SPOILERS for episode 5
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What did you all think?

Thoughts on Loial?

Did we see background portal stones? Or were they more like roadmarkers to Tar Valon?

Wow, okay. I found this episode very emotional, it has a very strong focus on themes of love, loss, and grief. I thought it had a lot of strong and nuanced character building. And lots of foreshadowing, worldbuilding, and setup.

First impressions:

Nynaeve holding onto her braid in the opening sequence got me right in the feels.

Maksim kept Kerene’s boots *cries*

Love the tiny detail of longer hair after a time jump.

Rand noticing Dragonmount!

Finally, some book swearing!

Padan Fain’s whistling when the boys first arrive was a nice touch. In fact you can see him in a doorway watching as they enter the inn (I only noticed the latter because of a fortuitous pause lol). You see him once again after that, laughing. Whatever Mordeth did he looks far better for it than poor ol’ Mat.

Odd they cut Gill after mentioning he’s Thom’s friend. Maybe we see him next episode, he has been cast. There were a few times during this ep where it again felt like there should have been a little more that would have made the transition between scenes smoother, but it had to be cut to fit in the 1hr time slot.

I liked that Mat wondered about the little girl, that even though he’s now clearly deep in the dagger’s grip, he still has his good heart. By the way, the extras description for the Grinwells on the official prime page DOES say that it was the fade who killed the family. I am glad to be wrong. 

Aram’s comment about accepting that violence is a part of everyone was a bit strange, it felt less like a tinker philosophy and more like a poignant thing to point out to Perrin. Mind you, it always seemed dumb to me that in the books they’re vegetarian since they’re also nomadic. Violence and hunting are separate things, that’s the whole reason Aiel use the spear. I will be surprised if the show tinkers shun those who stray, they seem too forgiving. I did love their defiance to the Whitecloaks, and that we saw pacifism doesn’t mean being *passive*. I really like Ila.

Interesting that Moiraine makes a point of also warning Nynaeve specifically about the sisters they travelled with -- does she suspect Liandrin? Or was it just common sense? Because as she also points out, Nynaeve is now going to be considered a game piece all the AS will want to move.

The scene with Maksim and the other warders was beautiful. I like seeing the warders as a brotherhood and how they rallied around a grieving brother. Melting the ring was a nice touch. Maksim’s grief really resonated with me, and the way his loss affected the others was very well done. Maksim’s later explanation for why he cannot sleep, and Nynaeve’s reply, were spot on.

Jumping from something beautiful, poignant, and sad, to Egwene & and the Whitecloaks made it even more difficult to watch. The added detail of the way they take out her braid and the rough treatment of her hair was a nice touch.

Goldeneyes! I was really ready for the wolves to turn up at this point

I’m going to go ahead and assume that they haven’t just adjusted Valda’s position in the Children but merged him with Asunawa. I don’t think he even particularly thought Egwene was a channeler, considering he left them alone for so long. It just seemed like he had a reasonable excuse for some torture time and took it.

I continue to like Liandrin despite myself, they are doing a very good job of making her relatable. Her trying to be nice to Nynaeve seemed so manufactured I can only credit the actress for her performance. Is there a reason she sent Nyn to the gardens? It’s clearly where she met Loial and was able to reunite with the boys. Is this just Liandrin trying to win trust? Did Padan Fain instruct her? At this point Moiriane still seems totally ignorant that Mat and Rand are in Tar Valon, which seemed a little odd given what she said to Nyn.

Thought it was a bit odd we didn’t SEE Nyn go to the gardens. The skip from her standing in the corridor outside the Hall to reuniting with the boys was jarring. Loial’s roundabout introduction was spot on though.

Oh, also liked that they included the story about Egwene’s breakbone fever and Nynaeve’s certainty that Egwene is still alive. The AS are totally wrong about the cave being the first time Nyn channeled but I liked that this wasn’t made explicit. I also liked that when Mat was surprised to see her, she replied “who else would I be?” After Moiraine’s speech I loved this display of Nynaeve’s strength and pure stubbornness to not let power change her. She is my favourite character at the moment.

Eg stealing the AS rings! Does the girls using these (presumably) to pose as AS later have a different feel to it now we know dead AS rings are melted down as a mark of respect to their passing? We really see Egwene’s beginnings as a leader here. Also, her comment that Perrin might spend his entire life before he accepts Laila was an accident gives me faith they will handle that storyline well, and not just gloss over it.

Liandrin and Moiraine have a past? That would be an interesting twist (Liandrin’s prime description does suggest they were intimate once). It’s starting to seem like Moiriane was a bit of a lady killer in her youth.

Also, the novice dresses are far more stylish than I ever envisioned them.

Forsaken! One of the figurines looked like a squat chewbacca, I’ll bet that was Sammael lol. Did anyone count them?

Ah, so Alanna was planning to offer a bond to Stepin, I’m glad they included this (I wonder if they will merge her character with Myrelle for future plotlines). Discussion of consent now will contrast with what she does later in grief. The way they chatted on the bed was very reminiscent of how they must have been as novices, which I thought was a nice touch. Also loved the “you’ll be around for a long time yet” line. Yikes. Good setup for the Tower split too, though interesting that it’s Liandrin they’re rallying around. The picture in the wall cabinet was interesting, I didn’t know what to make of it though (beyond it being a little heavy on the symbolism).

The Amyrlin travelling back from Caemlyn was an amusing touch. I wonder if that has anything to do with Elayne.

Agh, Stepin slipped Lan the sleeping tea! I wasn’t sure how I felt about his suicide by something like seppaku rather than him trying to take out Logain, though I thought it worked better for the tone fo the episode. What was the symbol on the blade hilt? It felt like the camera focused there, but maybe it was just so we could see he’d killed himself. It reminded me of one of the chapter symbols from the books.

I thought the funeral, and Lan being a conduit for grief no one else could express, was excellent and very moving.

The only negative I had, aside from scenes sometimes feeling a bit choppy again, was the sets. They still felt too much like sets imo (though they were very beautiful). Tar Valon’s background noise just felt like stock sound. The White Tower felt FAR too empty. I know it was a huge place for not many people, but it just felt abandoned. Aside from our main characters, we literally saw two novices wandering about and that’s it. The rooms all felt cavernous and a little empty too. They make a joke about Moiriane’s, but even Stepin’s felt sparse. I would have expected more wallhangings and tapestry at the very least. It looked like it would be cold!

EDIT, oh and I almost forgot, the ending credits music also got me in the feels. It was a sombre version of Mashiara, specifically the bit that speaks about love.

Spoiler alert for Episode 4: The Dragon Reborn

Stop reading if you want to avoid spoilers. 



I had a feeling it would drop at midnight GMT, so I was refreshing my browser at my local time and elated to find episode 4 popped up within minutes. After a few quick text messages, I hurried to the tv, lowered the lights and settled in to be amazed. 

Okay, enough typing. Spoilers coming.

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Perrin continues his habit of being my least favorite character. I'm eager to get him some wolf scenes so he can be interesting again. Nothing else to say. Aram was very charming in this episode. I love his accent that creeps up sometimes. At the scene with him dancing with Egwene and them staring up into the stars, he was a little creepy, like he'd not seen a pretty girl before. And the scene with them looking up at the stars was not a flattering angle for Egwene. Anyone else notice that? She looked about 12 years old too. 

Mat's descent into darkness is shown pretty cool. I like that it seems the darkness of Shadar Logoth has infected him in the literal sense. Made for some super creepy vibes coming off Mat. Him staring up into the loft shadows, and we see blood and death everywhere, for a minute my heart jumped into my throat because I was worried Mat had killed the family. But luckily, it was just the Fade. HOLY CRAP that Fade was incredible. I want more Fade fighting scenes. I haven't re-watched it yet, but my memory of that scene was first, it went too fast, second, that Fade was huge, third, its robes were wicked cool, and fourth, Thom held its own against it for a short period of time which was YAY BOOK ACCURATE. 

Anyone else notice the doll was named Birgitte?? I'd totally forgotten about her. Guess that means there is a plan for her in later seasons. Foreshadowing!

I really like that the show is making the watcher guess who is the Dragon Reborn. Thom thinking Mat can channel. The story of Owen *cries*. Now Rand thinks Mat might be it is all disarming to the watcher. Good misdirection there, Rafe. 

Now to the main event.

HOLY SHIT THE AES SEDAI CAMP. The politicking. The conversations between Korrine and Stepin: like something more than husband and wife or brother and sister. The AS/Warder bond was really shown here. When he felt her die and he almost fell over, it was so moving. She was clearly the one in charge of the camp, even though it was made up of different Ajahs, she was the strongest and in charge. I loved that. 

The campfire scene showing the dynamics of all the warders was amazing. It was like watching the last 20 years of my RP life play out on screen. November down to the month of 2021 is my 20th anniversary of WoT RP'ing. *cries again* And the two warders + the Green. Nicely done. 

Liandrin is great. I hated her in the books. Not in the way that you like to hate a character, but I really hated her. I am really liking her on the show. She's witty, and I think that is making the difference. Her hating on the perfect, selfless Moiraine was awesome and spot-on Red/Blue hate. 

Finally. Logain.

He was really good. The opening scene in Ghealdan was pretty cool. I really loved the personification of his madness and his interpretation of what the voices meant. Moiraine's explanation that the Wheel doesn't care was such an Aes Sedai thing to say. Loved that interaction between them. The shielding was incredible. So far, the channeling is wonderful in the show. I am a huge fan of the way they show it. The shield as the net pressing in on him, containing his threads within a sort of bubble was such a cool way to show it. I never had a good picture in my head of what that should look like. I liked how they did it. Was the cage an actual cage or not? I thought it was a manifestation of the shield, but when he broke free of it, it melted like he dissolved the shield. But then when the Aes Sedai re-shielded him, the cage didn't reappear. So maybe it was a real cage after all. Or maybe it hadn't had time to reform. Not sure. Regardless, the battle was so cool. 

And then there was the "radiant sun." FINALLY!! Finally Nynaeve is let loose. Her braids floating in the air. The scream of her rage. That was some freaking awesome scene. I immediately rewatched it as soon as the show was done just to see her in her glory and to know she's only at the beginning. I had flashes in my head of her and Rand cleansing Saidin and teared up. It was so cool. So. Friggin. Cool. 

Okay that's all I can remember after my first watch. What caught your eye?

Here ya go!

Here is a place to discuss the Wheel of Time on Prime, episodes 1-3. Full spoilers for those episodes ONLY! Book (and general WOT lore, companion, etc) spoilers allowed.

Any and all thoughts for episodes 1-3!
What did you love?
What did you hate?
What are you curious about?
Got any theories?
Where do you think things are going?
What changes did you really like?
What did you really dislike or wonder what the ramification are gonna be?

Anything is fair game!

I saw on the wiki that we have summaries for each Age of the Wheel. The 4th Age has been running through my mind lately, namely the relationships between Aes Sedai and Asha’man. Before I started plotting out a story I’d like to tell, I wanted to ask you all if any of you have written scenes in the 4th Age or if any of you have any thoughts as to what we might see in the 4th Age?

I was about to start digging through posts, but figured this would be more expedient.

Been staring at a blank page for days now for posts. No words are coming out. 

*Grumbles

A continuation of On Matters of Succession

1000 N.E.
Third Age
Sometime between Winter and Spring

Vivienne Accylon Bio

The ethereal light of God pulsed behind Meera’s shoulder, just out of sight. She could never look directly at it no matter how hard she strained to do so – but then why should a mere mortal gaze upon the glory of God? Even when that mortal had been chosen as the Eye of God? Especially then. Titles meant nothing to the Almighty. It was her duty to serve faithfully and without question. It was her duty to see the infidels of the world brought to their knees under her delicate hand.

That light truly was of another world. The scalpel in Meera’s right hand was evidence of that fact; it did not reflect the brilliant whiteness that was so apparent to her. White. Such a lovely, pristine color. A shame that slashes of red and crimson marred the polished tiles of her basement laboratory. Still… Those shades of red gave her a pleasure she could not deny. The light pulsed again at the thought.

Meera held on to a weaving of that light; Spirit, Water, and Air melded into a half-hazard, jumbled net. She had figured that one out on instinct alone. It did not always happen that way, but at times – when she really, really wanted something to work – something else would take over and her weavings would just seemingly snap in to place. Those weaves always lacked elegance and finesse. They could be refined, true, she was constantly reworking one nasty bit of the light that urged an individual to cater to her whims.

More tests were always needed in her field. Such were the woes of the scientific method. Even so, she had enjoyed shaving off the needless fat from her research, taking it off by inches until it revealed the wonderous meaty pulp that she had so desired.

Thankfully many tests had already been done upon the human brain – the subject on which she worked tonight. As of late, she hadn’t much patience to spare and this problem she tackled was one that had been a nagging burr in her side for months.

Pleasure and pain.

Oh, she had been well acquainted with the later for her entire life. The brain was one of the reasons living beings even experienced pain. She had read that in a book as a child. It was the sole reason she had entered University. So strange. A single page in a dusty tome had altered her entire life. Where would she be today had she not wandered into that run down library in Cairo? Still bringing the masses to their knees – to be sure – but what mask would she be wearing?

Meera clicked her tongue softly at the soft moan that had interrupted her thoughts. She tied off the jumbled weaving and let it settle temporarily into her subject. The moaning continued. She felt a fire in her loins as she guided more flows out from that light. A thick ribbon of Spirit shot out with threads of Fire, Earth, and Water roiling around it.

“It is good to be silent. It is good to bear your suffering silently,” Meera cooed in a warm voice as the whip of light cracked against the pink, fleshy mass before her.

The moaning slowed down to a soft whimper before completely dissipating.

“It is good to obey me,” Meera stated before letting the weave go. She picked up the other weave without missing a beat and continued to feed it flows of Spirit, Water, and Air. A beeping noise sounded off to her right; her wallet marking the hour. She had wasted plenty of time already in idle thought. The weave she held now would not keep her project for long – even the light had its limits. Meera estimated that she would have another two hours to work before this project would expire and then she would have to begin the process anew. It was not hard to acquire a wayward person in the CDC. Not when you knew where to look.

Meera clicked her tongue again and made an effort to focus. The brain. The human brain. Pain and pleasure…

The perception of physical pain always began with nociceptors – physiological receptors commonly found in the skin and other fleshy bits. Those little firecrackers would send signals to stimulate the brain. The brain would then trigger various wonders through the spinal cord and on to the many afferent pain pathways located throughout the human construct.

Oh, there was an enthralling pleasure in doing a thing yourself; the scalpel in Meera’s hand was evidence enough of that. Still. There were certain… benefits… in preserving the flesh. A subject could last much longer if one could stifle the bleeding. That was the only reason she had puzzled out the weave she now held, it healed the physical body.

She needed to work on that one a bit more. Once the weave dissipated, her subject would quickly expire. Whatever healing the weave conferred, it was not long lasting. Indeed, the only reason Meera knew this weave did anything was due to the fact that her subjects would not stop bleeding.

“Such a mess,” Meera clicked once more before placing the scalpel down.

The scalpel had been a mistake last time. How could she get definitive results if she continued to separate the two hemispheres? The point of this entire experiment had been to use the light in ways that would negate the need to cut flesh. True, she had needed to do some cutting. That would not be necessary in the future, once she was more intimately familiar with her subject. But for now? She needed a visual aid.

Meera tied off the sloppy weave of healing. She spun out the light once more and began to delve into the experiment before her. Instinct took over as she used the light to find the lentiform nucleus.

There! Meera thought triumphantly. She was getting quicker at this game of cat and mouse.

Without wasting a minute, she wove minute threads of Fire and Air into that sweet spot. The subject’s body thrashed in its bonds as the light became the embodiment of Meera’s will. A slow smile crept across her face as she removed the threads of light. The subject eased into a soft twitch of the limb.

Again, Meera pushed at the brain’s center with her threads of light – the subjects body responding again with thrashes. She removed the threads and tried again, holding it longer this time.

Meera smiled as the moans began to escape her subjects’ mouth, despite the strictures she had set forth. She released the threads of light and nodded with an air of satisfaction.

“Subject one-five-three has provided the correct response. Miniscule and light applications of Fire and Air to the lentiform nucleus in increasing lengths of exposure are key. It is likely that the same can be applied to the thalamus and the hypothalamus, but further testing will be needed to confirm,” Meera spoke coldly and monotonal, her wallet recording every moment of the experiment.

The body laid before Meera did not stop bleeding.

From the Boys! 

https://www.facebook.com/SPNInfinity/pos...5604238428

He was fucking going.  He'd made the note to tell the Atharim where he was going, who he was hunting.  The why was already know.  Almost immediately a message returned with another joining the ranks.  "Fuck!"  

Now inteast of learning it was a true hunt.  Thankfully there was a do not kill order on him.  Both he and Dr. Wozniak wanted him alive.  He was important enough to not kill.  But now instead of going to learn -- it was a capture mission.

It didn't change the outcome -- the result would be the same.  He would teach Jer to control this infernal power so that Jer could do his job and then forget about the shit all together.  That was his goal however infeasible it might be.

****

The coordinates set were easily found.  And follow up instructions from Durante had been clear.  Follow the tunnel south until the T junction.  He'd know it when he saw it.  And then west until a corner.  There he'd wait.  And now he'd wait to be taken alive.  The man didn't know what was coming.  He assumed friend, when in reality it was foe.  Perhaps this might be a way to actually hunt the prideful gods of new.  

But Jer waited at the entrance to the opening, in the Red Light district.  Women sat on balconies nearby waving at him.  He promptly ignored them.  He was working... 

[[ @Zephyr @Grym ]]