When is Moiraine unable to defeat a Fade and 30 trollocs? Before being struck by the Trolloc blade she and Lan took care of those trollocs quite easily. I didn’t see 18 ships having Damane on board. Suroth’s ship had 8 Damane and they were occupied with shielding Rand. Perhaps that is why they couldn’t deflect Moiraine’s attack. These are quite logical choices by the show.

And regarding the incompetence of the other sitters. Most of it can be attributed to them being taken by surprise. It’s the show’s prerogative to choose the skill level and power of each characters. Siuan and Leanne are skilled fighters despite them being politicians for a long time. The other sitters are less skilled than the ones who are trained to fight. None of this is implausible and I don’t mind the show making these choices.

Does anyone know the Red sisters knew that Aes Sedai were battling inside the hall? The warders could feel it by the bond and the sisters could maybe feel the one power usage, but how would they know that were attacking each other using the one power?

It’s obvious that all of them are in Tar Valon at the beginning of the season. The Mat clip and the trailer feature several moments showing all the main characters in Tar Valon. In the books, the girls did go back to the Tower to continue their training and inform the Amyrlin of the events in Falme. I can’t think of any reason they wouldn’t do that in the show, except to stay and protect Rand now that he’s been proclaimed the Dragon Reborn. However, that can be accomplished by Rand going with them. Of the remaining characters, Mat and Perrin would want to stay with Rand, as would the maidens and Loial. Obviously, Moiraine and Lan also stay with Rand. So the question is: how did Moiraine convince Rand to go to Tar Valon? There are several reasons why he can’t stay in Falme because of the public proclamation. The Forsaken are out there, Rand doesn’t have an army, he doesn’t have Callandor, and he is nowhere near the channeler he is in the books. If a channeler decides to attack them, their only defense right now is Moiraine. So, if he stays in Falme as the Dragon Reborn, he will be captured by the Aes Sedai, and that’s assuming the Forsaken don’t get him first. He can’t just relax as the ruler of Falme, like he did in Tear in the books. At this point in the show, he has to hide from the Aes Sedai and the Forsaken. How will he hide from the Aes Sedai in Tar Valon? From the sneak peek, it seems that Moiraine and Siuan have reconciled. All of the Aes Sedai who know Rand is the Dragon Reborn are part of Moiraine and Siuan’s circle. So, it could be like season 1, where he blends with the crowd in Tar Valon and isn’t really relevant to the other Aes Sedai.

Likes 1)It looks like there will be a well flushed Two Rivers plot and Perrin will finally have his chance to shine. 2)Nynaeve and Moggy. 3)The entire group together at the inn. Rand having his initial connection with Elayne and Aviendha. 4)The cold open for the season: Black Ajah escape. Will this be a flash forward unlike other cold opens? 5)Dream world. 6)Mat vs Gawyn and Galad. Concern 1)No Asmodean and Logain. I was hoping that one of them would level up Rand’s channeling, as hasn’t had any significant growth as a channeler till now.

He was at the top of the tower for a few moments. His face probably wasn’t that clear to the folks below. It’s also quite likely that the remaining Aes Sedai with Siuan did not see him. They didn’t need to be with him as Leanne alone could shield him and then they were distracted by Lanfear. And if the other Aes Sedai knew about him staying at Tar Valon wouldn’t they just capture him and keep him shielded in the Tower. The fact that he is just casually hanging out at an inn does suggest that his presence in Tar Valon isn’t known to the relevant Aes Sedai.

The only Aes Sedai that knows that he is in Tar Valon could just be limited to Moiraine’s immediate circle. He doesn’t seem like a prisoner in Tar Valon.

There is a lot of information about Episode 1 from the promos. We know that all of the main characters are in Tar Valon at the start of the season. Major events in Episode 1: The Black Ajah's escape (confirmed by Rafe). Moiraine and Siuan reconnecting (unconfirmed but certain). Egwene’s Accepted Test (confirmed by metadata). These are the events that need to happen in Tar Valon and may be the key reason for starting the season there. Other likely events in Episode 1: Bubble of Evil (It happens in Tar Valon, but could be in Episode 2). Lanfear visiting Rand (speculation). The season starts with Siuan confronting Liandrin as a Darkfriend in the presence of Nynaeve. I think, prior to this, all three girls, along with Moiraine, had convinced Siuan that Liandrin is a Darkfriend. This could be why she allowed Rand to stay in Tar Valon, despite what happened in S2E7. Moiraine will almost certainly join the Black Ajah fight, given that we see her five minutes into the fifteen-minute-long confrontation scene. She could reach Siuan by the end of this scene, and their interaction will be the first scene after that long cold open. In their conversation, they could set up the need to get out and go to the Aiel Waste, ponder on the Black Ajah and forsaken, and address the need to promote Egwene. Does anyone have different ideas?