I thought pockets and dreamshards were the same things, and were located in TAR (controlled by whoever makes them), but that might be misremembering things or mixing/remembering things wrong. It didn't have a quality to it that I'd expect for the dreamworld, beyond the bright white light of when Moiraine goes in and the bright white light that flashes up at the end that I thought might just signify an "other" place. When Rand enters in the flesh does he see TAR differently? I wonder if we won't get things moving and shifting because of budget. But apparently there is info on the prime page which suggests it was a ter'angreal that took them to a hut in Tear. I am just going to choose that it was a folded place in time like you said because I prefer that explanation. And that whoever goes in first decides the location (Suian's painting being surroundings in Tear, and Moiraine's one being ... well, I presumed Cairhien but it does just look like the Tower so maybe that doesn't work).
Actually, I've just googled dreamshard and you're absolutely right about it being a pocket dimension, between the real world and TAR. So, whatever the official prime page says, that makes FAR more sense than them actually being in Tear. Where, you know, channeling is illegal and they are completely unprotected. So I pick your explanation too.
Suian's not a dreamer in the books. I wonder if they've replaced her seeing ta'veren talent? It's possible this is why Moiraine thought there were 4 ta'veren in the Two Rivers? Perhaps she was acting on dream info. I think it's also possible she's not a dreamer though. She does mention that the DO dream started a month back, but then why wouldn't Moiraine question its validity if it was something new? It also tracks with why Moiraine is certain that dreams are important with the E5. The only thing I wonder is, if Suian IS a dreamer, why isn't she shielding her dreams? Because I think the Eye dream is a trap too. Maybe they don't know how yet. In the books Egwene was the first dreamer in a long time so perhaps it's still not well understood. I can't remember at which point Rand is told about shielding his dreams. Maybe they will use this being a trap to introduce the concept.
I'd love to see the greenman but realistically I am happy if they smooth out the early plot anomalies to fit with the rest of the series. It also makes it interesting that we don't know exactly what's going to happen in the next two episodes.
I thought Egwene's hair being loose was because it's part of the ceremony, and we only saw the conclusion, when she gets the braid. After she's out of the river, her dress looks like it has the swirly remains of the paint, as if it had happened before they did the hair braid bit we saw. Equally, you're right, it could be a flashforward as we know in the books she decides not to wear the braid eventually, and the colours feel prescient. Rafe has definitely mentioned the word flashforward in interviews, and we haven't seen anything like that yet. I'd be surprised if they cut it, just because it formed a large part of their original marketing. I also think we are going to see the actual fever dream ramblings scene with Tam and Rand as well seeing the Blood Snow. That's part of what makes me think it might be a more horror-inspired sequence. I can't see how else they would show both those things and make sure the viewer connected them. I'm basing us seeing the actual fever ramblings on the still in the bts of episode 1 (think that was a mistake on their part to include it; presumably it was filmed at the same time as ep1) and Rafe's response to why the scene was skipped being: "did we?" So I might be completely wrong.
The others though... I got no idea. My money is on Perrin's wolf connection being revealed by Elyas still, only in season 2 instead. If they do all the E5 I'm sad about Mat. Maybe if it's part of the wind, only some of them get touched by it? Ooooh, what if they tie it to the DR reveal? If they do just do something with Egwene and Rand, isn't there a theory that Egwene might be Latra reborn? We know LTT and Latra have been cast. Maybe they will lean into that somehow, or focus on those two now to draw parallels later? That's some super long-term foreshadowing if so. So intriguing!
By the way, have you seen Daniel Henney's parents' tweets? They are so super proud, its adorable. Apparently episode 7 is a good one for Lan lol
EDITED TO ADD: I've just watched the behind the scenes (gosh the sets look gorgeous in real life!) and at the end Rosamund talks about how 4 of them are heading to the Eye and will potentially not come back. That seems to confirm Mat was originally supposed to go (5 kids go, 1 is the dragon and the other 4 might die).
Actually, I've just googled dreamshard and you're absolutely right about it being a pocket dimension, between the real world and TAR. So, whatever the official prime page says, that makes FAR more sense than them actually being in Tear. Where, you know, channeling is illegal and they are completely unprotected. So I pick your explanation too.
Suian's not a dreamer in the books. I wonder if they've replaced her seeing ta'veren talent? It's possible this is why Moiraine thought there were 4 ta'veren in the Two Rivers? Perhaps she was acting on dream info. I think it's also possible she's not a dreamer though. She does mention that the DO dream started a month back, but then why wouldn't Moiraine question its validity if it was something new? It also tracks with why Moiraine is certain that dreams are important with the E5. The only thing I wonder is, if Suian IS a dreamer, why isn't she shielding her dreams? Because I think the Eye dream is a trap too. Maybe they don't know how yet. In the books Egwene was the first dreamer in a long time so perhaps it's still not well understood. I can't remember at which point Rand is told about shielding his dreams. Maybe they will use this being a trap to introduce the concept.
I'd love to see the greenman but realistically I am happy if they smooth out the early plot anomalies to fit with the rest of the series. It also makes it interesting that we don't know exactly what's going to happen in the next two episodes.
I thought Egwene's hair being loose was because it's part of the ceremony, and we only saw the conclusion, when she gets the braid. After she's out of the river, her dress looks like it has the swirly remains of the paint, as if it had happened before they did the hair braid bit we saw. Equally, you're right, it could be a flashforward as we know in the books she decides not to wear the braid eventually, and the colours feel prescient. Rafe has definitely mentioned the word flashforward in interviews, and we haven't seen anything like that yet. I'd be surprised if they cut it, just because it formed a large part of their original marketing. I also think we are going to see the actual fever dream ramblings scene with Tam and Rand as well seeing the Blood Snow. That's part of what makes me think it might be a more horror-inspired sequence. I can't see how else they would show both those things and make sure the viewer connected them. I'm basing us seeing the actual fever ramblings on the still in the bts of episode 1 (think that was a mistake on their part to include it; presumably it was filmed at the same time as ep1) and Rafe's response to why the scene was skipped being: "did we?" So I might be completely wrong.
The others though... I got no idea. My money is on Perrin's wolf connection being revealed by Elyas still, only in season 2 instead. If they do all the E5 I'm sad about Mat. Maybe if it's part of the wind, only some of them get touched by it? Ooooh, what if they tie it to the DR reveal? If they do just do something with Egwene and Rand, isn't there a theory that Egwene might be Latra reborn? We know LTT and Latra have been cast. Maybe they will lean into that somehow, or focus on those two now to draw parallels later? That's some super long-term foreshadowing if so. So intriguing!
By the way, have you seen Daniel Henney's parents' tweets? They are so super proud, its adorable. Apparently episode 7 is a good one for Lan lol
EDITED TO ADD: I've just watched the behind the scenes (gosh the sets look gorgeous in real life!) and at the end Rosamund talks about how 4 of them are heading to the Eye and will potentially not come back. That seems to confirm Mat was originally supposed to go (5 kids go, 1 is the dragon and the other 4 might die).
![[Image: thal-banner-scaled.jpg]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/thal-banner-scaled.jpg)