It begins with a lore bomb.
Their search brings them to Two Rivers, an idyllic, remote village in the mountains.
She’s not alone in her distrust, either.
Daniel Henney (Lan Mondragoran) and Rosamund Pike (Moiraine Damodred) in ‘Wheel of Time.'.Jan Thijs/Amazon Studios
The Aes Sedai may be feared and respected, but beloved they are not.
Still, an Aes Sedai is infinitely more welcome than the hooded figure that stalks Two Rivers at night.
Unfortunately, Lan’s discovery comes too late.
‘Wheel of Time’.Jan Thijs/Amazon Studios
Bursting through the festivities is an army of horned, hairy Trollocs don’t call ‘em orcs!
Rand, too, takes out a Trolloc, but not before its poisoned blade punctures Tam.
Nynaeve is snatched by a Trolloc while tending to the wounded.
‘Wheel of Time’.Jan Thijs/Amazon Studios
Even Moraine takes a Trolloc blade to the shoulder.
It’s more helpful to ask “what” than “who.”
He’s something of an audience surrogate here, asking all of the questions viewers are probably turning over.
Is there any truth to the prophecy of the Dragon Reborn?
Is it true that while the last Dragon broke the world the next one will save it?
Where, exactly, are Moraine and Lan taking them?
And what will he, Perrin, and Mat do once they get there?
The Aes Sedai is not suited for men.
But Moraine’s answers remain cryptic and unsatisfying.
It’s an absence of alternatives that keep the reluctant friends with their guides.
But not everyone is so suspicious of the Aes Sedai.
Her nascent talents have the potential to grow into something much stronger.
She just needs training.
A future as an Aes Sedai, it seems, is a possibility for Egwene.
This appeals to her.
That includes the Aes Sedai.
But her power is fading.
Shadowspawn won’t dare to enter and, as Perrin notes, nor will any birds or bugs.
“Touch nothing,” Lan warns.
“Eat only the food you brought.”
Mat, not one for obedience, ventures out on his own as the others sleep.
In a shadowy nook, buried beneath some rubble, he finds a pristine, jewel-encrusted gold dagger.
Rand and Mat escape through a crack in the wall.
Perrin and Egwene leap from a terrace into a nearby body of water.
Lan and Moraine retreat back into the forest.
As Lan tends to an unconscious Moraine, a knife rises to his throat.
(No loyalty among beasts, huh?)
That brings us back to the present, where she and Lan stand off.
She wants to know where her friends are.
He wants her to use her powers as a Wisdom to heal Moraine.
They both need each other, after all.
Lan has an idea.
Moraine would be proud.
Rand and Mat are not so lucky.
“Small fee for a life lesson,” he muses.
Tensions are running high between Rand and Mat.
Neither of them trusts Moraine, but Rand says Egwene has faith enough for both of them.
“You don’t need to go there for her,” Mat counters.
“She wouldn’t go there for you.”
Rand’s reply: “You are such a prick.”
The pair split off.
“Stories say they’re as bad as Trollocs,” Mat says.
Mat helps him, but not before reluctantly plundering the body of the crystal and a small wooden carving.
“I’m sorry,” he says.
“I’ve got sisters that need me.”
Dana gives Rand a cozy room for his work and the two share a beer.
She makes a move to kiss him, which he denies, no doubt thinking of Egwene.
That’s when Dana reveals her true motives.
She’s a Darkfriend, a human who’s been tempted by promises of power by the Dark One.
(Oh, is that all?)
She just has time to reveal a Fade is on the way when a spear impales her throat.
It’s Thom, who suggests they leave before the Fade and its Trolloc army arrive.
Her prisoner, the same man we saw her subdue then, is marched by in a cage.
He is claiming, she informs them, to be the Dragon Reborn.
