WoT on Prime episode 5 SPOILERS

[Thalia]

SPOILERS for episode 5
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
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.

[Nox]

I'm going to say it I didn't like Loial. And everything else I 'complain' about isn't even about the show it's just pointing out the differences. I honestly think I'd have more of an opinion if I had my own opinion on it first but I don't I have my husband's commentary to preface everything I see since we are watching it at 6 when it airs and not alone.

I'm going to be VERY disappointed if I don't get to see Mat beat the royal boys in a spar. We jumped all the way to book 3. I think their timeline is going to span all over the books and it's going to be a much shorter show at this pace. We don't see tar valon until the girls go there to become novices...

But I enjoyed the show and I'm avoiding most of these conversations cause I just don't want to fall down the rabbit hole.

[Thalia]

Most of the deviations from the book don’t bother me, but I would certainly find it harder to enjoy if I had someone reminding me of all the ways they’ve changed things as I was watching. Some of the changes I’ve liked, some not so much, and some I don’t really have an opinion either way. Lots of things have changed though, that’s a fact, and I do sympathise with people who are finding that a disappointment. Personally I am enjoying the show; the heart of it feels right to me even if details have changed. I also really like the heavy layering of symbolism and foreshadowing lol. That’s a big plus for me. We’re still headed to the same place imo, it’s just how we’re getting there that’s shaping up a little differently. But there's nothing wrong in disliking that elements of the journey have changed, either.

Not getting the royals yet is the only thing that disappoints me about skipping Caemlyn. I understand their reasons for using Tar Valon and featuring it so heavily in the first season, it’s probably the most important location there is in terms of lore and worldbuilding, especially for non-readers. But aside from the epic view of the gate in the episode teaser, the parts of the city we saw were more underwhelming than I expected, so I can really imagine the budget wouldn’t have stretched to building the set to another major city. I’d rather see Caemlyn when it can be done better justice, and I think the important characters there will get a better introduction by being shifted into season 2 as well. 

8 episodes is SO few for a story this large, and I wish Amazon had okayed the extra episodes the showrunner asked for. But I guess amazon weren't willing to invest more until they saw a return, which is understandable, and its not like they didn't pile a lot of money and resources in already. WoT is just so vast. Budget aside, I think lack of time is the main culprit for things like delayed character intros. Thom deserved a proper introduction (which he simply wouldn't have got in ep 1) and even then his presence felt short to me, I wanted more time with him. I think the same will apply to Min, there's nowhere in the travelling episodes they could have squished her or Baerlon in to do justice.

I agree with you that the scripts must be put together with the full series in mind rather than tackling the books in a linear fashion. Some of that will be streamlining, but I also think it means we will be bouncing around in the series’ timeline a lot as some things are condensed or moved around, sometimes to make narrative sense, and sometimes (less happily) for financial reasons. So although we’re seeing locations we never got to in book 1, I don’t think it means other things have been skipped entirely as a result, if that makes sense. There are even things that “should” have been in an earlier episode that we haven’t seen yet (and I was certainly disappointed we didn't see), but I believe we will before the season finale  

Despite us being in Tar Valon way too early, I don’t think Nynaeve and Egwene will be staying in the Tower or that we’re anywhere near book 3 plots, I think everyone will still go to Fal Dara, and that the later Tower/novice scenes will happen next season (hopefully including Mat trouncing the Trakands!). If they do truncate things that far then I agree the pace is waaay too fast and I will also be very disappointed. My guess though is that we get a taste of Tower politicking in the next ep (and probably some more details on the prophecy); then for the final 2, Moiraine spirits everyone away before E and N can be enrolled, and we get the Ways stuff, Fal Dara (including Min), and the Eye.

I was undecided on Loial. I think the actor is perfect, but the costume/prosthetics will probably have to grow on me. He looks better in situ than he did in the leaks.

Also, I don't blame you for not wanting to fall down the rabbit hole
/ramble

[Nox]

Loial reminds me of the Tree Ents in Lord of the Rings, even the wooden look they gave him. His way of speaking is way too lord of the rings IMO. Like they just made a tree Ent ogier instead of their own species. There are similarities, but he's not a tree person.

[Giovanni Cavelli]

Generally each episode I like better than the last.

I liked Loial - the wife and I thought it was funny that he seemed to think Nynaeve was the girl Rand was speaking of. We also liked how he kept rambling in the background when Nynaeve, Rand, and Mat were talking. Also - he had sausage fingers - so they did that part right in costuming. Don't be hasty - I think Loial will grow on us as he did in the books.

That being said, this episode is depressing and rightly so I think. I think they're digging deeper into the bond and it's effect on both parties as shown by Stepin's depression/suicide and Moiraine feeling Lan's pain as he grieved. The whole funeral scene was quite intense.

Those of you who know my love for wolfkin will likely know how stoked I was to see goldeneyes!!!! Wolves!!!!

The guy who plays Valda has the creepy factor down pat.

Blood and ashes - thank you for the Wheel of Time swear.

[Thalia]

Loial reminds me of the Tree Ents in Lord of the Rings, even the wooden look they gave him.  His way of speaking is way too lord of the rings IMO.  Like they just made a tree Ent ogier instead of their own species. There are similarities, but he's not a tree person.

Well, you say that, but I had a conversation with my mother recently (she HAS read the books) in which she asked me when they were going to meet the tree people. Tree people? I asked her, confused. You know, the people in the books who lived in the trees. Tree people. They look like trees. They live in the trees. Tree people.

We went around like that for a while. I DID ask her if she meant ogier, but she said no. Then she finally plucked the word treebrothers from her head... >_<

I jest. She clearly got the ents and ogier a little muddled in her memories. It did make me laugh though.

I thought his face looked reminiscent of a lot of the fanart, with the broad nose/snout. The actor is black so I imagine that's why they kept the colour of his skin, the fact it looks wooden might be poor prosthetics, it looked more like they'd tried to show pores and fleshiness to me. I hadn't thought about it but you're right that people are probably going to make the comparison. I wasn't sure about the hair, it looks a bit off, but then I don't think Moiriane's wig always looks that great either some of the time. Loial always sounded like the lotr tree ents to me, haha, so I didn't notice the similarity there, but you're right he does. The thing I was disappointed not to see was longer more emotive ears. I can understand them not doing the droopy eyebrows, but it's a shame about the ears.

[Thalia]

Generally each episode I like better than the last.  

I liked Loial - the wife and I thought it was funny that he seemed to think Nynaeve was the girl Rand was speaking of.  We also liked how he kept rambling in the background when Nynaeve, Rand, and Mat were talking.  Also - he had sausage fingers - so they did that part right in costuming.  Don't be hasty - I think Loial will grow on us as he did in the books.

That being said, this episode is depressing and rightly so I think.  I think they're digging deeper into the bond and it's effect on both parties as shown by Stepin's depression/suicide and Moiraine feeling Lan's pain as he grieved.  The whole funeral scene was quite intense.

Those of you who know my love for wolfkin will likely know how stoked I was to see goldeneyes!!!! Wolves!!!!

The guy who plays Valda has the creepy factor down pat.

Blood and ashes - thank you for the Wheel of Time swear.

I think you are right about Loial. At the moment I like his portrayal more than I like his costume.

I adore the wolfkin too but I've found those parts a little underwhelming so far, even this episode. Part of that might be that Perrin and Egwene's scenes have either been weaker (in comparison to things other characters are doing in the same episode) or that they just don't get the same narrative focus. Rand and Mat had Breen Springs, but Perrin and Egwene haven't had anything standout really, just lots of setup and worldbuilding. I thought the Whitecloak encounter would be Perrin's moment, but that definitely wasn't the focus of the episode today, or even of those scenes; Egwene was the focus. The torture scenes were intense but their escape felt a bit meh, it was too rushed -- the wolves were there and then they were just running. Perhaps we'll see a little more at the beginning of the next episode, since Valda is unlikely to let the abomination go. At the moment i feel like Perrin and the wolves have lost something in Elyas's absence. It wasn't even one of the changes I was bothered about but I wonder if it's been detrimental to the pacing. Perrin was my favourite character in the books but he's not in the show. The actor is great, he just hasn't had any of the story yet. Other than killing his wife.

I wonder how they will plan to travel the rest of the way to Tar Valon now. Surely sticking with the tinkers will put them far too much at risk.

Also, where is Bela?!

As a general aside, I keep mixing up Stepin and Maksim's character names. I've no idea why. But in my original post, everywhere I've used "Maksim" I do actually mean Stepin >_<

[Ascendancy]

There's so much to say and I can't take the time to sit and write it all! Here's some of it..

Overall impressions:

Beautiful! I loved seeing the Tar Valon. It looked better on screen than it did in my mind. I loved everyone coming up to the area and seeing the tower loom in the distance. I thought the stones around the area to be road markers, but didn't look closely. Blood and ashes made me squeal! Loved that! The set did feel claustrophobic and small, but it reminded me of being in downtown/old Buenos Aires where the roads and passageways between tall buildings are narrow. It makes sense that the guys wouldn't see much of the city from within those narrow streets. I do wish for more set, but don't we all wish for more of everything? lol. What we did see was stunning though. Behind the scenes footage echoes the sets were really built out. The sweeping wide shots were CGI but that's okay. The set actually reminded me a lot of Minas Tirith, which is no surprise given it is also a white city with a white tower. Its known RJ pulled ideas from LoTR so its okay. I looooved the sweeping cultural diversity observed in Tar Valon though. The extras filling up the street, the goods and wares, the costumes. It represented that Tar Valon really is a cross-roads of everywhere. I appreciated seeing the ports at the north and south entrance of the wall too! Looked just like maps of the city. I noticed that the central bridges on the sides of the island were long, slender and sloping; held up impossibly without support. Then the upper and lower bridges on both sides of the island looked a little more man-made as they had more support arches beneath. I can just imagine all our characters walking through Tar Valon! I did spy many novices around particularly in relation to the parade. Loved the arm bands on their costumes as it was just gorgeous. I am glad we got a moment with Logain where he sees Rand and Mat sitting high on a wall (replacing the same scene in Caemlyn) and presumably Logain sees Rand glowing Ta’veren, which was the reason for his maniacal laughing. Lots of misdirection done by the director to make it seem like Mat was the culprit and in fact the DR.

Likewise, I hypothesize that we have seen only hints of the wolf-lore and building up of Perrin as a wolf-brother to maintain the mystery of the DR. Perrin is still in the running for that. If we emphasize too early in season 1 that he is special because he’s a wolf-guy, then the audience would rule him out as the DR. I bet we get way more wolf-world building in season 2 after (presumably) Rand is recognized as the DR at the Eye of the world. I asked manflesh about this. He knows who the DR is bc I’ve talked about it, and his response was a question: “is there something going on with perrin and the wolves?”  Yep, manflesh. There is. Stay tuned. In that argument, manflesh loves Perrin. He also thinks the wolf thing is really cool and wants to see more of it going forward. So the hook has definitely set in. I imagine if they unloaded too much too fast, the lay-watcher wouldn’t be able to keep up. He also has no idea what’s wrong with Mat, but did notice that Mat seems a little “dark”. But so far he kind of thinks Mat is just being an asshole and hasn’t caught on that he’s “infected” with something nasty. The dagger is going to be a fun twist when its revealed to be evil for the audience.

Manflesh also really liked the warder stories. I am mixed on how much emphasis was put on Stepin, but I also understand why it was done. That storyline raised the stakes for all our heroes, gave us worldbuilding (omg the funeral ceremonies!), and gave us character insight for our main characters. So I support it. Besides, midpoint of every season on shows like there is always a sort of exposition-type episode. Lots of talking and not much actually ‘happening’ to move forward.

That being said, things did move forward. Nyn reunited with the boys. The whitecloaks were featured (manflesh really likes Valda’s evil-character and hopes we see more of him), and we set up the conflict for future Perrin vs whitecloak battles. Goldeneyes came out! Super cool too, and I really liked seeing Valda afraid of Perrin. He towered over Valda once Egwene burned his ropes off and felt huge to me. I loved seeing the wolves tear through the camp. Manflesh thought that scene was badass, but he thought for sure Egwene was going to be the one to save the day. While she kinda did by her tiny fireball (omg the poof of the tiny fireball was hilarious and so on point!), they did it together. I did notice that the whitecloaks were roaming the land within sight of Tar Valon. That is ballsy! I hope the Aes Sedai heal Perrin up before they all take off for Fal Dara. Egwene stealing the rings was awesome. Foreshadowing to her as a leader and Amyrlin as well as potentially pretending to be a Sister later on. I do remember that Aes Sedai rings are melted back down after their wearer dies. So seeing that happen was so symbolic and moving.

They are really de-emphasizing Rand this season. It makes me hopeful there will be a big payoff at the end of the season when Rand kicks Forsaken butt. Being Rand is my favorite, I am bummed we don’t have more of him, but I understand why he’s de-emphasized. The forsaken figures were incredible! I loved seeing that they are almost believed to be fairy-tales and superstition. Manflesh glossed over that part completely unaware of what is coming, but he did notice it.

Loial was my favorite part of this episode I think. When I first saw him in pre-season pictures, I was very apprehensive of his look. After seeing it played out, I loooooooove his look and costume! I totally didn’t see tree-man at all, but instead I saw it as “ogre”-man. In fact, Rand called him an ogre. Manflesh thought he was an ogre, even my 6 year old son thought he was an ogre (like Shrek). Which is what I always assumed Ogier to be inspired by when RJ made them up: a combo of ogre + lotr (Clearly the green man is more like the LOTR Ents). I didn’t really see a woodsy type skin texture. I just thought it was humanoid *shrug?*. I bet the moustache helped with the prosthetic, particularly around his mouth and big teeth. The droopy, moving ears would have been sooooo hard to pull off and would have had to be CGI. When I think of those ears, I just picture “baby Yoda” and feel like it would have been a copy of that. Instead, they gave him big bushy eyebrows and a big moustache. I loved the flare of his nose and his eyes. Even yes his voice is “woodsy” and Ent like, but did you watch the behind the scenes footage? The actor really sounds like that! He has such a deep bass voice that I can just listen to all day long. Plus he’s huuuuuge! Plus he is literally just like Loial in real life: super jovial and uplifting. I am a huge fan of this Loial, which I find extremely humorous because I loathed book-Loial. He was always so embarrassingly “fantasy” (nerddom), annoying, stupid, and just felt like he was in the way. (sorry Loial fans!) Show Loial is such an improvement for me. I even love his kink-hair, which like I said before, I was very apprehensive about at first.

Travels of Jain Farstrider! It was a huge book! Rand in the library.. just like the scene in Caemlyn. Pulling the sword out. Gosh it was fun. I don’t mind at all we skipped Caemlyn. It’s for obvious logistical reasons. No biggie for me.

The white tower politicking was fabulous. The friendships and back-stories between the Sisters and warders was so fun to witness. Even manflesh asked if aes Sedai can be bad too because “redlady” (aka, Liandrin) seems pretty sus. (he has no idea of character names so the costume colors are very helpful to him picking out people).

The set of the white tower interior was beautiful to me. I felt that it was purposeful that it was cold and empty. The lack of things on the wall (seriously, who is going to drill a hole into Ogier-One-Power-built 3,000 year old marble?? Not me!) I found to be a startling contrast to what I always pictured in my mind; but that picture comes from decades of RP’ing and probably not very accurate! This felt cold because the Aes Sedai are cold, serene. It felt like a place of meditation, like a monastery. The Sisters are like monks in a Tower much like monks are brothers in their monasteries. The interior design drew inspiration from very beautiful, worldly places, and I just can sit and stare at it all day.
Well, all in all, I was fond of the episode. I’m eager to move on though and see some channeling Rand action. It’s building, and I can tell the tension is coming. I look forward to seeing the Hall next episode and the Amyrlin. I look forward to everyone sneaking out of Tar Valon to go to Fal Dara and the Eye. Going to be cool to see how the girls escape getting enrolled as novices.

[Mikhail]

I have very mixed feelings about this episode. There were a lot of great things in it. 

I loved the emotion and world building. Both funeral rites were really well done. Like we had one for AS and one for their warders. And I love the idea of ritualized grieving. Especially in the context of someone like Lan who, in the books, was very restrained. He showed little emotion. A raised eyebrow was the the equivalent to shaking his fist, or statements like that.

Daniel Henney is more emotive, which I like. But I do still want some reserve since it is part of the solitary nature and character of him. I like that in a ritualized format, he is ALLOWED to grieve, to give vent. It is a safe space and place for that sort of thing. And he kills it (Though the ripping the shirt open as the camera hovered overhead felt a bit melodramatic. But in a ritual context, it works.

The Forsaken (and forgive me but every god-damned time I type forsaken, I inadvertently begin to type "foreskin" instead. It's like I need to put that damn 'e' after the 'r' in my default brain spelling of 'fore'. Anyway....) I just LOVED LOVED LOVED the way the forsaken were introduced. Ishamael had been named by Dana 2 eps ago but he was not identified as such. Here, we see a number of statues representing each.

The concept of these is brilliant enough and organic enough that I have to wonder if there are in fact cultures that make statues of demons and evil entities in order to drive them and their influence way. Was fantastic and a great way to show the depth of this world. I will have fun trying to figure out who is who. The short one was probably Sammael as was said. And Ishamael was sort of pointed out. The cat lady with the long neck...Idk, but I think Semiraghe. She's too bad ass to not include. If they merge her with Lanfear, that becomes more interesting. But a very organic way to introduce the forsaken.

Egwene was badasssss. I loved how her defiance dovetailed nicely with Nynaeve's story. Unlike you, Thal, though I wondered if they could have used a single line that connected the story she told to Rand's unsurety. It certainly did fit the idea that she was unbreakable. But that's a metaphor. She very much CAN die. Having her comment on "feeling" if Egwene died would have bee subtle enough but still vague enough that it would only be meaningful (in the context of Nynaeve's having unknowngly healed her) later on.

And I was so relieved that Perrin told her what he did. And that, once again, this Egwene fucking cares. Aside from a few scenes (like in book 2 when she was partially driven to protect Rand from the AS esp at Fal Dara) I never got the idea that cared that much about others. As abstract principles and such, sure. But not specific people or individuals. Even her "love" for Gawayn was shallow. Her friendships certainly felt disposable or at arms lengths, given how easily she turned on her friends or made sure that they did what she said or acknowledged her position.

But this Egwene is trying to convince Perrin to forgive himself. And she outs herself to Valda despite the danger to herself to protect him. And just with those little things, just like ones in previous episodes, Egwene shows herself to be a woman worthy of respect. Loved her.

Valda is a great evil guy. His perspective is terrifying and cruel. He has no qualms over the fact that one of the two will die- one of them innocent, if Egwene cannot channel. Innocence means nothing to him. 

Only issue was the way he seemed frozen and powerless against Perrin. "Light protect me, what are you!" or some such. Come on, man. You live in a world with Trollocs and Fades and channelers. Yellow eyes is disconcerting to be sure, but that wasn't the time to be hesitant and frozen. Maybe this emphasizes how litle combat he has seen. That he is only strong and in control when they are trussed and tied up for him. How this will work out when (and if) he has to face Galad in combat is unknown.

The washing of Egwene reminded me of the witch trials where the accused woman was poked and prodded and examined in humiliating ways that, frankly, were also done for titilation and sexual gratification. While I am glad they didn't go GOT about it, it had that air. They singled her out while leaving Perrin dirty. Another good job making you despise the WC.

Barney continues to kill it as Mat. Every episode makes me feel the loss more. I hope te new guy can carry him over. 

I am bit concerned that, given his role as the Dragon, their attempts at misdirection regarding Rand will backfire. Other than his breaking down Dana's door, we've seen little to put keep rand in the running. I checked the reddit analyzing possible candidates but it hasn't been updated. I would venture a guess that Matt, Egwene and Perrin seem to be pulling ahead. Nynaeve possibly, if people think Moiraine's assumption of 20 years is inaccurate. Rand mostly existed for exposition and/or to bounce off of. And I do love Josha as Rand. But if they don't give him a bit more, it will be really odd to have him be shown as the dragon, at least to the non book reader watchers. Because it comes out of nowhere.

but I am getting ahead of myself. We may see Tam's flashback or the battle of the blood snows in the next episode. If you recall, Moiraine met Suian for the first time in the books (excluding the prequel) in The Great Hunt. It was in that chapter that you learned they had been novices and accepted together and learned of Gitara's foretelling about the Dragon during the battle. That their animosity was a ruse. It seems we will be seeing this scene in this context instead. If so, we get more context about that vision. And perhaps more about Tam. We still have a lot to do and the Eye of the World still hasnt been introduced (it was in book 1 by Baalzamon, by loial and by a dying aiel maiden through the tinkers.) So I am will be patient.

I am not enamored with Loial's look. Frankly his wig is ridiculous and will take some getting used to. Someone compared him to "Snarf" in the thundercats. It made me laugh and I couldn't unsee it. That being said, his manerisms and such fit loial so that will happen, Im sure. I do miss the ears though.

Loial's finding Nynaeve off screen was clunky. Im sure theres a cut scene but damn, this was jarring.

My biggest pet peeve is how clean everything is. Ok, this is Tar Valon and the WT.So the AS are obsessively clean (maybe). Then say that in a  throw away line. Everything is pristine and doesn't look lived in. I hate that I started noticing how empty and pristine everything is. It really grates as this tower and city are 1000s of years old and you are steeped in history and culture. They do a good job showing all the ruins and stuff (like when Eg and Perrin were running with Aram ad they passed some). They put the effort into that. Make it look real. Dirty. Talk to the Disney Imagineers for that kind of thing. Or watch how Lucas (who invented that look in sci fi) did it. Because thats the thing that bothers me most (small I know. but there it is.)

[Ascendancy]

I went back and rewatched the scene with the forsaken statues and I think I count 8.. can someone else count and see how many you see?