At the end of season 1 of The Wheel Of Time, Moiraine was left alone and powerless at The Eye Of The World. After having masked her bond with Lan, there’s no way for her to unmask it anymore because her powers have been shielded by the Dark One, and she cannot touch the Source anymore. On the other hand, Rand has walked away from everyone he loves because he’s afraid he’ll give into the madness and kill them. Additionally, Moiraine admits to Lan that Rand didn’t defeat the Dark One, and this was only the first battle; there’s much more to come. With everyone scattered, what will be next for the Dragon Reborn and the battle?
Spoilers Ahead
What happens in Episode 1?
A young girl sits on what looks like a seal (similar to the one at the Eye Of The World), playing by herself. She’s disturbed by the sound of Trollocs coming towards her from afar. She quickly runs into the house, just in time for a Trolloc to reach the door. Inside, she moves under a table to try and find her mother. Everyone at the table is hidden under a hood, except one man. The Dark One asks the girl to step out with him so he can show her that the Trollocs are not, in fact, monsters. He asks her if he himself looks like a monster, because people have called him many names, like the Father of Lies. He shows the girl that the Trollocs are misunderstood and that she can touch them too. Somewhere far away, Moiraine deals with the loss of her power. She cries alone and washes away her pain. Lan tries to keep sane by practicing his swordwork, but he can feel the bond missing. The two of them have a strained relationship now that Lan can’t feel Moiraine’s emotions anymore. She gets a visitor, and Lan has no idea what for.
Moiraine buys a poem from this visitor, who also offers her a piece of heartstone. The poem is written in the old tongue and in blood, and Moiraine uses a cheap trick to buy it off him. The visitor then tells Moiraine that he’s been followed by a couple of people with black hoods. She tells him to hide away immediately, and he wonders what danger the Aes Sedai has put him in. Moiraine looks at the poem and seems to get anxious immediately. At the White Tower, Nynaeve and Egwene are now novices and will work hard to become Aes Sedai soon. They do menial jobs and get trained by Alanna on how to do their weaves. Nynaeve, filled with pride as always, doesn’t follow Alanna’s instructions, but the truth is she hasn’t been able to channel since she almost died. Liandrin, on the other hand, thinks she can get through to her and get her back to channeling in one conversation. Perrin and Loial (yes, he’s alive, phew!) join forces with the soldiers of Fal Dara to find Padan. They track him to a little village, where Perrin sees the destruction caused by Padan. Perrin is seeing visions of the past when his eyes turn golden now. A survivor shows up, and he too has golden eyes like Perrin, and he’s the one who tells them a child made it out of the village.
Nynaeve enjoys herself more, sparring with the warders than doing her channeling. Alanna’s warders try to explain to Nynaeve what’s great about being Aes Sedai, but she’s weary of the whole thing. Egwene visits Alanna to try and get notes on how to improve her weave; she’s definitely very keen on getting better, and Nynaeve sneaks into the kitchen to try to do it herself. She’s found by Liandrin, who berates her with insults to bring her to remember what it feels like to channel. Liandrin forces Nynaeve into a corner, and finally, she’s able to touch the Source and fight back. Liandrin finally shows Nynaeve her place by shielding her from the Source. All she wants is for Nynaeve to become stronger and help them defeat the Dark One. Perrin tells his new friend from Fal Dara that he feels violence in him because, when he thinks of Padan Fain, he wants to kill him immediately. He’s still not over the death of his wife and blames Padan in some ways, although he killed her accidentally.
Elsewhere, Lan is losing his patience and gets angry at Moiraine for smiling at him. He just wants her to let him in and share her burden with him, but she won’t do it. Back in the White Tower, Egwene makes lanterns for Bel Tine. Nynaeve has been so consumed by everything else that she’s forgotten what day it is. Nynaeve reminds Egwene how it feels to be working in a team, and she feels saddened by the fact that they’re all in different places now. Perrin writes letters to them now, and Nynaeve reads his latest one out. He tells them about how they’re still looking for Padan and how he misses them dearly. At the same time, Liandrin reads a similar letter to Mat. Nobody knows he’s alive and well and a captive of Liandrin. It’s been 5 months since he’s been kept away from the sword he stole so that the darkness cannot consume him.
Somewhere far away, Rand lights a lantern for Bel Tine too, and he’s shaved his red locks. Lan, who was being immature, realizes his stupidity and decides to take food up to Moiraine. She’s nowhere to be seen, though, and following his gut, Lan heads out. Moiraine is fighting two Fades when he reaches her, and they’re both severely injured before their friends, the two older-looking Aes Sedais and a warder, show up to save them.
Final Thoughts
The second season of The Wheel Of Time looks very promising. For people like me who haven’t read the books, there’s still a lot to learn about the world, and the little hints are extremely intriguing. On the other hand, the battle between good and evil is always exciting to see, and I’m just waiting for Moiraine to return to full power. There’s something intolerable about Nynaeve’s pride, but hopefully, she swallows it and works with the Aes Sedai to fight a larger force together. The new characters in this episode are genuine delights, and I can’t wait to see more of them. Additionally, the budget is visibly higher this time around because the costumes look much more elaborate and a lot more is happening already. I’m excited to see season 2 of The Wheel Of Time and be brought back into this fantastical world!
