be a darkfriend and Thom (Alexandre Willaume) gives us clues to what that means. Izuka Hoyle’s performance was the standout in the episode for me. There is a massive amount of character development that takes place during her time on screen. The writing is meant to make us feel for her plight, stuck in the mining town where she was born and likely will die, but it is the fervor with which she delivers her diatribe to Rand and Mat that had me kicking my heels with excitement. Her death was necessary to allow our pair to escape, but I was crushed that we will not see the crazed light in her eyes again.   One theme that we see delivered again and again is the commitment and loyalty the Two Rivers folk have to each other. Both Rand and Egwene, though separated by miles, each have the desire to make sure that the other is okay. Their relationship may be in shambles, but their love and loyalty are still strong. Even Mat who waivered the most in his desire to abandon their quest to the White Tower and return home, sticks with it when the road gets rough. If they stick to the source material, the themes of loyalty and obligation will be repeated again and again.    Due to the extensive travel that takes place in “A Place of Safety” I feel that in this episode the world truly begins to expand. We start to see more of the people who inhabit the land outside the Two Rivers, with heavy handed hints of even more to come. World building on this scale must be a challenge and some of the information felt a bit forced. Such as when Thom explains to Mat more about the Aiel. The most egregious information dump happens when Perrin and Egwene meet the Tinkers. This story is highly altered from how it takes place in the book and as of yet I do not understand the why. There is an intermediary in the books who guides Perrin and Egwene instead of the wolves alone.    The Tinkers, or the Traveling People are a band of pacificists and wanderers who believe that everyone should do no harm. As I read the books, they always gave me hippie vibes. They were one with nature, vegetarians who wore brightly colored clothes and welcomed everyone to their fires. Never settling in one place for too long. Their way of life was known to be intoxicating to children and youth, which was why most villages and towns didn’t not welcome them near their borders. Even in the secluded Two Rivers they had heard rumors of the Tuatha’an. This is not the case in this turning of the wheel. Visually the Tinkers are ‘darker’ than I had pictured. Their colors are more muted and their demeanor more reserved and less jovial. Perrin and Egwene have also not heard of them, and it is Aram’s (Daryl McCormack) forced telling that felt out of place. Their lack of preconceived notions seems like an interesting omission. The only conclusion I can draw is that they are attempting to illustrate how isolated the Two Rivers folk were before beginning their journey. With so much history and lore to get across on screen there are bound to be a few stumbles such as this along the way. It was not enough to bring me out of the world.     So much of this episode is building for what is to come. We are being led through a world of Jordan’s creation as seen through Rafe Judkins eyes. I can see that he is trying to share with us the Power of women and the strength that can be taken when relying on others. The question that kept coming up for me is, “Who can we trust?”     We know that Moiraine can speak no word that is untrue, but she never says what she intends to do with the potential Dragon reborn when she gets him or her to the White Tower. While Aes Sedai seem more well known to the Two Rivers folk than they were in the novels, the mysteries of what an Aes Sedai can do with the One Power remain a large unknown. She is currently injured and was asleep for most of this episode, but her powers could still be at work. Is it her work that causes the wolves to herd Egwene and Perrin towards the Tuatha’an? Or is it indicative of him being the Dragon? He is the only one we see have another dream this episode. Does the fact that Egwene can channel point to her as the one Moiraine seeks? Rand’s super strength that is showcased as he breaks free of Dana could be an indication that he is the one? Mat feels like the least likely candidate at this point, but we are staring to notice strange behavior from him as well. At this point we only know who the Dragon was, not who or what he or she will be.   There is a bomb that drops in the last few moments that seems to shock even our characters to our core. As Dana reveals that she dreams of the FIVE of them, we are led to believe that Nynaeve should also be considered for the Dragon reborn as well. Her expanded strength may mean that she is where our eyes should be pointed in our search to decode who has been reborn as the Dragon in this turning of the Wheel. In future episodes we all need to be careful observers of the clues that are being left for us.   The recent revelation that Nynaeve could be the one Moiraine was wanting, even if she does not know it yet, makes the fact that the episode bookends with Nynaeve’s appearance highly appropriate. The last words spoken this episode were delivered by the deliciously smug Liandrin Sedai. “Didn’t you hear? We captured a man calling himself the Dragon Reborn.” This puts the mission Moiraine set out to accomplish; bringing the Dragon reborn to the White Tower so that he can be guided, is in peril, as is her life. Who is this man that Liandrin captured? Book readers will have an idea, for everyone else hold tight. His expanded story line is certain to be something we can all enjoy discovering. If the menacing look in his eye is any indication, he has been captured, but not beaten.