Hazbin Hotel Season Two, Episodes Five and Six Review: Holy Animation, Batman!

A few weeks back, Hazbin Hotel gave us one of its best episodes with “It’s a Deal.”
Well, I am pleased to say that Season Two continues to exceed expectations with Episodes Five and Six, “Silenced” and “Scream Rain,” both of which have standout factors that place them above other episodes.
“Silenced” has the best animation of the series so far, and “Scream Rain” is easily the funniest episode of Hazbin Hotel yet.
Episode Five begins with the musical number, “Bad with Us”, which is used to depict Vox going around to recruit other Overlords for his plan to attack Heaven.
The song has a few humorous moments, like Vox’s attempts to recruit Carmilla, embarrassing both Valentino and Velvette.
It also shows off the extreme talent of Christian Borle, as he sings through multiple different musical subgenres to appeal to different Overlords.

It makes so much sense that Vox was a cult leader, given how convincing he can be.

Meanwhile, at the Hazbin Hotel, Charlie is desperately trying to get Emily and other angels’ attention, leading to Vaggie asking Lucifer for help.
It is here that we get the perfect explanation for why Lucifer lets the sinners do as they please.
It is revealed that, since Lucifer being in Hell is a punishment, he is unable to harm sinners, meaning he has had to watch them abuse each other for thousands of years.
This explains why he was so nihilistic back in Season One.
It also answers my question of how Vox would be able to take over Heaven, since I figured Lucifer would try to stop him.
However, just because Lucifer cannot harm sinners, does not mean he is unable to bluff them into thinking he can.
At the same time, it is revealed that Emily and Sera are actually watching Charlie, but Sera has doubts about helping, unsure how she can make up for what she has done
Pentious provides both good advice and a pretty great callback when he tells her, “A wise woman once told me, ‘It starts with sorry.’”
About Pentious though, I do find it strange that Sera and Emily did not bring him with them when they decided to appeal to the Sinners.
You would think seeing one of their own redeemed might sway some of them?
Unfortunately, Pentious is still unable to leave Heaven for undisclosed reasons, which does feel a little too convenient.

Just replace Lute with Pentious and I think this whole scene might have gone a little better for Charlie.

The angels travel to Hell and Charlie convinces them to go with her to apologize at one of Vox’s rallies, a decision which I am sure we can all agree was an excellent one with absolutely no chance of backfiring, just like every other decision Charlie has made this season… right?
At Vox’s rally, we potentially see the beginning of Alastor’s plan, with him goading Vox into pushing Valentino and Velvette to the side in favor of himself.
Vox’s show is quickly interrupted by Lucifer, however, kicking off the second song of the episode, “Vox Populi.”
The first half of the song is a Lucifer solo, which is great, before Vox takes over the song, exposing Lucifer’s weakness to the crowd, going so far as to even bring up Lillith to his face.
It is here where we get our first showcase of excellent animation, with the camera panning around Lucifer circling an unimpressed Vox.

The animation during this song is the best of the series.

Following this, Charlie and the angels arrive, but Vox is able to quickly turn the situation against them, which Charlie really should have expected at this point.
Vox certainly does not have to try hard, what with Lute calling him demon filth (seriously, why did they bring her?), the angels apologizing for genocide with gift baskets, and Sera revealing her true form and stating demons like Vox were the reason she approved the Exterminations.
Vox uses this to build into the final song, “Vox Dei,” a short number but probably my favorite of the episode for the sheer aura it provides Vox.
I will admit that at the beginning of the season I had my doubts about whether Vox could be a threatening antagonist, but this episode more than convinced me.
The animation for this scene is once again amazing, with another panning shot perfectly showing Vox’s threatening presence.

I apologize, Vox. I was not familiar with your game.

On top of that, it is abundantly clear that Vox is meant to represent extreme right-wing rhetoric in media, given his statements of “manifest destiny”, “make Hell great again”, and “I’m the furor (führer)”.
It is not subtle, but it is definitely effective, both on the viewer and the angels, who flee, leaving Charlie alone.
She returns to the Hazbin Hotel, infuriated with her father and Vaggie.
It is here we get the long awaited calling out of Charlie, with Vaggie pointing out how she is making things worse by not listening to her and engaging with Vox.
Seeing Charlie finally be called out was both a great moment from Vaggie and a worthy conclusion to another really good episode with stellar animation.
Following “Silenced”, we move on to the funniest episode of the series so far, “Scream Rain.”
The episode opens similarly to the last one, with Vox attempting to convince Carmilla to join his cause.
He enlists the help of Velvette to do so, who delivers the most totally not fake apology of all time.

Wait… you mean this smile ISN’T genuine?

In the end, Vox does convince Carmilla by leveraging her daughters’ safety.
As for Velvette, if last episode saw Valentino souring towards Vox, now it is her turn.
Vox belittles her and he did not even need to feel inferior to Alastor to do so.
Back at the hotel, Charlie and Vaggie are still at odds but have to work together after word of Carmilla supporting Vox spreads.
They go to confront her together, leaving Nifty in charge, since Husk quit because Alastor is no longer there to force him to work at the hotel.
Afterwards, we get our first song of the episode, “Love in a Bottle”, which sees Husk return to his old ways at a casino, winning again and again, until he eventually loses and falls into a drunken stupor.
The song is both catchy and sad, what with Husk’s spiral.

Plus, hearing Keith David sing is always a win.

Meanwhile, upon Charlie and Vaggie’s meeting with Carmilla, we get the first of a few great laughs in the episode, with Carmilla complaining about “lesbian drama” while Charlie shouts at her for helping “the TV man!”
We also get a surprising look into Vaggie’s past when Carmilla reminds her of her time with the exorcists.
Through brief flashes, we see Vaggie and another exorcist recruit being mistreated by Adam and Lute.
It looked like whoever this other exorcist was, they were close to Vaggie.
Even stranger is the appearance of the exorcist woman.
They all look alike, with the same hair coloring and facial features.
It makes me wonder if this was a deliberate choice by Adam or something else?
Before we can get answers, the scene transitions to Husk again, where he is shocked to see Angel Dust singing in drag at the casino.
Husk’s shocked “Angel!?” got a good laugh out of the me, and the following song from Angel, “Losing Streak” is so good it makes a few of the sinners in the audience question their sexuality.
Unfortunately for Angel, Vox has plans for him, which we see when he requests his time from Valentino.
Both he and Velvette diss him for using them, to which Vox attempts to lay on the charm until, of course, Alastor starts goading him again.
Seeing Alastor spin in the chair to reveal himself got another big laugh from me, and the idea that he and Velvette were just gossiping about Vox is very humorous and already inspired multiple fanarts.
As for Vox, Alastor triggers his inferiority complex again, and he tries to force Valentino to comply.
This ends with the funniest moment in all of Hazbin Hotel for me, when Valentino storms off while speaking in Spanish, Vox makes a racist remark, and Valentino responds, “I’m from fucking Flordia!” and then decks Vox in the face with a glass.

Sadly, this humor would not last long. Just ask Angel.

While hilarious, this scene also pushes Alastor’s plan further.
He has spent the past two episodes manipulating Vox into pushing the other Vees away, and it definitely seems to be working.
I would not be surprised if Velvette and Valentino betrayed Vox in the last two episodes.
How this will tie into the rest of Alastor’s plan remains to be seen.
While Alastor’s plotline is still ongoing, Charlie and Vaggie’s fight is thankfully resolved this episode, when Charlie realizes the error of her ways, and goes all out on an apology by making a romantic setting for her and Vaggie.
This culminates in the last song of the episode, “Easy”, which shows how good Vaggie is for Charlie because, when she gets overwhelmed, Vaggie soothes her back to calmness.
Well, “calm” is probably not the right word considering the whole song is pretty much a substitute for Charlie and Vaggie doing the do, proven by it ending with the two of them in bed.

I am glad see Charlie changing while continuing to get closer with Vaggie.

The episode goes from one couple to a potential one, cutting to Husk and Angel talking in the aftermath of Angel’s performance, where the two further connect, before Angel has to leave for a job.
It is here that the episode goes from funny and feel-good to depressing, when we finally get the scene of Vox hurting Angel from the trailer.
A big twist also happens here because Vox reveals that he has been hypnotizing Angel into spying on the Hazbin Hotel, which is how he knew numerous things, such as the fact that Lucifer could not hurt him.
Vox now plans to use him to make Charlie kill herself somehow, but we will have to learn the details on how this will work in the final two episodes.
Another interesting detail are the eyes watching Angel when he enters the apartment.
These eyes have been seen throughout Hell, but this is the first time the show has deliberately focused on them.
They do not seem connected to Vox, so I am interested in seeing what the explanation is, although I think this might be foreshadowing for future seasons.

Angel Dust is not the only factor is Vox’s plan though because we see him imitate Charlie’s voice to draw Lucifer in, planning to use him as a power source for something.
Vox’s plans are going to come to their climax soon but, with him pushing aside Valentino and Velvette, Cherry and Husk’s suspicions about Angel’s location, and Alastor’s currently unknown plan, I think it is pretty safe to say this will all blow up in Vox’s face in a spectacular and satisfying fashion.
We will know in an hour, when the final episodes of Season Two drop.
As for Episodes Five and Six, they are both great, with excellent animation and hilarious moments.
Season Two has exceeded my expectations so far, and I hope the last episodes will not disappoint.

Hazbin Hotel Season Two, Episodes One and Two Review: Magnificent Music Returns.

I found the first season of Hazbin Hotel to be an enjoyable but flawed season.
It had fun characters and fantastic musical numbers, but the pacing felt especially off.
With the show being a success, I hoped it would convince the bigwigs to greenlight more episodes for Season Two.
Unfortunately, we are stuck with eight again this season.
To be fair though, that does not necessarily mean the pacing is doomed, since Viziepop could still find a way to craft a completely concise story with eight episodes.

We will have to wait for the rest of the season to release before we find out if the pacing will work.

As for Episodes One and Two of Hazbin Hotel Season Two, they provide a decent start to the season, which has me excited for the extra six.
For starters, I actually like how these episodes were structured together, with Episode One showing Hell’s side of the story, while Episode Two shows Heaven’s.
That being said, Episode One “New Pentious” is definitely the weaker of the two.
In the aftermath of the Hazbin Hotel fighting off Adam’s Extermination, the hotel has received lots of interest but for the wrong reason.
Instead of demons seeking redemption, like Charlie hoped, they are all there to kill angels.
Well, almost all of them.
A demon named Baxter joins the hotel, hoping to prove his hypothesis that redemption is impossible.
He is quite similar to Pentious, leading to Charlie constantly calling him that, since she is still grieving her friend.
As for Baxter, we do not get enough of him for me to really judge if I like his character or not.
And then there are the hotel’s regular residents.
It was great to see Charlie, Vaggie, Alastor, Angel Dust, Nifty and Husk again.
My favorite of the bunch this episode was absolutely Nifty, with her newfound fame for killing Adam being pretty humorous.

Never change, Nifty, you murderous gremlin.

On the other hand, Vaggie has a subplot with her trying to figure out a new name for herself.
I am absolutely convinced this storyline will just end with her choosing to keep the name Vaggie, so the subplot already feels predictable.
That being said, if it does ends in a different way I will withdraw this criticism.
What I will not be withdrawing is my complaint regarding a specific joke concerning Angel Dust.
Back in Season One, we saw how terrible Valentino treated him, so to see a slapstick joke of Valentino repeatedly abusing him felt really out of touch.
On the subject of the Vees, they seem to be stepping into their roles of main antagonists this season, especially Vox.
The TV Demon intends to use his control of media to manipulate Hell’s populace into turning against the hotel and rebelling against Heaven.
This storyline has a lot of potential with its topical relevance to the problems of today’s media.
I am also curious to see how Vox intends to take over heaven.

To be honest, I cannot imagine the Vees lasting long against Lucifer, let alone the high-ranking Angels of Heaven.

We see one such Angel at the end of the episode, Emily, who arrives to quickly tell Charlie about Sir Pentious’ redemption before leaving.
Charlie screams in response, ending the episode.
Her learning that redemption works may seem like a good thing, but one key detail is that Charlie was the only one who saw Emil.
It is also later revealed Sir Pentious cannot leave heaven.
Therefore, I can see Vox twisting Charlie’s boasting about Pentious’ redemption to be a lie, turning the populace of Hell further against her.
But we will have to see.
Now that I have the story content of the episode out of the way, I will discuss the musical aspect.
“New Pentious” has two musical numbers, “Hazbin Guarantee (Trust Us)” and “Once We Get Up There.”
“Hazbin Guarantee” is my favorite of the two, with a great contrast between Charlie failing to get clients with her songs of hope, and the Vees succeeding with their manipulative lies.

The Vees are easy to hate because of how they use and then throw people away as if they were things.

As it stands, “New Pentious” is a good episode, but “Storyteller” is even better.
I will start with the songs this time; Episode Two having three of them, “Like You”, “Sera’s Confession”, and “Gravity”.
Going from weakest to best, “Like You” does a good job of showing Pentious’ situation in Heaven, and how he just wants to get back to his friends.
“Sera’s Confession” succeeded in making me invested in Sera, due to the exploration of her moral conflict.
But by the far the best song is “Gravity”.
This number was teased a while back, and you can absolutely see why it was chosen to advertise Season Two.
Lute’s rock ballad with a hallucinated Adam is incredible to watch and listen to; already being the best song in the season thus far.

“Gravity” crushes it, pun very much intended.

Getting back to the story of the episode, it opens up with Pentious on trial after appearing in Heaven.
Things look bad for him until the Speaker of God arrives and gently asks him to tell his story.
We flashback to the 1800s when Pentious was alive and it is revealed he knew who Jack the Ripper was but failed to report him, resulting in the deaths of five more women.
His failure to act damned him to hell, until he redeemed himself by risking his own life to save his friends, exactly the sort of thing he should have done for those women.
I loved the exploration of Pentious’ human life, and I hope we get more for other characters.
Vox was revealed to have been a cult leader in Episode One, but I want to see what made Nifty so crazy, and just what the hell Alastor’s deal is?

Pentious is released after his redemption is revealed, and the episode then follows Emily guiding him around Heaven, Sera trying to decide Heaven’s next move while dealing with her guilt, and Lute planning revenge while being absolutely pissed that Adam’s son Abel got the position of Exorcist leader over her.
The one time nepotism paid off, I guess.
Sera also tells Lute to back off Lillith, and we later see the woman herself ignoring Charlie and Lucifer’s texts, so the mystery around her is still ongoing.
The end of the episode ties in with the conclusion of the previous one, with Emily rushing off to tell Charlie about Pentious’ redemption before Sera closes Heaven off.
Overall, “Storyteller” is the better episode of the two.
It has great character work, especially for Pentious, Sera and Lute, and incredible songs, most notably “Gravity”.
As for where Season Two goes now, the Vees are probably going to stoke tension further between Heaven in Hell, which will lead to some confrontation with Alastor, as seen in the trailer.

The eventual fight between Alastor and Vox should be hype.

Whatever comes next, though, whether it be good or bad, I have no doubt that we will be getting more excellent songs to jam to.
I already look forward to hearing these musical numbers when episodes Three and Four air next week.

Fallout Review: The Latest Great Video Game Adaptation.

Once it seemed unthinkable that any adaptation of a video game could be good.
Now, we’ve had fantastic shows like Arcane, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, and The Last of Us.
Sure, there are still a few duds, but it feels like there are just as many success stories nowadays.
Thankfully for fans of the Fallout series, its Amazon Prime adaptation is one of the successes.
Personally, I have never really been able to get into the Fallout games.
I have tried multiple times but, for whatever reason, the Bethesda style has never really worked for me.
That being said, I loved the first season of Fallout.
It has excellent world-building, a fun and relatable cast of characters, and some of the best dark humor I have seen in a while.

Even for someone not into the games, this season was great.

The show follows four characters, 200 years after nuclear war reduced the United States to a radioactive wasteland full of crazed bandits and mutants.
Our main character is Lucy (Ella Purnell), a naive Vault Dweller who leaves the security of her Vault after an attack, during which her father was kidnapped.
Purnell described her character as “Ned Flanders in the apocalypse” and I honestly could not think of a more fitting description.

Over the course of the show, we see Lucy grow harder to survive, yet never losing her good nature.

Then there is Maximus (Aaron Moten), a recruit for the Brotherhood of Steel who is absolutely horrible at making himself seem innocent, even when he is.
The character most viewers will gravitate to is the Ghoul played by Walton Goggins, whose tragic tale is one of the most gripping of the entire first season.
The story I was most invested in, however, was unexpectedly Lucy’s brother Norm (Moisés Arias).
Norm is left behind in the Vault but becomes suspicious of his its purpose, creating an intriguing mystery which was mind blowing with the way it tied the storylines together in the final episode.

Norm’s storyline is the one I’m most excited to see continued next season.

These great characters and their interesting stories are tied together with a solid old-school soundtrack, fun visuals and, of course, hysterical dark humor.
There was at least one moment every episode where I laughed out loud, and there were quite a few times I felt bad for doing so, given the subject matter.
However, the show is not all dark comedy because sometimes it’s just dark, with a few disturbing moments which will stay with me for a while.
The show does an excellent job of balancing the darkness between making you laugh and making you feel horrified.

The opening scene of the series is one of the most horrifying of all.

There are also a lot of great easter eggs to the games and just video games in general, which also got a good chuckle out of me.
Overall, there’s a lot to love about this adaptation.
It has interesting characters, a fun and disturbing world, and it will make you laugh at the darkest of things.
Fallout has already joined the ranks of great video game adaptations and I look forward to laughing at its dark comedy in the second season.

Hazbin Hotel Season One Review: One Helluva Musical.

I first became aware of Vivienne Medrano (Viziepop) when YouTube recommended me the Helluva Boss pilot.
After binging the web series, I moved onto the Hazbin Hotel pilot and was surprised by the fanbase it had amassed, despite only having a single episode.
Due to the pilot’s popularity, Viziepop was able to get the series picked up by A24, with it eventually airing on Amazon Prime; the final two episodes having aired yesterday.
I have to admit, it is quite inspiring to hear of all the hard work it took to get Hazbin Hotel to the point it is now, and Viziepop and her team have definitely earned the show’s success.

It took over four years for the show to air after the pilot released.

But, after so much hype for it, how is the actual series?
Hazbin Hotel follows the Princess of Hell, Charlie Morningstar (Erika Henningsen), who wants to stop Heaven’s yearly Extermination of sinners.
Her plan is to start the titular Hazbin Hotel, a place dedicated to redeeming sinners so that the Angels will not have to kill them.
Helping Charlie is her girlfriend Vaggie (Stephanie Beatriz), Hell’s biggest porn star Angel Dust (Blake Roman), the mysterious Radio Demon Alastor (Amir Talai), his servants Husk (Keith David) and Nifty (Kimiko Glenn), and the snake demon Sir Pentious (Alex Brightman).
The story follows these and many other characters in Hell’s misadventures, and almost each and every one of them are well designed and interesting.
My favorites of the bunch is definitely Alastor as, just like in the pilot, his sketchy nature and unclear motives mix excellently with his entertaining personality.

I look forward to finally knowing what Alastor’s motives are in future seasons.

But by far the best part of Hazbin Hotel are the musical numbers.
Yes, the series is a musical and pretty much every number is a hit.
Songs like “Happy Day in Hell”, “Stayed Gone”, and my personal favorite “Loser” are all excellent and they played in my head for days after first hearing them.
It got to the point that, every time an episode was about to air, I looked forward to hearing what the next musical number would be.

“Loser” is very catchy with a great message about accepting yourself.

These vibrant characters and fun musical numbers are aided by mostly solid animation throughout.
There are a few dips in quality, like in the first episode where Vaggie disappears from where she was standing beside Charlie.
Aside from this and a few other issues, the animation is quite well done, especially in Episode Eight when the action pops off.
One thing I was worried about going into Hazbin Hotel was the humor.
Although I laughed at a few of the jokes in the first couple Helluva Boss episodes, it has been a long time since I laughed at any of the humor in recent episodes.
It just felt most of the jokes just boiled down to demons swearing and saying sexual things, so I was worried Hazbin Hotel’s humor would be the same.
Thankfully, the comedy in the series mostly lands, with the jokes surrounding Nifty’s craziness always making me bust a gut laughing.

Nifty creeping out everyone around her will never not be funny.

Unfortunately, even though the humor works, this does not mean Hazbin Hotel is without its issues, especially when it comes to the pacing.
I would argue that the first season’s eight-episode length is its biggest issue.
Because of this short time to tell the story, it feels like we are missing multiple moments of character development.
Angel’s self-improvement mostly happens off screen, and Charlie acts like she trusts Alastor one episode and distrusts him the next.
Along with this, characters like Carmilla Carmine (Daphne Rubin-Vega) and Emily (Shoba Narayan) get these big emotional beats when we are just getting to know them and don’t have time to adjust.

The pacing of the show often feels rushed.

If Hazbin Hotel had got twelve or thirteen episodes, like most animated shows these days, I think the quality of the story could have been a lot better.
Hopefully with the series’ impressive success, it will convince A24 and Amazon Prime to greenlight more episodes for Season Two so this problem will not be repeated.
Other than the pacing, I quite enjoyed Hazbin Hotel.
The characters are great, the humor usually lands and, of course, the musical numbers are catchy as all hell, pun intended.
I’m already looking forward to Season Two and hope it can improve upon the issues of the first.

Wheel of Time Season Two Review: A Substantial Improvement.

I found the first season of Amazon Prime’s The Wheel of Time adaptation to be a bit of a mixed bag.
There were changes that I liked and changes that I did not.
The latter was especially apparent with the first and final episodes of the season, with a lot of the creative decisions in those two episodes being quite poor, in my opinion.
Despite this, I did like the season enough to be interested in seeing Season Two.
The fact that this season would be adapting my favourite book in the series, The Great Hunt, certainly helped.
Well, it pleases me to say that Season Two of The Wheel of Time is a substantial improvement from the first.
Yes, the show is still nowhere near the quality of the books but it is still a good show all on its own.

The second season was quite the improvement from the first.

Once again developed by Rafe Judkins, the show picks up from where the previous season left off, with everyone thinking Rand (Josha Stradowski) is dead.
The Dragon Reborn is trying to learn how to channel from Logain (Álvaro Morte), while forming a relationship with the mysterious Selene (Natasha O’Keeffe)
As for Rand’s friends, they are split up for most of the season.
Egwene (Madeleine Madden) and Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) go to the White Tower to train as Aes Sedai, Lan (Daniel Henney) is trying to help Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) after she was stilled, Perrin (Marcus Rutherfod) goes hunting for Padan Fayne (Johan Myers) who stole the Horn of Valere, and Mat is being held captive by Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood).
Speaking of Mat, I was interested to see how Dònal Finn would portray the character since Barney Harris left part-way through Season One for unknown reasons.
I loved Harris’ portrayal of Mat so Finn certainly certainly had big shoes to fill but by the light does he fill them.

Finn does a fantastic job as Mat and I am excited to see how he will continue to play him.

Mat is not the best character of the season for me though, no, that title goes to Egwene.
When I first read The Great Hunt, I was absolutely horrified by the Seanchan’s treatment of her.
This is the one area where I think Season Two matches the books in terms of quality because of just how horrifying Egwene’s experience is directed, along with the incredible performance from Madeleine Madden.
I was just as disgusted with what the Seanchan were doing as I was in the books.

Madden delivers the best performance in the entire show in Episode Six. It is gut-wrenching to watch and I mean that in the best way possible.

Almost as good were the interactions of the Foresaken.
I was constantly enjoying the mind games that Ishamael (Fares Fares) and Lanfear played, and the Forsaken teased at the end of the season has me excited for what is to come.
While the rest of the season does not quite match the dramatic highs of Egwene and the Forsakens’ scenes, it is still solid with there being only a few hiccups.

For one thing, the opening scene in Episode Seven has some pretty horrendous acting.
Then there is the Horn of Valere, which I do not think the show sold the importance of enough.
Yes, I found the scene with it in the final episode to be triumphant, however, that was mostly because of my experience as a book reader.
Had I been a show only watcher, then I would have lacked a lot of context.
Also, I think the show has not really sold Rand’s power as the Dragon Reborn yet.
Characters like Egwene already appear much stronger than him.
However, I understand that they are trying to do a gradual build up to Rand realising his full potential so hopefully that will come later.

Rand does not get to show off his strength to the extent he does in the book, unfortunately.

Probably my biggest criticism of the season though is Lan and Moiraine’s storyline.
The conflict between them was very predictable as to how it would end, a lot of Lan’s storyline dragged, and Moiraine never learned something important about her family so a plotline surrounding that felt like a waste.
Other than this and a few other issues, Season Two is solid and a substantial improvement from Season One.
It might not be as great as the book it is adapting, but The Wheel of Time adaptation finally feels like it is getting on the right track.

The Wheel of Time, Episode Eight, The Eye of the World, Review: What in the Blood and Bloody Ashes was This?

Although I have had some issues with Amazon Prime’s adaptation of The Wheel of Time, mostly to do with the premiere episode, I overall enjoyed the show up to Episode Seven… then I watched Episode Eight.
Directed by Ciarian Donnely again, this episode, titled “The Eye of the World”, is without question the weakest of the season, so far.
This is especially bad considering this is the first season’s finale, and I am really hoping it is not an indication of the quality of future seasons.
Admittedly, when “The Eye of the World” first started, I was pretty excited for it.
The reason for this is that the cold open for the episode is our first introduction to Rand’s prior life, Lews Therin Talamon (Alexander Karim), the Dragon Reborn… wait “reborn?”
Yeah, that was the first sign of trouble in the episode because there are quite a few inaccuracies to the most simple parts of the lore in this opening scene, like Lews Therin’s title, and Latra (Katie Brayben) somehow knowing the Dark One would taint the male half of the One Power.
Seriously, how the heck did she predict that?
Although, I was able to look past these issues during my first watch of the episode because I liked how the scene was performed in old tongue.
It really showed a commitment to the world building of the lore, even if some parts of it were contradicted.
We even get a good look at the futuristic setting of the Third Age, which looks oddly good for a time when the Dark One threatened the world.
However, I guess they did need to show how far the world had fallen since the Breaking of the World, so it’s not too much of an issue.

There are some issues with Lews Therin’s first scene in the show but overall I liked it.

We then pick up with our two sets of characters, as Rand and Moiraine make their way through the Blight, towards the Eye of the World, and Lan and the Emond’s Fielders reel from the revelation that Rand is the Dragon Reborn.
Lan’s top priority, though, is locating Moiraine, and Nynaeve informs him of how to do so because of a “tell” she has.
What this tell is and how Lan has not noticed it after decades of being Moiraine’s Warder is never explained.
Another issue is a line Lan says that is translated right from the books.
As he is saying goodbye to Nynaeve, he tells her, “I will hate the man you choose. Because he is not me. And I will love him if he makes you smile. You are as beautiful as the sunrise. You are as fierce as a warrior. You are a lioness, Wisdom.”
Now, while this is a book accurate line, for the most part, I just don’t think it works here because it feels entirely different from the context of what is happening in this scene.
In the books, Lan has quite a different personality, so the reasons for him telling Nynaeve this are for meant to mean something else and thus the line does not match up with the show conversation.
Sure, the quote has been changed slightly to try and make more sense for the show but it still does not quite work right.
Then there’s the dialogue.
Again, it’s true to the book, however the issue is that the dialogue for this adaptation has been more modern so to hear this old fashioned love declaration feels rather strange.
Speaking of strange, we then get our first look at the Dark One, who visits Rand in a dream and, honestly, I personally did not find him to be that intimidating.
To be fair, I think it’s an issue with the costuming, rather than the acting of Fares Fares.
The way his shirt goes down below his jacket makes him look like he got out of bed late, realized he had to go terrorize Rand, and haphazardly put on whatever was there to make it in time.

The Father of Lies is kind of hard to take seriously with this costuming.

Also, I’m pretty sure there are some things about this dream scene that contradict key aspects of the series’ lore.
This, and the Moiraine fake out death was obvious and annyoing.
Unfortunately, this is not the last we’ll see of one in the episode, as can be seen with one of Min’s visions of Nynaeve “dying.”
Upon waking, Rand is informed by Moiraine about her plan for him to use a sa’angreal to seal the Dark One away again.
Again, though, that’s not how it works in the books but whatever.
They do not have a lot of time, though, because the Dark One is sending his most terrifying force against Fal Dara.
No, not Trollocs, no, not Mydraals, but terrible CGI!
Seriously, what in the light was up with the Trolloc CGI in this episode?
Sure, some of the Trollocs did look pretty iffy in previous episodes but the ones here looked so abysmal that it broke all my immersion.
It looked like Sharknado quality, I’m not kidding.

To be fair, though, this could have been an issue because of COVID, so it is understandable if that’s the case.
Rushing to meet the terrible CGI Trollocs is the show’s unlikeable version of Lord Agelmar, who has left his sister, Lady Amilisa, to defend the city if he falls, which in hindsight is a really stupid decision, but I’ll explain why later.
As this is happening, Rand and Moiraine descend into the Eye, only for Rand to be drawn into a dream world where the Dark One shows him his ideal life with Egwene, offering it in return for serving him.
The Dark One also confronts Moiraine out in the real world but easily cuts her off from the One Power, seemingly permanently.
Meanwhile, at Fal Dara, Egwene and Nynaeve join Lady Amilisa and two others to protect Fal Dara, while Perrin despairs over not knowing how to help.
Loial inspires him with a pretty good inspiring line, “if you want to help but don’t know how, all you need to do is ask.”

I’m still loving Hammed Animashaun’s portrayal of Loial, even if he has not had as much characterization as in the books.

Loial’s advice leads to him and Perrin helping uncover the Horn of Valere from under Lord Agelmar’s throne, however, this is not exactly a good thing because Padan Fain arrives with two Mydraal to steal the horn.
I quite enjoyed the brutal way he enters the scene, resulting in the death of two women, since it shows how big of a threat he is.
Although, the scene of him actually stealing the horn and then talking to Perrin is a little clumsy.
Fain pretty much stabs Loial, monologues to Perrin, and then leaves with Perrin having nothing to do other than stand there and listen.
The scene with Nynaeve and Egwene is not much better, unfortunately.
After Lord Agelmar is seemingly killed and the Trollocs break through, rushing to attack Fal Dara, Lady Amilisa links with the five other channelers, completely obliterating the Trolloc army.
This is why I said it was stupid for Agelmar to leave the city’s defences to his sister.
If five untrained women channeling can generate enough power to destroy an entire Trolloc army then why in the blood and ashes would you not put them on the front lines?
Not doing so just wastes lives.
Also, again, these women are untrained, so it leaves a whole lot of plot holes, like why the trained Aes Sedai did not easily destroy Logain’s army in Episode Four?
And then there’s the already mentioned second fake out death.
After Amilisa and the other two women who can channel are killed from using too much power, Nynaeve appears to die as well before she and Egwene can break free from their hold on the One Power.
Egwene then magically heals Nynaeve pretty much instantly.
What was the point of this?
It just feels like unnecessary drama.

I’m really hoping that this show quits it with the fake out deaths.

At least the fight at the Eye of the World has a somewhat satisfying conclusion, with Rand breaking free from the Dark One’s manipulations because of his love for the real Egwene, and blasting him away.
With this battle now done, Rand decides to leave, saying he can feel the madness that all male channelers suffer from.
It would have been nice if we could have seen this madness but Rafe Judkins apparently decided to just have Rand say he could feel it.
Moiraine promises to tell everyone Rand has died as he leaves and Lan then arrives after having done pretty much nothing in this final episode.
She tells Lan that Rand is “gone” and confirms that she can no longer channel, before proclaiming that this was not the last battle but the first of many to come.
The final scene of the episode then sees a little girl playing on a beach, only to witness an invading army approaching.
This army uses their channelers to send out a tsunami onto the beach, killing the girl.
Such a show of force is honestly kind of dumb though because, unless I’m mistaken, that beach looked pretty barren.
So, were they just trying to kill one girl?
Clearly not but that’s the way it appeared.
It seems that Judkins wanted this new culture to be scary yet he did not think of a logical reason for their actions beyond this.

“Look, a little girl! Let’s create a giant tsunami just to kill her and no one else because we’re the big, scary bad guys!”

And so this awkward feeling scene brings an end to what is undoubtedly the weakest episode of Season One by a large margin.
This episode is just full of issues.
To be fair, there are good things, like the score and acting for the most part.
It’s just that the decisions made for this episode’s story really baffle me, especially as a reader of the books.
Overall though, I would say this adaptation was decent.
If I were to rank all the episodes from weakest to best it would go Episode Eight, Episode One, Episode Five, Episode Three, Episode Two, Episode Seven, Episode Six, and best of all Episode Four.

Book Spoilers:

I said that, as a book reader, a lot of the changes this episode baffled me, and this bafflement started right from the opening scene.
Why is Lews Therin known as the Dragon Reborn and not just the Dragon?
The Dragon Reborn is Rand’s title.
It’s a small inconsistency from the books but a weird one.
It gets even weirder when both Moiraine and Rand die in Rand’s dream.
If this is Tel’aran’rhiod, then both of them should be dead since they died in their dreams.
Although maybe this is somehow just a regular dream that Ishamael is invading.
Speaking of, I wish they had just revealed that the one Rand fought was not the Dark One but Ishamael.
As I said, the costuming made it difficult for me to take him seriously, and this would have been worse if I was a show only viewer, since I would find him unthreatening as the Dark One.
So, is the show just going to temporarily kill him off whenever the Dragon Reborn is adapted, and then reveal he wasn’t the Dark One as well?
That felt cheap on my first read through of the books and I hope it is changed.
This said, I did like the change of it being Ishamael that Rand fought at the Eye, instead of Aginor and Bathamel.
As for the other changes of the episode, another significant one was how much less of a deal the Eye of the World and the battle of Tarwin’s Gap were.
I think they’re substituting the Eye for a seal for the Dark One’s prison here, which is fine, but the battle of Tarwin’s Gap was not handled well because Rand did not have a part in it.
That battle in the book, confusing as it was, showed off Rand’s power as the Dragon Reborn and why he was such a big deal.
Overall, the show does not really show why the Dragon Reborn is so revered and feared at the same time because Rand seems just like a normal male channeler at this point.

The power and threat the Dragon Reborns poses to the world is not seen in this adaptation, at least not yet.

All of the prophecies have clearly been thrown out the window as well, since Moiraine went through with this plan to bring just Rand to the Eye of the World, thinking it was the Last Battle.
So, what happened to all the other prophecies that Rand and the others spent multiple books fullfiling?
Is Rand going to go grab Callandor just because he feels like it now?
Coming back to the Eye, though, the Horn of Valere is no longer there but under Agelmar’s throne.
What?
Another strange change, and it leads to another one with Loial being stabbed by Padan Fain.
Which reminds me, they never explained why Loial went with Rand and the others in the first place, so his actions don’t really make sense in the show because he has no motivation.
Also, him being stabbed by Fain with the Shadar Logoth Dagger seems to suggest that he will take on Mat’s role in the Great Hunt, since Barney Harris left.
As for Mat himself, Fain again implies that Mat could turn to the shadow, another instance of the show seeming to misunderstand Mat as a character.
Sure, Mat is a trouble maker, but he never had an inherent darkness in the books that drew him to the Shadow.

I loved Barney Harris’ performance as Mat this season and I’m sad to see him go but, man, did they have to portray him like a potential villain at times? That is just not Mat.

Then there’s Moiraine being stilled, which is another controversial divergance.
However, I’m not sure if she was stilled or just kept from touching the One Power, like Moghidien did to Liandrin in the books.
Either way, it’s a massive departure from her character, one which I hope turns out for the better in season two but, after the quality of this episode’s changes from the source material, I’m concerned.
I have liked some of the chages in previous episodes, like the extension of Logain’s storyline and Moiraine and Suian’s relationship, but the changes in Episode Eight really dropped the ball.
“The Eye of the World” is a weak ending for an otherwise alright adaptation of the first book in Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series.

The Wheel of Time, Episode Seven, The Dark Along the Ways Review: The Blood Snow.

I was pretty excited for Episode 7 of The Wheel of Time, “The Dark Along the Ways,” because the teasers showed that this would be the episode where we finally got to see the Blood Snow, and it certainly did not disappoint.
Directed by Ciaran Donnely, the Blood Snow is the cold open for the episode, and it is the best of the series, showing an Aeilwoman fighting on the slopes of Dragonmount while going through labour.
This whole action scene is probably the best shot scene of the entire series so far.
I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and the actress playing the Aeil, Magdalena Sittova, does a fantastic job.
Although, it is a little immersion breaking that the Aeil is able to kill so many trained soldiers while in labour.
It kind of reminded me of Mel from The Last of Us Part 2 who was also ridiculously doing death defying stunts while pregnant.
Still, I think it makes a lot more sense here because, again, the woman is Aeil, probably the best fighters in the Wheel of Time.
Also, the fight sequence is riveting and the action is great so my suspension of disbelief was ultimately maintained.

This scene expanded on the Blood Snow from the books in such an excellent fashion.

The epic fight finally ends with the Aeilwoman preparing to give birth, only to be confronted by yet another soldier, before cutting to the opening credits.
Following this cliffhanger and the credits, we go back to our main characters traveling in the Ways, with the exception of Mat, whose actor Barney Harris left so they had to write him out.
One thing that impressed me about this episode was actually how well they did so.
They did not just forget about Mat, he is brought up throughout, and there are quite a few teases for what will happen to him next season, when he is played by Donal Finn, like with Moiraine sending the Red Ajah after him.
The only thing I found questionable about it is Moiraine’s perception of Mat, believing he would “turn to the shadow” if he were the Dragon.
When I first saw this moment I chuckled thinking, oh, Moiraine, you don’t understand Mat at all.
However, then I pondered whether this was not Moiraine misinterpreting Mat’s character but the writers and I became a bit concerned for where his character could go.
I will explain why further down in the spoiler section.
In any case, the characters continue moving on through the Ways, with Perrin eventually spotting a guiding that has been damaged by something.
This means Loial will need time to dechiper it, asking for the other’s patience, resulting in the best joke of the episode when Rand says, “if he’s asking for patience, then we’re gonna die.”
It does feel like this joke was meant for Mat, as it seems more in character for him to say it than Rand, but I do understand why he had to be the one because of Barney Harris’ departure.
Moiraine ignores Rand’s concerns and the group decide to rest in the Ways, only for them to be attacked by a Trolloc, which is blasted off the path by Rand channeling.
Rand doing this was done in such a subtle way that show only viewers would think it was Egwene but book readers like myself would understand it as a hint for Rand being the Dragon Reborn.

The subtle hints that Rand is the Dragon Reborn are done great.

However, this does not end the trouble, because Rand channeling summons Machin Shin, the Black Wind.
The group rush to the Waygate door to Fal Dara to escape Machin Shin, but it catches up to them before they can get out, whispering things they don’t want to accept about themselves to them.
It’s not as creepy as it was in the books but it was serviceable for what comes.
Anyway, the group is able to escape, thanks again to Nynaeve, and they arrive at Fal Dara, entering the city where they are “welcomed” by Lord Agelmar (Thomas Chaanhing), who is not happy to see Moiraine, thinking his sister Lady Amalisa (Sandra Yi Sencindiver) summoned her.
Although he does calm down when Moiraine warns him about the Trollocs in the ways.
Too late though because we see the figure who was following them in the Ways come through, and Perrin later thinks he sees Padan Fain in the city.
After this, Moiraine goes to see Min, another character I have been excited to see.
I will admit that I am not quite sure how to feel about the actress who plays her, Kae Alexander, at this point.
Her performance does feel a bit different from what I expected as a book reader, but I don’t hate it.

I think I just need to see more of Kae Alexander in Season Two before I come to a decision on how I feel about her performance.

Although I am unsure of Alexander as Min, I think the show did a really good job of showing her visions, even if the editing of this scene did become a bit weird at one point.
Her scene also ends rather ominously, as Min tells Moiraine that she saw the Amyrlin Seat will be her downfall.
From here, we move on to what is undoubtedly the worst scene of the episode.
It begins well enough, with Moiraine warning them that whoever goes to the Eye of the World and is not the Dragon Reborn will die.
However, once she and Lan leave we get the dreaded love triangle.
Why, oh, why did the writers have to resort to Perrin also having feelings for Egwene?
It just was not needed and it made the scene feel so contrived.
Thankfully, it seems this is just a single episode plotline and I really hope that it stays that way.

I remember hearing Machin Shin telling Perrin that he loved another woman and I got very concerned at that point. Sadly, the love triangle was followed through on.

At least after the worst scene of the episode we get one of the best, with Nynaeve following Lan, watching through a window as he meets up with some close friends who call him “Dai Shan.”
The music during this moment is fantastic and I love Nynaeve and Lan’s chemistry in the show, as seen when Lan ambushes her like a ninja and invites her inside.
This eventually leads to the two of them sleeping together for the first time and Lan telling her how he is the king of a long gone kingdom, Malkier.
Their relationship has definitely progressed a lot faster and differently than it did in the books but I enjoyed it and am looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Then, we get the big moment of the episode: the reveal of the Dragon Reborn.
After reconciling with Egwene and sleeping with her, Rand returns outside and begins to accept that he is the one destined to fight the Dark One.
We see that he really did channel when he broke down the ironwood door in episode three, and when he saved Egwene earlier in the Ways.
It also revealed that Machin Shin spoke to him about being the Dragon Reborn, which made a lot of sense because I thought it was weird that he was so torn up, when all it seemed to talk to him about in the beginning was Egwene.
Rand visits Min for further confirmation and we then see how she saw a vision of his birth in the past, with Tam stumbling across Rand’s mother giving birth and helping her.
When she died, Tam took the baby to raise in the Two Rivers.
This episode really reminded me of why I loved Tam so much in the books.

Rand then goes to Moiraine and admits that he is the Dragon Reborn and the two leave for the Blight, leaving the others behind as they realize what has happened, bringing an end to the episode.
Overall, I would say that “The Dark Along the Ways” is my third favourite episode in The Wheel of Time, right behind “The Flame of Tar Valon” and the “The Dragon Reborn.”
I know I said that I considered it better than Episode Six in my previous review but a rewatch of this episode put it down lower.
It just had a few too many issues, most notably the awful love triangle scene.
This said, most of the episode was great, especially the Blood Snow and Rand coming to accept himself as the Dragon Reborn.

Book Spoilers:

So, for the book spoilers section, I will start small with Moiraine’s comment about Mat.
As I said in my previous review of Episode Six, Mat is described as someone who would run into a fire for his friends in the books, so I find the idea that he would willingly join the Dark One to be a bit absurd.
Still, he had been under the influence of the Dagger from Shadar Logoth so maybe that would explain it.
But the show has been saying there is an inherit darkness to Mat for a while, which I am not quite sure how to feel about since this was not a thing in the books.
Could Mat be a jerk at times?
Yes, especially in the first couple of books, but he quickly proves himself as a loyal friend and hero, even if he is not accepting of either of those titles.
Another character who is different from the books is Lord Agelmar, who is way more unlikeable in the show.
Still, Agelmar is not a character I really cared for in the books, he was just okay, so I’m not too bothered by the change.
I feel the same way about the Machin Shin change, with the Black Wind just speaking to the characters rather than doing anything truly threatening.
This is a small part of the books so I can let it slide.
It also leads to Rand realizing he is the Dragon Reborn, which is great.
Speaking of that, Rand accepting this is probably the biggest change in the entire episode.
Rand goes on an entire soul searching arc for the first three books and it is only at the end of that third book that he completely accepts his destiny as the Dragon Reborn.
Here, he does it much sooner, however, I think it was done in a way that is actually true to Rand’s character from the books.
Here, Rand is told that whoever goes to the Eye of the World and is not the Dragon Reborn will die.
This makes him accepting his destiny sooner make plenty of sense because he obviously does not want Egwene, Nynaeve, or Perrin to die.
It is an interesting change, which is justified well by the story telling in the episode, and I am intrigued to see where it will go in Season Two, with a Rand who fully accepts himself as the Dragon Reborn.

Rand’s relization was well done, even if it is different from the books.

The show also clearly intends to keep some of his future storylines the same, as seen when Min prophecises three beautiful women, herself, Elayne and Aviendha.
Real humble, aren’t you, Min?
However, this positive change of Rand accepting his destiny sooner could not save Episode Eight, “The Eye of the World,” which is easily the worst episode of this entire first season.
As for “The Dark Along the Ways” though, it is still one of the best episodes of the show so far, with some intriguing changes.

Wheel of Time, Episode Six, The Flame of Tar Valon, Review: More Than Pillow Friends.

Directed by Salli Richardson-Whitefield, Episode Six of The Wheel of Time, “The Flame of Tar Valon,” was an episode many fans were interested to see.
This was because it is supposedly Brandon Sanderson’s favourite episode of the season.
After seeing it, I can see why because it definitely is one of the best episodes, but I would personally put it behind Episode Four, “The Dragon Reborn,” and Episode Seven, “The Dark Along the Ways,” which I will review later.
“The Flame of Tar Valon” kicks off with the backstory of Siuan Saunche, the Amyrlin Seat, who lived in a small fishing hut with her father in Tear.
The young Siuan (Kiera Chasna) has begun to Chanel and her father warns her to be careful no one sees but this warning comes too late, as the two return to find their hut burned to the ground and a Dragon’s Fang signed into the remains.
This causes Siuan’s father to reluctantly send her to the White Tower, where she goes on to become the Amyrlin Seat many years later.
On that note, I will say that the acting for this initial scene was fantastic.
This is especially the case for Peter de Jersey, who plays Siuan’s father.
In a single scene he actually almost made me tear up during the emotional goodbye to his daughter.

De Jersey’s performance shows how great the casting of this show is, since they made sure to get great actors for even minor roles.

After this opening, the episode cuts to the present with the Amyrlin’s trial of Logain and following interrogation of Moiraine, Liandrin, and Alanna.
The introduction of Siuan (Sophie Okonedo) is well handled, with a great transition from a panning shot to a high angle looking down, as the shot also incorporates CGI to show the grandness of the Hall of the Tower.
We then get a pretty intimidating first impression of Siuan, as Logain is brought in for his trial.
The False Dragon appears to be pointlessly trying to show strength by gloating about killing Kerene, however Siuan quickly deduces that he is trying to anger her so she will kill him.
Knowing this is what he wants because of the loss created by Logain’s gentling, the effects of which were explained by Thom in Episode Four, Siuan decides to give Logain the most fitting of punishments.
Logain will be forced to live so he can serve as an example to other False Dragons, and he is dragged off screaming out of the Hall, begging for death.
This done, Siuan turns to Moiraine, Liandrin and Alanna, berating them for violating tower law by gentling Logain without a trial.
In the end, Liandrin and Alanna are able to avoid trouble, however Moiraine is not becsause Liandrin turns the attention onto her.
Siuan demands to know where Moiraine has been all this time but she has to say nothing because, since she cannot lie, she would have to reveal she has been searching for the Dragon Reborn, which would create chaos and likely not end well for her.
So, she tells Siuan she cannot say, and the enraged Amyrlin berates her before delcaring she will decide her punishment tomorrow.
This allows Moiraine some time to track down the missing Emonds’ Fielders, the first two of which she tracks down is Rand and Mat by having Lan follow Nynaeve.
Rand leaps to Mat’s defence, afraid Moiraine will gentle him because he can channel, however it is as this point that it is revealed that the reason for Mat’s sickness is not channeling but the cursed dagger he stole from Shadar Logoth.
This was a great scene, providing more examples of the actors’ prowess.
Barney Harris’ “bless his heart, he tries,” was charmingly funny and Rosamund Pike’s “you stupid boy” was excellently delivered.

The performances of Pike and Harris were fantastic during the dagger scene.

Moiraine saving Mat from the sickness of the cursed dagger makes Rand trust her more, whle Moiraine tells him that if Mat was ordinary then the dagger would have consumed him long ago, saying that if he touches it again he might be lost forever.
It is that this moment that Nynaeve comes in, ready to berate Moiraine, only to have this turned on her instead, as Moiraine condemns her for not informing her about the boys, especially since she knew of Mat’s condition.
Moiraine then takes it even further by stating, “if wisdom is the title you claim, I suggest you start using some.”
What a fantastic line and an epic burn for Nynaeve.
Yet Moiraine still faces trouble, even when relaxing, as she meets one of the Blue Ajah Sitters, Maigan, who tells her that she will convince Siuan to allow Moiraine to stay at the tower.
Moiraine has no intention of staying, however, since it will be dangerous for whoever the Dragon Reborn turns out to be, especially if its Rand, Mat or Perrin.
Speaking of Perrin, though, Moiraine tracks him and Egwene down next, and Egwene gives her the rings taken by Valda, while Moiraine tells them to prepare to leave soon.
Then, we get the big twist of the episode, as Moiraine uses a Ter’angreal in the portrait seen in her room during the previous episode to transport herself to meet with Siuan.
The two are revealed to be lovers, just acting like they are at odds to avoid suspicion while they search for the Dragon Reborn.
I quite liked how this facade was slowly unveiled compared to the books where its just spoken of rather than shown.
Their romantic relationship is also something new since, in the books, they were described as once being “pillow friends” but that was the extent of it, really.

I like the change of Moiraine and Siuan’s relationship and I will get into why further in the book spoilers section.

After the reveal of their true relationship, Siuan reveals she has been dreaming about the Dark One at the Eye of the World, so Moiraine decides that Siuan must banish her so she can take whoever the Dragon turns out to be to stop him.
This plan has a slight hitch, however, because Liandrin’s own agents have uncovered the Emond’s Fielders Moiraine is hiding.
She is quick to deal with this problem, though, shutting Liandrin up by blackmailing her with the information that she is seeing a man in Northharbour.
With this done, Moiraine continues to initiate her plan, recruiting Loial’s aid, and reuniting Egwene with Nynaeve.
This also had a moment that cracked me up when Nynaeve is grumpily telling Lan as they walk into the room, “If you can’t lead the world from a room built of wood and dirt, how can you call yourself a leader?”
That is classic, stubborn Nynaeve right there.
The scene somehow only gets funnier with Moiraine’s “Siuan Saunche waits for only one woman and it’s not you,” comment, and Egwene looking prideful when Siuan says one of them is the most powerful chaneller in a thousand years, only for her to visibly deflate when Siuan says it’s Nynaeve.
I did not expect this episode to have some of the funniest moments of the series so far going in, so that was a pleasant surprise.

“The Flame of Tar Valon” really had some great humor.

After these great jokes, the scene turns serious as Siuan informs Nynaeve and Egwene of the coming of the Last Battle, telling them the only thing that matters is what they do.
It is interesting how she only gives this conversation to Egwene and Nynaeve, potentially because she hopes the Dragon Reborn is one of them and not Rand, Mat or Perrin, since a male channeler would go insane eventually.
Once this is done, we get the most emotional scene of the episode, where Siuan is forced to banish Moiraine to protect their mission of helping the Dragon Reborn.
It is here that Moiraine repeats the exact same words to Siuan that her father did at the beginning of the episode, showing how much she loves her.
Probably the only thing that kept me from tearing up here was the funny idea of the other Aes Sedai overhearing this and realising the two have been in cahoots this whole time.
Although, I guess Moiraine whispered that part so it does make sense that no one was suspicious.
There is one part of this scene that I am not too sure of, though, but that is book spoilers so I will leave it for that section of the post.
Once Moiraine’s banishment is done, she, Lan, Loial, and the five Emond’s Fielders head for the Waygate, which Loial will use to guide them to the Eye of the World.
However, as they’re going through, Mat refuses to follow and the episode ends with him being left behind as the Waygate closes on everyone else.
If this seemed like a weird scene to you, it’s probably because Barney Harris actually left the show at this point, most likely for personal reasons, so he will not be in the rest of the series.
Donal Finn has been cast as Mat from Season Two onwards and I hope he can do just as great as job as Harris.
I would also like to praise Harris for his performance.
He was a fantastic Mat Cauthon and I am quite sad to see him go, since his performance was one of my favourites.
I hope that for whatever reasons he left the show he is able to get back on his feet and continue acting because he is quite talented.

Goodbye Barney Harris. You did an excellent job as Mat.

Overall, “The Flame of Tar Valon” is definitely one of the best episodes of The Wheel of Time so far.
And the next one is even better.

Book Spoilers:

So, let’s talk about the expansion of Moiraine and Siuan’s relationship, compared to the books.
The way I read the description of their relationship in the novels is that by being pillow friends they were in a friends with benefits agreement that stopped some time before the present story began.
In the show, however, they are going all the way with the romantic relationship and I actually quite like this change because it adds a new dynamic to both their characters.
It will also be interesting to see how this progresses, considering that Moiraine ends up with Thom in the books and Siuan ends up with Gareth Bryne.
Although, I don’t think I am alone in saying that Moiraine’s relationship with Thom came out of nowhere in the books, so I am glad she has a romantic relationship in the show that actually feels earned.
As for the thing I was unsure of during the banishment scene between Moiraine and Siuan, it was Siuan using the Oath Rod to make sure Moiraine stays banished until she calls her back.
I may be wrong about this, but making her swear on the Oath Rod would meet quite a lot of backlash in the Tower, considering how something similar happened with Elaida in the Gathering Storm, when she tried to add a new oath that everyone had to obey the Amyrlin.
So, wouldn’t Siuan ordering Moiraine away using the Oath Rod cause similar backlash from the Aahs?
Or maybe I am mistaking this and it is just the addition to the Three Oaths that they would take issue with.
Moving on, the next member of the cast I want to talk about for the book spoilers section is Mat, specifically how he is described as having a darkness in him.
This is certainly a change from the books, considering that Siuan describes him as someone who would run into the fire for his friends and Mat proves this multiple times.
I hope this part of his character is intact when he comes back played by Donal Flinn in Season Two.
Now, I would like to talk about Liandrin again, specifically the scene where Moiraine blackmails her with her knowledge of the man she has in Northharbour.
What if this man is a Darkfriend contact of hers?
It could be Padan Fain, or someone else.
We’ll probably get a better idea of who this Darkfriend is, if he is one, next season.

I wonder how Liandrin’s connections to the Black Ajah will be revealed in the show?

About that next season, though, one specific hint gave me a feeling of dread for what is about to happen in that season.
When meeting with Moiraine, Maigan says she might be going to track ship disappearances in the west.
This is almost certainly hinting at the Seanchan, one of the best detestible people in The Wheel of Time story.
The thought of seeing them gives me both a feeling of excitement and dread for the pain and suffering they will inflict.
I would say that I quite liked a few of the changes to the books in this episode.
The only one I had a massive issue with was Mat staying behind but I’m forgiving of that because it’s understandable, considering Barney Harris had to leave.
I can definitely see why this might be Brandon Sanderson’s favourite episode of the season.

The Wheel of Time, Episode Four, The Dragon Reborn Review: Fantastic Divergances.

Coming into Episode Four of The Wheel of Time, “The Dragon Reborn,” I was excited to see Logain’s show original storyline, but I was not prepared for how good it would be.
Directed again by Wayne Yip, “The Dragon Reborn” is undoubtedly the best episode of the season so far and the crazy thing is almost none of it is in the books.
This is mostly show original and yet I think it exceeds the scenes we have got so far that actually adapt directly from the source material.
I would call “The Dragon Reborn” a perfect example of how you do an adaptation original storyline.
You put the characters from the source material in a new situation but you still stay true to who those characters are.
“The Dragon Reborn” opens with a bang, showing just how much damage a male channeler can do in the world of The Wheel of Time, as we see Logain and his forces attacking the kingdom of Ghealdan, with the king being forced to flee.
Logain pursues, however, and we see just how different male chanelling is from female chanelling, as Logain’s is corrupted by a dark taint.
He eventually tracks down the king and confronts him and here we see who Logain is, as he genuinely believes he is the Dragon Reborn, motivated by the voices that are created by the madness of male chanellers.
Yet, despite the voices urging Logain to kill the king, saying he will betray him just like his parents and sister, he instead spares him, healing his wounds and telling him, “there’s a place for anyone at my side. Even my enemies.”
So far, I really enjoy this version of Logain the show is presenting.
Alvaro Morte does a good job of showing his charisma in how he got the king to join him, and we see he is strong enough to hold off the madness, despite still suffering from it.

The opening scene really shows why so many people followed Logain.

Once the opening credits are done, we then cut to the present at the Aes Sedai camp where Logain is being kept prisoner.
Moiraine is healed by the Aes Sedai Kerene (Clare Perkins) of the Green Ajah, who is strained in her use of the One Power because of how much energy it takes to keep Logain shielded.
Moiraine demands to be taken to see Logain, and also meets up with Liandran and another Green Ajah named Alanna (Priyanka Bose), who are shielding the False Dragon.
Speaking of Alanna, this is another case of perfect casting as Bose is able to perfectly portray the Alanna I imagined from the books.
As for Liandrin, she wants to gentle Logain, meaning removing his ability to channel completely, but Kerene is against this, wanting Logain to be brought to the Armylin Seat at the White Tower for a trial.
Moiraine then takes up the burden of shielding him as well, and Logain’s strength is so strong that even she clearly begins to wonder if she has made a mistake and he is the Dragon Reborn.
Meanwhile, Lan is training with Kerene’s Warder, Stepin (Peter Franzen), who mentions that the Armylin Seat is not fond of Moiraine and Lan.
Upon seeing Kerene coming back, Steppin has a conversation with her in their tent about Linadrin wanting to gentle Logain gaining traction with the other Aes Sedai, pointing out how the Red Ajah have supposedly been gentling men without a trial across the land.
We know this to be true because we saw Liandrin gentle a man in the opening scene of the very first episode, showing how Kerene really underestimates her since she says even Liandrin won’t cross the Arymylin Seat, which she already is by gentling men without a trial.
After this conversation, we cut to Perrin and Egwene’s storyline, which is much better than it was in Episode Three, with numerous instances of excellent dialogue, but that’s yet to come.
Once we get the introduction to this part of the story, we then get the introduction to Rand and Mat’s, as they travel with Thom.
However, Rand is very distrustful of Thom, wondering if he killed Dana to get them to trust him and may actually be a Darkfriend, to which Mat admits would be smart.

I wonder how Rand feels about Thom after what happens later in the episode?

Mat then wonders who the fifth candidate for the Dragon Reborn is who Dana mentioned, and the shot then cuts to Logain, so the director clearly wants you to think that it’s him, only to subvert this expectation later.
Alanna and Moiraine then have a conversation, during which Alanna also seems to indicate that she thinks Logain may be the Dragon Reborn.
But, even if he is not, she thinks that his strength is a sign of the Last Battle fast approaching, and becomes concerned about what will happen if the Reds have already gentled the Dragon Reborn, a question many book readers were asking, so I liked that this concern was addressed here.
The shock of this problem also seems to affect Moiraine, as she and Alanna temporarily lose control of the shield on Logain but are able to bring him back under control.
We then see Nynaeve overlooking the camp, only to be confronted by Liandrin, who mispronounces her name in a moment that feels very meta.
Nynaeve, however, challenges Liandrian and asks what she knows about Moiraine.
Kate Fleetwood’s smug smile again shows that she was the perfect choice to play Liandrin.
The whole casting of The Wheel of Time has been excellent so far.
I cannot think of a weak member of the cast among entire the bunch.
Following Nynaeve’s demand of Liandrin, the scene changes to Rand, Mat and Thom arriving at a farm house, planning to stay the night in the barn, before they are confronted by the home owner and his family.
They are able to convince him to stay the night, unfortunately.
I say “unfortunately” because of what happens later.
Meanwhile, Liandrin’s conversation with Nynaeve is interrupted by Lan and she leaves.
For a moment, I was worried that her badmouthing of Moiraine would convince Nynaeve, which would admittedly be out of character, but Nynaeve then tells Lan that Liandrin is a snake, showing she has the same wits as her book counterpart.
Lan assures her that they will find her friends, and then, like Liandrin, offers her a place by their fire… if she doesn’t shove anyone into it.
Lan clearly understands who Nynaeve is already.

I loved the continued build up of Lan and Nynaeve’s bond.

Back with Perrin, Egwene and the Tinkerers, Ila explains to them that their people, the Tuatha’an, follow the Way of the Leaf, a peaceful way of life with no violence, even in self defence.
Perrin seems to be against this mindset but his trauma is brought back when Ila unknowingly references the death of his wife by asking him if his life has been better or worse after picking up an axe.
As night falls at the house Rand, Mat and Thom are staying at, Mat throws up, only to be met by the little girl of the family, who shows Mat her doll, Birgitte.
Meanwhile, Thom confronts Rand about Mat, concerned that he may be able to channel, explaining how he is similar to his nephew Owyn, who was gentled by the Aes Sedai and then committed suicide.
He also explains that men go insane when they channel because the Dark One corrupted the male half of the One Power.
Using Thom as a means for exposition has so far worked quite well in the show.
None of it feels forced with him, and this usage of it raises Mat up as a potential Dragon Reborn candidate.
As this is happening, Nynaeve spends the night by Lan and the other Warders’ campfire and gets to know them and the cause of the Aes Sedai, before seeing Alanna walk off with her Warders suggestively.
So, when Lan goes to bed himself at Moiraine’s tent this, of course, gets her jealous.
Inside the tent, though, Moiraine and Lan just talk, with Moiraine voicing her concern that Logain may be the actual Dragon Reborn.
Lan attempts to take responsibility for losing Egwene, Perrin, Rand and Mat but Moiraine won’t let him and Lan responds that he should not have had a drink as, because of their Warder bond, it gets her emotional.
Meanwhile, at the Tinkerer’s camp, Aram explains to Egwene about the song they are searching for, and Perrin talks with Illa about their way of life again.
She talks of how she lost her daughter and says that her way of revenge is to live a peaceful life because, “what greater revenge against violence than peace? What greater revenge against death than life?”

This was the piece of dialogue in the episode.

We then get a continuation of Egwene and Aram’s conversation, where Aram talks of how some people leave the Tinkerers and do not return, stating, “Leaf doesn’t fight the wind. And sometimes the wind blows away from the tree.”
Again, the dialogue during Perrin and Egwene’s storyline is fantastic.
Back at the barn where Rand and Mat are sleeping, concerned about his friend’s potential ability to channel, Rand assures him that he is with him, only to have yet another nightmare.
In this one, Perrin is crushing a death body with his hammer, Mat has blood stained hands, and Egwene is held captive by the man with ember eyes.
However, it seems that the Mat part of the dream was real, as Rand and Thom run into the house to find him standing in a daze around the corpses of the family who took them in.
At first, I was scared that Mat had actually killed them, but it turns out to have been the Fade, with him pointing the dagger he found at Shadar Logoth up at a dark staircase and saying, “I see you.”
Barney Harris’ delivery during this moment is incredibly creepy.

I’ve said it many time before in these reviews, but I love Barney Harris as Mat. Gonna be sad to see him go, since he was recast for season two.

Then, the Fade emerges and Thom engages it in a well choreographed fight scene to give Mat and Rand the chance to escape.
While making their escape, Rand and Mat come across the dead body of the young girl Mat befriended, and Rand has to drag Mat away.
The next morning, Kerene confronts Liandrin about trying to have Logain gentled without a trial at Tar Valon, and Liandrin manipulatively suggest that if Logain were to break out then they would be allowed to gentle him without a trial.
However, Keren again shuts this down.
As their confrontation is happening, Nynaeve goes to talk with Lan again and finds him doing a ritual for his fallen kingdom of Malkier.
In respect, Nynaeve follows this up by repeating the old tongue saying her parents told her before they died.
Nynaeve does not know what the words mean and Lan tells her, the chemistry between them building.
And now, for the millionth time in this review, I once again have to praise the casting, with Daniel Henney and Zoë Robins portraying the bond between Lan and Nynaeve perfectly.
This heart warming scene is quickly interrupted, though, with the arrival of Logain’s army.
However, as the battle rages outside, with the King who was recruited by Logain in the beginning taking part, Logain breaks free, knocking Liandrin and Kerene unconscious.
A vichious fight ensues, with many being killed, including the King, as Lan protects Nynaeve from danger.
Then, just as Logain breaks free, Moiraine arrives, looking for proof that Logain is the Dragon Reborn.
Logain explains he can hear the past Dragons when he channels, teaching him to do better, and that this is what the Wheel wants.
Moiraine sports a relieved smile and tells Logain that the Wheel does not want anything and that the whispers Logain are hearing are because of his madness.
Liandrin and Kerene then awaken, and the two of them and Moiraine attempt to shield Logain, only for him to break through with an attack, killing Kerene when she protects Liandrin and Moiraine.
Stepin’s reaction to feeling his Aes Sedai die is palpable but it leads to a bad situation, where he tries to kill Logain, only for the False Dragon to shatter his axes, sending the shrapnel flying, badly injuring many, including Lan who’s throat is cut.
A distraught Nynaeve runs to Lan’s side, and as he lays dying in her arms, her emotional response causes her power to be revealed, as she channels in such a massive amount that she heals everyone’s fatal wounds.

This was a great reveal for Nynaeve’s strength in the One Power.

Logain clearly recognises this power is greater than his and his eyes look wet as he potentially realizes he is not the Dragon.
This relization comes much too late for him, however, as, back on her feet, Liandrian and her fellow Aes Sedai gentle Logain.
As Logain cries on the cave floor, Stepin cradles Kerene’s body, and Lan sees he has been healed, Moiraine looks to Nynaeve, recognising her as a Dragon Reborn candidate, bringing an end to the episode.
“The Dragon Reborn” was a fantastic episode and easily the best one yet.
The acting, action and story were all top notch and it has me even more excited for the future of this adaptation.

Book Spoilers:

Given that so much of this episode was show original, there is not much to discuss other than an easter eggs, a theory, and character relationships.
For these relationships, I again like how Lan and Nynaeve’s budding romance is given time to develop, rather than just being hinted at like in “The Eye of the World.”
Then there’s the mention of how Moiraine and the Armylin Seat do not get along, showing how the show is keeping with the canon of the books, where Moiraine and Suian hid their friendship to hide their plan of finding the Dragon Reborn and preparing him for the Last Battle.
As for the easter egg, I really liked how the doll the little girl showed Mat was a hint at Birgitte, especially since she is close to if not in my top ten favourite characters from the books.

Can’t wait to actually see the show’s version of Birgitte, who will most likely first appear in either Season Three or Four.

Although, speaking of Mat and Rand’s storyline, Thom leaving just after we meet him does not give us enough time to become as emotionally attached, like in “The Eye of the World.”
Not a huge issue but definitely a downgrade from that first book.
Now, for my theory.
Liandrin seems to suggest in the episode that they allow Logain to escape to have an excuse to gentle him.
So, what if Liandrin had a hand in freeing him?
Book readers know Liandrin is Black Ajah so it would make sense for her to sabotage Kerene, leading to her death.
I am intrigued if this will turn out to be the case as we see more from Liandrin as the show goes on.

The Wheel of Time, Episode Three, A Place of Safety Review: A Gleeman’s Exposition.

Episode Three of The Wheel of Time, “A Place of Saftey”, is the second best episode of the first three.
It may have the best scene of these episodes but it also has one particular scene that holds it back right behind Episode Two, “Shadow’s Waiting.”
Directed by Wayne Yip, “A Place of Saftey” begins like I thought it would, by explaining how Nynaeve escaped from the Trolloc that kidnapped her in “Leavetaking.”
Waking up after the Trolloc puts her down, Nynaeve sees the monster brutally kill and start eating an injured member of its kind, showing just how merciless the Trollocs have been created to be.
Using this as a chance to escape, Nynaeve flees to the sacred rock pool to hide but is quickly tracked down by the Trolloc, forcing her to go underwater.
The Trolloc follows but that was its mistake because Nynaeve knows these waters, and is able to expertly sneak up behind it and then kill it with its own blade, the blood forming a Dragon’s Fang symbol.
Nynaeve then emerges victorious with her iconic braid flip.

We got the braid flip, now we just need the braid tug.

Following the title sequence, we then cut to the present, with Nynaeve still holding the same blade she took from the Trolloc to Lan’s throat, demanding to know where her friends are.
Lan defends Moiraine’s actions, explaining that he is the one who left the four, and now Moiraine is Nynaeve’s only hope of finding them so she needs to help her.
Unfortunately for Lan, he underestimates Nynaeve, thinking she won’t try to kill him but, oh, how wrong he is.
His surprised, “you tried to kill me” after she attempts it, only to be stopped by Lan’s skill, had me chuckling.
Lan then knocks her out and we cut to the best storyline of the episode with Rand and Mat, as the two are leaving Shadar Logoth, still calling for Egwene and Perrin.
Mat wants to head back home but Rand wants to head to the White Tower so he can find Egwene, since he knows she will go there.
It is here they we also get some pretty good comedy, with Rand saying, “all roads lead to the White Tower” and Mat wittingly replying, “that’s not how roads work.”
In the end, though, Mat agrees to go with Rand.
The episode then changes scenes to the weakest storyline of the episode with Egwene and Perrin, as the two are being pursued by wolves and take shelter.
There is nothing wrong with this scene, though, it’s only a later scene I have an issue with that brings this storyline down.
This first scene of Perrin and Egwene’s is actually pretty good, with Egwene continuing to test her Chanelling of the One Power, starting a fire for them to keep warm.
We then go back to Lan, Nynaeve and Moiraine, with Nynaeve waking up, tied to a tree with a gag in her mouth.
Lan ungags her to give her some water and asks if she’s ready to cooperate, and Nynaeve replies if she does Moiraine better have the answers she needs.
Then in a moment that is classic Nynaeve from the books, Lan asks if she’s in a position to make demands and Nynaeve replies, “it’s not a demand, it’s a threat.”
Zoë Robbins is continuing to do a great job as Nynaeve.
Lan does allow Nynaeve to treat Moiraine after this, though, and we get some more good interactions between them.
Following this comes an intriguing scene where Perrin has a nightmare about the mysterious man with fire eyes, where he sees his wife’s dead body being eaten by a wolf (I will get into why this is intriguing in the book spoilers section).

Perrin sees the ember eyed man in his dreams.

However, when Perrin wakes up, we get the worst scene of the episode: the wolf chase scene.
This chase just feels very artificial, with constant cuts that make it feel like they didn’t want the audience to focus on the sketchiness of the wolf CGI.
It really drags Perrin and Egwene’s storyline down in this episode.
Well, at least we follow this scene up by cutting back to the best storyline of the episode, Rand and Mat’s, where we see them finding a small village, which serves as their titular “Place of Safety.”
This title is ironic, though, because it is made clear right fom the beginning that it is anything but safe, with Rand and Mat seeing a dead man strung up in a cage.
Mat’s desire for jewels then starts to get the better of him, as he sees something shining in the dead man’s pocket.
Yet, he has no time to snatch it, so he and Rand walk into the tavern to try and find a place to rest for the night.
The barmaid, Dana (Izuka Hoyle), alerts them to a gleeman about to perform, and it is here that we are finally introduced to a fan favouite character, Thom Merrilin (Alexandre Willaume).
On that note, I will say that Thom is much more serious and gruffer than he is in the books.
However, this is not a bad thing, as I do personally like this take on the character.
His first scene is also great, serving as a nice piece of exposition about the Dragon who broke the world.
The lyrics tell you the story and in a way that does not make it sound like you are being spoken down to, as all good exposition should.
Willaume is also a good singer, so they clearly made that a part of the casting, which was a great decision.

Thom mostly serves as an exposition character in this episode but an excellent one at that.

Thom then talks with Rand and Mat, and it’s immediately apparent how he is different from the books, as he actually takes their money.
The two boys then manage to get a room at the tavern by doing jobs for Dana.
Or, at least, Rand does because mat is more of a jerk about it.
Although, this does lead to some good humour from Mat again.
Meanwhile Moiraine’s condition is still deteroirating, even after Nynaeve’s help, so Lan goes to find some help himsef.
From here, the scene once again changes to Perrin and Egwene, but in a much better scene than the one before because it actually explores Perrin’s guilt for killing Laila.
After following the wagon tracks to try find help, Perrin volunteers to go ahead and see if the people they’re tracking are safe.
Egwene recognises that this is because of what happened with Laila and says that it was not his fault.
Marcus Rutherford’s broken reply of “it is” is gut wrenching.
It makes me wonder if Perrin will eventually confess to what he did later in the season.
In any case, the two do follow the wagon tracks and find that their “Place of Saftey” is much better than Rand and Mat’s, as they meet up with the Tinkerers, a group of nomadic travellers, among them the family consisting of Ila (Maria Doyle Kennedy), Raen (Narinda Samra), and Aram (Daryl McCormack).
The tinkerers take the two in but their introduction is a bit shaky, appearing as if from nowhere, which is quite strange since there’s a lot of them.
We do get a brief look into their culture, though, with them looking for a song, so that is interesting.
Meanwhile, Rand and Dana grow closer, and we get another great bit of comedy, where Dana mistakes Rand and Mat for a couple and Rand corrects her saying, “if I wanted a man, I could do better.”
Later that night, Mat goes to take the jewel from the dead man in the cage but is confronted by Thom, who came to bury the man.
After Mat says he has been attacked by Trollocs before, peaking Thom’s interest, the gleeman asks Mat about his Two Rivers past, noticing his accent and other features.
After cutting down the man, Thom points out to Mat that he is of a people known as the Aeil, as seen by his clothing and red hair, unusual to see outside the Aeil Waste.
He then shows Mat an important part of their culture, as the dead man is not veiled, showing he had no murderous intent because his veil would be up if he did, proving the man meant no harm when he was murdered.

Thom again serves as a good use for exposition, teaching Mat and us about the Aeil.

Thom then allows Mat to take the jewel and a stone dog from the Aeil before the two bury him and exchange names.
While this is all happening, Rand and Dana are talking and Rand has an introspective moment where he says, “I don’t know shit.”
As a book reader, this and other moments with such words struck me as odd.
It’s not a spoiler to say that in The Wheel of Time the characters have their own swear words, like “Light” and “Blood and bloody ashes,” so it is a bit weird to hear common swear words used instead of the ones from the books.
Not a big thing but it does feel a bit weird to me.
The scene quickly turns deadly seriously, however, when Dana tries to kiss Rand, only to lock him inside the room when he rebuffs her, revealing that she knows about Egwene.
Dana is a Darkfriend who serves the Dark One and her job is to capture Rand and Mat.
When Dana was first introduced, I thought she was just going to be an innocent person who would die when minions of the Dark One showed up to kill Rand and Mat, so the reveal that she herself was one of those minions was a pleasant surprise.
Rand tries to break down the door but Dana assures him that he will not be able to because it is made of ironwood and it would take more than three men his size to break down.
Well, unfortunately, Dana may need to take up some issues with whoever told her this because Rand is able to break the door down after a few more shoves, running outside to grab Mat.
The two flee from Dana, who has Rand’s sword, but she knows this town better than them so is easily able to cut them off.
She says she has seen all five of them in her dreams, which makes a lot of sense, since she called out to Rand and Mat when they first walked into her tavern, but only one of them can be the Dragon Reborn.
Mat takes note of the five, though, meaning it probably will not be long until they learn Nynaeve is alive.
Dana says she’s going to be like Ishamael, someone who brought the Dragon to the Dark One 3,000 years ago, while claiming the Dark One does not want to kill Rand and Mat, he only wants to break the Wheel which is what she wants.

Dana relatably shows why someone may side with the Dark One.

When Rand insists on leaving, she prepares to hold them off, saying she has already called a Fade to come and kidnap them.
But, before she can do anything, Thom kills her by throwing a knife into her neck, then insisting the two boys come with him to stay safe.
Rand is reluctant but eventually agrees, along with Mat, and retrieves his sword.
As the shot pans across Dana’s blood, it fades into a fantastic transition to the landscape Lan and Nynaeve are travelling on with a still sick Moiraine.
They meet up with a group of Aes Sedai, lead by Liandrin, who reveals they have caught someone claiming to be the Dragon Reborn, a man named Logain (Alvaro Morte), whose reveal serves as the cliffhanger for episode three.

I was quite excited to see Logain since his arc is fantastic in the books.

Overall, “A Place of Saftey” was another good episode.
It has the best storyline of the first three, with Rand and Mat’s story, even if it is weakened slightly by the problems of the Perrin and Egwene scenes.

Book Spoilers:
You know, I really should have seen Dana being a Dark Friend coming.
After all, Rand and Mat are attacked by many of them after fleeing Shadar Logoth in the first book.
I guess these events just happened so quickly in the who compared to “The Eye of the World” that I just forgot it would happen.
Although, this did make its eventual reveal nicer.
Another great thing about this storyline was the many instances of foreshadowing for Rand being the Dragon Reborn.
The shot focuses on him at one point when Thom is singing about the Dragon, Thom points out the Aeil hair colour, which is the same is Rand’s, and, most obviously, Rand knocks down a door down that is strong enough to trap three men his size.
That last one is probably the first instance of Rand channeling.

This being Rand’s first instance chanelling was a good idea because for show only fans it raises questions, while not being too obvious that he is the Dragon Reborn.

Then there’s Rand’s reaction to Thom killing Dana, which I also found to be interesting because of how it connects to Rand from the books.
Book Rand hated hurting women and this came back to bite him a couple of times when he underestimated some of the female Foresaken, like Semirhage, and I think Rand’s angry reaction to Dana’s death was a representation of that.
It’s also clear how the cursed dagger is starting to corrupt Mat, with him being a jerk compared to the previous episode where he comforted Perrin.
Another thing I liked was how the Lan and Nynaeve scenes were handled.
In “The Eye of the World,” their relationship was merely hinted at before its reveal.
I did pick up these hints but I understand some did not so it’s good that they’re being more obvious with its build up here.
Back to the Perrin and Egwene storyline, I was a bit sad to see that Elyas did not show up.
There has been no news about his casting, so I did not expect him to appear but it was still unfortunate.
I wonder how Perrin is going to even learn about his ability since he does not have someone to teach him, like in the books.
Then, there’s Perrin’s nightmare about Laila, which is interesting because the wolves are on the side of the Light in the Wheel of Time, so it does not make much sense for them to be eating someone in the Wolf Dream… unless Laila was a Dark Friend.
This could be potential evidence for that theory but if it is true it is just a matter of how it will be revealed.
Maybe Padan Fain could reveal it to Perrin whenever he shows up again?

Either Dana is a Darkfriend or the wolf eating her is a plot hole.

As for Logain, the ending made me quite excited for his show storyline, especially after seeing how he achieved his glory in “A Memory of Light.”
I wish he got more POV chapters in the books so the show could really do a good job of making him standout if they focus on him.