Season 1, Episode 104: "The Dragon Reborn"
Written By: Dave Hill
Directed By: Wayne Yip
Original Air Date: November 26, 2021 on Amazon Prime Video

Episode summary by Crystal Fritz

Ghealdan burns, smoke billowing from nearly every corner of the city. The King of Ghealdan attempts to flee with two guardsmen in tow. Logain (played by Alvaro Morte) emerges from the smoke surrounded in weaves of the One Power, darkness flowing through everything he weaves. He uses the One Power to deflect spears thrown at him. Effortlessly he fights his way to the King. Cornered and bleeding the King tells Logain that he will never wear the silver crown, but it is not the crown Logain is after, it’s his allegiance. The King tells him that he has sent for Aes Sedai to deal with him, but again Logain deflects the conversation saying that the Aes Sedai should be following him not fighting. Logain’s madness is visually represented by darkness that resolves into smokey visages of a woman and a man. Each corrupted figure whispers to Logain, urging him to conduct vile deeds. They plant seeds of doubt in his head and feed his ego, urging him to kill and conquer. Fighting the madness, Logain heals the King and says to him, “There is a place for anyone by my side, even my enemies. The last Dragon broke the world, but I plan to bind it.” Intensity burns in Logain’s eyes until the fibers weave across the screen, queuing the opening credits.

Nynaeve climbs a rocky outcrop that looks down on the Aes Sedai camp. Aes Sedai and their warders move through the camp, with Lan crossing the camp with his saddle bags. He sees Nynaeve standing alone on the hill, but continues on to where Moiraine Sedai is being healed by Kerene Sedai (Clare Perkins). Weaves of the One Power flow from her hands and into Moiraine, knitting her wound and removing the poison. Kerene is fatigue after the Healing and Moiraine comments that she has seen her hold back entire armies, simple Healing should not leave her so drained. It is not the healing but shielding Logain that has drained Kerene. Moiraine wishes to meet the man who is calling himself the Dragon Reborn. Logain has amassed an army of followers and is so strong in the One Power that only Kerene Sedai, Liandrin Sedai (Kate Fleetwood), and Alanna Sedai (Priyanka Bose) are strong enough to shield him, and they must work in pairs. Liandrin Sedai is already advocating for gentling Logain, instead of returning him to the Amrylin Seat and the White Tower. Moiraine offers her strength to assist in shielding Logain.

Lan works sword forms with Stepin, Kerene’s Warder. Their conversation is seemingly casual, but each man is pressing the other for knowledge. Stepin comments on Nynaeve and notices the tension developing between her and Lan. Later, Stepin is in his tent with Kerene, discussing Moiraine and Lan. Both are known to be stoic and unwilling to speak more than necessary. Stepin is worried that Liandrin Sedai intends to gentle Logain before they reach the Tower. Kerene is not as convinced and does what she can to allay his fears.

Egwene and Perrin continue to travel with the Tinkers. Perrin expresses that he does not trust them, but they are traveling east to Tar Valon. They agree that they will travel with the Tuatha’an if they both agree. Aram recognizes their accents as being from the Mountains of Mist but does not appear to believe their story of being separated from a trading caravan. The parade of colorful wagons heads east to the beat of drums and tambourines.

Rand, Mat, and Thom gallop through the forest looking for a place to rest. Rand is suspicious of the gleeman, unsure why he would be so willing to help two people he does not know. They also rehash what happened with Dana and her mention of five possibilities for the Dragon Reborn.

Moiraine and Alanna maintain the One Power shield imprisoning Logain and discuss what it is like to shield someone whose weaves you cannot see. It comes out that the two women were friends as novices and through their conversation they reveal that the Blue Ajah only bond one warder and that the Green Ajah is also known as the Battle Ajah. Alanna Sedai believes that she will see the Last Battle in her life and that “the end of this Age is here”. While the women converse, Logain lashes out, attempting to break his shield. A glowing cage of light expands, but is forced back inside him. Moiraine and Allana lock his shield in place one more, keeping him cut off from the One Power.

Outside, Liandrin walks up to Nynaeve, making casual conversation. Nynaeve does not take her bait and instead questions the Aes Sedai.

Thom has found a small farm; he intends for them to wait for dark and sneak in and out. The farmer finds them, bow drawn, but Rand talks him down and tells him their intentions. The farmer and his wife agree to let them stay if they muck out the stables.

Liandrin Sedai and Nynaeve sit in her perch above the camp, talking about Moiraine. Liandrin explains that Moiraine chose the Blue Ajah and that they are “nothing more than little spies who exaggerate their own importance.” Nynaeve has a low opinion of Aes Sedai and throws back at Liandrin that the Red Ajah are the same. Liandrin disagrees, saying that they protect the world from anyone who misuses the One Power, even other Aes Sedai. Lan approaches and asks to join them. Before Liandrin leaves, she tells Nynaeve that the Red Ajah tents are open to her. Nynaeve sees through Liandrin’s attempts to woo her and calls her and all Aes Sedai snakes. Lan believes that Nynaeve will still journey on to the White Tower with them and they will help her reunite with her friends. He extends her an invitation to the Warder fire.

Sunset approaches and the Tuatha’an wagons keep at their steady pace. Perrin and Egwene are walking with Aram, Ila, and Raen. Perrin questions if they have seen anyone else, hoping for word of his friends. Aram explains that they came across the plains to avoid the groups of soldiers. Perrin learns that the Tuatha’an follow the Way of the Leaf. This means they forswear violence and any weapon of it. If they are attacked, they flee or simply endure the violence if they cannot.

Rand and Mat muck the farmer’s stalls while Thom watches and prepares to perform for the family that night. Mat goes outside for air and to throw up. A black substance like what infected Shadar Logoth escapes his lips. A young girl, Helga Grinwell, brings him bread, and for a time Mat forgets his strange illness and speak with the little girl. He talks about his sisters and it is clear he is missing them. Back in the barn Thom speaks with Rand, telling him about Owen, his nephew. It shines light on why Thom may be willing to help to young men he does not know. Owen could channel the One Power, but because of the Dark One’s corruption of the One Power, men who use it go mad. Thom believes that Mat can channel the One Power and he wants to help keep him out of Aes Sedai hands. When his nephew was gentled, cut off from the One Power forever, he killed himself by slitting his throat with a knife at the dinner table because he couldn’t bear to live without access the One Power. Rand questions how much information Thom knows. “There is nothing more dangerous than a man who knows the past,” he tells Rand.

Moiraine and Kerene Sedai sit in the cave, focused fully on maintain Logain’s shield. Outside, in the darkness Nynaeve sits around the fire with the Warders. She jokes with them about her ability to track Lan. An Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah approaches and gathers her Warders without a word. Stepin explains that there is no bond in the world closer than that of an Aes Sedai and her Warder. It is implied that Alanna is sleeping with both of her Warders. Lan excuses himself at that moment to go and see Moiraine. The two discuss Logain. He is ten years older than the Dragon Rebron should be, but he is significantly strong. Moiraine believes that the Dark One does not have any idea who the Dragon Reborn is any more than they do.

Darkness has fallen on the Tinker camp, and to them that means music and dancing. Perrin stands on the fringes, refusing to let himself have too much fun. Egwene dances and twirls with Aram. The young man tells her that he does not believe in the Song that his people are searching for. Leaving the revelry, Perrin helps Ila repair a wagon wheel. She notices that he enjoys the work and finds peace in it. Ila tells him more about the Way of the Leaf and why she still chooses to follow it even after her daughter’s murder. In those moments after she found her daughter’s body, with a spear in her chest, she contemplated revenge. Instead, she decided that she would attempt to make a better world for when the Wheel churns out her daughter’s soul again. “What greater revenge against violence than peace? What greater revenge against death than life?” Aram and Egwene step away from the dancing, and Aram asks Egwene about the man who holds her heart. He tells her more about the Tinkers. When they turn twenty the leave the wagons and go out to live in the world. Many eventually return to the Tuatha’an, though some do not.

Rand and Mat lay in the barn. Rand tells Mat that he will always be with him and leans over to blow out the lantern. Instantly he is in a dream. The village is shrouded in darkness and Rand sees Perrin striking something with his hammer over and over. As he gets closer, he can see that Perrin is striking a woman’s body with his hammer. As Rand begs Perrin to stop, he sees Mat walking by, catatonic with his hand covered in blood. Egwene calls out for Rand, as Rand turns to her the man with eyes like fire grabs her from behind and screams, revealing a mouth full of flames. Rand wakes with a start, the gleeman bent over him, but Mat is gone. They search the yard and not finding him run towards the house. Inside they find the Grinwell family dead, blood pooling below their lifeless bodies. Mat is standing with his back to them, a crazed look in his eyes. He raises the ruby dagger, staring towards the loft. A Fade extracts himself from the shadow and engages combat with Thom. The gleeman fights the Fade, allowing time for Rand and Mat to escape on horseback.

At the Aes Sedai camp Nynaeve is watching Lan as she stacks wood for the cookfires. Liandrin and Kerene are in the cave holding Logain’s shield. As they wear themselves down maintaining his shield Liandrin makes the case for gentling him now, perhaps if he were to break himself out. Kerene Sedai disagrees and holds firm that he needs to be taken to the White Tower.

Back out in the sunlight, on a hill near a large rock, Lan is on his knees completing a ritual. He explains to Nynaeve that it is a prayer of his people. Seven times for the Seven towers of Maliker that were lost. Feeling a connection with Lan, Nynaeve speaks the only Old Tongue she knows. She does not know what she said, only that it is the last thing her parents said to her when her village weas attacked. Lan translates for her. Explaining that it is what Aemon, the last King of Manetheren said to his wife before the battle they knew they would lose. “We shall go into the land so our children can always hold us, and we’ll never be alone.” The tender moment they share is interrupted by an attack on the camp. It is Logain’s army, come to break him free. Kerene Sedai is alerted in the caves by the wards she set with the One Power. A horde of arrows flies towards the Aes Sedai camp, and Lan steps in front of Nynaeve to protect her. Alanna Sedai uses the One Power to stop a volley of arrows and turn them back on their aggressors. In the cave Logain lashes out with his own Power and sends Liandrin and Kerene Sedai flying backwards, crashing into the walls. He’s been patiently waiting for his time to strike.

Outside the battle rages on. Aes Sedai and their Warders fight off the invading army, hurling chunks of earth and tearing the soil beneath their feet. Stuck in the middle, Nynaeve pulls out her knife, prepared to defend her life. Inside, Logain melts the iron cage that held him captive. Not participating in the battle, Moiraine enters the cave to speak with Logain, asking him why she should believe he is the Dragon Reborn. He explains that he can hear the voices of all the Dragons who have come before him, but she believes that to be just the madness. Kerene and Liandrin start to wake. Moiraine stalls long enough for them to regain themselves and the three women work together to shield him again. Gathering the darkness, Logain throws spears of the One Power at the women. Kerene Sedai sacrifices herself to save Moiraine and Liandrin. Outside, as the battle rages on, Stepin feels her death. Lab grabs Nynaeve and they all head for the caves, except Alanna who stays back to fight off the army. As the army fights on, the King of Ghealdan is killed with the One Power, alongside so many others.

Enraged by the death of one of her sisters, Liandrin draws a huge amount of the One Power. Fresh from battle and filled with the rage of his Aes Sedai’s death, Stepin attacks Logain. As his axes strike the shield they shatter into shrapnel and send a wave of death through the cave. No one escapes the carnage but Nynaeve and Logain. The shrapnel strikes Lan, who lays dying in a pool of his own blood. Falling to her knees Nynaeve screams and with that, embraces the One Power. A radiant sun of the One Power shines from her, illuminating the cave and Healing everyone near her. Healed from her injury, Liandrin commands the other Aes Sedai who have entered the cave to link their Power with hers. She directs her waves at Logain and gentles him, cutting him off from the One Power forever. “Let the hand of the Tower fall on you Logain Ablar and take back that which nature itself does not wish you to hold.”

The darkness is ripped from his body in a cascade of the One Power that leaves him limp. Stepin cradles Kerene as Nynaeve and Lan gather themselves. The camera pan close to Nynaeve’s face, showing her shock at what she had just done and the credits roll.