Gertrude

Honestly, the only darling I don't want them to kill is Rhuidean. If they can get that right, I will forgive them a lot. I was going to say Egwene in the White Tower (post-split) as well, but you know what, I could live with that playing out differently if it has to. I am one of those that like the show taking the puzzle pieces and making them fit a smaller frame. Yeah, good bits get tossed or shaved off to fit, but in general, there are not many pieces that are that precious to me.

I think Leane could do that work if they don't plan to keep Siuan. They made a point of her telling Liandrin that, in essence, she was the Amyrlin seat while Siaun was away. What bothers me more is that if the supergirls don't get back to the Tower to take the Accepted test. The reason they raised Egwene was .... ok, I get it. I always found it a bit contrived, but I get it. Raising a novice? Muuuuuch thinner. I don't want Siuan to die, obviously. But I don't think it will invalidate that arc if she does. It also makes her and Moiraine's parting even more heartbreaking if she dies in the coup.

OK, that Mat scene is sticking with me. I see two likely scenarios here. Ishy lied - the tea just makes his mind susceptible to suggestion. Ishy knows Mat enough to be certain he would follow a dark path and see what he expects - lifetimes of shit. One step closer to turning. ooooor ... Maybe it really is a tea that can break down the veil between lives. Maybe it's One Power tainted to help that along somehow. Anyway, if it is, the effect may linger. Maybe we get some Old Blood showing through next week. It could be unsettling enough for him to seek relief through a doorway (if they go that way,please please I hope they go that way). Ingtar confirmed that Turak has a room of oddities where the Horn is kept. Why not a doorway? And I'm still convinced that scene signals #JusticeForAbel

ooooh - maybe he will need that experience with cutting knots later. If tying off a weave is rediscovered bv the Tower (and why not, Forsaken are on the loose) then maybe LTT tells Rand how to feel for the knots of saidar and from there he knows how to break them. Maybe.

I'm OK with the changes to the Power. It is what it is, and I tend not to like hard magic systems in general. Limits, yes, but I don't like getting bogged down in the details (like how many people can link in a circle and if a man or woman leads when this, but not this, etc.) What I did think was clumsy was that it was Lan who figured it out about tied weaves. Why would he have heard these stories and not Moiraine or Siuan? As for Siuan's downfall - Siuan, Leane, Logain and Min are ALL in Cairhien right now. Does that mean that we're getting a coup earlier rather than later? That would give the girls a reason for not returning to the Tower and for Nyneave not to return her pocketful of rings. Honestly though, I'm not sure how I feel about her and Moirain'es parting. The montage tugged at my heart strings, but I didn't like the showdown and Moiraine didn't even try to argue her case. Does Siuan think Moiraine is a darkfriend now? She failed her mission, she 'lied' to Siuan and she left with Lanfear. I actually love Ishy in the show. He really gives off the vibes of someone who believes what they are doing is the right thing and his gentleness is unnerving. Is this a sex thing or a murder thing? Could be either, Mat. Could be either. So the first thing that popped into my head in the whole Mat sequence was that his mom repeatedly telling him he's just like his dad could mean that Abel will really step up next season and take steps towards being the man we know he is. Nattie was the bad seed all along. I also am not a fan of the damanae pacifiers either. I get what they were going for, but it's a huuuuuge miss for me. I liked that they could feel the shockwave in Falme. And Nyneave and Egwene are such a good pair. I like seeing it on screen more than words on a page. As for Rand not getting his moment of glory yet, I think they are saving it for the finale. That one Aes Sedai could hold a shield I can buy because he doesn't know what the fuck he is doing yet. I will agree though, that he needs something soon. If he doesn't pull some pretty cool shit out in Falme, I will be disappointed. For the most part, I liked where this episode went and it set things up nicely for the finale. Moiraine's knot was the major miss for me - we knew this is what it was and it would be fixed, but it was clumsy and underwhelming. OH! Anvere stepped the fuck up. Hell yes. I'm glad she wasn't a darkfriend as well. So who exactly did she tell about Barthanes and did she include the detail about his visitor? Liandrin might have just enough time to convince the other Aes Sedai that Siuan broke Tower Law and start the coup without a replacement ready, but I think her time working as an Aes Sedai is limited and she will have to run to Lanfear rather than get involved with Moggy. (to be honest, I don't remember a whole lot of what happened to her, just that she stupidly took a shot at Moggy and missed. maybe?)

I'd forgotten about those instances, and I missed the potential for the sul'dam to channel. To be honest, I was barely invested after the slog and was stubbornly reading to find out how it all ends. Sunk cost fallacy and all. It makes me sad, actually. I used to re-read the series over and over in the early years before a new publication and then about half-way in I stopped doing that and don't intend to re-read any of it. Kind of like Karradin said - my early book impressions are strong, but later books are foggy.

I guess I mean that Jordan didn't account for it in his plans and Sanderson didn't feel comfortable introducing such a big game changer into the end with all the other things he was juggling. Of course he could had dealt with it, but I am just speculating that he probably didn't want to at that point. I never had the impression that the sul'dam would channel in dire straights. Could they even? I don't remember if we saw any of them channel on their own, They could through their damane, but solo? Anyway - just stumbled across this preview scene and it's fucking trippy. I really have no clue as to what's happening here or how it fits into anything. I saw a comment that it might be TAR? It's creepy as hell. It also looks like the location in the clip in the season 2 trailer where Mat is looking at the dagger.

I agree that the ending for the Seanchan was infuriating and I hated it (and by extension it greatly damaged my estimation of Mat). I would love to see this changed in the story. They can't leave it hanging that Tuon just willfully ignores it and everyone lets her. I kind of get why it happened in the books (I suspect the outriggers would have covered it, and it wasn't something Sanderson could have dealt with in the remaining books.) but that's not going to fly for a wider audience IMO.

Did I? Anyway, this title seems inappropriate to me. It's possible that it was just a good chapter title and they wanted to use it somewhere as an easter egg since the scene it applied to was cut. Egwene's still in danger here, but this time the eyes without pity are Renna's cold, dead eyes.

Lol, I wondered if it was an ESL situation :p

Where is this abominable spelling of igloo coming from? Did I miss something and this is the new accepted spelling? I think Darkfriends are behind this for sure.

They could put Cenn Buie out of business as roofing shingles!

I think all the pieces were there, but not connected very well. I think it's plausible to think Moiraine would have been fleeing the Fades, being afraid Domon would have drawn them to the House. It was easy to miss that Lan pocketed the poem, especially since Moiraine was never given a reaction to it being gone. For all she knows Verin or Adeleas have it. She was quick enough to pull the knife on Verin for mentioning the Dragon, so she should have been as worried aobut leaving that poem laying around. I think they made it abundantly clear that Lan was on suicide watch, but I still see people whining aobut watching Lan pee and not getting what that scene was trying to convey (not a moment to himself). So Maksim rifling through Lan's stuff goes over their head too. That last scene was set up weird with Alanna and co trying to give off DF vibes. I get it, but even so I do think it was a bit awkward. Anyway, my point is I do think all the pieces were there, but I don't think they were delivered very effectively. It's a hard job, how much information is enough without boring the viewer. I do think part of the problem is that the Lan storyline didn't go over well and thus people just stopped paying attention to what was happening.

I still somehow feel that it will be Mat actually stabbing Rand, but thinking he's doing him a favor. Mat asked Rand to make a pact with him in Tar Valon - if either of us can channel. we won't let the other end up like Logain. I can maybe see Mat seeing Rand channeling and having an issue of control or sanity or something and him kicking into gear. Right now we have Mat being exceptionally accepting of the Dragon Reborn, but he hasn't seen what it means yet. I don't know how well Mat stabbing Rand will play on screen, but I really do think it's just what it looks like it is - we're just lacking the story leading up to it. I have trust they will get us there and have it make sense (even if we don't like it).

I loved the "Ishy Dear" line as well I recognized the place they filmed the first scene with Lan and the Forsaken temple. It's one of those places that you can get impressive views of, but then a wrong view will remind you you're in a city park next door to someone. So Mat is cool with Rand being Dragon Reborn? I don't particularly mind if they change that detail up, but it doesn't really line up with his outlook from last season when they viewed Logain. I have no idea what the rules are for seeing weaves if you are shielded or stilled. I was going to say it would be nice to have some rules clarified, but I honestly don't care. As long as they don't obviously contradict themselves and it's clear there are rules, I don't need to know them all. Ryma Sedai is my new favorite Aes Sedai and it's not even close.

I was so annoyed at the various reactions to the Lanfear casting because she wasn't a stunningly beautiful young woman. Of course she's beautiful, they'd say, but she's not the most drop dead gorgeous woman in the world, blah blah. Yes, I can read between the lines - she wasn't your ideal teen-aged fantasy women. Now seeing the reaction from many viewers to the full Lanfear treatment, I'd say the casting directors know their stuff. :p

I don't think anyone is saying they should form a military border at the Blight, just that the sisters should have a constant presence there as that's where the Shadowspawn are active. Have a green or two with the leaders to direct where they would be most effective. Rotate the sisters on the Border to learn how to actually fight. I know the point is that the Tower is ineffective, but they are neglecting their chosen calling so badly it beggars belief. Obviously we are supposed to buy that most green just want the extra warders because reasons. While that may be part of it, the other ajahs at least pretend to do what they have chosen to do.

@Maia Brava! I see so many people talk about this series as a matriarchy but they don't see that's it's a small veneer of equality with most of the patriarchal ideals of our world embedded in it. I am more talking about other forums of discussion, but even here this post points out how accepted 'this is the way it should be' is internalized even when it makes little sense with how RJ set up his world.

Blue and gold are the Cairhienen colors, The show has run with blue being a typical Cairhienen color and it's reflected in a lot of costume choices.

Yeah, yeah. It's just that the party was mostly a cover to find the waygate. Nothing really happened at the party itself. We also know Thom is out this season so Galldrian needs an assassin. I'm just saying that this is looking to be more like a GoT wedding rather than just a stuffy old party. And as you said, Anvaere watching all her hard work go up in flames is a potent motivator if they decide to keep this character around. I am trying to decide if I think Anvaere is a darkfriend herself or not. I think it would be better if she were not, but could also see the reasons she might have thought it a good bargain (to raise her House name out of the mud).

Just had a thought - we had book spoilers in the thread title for the last thread. Shouldn't we have them here too?

Rahvin doesn't last long anyway, so in and out in Caemlyn is fine for me. The only important thing he does is drive Morgause away to clear the way for Elayne. If he's in, we get a reason to be in Caemlyn as well as seeing Morgause's plot (which should be cut to the bone - just getting her out of the city is all we really need). I would love a Taimandred, honestly, I was never satisfied with his surprise role at the end. Too out of the blue for my tastes. He was also pretty absent in the books, and if he is going to play a role, he needs something to actually DO. So while I can see reasons for and against Taimandred, it really depends on how they see the end of the series playing out.

I feel like they set us up for disappointment with their episode titles. Last week was Daughter of the Night and we barely got any of Lanfear. This one is called Damane and it was one of the shortest arcs in the show. What we got was good and impactful (the reveal, the collar) but damn :p I love Verin. I think they did a decent job of portraying her as sharp, but keeping her casual and not someone you'd expect to be on the ball at all times. Having her be lost in the clouds might take too much screen time to get across properly. It's not exactly right, but close enough that I don't care. Also some confirmation that the switching won't get used as liberally as the books :p Perrin and Aviendha: I suspect that Avi will save Perrin's life at some point and decide her toh is met. In the meantime, I enjoy how they set that up. Love that Dain got in a jab at Valda "there are no wolves here." I saw the axe, but didn't see them take it - I'll have to check. Lanfear was appropriately scary. I was very taken aback at the ending of the last episode, but I do think they covered it and I am much more comfortable with this interpretation for the reasons we all talked about. They are mortal, just given great gifts from their master and one of them is that connection. Cool, I can buy that. As for Traveling, Sure, she could get to Tar Valon quicker, but she couldn't track the horses that way and we see that being in TV would have done her no good. Her and Ishy's convo was good - I like how they introduced us into TAR. Can't wait for future scenes with more forsaken. So I'm pretty sure Stepin's statues showed 4 women, but I can forgive that if they decided to change things up at some point. I'm guessing the boys are Demandred, Asmodean, Samael and Rhavin. Could explain why we're seeing Caemlyn next season. (ok, I checked the statues here and the one people were thinking was a woman could be a man wearing a funky headdress (last photo). It does look vaguely feminine, but not enough that it matters.) Moiraine dumping Rand into the middle of her family was kind of funny. He was just mildly confused the whole time. I do like that they brought in Moiraine's family and I think this is an interesting facet of Moiraine to see, and interesting for Rand to see as well. Barthanes seems like a right twat and something is going down at this wedding, right? Where's Mat?!? I'm getting impatient with this. I don't know what I would cut, but come one - give us more Mat. I'm begging you. Elayne's Hermione energy just keeps going up. I get it, she's well educated, but they really are just giving her the all the exposition dialog, aren't they? I do like how we are seeing the beginnings of their dynamic - Nyneave expecting to be in control and Elayne calmly laying down the law and showing her why she's being stupid. I expect to see Egwene going through some shit next week. I hope they keep the tone of brutality combined with training a mischievous pet. I'm also wondering what the connective thread between the cold opens is. Last season it was backstory - all in the past. This time it seemed like perhaps each one started in Dreams or an altered state of reality, but then this one broke it. Shame, I kind of liked the way they did the cold opens last season. It would have been nice if they at least kept to a pattern each season. I was speculating that it would be Perrin introducing us to TAR this season - I had totally neglected to take Lanfear into account. Stupid me.

Interesting take. I can see where that would fit, I just don't think it's really born out in the text, though, They never frame it that way. That would still leave room for female tacticians, just not their foot soldiers.

While a spotlight was focused on the incompetence of the Tower and the ajahs in the books, there should have been at least a green here or there who knew battle tactics. They should have been practicing in the Blight and Borderlands. I don't mind if the show gives us the incompetence of the ajahs as a theme, but I would really love it if they also gave a few competent ones here and there. And honestly, for as equal as he tried to portray the sexes in his world, the absence of woman in the military was noticeable. Yeah, I get it, women probably aren't going to fight on the front lines against men, but Birgitte showed how valuable she was in a fight. It was just a glaring hole in RJs portrayal of his world not to at least have one or two around IMO. The Seanchan had no problem having women in their army (Tylee comes to mind).