"Wheel of Time" Episode 4 Review

by Chelsea House, GGR Chief Media Correspondent

**Warning: Spoilers**

To recap the last review – I was almost ready to just settle into this series as a simple, brain-numbing experience and let it be. I did say I had hope, although it was glimmering. Episode 4 introduced my first feelings of pleasure in watching Amazon’s Wheel of Time which was a sigh of relief. I felt genuinely interested in what was going on, I saw some actual depth in characters, and wasn’t grimacing every other scene. I will say that the show is still firmly veering from the books, but for the first time, I did not mind because they felt more confident in their storytelling and allowed the world of Wheel of Time to breath for once which helped to make their changes more believable. Or at the very least, made you want to see their vision.  

This episode opens with a war in Ghealdan in which Logain (Alvaro Morte)– the Dragon Reborn – is battling his way to the King. Once they are face to face, we get a gratifying scene that shows the inner workings of a male who can wield. As Logain speaks with the King of Ghealdan, a voice in his head tries to convince him to kill his enemy. It’s unsure if another Aes Sedai is speaking to him, as he seems annoyed with the words, or what exactly is going on because the last we saw of Logain, he was in a cage headed to the White Tower. A shadowed hand on his shoulder with the same weavings as his dark magic quickly clarifies what we are seeing. And what we are seeing is the Dragon Reborn trying to overcome the madness. He does successfully when he reaches out his dark and tainted weaves to heal the King instead of killing him, encouraging that they can work together. 

After this we are fast forwarded to Karene (Clare Perkins) healing Moiraine at an Aes Sedai camp. She follows her healer to a cave where Karene, Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood, and Alanna (Priyanka Bose) have been taking shifts to help shield the captured Dragon Reborn, who is sitting in the same cage from the previous episode, from using the Power. When Moiraine first sees him, she begins asking questions that help to add depth to the world of Wheel of Time. For one, we find that Liandrin is not a fan of Moiraine, and we also notice that she feels very strongly that they should not wait to gentle this Dragon. Logain attempted to march on the tower, and therefore she believes he does not deserve a trial. Secondly – we learn how powerful Moiraine really is as she is also able to join her sisters in blocking Logain, when they were the only three powerful enough at their camp before she was healed. Thirdly, we begin to draw connections to the distinct colors the Aes Sedai are wearing. So far – green, red, and blue. When Moiraine does take over for Liandrin, she is surprised at how powerful the Dragon is. We know at this point that she believes him to be a false Dragon. Afterall, she didn’t go to the Two Rivers for nothing, but after feeling his strength, you see the questions begin to spin in her mind.

Onto the campfire scene. As Lan and Stepin (Peter Franzin) do their exercises, we hear the Amirylin Seat, head of the White Tower, is also not fond of Moiraine. (She obviously is not sitting at the cool kids table) The whole camp experience does an excellent job of introducing the dynamics of the Ajah – the colors in which Aes Sedai choose and what they stand for (we hear language like “spies”, “rules”, “battle Ajah”, etc.) as well as internalizing the struggle of coming to grips with the possibility that they are approaching the End of the Age. It shows the blooming relationship between Nynaeve and Lan while also taking the time to explain the pride that Warders have in serving their Aes Sedai. Theirs is not a puppet or slave situation, it is a companionship of the most intimate of kinds. 

The campfire scene in particular feels like a click into place moment where the characters finally feel like they are snuggling up with themselves. In other words – it feels like the actors are getting comfortable with their roles. It gives a warmth to the show that we haven’t felt thus far and was greatly lacking. There is also another nod to how much the show has changed the dynamics of the books in some good ways. With talking about the Green Ajah and their Warders, Nynaeve gives an innocent “The three of them don’t....” and is answered with a chuckle from Stepin. Although this conversation feels like a middle school locker room discussion about *whispers* the sex *whispers*, (lots of nods and grins) the nonchalance is a stark difference from how the books handled openness with *whispers* the sex *whispers*. At least women who are more apparent with their openness with it. 

To wrap up the camp scene, Karene and Liandrin have a conversation the next morning about whether to wait to gentle Logain. He eventually breaks out of their hold knocking them both unconscious and ushering in a battle scene between the Aes Sedai, their Warders and the King of Ghealdan and his army. A lot happens here, but to quickly sum it up, Moiraine has a “private” conversation with Logain and regains her confidence that he is a false Dragon stating that his power is “a pinprick of candlelight against the raging sun that will be the Dragon Reborn.” Everyone who has read the books gives a firm “mm hm” nod. Karene, Liandrin, and Moiraine shield him again, only for him to strike and kill Karene. Stepin immediately feels the loss of connection and rushes to the cave followed by the others as they continue to fight the army back. Once they all reach the cave, Stepin sees the fallen Karene and makes the fatal mistake of going after Logain in his shield. Logain uses this weakness and shatters Stepin’s axes causing a massacre of blood and severe injuries. One of which is Lan on the ground with his throat slit. 

I finally get the moment I have been waiting for in this whole series. Nynaeve stumbles over to Lan, says “No...” then more angrily repeats herself until she bursts into a yell and a ball of radiant light that reaches out and heals everyone in the cave in one fell swoop. A confused Logain mutters “Like a raging sun” and stares at Nynaeve in awe. Liandrin, now healed, does not miss a beat with jumping up and demanding her sisters to link with her now. Her sisters this time don’t hesitate or argue. This scene is beautiful and tragic. Beautiful in showing the power of unity and working together for the greater good. Tragic in how truly painful it is to see a man gentled. The tears, the brokenness, the emptiness. This scene does an excellent job of playing on both fiddle strings and it leaves you slightly breathless. Lan sits up, feels his fully healed throat, and everyone stares at Nynaeve who ends the episode with a fierce look into the camera. 

Egwene and Perrin are still with the Tinkers, or Tuatha 'an, traveling. Although their scenes do not contain the storytelling meat that the Aes Sedai camp did, there are still some things of note that occur. Perrin has a conversation with Ila (Maria Doyle Kennedy) about “the way of the leaf” and living a life of peace and complete pacifism. “The leaf, in its time, falls to the dirt that nourishes the tree, that in its time, grows the leaf again.” Ila says. Egwene has a conversation with Aram (Daryl McCormack) about how the Tuatha 'an leave at a certain age and get to decide if they want to come back. He also explains to her that they are constantly seeking “The Song,” a song that will bring harmony to the world if only they can find it. 

Rand, Thom, and Mat travel to a house where they barter staying in their stables in exchange for cleaning the stalls. Mat begins to show signs of being seriously ill, mentally and physically. He seems distant, aloof, agitated, and just not himself. Thom explains to Rand that these are all signs of a male beginning to reach out to the Power. We know that is not the case, but Rand and Thom don’t. Mat has a touching moment with a little girl where she gives him a doll, and then goes and kills them all that evening. Like, the heck, bro? Amid Mat being all possessed, a Fade pops up out of nowhere, Thom jumps in to fight him, and Rand throws up the freaking deuces and peaces out with Mat. Like - “k, thanks Thom. Buyyiiieee” Mat does grab ahold of himself on the way to the horses and we see him genuinely horrified at what’s going on. That’s comforting, I guess. And this wraps up this particular episode. 

Again, I really enjoyed watching this episode. It made me feel excited about the series again, even knowing it’s on a different path. I’m still curios what they’re going to do with Mat’s storyline as it just feels like a super wide swing of a story arch, but we shall see. I’ve also really enjoyed the way the show depicts the magic use. The first episode was incredibly over dramatized and comedic to watch, but as the show has progressed, it feels much more intentional. I love the shades of light and dark, the way they look like threads being weaved, and the way they’ve explained some of the rules and limitations. (Madness, drawing too much, etc.) I was curious to see how the male’s side of the Power would be shown and was not disappointed in any way. I’m genuinely excited to see episode 5 and how the series ties up all these stories by the end. Until the next episode.