The saga continues as the man known as Logain, who calls himself the Dragon Reborn, is shown taking control of not only a king, but the king’s army as well, using what appears to be the One Power to eliminate those that oppose him and win over those that would rather ally with him than perish. Amazingly, the decision to spare the king that had sought to kill him did serve a purpose later. Oh yeah, there are spoilers coming just in case you haven’t seen the episode yet, as there are a few developments that occurred and a few that might have huge ramifications moving forward. For those that haven’t read the books, this is likely a pleasing fantasy show thus far that is comparable to Game of Thrones in some ways, but far beyond that show in others, since one has to remember that the magic that GoT used was far more subtle and likened more to an unseen current that didn’t become tangible until a little later into the show. Wheel of Time is breaking out the magic quickly and without making the audience guess at what’s happening.
What is kind of easy to surmise is that Aes Sedai are not of one mind when it comes to the idea of the Dragon Reborn, as the red-garbed ladies are more about taking quick and decisive action while the others want to know what they’re dealing with and allow the head of their order to deal with the problem as was ordered. The only problem with this is that Logain is far too powerful to contain, and required at least two of the Aes Sedai to concentrate on his prison lest he escape. Even then it would appear that he’s powerful enough that they had to take shifts watching him, which was exhausting them slowly but surely as the task of keeping him under wraps on their way to the White Tower was draining them horribly.
Worse, when the king, along with his army, that Logain was seen to sway at the beginning of the episode shows up to the encampment of the Aes Sedai and their Warders, the entire group was forced to retreat to the cave where Logain was being held, only for the self-proclaimed dragon to break free of his bonds and kill one of the Aes Sedai before he was forced under another shield, which was pierced by the Warder that had felt the Aes Sedai, his companion, die. Lashing out in anger, Stepin was mortally injured along with just about everyone else when his weapons, twin axes, pierced the magical shield and were blown to pieces, becoming a hail of shrapnel that Logain directed toward his assailants, nearly killing every last one of them until Nynaeve came rushing in, seeing Lan, Moiraine’s Warder, dying from a neck wound. At that point Nynaeve materialized what Moiraine had predicted to Logain would make his power pale in comparison, as burning light washed over the entire cave, bathing everything and everyone as it emanated from Nynaeve, healing everyone it touched, save for the slain Aes Sedai. This is bound to leave a huge question in the minds of those that have read the books and those that have not when it comes to Nynaeve, since the power came from somewhere, and it’s bound to happen that she’ll be questioned further as the series moves forward.
In the meantime, there’s something not right with Mat, as it’s either a fragment of power that he may or may not possess or something else that’s causing him to vomit black material and act a bit off. But before that can be figured out it’s important to note that they might have lost their ally as a Fade attacked the family that allowed them to use their barn for the night, killing everyone, including the little girl that had given Mat one of her dolls after hearing about his sisters. Perhaps it’s the cursed dagger he’s carrying, or maybe it’s something else, but Mat might not be as reliable as he was in the episodes to come. Of course, that’s not saying much considering that while he’s a halfway decent thief, he’s not exactly a reliable human being.
As for Perrin and Egwene, their path continues to keep them with the caravan that took them in, though Perrin is obviously suffering from a bit of mental trauma, as the death of his wife, at his hands no less, is still troubling him, as are a few other things that he doesn’t give voice to. But with nowhere else to go and no one else to rely on at the moment, he and Egwene are bound to need someone to help them out. So far it’s a bit obvious from the reactions of many fans that the story has veered off course a bit, but again, one has to wonder what people expected.
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