Sunrise in the Three-Fold Land. On the top of a butte or rockpile, a kneeling woman writhes & waves her arms.

01:20 STOP with the rituals, already!

Close-up it's Moiraine messing with the Sakarnen orb she stole from Avendesora last episode. With what appears to be some difficulty, she sends flows out all over the surrounding desert, stirring the sand. The sounds get really intense, and she starts to look troubled or maybe ecstatic, or maybe having a really huge bowel movement, and suddenly she is collapsing into Lan's arms.

02:24 Lan was not there a moment ago, which means he had to notice and come up to get her, which means most, if not all the Aiel should absolutely have seen the dust she was kicking up.

Lan asks what "that" is, and she pants a question of what it felt like to him. He says euphoric and something like hunger or thirst, but deeper. He asks what she saw in the rings. Instead of answering, she closes her eyes and leans against him again. The obligatory overhead shot reveals a fan pattern in the sand around her.

03:17 The Aiel absolutely should have some questions.

Title card.

Rand & co are walking through a rocky part of the waste, with Rand & Rhuarc in the lead. Egwene is further behind with the Wise Ones and she asks them if the other chiefs will support Rand as Car'a'carn. Bair says they only talk to the Wise Ones, who will bring the chiefs to meet Rand at Alcair Dal. Melaine says some will reject him like the Shaido did when he returned from Rhuidean. Aviendha is behind them in a dress, and asks if Sevanna & Couladin's rejection really surprises them, because Rand isn't an Aiel. Melaine retorts that it is no thanks to Aviendha.

04:09 More off-screen developments! Greaaat. Whatever Aviendha has failed to do here, Couladin & Sevanna rejecting Rand after Rhuidean, nope. No need to show that, let's show Moiraine having a power rush, because somehow the takeaway from the books where she is marginalized and eased out of power among the group, is that she should be the focus of this story.

Aviendha's defense is that she cannot teach a pupil who won't learn. Melaine seems to find the "cannot" part telling.

04:14 The general consensus from people who, unlike the audience, have witnessed Aviendha's interaction with Rand, including her lover, seems to be that Aviendha has not exactly been making a sincere effort.

Bair tells Aviendha that she is to spend all day with Rand, from waking until he goes to bed, and Melaine says it's the first step in her training to be wise. She does not look thrilled.

Aiel start popping up from the rocks as the group approaches, and monkey noises. Rhuarc indicates a big rockpile with a stone arch on top, saying it's Cold Rocks Hold, the "seat" of the Tardaad, and that they will stay there until the other chiefs reach Alcair Dal.

Closer to the stone arch, we start to see signs of habitation, dwellings and stairs carved into the sides of a forking canyon. People come out to shake tambourines and make monkey noise at them. A smug-looking woman, like a red-haired, smaller-nosed Barbara Streisand awaits in front of some doorways. Rhuarc asks leave to enter her hold, calling her roofmistress. She gives him leave, addressing him as chief. She then adds "Shade of my heart, you will always have my leave", and clutching her heart. Rhuarc & Bair smile wide at her, or as wide as Bair's boxtox will go. Rhuarc thanks the roofmistress of his heart and he & Bair make similar gestures. He goes up to touch foreheads with her, and then kiss, we see Egwene & Aviendha's non-reaction and cut back to Bair kissing the roofmistress.

05:58 Big doofy grins! Such an Aiel thing! Also, public kissing. Because a far more important thing to represent than the Aiel characteristic stoicism and reserve is their polygamy. Just hurry up and show the Aiel woman with two husbands, so we can get it out of the way.

Rhuarc finally gets around to telling us the roofmistress is Lian, introducing them both to the crowd in general as his wives. A little girl shouts "Greatfather" and runs to Rhuarc who picks her up to general laughter, including Moiraine's, with a separate shot to give us the latter.

06:05 From everything I understand, child actors create problems in production. So why do we have this unnecessary addition for pointless feel-good moments? Because they never bothered developing Rhuarc's character, so we need these shortcuts. His grandchildren love him! Are we invested in him yet? Look, Moiraine is charmed!

Rhuarc presents her as his greatdaughter, Alsera. She runs up to Rand to ask if he's the Car'a'carn.

06:12 Fuck off, Alsera.
Rand smiles, and she continues that her grandmother said so, and Rhuarc and Bair each give Lian a look. Rand rolls up his sleeve to show the dragon marks and says he is. The girl looks stunned and he growls at her, she screams and he chases her off down one of the streets.

06:42Why is this still going on? Why is the reaction/opinion of a child important? Who goes off chasing a child they just met, in a place they have just entered, are not familiar with, and haven't even been introduced properly to her family? Especially people of an alien culture? Once again, forget WoT or Aiel issues, this is not how PEOPLE behave.

Egwene watches Rand go and Bair comes up to tell her that it's time for Dreamwalking and invites her to join them. Egwene agrees, and Moiraine pauses from being led inside by Lian to give her a look.

07:10 For someone who has spent so much time staring at Rand because he could go homicidally insane at any second, Moiraine seems awfully chill with the fact that he is now off somewhere chasing a child.

Siuan is reading a letter in her office, and sniffs it. She glances aside, and then quickly locks it in the chest on her desk.

07:26 Please be the delegation coming to arrest her.

The door knob turns and then a hand with a ring grabs the edge. Finally, we are shown Elaida entering. Siuan comments on her rose perfume, saying you can smell it before Elaida shows up, and she remembers it from Elaida's classes when she was a novice. Elaida just smiles and looks around the room, calling it the "most sacred chamber of the most hallowed institution in the world"

07:53 Calling this room that is undermined by the fact that Elaida has just barged in here without notice or apparently, any vetting process. Just a couple of episodes ago, she wasn't allowed to come in without a Sitter's petition. You'd think that would be the first question resolved on her entry.

Another thing going on here is the very transparent use of dialogue to establish things. The problem is what the writers think is important. In this case, it's showing off Siuan's observational skills by having her know who was at that the door, and the fact that Elaida used to teach her in class. But would not a more effective method have simply been to have her sniff, and then call for Elaida to come in, so to a character's perspective, she appears extremely on the ball, while hinting to the viewer that she is using clues? It's not even that hard, they show Cadsuane using this method. But why is it important to establish this trait of Siuan, as well as their history, when we've already been hammered with the much more important datum that she defeated Elaida in an election for the Amyrlin Seat?

Also, the most hallowed chamber would be the Hall of the Tower.

What I am most worried is that this IS the notice of Siuan's deposition, in which case this is all bullshit dialogue for drama.

Oops, that was just a dramatic pause. Elaida continues "and you make it look like a fisherwoman's hut". Siuan asks if Elaida went through the trouble of getting the audience to critique her décor. Siuan retorts that appearances matter and the Tower has fallen, with Siuan's taste not exactly appropriate to the power levels of the people who might visit.

08:26 Her point isn't bad, but also, making kings and queens sit in humble chairs and walk on rough carpets is a power move of a sort.

Siuan's reply is that "not everyone wants to be sick with the smell of roses."

08:30 It's about appearances, not taste, Siuan! Of course, this is on-brand for her, to be blinkered by her own perspective, and actually miss the important takeaway from her failures of leadership, even when rubbed in her face, but I don't think the showrunners know that, or want to depict it.

Elaida asks after Elayne, and Siuan replies that she is on a journey of Siuan's choosing, well-protected and she has informed Morgase.

08:41 Three Oaths! Elayne left without telling any sisters, and even if Siuan thinks she is manipulating everything, and Min's appearance in the departure scene was not to join them, but to rat them out to Siuan, it's still not of her choosing, even if Elayne has made the choice Siuan wanted her to. Furthermore, there is absolutely no way that Siuan considers her "well-protected" in her mind, accompanied by a woman who can't effectively channel and douchebag layabout with a single successful sparing bout to his record

Elaida tells Siuan that she's losing her grip and that she is going to call for a vote in the Hall to cage the Dragon Reborn as Siuan should have. Siuan blows this off, saying they'll see who has the votes, and taunts Elaida by reminding her of Siuan defeating her for the Amyrlin Seat.

09:12 This should be easy to slap down, since Liandrin made the same charge, so you can smear Elaida with that, plus the fact that Rand WAS caged at Siuan's orders, and the guards were betrayed and freed by Moiraine & co. Siuan does not even have the book problem of Moiraine's conduct reflecting on her, since she exiled her!

Next, Elaida asks about Moiraine, and Siuan says she's been exiled. Elaida thinks they are still in contact, recalling their affection as novices.

09:28 She doesn't even need her memories of their novitiate, just Moiraine's disgraceful display in the Hall during the formal exile.

Siuan, in a tellingly less casual tone says it was a long time ago. Elaida does not believe people change, and however many people Siuan has fooled, Elaida knows that she is still river trash, the same as she was when she came to the Tower all poor and gross at 9. Siuan's just like, I'm too busy for your bullshit, and Elaida offers a mockingly deep curtsey and leaves.

In a library or her bookshelf-filled rooms, Verin is giving Adeleas tea. Adleas has difficulty asking if the tea is hot. Leane precedes Siuan into the room, and Verin leaves Adeleas to go over to them, and report what they have learned about the organization of the Black Ajah. Verin says that Liandrin had four hearts working with her, which would make a total of 12 sister, but only 11 attacked in the season opener. Siuan takes this to mean that there is one still in the Tower, and is worried that it is Elaida. Leane argues that Elaida's arrival soon after Liandrin's departure argues that she is Liandrin's replacement as their leader in the Tower. Verin, having a sole grasp of the functioning brain this little group shares among themselves, notes that they need proof. Siuan says that breaking the Three Oaths would be proof and Verin points out that if she's not Black, it will take forever to disprove that way.

Leane suggests that if Elaida found out where the captive Joiya and Amico were being held, and Verin concludes she might try to free them. Siuan adds "or silence them." She orders the bait laid & subtly, telling Verin to bring her the truth so she can take Elaida's head.

11:50 They keep dumbing on top of the dumb. The fact that Verin inexplicably survived Nikabrik's mental assault should make Siuan as suspicious of her as of anyone else. She noted Liandrin sparing Nynaeve (although she didn't) in the Hall, Verin escaping unscathed should be just as big a trigger to her paranoia. Then there is the point that they are having this conversation in front of Adeleas, who was struck by a Black sister's mental attack, which they cannot cure or fix at this point. A. how do they know it's real and not faked, from Adeleas being in cahoots with Nikabrik? B. How do they know that Nikabrik did not turn her into a slave or spy or sleeper agent or unwitting human listening device? C. Even if none of that is possible, because the Aes Sedai on this show have a very irregular absolute knowledge of things like that, the fact is, they can't really assess her current mental capacity, or the possibility that she could blab what is said in her presence to someone else, or that she might be more vulnerable to a casual interrogation, or unable to communicate it, if she is induced to spill the beans against her will.

Furthermore, Siuan is turning what should be an open-ended search for a co-conspirator, into a focus on a particular subject. Confirmation bias means there is a high possibility of finding misleading evidence, and focusing on Elaida can blind them to whatever the actual at-large member of the conspiracy is up to. Or they could tip their hand in their pursuit of Elaida, alerting the actual Black. Basically, Siuan is committing the same tactical error for which Karede executed his subordinate on the spot while fighting Rand in Book 8.

Then there is the point that they seem to be assuming there is only one left, when the very organizational structure of the hearts indicates a high degree of compartmentalization. The only way they can be certain that one of Liandrin's particular conspiracy remains (for all they know the Black Ajah don't have the numbers for four full hearts, and there really is no way to divide an organization of 11 people into even groups) is the assumption that the Black Ajah is far larger than her collaborators. Which means looking for the 12th is a pointless waste of time, since she is unlikely, by Siuan and Verin's reasoning to know of anyone outside Liandrin's gang, and she is a single sister among the many more who remain.

All of that is a lot of advanced thinking of course, unless there is something in your books to suggest the Aes Sedai should have been able to figure all this out.

In the books, a brand-new Accepted teenager figured out, after less than a day of studying Verin's dossier on the fugitives, that there were a lot more of the Black Ajah than Liandrin's group.

In Emond's Field, Alanna is sewing at the table in the middle of town. Not-Owein suggests she wear a local "sack" or they sail to the coast to visit a shop she likes in Ebou Dar. Alanna's surprised he wants to leave, thinking he was interested in "the baker boy" and not-Owein was, but he makes icky bread.

12:24 Way to destroy any goodwill earned by the depiction of not-Owein's grief in his last appearance. He's back to being a shallow asshole and we're back to treating gay men as ho-bags just looking for the nearest dick to ride or ass to pillage.

A horse is heard approaching and we see it preceded by Bain & Chiad at a run. Perrin comes out to meet them, and it's Faile on the horse. She warns that Whitecloak reinforcement have just entered the mountains, so they'd better move fast if they are going to rescue the Cauthons.

12:40 What have they been waiting for? It's like Perrin & co know that the Cauthons have plot armor so there is no rush, until we have a nice full episode to devote to their rescue. Also, regarding the casting, they did a good job with Faile's looks, getting a woman of striking but conventional appearance, whom a man in love would find gorgeous, but someone else might go back and forth. That's more important, IMO, than casting an oriental with a prominent nose to meet the specific features.

Perrin nods and we end the scene on Alanna's face.

12:45 It is not hyperbole in the slightest when I say that this is Aes Sedai fanfic. Perrin should have been the focus of that scene, and he ends up having no dialogue, and being in only two shots. Instead, the show is making it very clear that the main characters of the Two Rivers storyline are the Pervert Duo.

Back in Cold Rocks Hold, everyone is eating. Aviendha asks Rand if wetlanders don't share lovers. Rand says not usually as the camera watches Rhuarc & Lian nuzzling. Aviendha thinks that is a lot to ask of one person, maybe too much, and expresses sympathy for Egwene. Rand wants her to shut up, but she passive-aggressively cites table etiquette while blaming him for her orders to teach him. Rand points out that she doesn't have to teach him, and she jumps on him using his left hand to pick up food, because that matters, but no one told him until now. The stupid kid pipes up asking if he likes a particular dish, because she grew it. Rand gushes about it and Aviendha has to suppress a reluctant smile.

13:40 OMG, he's so good with kids! Peak Dad material! Got your lady parts all a-tingle, Aviendha?

But yeah, the writers absolutely have polyamory blinkers on. ITB, sharing a husband is not very common even among the Aiel and they make a point of the fact that the women in question have to be really, really close and value their relationship above an exclusive one with the man in question. They do not commonly share lovers, as is implied by Aviendha, whose follow-up clearly places a monogamous relationship as the oddity and thinking it creates undue burdens on the partners. Aviendha, one might recall from the books, was violently jealous of Rand, with zero interest in sharing him, except for the fact that Elayne had dibs, and she herself had incurred a mortal debt for breaking her rash promise to uphold Elayne's status. Once Elayne forgave her that debt, Aviendha literally said that she would NOT share Rand unless they could make their own part work.

But for these idiots, the most interesting thing about the Aiel is the polygamy, which they want to see as polyamorous bisexuality, and so a minor custom becomes the focus of the depiction. They have spent more screen time and dialogue on poly bullshit than they have on ji'e'toh, the core ethics and behavioral code of the Aiel.

Our adopted Malkier Madien offers Lan, her table neighbor, a delicious motai.

13:44 It's a fucking bug, Lan. Hurry up and eat it so we can get the joke over with and get on to some substantive content about the prophesied hero of the apocalypse.

Lan picks up the motai and bites into it. As soon as he does, Malkiel corrects him, saying not to eat the head first, because it will bite all the way down.

13:59 He paused, holding the stupid thing head first, you had plenty of time to let him know the proper way to eat it. This is the show contriving dialogue for gross-out purposes or else Malkiel being an asshole. And why was the bug-eating bit interspersed with a shot of Moiraine looking wistful or pensive or some other irrelevant emotion? The only thing I can figure is that we are still playing Malkiel as a potential love interest for Lan, and Moiraine is sad, because she's into one or the other of them.

Lan says the bug was delicious, and Malkiel offers one to Moiraine who says she's done and leaves.

Elsewhere in the hold, in a place that looks like a smaller version of the final boss temple in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Egwene is with Bair & Melaine getting dreamwalking lessons. She is warned that after this lesson she cannot enter Tel'aran'rhiod again without permission from one of them. They explain how anyone can touch it in a dream, but few can enter it, that's it's got nothing to do with channeling, regardless of what Aes Sedai think, noting that Melaine is just as good a dreamwalker as Bair despite not being able to channel.

15:01 Is there a reason for flipping Bair's & Melaine's channeling status?

They stick a brass pin in the side of a candle and light it, telling Egwene that when it drops out of the candle, Egwene will hear it in the dream and it will help her wake up if she gets caught up in the dream. They close their eyes, scenery flickers and Egwene opens hers in the same room, but in T'A'R. They warn her that there are dangers here, and Egwene's dress changes to an armored one. They explain that her subconscious desires created it, and controlling her thoughts lets her control the dream. She tells them about the dreams with Renna. They explain that she can banish anyone who comes into her dreams, just like she can be somewhere else if she wants.

17:22 I do like their approach of having Egwene dealing directly with a dream problem to segue into the lessons and give them context.

Egwene poofs over to Tar Valon by accident, and starts to hear things and see movement from the corner of her eye. She sees a ghostly image, presumably a mundane dreamer. Then she sees someone in the distance and approaches, thinking it's Bair, but it's Lanfear, who levitates her and does a Force choke, saying she's glad Egwene is here. Then the noise of the pin yanks Egwene awake.

When she wakes, the Wise Ones say she's being stalked by one of the Shadowsouled. They ask how Egwene left their location in the dream, but Egwene just says she wanted to, so she did. Melaine thinks she's too eager and moving too fast. They tell Egwene that Shadowsouled are called the Forsaken by wetlanders.

In the White Tower, Elaida is talking to a White, who contends her Ajah does not take sides, but is guided by the objective truth, because that is a totally unique thing that no one else believes informs their political positions and alliances. Anyway, the Whites side with Siuan because she usually has reason and logic on her side. Elaida says Siuan has been destroying the Tower from within since she took the Amyrlin Seat. The White (who is black, LoL) implies she'll be on Team Elaida if it can be proven. Elaida thanks her, addressing her as Alviarin. (who, ITB, is Black, LoL)

When they part, Elaida spots Adeleas being walked down the hall by a trainee. Elaida greets her, and offers to help her get where she is going. The trainee starts to demur, citing Verin's orders, but Elaida scares her off with threats, despite her Accepted status. Elaida takes Adeleas' hands and starts to chat her up.

20:25 Another security fail for Adeleas. Apart from the very predictable issue of leaving her with an Accepted who can't do anything about sisters, the very people they are concerned about having contact with her (or the Black Ajah looking for the chance to finish the job) you don't know what she might be saying to the Accepted.

The Accepted enters a room, where Leane asks if Elaida took the bait. When the Accepted leaves, Leane asks Verin, who is pretending to read a book, if Adeleas can really do this in her state. Verin has full confidence in her. Elaida persuades Adleas to reveal that Verin is often in the 13th Depository, looking at the Black Ajah.

20:44 This is not a fix. First of all, involving Accepted in high level Tower political intrigue is a no-no. For one thing, it counts on Elaida not choosing to grill the Accepted for what her orders are regarding Adeleas. For another, it implicitly sets up Accepted to choose sides among Aes Sedai, which in turn entails judging sisters, and acting against them. This is not Tower knowledge, this is, once again, simple human hierarchal functions. And no, I don't think highly of the Hogwarts faculty, either.
Secondly, let's not forget, if she is Black Ajah, "taking the bait" could simply mean killing Adeleas.

On a ship on what seems like the ocean, Elayne is reading out loud a book on Tanchico in a cabin. Nynaeve is puking, and Mat is aggressively indifferent to learning about the city they are heading toward. Nynaeve doesn't see how that will help them find the Black Ajah, but Elayne starts to explain that if you know how a city works, you can figure out where a traveler will go for what she needs. She barely gets the word "travel" out when Mat starts sneering about her only experience of traveling is in luxury with lots of attention.

Elayne asks if his plan is to "drink yourself into a stupor and ask for directions to the Black Ajah in the Old Tongue." Nynaeve tells them to stop and Mat & Elayne are more amenable to such a request than Rand, Egwene & Perrin were back in Fal Dara. Nynaeve's idea is to find Liandrin's family in the city, but Elayne points out they can't be sure they know her real name. Nynaeve pukes again, and this is deeply offensive to Mat, who has been down in the cabin for two weeks, and has had enough of Nynaeve having the temerity to have bodily reactions, so he's going on the deck.

Elayne tries to stop Mat, saying that the sole condition of their passage was to promise the Sailmistress that they would stay in the cabin the whole trip. Mat retorts that it was just because she was afraid Nynaeve would throw herself overboard. Looking up from her bucket, Nynaeve asks if that is an option.

Elayne insists they stay below, saying "Deals with the Sea Folk are not to be broken." Mat sarcastically accedes. Elayne looks out the window and is surprised to note a geographical feature passing. Mat has zero interest in another geography lesson. Elayne snaps that they've only been sailing for fourteen days (so much for two weeks, which is 20 days, in WoT), and it's impossible to have come this far, no matter how fast Sea Folk rakers are.

Mat seizes on this as excuse to go up to the deck to look at the shore. Elayne tries to argue but he ignores her, and Nynaeve wearily asks for help getting up the stairs. Up on the deck, it's nighttime, so IDK how Elayne recognized an island chain in the dark, when she's sure it should be a ways ahead yet.

23:55 So Elayne is still carrying the smart ball for, basically, the whole show. Too long away from her seems to have sapped Elaida's intellect as well, which means Gawyn is probably licking the windows in the White Tower by now.

Whereas Mat, who ITB might not always pay attention, but is otherwise usually pretty good at making inferences and deductions when information is waved under his nose, is just being obnoxiously petulant and impulsively self-serving. So much so that even amusing lines like Nynaeve wanting to jump overboard fall flat. Mat is utterly loathsome on this show. He is completely infantile and utterly stupid and selfish. He has absolutely no redeeming qualities. When he and Elayne butted heads while traveling ITB, we understood where each on was coming from and how each one had bad information on the other. Here, there is absolutely no on-screen reason to question Elayne's charge of drunken uselessness, while we have more than enough evidence of Elayne's character to dismiss Mat's accusations out of hand. FFS, he was traveling with her for a month! He knows what she is capable of enduring.

Also, there is something about his speech that is particularly annoying. It seems like it has a lot more specifically British jargon, not just pronunciations or accent. It is murder on my immersion.

On deck, Mat leans on the railing, Elayne looks for a moment like she's enjoying the sight, before becoming concerned about the situation. Nynaeve lurches to the other side of the boat to vomit off the side, and this catches the eye of a couple of dim figures on the forecastle or the poop deck.

One of them comes running down, remonstrating with Elayne and Nynaeve's butt about their agreement, but she cuts off Elayne's apologies and advises Nynaeve that as a mountain person, she tries to stick to one place too hard, and she should relax and roll with the motion. This helps Nynaeve, who begs to stay on the deck. With a glance at the other figure she had been standing with, the Sea Folk woman agrees.

24:35 Another dark scene for no reason (probably to hide the CGI) so we can't actually see the Sea Folk jewelry, and only know it's there thanks to the books priming us to look for it. And why is it always the non-civilized people who have the generally applicable wisdom? ITB, the Sea Folk were of no help in dealing with motion sickness, as should be expected, because they lacked the frame of reference to understand the problem. How is it that a Sea Folk understands the mindset and movement of Mountain Folk well enough to diagnose the source of Nynaeve's problem?

As Elayne goes to watch over the rail, we see Min crouched in a corner. She tries to duck below, but Mat spots her and follows, calling after her.

25:06 Ah, so Min did hitch a ride, instead of spying on them for Siuan. What's the plan here? And why did the Sea Folk change their minds about letting them stay on deck if it was to hide the channeling. And why are they not black?

When he catches up to Min, Mat demands to know if she has a room, and when she reluctantly admits it, he is cheerful and for some reason, she can't kick him out or tell him no.

Back in the Two Rivers, the Cauthons' cage has been moved into a tent, and Natti is still telling the girls everything's alright. Valda is eager to get going, looking forward to attacking when the reinforcements arrive and wanting to find out where Perrin is before that, but Dain won't let him start the torture. He drinks and goes in to see the girls and offer them water. He reassures them and tries to ask nicely for intel on Perrin, having heard that he's returned to the Two Rivers.

26:32 If "they" say Perrin has come back home, then you have to know that the girls would have no knowledge of his whereabouts, since they've been in custody the whole time. At least Valda very clearly just wants an excuse to torture, so ignoring the logic makes sense for him. And for the record, Perrin has been exclusively seen, since his return, in the center or town, or its largest building. He's not exactly hard to find, if you make any effort.

One of the girls says they haven't seen Perrin and she barely remembers him. Dain straightens up and his keys jingle, tantalizing Natti. She looks at the girls and one says she knows where Perrin would go. Dain comes closer and crouches down to ask, but catches Natti trying to take his keys. He grabs her wrist and tries to yank the keys free, when the Power sends him flying across the tent. He gets up accusing one of them of being a witch, and Natti, quite uncharacteristically for a Cauthon on this show, takes the blame. Maybe she wants to rat, but since the show has not bothered to tell us who is Bode & who is Eldrin, the worst mom in the Two Rivers doesn't know either. Dain drags her out of the cage and drops her before Valda, who is creepy about it.

Overlooking the camp, Perrin intends to sneak in with the Aiel. Faile wants to come and Perrin says not yet, so she does knife tricks that make swooshy noises, but we can't see because it's dark, and it ends with her knife at his throat and in typical smug manner of a female screen character whose annoying behavior is supposed to intriguing, insists on coming. Bain & Chiad exchange looks and one agrees to her coming.

28:42 This is not the books. They don't have a relationship. Faile is not trustworthy, she has not proved herself. Perrin is right to leave her behind, and Bain & Chiad are idiots for inviting her.

Perrin says that Loial will stay to hold the horses, and Loial adds that stealth is not his strongest suit.

28:49 Ironic you should say that, Loial, when all I can see of you is eyes and teeth.

Alanna notes the high visibility (could have fooled me) and says she'll create cover, but not-Owein objects, wanting her to stay there. They argue a bit, but Alanna insists. The group splits up and we follow the most important one … LoL, no, we follow the Pervert Duo as not-Owein whines that she’s not listening and Alanna is all “you’re not the boss of me”. He’s mad because they used to make decisions as a group and she retorts that they don’t feel like much a group, and he whimpers that he followed her “up turnip mountain” but she won’t tell him why. She says angrily it’s because he’s not enough, voice rising to shout the last word. When they are supposed to supporting a steal rescue mission.

29:50 This is why the relationship is so contemptible to me – not because of the number of people involved or the sexuality, but because the show is so clearly All About It, probably because the writers are all titillated by those same qualities, that it takes precedence over everything, even the situation in which they are involved. The outcome is that they come across as solipsistic assholes who only care about their relationship and their self-indulgence, to the point that they start arguing in increasingly loud voices on a stealth mission, where regular people's lives are at stake. And this is consistent with their behavior from the first season.

Alanna is here, because the Black Ajah has the initiative and the good guys need to be ready to fight too. Not-Owein wonders what that has to do with the Two Rivers, and Alanna points out the Dragon Reborn, the sounder of the Horn and two extremely powerful channelers all came from here, so she’s here to recruit more people for the Light. Not-Owein DGAF, all he cared about was Ihvon & Alanna. If she wants to keep throwing their lives away, fine, he’s going to go get revenge on Liandrin. And he nopes out.

31:39 This is exactly why you don't go indulging in sex & romance stuff with people with whom your relationship is supposed to be professional. Moron.

He asks her to come with him, she looks like she’s taking a dump and tells him she’s turned off the bond. He goes.

32:17 What does "turned off the bond" mean? There is no bond? Or it is simply not functioning? Is it like masking the bond, or whatever they call what we are told Alanna has done a lot with him?

It’s also night at Cold Rocks Hold and Lan is telling Malkiel that he is ashamed he never knew Malkier himself.

32:24 More fatuous sentiment that is either out of character, or incompetent writing. Shame is not the same thing as regret.

She points out that he was a baby when the kingdom fell, and reminisces about how beautiful it was, with their poetry and dancing and long nights after dancing.

33:10 I thought she was a small child when Malkier fell? What does she remember of the long nights after the dancing?

He asks what she misses the most, and she says “laughter”.

33:24 What about your family, you heartless bitch? Also, that implies there is no laughter among the Aiel, when all we have had so far is giggly funtimes.

Egwene is packing up when Rand comes in and asks if she is leaving, lamenting their lack of alone-time. She’s going to stay with the Wise Ones to facilitate her training. She half-heartedly offers to stay, but of course, Rand says no, and hands her her stuff, before going in for a kiss she seems less into. She leaves.

34:04 This is their first night in Cold Rocks Hold. Why does Egwene need to pack up and move out of a shared room? Why didn't they just have her stuff put in the Wise Ones' quarters?

Moiraine is sitting up somewhere high, holding the Sakarnen, when suddenly Lan is next to her, and she is startled.

35:04 If you are so out of it that your bonded warrior can sneak up on you, maybe don't be holding the Sakarnen out in the open like that, when at least four other people in this location are going to recognize it, one of them isn't exactly thrilled with you and the other three highly unlikely to be sanguine about your taking it. Because it's Writers' Pet Moiraine, the outcome will probably be that she is the rightful possessor, since the Aiel were holding it for Latra Posae or some bullshit.

He sits by her and her small fire.

35:18 And the Aiel don't care about her lighting a fire on that height to mark the location for anyone looking, while also ruining the night vision of whomever is on watch?

Moiraine tells Lan that she saw she won’t be at the Last Battle and that everything they’ve done and given up is all for nothing because she won’t be there.

35:47 The arrogance is breathtaking. The important thing is not who is at the Last Battle, it's whether or not you win. The fact that you are not there, means you don't know what happens, and there is absolutely no reason to think that you are necessary. Yet Moiraine means either that she is entitled to be there, or that she believes it can't be won without her. And this woman's very first lines in the series actually accused others of arrogance.

Lan asks how she can be sure. She tells him that every future where she lives, Rand dies and vice-versa. She’s all weepy, so he hugs her.

36:31 Still arrogant to assume that your tiny meat-sack brain can hold every possible outcome. I would guess these writers, to the extent that they are paying any attention to the adaptation, completely overlooked or are ignoring her mistake, and, as with the "non-Dragons die" nonsense regarding the Eye of the World, just want it stipulated as a fact.

She pulls away, asking him to say something. He asks if she dies tonight, and she says no. He says that at least she had tonight to sit and have a drink. He offers her some oosquai, saying she’s in for a treat. Moiraine tries it. It’s not great. He laughs while she coughs, she laughs when he takes a pull and we leave them laughing and taking turns with the skin.

Mat is in the hammock in Min’s room, while she is rummaging through paperwork and gathering sketches in the cabin. Mat tells her to shush so he can revel in the lack of noise of Nynaeve being sick and Elayne doing mission prep. Mat jokes that Min is here because she’s obsessed with him or doing the bidding of the Amyrlin who is obsessed with him. Then he finds a drawing and starts mocking her, while she tries to get it back, and he finally sees that it’s a sketch of him hanging. She explains she’s sketching her visions so she can remember the details to stop it. Mat points out that her visions mostly don’t come true. He jokes about dying instead of going back to the cabin with Nynaeve and Elayne and Min scoffs that he’ll still hear them because the walls are really thin.

39:36 Why have thin walls on a ship? They wouldn't door much to brace the structure.

Up on the deck, Elayne and Nynaeve are lying under a blanket, when Elayne sees something. She wakes Nynaeve and they see one of the women up in the forecastle dancing and channeling giant flows of the Power.

40:10 Which comes back around to why did they let them on the ship or on the deck? ITB, they had a reason, specifically pertaining to their own prophesies. But Rand's presence in the city from which the girls took ship was not generally known, and anyway, he had been gone for so long that he ended up on the far side of the Dragonwall, and Elayne sent a letter all the way to Caemlyn and her mother made a formal journey with an entourage and pomp to Tar Valon, meaning lots of time had passed since Rand was anywhere near the city where Nynaeve & Elayne took ship, so there is no reason for the Sea Folk to associate the girls with their own prophecies.

The woman who advised them about seasickness comes up to them to say this is why Aes Sedai are not allowed on deck. Nynaeve says the Tower believes Sea Folk women are too weak to ever become full sisters. The woman says it’s best to continue to believe that when they get off the ship.

40:39 Why is it "best" they continue to believe after disembarking? That sounded rather like a warning, if not a threat, but once they disembark, they are beyond the Sea Folk's power.

Elayne asks why they don’t want to learn in the Tower. Sea Folk lady says there are many ways to be a channeler and to be a woman. She compares channeling to the sea, which can’t be controlled. She asks if Nynaeve doesn’t like to give up control which amuses Elayne. Sea Folk Lady says that she can see it in their feet, that one fights to stand her ground and the other wants the sea to take her off her chosen path. She suggests that’s why one is seasick and the other isn’t. She asks them to promise not to tell the Tower about their Windfinders and the girls agree. She tells them to pack, because they’ll be arriving soon.

In the cabin, they are packing when Mat and Min enter. He introduces Min and Elayne gets up, staring intently at her.

42:25 Elayne looks way too interested in her, considering what passed between Elayne and the other woman with whom Min has the most in common, narratively speaking.

Elayne recognizes her as a servant from the Tower, Mat reveals she was spying for the Amyrlin and Nynaeve remembers her from Fal Dara.
Min wants to come with them, Nynaeve is skeptical and Min says she’s been to Tanchico before. She says she wants to help, and she knows they are looking for the Black Ajah and she has personal experience with Liandrin.

43:04 Yeah, go ahead and tell them the exact nature of your relationship with Liandrin.

Mat chimes in that they all have experience with her, and Nynaeve asks if they can trust Min. He considers Min a bit and says yes.

They get off the ship and the docks seem a bit chaotic. Min gives them basic visiting New York tips, like be quiet, hide your money and don’t make eye contact. Min warns the place is dangerous and they pass hanged bodies.

44:19 Considering Mat's sole demonstrated utility to this point has been his skill with a quarterstaff … where is his staff?

Elaida enters the cell with the Black sisters. She asks if they’re surprised to see her. Elaida demands the names of all the Black sisters. Amico says they’ll never betray their sisters, Elaida says she believes her, and kills her with the Power.

45:05 Bearing in mind that this is apparently what Leane & Verin intend by having Adeleas tell Elaida about the 13th Depository, there are some narrative possibilities here, but it’s a dumb plan. They seem to be trying to catch Elaida in a traitorous interaction with the Black captives, but that is pretty much a no-go since her first question was to demand their names. While she could have been testing Amico, the end result is that one of the Blacks has now been silenced, so they have given Elaida the potential Darkfriend the chance to achieve a Black Ajah objective, to no gain of their own.

She turns to Joiya and demands names. Joiya claims to only know one, and when Elaida demands she tell her, Joiya claims she has been negotiating with the Amyrlin for her intel. Elaida is holding her up with the Power, saying that she’s not like Siuan and she’s not negotiating. She says that Joiya will feel only pain until she talks, as a figure darts around in the room, that the Aes Sedai don’t see. Before Joiya can spill a Gray Man kills her and jumps on Elaida, stabbing her. He is blasted off with the Power and Siuan and Leane come in.

45:54 Now here's the narrative possibilities I mentioned. Elaida has just proven, at least by this show's shaky standards of logic, her own legitimacy. It's a great opportunity for Siuan to bring her on-side and de-motivate her opposition. On the other hand, knowing what Siuan is up to changes nothing from Elaida's perspective, even if I suspect the writers are doing this to excise Elaida's ITB justification – that she had no idea what Siuan was up to. The fact is, what she is up to is shenanigans, and she has been keeping this stuff secret for a good reason – it's not really defensible, and Moiraine's arrogance (or Siuan's) is sexually transmissible, in that Siuan believes herself to be the best qualified to handle this stuff, and has decided on her own that no one else is trustworthy. So Elaida learning the whole truth of Siuan's actions could and should, actual be the factor that drives her to depose the Amyrlin. She has taken the Daughter-heir of Andor and sole heir to the current queen and involved her in an extremely dangerous mission, and she is running an incompetent and unilateral security exercise.

Leane finishes off the Gray Man while Siuan begins Healing Elaida. Leane, Keeper of the Chronicles and master of the obvious states that someone sent a Gray Man to finish off Joiya and Amico, so there must still be a member of the Black Ajah in the Tower.

46:13 No shit, there is still a member of the Black Ajah in the Tower. This was a ruse to draw her out, remember?

The newly Healed Elaida has deduced that Siuan led her here. Siuan says that maybe she misjudged her.

In the Two Rivers, by “cover” Alanna means a massive fog bank that she spreads over the Children’s camp. Perrin and company creep through the foggy camp.

47:11 How is this fog supposed to help? It means the good guys are going in blind, but the bad guys will at least be in their familiar campsite. This gives THEM the advantage, not the people Alanna made the fog for! ITB the Aes Sedai contributions to rescue attempts on prisoners held by the Children was a loud and flashy distraction to draw their attention away, and rain to cover their trail, once they had the prisoners, and were escaping through the lands they knew better, being locals.

Valda suspects witchcraft, saying the last witch was just a plaything, and offers to show another Child how to catch a woman “with real power”. He addresses this soldier as Byar.

The women burst into the tent to find the Cauthon girls in their cage. Perrin comes in to get them out. One girl notices his eyes and they ask about Mat. They shy away when Bain (I think) reaches for them, but Perrin reassures them. The Maidens take the maidens off and Perrin and Faile follow. Perrin might be following his nose, and comes upon a bloody corpse hanging upright from a stake. Faile urges him to go and they leave.

49:43 For the record, I remember Natti Cauthon's introduction as a drunken, inattentive mother, and her depiction last season as verbally and emotionally abusive toward Mat, the only responsible one of the family. Not super sad about her fate here.

Off on the hillside, Alanna is channeling when she hears a noise in the woods and stops to listen. A cloaked man moves and she calls out not-Owein’s name. But it’s the Children of the Light and Valda makes a gesture toward Alanna. One of them shoots her with a crossbow and she is hit. She begins gathering the Power and more Children loose at her. She hits one but she is struck by several bolts as someone orders them to fire. She’s on the ground with half a dozen quarrels sticking out.

50:18 "Fire?" Is there gunpowder in those crossbows?

Perrin and Faile are running through the camp, Perrin falling behind. He stops to look around and Dain approaches him. Perrin is aghast at what was done to Natti, and Dain blames Perrin for his moral breakdown. Not unfairly. Two more Children emerge from the tents, moving between Faile and Perrin, as he fights Dain. Faile draws a pair of tiny knives that seem to be modeled on talons, and charges the two swordsmen in armor. She drops into a slide and rolls around waggling her legs to get up. Perrin throws Dain and calls out to her, and this distraction gets him stabbed. Faile notices and shouts “No” but suffers no disadvantage while grappling with a grown man. She jumps onto one guy and wraps her legs around him and this causes a temporary cessation of gravity that lets her flip him around. She then hits Dain with a throwing knife, then runs to the fallen Perrin and urges him to get up.

51:25 Basically exactly what I expected we'd eventually get from Faile. Once again, Perrin’s only purpose in a fight is to temporarily divert the attention of some of the enemy so a girl can dispatch them all. And then motivate him to keep going. But they made him black! You’re racist if you have any problems with his depiction.

Alanna is crawling and moaning in pain and several Children draw swords and move to finish her. Not-Owein comes out of nowhere to attack them from behind and kill several. He takes a wound while fighting in a style that seems more Earl Flynn than any of the sword forms Lan & Rand have been demonstrating. As he comes up to Alanna, he takes a crossbow bolt to the shoulder, and she kills the shooter.

52:01 In addition to the teammate who noped out of the fight coming back to save the day being a trope Family Guy was mocking decades ago, this only makes not-Owein worse. If he had not left, Alanna would not have ended up so perforated.

She asks him how he found her and he says she turned the bond back on five arrows ago. He says he has her now and carries her off, leaving 10 Children dead behind them.

52:36 And we don't even get a dead Alanna out of it. Incidentally, you're going to have to start spending money on Trollocs, show. You've basically made the Children utterly pointless as a threat.

Rand is apparently dreaming of the rock he and Egwene sat on back in season one and Lanfear shows up. She joins him on the rock for some blather about the Pattern and choice, and Rand tells her about seeing her in the Wayback Columns and says she was the same when he met her in Cairhien. She claims that’s not her anymore and Rand talks up her good qualities from those two times. She professes her love for him, saying she has fallen in love with the part of him that wants to save the world and has always loved the part that knows he has to break it. This is the major theme of her relationship talks with him, that she likes the whole guy, insinuating that other people don’t like his dark parts. They make out a bit.

Moiraine is pacing in a room, and Egwene walks in, saying the Wise Ones told her Moiraine was looking for her. Moiraine asks about Egwene’s training, because she wants Egwene to take her to give someone a message. Egwene is hesitant, citing the dangers of Tel’Aran’Rhiod and Moiraine comments on the irony how “years ago” she warned Egwene about the dangers of dreams. Egwene acquiesces and asks Moiraine if this is because of what she saw in Rhuidean & if it’s worth the risk. Moiraine thinks so, so Egwene sets a candle pin alarm and takes them into her own dream. Egwene says this is safer and she wants to jump Moiraine directly to her target’s dream. They poof into the fishing hut where Siuan is sewing. Moriaine approaches her, saying she is doing this because she has no time. She tells Siuan about her experience in Rhuidean. She says that she has seen a million futures and knows two things to be true, and pauses dramatically.

58:05If the first thing is about their wuv, I'm gonna hurl.

She tells Siuan that if the Tower doesn’t kneel to Rand, he’ll lose the Last Battle. She struggles but can’t bring herself to say whatever else and concludes “that’s it” in spite of the Three Oaths, and turns to go.

Siuan follows, catching her wrist and telling Moiraine she doesn’t get to do that, not to her. She demands to know what Moiraine would have done in Cairhien, knowing what Siuan knew. Moiraine admits she’d have done the same.

58:33 It got worse than I thought, because rather than follow up with relevant questions, instead Siuan prioritizes addressing their fight last season.

Also, Moiraine's takeaway from Rhuidean is a subtle change from the general issue of the Tower's necessary bending to Rand from the books. In the books, it was the Tower's only hope. It was never stated, except by highly partisan supporters of the Tower, that the Tower was necessary for Rand's success, and by the numbers, it absolutely was not. The truth was, that the Tower needed Rand in order to be relevant. But the change here is setting up the Tower's eventual submission as a noble sacrifice for the benefit of the world, instead of a surrender to inevitable necessity.

Siuan asks why Moiraine is punishing her, then. Moiraine says that she did her job, while Siuan’s was to prepare the Tower to follow. Siuan turns away in shame and Moiraine tells her “you can’t afford to fail again” as she sits and buries her face in her hands. Siuan says Moiraine should have been the one to handle the Tower, because of how amaze-balls she is and she’d have been a better Amyrlin. After a moment or 20 Moiraine approaches her and in a conciliatory fashion says she makes enemies too easily. She approaches Siuan, and kneels before her, taking her hands, and saying she’d have never have won an election in the first place.

59:31 Actually, ITB, Siuan made enemies like she was in a race. She was not a skilled politician at all. She didn't "win" the Amyrlin Seat, because she never ran for it, she was selected, for her youth and administrative ability, as a compromise candidate.

They are all poignant smiles. Siuan wishes they never went to Gitara’s study and heard the Foretelling. She goes in for a kiss but Moiraine gets up and turns away, saying they broke their relationship and can’t fix it in this life. So Siuan reassures her that she will find Moiraine in the next life, again and again, until they get it right.

1:00:35 This is why you have to be careful about thinking fantasy concepts through. How does Siuan know she will find Moiraine in the next life? Was there anyone in her last life she made a similar promise to? Anyone she swore to love in every life as long as the Wheel turns? Does she have any revenge missions kicking around that she swore to complete no matter how many lives it took? That's the problem with reincarnation – you are IN the afterlife, so you know what is in store for the next one – a total lack of memory of this one! Like, equally dim readers once asked RJ why were people afraid of death if they knew they were going to be reborn again, with the Dragon & the Heroes of the Horn as proof of concept, and he had to explain this point in small words to them.

Moiraine doesn’t quite make eye contact and is choked up as she says she will wait for Siuan. Let’s be charitable and say that she’s sad because she has detected the same flaw in the logic that I did. She finally says she loves her and the shippers get the kiss.

Meanwhile, Egwene has poofed into another forest somewhere, because walking in on one Aes Sedai sexual encounter is enough for one lifetime. She moves forward, calling for Nynaeve, and comes upon Nynaeve on the bridge where she once taught Egwene to listen to the wind, except she’s here with young Elnore, her fake daughter from her Accepted test. Egwene smiles at the scene, but Nynaeve’s expression darkens when she sees Egwene, because she’s a sensible person.

Now we are on a Sea Folk ship, still at night, and Elayne is doing the gyrations of a Windfinder as she makes it all aurora borealisy around the ship. Aviendha, back in warrior garb comes up to join her in the forecastle, and give her the Heimlich maneuver. Elayne has a big smile, I guess because it must be frustrating doing the Windfinding dance while choking. Egwene beams up at them from the deck, as if a FAKE relationship built on alcohol and ignoring friends in danger is just as heartwarming as the love of a mother and her daughter.

1:02:25 Do they realize what they are saying with this dream montage? Women's dreams are all about of romance and having babies. The writers only think they are being feminist because there are no men in them.

New dream, this time in one of the giant stone rooms that are the mainstay of this show, and Mat is apparently showing his sisters their new beds. They hug and then Natti moves up to tell Mat she’s proud of him. Mat just nods at her and goes back to his sisters.

1:03:00 Mat dreams of having a haircut. And he is dreaming of taking care of family members in need, FWIW. And no, this is not making me any sadder about Natti's death, it's just showing the difference between this version and the one who got killed by Valda. The implication of the dream is that he's none too thrilled with her, either.

Perrin is working the forge in Emond’s Field.

1:03:05 And Perrin is dreaming of his job. Finally, someone is.

Hopper comes running up and starts jumping up and down to catch the burning sparks that fly, like chaff from the threshing floor. Perrin disapproves, I guess because he thinks those are reserved for the children coming home from school who look in through the open door. How do I remember a poem I learned nearly 40 years ago, and forget my hat when I left the movies earlier today?

1:03:13 Now does the absence of Laila indicate he's moved on, or just the actress was unavailable?

Faile comes in, dressed in work clothes and fills up his tempering barrel.

1:03:26 Wow, that was fast. I'm still not convinced this isn't the result of the adapting straight from the books, and forgetting what they have or have not yet established in the show.

A Breaking Bad camera angle from inside the tempering barrel shows Perrin quenching a hot curved piece of metal.

1:03:36 I'm also going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that's a spade or something, rather than the battle axe it appears to be. Because forging battleaxes is NOT Perrin's happy place.

Finally Egwene gets to Rand’s dream, on the cliff with their rock. She beams to see Rand sitting there, his back to her, but then Lanfear’s hand comes up his neck and Egwene gasps and now she sees Lanfear kissing him.

1:03:46 Now! Strike Lanfear!

Lanfear makes eye contact with Egwene while kissing Rand. Egwene seems horrified as Lanfear starts taking off his coat, while still looking at Egwene.

1:04:00 Of course Lanfear's into this. Freak.

Egwene suddenly experiences a flashback montage of Lanfear and Renna attacking her in her dreams. She screams while watching Lanfear and Rand, apparently realizing the connection.

1:04:07 That was a weird note on which to end the episode. It's framed like a horrific revelation, except the audience has known for at least a couple of episodes now.

1:04:12 Liars!

Well, whatever it looked like they might have been building to with the Rhuidean episode has definitely not come to pass. This is back in the usual level of crap. They could only adhere to standards of adaptational fidelity for so long before lapsing.