We’re coming close to the end of The Wheel of Time Season 2, and it may be too late for us to see the group together in Falme. What we can imagine is that the show wants us to anticipate the war in upcoming seasons rather than giving us something solid to witness right now. Yes, we get that the last battle is coming, but there’s just something missing in the way the show is progressing towards the end. It’s almost as if it’s deliberately not letting us see the whole picture. We feel exasperated by the pacing and just how little the narrative progresses with each episode. Visually, episode 7 is great, and there’s a specific scene with Mat that’s wonderfully made and will awe anyone watching. I wish there were more such scenes to talk about, though.
Spoilers Ahead
How Was Moiraine Put On The Path Of Searching For The Dragon?
Twenty years ago from the present day, Moiraine and Siuan had plans to live in a bamboo hut by a river in their retirement after their services to the Tower were fulfilled. When they met the then-Amyrlin Seat to tell her that a war had just come to an end, she was distracted by a vision. In the vision, she was shown Rand’s birth as she felt the pain of the mother giving birth to the reborn dragon. All she could tell Moiraine and Siuan was that the dragon was reborn and lay in the snow. Moiraine took on the responsibility of finding the dragon, and Siuan had to make sure the sisters of the Tower would be ready to fight the battle with the dragon when needed. Their dreams were shattered just like that.
What Happens In Cairhien?
Siuan finally knows about Moiraine not being able to channel anymore. She feels deceived by Moiraine, all because of the latter’s pride. Afterward, she meets Rand and notices that he hasn’t developed any skills as a channeler. She has already made the decision to capture him and turn him into a weapon for the battle. Siuan shields Rand from the power and has one of the sisters shield him just the way they did with Logain. But a plan is in action. Verin helps Moiraine free Rand, while at the same time, Liandrin is making a mess in the city because Rand asks her to help him. It’s not entirely clear if Rand really wanted her help or if it was all part of the plan with Moiraine. Alanna and her warders are finding it hard to trust anyone, especially Liandrin and Verin (smart people).
What Does Liandrin Have Planned For Moiraine?
Barthanes seems to be on the wrong side of things as he gets a visit from Liandrin. She wants him to kill Moiraine and his mother, if need be. It seems Barthanes has reached his high post, becoming king of Cairhien with the help of Dark Friends. Fortunately, Anavere overhears this conversation and locks Barthanes up before he can do something wrong. She shows her support for her sister, who may be a lot of things but will always side with the good.
What Does Ishamael Show Mat?
Mat finds himself in Falme with Ishamael. The Forsaken welcomes Mat and makes him some tea. There’s something he wants to show Mat, and he’ll possibly be able to see it after drinking the tea. Mat believes Ishamael when he says the tea will make all his troubles go away. Ishamael believes Mat already feels the pull towards the dark side; he just needs to hone that feeling. When Mat drinks the tea, he sees the illusion of his mother cursing him out. Mat then sees what could be considered all his past lives, where he always moved towards the dark, did horrible things, and got reprimanded for them. The people Mat sees at first are not Mat himself, but they become him after some time. He even sees himself hung by the neck. When Mat opens his eyes, Ishamael is holding him like the Pietà and consoling him. He offers Mat a chance to stop the wheel from turning so he doesn’t have to go through being a terrible person again. How wonderful.
What Will Nynaeve And Elayne Do?
Elayne tells Nynaeve that it’s time to follow her plan now, rather than Nynaeve’s impulsive decisions. They meet Loyal and learn about Egwene’s capture. There’s only one way for them to make it out of there, and that is by capturing a Sul’dam, collaring her, turning her into a damane, with Nynaeve controlling her. This is the only way they can save Egwene.
Is Egwene Bending The Knee?
The new damane are gathered to showcase their skills, and Renne tells Egwene that if she disrespects her, she will be in big trouble. It seems as if Egwene has broken under the pressure of the Sul’dam, and she shows them her mighty strength, throwing people off their feet with a gust of wind. Renne is overjoyed by this and cleans up Egwene’s hands and face in the dungeon afterwards. Renne tells Egwene that it is the motive of the empress to bring the whole world together on the side of light, so they’re all ready to fight the Last Battle. Renne trusts Egwene now, but Egwene bursts her bubble by telling her that she will kill her.
How Does Lan Save Moiraine?
Through some research, Lan finds out that Moiraine hasn’t been cut off from the power, but it may have been tied to Ishamael. Lan asks Logain if he sees the One Power around Moiraine, and with irritation, Logain tells her that he can, in fact, see a knot. Lan goes back to Moiraine and asks her if she ever wanted to kill herself. Although Moiraine is being a terrible person to him right now, when she says she hasn’t thought about it, it proves that Lan’s theory is right.
Why Did The Aiel Beat Up Their Own?
When Perrin, Aviendha, and Hopper find two of Aviendha’s friends, she asks them to take her to another Aiel woman. She said the Aiel woman was dead, and Aviendha believes it was her fault because she was defending herself when the other woman was stabbed in the back. The other two women beat Aviendha up because that’s how she will be free of her obligation towards the dead woman. This is like a punishment for letting her die. Perrin and Hopper can’t do anything but watch. Later, everything is back to normal, and Aviendha explains to Perrin why she was beaten up. Ultimately, the three Aiel, one Wolfbrother, and one Wolf make it to Falme, too.
What Happens To Siuan?
Moiraine, Lan, and Rand make a run for it while Alanna waits to fight whatever is approaching them. Similarly, Siaun and the other sisters shield Cairhien and make it rain to put out all the fires Lanfear has started. Siuan realizes that Moiraine has made a run for it with Rand and goes to find her. Verin shows them the way with the help of an Ogier map, so they can use a waygate to get to Falme. When they reach the waygate, Lan tells Moiraine that she will be the one to open the waygate because she can still channel. Lan tells her his theory and asks Rand to look properly through the One Power at Moiraine. Lan tells Rand that he will not be able to undo the knot, but he can break it (weird because any of the Sedai could’ve done it). Siuan shows up just as Moiraine opens the waygate, trapping Rand again and throwing Lan out of the way with her power.
Siuan forces Moiraine to close the gate because she thinks Moiraine is making a mistake, but before Siuan can do anything else, Lanfear shows up. Siuan is too weak for her, and Lanfear defeats her with the flick of a wrist. She then gets ready to kill Moiraine, but Rand stops her. Lanfear tells him that he’s more like his previous life self every day. If Rand is to help Lanfear, she can’t touch Moiraine. With those conditions, Lanfear opens the gates, and the rest follow. Moiraine bids farewell to a disappointed Siuan, the love of her life.
Final Thoughts
The Wheel of Time episode 7 is a little bit confusing because it almost makes it seem like Moiraine is a Dark Friend. Why would she go with Lanfear? One of my favorite characters is Mat, and it would be really disappointing to see him actually turn because of all this when we’ve been seeing him resist with all his strength. That would really be torture. There’s something likable about his character, but he’s still very sidelined in comparison to the other four. It’s lovely to see Egwene always going back to braiding her hair, and that’s a detail that makes the show stand out. There’s only one episode left, and it’ll be interesting to see how it ends, considering everyone will finally be in Falme together.
