Couldn't agree more with what you have written here. Agdashloo by the way seems to me to be perfect for the role.

That makes not difference in the books. In the books, if a legit Aes Sedai attempted to "execute" someone falsely accused of being a Darkfriend, she wouldn't be able to do it. The angreal-reinforced oath has to do with what the victimized person is, not with what she has been accused or convicted of.

But wouldn't this prove to any non-Darkfriend sister that Alviarin was a Darkfriend? Book Alviarin would never have been so indiscreet.

One of the main things the sisters did is to guide the conversation so that the person being interrogated would have to say something untrue to answer a question. At that point, a legit sister couldn't do it because she was bound by the oaths, but a darkfriend sister could say it and so was exposed.

In the books at least, the oaths are not just something somebody says, and it's totally a matter of honor whether or not one keeps the oath. In the books it is clear the Aes Sedai take the oaths on an angreal and that the oaths are binding on the bodies of the women who take them. They literally cannot say a word that is not true. They literally cannot fashion a weapon by which one man (or presumably any other person can kill another. They literally cannot use the One Power as a weapon, except in the specific instances listed in the oath. So if the One Power were to work the same way as in the books, Elaida murdering Siuan with the One Power would mean that Elaida is a Darkfriend, something she very much is not in the books. Note that in the books, anyone condemned to death by the Aes Saedai is beheaded with an axe. As for killing Siuan off, they did it to avoid using series time on the Siuan/Gareth subplot. It's not that the acing in such a subplot would be beneath a good actor's talents. Good actors have been nailing such subplots for hundreds of years. To change the subject just a bit, now that Loial is dead, who's gonna finish his book?

One problem that's causing the sense the show may be canceled is that the viewing expectations and habits of at least the younger executives are no more like ours that that of a lot of the general public. They want the razzle-dazzle magic fights for instance, hence Moirane v. Lanfear, which from a story perspective at this point is completely unnecessary. Some things I liked: they included the Aelfinn and the Eelfin, whom I was sure would have been left out; most of what went down in Tanchico in this episode was on point. How Nynaeve accessed her powers was well-done even though it's in a different part of the story than in the books (probably needed to be this way). The conflict between Rand and Culadheen was well done, and the true display of Rand's powers as well. A couple of things I didn't like quite as well. Elaida's takeover happened offscreen; we were treated to none of the conflict in the Tower that followed, and Elaida having Siuan murdered in the Hall wasn't too cool either. All this said, if they keep presenting, I'll keep watching.