#Wheel of Time Liveblog

[effervescent-fool]

BISEXUAL RAND IS REAL WE ARE SO BACK

[wheelwheelwheel]

Nynaeve: why should we trust you?

Siuan: YES EXCELLENT good job people!

[moghedien]

Faile every time they cut to her talking to Perrin

[scarletkaoru]

Rand’ relationship with the Maidens means the absolute world to me

when somara offers him a coat cuz he might get cold even though its like 100 degrees outside (classic mom energy)

the way they arent scared of him and constantly follow him around to defend him, the way they still joke around with him and about him even after mat and egwene and the others start putting awkward distance between themselves and rand

the fact that they all love him because hes their brother or nephew or cousin by an adopted relationship of sisterhood, and follow him because of who he is outside of the dragon reborn

How rand wants them all safe, because he cares about them too, but he cant keep them from fighting and dying because sacrificing who they are for safety would destroy them

[scribbled-out]

Imagine being Natasha O’Keeffe and getting to kill Rosamund Pike 1048574 different ways with most of them being via sword slash in the exact same patch of desert

[highladyluck]

Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 4 (kind-of-a) Liveblog

FUCK THAT ORB SPECIFICALLY

I think they nailed it.

This is not precisely a liveblog because I'm writing up my thoughts immediately after, but whatever.

My spouse was like 'how are they going to compensate for us having spent less time with the Aiel than in the books, and knowing them less well?' and I think they did a lot to show the stakes of oaths and swords for the Aiel both right before the pillars and during them. I'd be curious to know how it went for non-book-readers!

Some of the mishmash of influences for the Aiel that RJ drew on was aurally and visually referenced in a way it hasn't been previously; the Wise Ones and the 3 silver rings are very aggressively Dune references, but the new stuff includes visual references to Travellers/Roma, Irish accents, and Jewish kippah-esque headcoverings. (Also, as my Jewish spouse said, 'the moving to the desert and then doing war crimes'.) That's only half the stuff that RJ used to make the Aiel, but we kind of already got the Bedouin & Native American influences, and I know there's probably more I'm forgetting. But it's great to see the references spelled out in a new medium.

I also appreciated that the visions were a little more personally emotionally devastating, and tbh given the very late-series developments re: the pillars, I actually think it's ok that Rand got shown stuff from after the founding of Rhuidean, even though it's not strictly canonical. Seeing the immediate aftermath of his birth served an important story purpose and I like that it caused Rand emotional damange. :) It always bugged me in the books that Rand kinda cheats his way through the glass columns since he doesn't have the same cultural upbringing as the Aiel; the trial doesn't test the same qualities or go as hard for him. He's on easy mode. The vision of his parents + the hobbit-y 3 besties addition evoking Mat and Perrin seems specifically designed to increase the psychic damage, which is juicier to watch and makes it more fair.

It made sense that they used Latra as a stand-in for every named Aes Sedai- I forget if that's canonical or not but it makes sense to condense those roles.

I hate how hot the Aiel version of Rand who gets the Sakarnen is. I don't want to think Rand is hot. But that haircut and uniform is really working for me. (Also I love that he's got a boyfriend/husband and did you see their rings??? They looked kind of like the show's Great Serpent rings!)

I love to see the Sharom explode. :D Fuck that orb specifically. Give it the fire exits they never deigned to build in!

I also love how it's really ambiguous whether Mierin actually intended to let the Dark One wreak havoc or not (as it should be!) I lean towards yes, she exploded everything on purpose to serve the DO/herself, but that's my pre-show opinion. She got her Aiel servant out with some pretty portentous words about being with loved ones, and Lanfear likes to say she's strategic about violence (although Lanfear's idea of being strategic or her idea of appropriate violence might not be, uh, baseline.) The big event being supposed to happen the next day is ambiguous- she could have made sure he wasn't inside and then triggered it, or it could have been an accident, either thing is supported. And even the portentous words about being with loved ones could just be her pining after LTT, and that's where all the weight comes from. So I think you can view it either way, and if you come down on a specific side it's because you have a previous opinion/bias one way or the other. Which I think is the right tack for the show to take!

The tattoo materialization was really cool. Honestly, the visuals were very very cool. The pillars were about what I imagined, and I LOVED the silver rings- they were exactly what I imagined and the suspensions were so visually arresting. I wish we'd seen more of the weird semi-AoL-ness of the city, but I'll settle for the Romanesque statue and Avendesora surrounded by like, fancy parking bollards. We already front-loaded the visual modernity of the AoL so it's less necessary to do it in Rhuidean. (That said, I did enjoy the very modern setting where Latra handed over Sakarnen- it looks like the outer edges of a modernist art museum.)

The show did some really effective 'speaking in unison' moments this episode- both the banishing of the dead and the Hirschhorn parking garage oath sounded great, evoked a religious mood, and were genuinely moving.

I also liked that the Laman backstory was shared between Moiraine and Rand- the books never really tugged too hard on the familial connections between all these characters so I'm happy to see Rand reacting to it. It's also funny that Moiraine is the one to steal a cultural artifact from the Aiel* this time, rather than Rand, and that Moiraine gets to get fireman-carried out of the Waste in lieu of Mat. (*To be fair, it did originally belong to the Aes Sedai, so she's not pulling a full British Museum, but my spouse is right that the Aes Sedai are basically the British Museum.)

Again, I think they nailed it and it was a very compelling episode. I hope it wins an award- I'm going to have to make sure I'm a voting member of Worldcon in time to nominate it for the 2025 TV episode Hugo. (2024 nominations are happening soon, or have just happened, I think.)

[deeplyridiculouslyinlove]

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THAT SCENE IN THE HALL. The eye roll between Siuan and Leane! The composition of the shot when they open the door and show Siuan seated there!! The snark towards Elaida and her own smirk!! The lighting!!!

Making Morgase less of a ~perfect saintly queen~ even pre-rahvin is going to upset some people but it adds so much depth to an otherwise sort of one-note character and I am so here for it. Especially because they definitely couldn’t have her corruption arc just be “becomes slutty.”

I *love* that she is already under Rahvin compulsion when we meet her.

[theuncannybookdragon]

WoT s3 ep 1-3 reactionssss:

Episode 1-

Yyyyep, RIP Ihvon 😔

Moirane saving Siuan?? Awwwe 😊

MAT SPEAKING HIS FIRST LINE OF THE SEASON IN THE OLD TONGUE!?! Iconic

Mat and Perrin teasing Rand about Selene is everything

SNAKES AND FOXES!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL WE'VE GOT SNAKES AND FOXES!!!

Egwene being still traumatized from Renna but also being rebellious af and slaying the arches???? Then telling off Siuan?? Iconicccc

MAIDEN'S KISS!?!?! HELLO?!?! AHHHHHHHHHH

After when Mat has cuts on his neck from the spears?!?!? OHOHOHOOO FORESHADOWINGG

AVILAYNE REAL!?!? LIKE- REAALLLLL?!?! THIS IS SO BIGGGG GOOD FOR THEM

The bubble of evil shit being specifically orchestrated by Lanfear is SUCH an interesting choice

A GREY MAN??? IN MY TAR VALON???? ITS MORE LIKELY THAN YOU'D THINK

The party being split but Mat making a dick joke about the White Tower is SOOOO in character

Also- Elayne and Rand talking politics is incredible, AND Rand and Moiraine power games starting??? We love to see it!

Episode 2-

HOLY SHIT MORGASE! Was not expecting that in the cold open god damn

The pettiness between Morgase-Siuan and Siuan-Elaida is INCREDIBLE

Gaebril already being a part of the family is SO INTERESTING

Honestly, incredible casting choices for Galad and Gawyn

Mat letting the Aes Sedai channel on him??? Book Mat would never but it's an interesting change and shows his desperation/character development for sure

PARTING THE SILK MENTION

Also the soundtrack is going SO HARD this season

MINNNN BACK AT THE WHITE TOWEEER! THE VIEWINGSSS!

MAT BEING A MANWHORE, NO SURPRISE THERE (assfsjsgsgsgsk I'm so gayyyyyyyy aggh)

Gawyn being showy and getting swept onto his ass by Galad is HYSTERICAL

Mat being upset that he got upstaged LMAO

TEL'ARAN'RHIOD BABEYYY

Mat opening his robe and everything before opening the door and Min being there and then telling him to cover up is PEAK COMEDY

Galad and Gawyn getting action but Mat not- PPFFFFFT

Gaebril and Elayne having a father-daugther relationship is very INTERESTING

"Normally, I would never be one to brag" LMAOO Mat ur so full of shit

MAT GETTING CALLED OUT BY SIUAN AHAHHAHHHH

Daaaam, we got the uncle comparison straight from the books!!!

"I'm no hero" HE SAID IT HE SAID THE THING

Oop- Tigraine reference!

Episode 3-

THE FORSAKEN ARE BEING PETTY! I REPEAT, THE FORSAKEN ARE BEING PETTY!

Oooohohohoooo Mazrim Taim namedrop!!

"That is Wise Ones' business" we love to hear it Rhuarc!

"No one would do this", "The Shaido might" TRUE

FAIIIIILE!!! SHE'S HERE!

The girls are investigatinggggggggg

WORLD OF DREAMS TER'ANGRIAL SPOTTED

Elaida giving seer advice to Min was NOT on my bingo card

SWEAT TENT SCENE!! WE HAVE A SWEAT TENT SCENE!!!

Oooohhhhh Melindhra is Malkieri?!?!

Cenn Buie getting told off is HILARIOUS

HANGSHADOWNG COURTESY OF MIN LETS GOOO

MAT BEATING GALAD AND GAWYN'S ASSES LETSGO I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE!

But seriously, Nynaeve's exasperated "Oh, Mat", the "Dovie'andi se tovya sagain"!!! HIS THEME KICKING IN THE MINUTE THE FIGHT STARTS!! Nynaeve THEN LOOKING IMPRESSED/PROUD!! Mat KNOCKING OUT GAWYN!? INCREDIBLE!!

All in all, an amazing start to the season!! I'm a big fan of how they're incorporating more things directly from the books

[clearancecreedwatersurvival]

3.5 tel’aran’rhiod liveblog!!!

Oh this opening scene with sakarnen is interesting. Showing how a channeler feels the ecstasy of the power and the need to draw more, and also how using such a dangerous and powerful sa’angreal is walking a knife’s edge

LOVE this bit of aviendha being catty about rand and Melaine firing back at her, aviendha you’re really in it now

oh that was not how I thought alcair was pronounced

AIEL POLYAMORY TIME

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD FIRST SISTER MARRIAGE REAL CONFIRMED????

RAND CLAIMING THE TITLE OF CAR’A’CARN AND HAVING A CUTE MOMENT WITH A AIEL KID IM GONNA DIE

siuan having a moment with Moiraine’s letter ashcksafbka

OH SHIT ELAIDA SIUAN CONVO

FUCK THIS IS TENSE

Oh my god this verin siuan leane scene………

AH YIS BAIN AND CHIAD SPRINTING AHEAD OF A HORSE I LOVE TO SEE IT

the avirand vibes……..polyamory discussions……..oh yes

OBSESSED WITH THEM AVIENDHA IS SO FUNNY THIS EPISODE

Ohhhh lan and Moiraine having more tensions

EGWENE PUTTING ON HER AMYRLIN REGALIA FROM THE ARCHES AS INSTINCTUAL ARMOR I’M GONNA LOSE IT

ooooh I like how they’re doing the people briefly touching TAR

OH FUCK LANFEAR OH FUCK

Alviariiiiiiiiiin

omg Elaida telling that accepted off

WHAT THE FUCK VERIN ‘my sister can do anything’

Nynaeve being seasick, exactly as she should be

Can’t wait to add min to this tense little dynamic

‘That’s only because she didn’t want Nynaeve to throw herself overboard’ *nynaeve clearly considering it* ‘is that an option?’

Elayne having to wrangle mat by herself cause Nynaeve is out of commission, rip

Sea folk tiiiiiiime!!!

Mat: Min pleaaaaase rescue me from elayne and Nynaeve

Dain Bornhold still trying to be a decent person and keeping Velda from torturing the girls

CAUTHON SISTER CHANNELING MOMENT

oh Jesus Christ natti

I take it back Dain you rat bastard

FAILE I LOVE YOUUUUU

Bain and Chiad love her too

Alanna girlie are you being a bit reckless perhaps??

Oooh Alanna Maksim drama OH SHIT HARSH

Alanna on a hunt for more warders hmmm??? Oh and for channelers too.

Maksim sweetie you are such a sadsack rn. Like I get it but. I think you’re missing the point of the whole warder bond thing my guy.

If Maksim does leave now he can’t make it through the ways alone so he’s just gonna spend like 3 months riding slowly across the continent towards…where exactly. He doesn’t know she went to tanchico.

Lan getting to reconnect to malkier again!!!! We haven’t had much of this since s1 I’m delighted.

Oh now it’s Rand Egwene angst time I see

Moiraine honey put the orb away that is so dangerous!!!!

“I won’t be at the last battle” come again???????

If Ian starts crying I am also going to cry

OOSQUAI MENTION

Ooh they’re getting to laugh together :))))) I’m sure this isn’t setting up for emotional devastation later :))))))))))))))

I love mat and min SO much

OH GOD MAT ANGST

NOOOOOO STOP WITH THE SUICIDE JOKES MATRIM

Elayne windfinder moment??????

I love including Nynaeve the former wisdom in this conversation about alternative ways to be a channeler than through the aes sedai

ELAYNE MEETING MIN!!!!!!

Min part of the gang finally :’)

lmaooooo they’re giving the port of Tanchico full on pirate movie vibes

OH MY GOD THIS ELAIDA SCENE WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK

Is she bypassing the oaths with the bracelet?????? Or does a black ajah member count under the accepted use of the power against shadowspawn??????

Siuan healing elaida is a fun choice here

NOOOOO DEAD WOLVES!!!!!

oh Jesus Christ Alanna is in DANGER

Faile backing up Perrin immediately it’s battle couple tiiiiiiime

DID THEY KILL NATTI CAUTHON HOLY FUCKING SHIT

ALANNAAAAAAAAAAA

oh my god that’s a lot of arrows

OH SHIT I KNOW THIS MUSICAL CUE LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOO GET HIS ASS PERRIN

Faile 1v2ing whitecloaks while Perrin gets stabbed by a single guy doncowdfhsdofnsdofdsv

JK 1v3 Faile my beloved <3333333333

THANK YOU MAKSIM FINALLY

Rand sweetheart she is playing youuuuuuu

Starting the episode with aviendha explaining ethical polyamory, and now rand cheating on egwene in tar with Lanfear. My guy.

Bair and Melaine: egwene don’t go in tar again without permission. Egwene twenty minutes later: about that

Angsty fishwives reunion scene….i love it……

Oh damn I’m about to cry about this actually shit

CAN’T BE MENDED NOT IN THIS LIFE YELLING ABOUT ITTTTTTTTT

Csdbvksdvbdskvbadkcadkvdabvdavda

Egwene outside the hut like maybe I’ll give them some privacy and wander off to endanger myself some more.

Nynaeve dreaming about her arches vision daughter AH

ELAYNE WINDFINDER AVILAYNE FANTASY I LOVE ITTTTTTT AHHHHHHHHHHHH

Mat dreaming about his sisters and mom in the episode where their mom just died I’m gonna throw up!!!!!!!!!!

Hi this dream sequence is fucking killing meeeeeeeeeee

PERRIN AND HOPPER FUCK

Egwene sees Faile and she’s like: ‘Perrin got a new girlfriend???? Good for him!’

EGWENE CATCHING HIM CHEATING IN DREAMS HOLY SHIT

oh my god what a fucking cliffhanger!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[amyrlinegwene]

Lan: hmm…getting some weird vibes in this monument to the greatest war criminals that ever lived….

[effervescent-fool]

"mom i frew up :("

[wheelwheelwheel]

Ila saying "we bury our dead and we go on"

[moghedien]

Elayne undercover: I’m the daughter heir of andor you know 😌

Elayne: I mean no I’m not

[scarletkaoru]

rand: i met the queen of andor

Perrin, who hears wolf voices in his head, egwene and nynaeve, who both found out they have magic superpowers, and mat who just got possessed by a knife: idk rand that sounds kind of far-fetched

[scribbled-out]

I need someone to listen to me rave about how good that opener was, because the cinematography?? The weave effects?? The way their faces were moving?? When Lan said euphoric I understood, because even after expecting that sequence to be a good one after seeing it so much in the trailers it still blew me out of the water

[highladyluck]

Wheel of Time, Season 3, Episode 2 (second watch) Liveblog

Elayne like "This is the largest gay bar in the world, please don't take me away"

Emotionally Intelligent Lan never fails to jumpscare me lmao

I already said this but I do need to reiterate: Galad would not fuck

I like that we see Morgase's accepted ring like, first thing. Also those maid headdresses that look like approximately one-fourth of a swan has been applied directly to the entire head? They're very good. Very intimidating. Very high fashion.

I'm now watching to see if Elaida has the bracelet this early- hard to tell tho.

So. I was not a huge fan of the Lannister lean-in thing they did with Morgause on first watch. But I've seen some commentary that has reconciled me a bit more to it- one is that people were going to make the comparison between Andor's whole vibe and Game of Thrones anyway, so they called it to mind deliberately but contrasted it with Morgase's slightly more strategic/principled(?) motivation. This is the kind of thing that RJ did with the first 200 pages of EotW and The Fellowship of the Ring- deliberately echoing the more familiar property before going in a different direction with it- so it's not like that's a new-to-WoT tactic. The other bit of commentary that has influenced me is the argument that it sets up some really juicy stuff for Elayne to work with later in her succession plot.

Elayne is so cute when she lies through her teeth

Siuan waiting a very precisely calculated amount of time to let them in lmao

Siuan is WEIRDLY smiley re: Lord Gaebril considering her mood moments before…

This is obviously because of the letter Elayne sent, but I honestly don't know why Elayne told Morgase she was kidnapped if she didn't want to get hauled home. Maybe to drive home the Seanchan threat?

I forgot who I first thought the people in the ways were, but I was totally wrong. As we find out later, it's Alanna and Maksim, but yeah, wtf are they doing in the Two Rivers in this turning? Still hunting for novices?

Yeah that was a significantly long pause for Elayne before she acknowledged Gabril

Mat looks good in green :)

If only we had someone who could fix mind diseases! [thinks about Mat in Graendal's clutches] NEVERMIND NO ONE NEEDS THERAPY

The implication of 'honorary great serpent ring' is that Morgase didn't have to go through the Arch(es) but honestly since they don't require channeling and are a character/commitment test similar to [SPOILERS FOR LATER IN THE SEASON] I've always headcanoned that Daughter-Heirs of Andor who went to the Tower actually took the test. But maybe it's seen as too risky for them to actually take it? I'd certainly buy that in this universe.

Elayne like "This is the largest gay bar in the world, please don't take me away"

Emotionally Intelligent Lan never fails to jumpscare me lmao

I love the contrast between the Aiel 'save and destroy' and the WT 'save or destroy' here; it's less of a stark contrast in the books but I think it's a really interesting nuance to dwell on and fits with the overall themes of encoutering different perspectives and the subjectivity of history/prophecy. Also I love Avi talking duty with Egwene and Moiraine, just like, on principle.

These landscapes holy shit

At least we know that Marin is the kind of person who would hide people in her attic

Alanna, Perrin used to live here. What the fuck are YOU doing in the Two Rivers?

lmao once you get an Elaida infestation it's hard to get her out

ooof. I bet Siuan is thinking in terms of another Darkfriend attack on the Tower re: Min's visions.

Mat, you absolute dumbass [derogatory]. That said, Clara is super hot. "I think everyone is into this kind of thing, Mat" - excellent line delivery Nyneave

Awwwww is Nyneave wearing Lan's ring around her neck? Or her great serpent ring?

"And is the Lion Throne under threat?" damn Nyneave is killing it this episode

Rand you cheating ho

I already said this but I do need to reiterate: Galad would not fuck

I knew immediately that someone was gonna catch Elayne vamping with the crown and I was preemptively embarrassed for her I hate that Gaebril is charming I hate it I hate it (it's very good) Galad is always serious oooof not Gareth Bryne :( High-Functioning Alcoholic Elayne T_T I buy it but it hurts me

THE MAT AND SIUAN SCENE IS PERFECT. Also it sounds at the beginning like she's got him as a guest on her early morning tv show/interview podcast and that always makes me laugh. I really hope that she and Mat get to meet again because they were so fun to watch together.

And now for another scene of masterful manipulation! GO GO ELAYNE

Elayne: "My path will always lead back to Andor." Me: '-through the circus.'

Lan listens but you aren't fucking talking, Rand

Lmao I'm enjoying the barely veiled threats in this Morgase & Siuan confrontation