Yeah I feel like Setalle got lost between writers I feel like RJ was building to something with her but Sanderson had so many things she got lost in the shuffle. It's a shame because the more I reread the series the more I really like Setalle as a character and I really enjoy that whole arc with Tuon and how much Tuon respected her. She really seemed to be the closest to changing Tuon's mind on things and I think Tuon even mentions how they changed each other's views and it was mainly through just treating people with respect which is something the Aes Sedai could really learn.

I was really hoping Setalle Anan would have met up with Nynaeve to see if she could be healed. I think she would have been the perfect Amerlyn Seat at the end of the book because she had a good relationship with Tuon and may actually create a positive outcome with her and it would have been a cool story for her to have a reverse Siuan arc. She also seemed like she learned a lot of the things the Aes Sedai forgot by cutting themselves off from the world I think she would have helped them reconnect. Would have been cool to see Mat and Couladin lol I wish Egwene would have been able to see her parents again it was kind of sad how much they wanted news of her during Nynaeve's testing and they were never able to really see her again. I also agree about Thom Asmodean, it would have been great if Thom left him in the dust as a musician. Guy sells his soul to the dark one to have eternity to improve as a musician, murders everyone that was better than him, comes to a time where he considers everyone savages, gets schooled by a gleeman. Tuon and Hawking would have been good to see. Rand and Tam at the end, it never really sat well with me that they left his father in the dark.

I also like this theory and it's interesting that evil Ta'veren were never really explored but there was nice dualities set up with a lot of the characters like Slayer being two souls merged being able to move between the real world and dream world physically and people have theorized that Hopper may have merged in some way with Perrin or his hammer allowing him to move between worlds physically. You had Mat able to be impervious to the one power and the gholam as well.Would be interesting if the dark one made a twisted version of a Ta'veren and it does work well with how he was able to track Rand. The DO was also big on corrupting things with turning channelers, his foul taint so corrupting the concept of Ta'veren is interesting. Fain also did have some random crazy luck like being able to get direct access to Seanchan leadership, Whitecloak leadership and the Amerlyn Seat as a crazy begger. I get that over time he could corrupt them but more just getting his foot in the door with such powerful people could be similar to Rand wandering into the royal palace and meeting the entire power structure of Andor. I like the theory and kind of wish it was explored in the book because the idea of an evil Ta'veren is kind of terrifying. Ishy also would be interesting because of the massive impact he was able to have in limited time by striking at the right moment in the right way to create massive consequences for the world over time.

I always liked the name Joya from the books. It's the name of Egwene and Rand's kid in her tower tests.

Yeah I really wanted her and Leanne/Siuan to run into an Asha'man, she would have been really interested in what Elayne and Avihenda were up to and she really could have helped them out and would have been blown away by their capabilities. In a lot of ways Aviendha's talent to read things would have made research a lot safer for Setalle and her experience would temper Elayne a bit I think they would have made a great team and found some interesting things out. Also would have just been funny to see Mat's reaction to everyone he knows becoming an Aes Sedai lol. Overall I just really love how RJ brought that whole story out you hear of her as a cautionary tale to researching terangreal in an unrelated situation and then you meet her as a character and just over time see these clues to she has some past as an Aes Sedai and then when you put it together it's a beautiful arc.

It's amazing how she gets things done without hitting people or treating them like idiots that need to be hearded. I almost think she was put in as a counterpoint to all of that, it's interesting she behaves opposite to most everyone in the books. I never thought of that but she would have been the perfect Amerlyn at the end. If you can keep the peace between Tuon, Aes Sedai and Sul'dam in a circus wagon and still have them all respect you at the end of it I think she would have done an amazing job with the sitters. I think she would also have some awe around her as the one woman that came back from being cut off the source and just went on with her life. She faced down the one thing they are all absolutely terrified of I feel like that would get her a lot of tower cred. She would have continued Egwene's goal of being involved with other channelers because she was herself cast out of the tower so she would have empathy for them and also be willing to leave them alone if they wanted because she spent a good part of her life wanting the same thing. That's a tough balance for Aes Sedai it's either they cast women out and want nothing to do with them or basically want to drag them into the tower and not let them leave and it's basically all or nothing but I think Setalle would get it in a way other Aes Sedai would struggle to. Then politically she would be the best Amerlyn to deal with the Seanchan in a productive way even including Egwene. I really couldn't see Egwene ever creating peace with the Seanchan and I think she would always be too inflexible where eventually she would cause a war with them. Setalle's approach is really the approach I could see working with Tuon and you notice it in Tuon's POV how much she respects Setalle and she mentions that they have both changed each other's minds through their discussion over time.

Was just going through a reread and one character that I really adore the more I read the book is Setale Anan she is such an interesting character. I like how she's an example of the risks of researching, she burns herself out but doesn't die or give up, doesn't have some massive quest just has a family and builds a life with them. The way she becomes protective of Mat is great she just kind of adopts him. How she stands up for Mat and feels like Elayne and Nynaeve are bad news. Drags Elayne and Nynaeve through the city and every tavern telling everyone how they were broke because they were trying to outspend each other to impress a man and needed help. Just kind of rolling with abducting the heir to the empress, breaking out a bunch of Damanae from a powerful invading force and joining the circus. Then she takes on the role of getting between Tuon, Aes Sedai, Sul'dam and manages to humanize everyone and get the respect of all of them. I also think she does the most to try and change Tuon's mind on things and it's through again treating her like a human being and having discussions with her instead of treating her like some kind of monster. Really just love her character, what she stands for and how she goes about her business. Just kind of quietly making things better for the people around her without a lot of fanfare but just being decent to people. Seems like the more I read the series she becomes one of my favorite characters.

I liked this review he seems like he really appreciated Ishy and I thought this was a great send off. I also thought the ending with Ishy and his conversation with Rand was a particularly nice touch and great balance to how the episode started with the cold open that I also thought was great. Especially that Lews' actor did capture the subtle arrogance and imprisoning and leaving conscious for 3,000 years a guy that just wants to die is pretty horrifying, it was nice that Rand gave him some peace even if it is temporary. I think this was a big part of the books too how Rand's upbringing with Tam was a big difference between him and Lews and I think they this showed it in a great way. “It’s beautiful,” says the Forsaken called Ishamael, dying. “Do you see it, Lews?” “What do you see?” replies Rand al’Thor, the reincarnation of Ishamael’s best friend turned bitterest enemy, Lews Therin, the Dragon Reborn. “Nothing,” Ishamael says, smiling as his body crumbles away to dust. “Nothing at all.” So ends a fascinating antagonist. A true nihilist, Ishamael was a man who, in The Big Lebowski’s memorable formulation, truly did believe in nothing. Aghast at the suffering inherent in life, his goal was to eliminate life, and thus suffering, forever. In the end, the only life ended was his own — and that only temporarily, if the Wheel of Time keeps on turning as it’s always done. Still, what a lovely grace note for Ishamael, and for actor Fares Fares, who made him so charming and engaging a presence both in the lives of the other characters and simply on the screen. It also cracked me up that this guy hasn't read the books but expects this: Man, oh man, do I dig this. Superman as a selfless protector of the people of Metropolis is one thing. Superman as the leader of an army dedicated to destroying all evil forever? Sign me the hell up. https://www.vulture.com/article/the-wheel-of-time-recap-season-2-episode-8-what-was-meant-to-be.html

I think you are right about the spirit of the law but the letter of the law she didn't attack them with the power she attacked the boat with the power. Aes Sedai have a long history in the books getting around the spirit of the oaths because of loopholes in the letter of the law with the oaths. I can definitely see it bothering people and it definitely is a grey area but I didn't have a problem with it because Aes Sedai and Moiraine maybe even more than most of them is often operating in that grey area.

I don't think the boat scene was impacted by Moiraine's oaths she didn't attack the Seanchan with the power she attacked the boats and then the seanchan either lived or died based on their own actions which is what she did with the ferry in season one and I think that was probably foreshadowing to this. As to if she could do that I don't see a problem with it because when Bayle Domon is running from the Seanchan in the books they make it really clear that the Seanchan can easily sink his boat from distance and they showed that Moiraine focused on the damanae first, she should be able to clearly see them since they are channeling and then she just systematically attacked ships until they fled. If she just wiped out their entire fleet in one shot that would be overpowered but they showed her just strategically and systematically go from ship to ship so to me I can buy that. Shielding at that distance is problematic but Ishy was there so who knows what he pulled, it could have been a circle with him leading it, could have been a gateway inverted and hidden or a scrying device so I'll give some leeway because Ishy knew he was trying to have them shield Rand so I'm sure Ishy can think of a clever way to do it where an untrained Rand wouldn't see it coming that is entirely believable to me.

I really liked the episode and it did feel like wheel of time to me and overall I think it was a great way to proclaim the dragon because if you look at it from the average person's perspective an army shows up out of nowhere huge magical battle at the top of the tower, seanchan get kicked back to wherever they came from and at the end of it this guy is standing there at the top of the tower with a flaming dragon and they go crazy I think it was great. The stone of Tear was honestly a little anti climatic because people basically fell asleep, woke up and the next day there was a dragon banner. I like that he was proclaimed to the common people by freeing them and breaking chains and I can imagine a story like this spreading through the world like wild fire as a signal that there may be something different with this dude. For me this landed and I guess this is the most important thing of the season for the dragon to be proclaimed. I liked the Ishy battle, he isn't trying to murder everyone they are trying to use Rand's friends to get to him to turn to the shadow so I think Ishy was playing it up for dramatic effect. Ishy didn't care if he lived or died because he wants to die and knows he's just going to end up alive again fighting the dragon. Book Ishy also acted like this and got killed 3x in a row. I thought it was a nice touch that Ishy sheathed the sword which they didn't really set up for Rand they left it as an easter egg to the book readers. The thing with Egwene's shield this isn't the first time she has used this she also used it to protect Nynaeve and Elayne from the Seanchan I think this is one of her talents and people with talents do have significant advantages using those weaves. Like the lady in the book that could make flexible shields that nobody could break, the gateway talent etc. Egwene wasn't going toe to toe in a channeling battle with Ishy she was holding one weave that I think she has a talent for and was gradually wearing down. I guess there could have been more there between Rand and Ishy but that would start to be unbelievable like why can untrained Rand go toe to toe with the second most powerful channeler ever at the height of his powers so I kind of like that Ishy really didn't care one way or the other (fits his character pretty well) and Rand was almost putting him out of his misery because that's really what Ishy wants anyway. I thought Ishy's line was great too at the end. Loved Rand vs Turak and I like the touch where everyone ended up on their knees bowing to Rand that was a cool call back to what happened in TDR. The Moiraine thing is definitely interesting because she shouldn't be able to just unload on the Seanchan and she was not under direct threat but I think it is similar to the ferry earlier she just sunk the boat and then the wheel gonna weave as the wheel wills. I think it makes sense because she didn't directly attack any of them with the power. I will say that both the scene of her and Lan's bond and her channeling on the beach were some of the most visually stunning shots of the series they were just gorgeous and I'll also throw in the charge of the white cloaks that was another one that was just visually stunning they did a great job with all of these. Liked Lan just grabbing an arrow out of the air and then stabbing someone in the neck with it. The thing about distances I get I think that was pretty far to shield someone, I don't have as much of a problem with Moiraine's thing because they were within view and she just kind of one after the other hit them with fire she didn't just obliterate the fleet she was more just methodical and strategic in hitting the Damanae ships first. When Bayle is trying to get away from the Seanchan it's pretty clear that they can blow his boat out of the water pretty easy from distance so I don't see why Moiraine wouldn't the main thing was disabling the Damanae first which she did. The shield is kind of problematic but Ishy was there so we probably can't rule out gateway shenanigans or something else they could do and overall that wasn't big enough to really bother me. I overall like the change with Dain and Perrin and Hopper because you do get the sense that they could have been friends if things were different so it is just kind of tragic but unforgivable on both ends what happens. I did really like the two rivers?! comment from Dain where he sees Perrin and they fight together for a bit. I thought this whole thing landed for me too I like these changes and think they will pay off more as we go. Sad to see with Hopper but the visual of him hopping was beautiful, they had to do this one and I was sad to see it. This is why it is good they are using actual animals it's just hard to capture them well in CGI if you aren't just trying to make them look tough. Perrin using the shield at the climax seemed kind of forced to get him involved but it fit the character well. Liked when he saw Mat and Mat was just like hope your friends can fight. Egwene was amazing I'm actually sad to see Renna go because I think she did an amazing job so I wanted to see her continue but I like that Egwene kept her word and I like that she did the same thing to Renna that was done to her. I like that Egwene figured out how to free herself I think that ties well with her strategic thinking later in the series and I like that it was through sheer strength of will and dealing with pain that she was able to outlast Renna as that also ties in well with her later in the series. The whole Suldam/Damanae paradox is kind of strange but Ashaman and Aes Sedai double bonded each other and these are based on a bond so again it wasn't enough to take me out of the moment and dramatically this moment was absolutely perfect so I'll allow it. Mat I honestly loved his stuff and the whole Ashandari thing was funny to me but I feel like maybe he saw it with the tea a bit, or maybe he just tied a stick to it lol but either way it worked for me. I'm good with the hero of the horn I thought he should have always been one anyway but didn't strongly care one way or another, it is a good way for him to get the memories if they are not doing the snakes and foxes but I think they are forshadowing some of that stuff so I think we do get snakes and foxes. The army of the dead heroes was something I thought could get really cheesy just because I hated the LOTR version but I thought this worked pretty well and I liked the Uno touch and I think he fought with two swords and was next to Brigitte so if he's Gaidal Cain that's pretty cool. Overall I thought all of it paid off. The lock thing I didn't mind too much I figure they are combining the dagger with the knife that the dark friend had in the books that would burn wood and it foreshadows Mat in the tower so again it didn't bother me. If this is the real Ashandari is a good question, the fact that it's a poisonous dagger that he can never touch but is always addicted to and is just impossibly corrosive makes it cooler so I'd be ok if his buddy Perrin just makes it permanent. I don't mind Nynaeve having a big power moment because she's been regularly doing good things without the power she kept it together and helped get Elayne away from the Seanchan, helped Elayne here so I like showing how Nynaeve can be effective without the power. Really enjoyed Rand's moment with Elayne I think that was really cool and a great way to get a lot across in a limited amount of time. I think we will get a lot of them in Tear in the early next season. Wasn't a big fan of the fletching part but I was liking everything else so it didn't bug me too much. Scene at the end was amazing they have crushed it with the forsaken so I'm excited to see each and every one of them but that was an awesome introduction. Sad we will have to wait 1.5-2 years but it was a good season kind of reminds me of waiting for the books again. I didn't agree with everything but overall I thought it was really strong and progressed to a good conclusion. The flaming dragon may have been a bit much lol but it was better than having Rand and Ishy fight in the clouds and I don't know a good way to do it another way so again I'll allow it and it did look like the banner dragon so I liked that.

I think in my later rereads I started realizing it doesn't really have much to do with Perrin at all he's just catching strays between two hard headed women going to war. Faile is over protective and basically every female friend of Perrin's gets the 3rd degree from Faile when they meet and none of them really like it. You hear Min complain about it to Rand when Faile does it to her and I believe Egwene and Elayne as well but they are all pretty easy going so it ends there. She tries the same thing with Berelain but Faile takes it to an extreme with her getting into a physical fight and embarrassing her in front of Ruarc and Berelain basically in that moment promises to torment Faile endlessly because of it and throughout the books she is true to her word. Faile finally crossed the one woman petty enough and with the weapons to make her pay for messing with her. I don't even think Berelain really thinks she has a chance with Perrin after a while she knows he's faithful as he's as obvious about that as he can possibly be she is just tweaking Faile at every chance she has. I think the part that bothered Faile about Perrin (and I think she even said this in the books) was the more he denied that anything was going on and the more vehement he was about it the more he added weight to whatever BS Berelain was trying to pull. Once he started ignoring Berelain, Faile was able to ignore it and things improved. I think the part about Perrin just feeling like a victim in an unpredictable situation was that he was exactly that and by reacting to things and trying to fix it (because that's Perrin's thing) he was just making it worse. Berelain fully realized this and weaponized it until Perrin figured it out. Also I feel like a lot of the challenges Perrin faced were puzzles, I think this was a big puzzle he had to think through and the other was the Shaido and they were call backs to the blacksmith puzzles Perrin was always talking about.

Glad that they cast Faile and she looks like she will do a good job but one of the saddest things to me out of the changes they made is they gave Perrin and Gaul's white cloak cage fight to Avi and the reason I am so sad about this is because Faile's line about Perrin and Gaul speaking 5 words to each other and proceeding to turn a bunch of white cloaks into sausage is one of my favorites lines in the whole series and a great introduction. Also Avi already had one of the best introductions in the series with the maidens and the fade so it just kills me that we don't get that line.

I agree about the earned aspect and the compounding of it, having Rand who hasn't established himself as a sword fighter (the fade disarmed him in seconds) or channeler and fighting Turak and Ishy is just too much. I think they will have Lan fight Turak, it may start out with Rand but he will quickly find out he is overmatched and Lan will tell him he needs to fight Ishy because nobody else can or something like that. Honestly I'm ok with this one because Rand taking out Turak in the books seemed way too soon and I almost think RJ retconned it a bit with Be'lal showing that Rand still wasn't close to a blade master yet. It was just too early in the series but I think this had to do with the series just constantly expanding, if it was a trilogy that probably was the right time for Rand to become a blade master but once it became a 9-12 book series it was way too early. I think Ingtar's is tough and I will put this one in spoilers because it gets pretty specific: I agree though these are two big problems and also just run time I hope they have an hour and a half episode or something like that otherwise I worry it's just going to be too much going on at a breakneck speed for a lot of it to land or have impact.

What did the dress look like?

I didn't even want to get into the Siuan part because I felt I was piling on at that point but she just completely threw away everything her and Moiraine have been working for 20 years and Lan as well. Made me respect Moiraine more for not telling either of them anything lol. Elaida thinking that chaining up Rand and then just dragging him to the last battle was one of the worst ideas in the book so to see Siuan take that point of view is just sad, she was smarter than that. I can already see the meme of Siuan, Elaida and Sevanna and someone having to pick the difference and there is none. Makes me wonder what Elaida would even argue as she clearly would have just done the same thing that Siuan did. I can't see a way this ages well for either Siuan or Lan after the box.

I wasn't a big fan of this one but it was mainly because of decisions that were made in the last episode. I had mentioned previously how Lan and Rand had a bond in the books where Rand just trusted Lan and he was one of the only people he could depend on without ever really doubting and it was one of the only relationships that Rand had like this. What the show did was bad because Lan put Rand in a location with 14 Aes Sedai unprepared and maybe even unaware of the threat he faced as I'm not sure Rand knew there were 13+ Aes Sedai there or what that could potentially mean. Then not only is it a risk as Rand is quickly shielded and imprisoned, could easily have been gentled and everything would have been finished if Rand didn't ask for the help of Lanfear to save him. If this was something Lan believed in strongly that may have been a tiny bit better (not very) but he clearly didn't as he actively tried to hide the information from Alanna and her warders, was held under duress and gave the information up (fairly quickly) to save his own life. Then the part about Siuan capturing Rand and Lan saying this wasn't part of the deal was such a cliche it honestly just made me laugh at that point. Then I guess the fact that this led to Rand asking for Lanfear's help which led to her just burning her way through the city. Rand is basically responsible for the murder of hundred's or potentially thousands of people because Lan and Siuan tried to take control of the situation and pull it in a not very great direction. In the books Cairhien burns because of the notes and taveren nature of Rand impacting the paranoid nobles it actually did have to do with the game of houses. Here it was bad decision making by Lan not being able to judge who he can trust. And yeah Lan telling Rand to face things on his feet for him to be taken out on his knees was kind of just the cherry on top. Not a fan of this one. It was nice that we got the portal stone scene for at least Mat, I loved the tea as someone that has done his fair amount of mushrooms, I loved how it got to Ishy's goal in a great way and kind of liked how Mat responded to Ishy's point of view I think book Mat with all of his memory and battle may have resonated with this too so I could kind of get him just wanting to be done with it because he had been through so much. I feel like Ishy may be one point of view Mat could understand. The problem I had was that in the book scene living countless lives taught Rand that no matter what he tried to do he could not escape what was happening and there was no hope if he didn't accept his role as Dragon and Mat learned that if he turned on Rand or let him down everything fell apart so he saw how critical he was to everything. This is what set both of them on their paths in the book and had significant impact on their stories and here not only did we not get that but Mat seemed to take the exact opposite message from this experience. I guess this is one I'll WAFO because they could stick the landing. I did really like the scene with Mat and Ishy though the line from Mat was one of the best in the series and when Ishy was explaining his philosophy and holding Mat and his tear fell it was honestly a strangely beautiful scene and it came out of absolutely nowhere so I did like how unexpected it was. Really liked Egwene's training and the way they set up her message to Renna. I like Elayne Nyneve linking up with Loial and Ingtar. Enjoyed Landrin walking into the Damondred residence like she owned the place and this whole story with Barthames and I also like that Moiraine's sister is not a DF. Liked Rand helping Moiraine with the shield but that whole reveal didn't seem well set up by anything we've seen in the show they should have had this be something Verin told Lan but who knows maybe they will merge the characters of Herid Fel and Lan lol. I still like the direction of the overall season but yeah this was by far my least favorite episode of the series which is a shame as most of these episodes leading up to this have been some of my favorites.

Excited about the new episode. Lan preparing Rand to meet the Amerlyn is one of my favorite parts of the books and it looks like we will get that. Siuan and Moiraine in the same city with Siuan's talent for undoing knots could get interesting I liked the idea of Siuan linking with Rand so she can see the weaves and do the unknotting but who knows. Rand seems determined to not be around Moiraine so it doesn't seem like they are going this way but I would like this. We may also get the portal stones which I think is a key developmental point for everyone involved and it also mirrors the wise one test so I thought it was important for Rand and Mat in particular. Adding on to that I hope Mat tries to gamble against fate and follow Rand to help him without leaving with him like Ishy insisted. Also kind of like what has been developing between Ingtar and Loial doing what they can for Egwene, people were wondering how we would get the Ingtar arc and I think this is the start of it. I wonder if we will see Elayne/Nynaeve link up with Ingtar and Loial since they have similar goals. Will also be interesting to see what happens with Moiraine's family I really am fascinated by that as they can go in a lot of directions. I suspect both of them honestly but they are both such terrific actors that I could see it go any way. I feel like we will get a lot here to wrap up Cairhien plot and then next week I'd imagine Falme should take up the whole episode. Overall I'm excited I think this season has been building up really well and last episode I think was far and away the best episode so far so I'm excited to see where this is going.

I never really thought of Ishy as a dreamer but that makes a ton of sense. It explains how he could set something into motion that would snowball into his desired effect over time. He also seems to be one of the most comfortable in TAR and makes a lot of use of consistently though the series. He seemed to have the most information out of anyone (maybe except for Herrod Fel) on the function of the universe, ages and recurring battle with the dragon. You could say he got that information from the dark one but this was the reason he went to the dark so it would make sense that he had this understanding before the dark one and there isn't a lot of things that would explain it except dreaming. Foretelling I don't think you can control so you would just get random snippets of things but dreaming as you got more powerful and over a long period of time I'd imagine you are able to start to puzzle out the meaning of reality and existence and he had one of the most complete understanding of how things worked. I also didn't catch the Ryma using the opposite of healing weaves and breakbone fever but that makes complete sense and I like it a lot. I will say it was just straight up the most brutal use of magic I think I've seen. That was magic with malice and the way she just fixated on that one person that was responsible for killing her warder was also frightening. Bad strategic move but intimidating AF. The whole thing was powerful and to make a second story beat that can stand up emotionally to Egwene was impressive and they fit together so well because with Egwene we see why Ryma is fighting like that which shows Elayne and Nynaeve the stakes for Egwene.

Wow that was pretty amazing stuff from Egwene she was great this episode and honestly Renna did an amazing job as well towing that line between affectionate like to a pet but completely un empathetic to them as a human being. It could have been really over the top insensitive brutality but Renna walked that line really well. Also just the subtle thing of having Egwene destroy the one thing she was able to look at out her window that brought her a piece of happiness. Just brutal. They have done an absolutely amazing job establishing the Seanchan, with the oaths and Uno, Egwene showing the Damanae and just the costumes I am impressed. The Ryma scene was also incredibly well done just the combination of that and Egwene were so emotionally powerful. It's going to be so sad to see Pura but the impact of these moments are going to really drive things home. I thought it was cool how hard Liandrin tried to recruit Nynaeve and used anger to get her to channel but Ryma used the desire to heal and may have actually been successful in recruiting Nynaeve to the yellow and then I think that moment where Ryma said sister was powerful to Nynaeve and may make her ride or die Aes Sedai and set up a nice distinction from her seeming to not place a lot of value on Aes Sedai and primarily being there for Egwene. This may be the first time Nynaeve actually wants to be an Aes Sedai or feels a connection to them. Elayne and Nynaeve was great and they do have really good chemistry together and I'm glad to see it because I enjoyed seeing both of them separately but you never know if they will actually have chemistry together but they make a really great odd couple and balance each other well Nynaeve's simmering rage and Elayne's cool aloofness. Also a kind of cool moment where Elayne says she is there because Egwene is her friend and she doesn't have other friends I feel like Nynaeve is there for the same reason so that felt like a cool moment between them that we may see expanded on in the future. Also liking the whole Lanfear/Rand/Moiraine thing I don't think Moiraine has a lot of good ideas or plans at this point she is pretty much pushed to her limits and her losing control of the situation tracks well with what started happening at this point in the books. I think Lanfear and Ishy last year planting doubts in Rand makes more sense to me than the way Rand acted toward Moraine in the books it always seemed a little extreme and kind of came out of nowhere in the books, like his reactions seemed pretty extreme compared to anything Moiraine actually did but here it feels pretty organic. Also fits in well with how the shadow is making people fear and doubt themselves or each other. There is also a real sense that there are things the shadow is effectively moving pieces on the game board and the good guys are completely oblivious. It's cool that everything up to this point either has Ishy or Lanfear's hand directly causing it and from their perspective everything is happening occurring to plan. It's really effective and that is one of my big hopes for the show is we have a more consistently threatening shadow. I think the Lan thing was bad, I understand that it tied up a few things story wise because it sets up the Amerlyn meeting Rand, sets up one of the main white tower plots but it would really undermine the relationship between Lan and Rand and I don't think it's worth it to do that to set up a couple plot points. In the books Lan was someone Rand could just trust no matter what and I don't think he ever even really questioned or doubted Lan which is pretty rare. This is my least favorite way for the Amerlyn to find out about Rand out of any possibility. If they wanted to set up that Lan thought it was a good idea to tell the Amerlyn he should have just decided to tell her and that is what he was wrestling with over the past two episodes and have what the warders were saying to him be helpful in making that decision, by making it under duress and then Lan just instantly caving just adds unnecessary lameness to it, it doesn't really add anything and takes away a lot. Seeing Mat and Rand was great I loved those moments in the books where they would randomly meet up I had mentioned the TAR ones but just the moments in world they would run across each other. I like that again doubt is keeping them apart I don't think Ishy planted the vision but I think he's taking full advantage of it. I really liked how quickly Mat put things together it's something I liked with Agelmar is how quickly he pieced things together in that moment he saw the attack and it seemed similar with Mat how he saw the pieces fit together so quickly. Sad to see Min drowning her sorrows but I think at the end her coming clean to Mat is taking a big risk and will hopefully put him in the right place. If they do the portal stones I hope Mat is part of it. Also really dig Moiraine's sister and Barthanes I think they are both amazing and as a book reader have me guessing a bit what is going to happen with them which I enjoy. Again I think whoever is doing casting for this show needs an award because they keep doing an amazing job role after role the consistency is remarkable.

I was thinking about this the other day and I'm kind of bummed they didn't use Guy Sedai.

It was really hard to hear that much anguish in Egwene's voice on the next preview, I always have a tough time with that part in the books and it seems like it's going to be tougher in the show because it sounds like her actress does an amazing job with it. I got the feeling in the first season Maighen (the sitter with the blue that met Moiraine in the bath house) is going to be Pura. She mentioned that she was going west to investigate the rumors of an invasion so I think that is where she ends up. I love Liandrin removing the shield and letting the Seanchan deal with them before they were collared. I feel like if Suroth would have been able to be cordial they would have been collared and then unshielded but Liandrin just kind of didn't GAF at that point and gave Nynaeve a chance. Also liked Elayne bringing some fire and Egwene protecting everyone as they ran as I thought those both fit their personalities. Also kind of cool that Nynaeve couldn't channel because she was scared and not angry but she still kept her wits about her and kept Elayne moving and got out of there. Also like that we have our first wonder girls capture this is a nice tradition. I like that it was a yellow that rescued them and also just like that they are keeping the story of the Aes Sedai under cover in Falme helping out women that can channel I always thought that was so brave since they could be sensed so I always thought it was impressive that an Aes Sedai stayed under those conditions. I liked Lanfear doing a ring wraith impersonation I think she took the horse because she wanted to catch Rand not get somewhere quickly so I think not using the gateway makes sense. I liked the b line almost felt like she kind of respected Moiraine. The speech with Ishy was good, I enjoyed that he's worried she is going to betray him, it was nice to get some mention of the other forsaken and Ishy talking about ending the wheel. Then we get full on Dominatrix Lanfear and Moiraine continuing to throw babies at the dark one. She's just like "IDK maybe dream of Lanfear and see where things go? You make the call this time Rand." Seems like she's just flat out of ideas at this point. Perrin was good and I like Avi but I just didn't like them using that scene for Avi's introduction. I think if they are using Gaul they should use that scene for Gaul. Faile also has some amazing lines that come out of that because she watches the whole thing and you lose the whole reason that Gaul is ride or die for Perrin. Also Avi had an amazing entrance to the books by surrounding the Fade with the other Maidens banging on their shields so I just didn't like switching intros and I don't see what this intro does for Avi that the other intro wouldn't be able to do but I guess we'll see where it goes. I did really like the Dain Bornhald intro and I liked that he helped out Perrin initially and then Perrin spared him. That definitely adds some interesting dynamics to the relationship so I thought that was nice. Turok I like him but I just get hypnotized by that armor it looks amazing and every time they show him I just wonder how he's going to fight with a sword but I'm sure they've thought it out. In the books they had really intricate clothes for the seanchan nobility but they had quick releases so they could get out of the clothing and move quickly when needed so I wonder if we will see something like that. Next episode is going to be tough it sounds like Egwene does a great job with it.

Really excited for the episode! I think we've ended the Selene arc so could be the proper appearance of Lanfear and I think Nynaeve/Liandrin should be pretty interesting, Nynaeve may start pulling someone else's braid lol. If Liandrin is in the ways it would be so cool to hear what Machin Shin has to say to her. On a related note I really want to hear what Machin Shin said to Loial. Only one of your eyes are as big as a teacup, the other is the size of a saucer. Your mom is looking for you and I told her where you are. She comes. I think Min in the last episode with Ishy was definitely TAR, in the books I think the dark friend social was in TAR and that seems to be an efficient way to do a meeting between a wide array of people. I think Selene was bringing Rand into TAR because it's easier to manipulate him there but not sure on that. I know she did that in the books and people are wondering what she was channeling so I think it could be pulling them into TAR but we'll see. I think that may be one of the things on rewatch is they may use those quick cuts to show that scenes we thought happened in the real world happened in TAR but I haven't rewatched yet and haven't been particularly paying attention to this.

Yeah and just Ishy in general I always found it interesting how much he corrupted just by coming out every few hundred years it was like he would start a snowball rolling that became an avalanche which I thought was interesting. I agree with Tel'aran'rhiod one of my favorite parts and then just the random times people run into each other Rand/Nynaeve and Perrin/Egwene I really enjoyed both of those. I agree it makes the shadow much more capable and insidious and at the same time it's relatable because it's usually our own internal monologue and criticism that holds us back. If the shadow exists in the real world this is how it exists so I like the approach. I also thought it was interesting what they changed with Machin Shin that it wasn't random disturbing things it was specific internal doubts and fears turned against the person it's a lot more effective to me. I think it will be really rewarding to watch the characters overcome this because it's similar to what a lot of people face is our own internal critic is a lot of times our toughest enemy.

I like how Ishy and the dark are making people doubt their power. Fain started by commenting that Perrin was chasing the shadow when he picked up his axe starting the whole axe/hammer plot, Ishy continued it this season by saying that the more Perrin embraced the wolf the more he belonged to the shadow. Ishy seems to have convinced Min that her ability is a curse and is apparently torturing her dreams. Liandrin was trying to convince Mat he wasn't a good friend and wasn't there for his friends. Even with Selene and Rand I felt like she was really dragging out his torture when he thought she was shocked and devastated that he was channeling she was enjoying making him feel like a monster. Then you had Machin Shin laying into Loial telling him that he's a hypocrite because books are made of trees (sorry this one was a meme but I thought it was hilarious). I think it fits the betrayer of hope and is really effective reason for the characters to resist their powers which a lot of them do in the early books.