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butterflydm · 8 months

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wot rewatch (book spoilers edition): 2x5

Not only is this one going to have spoilers for all the aired episodes plus any teasers (including the trailer for episode 6), it will also have book spoilers through book 14: A Memory of Light.

An interesting change from the books is Suroth calling Loial a slave -- in the books, the Ogier of the elite guard are very specifically not enslaved (I wonder if they got as badly jacked up by the Longing as the ones in the Westlands but their 'solution' ended up involving the Empress and the Crystal Throne somehow?). Since this exception is never explained in the books, I don't have any issue with it being changed.

2. I also think we are getting some really good set-up here for a potential fracture in the Seanchan once we get deeper into the series -- a fulfillment of the narrative promise that Jordan set up in books 2-9 but then backed away from once we hit Crossroads of Twilight & Knife of Dreams. I'm hopeful that we're actually going to get the Seanchan civil war that the books never gave us but that they desperately needed in order for Mat's characterization to make any damn sense in CoT & KoD.

3. The idea that Ishamael is being something akin to Suroth's Truthspeaker makes a lot of sense (I think only the Imperial family has Truthspeakers in the books? but it makes sense to expand them outward).

4. That Fain plays the game so well with Turak here can serve as a hint that he's playing the subservience game with Ishamael as well (who killed the Fade? in other words).

5. The saa in Lanfear's eyes! I love that we're getting a super-charged look at the True Power this early on. I definitely approve of the change of the Forsaken getting brought back with the True Power rather than being put in new bodies -- that can work in a book, but in a show, you want to keep your actors. Especially when they're so good!

6. The Elyas scene does feel like Elyas is essentially doing triple-duty this season: he's himself (Wolfbrother lore dump); he's Hurin (sniffer who leads them after Fain); he's Noam (completely detached from his previous human life).

7. I do like how Elyas feels... somewhat amoral (not immoral!) -- he cares about his fellow wolves (including Perrin) and only his fellow wolves. Obviously, part of the reason that's there is so that viewers will wonder if Ishamael (the Father of Lies) was telling the truth about Perrin becoming closer to the Shadow the closer he gets to the wolves but that's... a good thing, I think, for Perrin's narrative arc. It gives him a grounded reason to try to avoid embracing the wolves. The show has done a really good job in giving characters believable motivations for their behavior.

Show: has Elyas diss every human that Perrin cares about because he's trying to tell Perrin that he belongs with the wolves and not the humans.

Some Book Readers: Ah-ha! Laila wasn't his pack? Darkfriend!

It was just so clear to me, in watching the episode, that Elyas mentioning Perrin's wife was the last straw that made Perrin push him away. It was not meant as a Darkfriend hint of any kind! Elyas did not know Laila as a person! He does not care about Laila as a person! It's pretty clear that he only cares about Perrin (because he's a fellow Wolfbrother). That's why he only saved Perrin from the caravan; that's why he led Perrin eastward instead of west. He has zero interest in putting himself in danger to help humans; he does not identity with humans.

8. Ooo, I wonder if we're going to see Perrin's wolf name visualized at some point by the wolves -- Young Bull with his axe that is also his horns, strong and protective. Again, the show has done such a good job in showing us the Perrin that I think Jordan wanted us to see but that he didn't quite manage -- pretty much every show-only reactor sees Perrin as genuinely considerate and empathetic and believes that he has a good heart and wouldn't leave people to suffer.

9. Brilliant choice to have Aviendha introduced here and be part of Perrin's storyline. I do really like how Elayne, Aviendha, and Min have all been part of another main character's plotline before anything implied romantic between them and Rand happens. Hopefully, the show does the same thing with Tuon in the season when she gets introduced. I'm going to guess that (rather than going along with Perrin because of Faile) Bain and Chiad are going to help Aviendha meet her toh towards Perrin once she's told that she needs to become a Wise One apprentice and Bain and Chiad will travel with him to the Two Rivers. I suspect that Gaul will be introduced next season as well.

10. I also really like the way they set up Dain and Perrin's future dynamic here as well -- Dain realizes that Perrin is from the Two Rivers, so that gives him a reason to go there after he (mistakenly?) thinks that Perrin has killed his father. I do wonder whether or not Fain will go to the Two Rivers at all. It's kinda... crowded over there, since we know that Slayer was cast (I think). There isn't, imo, any real need for Fain to corrupt the Whitecloaks in the show -- I feel like they can corrupt themselves just fine. (I kinda feel that way about Elaida too) -- and it might be good to tie Fain back into Rand and/or Mat's plotlines.

11. The Seanchan and the Whitecloaks both have a 'evil but not the evil of the Dark One' situation going on, and we kinda get that here, with the (new) innkeeper being even more unhappy with being occupied by Whitecloaks than by the Seanchan. I actually like that they have the new innkeeper here selfishly being okay with the Seanchan -- the issue that I had with various plotlines in CoT & KoD wasn't "it's unrealistic for anyone to be collaborators with the slavers", of course some/many people are selfish enough that it doesn't matter to them that some people get enslaved as long as it isn't them; it was an issue with specific characters turning collaborator without there being anywhere near enough work in the characterization or narrative to justify it. That was the issue that I had.

Especially since this same conversation does illustrate how selfish this man's PoV is, if you pay attention to the dialogue. The old innkeeper's granddaughter was kidnapped by the Seanchan -- SHE would not agree with him that they're totally chill if you only just swear the oaths.

12. Seeing Lady Suroth like this, 'dressed down', as it were, gave me quite a start. She looks almost naked without the super-long nails and the helmet and with me being able to see that she has no eyebrows. Like, it gives her a big 'pathetic and vulnerable' vibe even though she's been just as awful as she was in her introduction.

And it makes me wonder... are people who are sympathetic to Tuon in Crossroads of Twilight and Knife of Dreams also more likely to be good at visualization when they read? Because, personally, I don't see pictures in my head when I read books. I think it's part of the reason why I can so easily accept adaptations in the first place -- there's no prior image that I need to override. I had no firm mental image of how 'Rand' or 'Nynaeve' or anyone looked in the books, so the actors can easily become that person for me. It's all just... words in my head for me. The most that I ever visualize is something akin to black and white abstract sketches.

How this relates to Tuon: one of the deeply frustrating things about CoT+ Mat to me is how he behaves like Tuon is 'not like the other Seanchan' even though her behavior on the page is just as rancid and terrible as any other Blood. But, in her descriptions in CoT & KoD, she doesn't visually resemble other Seanchan anymore -- her hair is growing out, she's in Westlands clothing instead of Seanchan High Blood clothing. But as someone who doesn't visualize characters and scenes when I'm reading a book, the clothes that a character is wearing has little to no impact on my perception of them as a character.

Is it different if you do/can visualize how differently Tuon looks when she's traveling with Mat vs how she looked when she was embedded in the Seanchan power structure? Because it really does genuinely confuse me when I see people repeat what Mat says about her being different from the other Seanchan because her behavior is just... identical to all the other Seanchan Blood from what I've seen in the books -- intensely political and manipulative; firmly supports and believes in slavery; gets off on torture and abuses her slaves even while believing that she's the bestest and kindest slave owner in the world; thinks of herself as inherently better because she's Of The Blood, etc. I remember when Mat places her in the same 'better than other nobles' category as Talmanes in KoD, my brain just bluescreened because he's consistently been shown on the page that she's still just as awful as the others (the chapter where she literally collars and tortures three of his allies is certainly never anything I'm forgetting, even if Mat 'goldfish' Cauthon forgot about it five minutes after it happened). But, yeah, if you visualize characters and scenes when reading books, do those visuals have an impact on how you think of the characters?

(on a character level, I understand why Mat would lie to himself about Tuon if he genuinely believes himself to be trapped in a marriage with her -- the issue with that is two-fold though: a. with Mat's other lies to himself, we are given outside context with other PoVs and behavior from other characters to see that he's lying while in CoT and KoD, we're pretty firmly locked into Mat's warped perspective, and b. Jordan did a shit job of showing why Mat gave up so quickly and just believed that he's doomed to be married to Tuon without him making ANY attempts at fighting the prophecy)

13. Looking forward to the future... I do suspect that we'll still get Semirhage trying to shape and mold Tuon (unless we don't get enough seasons), but I think in the end (exploring @sixth-light's idea about having a split Seanchan Empire instead of having the Sharans), we may end up with Suroth in charge of one half of the Seanchan (who will fight for the Shadow) and one half led by Tuon (who will fight for the Light) and that we will, hopefully, be getting a Tuon who actually has to confront what being a sul'dam means and that the Seanchan will fracture on the issue of slavery (which would make their American accents even more apt) instead of the Westlands characters becoming friends and lovers with gleefully cruel slavers. Having Tuon's 'stubbornness' and pushback against Semirhage actually lead to her questioning the established order would be so much more powerful than her stubbornness being used as an excuse for her dodging and avoiding any character growth for the entire time that she hangs around.

14. I hope that Aviendha's amusement here over Perrin's protectiveness is perhaps going to be more of the vibe we get with Rand & the Maidens once that relationship gets going. Rand really doesn't have the same reasons (so far) to be as unreasoningly overprotective of them as he is in the books, since the Two Rivers in the show aren't Weird about women in danger the way that the books are. It's very much a Perrin hangup because of his wife and we've seen it develop over time. And if Rand feels some protectiveness, I'd like it to be tied more towards him feeling like he doesn't want to lose any of his newfound family.

15. It feels clear that Moiraine is absolutely still bound by the Three Oaths. She obviously WANTS to lie in the scene where she's introducing Rand to Anvaere and Barthanes, but she isn't able to. It's played very much the same way as when she was caught in the Oath last season (one of the funniest moments in S1 is when she wants to tell the Two Rivers' kids that she trusts them now but she absolutely doesn't trust them and can't say the words).

16. So, who in this scene is a Darkfriend. I suspect that Barthanes is and I suspect that Anvaere is not. Anvaere's information session with Moiraine last episode completely destroyed the Shadow's plans for Rand -- it could be the Shadow tripping over itself but I suspect it's just that Anvaere is what she seems to be -- a very political but non-Shadow-aligned person.

17. I wonder if the end of the next episode is going to timeskip us the few weeks to the wedding (thus making it so that Egwene spends several weeks in 'training') -- or maybe we'll timeskip between episodes 6&7. From the preview, it looks like we're going to spend some serious time showing how horrible and dehumanizing the damane 'training' is. What they might do is show us the initial beginning of it -- and then we jump forward and see how things are after several weeks? The mention of the wedding just feels... potentially significant, since it's not from the books. This would give Perrin time to travel to Falme with Aviendha; Mat and Min would have time to get to Cairhien; Elayne and Nynaeve would have time to bond; and Siuan would also have time to get to Cairhien, since we know she goes there at some point. And it might mean that, along with Egwene getting her 'training' from Renna, we might also get Rand getting some training from Logain and potentially Lan as well.

18. I love Verin kickstarting the Black Ajah Hunt so much. I already talked about this a lot in my earlier post about Darkfriends, so I won't get into it here but: fantastic choice. It does imply to me that we don't really need the Wondergirls to go back to the Tower next season to get their Black Ajah Hunting instructions, since there's already a Hunt started by full Sisters. Which I would be fine with -- they literally spend less than a week in the White Tower in book 3. They dip in for Egwene & Elayne's tests, to get more instructions from Siuan, and then dip out again. I feel like the show could easily have them decide to hunt the Black Ajah of their own accord (Nynaeve in particular has a reason to want to go after Liandrin).

19. I do not think that Sheriam knows that Verin is 'Black Ajah' or that Liandrin is (more genuinely) Black Ajah. She and Liandrin were at odds too much earlier in the season over Nynaeve imo. Joiya, otoh, I think might know that Liandrin is also Black Ajah, because she immediately backed Liandrin up in the big group discussion.

20. "We respect the One Power so much that we don't believe that anyone should wield it by accident of birth". I've seen other people (reactors on youtube) wondering if this conversation means that the Seanchan already know that sul'dam are learners, since they talk about training the sul'dam for years and them earning the right to use the One Power, but this line in particular makes me feel like they don't know. Because sul'dam are only sul'dam because of an 'accident of birth' as well. I'm sure that we'll find out, because the realization of the sul'dam secret was a pretty huge moment with Egwene in the books (even if Min & Nynaeve appeared to have completely forgotten the information when they were spending time with Rand later in the series) so it will definitely stand out if it gets played differently and Renna doesn't get that horror of realizing that she, too, is marath'damane.

21. I've also seen people wonder why the damane & sul'dam didn't catch on that Liandrin was channeling to wake the girls and free Nynaeve, but she was channeling that entire time (to hold open the Waygate) so her tiny weave would have been masked by the larger one.

22. Aviendha's attitude towards obligation and honor is going to be such an interesting contrast to how weighed down Rand is by his obligations. Looking forward to them getting some good scenes together in s3.

23. I hope Egwene gets to hit Renna over the head in this version too. And collar her to the wall. I can already tell that this is going to be painful and intense. I did notice that a lot of show-only reactors have NOT picked up on how terrifying and awful the damane slavery is yet, but I feel like the show is going to make it very clear in the next episode. (I don't know how you can look at Egwene in pain here and not already understand but... next week should make things crystal clear).

The preview did show us how... earnest (ugh) Renna is going to be in her 'training' of Egwene. The way she called the damane kennels "your new home" and the (horrifying) sincerity in her voice.

I'm actually wondering if Egwene is going to be freed in episode 7, before Rand gets to Falme, since Perrin and Aviendha are headed in the direction of Falme and it's Perrin who is attached to the Ingtar and Horn storylines and not Rand (who didn't even find out that the Horn is a thing that exists until 2x3). Because Rand isn't actually involved in her rescue in the books iirc -- that was Elayne and Egwene (with Min tagging along). He spots her and seeing her is why he refuses to leave, but since he's going there for his own purposes unrelated to the Horn in this version (I assume), then he doesn't need that extra push to stay. From the preview for episode 6, it kinda sounds like Loial & co are going to try to help her be freed but I'm not sure if it'll work that soon.

Expecting next episode to be extremely rough, emotionally.

Additional spoilers/speculation based on imdb listings (which may not be entirely accurate):

The actress who played Maigan in S1 is listed as being in the next three episodes (6, 7, 8). She was planning to go west to investigate the rumors. She has not been seen in the White Tower this season. The actress who is playing Ryma is only listed for episodes 5 & 6. Renna is listed for all the remaining episodes; Seta is listed for the final two episodes. That just all seems like interesting information to me, though again, imdb.

Complete side note, episode 7 is the episode that Hayley Mills is listed for. I wonder if she's the Queen of Cairhien that Barthanes is marrying.

#butterfly watches wot #wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #wot show spoilers #wot prime spoilers #wot s2 spoilers #wheel of time s2 spoilers #wot book spoilers #a memory of light #wot 2x5 spoilers

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butterflydm · 8 months

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wot 2x5: damane (thoughts on darkfriends and other evils)

includes book spoilers through book 14: a memory of light

Very much looking forward to examining the scenes again when I rewatch this weekend, but my brain is just going... a mile a minute, so I wanted to put some thoughts down before I go to work today.

So we got to see Darkfriends Getting In Each Other's Way this episode, which is a classic. Hilarious, love it. They are selfish AF and each have their own agenda and mostly all hate each other.

(in theory, this should have been what separated Our Heroes from the Darkfriends, but in the books, Our Heroes ALSO all got in each other's way a lot so... I do feel like the show is maybe setting Our Heroes up to be more supportive of each other than they were in the books. but that is a side note. Back to the Darkfriends!)

The Clown Car of Black Ajah is already looking great! It cracked me up earlier in the season when poor Alanna was having a scene with tons of other Aes Sedai and every single other character who spoke in the scene was Black Ajah. You are Surrounded, my darling!

Thoughts: did Liandrin Compel Sheriam? (aka does Liandrin not know that Sheriam is also Black Ajah) Very possible! Sheriam and Liandrin have gotten in each other's way a couple of times this season. I was so glad that the show namedropped both Compulsion and Tel'aran'rhoid in this episode!

I have to say, that Liandrin was able to make it back to the Tower with her excuse does make me wonder if she'll be able to snag that coveted 'merger with either Alviarin or Galina' role (which would let her at least put off her Bad Book Ending for a while) after all. The problem is that if the Wondergirls make it back to the Tower at all next season, her cover is completely blown because Nynaeve knows beyond a doubt that she is shady AF.

Liandrin and Suroth absolutely despising each other and each of them fantasizing about the other one kneeling to them: chef's kiss, no notes. Liandrin fucking Suroth over in the last minute both because she immediately hated Suroth's guts and because she couldn't help but give Nynaeve a fighting chance: fascinating. I do think Liandrin was incredibly disappointed when she got the note that it was time to take the girls to Falme -- I mean, I don't think she gave a shit about selling out Egwene (and Elayne was an accident of fate) but as Nynaeve sussed out in the Ways, she absolutely wanted to recruit Nynaeve to the Black Ajah and get her on side that way.

Suroth's spikiness with Ishamael! (someone last night suggested that Ishamael is cosplaying as her truthspeaker, I think? which would make sense with how he's behaving) When she had her little tantrum and suggested that, sure, maybe the Dark One Chose him and all, but he's not BLOOD. Amazing. That's the arrogance that we expect from the Blood. Again, perfect, no notes.

Love love love that we are already getting the set up of a potential division within the Seanchan by explicitly having Turak say that they are here to fight the Shadow. The Seanchan Civil War that never happened remains one of my greatest disappointments with the books. To already be setting up some seeds for a reason for the Seanchan to split in half is great (a little while ago, someone suggested that instead of getting the Sharans, we would get the Seanchan being split in two, and I would heavily support that notion, for sure).

The show also seems to be (early on) setting up the idea that some people choose to believe that living under the Seanchan isn't so bad if you swear to their oaths... but making it clear what a selfish position that is. The New Innkeeper tells Perrin this, but then when Perrin asks about the old innkeeper, we learn that she's off following the caravan to Falme because her granddaughter was one of the girls kidnapped by the Seanchan. So New Innkeeper basically got a free inn out of taking advantage of other people's misfortune. Plus then we had Perrin very pointedly telling Aviendha (when she asked why he saved her) that people shouldn't be in cages.

(Because the Whitecloaks are ALSO 'evil but not the Shadow' much like the Seanchan are, or Aridhol was -- and, like the Seanchan, the show is already setting up the cracks of a potential division within the Whitecloaks in the future)

Verin: Investigator was also a fantastic thread. I love how she managed to get her fellow Brown Ajah Sister (I will look her name up when I do my rewatch) onto the trail of the Black Ajah just by implication. We can see the ways that she successfully has been sussing out who (else) might be Black Ajah by catching people in lies without letting them know that she's realized that. Starting the Black Ajah Hunters storyline this early can only do good things for that entire plot thread, I think.

So... Barthanes... probably a Darkfriend like in the books. Is Anveare a Darkfriend? I tend to lean on 'no' though it WOULD be funny if a Darkfriend was responsible for the Shadow's plans for Rand completely falling apart because Anveare couldn't resist spilling info to her big sister in order to impress her. (I do think that she and Barthanes might think Moiraine and Rand are hooking up tho; especially since they went off to share a bedroom at the end of the episode)

I am also intrigued by the fact that Fain is clearly still a Darkfriend in Good Standing with Ishamael, because we've definitely gotten Hints that the dagger is influencing him (the Fade nailed to the doorway). And Shadar Logoth was evil, but it was an evil that despised the Shadow.

I was also intrigued by Ishamael claiming that Mat was ~born mine~ -- because he had a shitty upbringing with crappy parents? because he was already in a bad enough place at the start of the series that he was stealing from other villagers? because... some other reason...?

I'm also trying to remember if Ingtar and Ishamael shared any Looks this episode (Ingtar definitely gave Loial some wtf looks and they both recognized Egwene when she showed up, obviously).

This episode did such a good job setting up the various 'bad guys' that will dominate the series going forward. Genuinely thrilled.

#wot 2x5 spoilers #wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #the wheel of time #wot show spoilers #wot prime spoilers #wot s2 spoilers #wheel of time s2 spoilers #butterfly watches wot #wot book spoilers #a memory of light

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butterflydm · 8 months

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wot 2x5: damane

okay, wow.

Every plotline just had my complete attention every time we were on it. I feel like we learn so much and pushed so much forward.

No Mat, but I did brace myself beforehand for the possibility.

@markantonys - your boy got namedropped!

We are starting to get the cracks between the various factions of the Shadow forming -- Liandrin and Suroth felt absolute contempt for each and Ishamael and Lanfear aren't particularly fond of each other either. Also, Josha getting to just lounge around in bed as they create images of Rand for each other, lol, not a bad day's work there. (and more Old Tongue!)

My mind is racing, there's just so much.

The Wondergirls plotline here was really the set-up for what we're going to get next episode, it looks like, but I really loved it. Liandrin waking the girls up and undoing Nynaeve's (and only Nynaeve's bond)... very interesting. Again, like I mentioned, showing the cracks between the various Darkfriends who do not actually like each other very much.

They did SUCH a good job showing us why Lanfear is terrifying. The way she casually hurt the innocent bystanders (even when they were trying to be kind and help her!).

Rand had a lot of mindfulness and thoughtfulness in this episode. Processing things. And Moiraine was actually telling him useful information, which is what he has always wanted most from her. Moiraine and Anveare's relationship also continues to go so well.

(Also, Lanfear going full dominatrix on Rand in Tel'aran'rhoid is... probably a bridge too far, darling, but it suits her personality; and the sharpness that we see in Lanfear now that she's not pretending to be Selene)

Verin in the White Tower... noticing some oddities about the way some of the Sisters are behaving. I love how much her fellow Brown Sisters love her. <3

Perrin's whole plotline was great, even before we got to Aviendha (speaking of! Aviendha! She was fantastic!). Everything with him confronting Elyas about how Elyas only cared about saving him and not about his friends because they're not his 'pack' and his conversation with Dain was really good, and then Aviendha! We've only had her for a few scenes but we got to see so many sides of her. She got to be helpful and curious and deadly and funny.

I am really looking forward to rewatching this episode on the weekend and digging into all the scenes. There was so much. I did not even cover a tenth of it here. Not even a fraction.

#wot 2x5 spoilers #wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #the wheel of time #wot show spoilers #wot prime spoilers #wot s2 spoilers #wheel of time s2 spoilers #butterfly watches wot

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butterflydm · 8 months

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wot deeper dive 2x5: damane

This specific post I am going to avoid any spoilers from the books! I will be doing another post later today that includes those spoilers and related thoughts.

Starting with a bigger introduction to the Seanchan. I love how much the show has worked to set them apart from our familiar Westlands characters. Everything about them -- their clothing, their mannerisms, their accents (their background music) -- all works together to convey the knowledge that they are different from the Westlands characters.

2. We learn some very important things in this first scene:

a. Suroth attacked that village on her own initiative (aka because of Ishamael), which means that Ishamael was having her search for Perrin under the cloak of ranging out for more damane and territory, and that specific attack was not ta'veren coincidence.

b. Suroth is not the leader of the invaders; High Lord Turak is. We also get to really see the dynamics of who is allowed to look at who and who is allowed to talk to who.

c. Ishamael lets Suroth take the fall for attacking the village before he reveals the thing that could have let her off the hook (the Horn of Valere). And Turak is definitely paying close attention to the dynamic between Suroth and Ishamael.

d. Turak, as a 'collector of ancient oddities' was able to open the box containing the Horn of Valere.

e. Loial and Ingtar are dressed up in a very specific and fancy style, and Suroth makes a point of mentioning that Ingtar is a 'lord' (and called Loial an 'Ogier slave').

f. We really see some different levels here, showing Seanchan society. I love the variety of styles! They're all in the same general theme (the shaved sides of the heads for the high status people and the longer fingernails) but they each have their own distinct style. And each of them has their own slave with a parasol and the slaves have individual styles as well -- picked out by their masters, one assumes. And none of the Seanchan sitting and watching the show here have nails as long as Suroth or Turak. Turak is the only one with the fancy gold nail protectors that extend all the way down the nail (Suroth has long nails but no extra protection behind the small band at the finger).

g. If Loial and Ingtar are dressed as some variety of slave, then the people standing behind Turak who are also dressed in that sort of seafoam-green clothing are likely slaves of the same rank. Looks like one of them is holding a tray of pastries, so that tracks.

h. Turak says that their mission here in the Westlands is to unite the people of the world to fight the Shadow, which means that he does not know that Suroth is a darkfriend and it makes it clear that the Seanchan as a whole are not actively fighting 'for' the Shadow. They believe that they are in the right, which is very important to know for their motivations going forward, I think. He's upset with Suroth because she's moving too fast -- Turak wants them to consolidate their position here first and only push out and take lands that they know they can hold (and we know that's true, because we will learn later in this episode that the Whitecloaks have taken it from the Seanchan).

i. The reaction when Suroth's nails get shortened is very telling. It makes it even more clear what a status symbol they are, as Suroth is basically told that Turak isn't going to let her be part of the ruling council again until her nails grow back out.

Great opening scene. Chilling. We learned so much about the Seanchan!

3. The chase scene between Rand & Moiraine and Lanfear is informative in so many ways. We see Moiraine's ruthlessness (she kills the horse and sets up the stable mistress to most likely be killed as a decoy); we see that she knows Rand better than she did when she was trying to convince him to follow her last season (she promises to tell him everything once they are out of immediate danger); we see how lethal and ruthless Lanfear is and how she enjoys causing suffering; and we see Moiraine's cleverness (the entire horse plan).

We also have the beginning of Rand getting devastating news that he needs to process -- last season, he dealt with that by going into severe denial for six episodes about what his father told him and what that might mean re: being the Dragon Reborn, but he's not doing that here. He has to come to terms with the idea that he's been having sex with one of the monsters from the stories that people tell about the end of the last Age but he doesn't try to pretend that it's not true at any point. Both Rand and Moiraine stay more grounded in reality here than they were last season (Rand hid in denial while Moiraine kept leaning on wishful thinking).

And we know from Moiraine's terrible wound last season that Aes Sedai cannot heal themselves with the One Power, so the fact that Lanfear CAN heal herself shows what an immense power gap was here even before Moiraine's ability to touch the Source was taken away. What Lanfear uses to heal herself also looks very different from the weaves of the One Power that we've been seeing all this time (including from both Ishamael and Lanfear).

4. Lanfear checking in with the stable mistress about who appeared to be in charge between Rand & Moiraine and noting that it was Moiraine and mentioning that she must remember how young Rand is. I was definitely thinking that she would probably place the majority (and potentially all) of the blame for what happened on Moiraine and not on Rand. Rand is young! He was led astray by this awful Aes Sedai 'bitch'. He just needs to be led back to the correct path! She can Fix Him (by breaking him). Lanfear can definitely still have her happy ending that she sold herself to the Shadow to get! I love her instant change in vibe now that she's not pretending to be Selene. "Is there anything slower than a horse?" And, of course, we know from the 3000 years ago flashback that they had some sweet technology back in the previous Age.

5. Perrin's scene here with Elyas is so good. We got hints in the previous episodes that Elyas is detached from humanity as a whole, but this scene really shows its... teeth about that. When Perrin realizes that Elyas lied to him and is leading him away from the caravan that kidnapped his companions, he immediately gets upset. He wants to learn more about what's happening to him but not at the cost of losing everything that he loves. Perrin's storyline in season 2 really has been absolutely fantastic.

We learn here that Perrin's eyes are going to completely switch over at some point.

6. Perrin has been getting progressively more and more upset after he realizes that Elyas lied about where he was taking Perrin (and Perrin had even mentioned last episode that he was worried they were going the wrong way and Elyas 'reassured' him by telling him that wolves don't get lost) but it's the mention of his wife that gets him to snap and leave Elyas behind. It must feel like a real betrayal, since he knows that Elyas is aware of his nightmares about Laila's death. That Elyas can know how deeply he grieves her and still dismiss her that way. She's 'not his pack' (she was not a wolf), so she doesn't matter.

7. We do get it fairly clearly stated here that the Forsaken were individually trapped by the previous Dragon and thus will be released individually as well (last episode implied it but now it's directly stated). I will note that for all that Moiraine mentioned she would tell Rand 'everything', she does not tell Rand that Lanfear was in love with the previous Dragon until the end of the episode, when she's decided that he needs to face Lanfear instead continuing to run.

8. I love that Hopper came back to try to help Perrin! I continue to love the way that they are showing how the wolves communicate with each other. Sad note: Hopper's actor doesn't get mentioned in the x-ray that pops up when you pause the show.

I love Perrin touching on the 'they didn't even bury him' idea after we had Ingtar showing respect even to the Darkfriend in the previous episode and giving him a burial. That Uno is being used as a prop, even after his death, to show how brutal the Seanchan are (and! being used that way by the Whitecloaks too, since they also didn't take him down and bury him).

9. Introducing... Aviendha. She gets a good introduction here -- she tries to help Perrin avoid running into the same danger she ran into, into coming into the wrong town at the wrong time; we learn about how dangerous she is (oh, Dain mentions that the last man who touched the cage got his arm broken -- we later see Valda with his arm in a sling). "You can't trust an Aiel," Perrin is told by Dain.

10. Dain Bornhald is another character introduction -- he survives the episode, so it's a safe bet that he'll be seen again. He's quite friendly with Perrin, and also quite observant -- he notices that Perrin is wearing a ring that looks of Two Rivers' make, he warns Perrin about not trying to help the Aiel woman, because he can tell that Perrin is uncomfortable with her being caged up.

There's also a lot of tension between Dain and Valda, once he shows up. Valda dislikes that Dain gave Aviendha water; Dain is amused when the small dog scares Valda (because he's got wolf-related trauma now); and Valda is of the opinion that Dain only holds power because his dad is important in the Whitecloaks.

11. This Verin plotline really is so delightful. It's actually a good parallel to Alanna's plotline in the last episode -- both of them are trying to ferret out information because they're worried about the current situation, and both of them encounter troubling hints that fellow Aes Sedai may be involved with the Shadow. But I love the comradery that we see here between Verin and her fellow Brown Ajah Sisters. Her two Sisters are just so instantly charming and I loved getting to see her talking with them.

12. Nynaeve and Liandrin's conversation is so good. Nynaeve figuring out that, all this time, Liandrin has been trying to recruit her for the Shadow and not for the Red Ajah. Liandrin has known from the beginning that Nynaeve was never going to pick the Red Ajah. But she had hopes about Nynaeve choosing the Dark...

We also get some nice history that expands on the lore of the Three Oaths from another (very biased) PoV.

Nynaeve sees right through Liandrin, though, and calls her out on trying to justify her choices, even now that they've taken her to places she genuinely dislikes.

13. Alwhin, Suroth's Voice, being ordered out of the room with everyone else (by Ishamael!) does imply to me that she isn't aware of who he is and doesn't know that Suroth is a Darkfriend.

We get our first (but not our last!) Darkfriend vs Darkfriend spat of the episode! I really loved that this episode is starting to explore the weaknesses of the Shadow, even as we're seeing how dangerous they are as well. They don't all agree on what they want or what means to take to get there. They hold each other in contempt (Suroth trying to tell Ishamael, leader of the Forsaken, that he's here on her sufferance because she's of the Blood and he's not... what an amazing moment that shows that as much as Suroth is a Darkfriend, she is still very much of her own culture as well).

Suroth is Big Mad at Ishamael for essentially throwing her under the bus. He was the one who ordered her to the village but she is the one who paid the price for it (as much as she calls Liandrin's Ishamael's 'dog' later in the episode, she is also very much on his leash, as he proves here when he yanks on it and she acknowledges that he's above her).

14. The second mention of a fight in the skies; Ishamael says that the Last Battle is going to happen here. Ishamael believes that the Last Battle is about to be won in Falme -- it seems like the reason that he believes that is because he thinks that Rand is about to fall over to their side. That's the first hint we have that he's confident to the point of arrogance imo (we'll get more later).

15. Everything about Aviendha and Perrin's conversation is great. "People shouldn't be in cages". The contrast between Aviendha's formal introduction of herself and Perrin just going "I'm Perrin... Aybara". And then the fight! We get to see Aviendha in action and everyone who might have forgotten about the fight in the cold open of 1x7 likely remembers it now. I love Aviendha's amusement over Perrin trying to be protective. "Perrin Aybara, do you like to dance?" and the confusion on his face every time she says something that he doesn't understand.

16. Moiraine does not tell Rand here that she can't channel (he may have guessed, but she didn't tell him). She only tells him that she can't use the One Power to keep them awake. We know that Moiraine is secretive and I think that a lot of the confusion earlier in the season over whether she's stilled or shielded also comes from both her and Lan being incredibly secretive and only sharing information on a need-to-know basis. She tells Rand about Tel'aran'rhoid because it is an active danger that he needs to stay wary of -- if he sleeps, then Lanfear will be able to reach him.

(I'm also hoping that show-onlys took note of what Moiraine said here and went back and rewatched the red coat sex scene with this new knowledge in mind)

I do not think that Moiraine told Alanna & co that she couldn't channel. All they know is that she doesn't want Lan around anymore and Alanna's plotline in 2x4 was all about the three of them trying to figure out why Moiraine dumped Lan (that plotline made so much more sense once I realized it was an Alanna plotline and not a Lan plotline). I think, out of necessity, that she told Verin & co that she couldn't channel and they likely assumed that she burned out, which is a known hazard (well, Verin may not have actually assumed that, given what she says to Moiraine in 2x2, but she let Moiraine believe that she assumed it). So I think a large part of the 'mystery' around Moiraine is simply because she doesn't tell anyone anything unless she believes that she absolutely has to. Now, luckily, she has realized that Rand NEEDS more information from her because it helps him trust her, so she is telling him a lot more than she did last season.

17. I am also going to note how incredibly similarly Rand and Moiraine are dressed here. The show did that a lot last season too (with the addition that Egwene was also dressed similarly to the two of them in s1, though that wasn't possible this season due to her needing to wear novice whites).

18. I loved the scene with Rand and all the Damodreds. Them mistaking Rand for Moiraine's Warder and her trying to will him to go along with the lie and her despairing, "This is.... Rand" when he reveals that he is not her Warder. Lady Anvaere revealing to Moiraine that she's already met Rand, which does not seem to be information that she shared with Moiraine over their tea session, given Moiraine's reaction. And Moiraine interacting so awkwardly with her nephew Barthanes.

We also get the information that the upcoming royal wedding will be in a few weeks.

19. Poor Rand is just getting so much new information thrown at him. Though at least he's had more sleep than Moiraine, he did just spend all night walking to Cairhien. Moiraine starts out with the idea that they just need to run as fast and far as they can, but Anveare makes her rethink her plans. She gets Moiraine to stop and think about the situation as a whole -- IS Rand actually in danger from Lanfear? If he is in danger, what kind of danger is it? And would running actually fix any of that when they know that she can get to him in his dreams? I think the show did a really good job of showing why Moiraine decided not to keep running here.

20. Verin and Sheriam's conversation is very good, how she feels out the situation with Sheriam and then sets up a reason for them both to need to leave the room together so that her friend can sneak in and check out Sheriam's book. And what we see of the confusion on Sheriam's face here tracks with Verin wondering about the possible of Compulsion later on.

21. Yasicca of the Brown Ajah is absolutely charming. I love her accent. I hope we get to see more of her in the future. If the show continues to follow up on the Black Ajah thread that they've laid out here, Yasicca could be a major player (... or she might be destined to be killed off because she gets too close to the truth. oh, that's sad! I like her so much already and I barely know her!). I also loved that we got to see the writing in the show. Verin is very good about starting conversations and letting the other person finish it, giving them prompts as appropriate.

22. Our second Darkfriend vs Darkfriend spat occurs as Liandrin delivers the Wondergirls into slavery. I do think that Liandrin was definitely holding onto the Power this entire conversation. The way that the damane who pointed out the girls in the village looks at her feels like she can sense it. She also looks mournful when she's caught Egwene, imo. I really like how this episode is showing the cracks in the Dark.

23. I'm not going to get into Egwene's (horrible, heartbreaking) situation too much here because it's clear that the next episode is going to go into a lot more detail.

24. Aviendha and Perrin continue to be a delight. She's very patient with him but she teases him too. We also learn here that she's searching for the Aiel's chief of chiefs, their Car'a'carn. Just a genuinely lovely scene. And Hopper just hanging out with them!

I love that Aviendha doesn't even ask why they're going to Falme. She goes where he goes! She owes him a debt! He'll tell her if he decides to!

25. Elayne trying to be helpful while Nynaeve is just spiky because she barely knows this girl: understandable! Good thing Ryma's Warder found them!

26. A great conversation between Verin and Liandrin here. Liandrin's attempt to ~casually lean~ against the wall when she sees Verin genuinely made me laugh. Verin, of course, is now following up on the thread that she asked Yasicca to investigate for her -- anyone who has left the Tower in recent days. Liandrin makes the big mistake of liars here in that she talks too much and gives too many details.

27. Seeing Moiraine's exhaustion here was so good and so important. She's so tired but she can't sleep! And I really love the conversation between her and Anvaere. We also find out here that their father was kind-hearted and Barthanes takes after him. I love that Anvaere knows Moiraine well enough to tell that she's at a loss for her next move. We really get to see Anvaere's perceptiveness here. And Moiraine trying to figure out how much is safe to tell.

28. Darkfriend vs Darkfriend spat number three. Though this one comes with a side of how much they both are desperately obsessed with Rand. Also, Lanfear & Ishamael imply here that Lanfear's big plan last episode was to reveal her identity to Rand. Given what he says in an upcoming scene ("You want me to pretend to be in love with a Forsaken?"), I'm... uh, not sure that conversation would have gone the way that she wanted. But, yes, Ishamael confirms here that he's our True Believer of the Forsaken/Chosen, while Lanfear just wants her ex back. Lol, the way they stare at their imagined Rand for a while cracks me up.

29. I also think this conversation gives us our second big moment of Ishamael being overconfident to the point of arrogance, in his assessment of the ta'veren five. He thinks that all of them are on the cusp of being broken:

a. that Egwene craves power (though the viewers know from last episode that she wants power explicitly to protect the people she cares about and not for its own sake)

b. that Nynaeve fears her power (not necessarily wrong, but it also doesn't mean that her fear will lead her into aligning with the Dark; an option that she just firmly rejected from Liandrin)

c. that Mat was 'born mine' which is following on a thread that was set up last season, where both Moiraine and Mat himself worry that the world would be doomed if Mat were the Dragon

d. and that Perrin is going to soon be 'more wolf than man' (but the viewers just saw him refuse to isolate himself from his friends and refuse to disconnect from humanity)

And Lanfear believes that if Rand sees that his friends have fallen to the Shadow, that he will break.

The only one of them that's actually under Ishamael's power right now is Egwene, captured by the Seanchan.

30. I find it fascinating that Alwhin, Ingtar, and Loial all appear as part of Ishamael's entourage when he's summoned to speak with Turak, even though Suroth isn't there yet. We get another name -- the Court of the Nine Moons -- and we learn that he's the one who saw the omens that led to the Seanchan mounting this attack on the Westlands.

31. We're only just barely introduced to Ryma and her Warder, but I'm looking forward to seeing more of them (probably next episode). She's going to be able to give them all the info on the Seanchan (that we are going to see played out with Egwene - ugh this collar scene is so heartbreaking).

The sul'dam who collars Egwene doesn't have the facepaint. I wonder if they only wear that when they're actively working as part of the armies or guard. Hmm, but the sul'dam standing on Egwene's other side does have the facepaint, so I don't know. X-ray confirms that her name is Renna. The magic of the collar itself has almost a sci-fi or steampunk vibe. It forms almost like gears. We see a 'leash' of the One Power going from Renna to Egwene and then she puts an actual leash, a chain, on Egwene's collar.

It really is hard to watch.

32. Moiraine and Rand. Going off to a bedroom together. Barthanes and Anvaere have a lot to think about in terms of hot gossip. I really do like Rand and Moiraine's conversation here. Rand's realization of what Moiraine is asking him to do here (catfish one of the Forsaken, as someone put it) is very well done. But, wow, Rand clearly has not had a chance to process any of his trauma from their relationship so him diving right in to confront her is definitely a dangerous choice.

Their conversation in TAR I'll save for when we actually get it in the next episode (I'm assuming). But Lanfear certainly knows how to set a scene.

#butterfly watches wot #wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #wot show spoilers #wot prime spoilers #wot s2 spoilers #wheel of time s2 spoilers #wot 2x5 spoilers

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butterflydm · 7 months

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Wheel of Time (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Rand al'Thor/Lanfear | Selene Characters: Rand al'Thor, Lanfear | Selene Additional Tags: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, spoilers through s2e4: daughter of the night, Undernegotiated Kink, No Safeword, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Manipulative Relationship, spoilers through book 2: the great hunt, Painplay, Cock & Ball Torture Series: Part 3 of WoT s2 Ficlets Summary:

We diverge from s2e4 here, a 'what if Moiraine did not find her way to the cabin on Kinslayer's Dagger'.

Rand and Selene get to spend their evening uninterrupted.

At first it had been a disappointment to realize that Rand lacked Lews Therin’s masterful touch, but now she realized what a gift it was.

He would bind himself to her willingly, make himself belong to her, because of how deeply he feared himself. Lews Therin had known himself and the world around him to its core. Rand’s weakness was… an unexpected boon. One that would serve them all well.

#wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #randfear #wot fanfic #wot fanfiction #wheel of time fanfic #wheel of time fanfiction #it occurs to me that i could just have used 2x5 spoilers instead of the great hunt #i think all the relevant info is revealed there #wot 2x4 spoilers #wot 2x5 spoilers #wot book spoilers #the great hunt #wot s2 spoilers #wheel of time s2 spoilers #wot show poilers #wot prime spoilers #wot show spoilers

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butterflydm · 7 months

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speculation for wot 2x6-2x8

Okay, I talked about this briefly during my last book spoilers rewatch for 2x5, but I wanted to take another look over the imdb listings for the last three episodes and take a guess at the storylines we'll be tracing. disclaimer: it's imdb, so grain of salt about the accuracy.

2x6: Eyes Without Pity

For the Cairhien storylines:

Siuan is listed in this episode, so I suspect that this may be the episode when she arrives in Cairhien (either that or she's in flashbacks in this episode and then shows up in person in ep7 if the royal wedding happens then)

Lanfear is listed for all the remaining episodes, so we're going to get our continuation of the Rand & Lanfear scene. Logain is also listed, so we may see Logain training Rand, or attempting to train him.

Min is listed, so this is likely the episode when Mat and Min arrive in Cairhien.

Both Anvaere and Barthanes are listed to appear as well.

For the White Tower plotlines:

We have Verin, Yacissa, and Tomas all appearing, likely continuing the Black Ajah Hunt thread.

We also have Liandrin, Alurdan (her son), and Joiya. Speculation: this may be when Liandrin's son dies, which would free her to leave Tar Valon with Joiya to do Black Ajah Hijinks in 2x7.

For Lan:

We've seen in the trailer that he's going to have a confrontation with Alanna and her Warders. Don't know exactly how it's going to turn out, except that Lan will likely end up in Cairhien either at the end of this episode or in episode 7.

For our big stuff in Falme:

In Egwene's part of the plotline, Renna, Miri (the blonde damane), and Maigan are all listed. I'm putting Maigan here because I suspect that she might already be damane at this point (having another Aes Sedai in hiding in Falme seems redundant since we already have Ryma).

We have Loial & Ingtar listed, but we don't have Masema or the other Shienarans, so they may still be in their seafoam-green slave clothes in this episode while they try to figure out a way to save Egwene. Suroth is listed and may interact with them -- Turak, however, is not listed for this episode.

And in Nynaeve & Egwene's part of the plotline, we have Ryma and Basan (her Warder).

Aviendha is not listed, so this will likely be an episode without Perrin, which would make sense, as they are traveling towards Falme.

For 2x7: Daes Da'Mar

For Cairhien storylines:

We have Siuan again! I was braced for only one Siuan episode so I'm glad to see her name again and hope it is accurate. We have all the Damodreds, we have Logain, we have a "Sun Palace Servant", and we have Hayley Mills playing an unknown role. Is Siuan in Cairhien for the wedding and Hayley Mills is playing the Queen? Is this the flashback episode and Hayley Mills is Gitara Sedai?

Min is not listed for this episode (or the next), so if imdb is accurate, then she is going to split off from everyone else in episode 2x6 and will not be going to Falme.

Rand is going to be doing some more training and maybe attend a royal wedding and leave in the middle through a Waygate with his group.

The note of 'Natti Cauthon' being listed for this episode is particularly interesting. Might be Ishamael messing with Mat in TAR?

For the White Tower:

Alanna & her two Warders might end up here after their conversation with Lan in 2x6. If so, she can talk with Verin (who is listed along with Yacissa again), which might lead into the two of them collaborating next season. Maybe in a nice… mountainous region.

It looks like we'll see Liandrin and Joiya as well, but Liandrin's son is not listed for this episode.

For Falme:

I think this is the episode Perrin & Aviendha arrive in/near Falme and it looks like they meet up with Bain and Chiad at this point. Interestingly, Loial is listed for this episode but Ingtar is not.

In Egwene's part of the storyline, we have Maigan, Renna, Seta, and a character named Mulean (in the books, she's another of the sul'dam, the one who runs the damane quarters).

Ryma is not listed.

For 2x8: What Was Meant To Be

I think this is going to be pretty much entirely a Falme episode, with Rand & co having left Cairhien at the end of 2x7. None of the Cairhiein-related characters are listed. None of the White Tower-related characters are listed.

Of note: Bayle Doman is listed; Amaresu (one of the Heroes of the Horn) is listed; Uno is listed; Maigan is still there. Everyone else is basically who we would have expected, with the addition of maybe getting another of those Age of Legends cold opens, as LTT is listed.

Once again, we do not have Ryma, and we do not have Min.

So, some speculation overall:

We're going to see more Black Ajah cat-and-mouse in the White Tower in episodes 6 & 7, but by the end of episode 7, I think it's likely that Liandrin and Joiya are preparing or have left the White Tower for future Black Ajah Hijinks elsewhere (we might get a stinger at the end of the season of one of the other Forsaken being released: likely Moghedien but maybe Rahvin or his equivalent).

Yacissa might get killed by the Black Ajah, which would be heartbreaking. I like her!

I think Alanna & her Warders are going to end up in the White Tower as well, and we may get indicators of her plotline joining up with Verin's, and it might be more weighted towards Black Ajah investigation as opposed to "let's seek out strong channelers" but would still lead them towards the Two Rivers for s3.

Leane will continue to be the de factor leader of the Tower during this time.

Rand is going to get some training -- in the waking world by Logain (and I think he'll realize the limits of the training that Logain can give him in his current state) and potentially in TAR by Lanfear, if he tries to create a wedge between Ishamael and Lanfear and imply that maybe he's open to his old relationship if she helps him out.

Moiraine's focus in these episodes will be on trying to guide Rand (teaching him politics? Rand getting lessons in three different fields at the same time… maybe even four once Lan shows up)

I think Lan will arrive in Cairhien either at the end of 2x6 or the start of 2x7, after he has his confrontation with Alanna's Warders.

During these two episodes is when we will see Siuan in Cairhien -- reuniting with Moiraine, speaking with Rand, and at least one flashback with Moiraine at the White Tower.

Min and Mat are going to arrive in Cairhien in 2x6 (the promo shot of Min in the Foregate) and then something will happen that makes them split up -- if Min confesses to Mat about Liandrin to try to warn him about Ishamael or the viewing, Mat might decide that he can't trust her. Mat and Rand will end up running into each other and Mat will go with Rand to Falme.

I do think that the stabbing viewing is going to 'come true' this season, so that the audience isn't left hanging on it, and I'm very curious about the approach that they're going to be taking with Mat and Rand as a whole, because there are some key differences about their relationships with the concept of the Dragon Reborn as opposed to the books.

At the royal wedding during 2x7, Rand, Mat, Moiraine, and Lan all leave through a Waygate. Logain either stays in Cairhien or Siuan takes him back to the White Tower with her in 2x7. We may or may not see the consequences of the wedding in Cairhien on-screen this season, but Cairhien will probably be in chaos the next time we see it in the show.

So that's the thread of four of our main characters on their road to Falme.

In Falme itself, next episode looks like it's going to focus on damane training and on Elayne & Nynaeve learning about the situation in Falme from Ryma. This is the first time we'll see Nynaeve spending any significant amount of time with a Yellow Sister.

That Maigan is listed for the final three episodes and Ryma is only listed for 5 & 6 does make me wonder if we'll be introduced to Maigan as 'Pura' and Ryma leaves the show with more of a bang. Obviously, she can still be captured and then just not shown for the last two episodes (or imdb could be incorrect), but the cast listings do make me wonder.

Egwene is… it's gonna be rough. I suspect that Loial is going to take the place of Min in being the friend who visits Egwene and sees how terrible her situation is - I think that may take place in 2x7, as Loial but not Ingtar is listed for that episode.

Perrin and Aviendha are scheduled to arrive in Falme in 2x7, it looks like, and we'll get to see Aviendha reunite with Bain & Chiad and we may get more explanations about the Car'a'carn, or the show might choose to leave it a mystery for now. Ingtar isn't listed for 2x7, so I don't think we'll get Egwene's jailbreak until 2x8. Given the cast lists, 2x7 is probably going to focus on Cairhien and getting them through their plots there and then yeeting them to Falme, with slightly less focus on Falme and with the White Tower plotline being wrapped up for the season (I worry that Yacissa is going to get murdered by the Black Ajah, aka Liandrin and Joiya).

It looks like we may get an LTT cold open for 2x8; probably either with Ishamael or with Lanfear. I'm leaning towards Ishamael, since I think 2x8 will… be an Ishamael-focused episode in a way (I think it's his expectations that are going to get violated rather than Our Heroes, in a reversal of 1x8). Last season, it was Moiraine on behalf of Team Light making big promises that they were going to win it all, but as of 2x5, Ishamael is the one who currently believes that he's on track to win the whole board game by 2x8.

In 1x8, Rand mistakenly believes that he's facing the Last Battle but his enemy has hidden cards up his sleeve that destroy Rand's victory; will 2x8 be that in reverse, where Ishy thinks he has everything all sewn up and then his plans fall to pieces?

I suspect that Perrin might actually kill Daddy Bornhald in this version, thus marrying the two plotlines of him actually killing Whitecloaks and being suspected of killing Daddy Bornhald. And I think it might happen because Daddy Bornhald kills Hopper when Hopper leaps in to protect Perrin at some point during 2x8. I don't want Hopper to die, so I hope this speculation is wrong! (I mean, we'll keep seeing him even if he dies, but I will be sad!)

I think Elayne and Nynaeve rescuing Egwene is likely to be fairly similar to the books overall.

I'm really curious how the Horn is going to end up in Mat's hands and how much overlap we'll get between the plot threads as they converge on Falme. And if we believe imdb, then Uno might reappear again as one of the Heroes of the Horn.

Since it's implied that we're going to get the sky battle between Ishamael and Rand (it's been mentioned twice, once by Verin and once by Ishy), that also implies that Rand will face Turak early in the episode, maybe that is what kicks off the rest of the fighting?

One of the big things I'm hoping for is that we'll get some downtime with the group after the big events all go down or some strong reunion moments and meetings during the big events, because there will probably be another time skip between s2 & s3, and it might be easier for the show if at least some people are already in their new locations by the s3 premiere. (I am hoping that Avirandlayne all get introduced to each other, for example)

#wot speculation #wot 2x8 spoilers #in that i talk about the imdb cast listings #wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #wot s2 spoilers #wot show spoilers #wot prime spoilers #wheel of time s2 spoilers #wot book spoilers #the fires of heaven

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