For what it's worth, I read intimacy into the scene of Liandrin stroking Moiraine's face as well. Helped by Amazon's original Liandrin biography, which read in part: "she has a complex history with Moiraine; long ago they were close."

Yeah, previously it was almost perfect, being 5pm my time (in Australia) and now it's 10am. Which means a seven hour gap between when it airs and when I get home from work. So the new time isn't as ideal for everyone! That's always going to be the case, though.

Not sure if it spoils anything per se (?) but seeing as people have presumed this a couple of times now, as per Rafe's own social media

And for me, the decision to change Abel Cauthon's (a very minor character) character is something I'm not pro or against yet. I don't think it being 'unfaithful' is inherently a bad thing, especially if it later pays dividends. For example, if this leads to him later getting a character arc wherein he finds redemption and/or we see the impact of a different upbringing on Mat's character in a way that might justify or explain some of his character in a nuanced way, I'd be very interested in seeing that onscreen. Quite honestly, adherence to the letter of the text is far from the most important thing to me because we all come from the books with different views on character, dynamics, plot, story, pacing, and the relative necessity and importance of them. If making material changes to the source text means we end up in a place where I think a favourite character's decisions make more sense (logically) or a dynamic is depicted in a way that feels more authentic (to me), I'm going to be all for it in a lot of cases. Selfishly. And because others might've interpreted a dynamic or motivation differently, those changes might feel unnecessary or unwanted even though I see them as the opposite.

They are canonically pillow friends. Pillow friends canonically have a sexual relationship as per RJ. Even ignoring that confirmation, it's pretty clear, surely, based on Moiraine's own inner thoughts when Cadsuane refers to them that way? I don't quite understand how it's a 'stretch'. Do you need an explicit sex scene, or for them to announce their sexual orientation? I know how RJ often framed pillow friends as gay until graduation, so to speak, but these two literally - within months - were pledging to share everything and were together all the time. They were novices for three years, accepted for another three, and were 'close' for a time after that as well. That's over SIX YEARS. That's not a sexual experimentation, lol, especially considering that Moiraine speaks to never having been closer to or loving anyone as much as Siuan. I quoted some of The Great Hunt in my earlier post because I love that chapter. A lot. [SPOILER ToM] Moiraine and Siuan's relationship, in my reading, is foundational to New Spring, specifically, so I don't think their closeness is a blink and miss it type of thing. Or maybe it is and I'm just more attuned to it because I was so starved for representation. Who knows. Either way, it's canonical.

Spoilers for New Spring, I guess. Just character/relationship quotes.

Can we not with the condescending tone? I love WoT and I had zero expectations of Episode 6 and the snideness as though I'm just some demographic to pander to is rough. Or MAYBE just MAYBE they looked at two characters who are canonically queer and in a relationship in one of the books (and even if they weren't, loved the other person above all others), and thought continuing that relationship through to the current time was both good representation AND interesting for the plot and characters going forward. If they choose to include moments or character beats you consider interesting or relevant or important or that you feels represents you in some way or that you've always head-canoned, does it mean they're inherently pandering to you?

Can you elaborate on how it's even a 'sex scene'? Because honestly, it was like one kiss, followed by a fade to black; and a huge percentage of the scene was focused on the reliability of prophecy, the potential of stilling, the consequences of their plans, backgrounding the Eye, etc. And a sex scene, grounded in character work and plot, WHICH IT WAS, isn't inherently tawdry or gross. If you're suggesting it's because it was because it wasn't het, that's another matter altogether and one I won't engage with. For what it's worth, explicitly showing them as having a romantic relationship with each other (complete with physical affection, teasing and so forth) means a lot to me as a fan of these books. I don't feel pandered to; I feel validated and affirmed as someone who didn't understand why younger me was sooooo drawn to New Spring and Siuan and Moiraine's relationship. It ramps UP the nature of their sacrifice, places it in even higher import to me. I honestly just disagree that it somehow undermines the narrative and their character. The added fact that their relationship remained sexual, not platonic, isn't impactful on the crux of the matter - that if they're caught, if people become aware of their schemes (not that they had sex for the first time in years), they'll be stilled. That was the case in the book series and remains the same for TV. The fact that you're talking about 'box checking' and 'shallow pandering' really does make it clear what the issue is, however, so I might leave it there.

Mild NS/TGH, I guess: