Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
Is it me, or does every episode of The Wheel of Time feel like a movie? Given how epic and cinematic the story has become, we should be watching this show in a theater.
I’ll say one thing about the show: It has no shortage of incredibly complex characters who are more layered than the average person. And this story? It’s fully immersive, with the action practically flying off the screen.
The Wheel of Time has not slowed down for a moment during the third season. But how could it, with so many characters moving in the shadows, each with their own plots and agendas?
The only thing I might have to ding the series for is being a little unclear about what everyone is trying to accomplish. Technically, I’m mostly talking about the bad guys.
The Wheel of Time Has Everything You Could Want in Intricate Antagonists Except Clear Motives
Let’s start things nice and easy with Liandrin, possibly the campiest Aes Sedai to ever set foot in The White Tower. You gotta love that crazy chick.
It feels like we’re finally seeing Liandrin’s true colors, and it’s giving homicidal Professor Trelawny. Seriously, she took off her Aes Sedai attire and dressed herself in a whole bunch of crazy.
Here’s the thing about Kate Fleetwood’s (Harlots) Liandrin: She’s one of those characters you want to see win one second and lose the next. It’s just about who she’s up against.
That said, her eyes showed genuine fear when Lanfear questioned Liandrin in her dreams. But was she fearful out of respect or because her goal opposes Lanfear’s?
This is what I mean by “unclear motives.” We know Liandrin is looking for the collar and bracelets to cage the Dragon Reborn, but doesn’t that go against what Lanfear wants with the Dragon? And The Dark One, too, for that matter?
The Dragon is either supposed to destroy the world or save it, and he’s meant to do that by killing or saving the Dark One.
How is Rand supposed to free The Dark One if he himself is captured? The only way that would work is if Lanfear planned on being one of the women wearing the bracelet and controlling the Dragon.
However, the dragon collar requires two braceleted women, and I don’t see Lanfear as the type to share her pet dragon.
It really comes down to Natasha O’Keeffe’s (Sherlock) Lanfear’s true feelings for Rand. Does she love him? Is he just a means to an end for her? Or is it some combination of the two?
Lanfear’s motives seem squarely based on seducing Rand to the dark side, but the character is so intricately layered that we won’t know her real agenda until it’s too late.
On top of that, Lanfear is only one of The Forsaken, and each seems to not only have their own plot in play, but they are all working against each other — namely Moghedien.
Of All the Characters on The Wheel of Time, Moghedien Has Us Gasping and Scratching Our Heads the Most
Like a spider, Moghedien has been crawling behind the scenes, weaving her web and doing … something.
Since showing up at the end of The Wheel of Time Season 2, the character has done two things: Mess with Lanfear and sneak around with gray men.
The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 6 finally gave us a little insight into the character — not a lot, but enough to at least know she is doing more than just spitting in everyone’s food.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to bring up Moghedien hocking a loogie in everything she was serving, but after mulling it over, I think it’s worth acknowledging.
The thing about the character is that anything she does could be part of a larger plan, or she could just be petty and vindictive.
Honestly, she was really creepy at first, but I’m starting to get on board with her casual chaos.
She just rolled up on Elayne and Zoë Robins (The Shannara Chronicles) Nynaeve, hit them with some weaves, and then walked away with one of the dragon collar bracelets. That was pretty badass.
Still, what was her purpose in doing that? Is she trying to keep the bracelet away from Liandrin? Is she bringing it to Lanfear to tell her what Liandrin is planning? Or did she steal it for herself? We just don’t know.
Also, I have to throw this out there: If Liandrin and the other Black Ajah are trying to stay hidden, why in the world are they still wearing their Aes Sedai colors?
Why not wear regular clothes rather than the brightest shades of red? Not to mention her hair, which is so big and blonde that Sophie Okonedo’s (Slow Horses) Siuan Sanche can probably see it from The White Tower.
At least one Black Ajah had the good sense to wear a disguise when she was out on the town where Elayne and everyone were living it up.
To be fair, that song about the hills of Tanchico was a bop.
“The Shadow in the Night” Took Some Storytelling Liberties That Will Likely Payoff for a Complex Plot and Season Finale
Every so often, The Wheel of Time writers make an interesting choice with the plotting, and “The Shadow in the Night” had one of those in Alexandre Willaume’s (The Serpent Queen) Thom. It’s been a minute since we’ve seen him.
To be completely honest, I thought he had died off-screen on The Wheel of Time Season 1 Episode 4 when he saved Rand and Mat from the faceless Shadowspawn.
So, it feels random that Mat and everyone would run into him in Tanchico right when they needed him most. Then again, there was a good bit of that kind of convenient storytelling in this episode.
This is not a ding so much as an “I’ll let it slide this time,” but it felt like lazy writing when the merchant that Mat was talking to suddenly had one of the dragon collar bracelets. Mat didn’t even have to leave the party to get it.
There are just a few things throughout the episodes that feel a little forced. For example, when Perrin and Faile are discussing his eyes and status as a “Wolf Brother,” Perrin asks Faile if she finds him strange.
The purpose of that scene was to open the door for Faile and Perrin to connect and relate to each other on a personal level. I get it. It’s the show’s way of fast-tracking the characters’ arc.
Still, in a world with faceless monsters and murderous beasts, why in the world would Perrin being a “Wolf Brother” even register? It’s an icebreaker at best.
Is it really that weird that he can communicate with Wolves? It’s not as if the canines talk to him like Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Egwene is jumping around from dream to dream, but talking to the ancestors of man’s best friend is strange? Okay.
Rand and Egwene’s Love Story Was Always on Its Last Legs, and It Looks Like Their Paths Are Ready to Separate
Speaking of dream walking, things sure have been busy over in Tel’aran’rhiod. Egwene should see what the housing cost is over there. She’s starting to spend more time asleep than awake.
Listen, I love Egwene. The character is amazing. She has overcome so much and has come so far after everything that happened to her on The Wheel of Time Season 2.
However, despite how strong Egwene has become, I know that girl is not going to try to take out Lanfear all on her own.
I don’t know why that Aiel Wisdom is filling her head with ideas of trying to fight Lanfear in her own dream, i.e., turf, but last I checked, Lanfear is a Forsaken.
The antagonist is centuries old and ridiculously powerful and skilled at traversing Tel’aran’rhiod. Egwene wouldn’t stand a chance in hell alone.
Maybe she shouldn’t bother to begin with. Rand has pretty much confessed that he has feelings for Lanfear, and there’s not much Egwene can do about that.
I hate to say it, but everything Rand told her about their relationship was right. Egwene has consistently chosen her ambitions over Rand.
It goes back to the first episode when Egwene breaks Rand’s heart by telling him she is choosing to be a Wisdom over being with him.
Egwene is incredibly powerful, but she needs to accept that her and Rand’s paths have been diverging for some time now.
Although, the timing couldn’t be worse because after taking out one of The Forsaken, it’s safe to say Rand probably had a whole bunch of crazy dropped into his noodle.
It also doesn’t help that he killed that funny little girl whose name I can’t, for the life of me, remember.
So, we have Rand just about off his rocker while a war is ready to break out between the Two Rivers and The White Cloaks. And all the while, Moghedien, Lanfear, and Liandrin are all up to God knows what.
We’re definitely headed for an epic ending to The Wheel of Time Season 3. However, I have a feeling there will be losses felt on both sides.
To that, I say maybe some of the Aes Sedai should start traveling in pairs.
At the very least, the battle-prone Aes Sedai should work in groups so Greens like Alanna don’t have to rely on budding channelers like Mat’s little sisters to heal them.
That was pretty cool, though. Those girls are packing some power, but this Amazon series does not need any more characters to divide more scene time amongst. I’m just saying.
Do you think Lanfear will be able to seduce Rand over to the dark side?
What do you think Moghedien is up to?
Please drop a comment below to let me know what you think, and join me again when I review another episode of The Wheel of Time!
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