In addition to my usual timestamp annotations, and my customary editorial interjections I am going to describe the events of the show like so.. I will also sometimes have show continuity notes about things that require book knowledge, and thus are out of place here.

02:28 I hate it already. Just finished the recap. Reminding me of everything they've done before is not a good way to get me into the show.

We zoom in low over a river- The Erinin Shut it, you. Ahem. -into Tar Valon, where it is raining, and Suian is on a balcony in a bathrobe looking out over the city. Moiraine is walking in the street and pauses to gaze up at the Tower. Lan materializes by her side, following her look. Back in the Tower, Leane tells Siuan that it's time, and she turns to go back in. In the street, Lan reassures Moiriane that "She'll be all right," but Moiraine replies that today isn't about Siuan.

In the Tower, Liandrin meets three Reds who tell her that she's been summoned to the Hall. Liandrin has a few matters she'd like to bring up to them. One of the Reds assures her that they are with her, no matter what charges are pending. Elsewhere in the Tower, Verin, Adeleas and the dwarf Brown from last season are walking through a hallway with some purpose Verin is not telling the dwarf, reciting a book line to plan for the worst so that all your surprises will be pleasant. They turn and suddenly we are following another woman through a corridor filled with Aes Sedai. It's Alanna, with what looks like a more cleavagey dress than she has previously worn. Her warders, Ihvon & not-Owein are chatting by the wall, notice her approach and turn to join her. They want to stand with her, in case Liandrin has friends, but Alanna points out that as men, they can't enter the Hall without "just cause."

04:04 Isn't guarding their Aes Sedai against a black sister "just cause"? Or should she have said "without permission" or "unless summoned". How are these writers so bad at English?

According to Alanna, Siuan has ordered the Hall closed to all non-Sitters, and has a plan for the Red, who are striding smugly down the corridor themselves. Alanna reassures Ihvon that they are ready, and he and not-Owein have a tender little hand-squeeze before following her towards the door they are not going to be allowed to pass through, about 20 feet away. At the doorway, Leane stops the Reds, saying that the Amyrlin has "deemed this a Sitting Sealed to the Hall and to the Red Ajah." One of the Reds objects that every Sitter has the right to speak in the Hall, but Leane points out that only 11 Sitters are needed, and that Liandrin will speak for the Reds today, but the other Reds will not hear her.

04:43 Again with the shitty English. What does "Sealed to" mean? In the books, it means "reserved to" but in the context of this sentence, it means "excluding". This is a meeting reserved for the Hall and the Red Ajah or excluding the Hall and the Red Ajah. Since the Red Ajah object that their Sitters have the right to speak in the Hall, it means excluding. But how can the meeting be excluding the Hall?

And from a political standpoint, this is BS, that a person heretofore suggested to be facing charges, is going to speak for her group, while their chosen representatives are excluded from a meeting of the legislature. It also smacks of a kangaroo court, depriving the defendant of support. This is not the first time Siuan has acted against Liandrin in this way, having berated her in the Hall for not following the law and bringing Logain to her to be gentled, despite her acting in what the show depicted as exigent circumstances, where they had been having trouble keeping Logain shielded before, and now the strongest sister in the group had been killed.

Despite her having been established as a Darkfriend, Liandrin is really looking like the sympathetic party here, especially since the show has not really established what it means to be a Darkfriend and has given her a quasi-understandable reason for doing it, showed her getting screwed over in her deal, freeing the Wondergirls from their bonds after being ordered to give them to the Seanchan, and oh, by the way, the Forsaken have been more friendly toward Rand than hostile so far. All we know is that Liandrin made a deal with a not-particularly-villainous guy, who acts friendly to Rand & Mat, to preserve the life of her son. Min has done as much for worse reasons. Are we supposed to be looking at her as a villain? Frankly, regarding the EF5, Liandrin has been a better friend and ally, and less hostile, than Siuan.

04:52 As the women walk around the excluded Reds, I can't help but notice the party of Whites has more than three women walking.

Alanna seems to give Liandrin a smirk as she walks past her to take her seat, because she's a Sitter.
What exactly is a Sitter? From the context, one might assume it is some sort of legislator or representative in this council setup, but also, the way the show has depicted them so far, one would think they are some sort of exemplar or elite Aes Sedai. Alanna was a Sitter and was on the mission to capture Logain, and was spending all of last season out of the Tower, chilling with her family when Lan joined her, and then coming to Cairhien for the whole not-explained Amrylin & Dragon meeting. There was also a mention of a Sitter for the Blue who was a Seanchan captive who broke, in a context suggesting that Egwene was in deep trouble as she was facing the same treatment that broke a Sitter for the Blue. Also, the fact that the Red Sitters are excluded from this Sitting of the Hall would support that idea of them being elites of some sort, because this is going to be dangerous, rather than simply politically fraught.
ANYWAY in the Hall, Siuan enters and takes her throne, and it looks like all the other chairs are filled up, as she asks if Liandrin knows why she has been called to attend. Liandrin turns the tables back on her, saying that Siuan wants to silence her, because she's not a sycophant, and is now accusing Siuan of breaking Tower law. Siuan tells her to continue and she will answer, stating "An Aes Sedai cannot lie."

05:48 This is just crap dialogue & characterization. Asking these open-ended questions is how a screenwriter sets up conversations, it is not how a competent leader prosecutes a known traitor in the ranks or carries out her agenda. Siuan knows damn well there are shenanigans she has to worry about coming to light, she should not be offering Liandrin the chance to expose them, much less bolstering her credibility by reminding everyone that an Aes Sedai (like Liandrin) cannot lie. She should not have been asking her if she knew why she was here in the first place, because it sets up Liandrin to flip the script.

Also, I don't like that they have suddenly started referring to Siuan as "Mother" in the third person as well as the second, without the preceding article.

Liandrin states that a month ago, Siuan called all the Aes Sedai with speaking parts 13 sisters to Cairhien for no given reason, everything went to shit and she met with the exiled Moiraine and, Rand, the guy who later proclaimed himself the Dragon Reborn. She points out what Siuan told us last season, that the Tower law mandates that the Dragon Reborn be locked up, but Siuan willingly let him go. Siuan then states that if Liandrin had proof of her accusations, the Hall would be forced to act against her, up to and including, deposing her.

06:40 Why is it so dumb? Why is Siuan reminding everyone of the consequences for herself? She is implicitly asking for proof, when she herself pointed out that Liandrin cannot lie! Liandrin's word should be 90% of the way there.

NOW Siuan says that she knows that Liandrin can break the Three Oaths, has sworn herself to the Shadow and is a Darkfriend. Everyone robble-robbles until Liandrin scoffs that this is just a tactic to silence her and Siuan has no proof.

07:12 Fortunately for Siuan, Liandrin isn't much better at this. Accusing someone of being part of a secret traitorous conspiracy in response to charges of criminality is a classic misdirection effort, which she should be pointing out. Like, that was her opening shot – that Siuan is rigging this whole thing up to silence her for not being a sycophant. Nothing we have seen so far contradicts her initial thesis. Tacitly asking for proof is putting the ball back in Siuan's court, when she should be taking the initiative and running with it, but insisting on dealing with Siuan's abuse of power and effort to silence a whistleblower with nonsense conspiracy theories. Like, did she expect Siuan's plan was to make an accusation and hope everything worked out, that she would not have something to pass as evidence? She ought to be trying to discredit Siuan preemptively.

Why am I always so much better at evil than the villains?

Leane calls Nynaeve to testify. So much for Sealed to the Sitters… …and leads her witness by telling everyone upfront that Liandrin kidnapped her and sold her to the Seanchan Didn't notice any money changing hands. Remember when Moiraine, in explaining the Three Oaths told Egwene to pay attention to the exact verbiage?

Nynaeve dramatically enters and Siuan arches her eyebrows dramatically. Liandrin more or less shrugs, and says "I tried" and draws on the Power.

07:49 Not even going to point out that it is absurd, expecting a mere student's testimony to stand up against that of an Aes Sedai who "cannot lie?" This is NOT contradicting Liandrin's case! She can say that Siuan has no direct knowledge of the events she is alleging, that she is still trying to suppress Liandrin and cover up her own crimes, and Nynaeve, as a student of the Tower, under Siuan's authority, is compromised as a witness.

Before Liandrin can do anything, Alanna and another woman use the Power to stop her. Siuan yells at her for using the Power against her sisters in the Hall (except Liandrin has not, Alanna is the only one who has done that), and descends from her throne to the floor, drawing on the Power herself, presumably to use against her sister in the Hall. She lifts Liandrin into the air for some reason, holding her in a swirling sphere of fire and declares that she will be tried, still and give up all her coconspirators before she dies.

08:18 Those last two clauses kind of make the point of a trial rather superfluous, since Siuan is already passing sentence.

Liandrin says Siuan is right and shouts "Join me now!" The center Sitter in each of the White, Yellow, Blue and Green delegations each stands up and starts channeling at the group. Leane defends them as the Black Sitters come down onto the floor to join the fight. They form a perimeter protecting Liandrin's rear and start killing the other Sitters. Nynaeve tries to draw on the Power, but lol, she sucks, remember? Instead a Black sister slices the columns around her into pieces and they fall on top of her.

Outside the Hall, Ihvon & not-Owein are pounding on the door shouting for Alanna and insisting they are coming. Light's sake, can't you perverts give it a rest for five minutes?

Behind them the Reds who were excluded the meeting come striding into the corridor again, telling the warders to get away from the door. They draw swords and say the Reds will not pass them. The lead Red sneers "Do you want your Aes Sedai killed, fool?" and orders them to move. They glare at each other. Inside the Hall, the Black sitters have surrounded the "captive" Liandrin in her floating fire bubble and are wreaking havoc on the place. Siuan is snarling at Liandrin, who starts coughing up blood. One of the Blacks, a bald woman who looks like she is wearing green, throws a chunky of masonry at Siuan, who is knocked back and Liandrin's fire-bubble pops. She faceplants in slo mo, as Leane and Alanna both turn from a battle for survival against rampaging Black Sisters to look at Siuan. It would be really awkward if Alanna had been the one to state in the books that the whole purpose of the Green Ajah is to stand against Darkfriend channelers… Elsewhere, Verin and her Brown companions enter a corridor that is located a fucklong way away from everything else in the Tower, given how long it took to get there, which is dingier and darker than the rest of the White Tower. The dwarf Brown is worried about what is happening in the Hall, saying they should help the Amyrlin, but Verin says they are.
How do they know what is happening in the Hall? The show has not had any exposition about the sensory capacity of channelers or warders, that anyone outside the room would have any idea what is going on.
Verin explains that on the other side of the wall is Linda's website the Thirteenth Depository. Dwarf Brown thought it didn't exist. But there has to be a reason why this remote hallway is filled with lit torches As she channels a circular hole in the wall, Verin states that their most powerful sa'angreal and ter'angreal are kept in there, and she can't protect them alone.

Back outside the Hall, the Reds are still demanding that Alanna's warders move, instead of just yeeting them out of their way with the Power. Two more Aes Sedai with warders enter the corridor and channel at the Reds from behind. They are Green & Yellow and not-Owein recognizes is glad to see them, calling them Jane and Chesmal, asking their help getting into the Hall. Jane laughs and says "No" and channels, but the lead Red ironically blocks her flows, protecting the dumbass pervert warders who had been obstructing her a moment ago. The Black sisters' warders charge to the front, and the Red kills them and threatens the Black newcomers. Jane starts acting like she's in a diner with Billy Crystal and says she can feel them dying Presumably in the Hall, not her warders, precise verbiage FTW Even Chesmal seems to be giving her the side-eye as she enjoys the feeling. Not-Owein, ever quick on the uptake, identifies Jane as Black Ajah.

Back in the Thirteenth Depository, Verin is still raving about the importance of protecting the stuff in it against all comers. The Brown dwarf is thrilled to be in here, but not why you'd think! She's a bad guy! She zaps both Verin and Adeleas in the forehead and they get nosebleeds and collapse. She starts helping herself to the various objects.

11:20 I can't help but notice that all these objects are displayed on plinths at chest or waist height for a normal range of heights, but a dwarf has to stretch to get them. Also, I doubt she can carry as much as a normal-sized person.

Back in the Hall, the Yellow/Black Sitter is Healing Liandrin as the battle continues to rage, the other three Blacks holding their own against a dozen Sitters, until Alanna knocks Baldy ass over end. A Yellow Heals Siuan as Liandrin goes all martial arts with the Keeper's Staff and bonks the White/Black Sitter, bashing in her skull when she goes down. Liandrin and Siuan are helped up by their respective Yellow Sitters, and glare at each other. Liandrin calls on the Blacks to link with her and Alanna shoves Siuan & co to the ground as the Blacks make one of those outward-in-all-directions blasts that are all the rage in genre fiction. It blasts open the doors to the Hall sending not-Owein flying and on the streets, Moiraine and Lan see smoke billowing out the sides of the Tower.

12:12 Have they just been standing out in the rain, staring at the White Tower, because they know Siuan is going to be prosecuting Liandrin in there? Is it like a Papal election, where they were expecting to see smoke that would tell them the result?

Actually, that's what they got, so good prediction, guys.

For some reason, Jane & Chesmal are the only ones standing in the corridor outside the Hall To be fair, they were farthest from the exploding room. Liandrin and her companions come out, Liandrin telling them to get to the docks. The survivors in the Hall start picking themselves up, Siuan telling them to find them, to split up because they can't let the Blacks leave the city.

12:44 The question is not, "how can so many be sworn to the Shadow?" but rather, "how did only four women fight off three times their number?" And with that in mind, splitting up is a really fucking stupid tactic, since a whole roomful of Sitters took the group on and lost. Splitting up is just inviting defeat in detail.

In the Thirteenth Depository, Verin and Adeleas have regained consciousness, but not Adeleas' memory. Meanwhile, the Black dwarf, whom I shall now call Nikabrik, until someone on-screen tells me her name, joins Liandrin's party on the streets, Liandrin asking her if she got "it" which Nikabrik affirms, along with "whatever else I could carry." Which isn't going to be much, because, little person… Siuan is prowling down a narrow alley with two sisters in tow, and then elsewhere, Alanna steps out into the street in front of the Black crew, saying they won't leave the city alive. There are seven Blacks, Liandrin, Nikabrik, Jane and Chesmal, plus the Blue Sitter, a Red and another whose clothing I can't tell the color of. Maybe Red. Ihvon and not-Owein dramatically stride out from opposite streets of the intersection behind Alanna, drawing their swords. Alanna blasts up a line through the pavement toward the Blacks, who flinch as the Pervert Trio charges. The Blacks shoot a fireball, which Alanna jumps over and flips forward into a rolling dive, not-Owein and Ihvon stab the anonymous Blacks, while Alanna does karate moves on Chesmal, and Liandrin gets some sword-slices too, then both warders run her through from behind. With their swords, because that's not always clear with the Pervert Trio. Jane, Chesmal and Nikabrik all look shocked and possibly upset at this. The warders draw their swords and attempt to scissor her neck with them, but Jane blocks their blades with the Power. Alanna knocks everyone, including her warders, to the ground. They jump up and scamper to flank her for a hero pose, while they watch Chesmal Heal Liandrin, until Nikabrik jumps in to raise a force field.

Siuan tells her companions that they got a signal from Alanna ( ????? ) and starts wending her way through narrow areas, presumably looking for the fight, when the Power suddenly grabs the heads of her buddies and kills them. Siuan looks around, then Baldy and a heavyset Yellow emerge to wrap her up with One Power webs and tell her she's Liandrin's now. Liandrin herself gets to her feet as the Black sisters block more sword attacks by the Warders, before Alanna grabs Liandrin's throat, and tries to stab her with a Power-blade. Liandrin blasts her back, smashing her through a stone column that snaps in two. The warders are also knocked down. The Blacks start running, but Liandrin pauses to glare at Alanna's fallen form and then uses the Power to pick up a warder's sword and launch it at her. Ihvon steps in front and gets impaled while not-Owein attends their bondholder. Not-Owein is stricken, saying he can't feel Ihvon, and Alanna gets up and crawls to the dead guy and starts screaming no over and over again.

15:37 So one warder can sense the other warder, despite the last word on not-Owein that his bond has been masked for months, and anyway, that's not how they work. Also, the plot armor is blatant, with Liandrin deciding to use telekinesis on the sword, instead of any of the other lethal powers on display in this episode alone. And Alanna is able to move despite being blasted through a stone column at least as thick as her body. She should be at least as pulverized as the column. But because Alanna is an important (by the standards of this shitshow) character and not-Owein is sleeping with the showrunner, Ihvon, the black guy so good to have so much diversity in the series to reflect the cities the writers live in, who is an actual book character who survives quite long into the series, dies for Drama, and that was Liandrin's ONLY shot, she is not going to try a second attack while the surviving Pervert Duo is distracted.

Back with Siuan, her Black captors say she is breaking free and "Screw what Liandrin wants", they're going to kill her. The most expeditious way they can think of is to pull a nearby belfry down on her head, but it stops, with all the rubble freezing in midair above her. The Black sisters wonder if Siuan did that, but one says no, she's still shielded. Then Siuan claws her way, literally, out of their binding and staggers free to blast them with sparky effects, all while the rubble is hanging in the air above her, with no Power effects visible. She looks around and releases the Power only to see Moiriane standing in the street channeling. They give each other their trademark Moiraine-Siuan Tragic Stare then Moiraine releases the Power and turns to run off. Behind Siuan, the rubble falls to the ground, blocking her view of the fallen Black sisters, but she only has eyes for where Moiraine went.

Lan is in the White Tower, and takes off his hood reverently when the finds the corridor full of corpses outside the Hall. He enters the Hall, and hey, remember Nynaeve was in this episode? The camera just did, and it's from the PoV of her unconscious body that we see Lan approach. He wakes her up by holding her face.

17:29 It says all you need to know about the show and its priorities, that it has a main character present, and renders her unconscious, instead of having her be the center of the scene. Nynaeve would be such a better candidate for the fight. Setting aside the nonsense where they blast their way out of the Hall, including Alanna, only to be temporarily stymied by Alanna alone, despite having increased their numbers, Nynaeve would have made a far better protagonist for the confrontation. She has the supposedly great strength that could let her succeed where a group had failed, to temporarily stop them, and her inexperience and handicaps could explain how they got away. Liandrin's established soft spot for her could even be leaned on to excuse her just leaving the scene of the second fight, instead of finishing Nynaeve off. But the showrunners DGAF about Nynaeve, this is their Aes Sedai fan fiction, and Nynaeve doesn't check any of their kink boxes like the Pervert Trio, so they get to be the stars, despite their lack of consistent establishment as heroes or characters in whom we should be invested. Unless the writers think that being a Pervert Trio automatically makes them of interest, which I suspect is the case.

But yet again, they're nerfing Nynaeve or shoving her to the side to let someone else shine. The shills keep defending these excisions on the basis of "tHeY dOn'T HaVe EnOuGh EpIsOdEs" but in that case, you cut the superfluous crap and stick to the essentials. It's clear that the writers absolutely consider Pervert Warder bullshit to be the essentials that they have to get in there and if that leaves Nynaeve out, too bad.

But at least she gets to have a man rescue her. Because that's so WoT.

17:40 Looks like all of that was the cold open. Here's where we get a WoTShow logo.

Nynaeve sits looking sad, and Egwene joins her, not in novice garb, lamenting her & Elayne's absence from the Hall that day, attributing it to "ridiculous Tower rules" keeping them out of the Hall, because they don't have their rings yet. They seem to be in a dining room somewhere, as Mat and what could be the back of Perrin are visible behind them. Rand is there too, and he interjects that "safe's not possible anymore" and adds that they are already running from the Forsaken, now with innumerable Black Ajah in the mix. Nynaeve & Egwene are both in civvies, not novice or Accepted dresses. Nynaeve passively and totally in-character, asks what now, and Rand reveals that Moiriane wants him to go to Tear. Perrin asks why and Egwene infodumps about Callandor. Mat helpfully adds "the Sword That is Not a Sword" in the Old Tongue. Nynaeve asks what it's for, if it can kill Forsaken or the Dark One, but Rand says, typically for prophecies that nothing is clear.

18:41 Egwene never mentioned Prophecies, or Callandor's book role. So why is Rand talking about them? We have not answered the question of why Moiraine wants them to go to Tear to get Callandor.

Or how and why Rand, Mat & Egwene got the briefing and Nynaeve and Perrin did not. Was it racism?

Look, I'm not one to constantly be calling racism and playing the race card, but if you are going to claim the casting of black actors to play two of the four main Two Rivers natives is a good thing, stop making distinctions like this in the script!

Perrin just wants to go where no one has heard of the Dragon. Egwene points out that word of Falme has reached Tar Valon, halfway around the world, and says that wherever they go, they'll go together. Nynaeve chimes in "together" for emphasis, and then Elayne enters, highlighting that, oops, they were not all together when they made that decision. Anyway she says that Moiraine wants them. In an upstairs room, Moiraine tells them all (the EF5, Elayne, Loial, and the Maidens of the Spear) that the city is obviously not safe. She wants them to stay there, but snarks that she knows they'll do whatever they want, so could they please remember all the spies in Tar Valon who might report their presence to the people who tried to stop the Blacks, but Siuan locked them out and the Pervert Warders blocked their way villainous Red Ajah. She warns them to cover their hair and hide their weapons, as the camera lingers on Aviendha, whose weapons are not easily hidden and is still in her distinctive Aiel garb. Moiraine adds that the sisters have certainly learned about Falme, and after today, she does not want any of them near another Aes Sedai. She finishes by telling them that they will sail for Tear at dawn.

19:45 So are we going to address why the three Maidens have followed them all the way to Tar Valon, "halfway around the world"? Later, actually. Or why Siuan, who last we heard, intended to lock Rand up, contrary to Liandrin's accusation, and tried to prevent Moiraine & co from taking the Ways to Falme, was Moiraine's priority during the attack, instead of protecting all these people she wants to hide from Siuan's minions, leaving Lan to extract Nynaeve from the White Tower, alone? Why did she bring Nynaeve to testify, if she doesn't trust the establishment? How did she make the arrangements with Siuan to bust Liandrin, if, as their brief encounter implies, their bond of trust is broken? Why is Siuan accepting the mere crumb of Nynaeve's testimony against Liandrin, when she has to know that Moiraine was with Rand, whose identity is known to the Tower?

Also, notice that Egwene is dominating the conversation, while Nynaeve is passive and reactive, and just kind of joins her declaration, like a supporting character or something? Since when? And what exactly is the relationship with the Aiel, and Elayne, who are not included in whatever the Two Rivers folk will do "together"?

Moiraine & Lan head out, for what purpose they don't say, and Loial grumbles about always having to leave at dawn, instead of after breakfast. Mat has been cooped up on a boat for a month, so he's not staying in. He gets Rand & Perrin to join him for "one last hurrah". Out on the street, he asks Perrin about his chances with the Aiel girls, who are following them right behind Rand. No one has their hair or weapons covered more than they did inside.

20:18 If they have been traveling together on a boat for a month, I am surprised Mat does not already know exactly what his chances are, since their willingness to sleep with a particular man is just about the only subject Aviendha will talk about.

They turn a corner as Perrin tells Mat the Maidens hate him, and Rand asks the women to please stop following him. Chiad and Bain tell him they have to protect him and see him safely to the Three-Fold Land. Rand tries to exert his authority as Car'a'carn and they scoff, Aviendha telling him he has not earned the right to be Car'a'carn or to lead them, because he hasn't faced the Trial of Rhuidean. Rand says they won't tell him what it is, they just stare and roll their eyes, and it's been a month, so can't they tell him? But Aviendha has been measuring the kind of man he is, and is disappointed that despite hundreds of thousands of her people waiting for him, he is 100% wetlander, despite his face & hair & blood.

21:20 STOP saying Rand's face & hair suggest he is Aiel, especially coming from the mouth of a woman of a visibly different race than he! Also, that was very much a conversation aimed passed the fourth wall, and otherwise was Rand reminding Aviendha of the status of their relationship. And, as per usual, it makes no sense. Why are they following him around if he's such a disappointment? Why did Aviendha telling him that he is just a wetlander make her and her sisters decide to stop bodyguarding him after they refused when he tried to order them to stop?

Back in the house, the three Tower girls are failing the Bechdel test talking about Rand. Egwene says that when she and Rand are together, it's like they’re back home and nothing has changed. Nynaeve points out that everything has changed. Then Egwene adds that when Rand touches her, it reminds her of her sul'dam, whom she is trying to forget but still dreams about. They pat her comfortingly.

In a bar or something, music is playing while Mat poses for a sketch artist with the Horn of Valere. He goes on bragging about blowing the Horn while Rand & Perrin joke like this is normal behavior now, and he referenced Rand having "your Dragon head up your Dragon ass". Rand sees the artist has a sketch of him flying over the tower in Falme to fight, like some fantasy novel bullshit, and not at all like what actually happened in Falme last season. They get a table and Mat names their backgrounds, implying Rand was into bestiality and starts grilling Rand about whether or not he's back together with Egwene, with Perrin's support and agreement, over Rand's demurrals. When he mentions she's the only girl Rand has ever kissed, Rand grins and Mat & Perrin start wondering whom else he could have kissed. Not Aviendha, because she only has eyes for Elayne and Perrin, to which Perrin hastily denies anything between them. After joking about their relative prospects with Bain & Chiad, Mat proposes a toast that turns into the Old Tongue, to their general chagrin. Rand then confesses his relationship with Selene to their excitement.

Lanfear is slow-mo walking the streets in a cloak. Lan is on a balcony keeping watch, while Verin talks about the Black Ajah getting the Tower's most powerful weapons to Moiraine. They also debate how much control Moiraine can exert over Rand. Verin cites the uncertainty of the times by saying that she was attacked by a woman she watched grow wrong term, I think from girlhood. Turns out Nikabrik's name is actually Naomi, and Adeleas is Verin's sister in this version. She questions whether Moiraine can actually believe in Rand.

Back to the boys, Rand and Perrin are playing a game and complimenting one another on their abilities and leadership, with Perrin denigrating himself in that area, while expressing confidence in Rand. Rand asks when Perrin is leaving, but they are interrupted by Mat showing off his portrait, before picking up on the vibe.

26:34 It looks like they are playing Snakes and Foxes, giving more attention to the details of a prop that's just an easter egg for readers, while completely ditching the characterization and important world-building. And I suppose that conversation was all to set up Perrin's presumptive leadership arc this season. I have no words for Mat's fame-whore depiction or Rand's kiss-and-tell about a woman he slept with, while not also warning his best friends about a Forsaken's alias.

Back with Lan, he spots Lanfear in the street, and she makes eye contact with him and Moiraine. Moiraine turns from the railing and Lanfear is right behind her, and giggles at startling her. Lanfear warns Moiraine that Rand won't go to Tear, Moiraine points out that Lanfear should be afraid if he does, since he killed Ishamael without it. She dismisses that by saying "Ishy was a gentle soul" and Rand really needs Callandor to protect himself from the other Forsaken who just want him dead. She taunts Moiraine saying that she knows Rand, including the dark parts Moiraine tries to ignore. As she is on the point of leaving, Moiriane says that Rand has told her Lanfear has been visiting his dreams encouraging him to go for Callandor and that might be the reason he doesn't want to, but Lanfear counters that his friends are holding him back, and suggests that Moiriane knows them, and knows what could scare or hurt them so they leave Rand. Moiraine is shocked into slow-wittedness and asks if Lanfear thinks she will hurt the others to get Rand to do what they want him to, and Lanfear says that's the only thing she likes about Moiriane.

28:30 Commercial break. And boy, characterization is just right out isn't it?

Lan and Moiraine walk the streets, Lan is appalled at the idea of trusting Lanfear. Moiraine doesn't trust her, but says she does trust that she wants the same thing for Rand. Lan notes that Lanfear has to be worried about Rand having killed an immortal Forsaken in Falme, and also that she is more afraid of the other six than she was of Ishamael. Moiraine snarks that Lanfear isn't popular and Lan warns that she betrayed the Forsaken and she'll betray them, too. Moiraine thinks that's a problem for the future, not right now. She tells Lan to get his Malkieri blade from the Tower, so they can kill Lanfear tonight if she does betray them. She stares at building with guards, wearing tunics.

29:21 So it turns out there are eight Forsaken instead of 13, and we still don't know what they are, except they are supposed to be immortal so that it's a big deal that Rand killed one. But a Malkieri blade can kill one, too. Lan has one, and keeps it in the Tower. So why doesn't Moiraine just have him give it to Rand to carry in case the Forsaken come for him? Also, how many show-only viewers remember Malkier from the once-per-season references to Lan's backstory? And what is with the guards Moiraine was looking at? The voice-over lead-in to the next scene is starting, which implies it's the place where they are staying, but why would it have uniformed guards?

Back with the girls, Egwene & Nynaeve are teasing Elayne about Aviendha only talking to Elayne of the group, Nynaeve saying that she hates the rest of them, especially Rand. Elayne tries to explain the cultural nuances, but Egwene mocks her for that too. Then Siuan comes in.

29:39 Gee, I guess there's no chance of Aviendha ever getting together with Rand, since that was the longest conversation she's had with a man that doesn't reference her sexual preference, and everyone confirms that she hates him. Also, WTF? Siuan is here, alone, at their Airbnb rental?

Oh, maybe that's the guards Moiraine saw. They indicate that Siuan is there.

Siuan is, indeed, in their house, and tells Elayne to be back in novice white the next day, if she doesn't want to jeopardize the alliance between Andor and the Tower. She sends her out to have a last night of fun while she talks to the Emond's Field girls.

Siuan takes a seat while Egwene says she's not going back to the Tower because she's been replaced by an alien clone Rand told her what Siuan tried to do to him. Siuan is halfway apologetic, and cites the imminent Last Battle and the Forsaken being loose and says the Light needs them. All the while, Moiraine has entered in the back and is listening behind a screen.

Siuan goes on to say that while they know all the above, Rand is going to go mad and it will destroy their love and when he does go crazy, Egwene will think twice about the value of her training and that she'll be needed with the Aes Sedai to stop Crazy!Rand. Egwene says she'll never do that, but Siuan continues saying that if she leaves the city before she's earned the Great Serpent Ring, she'll never be allowed to return. Nynaeve points out that she has a ring, so Egwene doesn't need one, but Siuan says she doesn’t have the power to back it up. Egwene agrees with Siuan, saying they don't know enough to fight the Forsaken or the Black Ajah.

31:30 I'd just like to point out, that if this was in the books, and there was a chance of making arguments based on decent consistency of character depiction, I would be highlighting that whatever Egwene says about her reason for going back to the Tower, the Forsaken & Black Ajah are not exactly news, and she only agreed to go back to learn to fight them, AFTER Siuan started talking about taking Rand down.

Also, she held her own against Ishamael last season, and has not been privy to the "gentle soul" conversation. If she sticks with Rand, they could be a pretty good Forsaken-killing team.

Egwene tells Siuan she will return to the Tower on the condition that gets to take her Accepted test today. Here in nothing-makes-sense world, we just cut straight to her walking into the testing chamber in her undergarments, so deal, I guess. Siuan, Leane and White sister, whom Siuan addresses as Alviarin, channel to start the test and Egwene goes in.

32:35 For the record, they have cast yet another book villain with a black actor. Alviarin is a black White sister. I think she may have been in the Hall, but IDK.

Nynaeve is in what I think is their house, fingering her Great Serpent ring, when Lan comes in. He is carrying a second sword and tries to reassure her about Egwene, who is awesome, don't forget. Nynaeve says the worst is remembering it and wondering about the alt lives. Lan asks about their life together, and Nynaeve says that although their daughter was great, their life wasn't happy, because they both gave up what they really wanted. Lan asks if maybe she's not doing the same thing by staying with Rand.

Over with Elayne, she is giving a woman letters for Tear and her mother. The woman seems to be wearing Andoran livery, and she rides off as Elayne picks up a truly massive basket of apples for someone enjoying her last day of freedom. She sees Aviendha and asks if the Maiden has been watching her all this time. Aviendha says that Rand "has no use of me" and that the city isn't safe. Elayne says she can take care of herself, and Aviendha asks if she wants her to go, but Elayne just gives her the apples saying she's going to make something of her last night of freedom.

34:29 Okay, but why is she apple-shopping? They don't have apples in the Tower? Is eating a bunch of apples Elayne's way of living it up? And what is with Aviendha's phrasing. Saying that Rand has no use "of" her sound's weird. It might be a British thing, like they say "different to" instead of "from" or "than", but it sounds weird.

34:34 Ah, spoke too soon. She's gonna make toilet wine. Our princess, everyone.

Elayne tells Aviendha she might not be able to make oosquai, but she'll try something, and says part of it in handtalk. Aviendha points out that with her complexion she could be taken for an Aiel. She also tries to advocate for Rand, explaining that he's not used to leadership, but he'll do right by the Aiel.

35:03 This does kind of track with Elayne's book characterization, even the toilet wine to her technical bent, assuming she's going make a still or use the Power, as opposed to actual toilet wine, which she doesn't have time to make in one night with prison methods. But arguing on Rand's behalf, understanding leadership issues, and cultural clashes, it all works. I don't understand this one, single anomaly, when no one else is book-accurate.

Loial and Rand are reading from a book of, apparently, prophecies, that the Stone of Tear will never fall until the Dragon Reborn holds Callanor and the People of the Dragon come. Loial tells him the meaning of PotD is lost, and Rand speculates that it might be his army. He also reads that Tairen law says that whoever holds the Stone of Tear rules the country, and Elayne trudges in to tell him that it means Tear will be the first country he conquers, but not the last. She asks Loial if she can talk to Rand.

35:46 Okay, the quote that "whoever holds the Stone, is lord of Tear, city and nation" was used in the context of a practical reality, rather than an explicit legal position. They've directly reversed it, and since it was used as the epigraph for the country's entry in the BWB, I strongly suspect the scriptwriter just looked up Tear for references when writing this episode. And you what? That sounds like actual effort. Good for you, Mr. (or Ms. This show, probably Ms.) Not-Quite-As-Retarded-As-Your-Colleagues.

Now, as for Elayne's visit. It would be very in-keeping with her immediately prior characterization to try to mend fences between Rand and the Aiel here, or possibly, given what she said coming in, tell him something about Tear, relevant to the letter she just sent there. Another rather interesting irony would be if she was specifically trying to advise him how to get in good with Aviendha, personally. Which I should be annoyed at, but it's like whatever fragments of the spirit of WoT remain in this husk of a show have concentrated together to restore the actual character of Elayne, trying to cope with the absurd setting in which she finds herself. So Elayne stuff, as long as she isn't being used to drag down Nynaeve, tends to put me in a better mood.

Worse scenario, and one I am afraid of, is that this is just following through on the last LINE of her conversation with Aviendha, and is here to replicate their scene together in Tear in the books, and given this show's proclivities, mix in their conversation and the results, from Caemlyn in Winter's Heart.

Also, Rand seems pretty intent on Tear, despite Moiraine's & Lanfear's concerns.

Elayne sent a letter to a noblewoman in Tear who is a friend of her mother's, saying that Tear is a very political city and Rand will need her help there. He wonders why she would and Elayne says that a peaceful transfer of power is preferable. When Rand points out that Tear still ends up conquered, she explains political reality to him. Then she segues into good leadership includes not alienating Aviendha, and the value of winning over the Aiel.

36:54 It IS you, Book!Elayne! How did you get here? Never mind, Run! Save yourself! Although, given all the Darkfriend issues, that letter was probably not a wise move. Then again, the show does not seem all too aware of that, as Moiraine was more concerned that anyone they met in the street could be a Red Ajah operative, than a Darkfriend.

Rand wishes Elayne were coming to Tear with them, and she assures him that Andor and she will always be his friends.

37:08 Uh, Cassian's going to be kind of busy, his own show is coming out next month (finally).

In Egwene's test, she is riding with Nynaeve and Elayne, all of them wearing ridiculous costumes. They approach Rand with Logain hair, whom Nynaeve says is completely mad and has killed Mat & Perrin. He calls her the Amyrlin Seat and demands she bow to him. Elayne (wearing mostly green) calls her Mother and Rand screams to bow before she comes lurching out of the archway all bloody.

Back on the balcony of their house, Rand is chilling and Moiraine comes out. Rand quotes the Prophecy of his birth. They argue about the Prophecies having contradictions and Moiraine warns that one of the Forsaken could take Callandor. Rand questions why they haven't done it already and worries they might be waiting in Tear to catch him. Rand wants to go back to the Two Rivers, to people he can trust, but Moiraine is skeptical of their utility and thinks he'll just get them all killed. Rand warns that Moiraine does not tell him what to do anymore.

Back in the Tower, Egwene is getting her ring, so that's all the test we're showing. She starts to leave the room, Siuan asks where she is going, and Egwene says now that she has the ring, they can't keep her there. Siuan invokes her duty to the Tower and Egwene says the Tower is destroying itself from the inside out and her duty is "to the Light, not you." Siuan looks mildly miffed at being outwitted so.

40:36 I am running out of ways to express the complete failure to keep the characters or the world-building consistent. Seriously, the White Tower is a joke if people can run rings around them like this. This is not book stuff, this is just logic based on what they tell us. Why would Siuan agree to Egwene's demands, if it meant she lost her hold on her? Who says she can't keep Egwene there? Why can't they just grab her with the Power? What authority is going to support Egwene's position with regard to Tower rules?

Nighttime, and Moiraine is on the balcony, gazing longingly at the Tower. Lan is sitting shirtless with Nynaeve in less clothing than normal, holding the sword of the Malkieri kings, which he says he has not felt worthy to wield. He has it now, because he is weak. He says it is power-wrought, like Rand's heron-mark blade, which Nynaeve notes killed Ishamael.

Elsewhere, Mat, Perrin, Loial & Elayne are all slamming back Elayne's toilet wine (it's probably apple spirits, but I'm gonna call it toilet wine until they name it). Bain & Chiad return, Mat tries to flirt and they invite him to play Maiden's Kiss. Mat eagerly accepts despite Perrin trying (not too hard) to warn him. They more or less do what is described in the books, and offer to let the other guys play too. Perrin and Loial look nervous. Elayne heads up to the balcony, where as she expected, she finds Aviendha nominally camping out, like she would on the deck of the boat. I can't help but notice there are a LOT of candles around for someone who is about to go to bed but not a lot for a scene in front of a camera. Aviendha jokes about Elayne being the one to watch her. Elayne sits with her and gives her some toilet wine. Aviendha asks about the Tower and Elayne says it'll be lonely without Egwene & Nynaeve. She starts to say something else, and Aviendha kisses her.

44:42 Fuck. This. Show.

Egwene is treating & bandaging Rand's wound from Falme, because she's the woman he's supposed to be with I guess.
More importantly, why is she needing to do this? Didn't Elayne Heal him right after he got it? Hasn't he been traveling with an Aes Sedai for a month? Why hasn't Egwene gone to Moiraine about this?
He calls her Egwene Sedai, referencing the ring and they hug and he asks about her test, and she tells it was horrible. They talk about his role in the test and she assures him she's not afraid of him and she's with him to the end. They start to kiss and she has a damane flashback and pulls away. Then she says she wants to try and they kiss. Nynaeve is sleeping with Lan, Perrin is in bed, having flashbacks to murdering Bornhald. There is an axe, stuck in a block near the fire. Moiraine is pacing upstairs near the balcony and looks like she's afraid of something. She goes downstairs and a hooded figure is at the top behind her.

Nynaeve wakes up, looking concerned. Mat is getting himself a drink in the downstairs area, Nynaeve comes out and is amused, asking what happened to him. He points to the cuts on his neck and says "a gentleman never tells." They sit at the table, Nynaeve tries to talk to Mat about being in denial about what he's going through while he plays solitaire. He says it's hard to tell the difference between medicine and poison with her. Nynaeve says the difference is the dose and the Wisdom's patience. This amuses Mat and he says that sounds like the old Wisdom. Nynaeve says that when she died, Nynaeve became, and is still, his Wisdom and press him to talk. Mat says since he blew the Horn, he's had memories in his head and he can't sleep. She takes his hand and has him close his eyes and ask what he hears. He says fighting, as we hear faint screams, and adds about the screaming and dying and says most of them speak the Old Tongue. He thinks they are real from a long time ago. He asks for her help and she agrees, saying she'll try.

Basically, a version of the Tairen bubble of evil starts to happen. Egwene wakes up to find a mirror Rand grabbing and choking her. Rand intervenes and more start climbing out of the mirrors. The Rands start fighting, Egwene channels at one and misses, hitting the mirror he came from which destroys it. Another one stabs her, but she warns Rand, who channels to destroy all the mirrors in the room. He is hyped up on the Power and Egwene has to shout him into letting it go.

Mat sees the playing card figures start moving, but Nynaeve doesn't until the hooded figure comes up and stabs her. She fights while Mat is enthralled by the cards. Perrin wakes up to see an axe, in a chopping block in his and Loial's room, work free and fly at him. He and Loial start grappling with it, and are joined by Bain and Chiad, and the axe takes turns attacking them all, wounding most of them and cutting Perrin's wedding ring off, before Loial drives it into the stone of the floor.

While all this is going on, Lan is awake and he and Moiraine are listening, and she shakes her head to warn him off from helping, until he hears Nynaeve calling for him and runs out to help her. He stabs her attacker, and Moiraine comes in to Heal Nynaeve while Aes Sedai and Warder glare at each other.

As she is being Healed, Nynaeve rhetorically asks if the Forsaken have found them.

55:46 The bit between Mat and Nynaeve before the bubble of evil was actually sort of in-character, and sure enough, they're skipping the Eelfinn to just give Mat memories from blowing the Horn of Valere. Also I notice that they are still refusing to name the old Wisdom. Doral Barran. Never forget! Egwene's trauma from her damane experience apparently manifests strictly as a reaction to getting sexual with Rand, because that makes sense at all. Like, it's clearly not physical intimacy, since she can treat his wounds (and note that this is yet another instance of Egwene providing medical care instead of Nynaeve) or being too close to people. But because of something a woman did to her, she freaks out if she tries to kiss a man, who was not present for any of it, and whose association, if any, with her experience should be her liberation.

Once again, another character's experience in the book is repurposed to be Egwene's achievement, as she is the one in peril from the bubble of evil and she is the one to find the solution. Mat's thing is just a distraction so Nynaeve can be attacked, and Bain & Chiad show up for Perrin's for whatever reason. And all the while, on the roof, two women whose heterosexuality is the basis of their book relationship are humping away at one another in blissful ignorance.

And why was Moiraine holding back? Waiting for an actual Forsaken to show himself so they could have Lan jump him with the sword? Was she just spitefully trying to teach them all a lesson about appreciating her help and counsel? And of course, Lan only blows her off to help, not because it's the right thing to do, but because he's a simp.

Early in the morning, Moiraine and Lan meet up with Lanfear in a secluded street outside, where Moiraine says she went too far. Lanfear takes credit for all three incidents, citing axe, mirror and cards, claiming to have played her part. Lan says that no one was supposed to get hurt. Lanfear counters that it had to be convincing and Healing is a thing. Lan is pissed about Nynaeve, Lanfear claims she didn't touch her, and Lan says she was stabbed 11 times. Lanfear looks puzzled instead of flippant and asks by whom, to which Moiraine replies an assassin with gray eyes and blackened fingers, and that he walked right through the inn without anyone seeing him. Lanfear says it was a Gray Man and is very worried, saying there is only one of the Forsaken who can make them, and leaves, urging Moiriane to get Rand out of the city.

Back at the house, Rand tells the other Two Rivers folk that it was his fault and he has to go. Nynaeve says she can't go with him, until she learns to channel, so she's going back to the Tower, and Mat adds that he's going to stay so she can fix his head. Perrin is going home. Rand is cool with this and tells Egwene to stay at the Tower too. Egwene says she's not going anywhere, which is what he just told her, but IDK, the language issue again. Rand says they won't stop coming for him and Egwene says let them try.

Perrin is in his room, moping over his broken ring, when Loial comes in to say everything's read for his journey home. Bain and Chiad come in to say they are coming too, because Loial saved Chiad and she has toh and Bain goes where Chiad does.

Nynaeve apologizes to Lan, and he tells her she's making the right choice, although he sounds like he's crying (see above, re: simp ). He takes her hands and gives her his mother's ring, passed down through the most powerful women in Malkieri history and says he doesn't want any other queen, and they kiss, so I guess they are engaged?

Mat gives Perrin the portrait from the street artist to give to his sisters, the three guys hug, Elayne and Aviendha are here, but we don't get their take on Lanfear's fake bubble of evil, they just say they hope to see each other again and do not-Owein & Ihvon's finger-squeezing thing and then Rand and Elayne hug for some reason. As the party heading for the Two Rivers leaves, Mat gets a backward look from one of the Maidens. Rand is saying goodbye to Nynaeve and Moiraine starting to look impatient and Mat makes an implied dick joke about the Tower to the amusement of the girls and Rand, because that's something those three would laugh at. As they head out, Rand expresses surprise that Aviendha is not going with Perrin, and Egwene adds "or Elayne" putting all the earlier teasing in a whole new light, but Aviendha says it doesn't matter what either of them think about it, Rand is the Car'a'carn and duty etc. Moiraine says that their tickets on the fastest ship to Tear are all paid for, and Rand is like, Lol, we're going to the Waste, because it's the last place anyone would look for him.

A hand with a triple ring is drawing patterns in sand, muttering all crazy-like. A man in tattered clothes is all webbed up in a room while Moghedian is playing with the sand. He is choking out something about their master, and she asks if he knows what happens if they break their oaths to the Dark. She tells him they lose their souls and become something not dark or light but gray. She calls the man Jaichim and asks if he wants to be gray. He doesn't so she freezes his blood and keeps asking, he keeps saying no, but she says she's only going to ask one more time, and from the music and his screaming, she intensified the pain until he says yes and then she starts channeling at him and he slumps over. He looks up and his eyes are fluky and she says she has someone she needs him to find.

1:04:39 This was written by Justine Juel Gillmer. There was a tiny bit of good stuff in there, but there was also pretty inept characterization, depiction of the setting, battle logic and odd use of language. She's on my list.

1:04:44 Liars! Except for Elayne. Up until the last bit. Put her back where you found her or else. I'm actually rather afraid she'll pull a Steppin over being turned gay.

Ugh. That was a beast. There were two more released with it, and I'll be putting them up when I get to it.