We start with an exterior shot of what the caption says is Tar Valon, 10 years ago. It’s an artsy angle from under a bridge that is obscuring the Tower, hence the clarification. In present day, the bridges know their place.

01:27 I guess this is going to be the election of Siuan.

In the 13th Depository, Elaida steps out of a portal with a red frame. She smiles as she cups a charm dangling from her bracelet and looks up as Alviarin calls her reckless. She says that too many sisters have gone through the doorway and not returned, and had hoped Elaida wouldn’t be so foolish on this important day, and Elaida’ like, well, it worked and you’re supposed to go with logic, not hope. Alviarin asks what the Aelfinn promised her, and Elaida replies the Amyrlin Seat. Alviarin warns that the “Finn’s” gifts have prices.

02:11 They’re using “Finn” as an actual term. Also, the price of their gifts is part of the deal, they just don’t give you the whole story. That’s not always a hidden trap. For instance, the ashandarei’s secret was that it was a key to their realm.

Another qualm is she asked what the Aelfinn promised, which are the answer guys, but then warned about their gifts, when it is the Eelfinn who give gifts (and can’t really give anything outside their realm). If they are using the term “Finn” that implies they are going to keep both kinds in the show canon. Why do that, if you are not going to make distinctions between them? For that matter, they’ve already set up Mat’s memories, so they don’t really need the Aelfinn & Eelfinn, so why bother?

They might have decided to send Mat to them after all, to get the medallion & spear, but, really, you can do that anyway. Just have Mat find them in a cache of Age of Legends artifacts or something. It could also be that if they are going with the death fakeout, they want to establish the Aelfinn & Eelfinn ahead of time, and they showed a game of Snakes & Foxes, with absolutely no information or even the name of it, much less the connection, but that’s about par for the course with what the show considers sufficient setup. And it’s clearly setting up stuff down the road, because if there is one Aes Sedai who does not need a promise from the Aelfinn to feel confident in her certain victory, it’s Elaida, already established as having the Foretelling.

Also, they’re emphasizing the charm bracelet, that seemed to be bothering her earlier in the season.

Elaida dismisses these concerns by citing the election taking place, and assumes she has Alviarin’s “favor” because she is the logical choice. She swans out smugly and Alviarin looks troubled.

02:27 First of all, how is she the logical choice? Maybe try to establish that? Even if she’s not, set up why Elaida thinks she is the logical choice. Secondly, if we are going to harp on the logic of the Whites, Alviarin should be reminding Elaida not that the gifts are poisoned, but that a prophecy or Aelfinn answer might not mean what you think it does. Also, a White would be very careful to word her argument precisely and avoid the confusion mentioned above, between gifts & answers, Aelfinn & Eelfinn.

In the Hall of the Tower, the overhead galleries are packed with spectators, while Siuan and Elaida wait on the floor. Siuan exchanges a look with Moiraine, who gives her a supportive nod, which Elaida takes note of. Then the door opens and a Keeper of the Chronicles enters with the staff, which she bangs three times.

02:59 If there’s already an Amyrlin, why is there an election?

The Keeper states for the Prime subscribers’ edification that Marith Jaen has died this week after a term of only four years, which everyone in the room should know. The Keeper’s eyebrows and mouth don’t look right, and the adam’s apple, heavy features and very deep voice provide a probable reason.

03:05 Holy crap! I guess this is their trans-pandering bit. Any bets on whether they actually do something with this? Or are they just going to piss off the transfans by casting a biologically male actor to play a woman, and call it a day, without addressing any of the questions about the Power and the gender binary? (I’ll give you three guesses and the first two don’t count. For the dimmer show shills out there, it is the latter, of course. Because WoT on Prime)

After more explanations of the need to elect a new Amyrlin, which no character in the scene should need, we move into the voting. After being asked who stands for Siuan, the three Blues simultaneously leap to their feet, led by Leanne, with her hair in two very long pigtails, and say her name in unison. Certainly a choice made after much objective and impartial deliberation. Among the Browns, Verin also stands and says her name. Siuan looks around the room, but the Yellows and Greens don’t budge. The Keeper reminds us that 11 votes, a bare majority, are required to win, and Siuan only has 4, so who is voting for Elaida?

03:56 Probably for the best they removed the proof of womanhood aspect of these elections. Ain’t no way I will believe this Keeper passes a spot check.

Alviarin is the first (and only one) to rise.

04:00 So Alviarin votes for her after all. Again, why is Elaida the logical choice (or not) and why didn’t the White stand (or not) unanimously?

Elaida smiles, and Alviarin says “Siuan Sanche.”

04:04 My bad. But again. What is the logic?

Downcast Siuan looks up and Elaida is taken aback. Liandrin, still seated among the Reds, closes her eyes. Moiraine is still present, if anyone wondered. Alviarin looks at a fellow White who rises for Siuan, and eventually the middle Sitter joins them, then two Greens (9), another Brown and then a Yellow, which is enough. The Keep says as much and drapes a gold cloak around Siuan, formally inducting her into the city watch of Kings Landing. making her the Amyrlin. Moiraine sees this happen. The Hall chants at Siuan that she is now the Amyrlin.

05:21 We’ll ignore the important characterization of the Aes Sedai in that the election for the Amyrlin is always inevitably unanimous, and losing candidates are exiled to maintain harmony and go with their silly and dramatic version that is structured as it is for no real purpose, only for an audience. Why didn’t the Reds immediately jump up to support Elaida? Clearly it was expected that Alviarin was supporting Elaida, so there is no system of turns. Everyone else following her lead suggests it was a swing in the momentum, so the Reds speaking up might have got the ball rolling for her.
And narratively, what was the point in the surprise, when we already know the outcome?

Title Card!

Siuan is at her desk, staring at a sketch of a woman’s face. We can’t tell who it is through the paper. She looks up to stare at the frame hanging on her wall, like the one Moiraine used to join her for their tryst in season 1.

05:45 Yes, remind us of the portal doohickey and the damage it causes the story & plot holes it opens up.

A knock is heard and Siuan stashes the sketch in her little desk chest as the door opens and someone jingles in.

05:50 How was there a whole scene about who can and cannot request face time with the Amyrlin, and yet, we can have her be surprised by someone walking in with no more than a warning knock?

It’s Leane, exasperated that Siuan is just going ahead with her plans without listening to advice. Leane points out that Siuan has not bothered to provide a source for her claim that the Tower needs to follow Rand, and is giving Elaida a way to alienate her support.

Siuan asks if Leane knows why she chose her to be Keeper and Leane rolls her eyes at this TV dialog trope, as Siuan goes on to say that it was because Leane was never afraid of her, and she could count on Leane to tell her when she was wrong. She asks if she is wrong, now, proving that she basically has not heard anything Leane has said on the subject. Leane says following the Dragon Reborn is too important for Siuan to handle unilaterally and urges her to get the support of the Hall, saying to make the sisters believe as Siuan does, to make Leane believe in it.

06:44 That was not bad, until the last line. That’s kind of the point of elections and legislatures, as inconvenient as it might be to the efficiency of an absolute government. You get the other side to go along with it and neutralize opposition by having them vote on issues like this. However, “make me believe” is just making Leane stupid (which, to be fair, is not out of character for her on the show to this point), by having her admit her beliefs are swayed by popular consensus. The issue is not believing in Siuan’s leadership, but her facts and judgment. You say “make me believe” about calling for a vote when you concerned that the leader is being autocratic, but all of Leane’s speech was about whether or not Siuan was factually right. Votes don’t change that.

Siuan blows her off and starts writing something. There are several sealed letters on the desk, suggesting she’s staying the course rather than actually considering Leane’s point.

In a corridor, Alviarin is with Elaida and Galina, who are outraged that Siuan is already sending letters to world leaders without consulting the Hall, and Alviarin points out that this is not illegal. Elaida is disgusted that Siuan has declared support for the Dragon Reborn, who is not under Aes Sedai control, which the show has firmly established is illegal. Alviarin asks what Elaida wants to do about it, guessing the Reds need her support. Elaida says she needs her support today, and adds “This time, the logical choice will benefit us both.”

07:19 Please. Explain this fucking logic! What was the logic of Alviarin voting for Siuan? Because it looked like petty resentment over being taken for granted by Elaida. Why is the woman who screwed her over last time, Elaida’s first choice in whipping votes outside her own Ajah, if it was a personal or petty reason? Because Elaida’s conduct in dealing with Alviarin, then and now, suggests she really does believe the other woman (and her Ajah) to be driven entirely by logical considerations. How is logic now on Elaida’s side?

In Cold Rocks Hold, Rand is mournfully harvesting vegetables from Alsera’s Wrigley Field garden.

07:30 Since coming out of Rhuidean, Rand’s arc with the Aiel has consisted 100% of Alsera. Nothing about the politics, nothing about the Aiel views on him, or the likely reaction, no mention of any other clans or factions at play beyond the Taardad and Shaido. No world-building, no explanations of relevant or important customs. Just this stupid kid.

Egwene comes in to regretfully get his attention. He drops the vegetable he was holding, she hands it to him and generally seems weirded out by the whole deal as he says to the middle distance that he still has toh and references her demand that he meet it by harvesting her garden. Egwene reminds him that he is the fucking main character in a fantasy epic with the apocalypse bearing down says the Wise Ones are waiting.

Sammael is alive! He’s kneeling in a cave in a sunbeam with his wrists bound when Moiraine enters. She says “It’s a clever trick, tying off a shield.” He defies her, asking if she thinks she “can hold one of the Chosen.” She replies “I do. I am.”

08:33 From the context here, Moiraine is calling herself clever for tying off a shield. She’s not observing that someone else has a tied-off shield, she’s taking full credit for it. Also, it’s not a particularly good idea, since you can undo a tied-off shield that you are not strong enough to break out of with raw power.

She sneers that she heard he was one of the greatest generals of the Age of Legends and he agrees, claiming to be a visionary.

08:43 She’s using her superior tone of voice, because the show wants you to be in awe of how great she is. Sammael should not be responding to her comments, he should have the attitude that he is so far above her than he does not feel the need to boast or explain, even if he is temporarily shielded.

Sammael goes on to brag that in his time there were no armies, and he rediscovered the art of war.

08:59 I wonder if they realize that this does not necessarily make Sammael a brilliant general, it means he was up against people who had no idea what they were doing.

She runs her fingers over his scar, asking how he got it. (Lews Therin) and why it wasn’t Healed. Sammael kept it on purpose, so LTT can see it when Sammael kills him. Moiraine tells Sammael, Nuh uh, he’s going to teach Rand or Moiraine will bury him and he won’t be in any of the songs written about the Last Battle, because he’ll be forgotten. She strides out as he fumes.

09:26 The Forsaken, and most WoT characters whose opinion the story considers worth a damn, are not all that concerned with glory and how they will be remembered. The major thematic conceit about memories changing into legends and myths argues that this concern is pointless. And so none of the smart or lead characters ever use that argument, at least until Sanderson started mucking things up. It’s a nonsense argument to put in Moiraine’s mouth.

Also, they are taking an accomplishment of Rand’s from the books, that was intended in part to show that Moiraine did not always (or often) know what she was talking about, and that Rand is right to reject her course of action, and instead making it all Moiraine’s. Moiraine has captured one of the Forsaken and is apparently holding him shielded all on her own and is compelling him to teach Rand, of her own volition and idea. Because she’s best, don’t you know?

And I would assume that means the unnamed Forsaken is probably Demandred, rather than Asmodean.

Establishing shot of a coastal city. Stevie-Nicks-haired Liandrin strides through a pair of louvered doors.

09:43 Ah, that was Tanchico. Guess the sun does shine there.

Jeaine & Chesmal are chilling on couches, while Chesmal fills in for adaptation-casualty Marillin by fondling some cats. Liandrin orders Jeaine to put down a ter’angreal she is playing with, because balefire. She asks if they’ve found Ispan (Moghedian killed her in T’A’R last ep), and they assumed Liandrin had killed her, like Naomi (poor Nikabrik). In the tone of a mom being patient instead of whaling on her passive aggressive teenagers, Liandrin advises that Naomi died because she challenged her and snaps at Jeaine to put down the ter’angreal, which she does. She’s still in booty shorts, BTW. Moghedian enters, still pretending to be a servant, holding the bracelet she took from Nynaeve last episode, in her icky black fingers that no one seems to ever notice. She pretends very humbly to have bought it from a random door-to-door salesman. Liandrin starts to get curious about Moghedian, but she dismisses the inquiries by glaring, not channeling, and Liandrin decides fuck it, and puts on the bracelet, which adjusts to fit her forearm, and announces they’re going to the Panarch’s Palace now.

Nynaeve and Mat are outside in the same clothes they wore last episode, trying to eat noodles with chopsticks at a tiki bar. Mat is flailing, wanting a fork, while Nynaeve deftly eats, brandishing her food smugly at him.

11:17 Are they actually going to kill off Moiraine in this episode? It's the only explanation I can think why they are letting Nynaeve be good at something! Something she wasn’t even good at in the books!

They hear Liandrin’s voice and Nynaeve looks up in time to see the Black Ajah trio heading down the street. She observes that Liandrin has the bracelets.

11:34 Either this is a highly contrived setup, or they are horrible at surveillance (making their “success” in spotting the Black sisters still a contrivance, if slightly lesser).

They cover their faces as Mat urges Nynaeve to hurry, telling her to follow the Black sisters, while he fetches the others.

11:42 Why is Mat giving the orders? And why are the two people most familiar to Liandrin the ones staking out her dwelling (assuming that’s what was going on, and she didn’t just walk down a random street where they happened to be eating)? Shouldn’t it be Thom & Elayne?

A shitty-looking tan stone building, with its front steps going into the harbor, is apparently the Panarch’s Palace, because Liandrin & friends are approaching the unguarded double doors. Inside, a bunch of veiled guards sneer that they aren’t invited. Liandrin kills them and pulls out the illustration of the man wearing the collar to show the other two, so they know what to look for.

12:08 Why is she only showing them this now, if they needed a reminder, and why would they, since she’s already showed them this picture AND it’s also depicted on a major landmark in the city? It’s like entering Gracie Mansion to find a human-sized replica of the Statue of Liberty’s crown and showing your friends a picture of the Statue to remind them what it looks like.

Rand is in a forest dream, and Lanfear wanders up in a white dress, taking credit for sending Sammael to teach him.

12:32 This is halfway to revealing to Rand that Moiraine & Lanfear are working together to manipulate him. All Moiraine has to do is suggest or mention learning from Sammael, and he should know. Which is probably why Lanfear told her to let Rand handle it.

It turns out, their location in the dream is the spot where the white Death Star crashed when she freed the Dark One. Rand knows it was an accident, and the last moment she was truly human.

12:50 How was that moment her last time being human? Was she changed or transformed in some way? If it was freeing the Dark One (which the show has just now explained is what happened) wouldn’t her decision to do so have already dehumanized her?

Lanfear realizes that Egwene has told him about her dream torments, and tries to claim she was helping Egwene by toughening her up. Rand wonders what happened to good girl Lanfear, who wanted to help people.

13:03 Frickin’ Lanfear is more ready to address the violation she committed against Egwene than Rand is. He’s all obsessed about why his dreamgirl doesn’t live up to his expectations!

Lanfear claims her only choices were to swear to the Dark One or die. (Death is the only acceptable choice) Rand questions if she still wants to kill the Dark One to be free of her oaths and she insists she does. He gets up in her face from behind, asking if her actual motive is power, and she’s like “What’s wrong with both?” because Natasha O’Keefe is trying to play Book!Egwene? She tries to argue its more complicated, and also Lews Therin was all about power and dumped her because she was the only one who wouldn’t bow to him. Rand demurs that LTT dumped her for the same reason he is, See You Next Tuesday. Lanfear’s feelings are hurt and Rand says she’s really a monster. He shoves her away and she gathers power while yelling at him. Egwene poofs into the dream and poofs Lanfear out. They wake up surrounded by Moiraine, Lan & the Wise Ones who praise her effort. Rand says that now Lanfear will come for him.

14:48 Rand understands his place! As bait or a stalking horse, so the heroines can defeat the threat.

Moiraine powers up the Sakarnen and Lan draws his Sword of +10 Forsaken Slaying, Aviendha lights up her Firesabers, and the Wise Ones draw on the Power, and the music thinks there is going to be an action scene any moment, but Lanfear isn’t taking her cue. Aviendha wonders where she is, Lan thinks she’s waiting, but Rand says she’s not that patient. They decide vigilance is too hard and all release the Power or sheath weapons, and Moiraine warns Rand not to assume he’s the only thing Lanfear wants.

15:14 I’ll give them this: the show is remarkably consistent and dedicated to staying on message, as long as that message is “Rand is not that important”!

Moiraine adds that if they underestimate Lanfear, they die, and turns and strides from the room, ordering them to get Rhuarc, because they leave for Alcair Dal right now.

15:20 And Moiraine is calling the shots here. This is your formal notice that the Aiel are not characters, they are props.

We follow a Maiden through the, for lack of a better word, streets, up to Malkiel. She looks distressed and says “You?” and the Maiden throws back her hood to reveal she’s Lanfear, with the Eyeshadow of Evil. She says she’s calling in a debt and calls Malkiel, Melindhra. Malkiel looks sad.

15:46 Malkiel’s name is actually relevant!

Back at the Panarch’s Palace, the gang approaches, uncovering their faces, because now they can’t be recognized, IDK? And Mat is questioning Thom, whom he thought did not want to get involved, and that was quite a long walk to only bring that up now. Thom says, “I have this thing about watching kids die,” with a long pause before adding that he tries to stop it.

16:01 He had to clarify, because his words and tone could have gone either way. “I have this thing about watching kids die … {I try to stop it when I can / it gives me a heron-marked boner} “

Nynaeve has decided this is the appropriate time, at the steps to the Palace, to tell everyone that it had to be a Forsaken who stole the bracelet from them, and reminds them of the stakes. She tells them whoever finds the bracelet should just take off with it, and not bother waiting for the others. They enter and pass the slaughtered guards.

Sammael is now lying down in his captivity cave. Moghedian comes in and kicks him awake. She observes the shield on him. Sammael offers an alliance if she gets him out. Moghedian says that her preference is to figure out a way to kill another Chosen Remember, they regenerate, unless they get stabbed with a Valyrian steel Power-wrought sword., and so the best thing he can do for her is be a guinea pig and starts giggly torturing him.

17:35 So they didn’t bother keeping track of, or guarding, Rand’s intended teacher?

Lines of Aiel march across the dunes. Rhuarc says that going to Alcair Dal without all the chiefs is “not the Aiel way.” Rand DGAF, and Rhuarc the Prop has no reaction but just goes on to describe the protocols of the meeting. Rand asks if they’ll follow him, and Rhuarc doesn’t know, because this is uncharted territory. Rand says that if his marks are not enough, he’ll tell them what he saw in Rhuidean. Rhuarc says people can’t face the truth, because there is nothing worse than being an oathbreaker.

Egwene asks Aviendha what happens if Rand is not accepted, and Aviendha is all “does not compute, Aiel are NPCs who strictly follow their programming.” She goes on to point out that Egwene is not Aiel and under no obligation to follow Rand and reminds her what a shitty boyfriend he is, with the Lanfear-boinking, and the destruction and madness in his future. Discouraging a relationship between Rand and a girl who is currently miffed at him is exactly 100% on the spot characterization of Aviendha. /sarcasm.

Lan and Moiraine discuss her potential death at Lanfear’s hands. She thinks it might be today, and Malkiel, walking ahead of them, looks troubled.

They see a mass of Aiel on a ridge ahead, and Rhuarc notes that he has 10K spears of the Taardad, that there are already four chiefs with retinues here, and Bair adds that all the Shaido are as well. The Aiel-covered ridges surround a depression in the dunes with what looks like a crashed Klingon Bird of Prey, lying sideways in the sand, but is actually a crescent stone ridge with chairs, and a set of steps leading to a speaking platform.

In a nearby tent, Sevanna is discussing how the Taardad have more troops than they expected. Couladin thinks they will get more honor killing them and a Wise One, I guess, warns against shedding blood here. Far Dareis Lanfear enters and makes a joke about virginity which Sevanna seems to find amusing. She orders the Wise One out and Sevanna assents. She tells Sevanna and Couladin that she shares their interest in stopping Rand from being declared Car’a’carn She pushes off Couladin’s robe and channels at his wrist.

In the Tower, Elaida is adjusting her appearance, clearly prepping for something. Verin & Leane burst into Siuan’s office to warn her that eight Reds have just left the Tower, which Leane notes is enough to gentle a man. Siuan tells Verin to take a group of trusted sisters to stop them.

21:23 Oh. No. What a real, true, serious, absolutely-not-a-decoy threat. This is such a troublesome development. I am going to be so worried about this latest event that is clearly Elaida’s definite plan, that I will be totally gob-smacked if something else were to actually happen, like, oh, just off the top of my head, a coup in the White Tower.

And it’s probably going to actually be a coup in this version, because we can’t have Our Heroine lose an actual election, as Siuan did ITB.

She orders Leane to bring her Elaida.

In Tanchico, Lanfear is searching the palace, which seems super empty. Nynaeve is following the bodies.

21:57 Looks like Nynaeve’s big showdown is going to be against Liandrin instead of Moghedian. Can’t possibly have this uppity broad defeat a Forsaken and outshine Moiraine the Great, can we.

Elayne and Thom are searching on their own and Elayne is speculating about channeling techniques to find the stuff. Thom chuckles and she gets indignant, but he was just reminded of her curiosity when she was little.

Min and Mat push their way into a storeroom, with a prominent animal skeleton and a six-pointed star in a circle.

23:11 They got the star wrong! Did they miss the Mercedes logo?

Min wonders what the collar looks like and Mat’s answer is collar. He cites Nynaeve’s description of a’dam being just a ring when not being worn.

Elsewhere, Liandrin seems to be hearing things, and maybe following the sound. Min & Mat wonder what they are going to do with the collar if they find it. Nynaeve is following Liandrin’s route, and there are centipedes on one of the bodies. Mat has started wondering aloud what if there was no One Power or any of the other preternatural afflictions they have to deal with. Min agrees.

Elayne regrets not having any memory of Thom and asks when he left. Thom says she would have been about five, which she says is right before Gaebril showed up. Thom has no idea who that is. Elayne clarifies that he’s Morgase’s consort and has been for a while, but Thom says he’s been paying attention to Morgase’s court and he would have heard about him. They are looking puzzled for a moment, but then Jeaine strolls in saying that Morgase is such a whore, who can keep track?

25:12 They almost had the characters dealing with a mystery, but we can’t have that, so just let a Black sister infodumb the reveal. Also, they have the word “whore” which does not exist in WoT, nor does the concept it denotes.

She lights up the ter’angreal rod and Thom urges Elayne to run. She blasts a laser beam above them and they run around a corner.

Mat is looking around the storeroom. He sees something and moves toward it, and Min is alarmed, having seen “that arch before”. Mat approaches a red arch like the one Elaida came out of early on, and disappears into it, with the same sound effect.

25:34 ROFLMAO !! Set-up and payoff! Who says storytelling is hard?

In what looks like a cave, sunlight shines over skeletons. Mat falls out of the twisted red doorway onto a tiled floor covered with sand. Behind him is a short pedestal with a garishly garbed figure with bright red hair.

25:56 Pennywise?

Nope, it has a furry face that looks like a Wesen from “Grimm” and says “A very long time. ”

26:04 You would not think mystical creatures like this one appears to be, would call ten years “a very long time”.

Mat turns to run, but the doorway is gone. Mat asks where he is and the Wesen says in the Old Tongue the bit about the treaty and agreements, before asking in English what Mat needs. Back in the storeroom, Min is looking at the arch in concern when Chesmal pokes her head in. Min hides as she searches, yammering about hearing someone and breaking tiny bones. While she goggles at the arch, Min pulls out a drawing of a man hanging in a similar arch. She moves into a better hiding place.

Nynaeve is searching a coffer in a bedroom, and hears Liandrin, who is getting impatient, searching a dresser in the same room where Nynaeve hides behind a bed. Liandrin compares her picture to the jewelry on the dresser and dumps out a small chest in frustration and leaves. Nynaeve creeps out and spots the collar in its ordinary shape, not the expanded version when worn.

28:05 Good thing that time Liandrin handed the girls over to the Seanchan was so imbecilically staged that she never saw the a’dam being placed on anyone and has no idea what an inert one looks like. Nonsense scenes! A tool that will be important later!

She stashes it in her bag and leaves. Thom and Elayne are sneaking.

28:20 Thom lost his hat! Is Mat going to find and wear it?

Elayne wants to see a wound on his head, but he warns her off, saying Jeaine might detect her Healing him. He tells her to run, and he’ll distract the Black sister. Elayne angrily refuses to let him die for her, but Thom insists he promised Morgase long ago to keep her safe.

28:40 That’s, um, convenient... Too bad it totally contradicts everything we know about Thom since that point. Why did they need to use such a cliché as the promise to keep someone safe? Why not the logic of the mission, that Elayne is the only effective channeler in the group and has to survive to ensure the security of the collar, or the political situation, where she is the only heir to a throne and her survival is critical to the alliance between the Tower and her homeland? Those are good reasons to triage her ahead of Thom. If this resistance is intended to be an assertion of power and agency against benevolent sexism, knuckling under because of his promise only makes that issue worse.

Elayne asks who Thom really is, but he just warns her that Gaebril doesn't exist and that whatever she thinks she remembers he put in her head. He says that only a Forsaken could do that.

29:02 Thom joins Lan on the list of non-channeling men who know more about the Power than female channelers.

Thom warns Elayne that her mother & the throne are in danger, and touches her affectionately before telling her to run. He has his hat after all.

29:20 He was running for his life and carrying the hat? Is Mat going to wear it in memory of his sacrifice? Or is this a fakeout? (some mere guest star male cannot have a noble sacrifice in the same episode as Moiraine! ) I am now recalling that Thom kills Jeaine ITB. Maybe they think this is being a faithful adaptation?

Elayne goes, with some reluctance, as dramatic music plays. Thom dons his hat and steps out to face Jaine, calling out a warning to her before throwing a knife, which she blocks. She tells him the ter’angreal rod makes balefire, and that she could be one of the Chosen with it. Thom says he’ll kill her first, and she is curious to see what balefire does to a person. She fires, but the rod jerks up and she just blasts a chunk from the ceiling.

30:01 This is why women don’t belong in combat. Their delicate lady frames can’t contain the recoil.

Elayne casually strolls in behind Jeaine, Thom almost gives her away, shouting “No, Elayne,” but she has regained her firm grip on the only functioning brain the gang shares, and blasts Jeaine with the Power, sending her flying, sans balefire rod, which Elayne catches. She activates it and blasts Jeaine.

The Black sister screams as she dissolves into a cloud, which floats past and reforms vaguely in the position where she shot the balefire, and redoes the action, causing the ceiling to be fixed again, before fading away. Thom and Elayne exchange stunned looks.

30:25 Okay, points to the show. That was not a bad representation of how balefire works.

The PennyWesen thing approaches Mat, asking if he has iron, musical instruments or devices for making light. Mat smells something, but when pressed claims to have none of the things named. He notices the skeletons and asks where he is. PennyWesen again asks his need, and knows his name. Mat is all but crying as he asks how it knows, but the creature just says Mat only has three and urges him to speak.

30:49 Hey, we’re getting something very like an event that featured Mat in the books. Everyone be happy and call this an acceptable adaptation and ignore that Mat is whimpering and cringing and behaving completely unlike his book self, ever, and the fruity outfit isn’t helping.

PennyWesen laughs in a way that makes the camera lose focus and Mat cringe more, if possible, and tells Mat that he is Eelfinn, again urging him to speak his need. Mat is suddenly mad enough to scream that he needs to stop being “bollocksed about by every bloody magical force on the planet.” The Eelfinn says done and notes that Mat has memories in his mind that don’t belong to him. He says “we can take them.” Mat asks if he can fix him, and the Eelfin says done. He asks for Mat’s last need, but Mat starts questioning what has been done. Suddenly he remembers the smell reminds him of an old fox den that was always full of dead things. He shouts that he needs to GTFO, now. Done, again.

32:01 Was that the best place for a line intended to inform that audience that the makeup people were supposed to be aiming for a fox, and this cat-clown was not the plan? Why did they need to go so overboard, when the book Eelfinn looked human, with a vague fox impression? Maybe you could have used the saved money to get Mat an undershirt?

The Eelfin uses book lines to point out that Mat was smart to ask to leave but dumb not to set a price, so the Eelfinn will set the price and that Mat will get what he asked and pay their price. Suddenly Mat is being hanged in front of the arch back in the storeroom.

32:30 Okay, the obvious set-up is for Chesmal to cut him down to amuse herself killing him, but he’s protected from the Power, so she’s all puzzled until Min backstabs her. Because girlpower. They might have to give the men their toys and book roles, but women have to strike the killing blows, or be indispensable to their victories.

He goes limp as Chesmal watches. Suddenly Min pops up and knocks her out from behind, then throws a knife to cut Mat down. She starts freaking out when he doesn’t wake up, and begins mouth to mouth and CPR.

33:13 Instead, we’re setting up another Mat inuendo.

Min keeps whaling on Mat’s chest. He finally gasps awake. He is now wearing a necklace with a tiny crude fox head in profile. Min encourages him to breathe and he finally makes a joke about kissing him.

33:40 I take no credit. The writing is just that stupid.

He asks where he is. He says the screams are gone, but he can’t remember how he got into the room and there are gaps in his memory. The camera zooms in on the fox head.

Out on the palace steps, Nynaeve has followed her own instructions to the letter and no more, having left the palace with the collar, but just chilling outside, apparently waiting for the gang (see above, re: the brain in Elayne’s custody) .

34:18 Wow, is she not even getting her big fight?

Nynaeve is still waiting.

34:26 Okay, maybe this is just a more dramatic setting for the fight. I wondered why they contrived such a shitty entrance to the Panarch’s Palace.

Liandrin comes out of the Palace. She tells Nynaeve she should have left and demands the collar. Nynaeve shakes her head. She goes on to say that she knows what happened to Liandrin when she was a kid, but Liandrin doesn’t want pity, and it made her stronger. She says the same thing happened to Nynaeve from watching her parents die. Nynaeve says that Joiya told her no woman can walk so long in the Shadow that she can’t see the Light again.

35:16 Do they even read these words when they write them? “A mobster once told me that no criminal is beyond rehabilitation.” That’s not a disinterested source, and therefore, not credible.

Liandrin scoffs and is amused at Nynaeve trying to save her. She says she wishes her baby had been killed, because that’s what made her weak. She channels a chain to wrap around Nynaeve and takes the bag with the collar. She forces Nynaeve to move, awkward with the chain around her, around to face her with her back to the water.

35:59 Wirework & CGI are expensive! Let’s just have Nynaeve hobble to make it look like she’s being manhandled with the Power.

Liandrin boasts that she is going to use the collar on Rand, become the first modern Forsaken and kill Nynaeve.

36:15 Will we have another “Nynaeve super-channels because plot” moment, or another “character randomly arrives and hits villain from behind” rescue? On the one hand, we’ve already had option two in this plotline of this episode, but we’ve had it in two of the three subplots, so it’s practically a theme.

She throws Nynaeve into the harbor.

36:20 NO! It’s “Nynaeve breaks her block, because the woman she confronted in the Panarch’s Palace trapped her underwater!” Trademark 100% Faithful Book Adaptation moment!

The chain weighs a struggling Nynaeve down to the bottom. When Liandrin sees the bubbles stop coming up, she turns and leaves. Nynaeve thrashes desperately and eventually runs out of air. She flashes back to her Accepted test, comforting her daughter who is scared, and tells her to close her eyes as she runs through the arch. In the water, Nynaeve’s eyes pop open as the Power swirls around her. The water blasts away, leaving an open path from the harbor floor, up the steps of the Palace

38:15 And best of all, Lan did not have to pull her out of the water! Sistas doin’ it for themselves!

Actually, no. I’m giving Lan an assist. Nynaeve would never have had a fake daughter to teach her that lesson if she had not abandoned a girlpower career to chase after a man in the arches. Ladies, the lesson in Nynaeve’s story is you can seek power by joining other women to hone your skills through work and study and achieve great authority and lead the world through sisterhood, or you find true fulfilment and empowerment by blowing that off to chase some D & have babies.

Nynaeve slowly and jerkily walks forward with her arms arched out to the side, like the Power is puppeteering her up the steps.

38:42 It looks like her first conscious Talent is Stair Ascending.

At the top, she lets the water go, and giggles awkwardly.

38:53 She’s looking awfully smug for someone who has just let the villain get away with the complete set of components to the Evil Device of Domination.

Lan is kneeling, eyes closed in a tent in the desert. A shadowy figure approaches.

39:21 Lan is going to slay Melindhra, because that will be just as good as Mat doing it, it’s totally earned in this version too.

Malkiel enters the tent and holds her spear pointed at his back. Lan points out that she knew he would hear her. She has the kai’sain painted on her forehead.

Is that significant?

He gets to his feet and turns to face her, asking why. She tells him she swore to the Shadow so that Malkier would rise again, but now her oaths require her to kill Lan and destroy Malkier for good.

40:17 And in this series, the role of Ingtar will be played by Melindhra. … ‘kaaay.

If she had already decided to come down on the side of Malkier in her conflict with her Dark oaths, as the kai’sain she took the trouble to wear indicates and her dialogue supports, why did she “sneak” up on Lan and hold the spear to his back?

She touches his face, telling him he is the Golden Crane and Malkier.

40:23 He’s looking at her like he’s just as bewildered by this bizarre character swapping.

She warns him that Lanfear is here, and will kill Rand, but Lan is more worried about her, because if she breaks her “Dark Oaths” her soul will die and never be reborn. Malkiel says that he can get the jump on Lanfear who will assume he’s dead. She starts seizing up and black veins appear on her face.

40:44 So that’s a completely new thing we have just learned about Darkfriends. How does Lan know it if it’s not common knowledge and if it is common knowledge, how has it never come up through multiple discussions of Darkfriends coming back to the Light in this season alone?

She collapses in his arms, reciting the death & duty thing, then smoke threads rise straight off her body. Lan is twitching in shock.

41:20 Weak. If you are so much about a country that is at this point, nothing more than an idea, that you are willing to sacrifice your entire existence, that is factually established to go on beyond your life, you’re a giant loser. The actual way to handle this, is to attack Lan and tell him everything on the theory that your oaths are still intact because he won’t live long enough to share the info, and force him to kill you. Death is lighter than a feather, etc. You sacrificed this life because you screwed it up, so you get to try again, because of the theme. This idiocy establishes that you absolutely can walk in the Shadow deep enough that you can’t come back to the Light, and furthermore, establishes the power of the Dark One as superior to a human will. That was the critically important ultimate revelation in the Last Battle, that the Dark One really had no power other than to persuade humans to give up. Except, LoL, yes he does, he can absolutely obliterate a being from existence for defying him.

Rand is there. Outside, clouds.

41:28 They are not, of course, under any obligation to follow the book’s plot of going straight to the meeting of the chiefs upon their arrival at Alcair Dal, but if they were not going to do that, why did they arrive to find everyone gathered around the speaking place?

Moiraine comes into the tent and sits behind him. She blurts out that he was right to come to the Aiel, because, duh, Aiel army. She goes to explain to anyone as dumb as she, or dumb enough to take her manipulations at face value, how useful a 100,000 Aiel spears will be. She expresses confidence that Rand will secure leadership and apologizes for not seeing sooner this was the smart play.

Rand comes to crouch in front of her, and indicates he’s figured out (how?) that Moiraine was working with Lanfear and the mirrors, axe & cards were their doing, to isolate Rand to control him. She admits to both. He also checks that she knew what Lanfear was doing to Egwene & she admits she suspected, and hoped it would separate Rand from both women. Rand notes that it worked, and she acknowledges it.

The Rand says how the funny thing is that in all the time since they left the Two Rivers, the only person who’s never left him and always been there for him is Moiraine.

42:43 Bullshit. She ditched the mission to tag along with an Aes Sedai expedition where she was completely superfluous, and spent her time in Tar Valon diverted with political bullshit to the extent that a woman whose own ignorance and vulnerability in Tar Valon Moiraine took pains to point out, found Rand first. Then she let him float around unprotected except for a Warder whose bond was turned off and had at least two separate groups of potential Dragons Reborn to guard, while she went off for a romantic tryst. Then she let him go off again while she sulked over being shielded and felt sorry for herself, just when he really could have used her knowledge and experience of the world, or she could have found an opportunity to let him know that she arranged for Logain to be available to teach him (These plans just do not work out for Moiraine, do they?) . And now she’s just confessed to the ultimate betrayal in order to get him to do what she wrongly believed was the best strategy. That is as much “being there” in any sense of the word, as rape is a demonstration of affection.

Furthermore, there is the question, which should loom largest in the minds of those who experienced the event diegetically, of the man who stabbed Nynaeve multiple times, as that was the most serious attack that came closest to succeeding. It's also something that should seriously cause him to question the benevolence of her motives and intentions. We, and Moiraine, know that it was a completely separate and coincidental occurrence, but to anyone else, the phenomena Rand lists should seem like distractions to facilitate Nynaeve's assassination. Intuiting that Moiraine was involved should have him wanting to bury her in the sand. But that's not convenient for their melodrama.

Rand goes on to say that he knows it’s not because she wants to use him, but because she wants him to win. She reminds him that she’s been a “knife at your throat” ready to kill him if he went evil or crazy, insisting that she doesn’t want to see him just reach the Last Battle, but to win it. Rand approves, saying she wants what he wants and she is the only other one who does. Then he thanks her, saying he’s only here because of her and he sees that now.

43:29 He must have read the script and knows she’s not making it out of this episode alive.

Moiraine is clearly touched, with her eyes watering up, and says she won’t be here forever, and Rand knows, but wants her at his side until then. She tells him no, and that today he will take control of the Aiel, without any Aes Sedai strings.

43:50 How touching, she gave him permission to accomplish something and be the main character. Of course, on this show, he needed it…

Rand asks what she’s going to be doing and she says she’s going to protect him from Lanfear or die trying. They wish each other good luck.

Verin is leading a party on horseback through the woods. It’s a surprisingly deciduous forest, considering that it was green when snow was on the ground 20 or 21 years ago, at the time of Gitara’s Foretelling, which the show pretends was on the day Rand was born. Galina and a group of Red are sitting around a campfire, and Verin calls her name as she rides up.

44:31 Look how smirky Galina is, this is either a “totally suckered you” decoy reveal, or a Black Ajah ambush.

Galina goes to meet Verin, who orders her back to the Tower on the authority of the Amyrlin. Galina says that Siuan can’t stop the Reds from doing their duty and Verin scoffs, asking what duty is that. Galina says to keep her and her companions out of the Tower.

44:53 And away from her Lucky Charms!

In the Tower, Siuan and Leane are hurrying through the corridors, discussing how Elaida is in the Hall and Leane is being kept out. They approach the guards, and one is actually male. They cross their partisans in front of the women, but Siuan says it’s her Hall and demands they open the door, finishing with a shouted “Now!” They exchange looks and open the doors. Siuan storms in demanding what is going on, and Elaida is there with a gold stole draped over the outfit she was checking out earlier, standing next to Alviarin. There are a small number of Sitters on the benches.

Elaida formally tells Siuan that the Hall has already convened with a sufficient quorum to unanimously vote to depose her. Leane says she can’t do this, and in an echo of Moiraine to Sammael, Elaida says she can and has. Siuan looks gobsmacked and Elaida adds that she has been accused of being a Darkfriend (Jordan really needed a verb for that) and that the Shadow is why she has been concealing the Dragon Reborn from the Hall and thwarting the Tower’s ability to control him.

45:45 It’s a rather credible charge, given her behavior. Especially after Elaida caught Siuan setting her up with the Black Ajah sting, after which they apparently had no substantive interactions or discussions.

Elaida goes on to say, while Siuan breathes deeply, that she will be stilled for her crimes. Leane makes that sour pissy face that was her signature in the original trailer and says “Over my dead body,” brandishing her staff at Elaida. Alviarin shuts that down and the whole Hall is on their feet channeling to bind her and make a circle with Elaida.

46:07 Leanne just attacked a sitting Amyrlin in defiance of a legal election. Remember the Three Oaths? Elaida can’t say she was elected & Siuan deposed, unless it’s true.

Siuan looks around in despair as Elaida gathers the power and begins shooting her with multiple weaves that look like arrows. She staggers like she’s playing Boromir, only way more dramatic, but there is no blood. Elaida makes a tugging motion and the arrow-weaves fly out of Siuan and light gushes out of her behind them. Siuan arches backward, screaming as a geyser of the Power shoots up from her chest. Elaida is clearly doing this, and is wearing a grimly pleased expression. The flow eventually ends and Siuan reels, mouth gaping. The only flows are around Elaida’s fist, and she releases them, as Siuan flops to the ground. Leane is already lying there and very upset. Elaida makes an off-hand gesture, saying “Take her, I have questions.” A Red & a White pick up Siuan’s arms and drag her out of the Hall, to screams.

Liandrin approaches what looks like an altar, carrying the collar, and her hair now looks crinkly like Alexandra from 1923, or Buffy in Season 4. Actually, it’s a throne, and there is a big spider crawling on the seat. Moghedian announces her presence from off-screen with humming. She does her weird Moghedian stuff and Liandrin says she wants to be one of the Chosen. Moghedian laughs long at that ending with a raspberry.

48:12 Awww, getting rejected after she had her hair styled just for this occasion…

She asks what makes Liandrin think she can be one of them. She replies that Moghedian is the weakest Forsaken, so her only option is to be the only one or find weaker ones to rule over, like Liandrin herself, as Moghedian does her unsettling routine. She says she’s been fantasizing about killing Liandrin for a while and takes a bracelet off her. Liandrin blurts out that it takes two women to use it, and offers to prove herself to Moghedian by working with her to collar the Dragon. Moghedian says she doesn’t work well with others, to which Liandrin replies “Neither do I.” This seems to amuse the Forsaken.

In Sammael’s cave, Rahvin and a woman (maybe) wander in to find him all disassembled and his viscera turned into a kind of webbing running to the ceiling. The woman speaks and it’s Lanfear, with her hair up in giant wings and eye-makeup like an Egyptian statue.

50:05 Did everyone get a makeover halfway through the episode?

Lanfear basically points out that this is what she warned Moghedian would do. She tells Rahvin he will be next, implicitly saying he is the weakest surviving Forsaken, aside from Moghedian In fact, Rahvin was the strongest, equal to Ishamael, and Sammael was only a step below them. Lanfear was tied in ninth place, of thirteen, meaning only three were weaker than she was. and doubts his alliance with Moghedian will protect him. She says he’s always played on all sides, but now he has to join the winning one.

She suggests that he could beat any of the Chosen with Callandor, and Rahvin realizes her game, asking if the Dragon rejected her again. She gets very serious and intense, threatening that he’s rejected her help before and fared poorly, and this will be the last time she offers. Rahvin is not impressed, because she looks ridiculous, and says he’s tired of the fighting amongst themselves. He says they need to be united, and asks whether she’s really ready to kill the Dragon Reborn. She smugly asserts she is.

Rand and Rhuarc enter Alcair Dal, to hear Sevanna addressing the other chiefs. Her dress has a ridiculous snake-looking thing on the bodice, with one end rising over her shoulder and anther making a loop in front of her. She also has something weird in her hair, like a double mohawk. She takes the fact that the Dreamwalkers summoned the chief there to see the Car’a’carn declare himself, and uses it to introduce Couladin as the Car’a’carn. Couladin bares his dragon-marked forearms, proclaiming himself to cheers. Rand starts down to confront him.

Meanwhile, Moiraine is wearing a fancy dress like in some of her alt lives, out in the desert, holding the Sakarnen and drawing on the Power to raise a giant dome over Alcair Dal.

No one notices the dome, because Couladin is busy announcing the Fremen jihad that he will lead the Aiel back over the Dragonwall to conquer. This is popular. Rand strolls down the steps to join him, and Couladin threatens to kill him for being on sacred ground. Rand admits he is a wetlander, but goes on to cite the prophecy of Rhuidean, which more or less predicts that. For some reason, we are watching Egwene’s & Aviendha’s reaction to this. Egwene is very worried, but Aviendha just looks indifferent. Rand recites his lineage. Rand points out that the Wise Ones sent “you” addressing the crowd, none of whom went, AFAIK, to look, in the wetlands, for Rand. A group shot of the Aiel shows them murmuring and questioning in response.

52:46 By “sent you” I guess Rand means “sent three Maidens with sex on the brain and a fourth who got killed because one of the sex fiends screwed up. Not counting the time she was hooking up while I was almost killed fighting with mirror men.”

Also, people keep telling Rand he looks like an Aiel, but what, exactly, in that shot, do you take away as a common Aiel characteristic that Rand shares with all of them?

Rand shrugs out of his coat, revealing his own dragon marks and declares he is the Car’a’carn. This is not well-received.

53:11 I notice there are only 8 chairs there. They really did winnow everything that was a dozen down to 8. Forsaken, number of women to capture a man, Aiel chiefs.

Back in the diminished Hall, Siuan is lying in the middle, with a trail of blood following her in from the doors. Close up, she’s down to a shift and all bruised and bloody, as Alviarin does the Keeper staff-bang thing for Elaida’s arrival. Siuan staggers to her feet as Elaida enters and takes the throne. She announces that Siuan must answer for her crimes. She states that Siuan worked in secret for 20 years with Moiraine. Siuan tunes out and stares off to the side, as Elaida asks her to finally come clean and tell where Moiraine & Rand are.

Out in the desert, Moiraine is still channeling as Siuan voiceovers a speech about her love for Moiraine. Lanfear saunters up behind her, absent the silly outfit she wore to examine Sammael’s body in a desert cave, back to her slicked hair and lots of eyeshadow, and she blasts Moiraine with what looks like rings of air, sending Moiraine flying forward with a rather humorous expression & cry of alarm.

55:05 Now you know how the villains feel. Not so much fun, is it?

Back in the Tower, Siuan is saying she would die to protect Moiraine, because Rafe getting to vicariously stand up for gay love is more interesting than his lead character fighting his arch villain.

In Alcair Dal, Couladin is accusing Rand of being brought by an Aes Sedai and that Moiraine give him the marks. Rand asks what Couladin saw in Rhuidean and he hides behind holiness, and claims that status for himself (Basically, book dialogue) .

In the Hall, Siuan tells the story of Gitara’s Foretelling.

55:45 Well, you changed your mind about protecting Moiraine PDQ, didn’t ya?

As Siuan mentions the part about the Dragon being reborn, it becomes a voiceover of Rand. He challenges Couladin, saying he’s not afraid to speak, and proceeds to shout about his experiences in Rhuidean.

56:06 There is absolutely no reason they could not have done this as in the books, in a canyon with a particular acoustic characteristic, allowing the speaker’s position to be heard throughout the whole structure, without raising his voice. You don’t need a real acoustic, you can fake it with sound editing, and Rand could vary his delivery and give a much more effective speech, and make Couladin that much more unhinged. I am not even sure the showrunners realize how much weaker and less impressive this is.

Moiraine is face down in the sand, and starting to get up when Lanfear approaches, making her scrabble desperately. Lanfear puts her down with a boot on her neck and then bends to start strangling her with a One Power garrote.

Rand goes on to reveal the icky pacifism, as Bair & Rhuarc exchange worried glances. Aviendha's head turns to indicate she might be concerned, but not enough to make a different expression. The Aiel crowd looks troubled when he mentions the Way of the Leaf, and Aviendha is shocked that her mentors knew this. Rhuarc tries to tell Rand that their people can't face the truth & he will destroy them.

56:37 Okay, that did not impress Rand when you told him before the meeting, and also the barn door is in splinters, this is far beyond closing it after the horse leaves.

Rand claims this is what he was born to do. He shouts up to the crowd that they have to face who they are, and screams "Oathbreakers" at them. The spectators turn to fight each other, with an aisle opening up right down the middle of the crowd, but they don't form lines, just divide into two crowds, with people at the back of each. I lack the time or fucks to give to examine the crowd figures to ascertain if they are CGI.

56:57 Huh, that was convenient, that they all lined up to hear the speeches, according to their predetermined reaction to the news. It's like the Rand party stayed on one side and the Couladin party on the other, and they are just fighting over whether or not their boy made a good point.

Moiraine is flailing around in the desert while Lanfear does the choking. Couladin urges people not to listen to Rand And to be fair, you can see occasional individuals switching sides, like they are standing with the wrong faction.. He calls for them to follow him across the Dragonwall, and starts to leave. One of the crowds (the one in darker clothing) starts to go, too. Rand shouts "Turn your back on me and die." The tan clothes Aiel seem interested, and Egwene seems worried.

More choking in the sands. Moiraine is starting to limp, while Lanfear is making faces from the exertion. Moiraine's head drops, eyes close and a tear trickles out. Siuan says that the world is changing. Back in the Hall she says that they can't hide in the Tower and pretend they are in charge A sentiment expressed solely by Siuan over the course of this show. Literally no one else has asserted the Aes Sedai rule the world. Elaida is starting to look bored as Siuan says that the only thing they can control are their actions.

Back in the desert Lan is present. Moiraine opens her eyes. In the Hall, Siuan asks "So what will you do?" Lan draws his sword, Lanfear goes from glee at her win over Moiraine, to turn and see him, with the smile dropping. Moiraine grabs the Sakarnen and blows Lanfear off her. Lanfear is levitating, holding a shield which Moiriane pummels with giant fireballs.

In the Hall, Siuan asks the Sitters, "Will you stand behind this Orange Manwoman who stands for nothing?" adding that Elaida loves nothing but power. Lan sneers down his extended sword and charges. He jumps at Lanfear who dodges. They glare at each other, and she does not obliterate him with the Power, just shields against his sword strikes. Moiraine channels at the sand, causing a row of glass shards to fly at Lanfear. She blocks them, but Lan gets through her guard. She heals her own wound with some apparent difficulty.

In Alcair Dal, Rand is reciting the horrible things he will do to the Aiel, per prophecy. Rhuarc reaction.

59:13 This is not exactly an argument that he knows the secret lore. A dumbass Maiden recited this part of the prophecy the day they reached the Three-Fold Land.

Rand says he is the Car'a'carn and we see Egwene. He starts channeling, using big movements, like the Sea Folk did, and we get reactions of the Wise Ones and Egwene & Aviendha.

Lan hammers at Lanfear's shield and she blows him back. Moiraine is distracted. Lanfear starts gathering black goopy Power, and Moiraine raises the Sakarnen.

Everyone is waiting patiently while Rand dances more and more Power around him, and Egwene gives a little headshake. The Aiel start look up at the clear sky. Overhead shot of Rand's power spiraling up to the sky (overhead wheel image for the episode! ).

Siuan is still monologueing. Sometime since her rants at Rand and Logain in the two prior seasons, she has suddenly discovered that character is more important than rank.

In the desert, Moiraine is holding defenses against Lanfear's dark power. She starts yelling as Lanfear presses the attack.

Siuan shouts that they are the Power and the Light shines through them, and that's the truth.

Lanfear breaks through Moiraine's shield and stabs her with Lan's sword, and twists it.

Siuan declares that she is Aes Sedai.

1:01:04 No, you're not. You've been stilled. You're not Aes Sedai anymore.

She states that she has sworn on the Oath that her sisters have sworn for the 3000 years, so hear her words and know that they are true.

1:01:17 Again, no, you have been stilled. The Oaths don't hold anymore, and also, you were accused of being a Darkfriend and the show has firmly established that Black Ajah can lie.

In the desert, Lanfear is grinning about holding Moiraine impaled on a sword, while Siuan voiceovers that if the Sitter stay there, they will burn with the Tower they claim to love. If that makes any sense to you, please explain it to me. Back in the Hall, Siuan says that she will never burn, because she is Siuan Sanche, daughter of the river, and water itself, and she defies Elaida. Alviarin gives Elaida a look like, "are we done with her yet?" Siuan repeats herself, directly addressing Elaida by name and Alviarin zaps her to her knees. Alviarin tells her the vote was done and she has been sentenced to death.

Back in the desert, Lanfear is still leering at Moiraine in slo-mo, with sad music. We get a closeup of Siuan's eyes, and tears. Alviarin zaps from her hand and Moiraine jerks back as little Power sparks shoot out of the place where she would fold her arms. She gasps out "Siuan" and gives a breathy wail.

1:02:20 I guess that’s the Oath Moiraine swore to her, being lifted, by Siuan’s death?

In the Hall, we have a wide shot from behind Alviarin, of Siuan's head and body lying separate on the floor.

1:02:28 Classy. I like the head just sitting there, like they couldn’t be bothered beyond popping it off.

As Moiraine moans, Lanfear comments on the oddity of Moiraine in her last moments, still being concerned with the woman who betrayed her. The woman carrying a torch for a guy who dumped her, imprisoned her for millennia and was reincarnated as a farmboy, thinks holding on to past relationships is weird. Totally lacking in self-awareness, she adds "And they call me insane." She straightens up and Moiraine starts to make determined faces. She staggers to her feet, with the sword still through her torso, holding the Sakarnen and channeling through it. Lanfear looks a little surprised and backs away as Moiraine starts screaming through a grimace. Moiraine pulls out the sword and Lanfear looks shocked and worried, maybe.

1:02:52 You know, you could do something, Lanfear. Why does this show think it’s more impressive if the heroes win because the bad guys just stand there and forget to fight back?

Lanfear backs away wide-eyed as Moiraine attacks with sword and orb both. Lanfear tries to block her blow, but Moiraine pushes the sword through her shield and slices her neck. They stumble apart, and Lanfear gets up holding the spurting wound and teleports away as Moiraine turns back to her with the sword up. Moiraine collapses, weeping and patting her wound.

1:03:27 I guess this is the episode of death fakeouts.

On a very wide shot, Rand's channeling looks like an oil fire rising from the desert. Egwene looks up to see precipitation starting to fall from the clouds. Aviendha winces and flinches away, because all the time she spent in the wetlands, it never rained once. The other Aiel, with better reason, look amazed at the rain.

1:03:55 I stand by my assertion that the Aiel are props, not characters. We’ve had almost as many reaction shots of Egwene in this scene as we have had of all the Aiel characters, possibly even more.

Moiraine is on her hands and knees ugly crying and jolts as if in pain when Lan arrives and tries to take her in his arms. Lan gathers her into his lap, as she sobs "She's dead" over and over.

Rand is completely obscured by the Power, and a rain-wet Rhuarc, presses his dragon-wristed fist to his chest, and shouts that Rand is the Car'a'carn. The other chiefs kneel and so does the crowd, and finally the little cluster of Wise Ones, excluding Egwene.

1:04:33 Well, his recitation of history that only someone who has passed the trial he claims to have passed would know, didn’t move the chiefs to action, but he made it rain so that proves who he is. Okay, sure.

Lan picks up Moiraine, looks around and then carries her off as she voice-overs the book lines about the land I have been typing certain names so often in this thing that I capitalized 'land' by reflex. being one with the Dragon. In the White Tower, Elaida strolls in satisfaction as the sun shines brighter than it ever did in Siuan's reign. Moiraine continues with the "soul of fire, heart of stone" lines, as Elaida enters her new study from the balcony and novice laborers remove the sex portal from the wall. She talks about conquering and pride as Moghedian, back in her servant's veil, rummages through a desk and looks up in alarm, like she heard the voiceover. Faile, Bain and Chiad look down over a Children of the Light encampment as Moiraine says the bit about mountains kneeling. Mat and the girls are on a ship, watching the Sea Folk starting her channeling dance as she mentions the sea & sky. No sign of Thom. When she finishes with "pray that the heart of stone remembers tears and the soul of fire, love," we see Rand still channeling and looking rather pleased with himself. "Love" is over Egwene in the rain, looking concerned.

Egwene calls for him to "let go, please!" And he smirks at her side-eye. The channeling continues and fade to black.

1:05:38 Here’s how we illustrate the arrogance alluded to in Moiraine’s voiceover – Rand is not doing what Egwene tells him to.

1:05:46 Liars.

There was some mild promise to the beginning of the season, but it settled into the same old dreck, that seems to have no connection with the books, or the show's own continuity, so much as shallow fan perceptions of several of the characters and agenda-driven rewrites. They just write with their own assumptions in mind, and do nothing to establish a basis for the ideas they are assuming. Everything is geared toward spectacle and diversity/LGBTQ fan-service, and the spectacles are uninteresting and unimaginative, and the diversity stuff is insufficient to carry any message, other than "look how diverse, look what good allies, we are!" Even when they try to write to make their favorite characters "win" they inadvertently undermine the image they are trying to convey or sabotage something else to accomplish what they want.

For the record, Rand's story was NOT good, they did not in any way capture his tGS plot, OR properly depict his growing arrogance. The annoying thing is that they might very well be satisfied with what they made, because it makes Rand's arrogance less earned and more of a character flaw, rather than the result of what he has been made to do for the sake of literally everyone else. And, of course, it plays into their agenda of "fixing" Egwene's story issues, and clearing her of the blame from a lot of things. In this case, her suspicions of his madness and hair-trigger willingness to see arrogance or ego in everything he did, down to a belt buckle someone else made as a gift, is now justified. Even flipping the order of becoming Car'a'carn and drawing Callandor and taking over a country messes up his arc and the way those things interact.

Despite the hype at the beginning of the season, they forgot to develop Aviendha after writing her romance with Elayne, and don't see to realize they've made her a bitchy lesbian stereotype, constantly tearing down the man she has to work with, and telling his girlfriend she can do better. Their idea of an arc for Lan was to have him meet an Aiel born in Malkier, refurbishing the least important part of Mat's tFoH arc, and watering it down for Lan, before realizing they forgot to put in the Darkfriend stuff for Ingtar, so they could stick that in Melindhra and call it a day. Nynaeve was, again, robbed in adaptation, despite what looks like conscious attempts to improve her this season. There was her determination in the opening episode to help Mat deal with his issue, but in their rare subsequent interactions, it was mostly snarking at each other and then Mat fell through the door to the Eelfinn by accident and had them offer a cure.

Perrin was dragged rapidly through the motions of his Lord Goldeneyes plotline, without earning anything and continuing the process of making him deeply stupid. He absolutely had NO character development, starting off the season deciding to give up the fight and just go home, and ending the season giving up and surrendering to the Children of the Light. They paid some lip service of offering himself to spare the village, but at the end, they made it into a big thing about non-violence. Aram also lost his minor character arc. In the books, he struggled to accept the Way of the Leaf, and then, when the Way failed him in his eyes, he embraced extreme alternatives with fanaticism. Here, he lashed out in a moment of desperation and his grandmother abandoned him (Ila spends most of her on-page dialogue trying to convince friends, acquaintances and strangers to embrace the Way and forget their history of violence, turns her back on her grandson for the least offensive, most justifiable act of violence imaginable; there are insane fundamentalist religious types who would show more welcome and forgiveness to a gay Satanist prostitute than Ila has for her flesh and blood), and he moped around until he was handed a blacksmithing business.

Morgase was made into a tyrannical murderer for shock value, and it went nowhere. Rahvin was embedded in the family, with likely no thought for the ramifications, and no indication of what, exactly, he gets from this or how he is using this position for his agenda. Or, you know, what his agenda is, beyond trying to get a trio of deranged lunatics to cooperate. Morgase's sons her assigned the personalities of douchebags, and no other layers were shown, and they even had dialogue to explicitly state that is what they are. They think that they made Elaida more evil in this adaptation, but all they did was make a damn good case for her deposing Siuan, while also undermining Tower politics by making them stupid and inept, because their idea of how to stage an election campaign involves ridiculous shenanigans, like tricking the other side into sending legislators on important missions, and the other side actually falling for it! Siuan was supposed to go out like a badass, a political martyr, spitting defiance with her last breath, but when you separate her speech from the thematic and diegetically unrelated action scenes taking place at the same time, it's an incoherent rant.

The truth is I love Moiriane. I have always and will always love her. I would die to protect her. Twenty years ago, Gitara Sedai had a Foretelling. Moiriane and I were there. She saw the Dragon was born again. The world is changing. We cannot stand behind these walls and pretend we still have control. The only thing we have control over is what we do. So what will you do? Will you stand behind this woman who stands for nothing? Who loves nothing but power. It's not the Tower or or the Seat that makes us who we are. It is us. Us. We are the power. The light shines through us. That is the truth. I am Aes Sedai. I have sworn on the Oath that my sisters have sworn on for 3,00 years. So you hear my words and know that they are true. If you stay here, you will burn with this Tower that you claim to love. But I will never burn because I am Siuan Sanche, daughter of the river, water itself. I defy you. I defy you, Elaida!

This speech deserves to be followed up with "LoL, off with your head!"

IDK why they like Elayne so much, but they also failed to do much to give her an arc, rather her plot was, like Moiraine, just a series of scenes meant to tell you how cool she is. Thom is back and their idea of how to make viewers interested in him is to have a character say "Who are you, Thom Merrilin?" in his final scene of the series.

Like I said, the Aiel are just props. The characters the writers gave the most attention to were a child and Malkier-born adopted Aiel Darkfriend.

It's an awful show and a horrible adaptation.