@DojoToadYou have a stronger will than I, letting S2E3 just sit there while you go back to re-watch all of season 1. I just re-watched season 1 over the weekend, and I was pleasantly surprised at how solid episodes 1-7 are. If season 2 improves on these episodes, I think it'll be worth the watch.

I don’t think it changes the story much if they do or don’t.

I agree he has some cool fight scenes in the books, as does Galad, but if someone has to be cut, I'm firmly on Team Gonewyn. His completely misinformed rage towards Rand was the most annoying part of his character for me.

Definitely appreciated the pacing of this scene. So excited!!

Another framing I like to keep in mind, as inaccurate as it might be: In the show, more-so than the books, Moraine’s opening dialogue comes across as judgmental of Lews Therin and the 100 companions, as if the women Aes Sedai had any other option at the time. But the reality of the situation was that everyone was mostly clueless about how to seal the DO’s prison (no one intended to use the True Power) and they were running out of time. So Lews Therin acted, and the consequences of that action were immense, but it was done in a state of emergency. If anything, I think Lews Therin is judged more on the outcome of his actions than for the actions themselves, in both book and tv show.

I believe RJ has contradicted this theory at some point, but I like to think it’s possible Lews Therin would have succeeded if the women Aes Sedai had joined the 100 companions. Most likely it would have meant the tainting of both halves of the power, but perhaps in another turning of the wheel the taint was avoided entirely.

Yep, that's how I understand it. The "counter-stroke" was the DO's last, desperate act to lash out, and Saidin was the only nearby source. If women had been involved, and in a circle with the 100 companions, Saidar would probably be tainted too.

It'll be interesting to see how Perrin and Faile are represented in the show, if only for another perspective. It's definitely a challenging relationship for me to understand when I read through the books. More tragic than confusing.

I'm under the impression the difference between the Bowl of The Winds event and the use of the 2 Sa'Angreal is that the Bowl of The Winds channeled both Saidin and Saidar, but the women conducting the channeling were only controlling Saidar, so Saidin basically went unchecked. Coupled with the taint on Saidin, it's possible the Dark One was able to "influence" the effect of this uncontrolled Saidin as it spread with the bowl's weather effects.

*risen from the dead* You're not wrong. They are quite comfortable. I do wonder why we fixate on LOTR in this genre as much as we do. Perhaps that's just my ignorance of other fantasy works showing. *fades into the ether*