#these could literally be moiraine scenes in the show

[deeplyridiculouslyinlove]

My favorite Moiraine moments in The Eye of the World

EOTW only spoilers below the cut

1. “[The mist] follows the river as if drawn with a pen,” Moiraine was saying in satisfied tones. “There are not ten women in Tar Valon who could do that unaided. Not to mention from the back of a galloping horse.” (Chapter 12)

This is "Siuan Sanche waits for only one woman" energy right here.

2. “I suffered more injury to my pride than anything else,” the Aes Sedai said irritably, plucking at her cloak blanket. She looked as if she had been a long time ill or hard-used, but despite the dark circles under them, her eyes were sharp and full of power. “Aginor was surprised and angry that I held him as long as I did, but fortunately he had no time to spare for me. I am surprised myself that I held him so long. In the Age of Legends, Aginor was close behind the Kinslayer and Ishamael in power." (Chapter 51)

Not babygirl being surprised (and a bit self-satisfied) that she held off a powerful Forsaken for so long BUT ALSO her pride being wounded that she couldn’t do it for longer.

3. Even Aginor seemed stunned. Then his head lifted, cavernous eyes burning with hate. “Enough. It is past time to end this.” “Yes, Forsaken,” Moiraine said, her voice as cold as deep winter ice. “Past time.” The Aes Sedai’s hand rose and the ground fell away beneath Aginor’s feet. Flame roared from the chasm, whipped to a frenzy by wind howling in from every direction, sucking a maelstrom of leaves into the fire which seemed to solidify into a red-streaked yellow jelly of pure heat. In the middle of it, Aginor stood, his feet supported only by air. The Forsaken looked startled but then he smiled and took a step forward. It was a slow step, as if the fire tried to root him to the spot, but he took it. And then another. “Run!” Moiraine commanded. Her face was white with strain. “All of you, run!" (Chapter 50)

"I'm as strong as I have to be" 😭

4. In Algomar’s private garden, under a thick bower dotted with white blossoms, Moiraine shifted on her bed chair. The fragments of the seal lay on her lap and the small gem she sometimes wore in her hair spun and glittered on its gold chain from the ends of her fingers. The faint blue glow faded from the stone and a smile touched her lips. It had no power in itself, the stone, but the first use she had ever learned of the One Power as a girl in her royal palace of Cairhien was using the stone to listen to people when they thought they were too far off to be overheard. (Chapter 53)

Obsessed that her version of the all-knowing Merlin character is an affinity for eavesdropping--maybe it's mystical wisdom, maybe it's being a nosy bitch (affectionate)!

5. Her eyes fell on Mat as she stepped through the doorway and she hissed as if she had touched a hot stove. "Get away from him!" Nynaeve did not move, except for turning to stare at the Aes Sedai in surprise. In two quick steps Moiraine seized the Wisdom by the shoulders, hauling her across the floor like a sack of grain. Nynaeve struggled and protested, but Moiraine did not release her until she was well away from the bed. The Wisdom continued her protests as she got to her feet angrily straightening her clothes, but Moiraine ignored her completely. The Aes Sedai watched Mat to the exclusion of everything else, eyeing him the way she would a viper. (Chapter 41)

Sorry I didn’t hear you I was distracted thinking of canonically tiny Moiraine dragging Nynaeve across the room like one of those mothers who finds super strength and lifts the car off her kids.

6. Moiraine climbed down from Aldieb's back. Calmly she removed something from her pouch, unwrapped it. Rand glimpsed dark ivory. The angreal. With angreal in one hand and staff in the other, the Aes Sedai set her feet, facing the onrushing trollocs and the fade's black swords, raised her staff high, and stabbed it down into the earth. The ground rang like an iron kettle struck by a mallet. The hollow clang dwindled, faded away. For an instant then, it was silent. Everything was silent. The wind died. The trolloc cries stilled. Even their charge forward slowed and stopped. For a heartbeat, everything waited. Slowly the dull ringing returned, changing to a low rumble, growing until the earth moaned. The ground trembled beneath Cloud's hooves. This was Aes Sedai work like the stories told about.... Abruptly Moiraine wavered, and would have fallen had Lan not leaped from his horse to catch her. "Go on," he told the others. The harshness of his voice was at odds with the gentle way he lifted the Aes Sedai to her saddle. "That fire won't burn forever. Hurry! Every minute counts." The wall of flame roared as if it would indeed burn forever, but Rand did not argue. They galloped northward as fast as they could make their horses go. The horns in the distance shrilled out disappointment, as if they already knew what had happened, then fell silent. Lan and Moiraine soon caught up with the others, though Lan led Aldieb by the reins while the Aes Sedai swayed and held the pommel of her saddle with both hands. "I will be alright soon," she said to their worried looks. She sounded tired, yet confident, and her gaze was as compelling as ever. "I am not at my strongest when working with earth and fire. A small thing." (Chapter 18)

She's ridiculously proud of her fog along the river and then just a few chapters later channels EARTHQUAKES and WALLS OF FIRE like she's not one of the last Aes Sedai of a dying age and SHRUGS IT OFF.

7. "The The Wisdom won't help. She says she can't. But the stories--" She raised an eyebrow and he stopped and swallowed hard. Light, is there a story with an Aes Sedai where she isn't a villain? ...

She used the staff to pull herself to her feet. “Take me to your father, Rand. I will help him as much as I am able. Too many here have refused to let me help at all.” “They have heard the stories too,” she added dryly. (Chapter 7)

Rand is lucky he's the Dragon Reborn or he and the Two Rivers folks would have been met with some wasps.

8. Thom Merrilin stepped forward grandly and held up one empty hand, turning it slowly. Suddenly, he gestured with a flourish and a dagger twirled between his fingers. The hilt slapped into his palm and, abruptly nonchalant, he began trimming his fingernails. A low, delighted laugh floated from Moiraine. (Chapter 12)

This peek at the girl who watched court bards at the Sun Palace in Cairhien is so cute it makes me almost willing to ship her and Thom in the books.

9. “The Dark One is after you three. One or all. And if I let you go running off wherever you want to go, he will take you. Whatever the Dark One wants, I oppose. So hear this and know it true. Before I let the Dark One have you I will destroy you myself.” It was her voice, so matter of fact, that convinced Rand. The Aes Sedai would do exactly what she said if she thought it was necessary. He had a hard time sleeping that night, and he was not the only one. Even the Gleeman did not begin snoring until after the last coals died. For once, Moiraine offered no help. (Chapter 13)

This is controversial but I personally adore this speech where she threatens to kill them all and then acts petty about healing them just because she hears Rand talking badly about Aes Sedai.

10. “Do they have sheep in Tar Valon? That's all I know. Herding sheep and growing tabac.” “I believe,” Moiraine said. “That I can find something for you to do in Tar Valon. For all of you. Not herding sheep, perhaps, but something you will find interesting.” (Chapter 48)

I giggled.

11. Rand made ready to put Cloud to a gallop right away, and everyone else settled their reins with the same urgency. Everyone except Lan and Moiraine. The Warder and the Aes Sedai exchanged a long look. “Keep them moving, Moiraine Sedai,” Lan said finally. “I will return as soon as I am able. You will know if I fail.” Putting a hand on Mandarb’s saddle, he vaulted to the back of the black stallion and galloped down the hill heading west. The horns sounded again. “The Light go with you, last Lord of the Seven Towers,” Moiraine said, almost too softly for Rand to hear. Drawing a deep breath, she turned Aldieb to the east. “We must go on,” she said, and started off at a slow, steady trot. (Chapter 18)

11. I can't help but think how much they've grown since New Spring when I read this and it makes me want to cry.

Bonus: Every scene of Moiraine greeting the cats at Basel Gill’s inn. (Chapters 41 & 43)

Bonus Bonus: The way Rosamund delivers Moiraine's "it will be as the wheel wills" in the audiobooks after Loial says he is worried the bridges in the Ways are breaking and they might be trapped in there and die. (Chapter 45)

[lookingforcactus]

Maybe this is a stretch driven by my hope for siuaraine, but I wonder if the final scene between Suian and Moiraine went the way it did because Suian thinks Moiraine might have turned to the dark

"You lied to me about being stilled."

My eyebrows shot up when I heard that line, bc that's a big deal accusation for an Aes Sedai. And parallels nicely with Alanna and co. accusing Lan of being a darkfriend last episode

Which I know some people hated, but the thing is, Lan and Moiraine have kind of been acting super sketchy, if you don't know the things we know

Like, from Siuan's pov: Lan shows up and tells her Moiraine has been stilled, which in MONTHS of letters, Moiraine never mentioned. Siuan is horrified that happened, has got to be terrified that Moiraine is going to kill herself, and is also lost and hurt and baffled that Moiraine would hide this from her

Like, that omission was a HUGE DEAL, relationship wise. Not a good move keeping something that important from your wife, especially when they were plotting together and it would be 100% reasonable and probably also a good move for Moiraine to turn to Siuan for help

And going back to Siuan's pov, she's dealing with ALL THAT, plus the Dragon, which is another thing she and Moiraine (seem to be?) at odds about

There's darkfriends in the Tower

Moiraine has been hiding something from her

Moiraine has been stilled

The town they're in is assaulted and set on fire

Someone has broken the Dragon out of the White Tower's custody

And when Siuan goes to try to, presumably, get him back, what happens?

She turns the corner and finds Moiraine, Lan, and Rand standing there, alone, in front of a waygate that MOIRAINE JUST OPENED

And I'm sure that normally, this wouldn't make Siuan worry about Moiraine's loyalties, but...she just found out the love of her life was stilled and then spent six months completely failing to tell her about it

Who wouldn't be shaken? Who wouldn't already be asking "If she hid something as big as THIS from me, what else could she be hiding?"

And then she shows up and Moiraine has just used the One Power to open a waygate

Earlier in the episode, when she finds out Moiraine has been stilled (well, close enough), what she says is something like "Six months of letters, and not a single word about that." The very common Aes Sedai route of lying by omission

When she shows up at the Waygate, she says "You lied to me about being stilled."

Siuan thinks Moiraine was able to break one of the oaths. Which Moiraine could only do if she'd sworn herself to the Dark.

And as Lan establishes, the idea of tying off a weave and leaving it in place is so not a thing anymore, it's barely even the stuff of legends. Why would Siuan think that's on the list of possibilities? Especially in such an overwhelming and emotionally fraught and literally things are on fire moment?

And all Moiraine says in response (in her defense there are a lot of things going on) is "I can't"

Which, yeah, Siuan knows that is (supposed to be) the case

And THEN, fucking Lanfear shows up, gets pretty easily talked into not killing Moiraine by Rand, and then Moiraine and Lan follow Lanfear and Rand through the waygate without a word

I think it would be 100% reasonable, actually, for Siuan to suspect that Moiraine is a darkfriend after all of that, and given what she knows

So much of Moiraine's life has been out of Siuan's view, for like 20 years now. So much could've happened

And now Moiraine is using the One Power even after she told everyone that she was stilled

Kind of a guilty look actually!!!

(If this is what they're doing though they definitely should've been more clear/explicit/developed with the setup, tho. But otherwise I think it's really interesting as a potential plot point!)

[markantonys]

Someone on Twitter:

"Have we even had a scene showcasing Rand's potential/ power? Neither the Eye of the World nor the "battle“ with Ishamael felt like Rand's accomplishments I think."

I'm tired. 1. The Eye absolutely counts. 2. Okay I was underwhelmed with the Ishy battle I wanted it to be more flashy cause that was supposed to be his declaring himself Dragon moment and that definitely didn't land for me because of that. 3. Did Turak and his soldiers not count? That was brutal and efficient and definitely shows his potential imo. Rand doesn't even reach the same power levels that he does at the Eye bookwise til at least Knife of Dreams so like...I think people need to chill

man i'm so tired of people who have no idea how power progression is supposed to work lmao if they want rand to be having flashy big showdowns in the first 2 seasons then they'd better be prepared for him to feel stagnant and/or like a letdown in future seasons 🤷 you just know they'd be going "but why isn't rand able to do X in this season when he could do it LAST season?" if the show did exactly what the early books did in constantly giving rand a big blowout moment at the end of one book and then resetting him to being a helpless baby channeler at the start of the next one.

as for his ishy showdown not being ~flashy~ enough or not being ~his moment~, that's literally the point. it's a pyrrhic victory for rand - he was able to defeat ishy, but absolutely would not have been capable of it without his friends & moiraine assisting him (and risking their own lives to assist him, at that), and i'm sure he's very aware of this. this will motivate him to be desperate enough to improve his channeling skills that he's willing to get training from a forsaken. simple as that. if he was already skilled enough to have a big exciting moment of self-obtained victory in 2x08, then why would he need asmodean to train him in s3? audiences wouldn't buy him being desperate enough to resort to something so drastic.

especially since the show has upped the threat level of the forsaken massively and is actually making them frightening villains. book!asmodean is sad wet and pathetic for all of his onscreen-time despite his evil backstory, so it doesn't feel that risky for rand to take him as a teacher, but if show!asmodean is made more competent & scary in the same way as ishy, lanfear, and moggy (based on her one scene) have been, then that means rand is taking a much bigger risk in the eyes of the audience and we thus need a much stronger reason to believe he would be wiling to take such a risk. rand needs to consistently fail in the early seasons so that he's motivated to improve his skills by any means necessary in s3, same as how nynaeve needs to consistently fail so that she's motivated to break her block by any means necessary. basic cause and effect here, people! basic character progression! characters need to fail so that they can grow, and people who do not understand this have no business criticizing the storytellers who do understand it (not directing this at you here anon haha just at the annoying crew whining about rand and nynaeve Not Getting To Succeed At Anything).

"bUt EgWeNE-" egwene is not the same character as rand, and thus is not developing at the exact same rate as rand, and thus is allowed to have her victories whenever it suits HER progression, even if rand hasn't gotten his victories yet. egwene's victory came in 2x08 because s2 is when her biggest formative storyline of the early books occurs, whereas in s3/TSR she takes a step back while rand comes to greater prominence with HIS biggest formative storyline of the early books. and egwene sure as hell had her share of failures in s2 before getting her victory, just the same as rand even if he needs to cook a little longer before getting his own victories.

[jaqobis]

sorting out some finale impressions after sleeping on it

it's like.

moiraine being able to burn the ships despite the oaths; the protracted scene of renna's murder; perrin going into a rage and killing bornhald senior; rand one-shotting turak etc; mat stabbing people left and right with the dagger; nynaeve torturing the sul'dam but that plot coming to nothing (returning to that in a moment). like i read the interview, i know what the rand scene referenced. i can imagine the perrin scene was buildup for fear of the wolf. it's not that i just don't get it.

but like did dain necessarily need Valid Reason to hate perrin lol. again, i can see what they're doing. but What If The Whitecloaks Were Here To Fight The Seanchan -- which, yeah, they do oppose the seanchan in the books. but the specific framing of them to help and whatever, when no one else was willing to. specifically also throwing siuan under the bus bc allegedly the amyrlin also got a letter about this. even if this turns out to be a lie, this is the standing narrative for now, and in combination with everything else they did with siuan this season, yikes.

i read the interview, i know what the rand thing was referencing, but also that's a scene of rand acting in self-defense against darkfriends that were literally about to murder him. if he'd struck a second later, or waited, they might have succeeded. more importantly that's where he's in a situation where people have been trying to murder him literally day and night for, like, months. he hasn't slept in as long. the context is totally different. there is also a rand scene in TFOH where he talks about how it feels unfair to use saidin against non-channelers. you can just as easily argue that he Wouldn't do this.

i actually, personally, think it's very important for the egwene/rand parallels that her friends were there to save her from the seanchan, and that he later has to save himself from the box. i also think it was important for her development that she could know she has friends who would and do come for her. i also personally find that narrative much more satisfying, cool as her Moment was. i'd been spoiled about her killing renna going in, and like we can discuss morality whether rj was Right to ask if revenge is justice or if it's More Right for egwene to kill renna, we'd be here forever. i'm not really looking to comment on that. it is kind of a weird vibe to remove a meditation on violence, however, in a series that is anti-war, in a finale that seemed to make a lot of choices to depict and make this battle Cool, etc. that had us watch renna die for quite a long moment. renna certainly got what was coming to her, but idk.

Violence Is Cool. Traumatic Experiences Lead To Empowering Moments. that's the vibe it's giving.

lan continued to be used just to prop up moiraine and explain how she's feeling and talk about how good she is. at least daniel henney got a pretty cool fight scene!

tbf leaning on the whitecloaks and ishamael as sad and sympathetic has sanderson written all over it

making the sul'dam weak channelers seems to lose some of the hypocrisy central to the seanchan empire; losing some of the hypocrisy and deep societal rot undercuts the commentary on institutional-level change needed to remove the damane system. combined with the deaths of both collared sul'dams, that secret also goes lost.

(they certainly might bring it back and address it later, but arguing that It's 100% Coming, Shut Up & Stop Whining is just as much of a bad faith argument as claiming the show sucks bc hurin isn't in it. i can only comment to what exists now. also, frankly, i've been told things i was criticising previously were OBVIOUSLY going to be addressed in the finale and. weren't? so like.)

nynaeve really was allowed to accomplish nothing useful huh. no speech about justice, no part of the successful figuring out how to uncollar, no healing, no protecting her friends from forsaken, nothing. for all that elayne was immediately walking around everywhere after her dramatic wound, they could've just. let nynaeve do that.

like i obviously understand that they're showing the block is a real problem, which it is, but this is a choice that was made.

also not a single mention of ryma after her big sacrifice huh. it would add approximately 5 seconds to runtime for the wondergirls to talk about saving egwene and ryma at any point.

loial's speech about them all being heroes + mat's hero of the horn thing + crowds cheering (yes i remember the end of tdr) + etc etc really building up this idea of Heroism As Cool. could be something they'll work to subvert later but it's certainly an element that existed in the books at this point. that they've stripped out.

also like why even bother destroying the heron mark sword without the buildup of why it matters to rand or why its destruction was narratively impactful. unearned. rand saying he won't serve ishamael in a thousand lifetimes, unearned. there were plenty of other moments that didn't feel earned to me that escape me now, which. a shame!

i've already rb'd a post that laid out my feelings about rand thus far pretty well so i'll mostly spare y'all but. it's an incredible disservice to his character to take a scene where he tries to sacrifice himself for egwene/his loved ones, knowingly opens himself up to terrible pain, and thereby gets the wound that gives him chronic pain for the rest of his life and kills him, and make it...a mistake of mat's. like. yes, we've seen him try to sacrifice himself at the eye. there's nothing wrong with repeating this beat? it's called a consistent character trait. it was already a subversion of the conceit of a 1v1 op heroic battle. they tried to fix something that didn't need fixing, to make a point it was already making. also rand just immediately up and about after getting this wound, even with healing, where he was out for days in the book. it just doesn't bode super well for depiction of chronic pain sufferer rand al'thor. i don't doubt they intend to show us the wound breaking open etc etc but you're also undercutting significance on multiple levels out the gate. it bothers me! but i'm chronically ill with chronic pain so i'm not going to pretend this is some coldly logical clear-eyed opinion.

also perrin killing bornhald sr the same way he killed laila. except it's not even an immediate heat of the moment in the same way, he had to go out and find bornhald sr and stab him repeatedly and be held back. like i love hopper too (another death that felt really. gratuitous in handling.) but christ's sake. it's sure a Look.

tl;dr the themes??? ? ? the themes ???? ? ? and then i remember the sanderson of it all and i understand lmao.

[butterflydm]

wot rewatch (book spoilers edition): 2x7

Spoilers for all the aired episodes, it will also have book spoilers through book 6: lord of chaos.

I was able to talk a lot about this episode without needing book spoilers, so this post is much shorter than my earlier one! Like incredibly short.

Thinking about this first scene in the context of Gitara and Tigraine is fascinating. Is Gitara still the person who told Tigraine to go out to the Waste in the first place, in the show's version of events? Because Gitara really is the secret mastermind of a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff.

Gitara essentially engineers the succession crisis in Andor that leads to Elayne being the Daughter-Heir, and Elayne is a very strong player for the Light in the Last Battle. Gitara engineers Rand's birth. And then she sets the threads in motion for Moiraine and Siuan's search for Rand.

The prophetic thread from Gitara (who seems to have been very reliable at figuring out the important bits of her Foretellings) to Elaida (literally The Worst at figuring out her Foretellings) is fascinating to think about. It's not the Talent that makes the woman, but the woman that makes the Talent.

And to pick up from the thread of duty that I was talking about in my earlier post --

Liandrin gave up everything for her son.

Anvaere gave up her son in order to do what is right.

Tigraine does both. She gives up her son (Galad) so that she can follow Gitara's Foretellings, abandoning her old life to save the world. But she also gives up everything for her son (Rand), fighting to the last to give birth, no matter what obstacles face her.

I do think that Tigraine (a former Daughter-Heir of Andor) definitely realized that her son would be the Dragon Reborn, once she was, you know, pregnant and about to give birth on Dragonmount. I feel like she probably figured it out (potentially much earlier than that, though it's hard to say when, exactly).

2. I am... I am genuinely wondering if we're going to skip straight to Moiraine and Rand actually being able to trust each other, and getting to be a team in the Aiel Waste. Because they have bonded so hard this season and Moiraine has made her loyalties painfully clear, especially in this episode and in 2x2 -- I choose Rand. I will protect him, I will guide him. I will trust him even when that trust is an act of faith instead of being based on reason. And that's really a point that she only openly reaches in the books during TFoH. And Rand has SEEN that she was willing to go against Tower on his behalf.

So, yeah. I am very very curious about what our s3 dynamic is going to be with these two. Will 2x8 do something to shift this dynamic or will we take it with us into s3?

3. I'm also... big ouch re: Alanna being one of three Aes Sedai in the entire world that Rand currently feels like he can maybe trust. Salt in the wound, there!

4. Could Siuan be under Compulsion, as I've seen some people speculate? I mean, I wouldn't put it past Liandrin, but we don't really see any opportunity for Liandrin and Siuan to be alone together. And I think all her choices and arguments in this episode feel pretty firmly grounded in what we know of her as a character from the show. So... you know, maybe? I wouldn't feel like the show was cheating if it told me that Compulsion was used to encourage Siuan to stick by Tower policy but I would not be surprised if this is just... Siuan making a different choice than the one that Moiraine makes.

The other possibility I've seen floated is that this was a deliberate ruse by either Siuan alone (to push Rand into trusting Moiraine) or by the two of them together but I feel like Siuan telling Leane "That boy must not leave the city" makes that theory much less likely. We have seen them performing a grand ruse before, of course, back in 1x6 but... I don't feel like the evidence is on the side of this one being a ruse. I feel like they say too many things that would need to be actual lies for this one to work, which is not possible given the Oaths.

Anyway, like I said, this book spoilers post is a short one!

my non-book spoilers post is much longer

[hxans]

A hero of the bloody horn, I love that so much for Uno. I hope fans who were big mad about his death are satisfied.

It is morning, and my thoughts may be disjointed, but ahh, I really loved the finale and I wanna watch it all again because I'm sure I missed stuff because I was too busy flailing.

Obviously, as a Mat fangirl, I loved him in this episode. We got to see him be clever! He had his moment, the desperation to blow the horn, and then we find out he is a hero of the horn, I love that for him! "Dovie'andi se tovya sagain" HE SAID THE THING ahhhhhhh omg it was beautiful.

And then he fucked up, but it was fated and also not his fault and it delivers great angsty moments for us and a meet-cute for Rand and Elayne so we can't be mad.

Also, I don't know if it's their intent, but I do hope they're sort of setting us up to have Padain Fain be Mat's biggest antagonist aside from the Forsaken, like Dain/whitecloaks will be Perrin's. It would make their eventual confrontation at TLB make more sense if, like, they've been cat and mousing each other across the continent for a while there. Especially with that dagger connection.

Also, is Mat going to lose the dagger again? Or will it be entrusted to Aes Sedai and Fain nicks it again, idk. I do absolutely love baby's first ashandarei, but I hope we'll still get the upgraded one from Rhuidean (and everything else he gets there).

Poor Egwene getting her braid cut! That was an unexpected bit of violence, but I also love that she still had to be threatened into doing what Renna commanded. And how she went from being marginally okay with wreaking violence on whitecloaks to horrified at civilians caught in the crossfire and literally spitting the dummy. And I know the books emphasize like, be the bigger person Ewgene and let Renna (& Seta) face the justice of being discovered by their fellows, but yeah that scene was incredibly satisfying anyway.

It does make me wonder for future storylines, having two of the three sul'dam that were used getting killed off, will we still get Bethamin, or will that be cut, idk. Maybe they will cut Edesina, Joline and Teslyn to just one of them.

Also, uhhh, Nynaeve in sul'damn get up and being full of wrath awoke things in me that has me feeling less straight than I thought I was. Um. (r.i.p. tumblr user mogehdien I can only imagine how much you're not coping with that plus the epilogue)

I didn't even catch about Lanfear blasting Moiraine through a doorway until others noted it, but that was a beautiful touch.

I very much liked how the beginning of the season talked about how separated they're weakened, together they form a shield wall, and how true that showed in the final confrontation.

Rand vs. Turak had me cackling. Boy was like, we ain't got no time for that and shot him.

Are we for sure that Suroth is dead? I saw bodies hitting the water but there's always the possibility someone could retrieve her and she was not as dead as we thought...

Also, Moghedien, oh she looks so fun. I love her already.

I wonder if her warning Lanfear off Rand will inspire a certain disguise? Hiding not only from him but them while trying to keep an eye on things.

[thewholedamnboulangerie]

oh it's episode 5 time

ishamael waiting until suroth's already been punished BEFORE whipping out the horn aka the thing that could have justified the diversion... either he wanted to see her get punished or he is in fact not a smart man (it's the former)

OUUUGHHHHHHHH I LOVE HOPPER SO MUCH I WILL CRY I WILL SCREAM I WILL REND GARMENTS

we can and will feel normal about perrin picking up the hammer [nodding] (lying)

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH SHE'S HERE

OMFG AVIENDHA IS THE AIEL IN A CAGE FUCKING HELL I LOVE ADAPTATIONAL CHOICES

DAIN BORNHALD OH WE ARE FUCKING BITING

Lady 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

oooooohhhhhhh the fact that the ep is called Damane and it's the last plotline we're getting (...well. unless Mat or Lan - or Verin i GUESS, though I suspect she's more likely to pop up via Moiraine than by herself - shows up even later) idk idk i have thoughts about it i have feelings about it!!! idk what they are but i have them!!

AAAAAAHHHHHHHH I STAND CORRECTED VERIN MY BELOVEDDDDDDDDDDDDD

omfg Katie Leung???? now that's a face i have not seen in a hot second

Suroth calling Perrin Ishamael's pet wolf really is. hm. yes. yes.

THE ABSOLUTE MAGNIFICENCE OF AL'DIVAL FADING INTO AVIENDHA'S THEME OOOHHHHHH IM KISSING EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS SHOW ON THE MOUTH

PERRIN AYBARA DO YOU LIKE TO DANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE EMOTIONS THAT I JUST FELT!!!!!!!!!!!

IS IT A COINCIDENCE THAT TEL'ARAN'RHIOD IS GETTING NAMEDROPPED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIS EPISODE SPECIFICALLY??? like. Egwene sure does have two (2) major character development arcs in book two and this episode is literally named after one of them AND NOW THE SECOND IS BEING MENTIONED??? hhhrrr.

(if it's been namedropped before and i've just forgotten don't tell me)

Barthanes... gdi why is my memory of this guy so full of holes. i shall huff and puff about it most grumpily i think

why do I also have zero recollection of Sheriam being Blue Ajah

GAWYN NAMEDROP GAWYN NAMEDROP

Verin's detective society of hot librarians oh i am eating this with a spoon holy FUCK i am truly not used to being catered to THIS SPECIFICALLY AND OFTEN AND VARIOUSLY

okay okay who had Suroth/Liandrin on their bingo card

LIANDRIN SETTING THEM FREE I WILL EAT THE ENTIRE SUN MOTHERFUCKER

ELAYNE THE STRATEGIST OOOOOOUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHH BLORBO BLORBO BLORBO BLORBO BLORBO BLORBO BLORBO BLORBO I CANNOT EVEN EXPRESS THE EXTENT TO WHICH I FUCKING ADORE HER

VERIN AND LIANDRIN IN THE SAME SCENE IM GOING TO. FUMKIN. ESPLOTE.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA VERINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

MMMMMMMASKLDJFASKLFGJSLDKGJDFLH ISHAMAEL/RAND FOR THE BINGO BABEYYYYYYYYYYYY

WAIT STOP THAT WAS EVEN MORE FUN ASKLFJSDLKGJLKSFGJDFLKHJDFLGKHJFLGKH okay absolutely fucking obsessed with every single choice they've made about Portraying The Forsaken. they are so so evil and so so scary but most importantly they are SO SO FUCKING FUNNY

"Mat was born mine" ESPLAIN? ESPLAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LANFEAR'S DOMINATRIX OUTFIT I AM BUT A SIMPLE LESBIAN HELLO????????????????

[divorceblogger]

more pondering and some of the aspects of the show that’ve dissatisfied me so far

on a more serious note this show is really not doing good in terms of economical storytelling lol, and has indeed already made some very stupid choices. liandrin is a side character who gets like three lines at the most. I won’t lie - I’ve enjoyed her in the show in the recent episodes because I do think she’s fairly relevant in terms of the liandrin/nynaeve/moghedien trio although she really annoyed me in the beginning but all that screentime could have been dedicated to other important characters / more worldbuilding in a show that’s already struggling with pacing because it’s limited to 8 episodes. moiraine’s family doesn’t exist in the books at all and moiraine being a Distant Person is reiterated too often to count as smart storytelling. the emphasis on the warders this early in the series is very annoying, not going to lie, because they’re mostly relevant in the autonomy question and I don’t really care about them otherwise because they literally don’t deserve a greater focus in the story than the main characters themselves. lan and moiraine’s storyline tackling the Distance question so quickly makes me unhappy because tfoh is a book I’m very fond of, although I guess it Kind Of makes sense since the story is set in cairhien and they clearly wanted to tackle the question of moiraine’s family. I’ve already talked about this but I’m also pretty unhappy that moiraine and lan aren’t the same age on the show. more importantly why does min not have THREE aunts when they’re clearly in reference to the three fates in the books. it would’ve taken zero (0) effort to throw in a random extra. why was there a domesticated animal in tel’aran’rhiod in the dream sequence when lanfear interrupts ishy invading rand’s dream. why is every single sex scene involving rand lacking any real eroticism. how is it possible to *sleep* in the world of dreams. why is there so little of siuan. can logain see or feel rand channeling (?) that sequence was so weird. when are we going to see siuan and egwene bond!!!! why were all of siuan’s plotlines transferred to liandrin!!! are we already getting started on the black ajah plotline in the show without seaine and pevara :/

[emylilas]

I had a strange dream last night where Liandrin was taking that horrible bus line I had to rely on when I was living with my parents, which was, as always, incredibly late. But this time the driver just abandoned the bus because he wanted a break, and sadly had to come back because the driver designated to take over after him had turned into a cat and was unable to drive. 

And then, Liandrin finally arrived at her destination which, from the outside, looked like a house I know but can’t quite remember and from the inside, looked like an even bigger version of my rich aunt and uncle’s too big house, mixed with the floor of the second hotel we stayed in with my class in high middle school when we went to Italy. It’s also worth mentioning that inside, it had a covered market, dormitories, many bathrooms and more importantly, a petanque ground.

Guess who was also there? A very angry Egwene who wanted to make Liandrin pay for giving her to the Seanchan. Except she was armed with a pair of nail scissors… yup. That’s all my brain could come up with. Dangerous weapon, beware! Liandrin sat down with her under a serving trolley and told her she truly was sorry and that was never the plan and that, to be fair, she couldn’t be blamed for Egwene’s unsuccessful escape when she made sure they could run away from the Seanchan. Egwene, for some reason, agreed but decided to keep the nail scissors as a warning that if Liandrin slipped one more time, she would end her. With her nail scissors.

And then! Then, Liandrin made Egwene promise not to tell anyone she was a darkfriend because, well, she was reconsidering this whole commit to the dark thing, and also, she really didn’t want to disappoint Moiraine (Liandrin being pathetic for Moiraine was the only thing that really made sense in this dream). 

Change of scene, Siuan is smoking a cigarette on the terrasse, it’s the early morning and everything is quiet for once. There’s also a pool in the garden but that’s irrelevant. She’s wearing a bathrobe and slippers and you can really tell she’s done with all of them and just wants some peace. Moiraine suddenly appears at the corner of the terrasse and does literally nothing except standing there. Liandrin appears too and starts tripping on that game of cricket I had as a child. She kept tripping and tripping and tripping and it was so ridiculous that Siuan asked her whether turning a blind eye on her being a darkfriend would be enough for her to stop tripping. 

And finally, the last thing I can remember is Liandrin and Lanfear having a very heavy heart-to-heart in front of a freezer in a bedroom (what do you mean freezers don’t go into bedrooms?) and Ishy just showed up as a hologram to interrupt the hug (why were they hugging, you may ask) and started plotting his revenge about something I don’t remember BUT there were flying buses in my nanny’s garden involved in his great big scheme.

[black-ajah-hq]

WoT S1E2 Retrospective Pt 1

Full series spoilers!

From what I remember, episode 2 is probably one of my least favorite of the season. Althoughhh it does lay some good groundwork for Moiraine’s character and has some juicy bits of foreshadowing. 

^ You have got to be kidding me. *vomits* *mouth starts hurting just by looking at it* Any person who eats this is a psychopath

^ I can’t tell if its his blood or juice. Either way I’m grossed out and i want no part in this.

^ Ermmm that is graphic all right. o.O   The pettiness of Valda to be CAMPING and insist that his servants make one of the most odd gourmet dishes of all time, when he should be having a pot of chili -__- 

^ I like this cold open, though I do think they were a little too heavy handed with the characterization of Valda as a villain. The dude has 0 redeeming qualities besides his creepily charismatic demeanor. 

^ WoT’s title sequence is a MASTERPIECE and is everything I’ve ever wanted

^ the Shadowspawn (especially myrdraal) looked sooo good here! ugh if only it was consistent in the later episodes

^ Moiraine was so cold for this but it’s such a good way of “showing, not telling” who her character is! The EF4 here looked so freaked out (especially Rand which i guess foreshadows his outburst later on in this episode)

^ Again, I’m obsessed with the scenery

^ Seeing her heal the horses’ fatigue with the One Power...a small but memorable detail from the books.

^ “They need their strength. So do you.” AGH their friendship is everythingggg

^ “If Nynaeve was here...” Mat knows her so well!!!

^ Oh Perrin :(  

^ Rand: “They say the last Dragon broke the world, but the next one will save it.” Ehhh Not sure if i like how “positive” the Dragon prophesies are...wish the showrunners would have painted the prophecies in a more negative or ambiguous light. I feel like the consensus here should have been “the last Dragon broke the world, and this time we’re not sure if they will break it again or save it” 

^ Later on i hope to god that Mat has a close encounter with a raken and makes another joke about this LMAO

^ I was about to say that she might have suspected that Nynaeve could channel as well, but Moiraine isn’t here to recruit Aes Sedai, she’s looking for the Dragon Reborn...and also everyone thinks Nyn is dead 

^ Of course, it’s Moiraine’s blue head jewel

^ The fact that Eggy is saying this >.<  No but I think she really is trying to be realistic here, plus there’s some part of her that doesn’t want to go back. 

^ I did not expect horror-movie-esque stuff like this but I actually think it’s so cool. my friend immediately commented on this scene “so that’s how covid started?” 

Anyways, I didn’t realize it on my first watch until after Mat mentioned his dream but this scene is SO SYMBOLIC... HES LITERALLY PULLING THE EVIL THING OUT OF HIMSELF *screams*

And then when Mat says “their necks just...snapped” I GASPEDDDD. Leave it to Ishy to be cruel and vaguely prophetic with these dreams. I kinda wish Eggy and Perrin got to tell us what their dream were.  

^ so dramatic ... *rolls eyes*

ok next part coming later!

[deeplyridiculouslyinlove]

I finished book 14 - and the series!! Minus New Spring which I am about to start :D

I’m not going to lie, I cried throughout many parts of that giant last battle scene. I also have some gripes that I’ll talk about, but I think it’s important to note that it definitely did grab me emotionally!

Overall for the book, I think I would have been good with it being like half as long. That’s just personal preference because I don’t care that much about the battle parts, but I also got confused with the constant jumping around for literally half the book - I didn’t feel like I got as much time with each character as I would have liked.

Overall for the series, I really just would have loved more “show don’t tell.” Rand’s “compassion” suddenly becomes a major plot point this book, when we’ve never seen him being compassionate?? Unless it means his weird “I don’t kill women” thing, which I would argue is actually the opposite of compassion - it’s dehumanizing to both women and men and compassion is rooted in seeing people’s humanity. But otherwise Rand is just grumpy and then mean until book like 12, yet we’re supposed to believe one of his core values is “compassion” because he thinks it in a narrative chapter? Show don’t tell not being followed is the root of so many other issues I have with the series too, most critically the weird romantic relationships.

Speaking of the romantic relationships, I think the more powerful parallel would be if Rand loved only *one* person that was Ilyena’s soul reborn again. Particularly because I’ve never understood why Lews Therin is the only prior Dragon Rand hears/is, given that my understanding is there will be literally continual Dragons? I think the parallel would have been more powerful if Ilyena was also reborn into this age, and thus fated to love Rand. To make the Rand fated to polygamy thing make any sense I have to hear Siuan in the show asking Moiraine, “Why would the wheel split the dragon’s soul into many?” and then it fits my head cannon, and that’s fine, but like … it could have been actual cannon if Rand hadn’t needed all these women as plot devices. We finally learn why Rand loves Elayne this book and like - would have been great to know that eight books ago. Also would have loved a similar chapter for Min and Aviendha. At least Aviendha gets good characterization thoughout - poor Min just becomes “Rand lover.”

Okay for the book 14 gripes:

- This peace treaty comes sort of out of nowhere. War between the countries isn’t really a theme of the books up to now, but suddenly peace is Rand’s whole purpose? Like yes we hear about wars here and there but I at least didn’t get the impression it was like constant fighting.

- I’m very confused how the great captains are compelled only for battle related things, when we otherwise see compulsion as fully taking over people’s minds?

- Siuan’s death feels very anticlimactic. What does she even die protecting? I feel like it should be given more emotional resonance. Also why does everyone only die in this last book. If they’re going to kill off key characters they should do it throughout the series so we get a sense of the stakes - in the last book it’s just like “okay well I’m done with these characters now anyway” lol.

- I almost threw up when Leane thought verbatim, “It was remarkable what a woman could achieve with less.” This is literally regressive propaganda!!

- I am deeply troubled with the way the Seanchan plot was resolved (or not resolved). The male characters basically become okay with Damane as the books go on, which already gave me great pause. And then I thought only those who chose to become Damane were allowed to be treated as Damane per the treaty, but then oh, nevermind, it’s okay to make Moghidien one because she’s a bad woman. The books show this as basically a fitting end for her, just like Elaida. Umm excuse me? No male Forsaken has to spend his eternity being humiliated and punished and treated like a literal animal. The fact that the books end with a moral relativism position on a system that is very similar to the chattel slavery system is really gross, I’m sorry.

[skylen64]

Not a book update, just a personal rant. Warning, if you love the show, you will hate me. I am a Bookcloak. Although that name is pretty ironic.

Also tdlr: me ranting about the fandom of wheel of time breaking and how it broke my heart at the same time. Also, issues with the show and issues with the head of the Showfriend faction of the fans. I wish the show never existed because of what it did to the fans.

Like many Wheel of Time fans, I was ecstatic when the show was announced. Casting came out, and I'll admit I was a bit disappointed. But it would be worth it if the show was good. I got past the disappointment and was still just as excited.

I heard a few leaks, and some did concern me, like the budget for a wig, and covid slowing production. But, a Wheel of Time show was finally being made. It didn't matter if it was perfect. As long as it was good. I kept waiting.

Then the actor for Mat left. The producer claims it was because he didn't want to get a vaccine, but he left far before the vaccine was given out. I still kept waiting and hoping. Finally it was September 2021. The producer was doing an interview. One thing Rafe Judkins said stuck with me. Not in a good way either. "Sometimes I'll send Sarah an email with a fake script, then call her. I then threaten her with Thoms death, and love to hear her cry." Okay, maybe it was a joke, I told myself. So I kept hoping.

Then the big day came. You know most of us were watching prime, waiting for it to let us watch the show, poised on that play button for those first three episodes. Finally I could watch it. The show adaptation for my favorite book series. I could... okay those three episodes kinda sucked. But there's eight in a season, so it can improve right? Wrong. I couldn't watch past episode 5. I nearly threw up, and I wish that was an exaggeration.

I felt like I had been gang beaten. I was in denial, but I should've known from episode 2, when Moiraine killed with the one power. But that scene with Logaine and Loial were so well written, the rest had to be like that, or half right? No, no it wasn't. I had to keep watching through Steppin killing himself after denying a bond with a polygamous Green, or even Lan doing the mourning. I should have stopped when Mat and Rand were chased through the streets by serving girl, even if she was a Darkfriend. Or when Nynaeve pushed Egwene off a cliff. But I tried to keep watching.

I was in a rage, and I was in tears. I was in denial. That atrocity could have just changed its title and character names and it wouldn't be recognized as Wheel of Time. The character design, the scenery and the props were fine. The script... the script was the only thing wrong.

Then it made me remember another quote from the interview. "I tell the writing room what happened next in the books, they exclaim 'don't spoil us' because most don't want to read the books in fear of spoilers." I wish he was joking. Light, I wish I was joking. But watching that thing... I don't think he was.

But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part of the show wasn't its content. It was it's effect on the fans. I could honestly forget the show except the fans won't let me. I literally joined social media because I was looking for wheel of time fans. I got what I wanted, for about 4 months. The 4 best months of my life too.

We fucking shattered into 4 groups. The Bookcloaks, the Showfriends/ shills, the Hopefuls and the selfdeniers. The first two groups partly existed before the release due to issues with the casting. Some of the Bookcloaks were racist towards it at the time, others were concerned with the deviation from the plot. I was the latter, and certainly didn't support the former. But we were lumped together all the same, called racists and bigots. But that was only a drop in the bowl of pain to come. Ironically tho, that diversity shield worked well, although it didn't do jack for that Velma show.

The show came out, and the divides solidified within episode 5. Two weeks is all it took. The Hopefuls and the Deniers grew smaller, but still exist. The Bookcloaks in all are still called racist and bigots, and are outright banned if we even say something positive about that show.

A certain show subreddit moderator spearheaded this campaign. TheNewPoetLawrette (I forgot the exact spelling) as she was named is a SJW Karen. I say that as someone who's very much on the left. And she is the only person I have ever called either name. I had an unfortunate run-in with her on a discord server called The Queers Blessing (still love that name Sarah). A debate had started up about rings of power casting, when a Showfriend started a discussion about people complaining about the casting. I asked for the discussion to end there, because I didn't want the last haven I had to be destroyed. Of course they didn't come back online until after the drama ensued.

Miss NewPoet took it upon herself to go into a rant about how bigoted I was for not wanting to talk about it. And when I explained my reasons why (I'll admit right here my autistic brain didn't word it well) she lobbied to get me banned from the server. She outright called me racist, misogynistic and a homophob. Funny, because I'm a lesbian who's dating a beautiful trans woman, but she didn't need to know that. Also, why would you judge people by race? It's their actions that matter, and Miss NewPoets actions label her as a terrible person.

She also failed to get me banned on discord. Unfortunately The Queers Blessing went silent after that, most of us just wanting nothing to do with her. I feel sorry for Sara, as she did create that server.

There is no head of faction for the Bookcloaks or the other two factions. And quite a few of the Showfriends have joined the Bookcloaks in the past couple years. Even advocators of the show have joined. Well, they officially joined until a certain mod spearheaded another assault and got the Bookcloak subreddits banned from reddit.

Honestly, just for what it did to the fans, I wish the Wheel of Time show never existed.

[markantonys]

thank you for posting that gifset with the soundtrack titles! i literally rewatched egwene's first scene in the white tower over and over so i could hear that music but i couldn't find it. the soundtrack was amazing this season but new beginnings/the source of power are definitely two favourites of mine :)

haha this was exactly the purpose i had in mind for this gifset! i'm glad it came in handy! as SOON as i watched that scene the first time i was like "ohhhhh this track better be released on the album!" and when the album came out, new beginnings was the first one i listened to because i identified it as the most likely to be That Track based on the title. and i was crushed that it turned out to be the music from the lantern scene instead...........until halfway through when it switched over to the egwene tower montage music! joy! (and i was also glad to get the lantern scene music specifically because of the part when the dragon reborn theme is woven in towards the end when rand appears, chef's kiss)

my favorite off the album has to be the horn of valere, it's SO beautiful!!! and mat's theme was already my favorite off the themes album, so i was over the moon to get such a gorgeous arrangement of it in the in-show album. but new beginnings and the source of power are close behind it, they're absolute bangers!

my biggest sorrow is that none of the in-show versions of "the dragon's heart" that play in the rand/selene scenes in the first half of the season made it onto the album. i like the theme track as is but the in-show arrangements are so melancholy and haunting, i would've loved to get full versions of them! i will cling onto the hope of getting them for a future season (a track very like "desert dreams" originally appears in 1x07 when rand and moiraine arrive at the blight but it was not on the s1 album much to my sorrow, so i was surprised and thrilled to get it in the s2 album!)

[pandemoniumonwheels]

It's great how the show made sure to let its know that Moiraine is always dodging any questions she's asked and how good she is at that. Until she finally meets someone who doesn't buy her bullshit anymore.

I'm focusing on episodes 1-6 because those are relevant for this analysis.

Eamond’s Fielders never manage to get an answer from her. She either changes the topic or not even bother to speak with them. And when they have enough of it, she just dramatically leaves them with I've run out of patience. And time. Knowing they'll follow. And that's exactly what they do. It's even better, she manages to set everything this way that when they got separated all of the kids head to Tar Valon anyway. Nailed it. 10/10

Then we have Nyneave that made it her calling to challenge Moiraine every time she gets. Lan struggles with her, but Moiraine? She answers only the questions she chooses to answer and only when she decides it's the right time. When Nyneave challenges her to get an answer whether Moiraine will tell her when kids are in Tar Valon, Moiraine goes with her it's okay to be scared bit. And when Nyneave has nothing more to say, Moiraine reassures her she will tell her. Not because she was forced but because it's a perfect way to show Nyneave who is in the position of power. Moiraine is the one who has all the answers and it is always her decision to share them. Nyneave hates it and that's also why she's so adamant at hiding Rand and Mat later and sneaking out of the Tower. It's her little, childish rebellion. Again 10/10 for Moiraine.

Out-smarting kids is easy. Even if they're intelligent they lack experience. So how about those who are better at this game of half -ruths?

Alanna tries to get any answer from Moiraine. Nothing important really - the name of the dog. She fails. Their conversation in Moiraine's room when she tries to get the slightest piece of information about what Moiraine's agenda is doesn't help her either. Moiraine changes her tactic, she talks more but still does not share more than she really wants. And she ends the meeting when she feels she had enough. Once again 10/10 points for Moiraine.

Last but not least - every conversation with Liandrin. No matter how Liandrin tries to get under Moiraine's skin, she failed each time until Moiraine bit back and Liandrin was utterly defeated with we both know what would they [red sisters] do to him. But the real masterpiece is Liandrin cornering Moiraine in the Great Hall and still failing. Yes, she managed to put Moiraine in a very uncomfortable position (I'm talking metaphorically not about kneeling) but when it comes to getting answers she failed. I was un........ AWE she could channel. Again, 10/10, brilliant performance by Moiraine.

And now we reach the moment when Moiraine a mastermind, the queen of avoiding answers finally loses the game because all the previous scenes were a clever build up for one simple dialogue.

Siuan: Where did you travel?

Moiraine: From Tear to the Two Rivers. And many towns between.

The real question Siuan is asking isn't the about exact places Moiraine travels, it's clear what The Amyrlin really wants to know. She's questioning Moiraine for what she was up to during those 20 years of travel. Moiraine dodges again. And just look at Siuan face at this moment.

Oh, how she knows. First round for Moiraine. It's not surprising, we're used to it, that's what we as viewers expect to happen, Moiraine telling whatever she wants and getting away with that. Again.

Not this time however because Siuan is not done.

What is the purpose of your travels?

Moiraine can't lie and there's no easy way of dodging. So she tells the truth but does not answer, not really. Here it would normally end but Siuan is pushing her. And when Moiraine is on her knees - literally and figuratively speaking, Siuan asks her again. And we can clearly see how Moiraine tries again, this time longer, to find a better answer. But she fails. And she is being punished for it. For the first time in the show, we can see she’s cornered and then defeated in the game. Siuan doesn’t buy her half-truths, her attempts at dodging. 

They both know what they are doing but this whole scene builds Siuan’s character so well. We’re introduced to her in a way that shows how really powerful and smart she is, first time we see her, she’s defeating Moiraine in a game Moiraine won easily every single time before. And it is a great introduction that sets us as viewers in a right spot where we instantly recognize her for who she is - truly regal and strong both as in character and as in the title she wields.

[rationalnerd62]

Wheel of Time Screentime, s1e6

In this first season of the Wheel of Time, "The Flame of Tar Valon" is quite an outlier. Except for the 5m10s cold open, the entirety of this episode 6 is told from Moiraine's PoV. After seeing her distant and secretive for more than half of the season, it was refreshing to discover the humanity of her character.

It is thus not a surprise to get more than 50m of screentime for Moiraine, as she was, well, everywhere. Our Amyrlin Seat, Siuan Sanche, comes 2nd with about 31m of screentime. The characters that follow, Maigan and Leane, were heavily helped by their background role in the two Hall scenes, which lasted 11m13s and 5m03s respectively.

All of our EF folks got between 8min and a bit more than 13min, which may seem small in comparison to Moiraine or Siuan screentime, but is not far from what they all had in episode 4 (from 6m30s to almost 14m per character) or episode 5 (from almost 7m to a bit more than 14m per character).

The gender balance in this episode is, well, vastly different from previous ones. Due to the focus on Moiraine and, to a lesser extent, on Siuan, and the number of women-only scenes, women obtained about 1h47m more screentime than men. No wonder it made me gayer. Side note: during the first five episodes of The Wheel of Time, men had a total of 8h20m of screentime, compared to 5h34m for women. With episode 6, the difference of screentime decreases from 2h46m to 0h59m.

I would usually stop a screentime breakdown on that note, but since I'm a queer and this episode was literally a childhood dream coming true, I will allow myself a deviation in a (huge) follow-up part, which I will call:

The Case for a Siuraine Endgame.

[Some minor book spoilers ahead]

In the book series, Moiraine and Siuan canonically have an intimate relationship during their time at the White Tower. If you have never read New Spring, or if that relationship went completely above your head (which is fine, honestly), you can either (re)read that prequel (it's a very short read) or take a look at this thread. Put on some gay googles if needed, but New Spring felt like the gay cousin in a more traditional Fantasy book family.

What isn't in the books, though, is whether that relationship continued after New Spring. While Moiraine and Siuan are still very close to each other after being raised to Aes Sedai, one ended up running away from the Tower (for politics) while the other got stuck in it (also for politics, kinda). They then only talked once in the main book series, in a few early chapters of The Great Hunt. Both of them have a main male love interest by the end of The Wheel of Time. The quality/development of those relationships is another story in itself.

As a result, making Moiraine and Siuan explicitly and canonically in a long-term romantic relationship is a decision made by the show. Did they take from the books? Yes. Did they have to do any of that? Not unless they wanted to. Sure, it would have been nice in 2021 for them to acknowledge that such an intimate relationship existed between Moiraine and Siuan at some point in their past, but they could have stopped at that acknowledgment, making it queer enough to check a bullet point in some diversity list. Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, this is what most movies and TV shows still tend to do: have a character canonically LGBTQ+, and then too often it's either never mentioned again, or it becomes their whole personality trait, or their partner is mostly irrelevant to the story.

So far, the show is doing more than that, and this is not even just about episode 6. Despite Siuan Sanche only being present for one episode, her introduction and her relationship with Moiraine were built up during the three episodes that came before.

Ep3 had this very short but very sweet moment of Moiraine whispering her lover's name while being sick and unconscious from the Trolloc poison. In my breakdown for this episode, I called it the "unconscious but gay" moment.

Ep4 gave us Lan asking Stepin for news of the White Tower and of the Amyrlin Seat ("Still seated. Not any fonder of Moiraine, though. I heard her threaten to fetch you two home personally."). With Lan being often careful about his words, asking about the Amyrlin Seat is not innocent: he knows of her relationship with Moiraine and the plans they have made together regarding the Dragon Reborn.

While the discussion between Alanna and Moiraine in ep5 started about the Warder bond, it quickly switched to the Amyrlin Seat. This was the first time non-readers heard her full name, Siuan Sanche. Only those watching with subtitles could have made the connection with the name whispered by Moiraine in ep3. This episode deepened the known tensions between Moiraine and Siuan, with Alanna even commenting on Moiraine taking the Seat from her.

Then ep6's cold open showed us a young Siuan Sanche and her moving relationship with her dad, until their home gets burned down due to Tear's hate of channelers. It is then hard to see young Siuan, who went to the White Tower after losing pretty much everything, as the powerful enemy Alanna mentioned in ep5. In fact, if the Amyrlin Seat had been an opponent similar to Liandrin, I doubt we would have taken the time to learn about her childhood.

It is quite the whiplash when the Flame of Tar Valon finally turns her attention to Moiraine in the Hall. The 2m20s that followed were freaking tense. Moiraine fails to find adequate answers for the Amyrlin, who insults her by mentioning her noble blood. As Siuan's father told her in the cold open, "if any of them bastards tries to shame you, you show them who you are", and the Amyrlin did not take lightly Moiraine's refusal.

Of course, this was just for show. Book readers knew they were at least friends, and non-book readers may have guessed from the importance of that cold open. But still. Later in that episode, after a fun minute of Lan "You masked your bond" Mandragoran and Moiraine "Goodnight Lan" Damodred, Lan departs on a "Give her my love", to which Moiraine reacts with one of the cutest expressions ever.

It takes another minute for Moiraine to open that portal to meet Siuan, and we then get some delicious 6m7s of continuous screentime with only the two of them.

In the context of queer relationships in mainstream medias, 6m7s in continuous is a fuck ton of time, especially for such intimate scene. Considering this was a 57m episode (taking out the recap and credits), this means more than 10% of ep6 was given to develop Moiraine and Siuan’s private relationship. We got to see two middle-aged and powerful women in an interracial relationship, one of which is the lead of the show (so far), who have loved each others for probably around 25 years, despite the 20 years Moiraine has spent on the road. After two years without seeing the one they consider their partner and equal, their reunion was sexy but not sexualized (take that, male gaze!), and both finally got to talk about the secrets, doubts and dreams that have been nagging at their minds. It made those characters beautifully human and vulnerable, a welcomed contrast from what has been shown of them so far.

But the show doesn’t even stop there. When Moiraine brings Egwene and Nynaeve to meet the Amyrlin Seat (”Siuan Sanche waits for only one woman. And it’s not you.”), the focus of those 3m35s is on the Two Rivers girls meeting the most powerful Aes Sedai in the world. But when Siuan talks about deserving something different (”stay home, love the people you love, grow old with them”), it’s a direct reflection of her life with Moiraine and the sacrifices they both had to make because of the pattern. That star-crossed lovers theme comes back and forth during most of the scenes Moiraine and Siuan share.

The last moment they have together is the 5m3s long exile scene. The oath in itself takes about 2m of that time, and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen wedding vows shorter than that for queer relationships in mainstream media. And yes, I’m talking about wedding vows: there was a time where women would vow to love, honor and obey their husbands in Christian wedding ceremonies. While the original vows are archaic and misogynistic, the parallel is at least funny if not very interesting, considering Moiraine is directly swearing to Siuan Sanche (”daughter of the river, clever as a pike, strong as the tides”). Moreover, while “By the Light and my hope of salvation and rebirth” is commonly used in the books to swear the Three Oaths (and the rebirth is a direct callback to Siuan’s earlier “In this life or the next”), I don’t recall “or may the Creator’s face turn from me forever and darkness consume my soul” being used in the books except for when Siuan swore to Gareth Bryne in TFoH. Also quite interesting considering Siuan and Gareth later relationship in the books.

Which brings me to my next point: how Siuan was developed in this episode 6 compared to other recurring characters in the show:

In term of screentime, Siuan is about 5min behind Liandrin, who appeared in 5 episodes this season (1, 3, 4, 5, 6). She’s above Alanna and Logain, who appeared in 4 episodes, and above Stepin, who appeared in 3. She has more than twice the screentime than Thom, a significant character in the books that met Moiraine in tEoTW but still hasn’t seen her in the show. Meanwhile, Siuan had a stunning 25m48s of shared screentime with Moiraine in a single episode. This is half of Moiraine’s screentime in ep6, and 45% of the episode.

That ranking would probably change if considering speaking time. @far-dareis-me has been doing some Wheel of (Speaking) Time analysis, and I am looking forward to see how Siuan’s speaking time would compare to Liandrin’s or Thom’s for example.

So, what does this tell us overall?

Siuan is an important character in the books, and will also be one in the show, and not just for her relationship to Moiraine. While her introduction in the cold-open does serve her relationship with Moiraine (see Moiraine quoting Siuan’s father during her oath), it tells a lot about her own poorer background (in contrast with Moiraine’s noble one). She also has an active part in the search for the Dragon, and her discussion with Egwene and Nynaeve tells us we may see them interacting with the Amyrlin again as they move to the Tower to be trained.

The show spent a significant amount of time on building and developing Moiraine and Siuan’s relationship, which they did not have to do to follow the books storyline. We know they cut a Loial scene in this episode, and that the ending had to be changed because of the deal with Mat. They could have reduced Moiraine and Siuan’s time to develop more other characters. Moiraine did not need to be there when Siuan was talking to Egwene and Nynaeve. That exile scene could have been shorter (and those vows didn’t need to be that long). Those 2m25s of Moiraine prepping herself to see her wife girlfriend could have been shorter. But the fact that the show kept all those moments and gave this queer storyline the time it deserved means something, especially in comparison with what other mainstream shows tend to do.

The storyline of Thom, who [book spoilers] is Moiraine’s male love-interest in the books, has been modified enough that he did not meet Moiraine when he was supposed to. They may meet later on, sure. But how could this meeting even compared to the 25+ years of love the show gave us for Siuan and Moiraine?

Maybe the show is just cruel. After all, they’re giving some mostly sweet development to another couple we know is doomed. But, in my opinion, with all the pieces they put on their board, it would be very strange (and disappointing) to devote so much time on Moiraine and Siuan’s relationship if they have no intent to play the star-crossed lovers card as much as they can.

Let’s just hope that this trope ends up as beautifully as Aragorn and Arwen’s relationship did (or Fitzsimmons for the Agents of Shield veterans), and not as a queer remake of Romeo and Juliet.

As always, here’s a link to the data. Sorry for the long rant, but it needed to come out.

[butterflydm]

incomplete list of things i would enjoy being updated in rafe’s WoT

1. Get rid of all the spanking, which rode a very uncomfortable line of not being clear if it was punishment or kink and it all kinda felt poorly defined and honestly screwed up what I think RJ was trying to say about the various relationships and dynamics in the book. And there was just way too much of it in any case. So far, I don’t think we have any mention of corporal punishment in the show, so I will take that as A Good Sign.

2. Trim out the random pairings thrown in later on -- Thom/Moiraine, Siuan/Gareth, Morgase and her guard (Tallanvor, I think?) are the ones that most immediately spring to mind. Not enough build-up. Weird tropes involved. Just chuck ‘em out, I say. I feel like they’re already going to do this one; after giving such intense scenes out to Moiraine and Siuan, it’s hard to envision them deciding to go with another pairing for either of those characters.

3. Berelain vs Faile. Like, if you’re going to change Perrin’s story like you did in episode one, I feel like it should at least give us a free ‘get rid of Berelain’s Faile storyline’ card. Berelain as a character I don’t mind, but I dislike almost every storyline she gets, lol. (also, I think Faile is probably going to come across more sympathetically on-screen than in the book, since we won’t be viewing her through Perrin’s Smell-O-Vision and getting an instant update every time she has a flash of jealousy). Also, it would not be a bad thing for Perrin and Faile’s romance to take longer before they end up together. Perrin has several books where he has literally nothing to do; stretching his story out is a good thing.

4. Tylin and Mat. Either give Mat a different reason to stick around the city or make it so blindingly obvious how horrible the situation is that absolutely no one can question it. Because the book dances around it way too much, imo. Related: maybe they can make Tuon and Mat less depressing for me? I love Mat and I just hate how I kinda feel like Tylin’s abuse existed to soften up Mat for Tuon. Or just make Mat/Tuon a purely political/mystical/symbolic marriage and stick Mat into the polycule. Less likely but I would certainly enjoy it. Maybe I’ll write it, once we meet the other players in the polycule.

5. They already seem to have done this so far but: the overprotectiveness of the Two Rivers’ men towards women could do with massive amounts of toning down. It doesn’t make any cultural sense! Toss it away, please! You can still give Rand issues re: the Maidens if you feel like you need to, just base it on the family/culture connection instead.

6. I’m torn on how I’d prefer Elayne’s brothers be handled. It is hilarious to me that both Rand and Egwene get involved romantically with the same family? Though Egwene really gets a raw deal in comparison to Rand, since Elayne got all the competence in the family (though Gawyn does have an equal share of the impulsive recklessness, I guess!). Do we need both brothers? They do serve very different roles later on, so maybe. It probably depends on whether or not they plan on doing Morgase’s storyline.

7. I re-read some bits of Lord of Chaos to refresh my memory of Alanna and That Thing She Does, and then Dumai’s Wells, and I’d forgotten that Elayne straight-up sends Min to Rand while Elayne has the full knowledge of what Min’s visions about them mean, which just reminded me of how incredibly easy it would be to make the relationship a true balanced polyam quad (which is what it basically was in my head anyway), anyway I’m saying Elayne should kiss Min before Rand does. That’s what this point is.

8. Fascinated by what Lan being a bit softer in the show means for Rand adopting his hardness. I’m very curious about the potential knock-on effect of that. I wonder if they’ll keep Rand softer in the show until we get to Dumai’s Wells to show a greater contrast after his abuse at the hands of the Aes Sedai? Will they give him another reason to harden himself off? Will Lan give that advice anyway? Maybe Rand will take after Moiraine more instead, with her web of secrets, since they did show him softening towards her in episode six after she heals Mat. I’m just very very interested in how Rand’s character changes will be handled -- though he’s been relatively in the background (compared to being the main PoV in the first book), his characterization has been rock-solid to who he is, so I’m just very intrigued as to where they plan on going from here.