The Wheel of Time Season 2 Episode 5 is called “Damane,” and if you’re familiar with the Wheel of Time, that word means something.
So that happened, and I really don’t know where we’re going to start. That’s one of the reasons I’ve stopped trying to do a real tight, detailed recap. Otherwise we’d be here an hour or more, so I’m just going to dive right in. If you haven’t seen the episode, please go watch it, because Mrs. Know-It-All and I are going to spoil the daylights out of it.
Nothing Is Getting Lost in the Translation
The story continues along the same path as the last couple of episodes, which is focusing hard on each character’s individual journey. The one thing I’ve noticed is that more and more things are happening that come from other books. And that’s okay. I kind of turned the corner last week, where I’m very much of the mindset that, you know what, who cares? I’m enjoying this adaptation of the books. I like where they’re going, I see where they’re going, and nothing is being lost in the translation so far.
Mrs. Know-It-All mentioned something that I’ve got to look up. When she’s flipping through YouTube, she could’ve sworn she saw something that said the gentleman who took over the books, Brandon Sanderson, had more input this time. She could be wrong, she could’ve read it wrong, but I feel like she might be right. Somebody had to have gotten a hold of them and said something, because this feels so different from Season 1. Before we do the next review I’ll find out what involvement he may or may not have had in this season.
Whatever the situation is, this season feels like they definitely know where they’re headed. The first season felt a little bit scattered, a little lost. This season feels very much on point. We touch base with every single person along the trail of this thing, and we get several big reveals.
In a nutshell, we get the Seanchan, specifically sul’dam and damane. We get the reveal that the Black Ajah is real, and we get it name dropped. And it’s bigger than them being real, because we got confirmation that Liandrin’s dirty. She’s a Darkfriend. She’s a Black Ajah sister, which is why she can lie. Her reasoning is that she did it in the hopes of saving her son’s life. I don’t know what the situation is there, but she kind of deeply regrets that decision. You can tell.
Moiraine, Rand, and What Lanfear Is
The episode picks up pretty much where we left off. Last we saw, Moiraine slit Lanfear’s neck and shoved a knife into her face and left her for dead. Mrs. Know-It-All says it wasn’t that gruesome, that she stabbed her through the heart and slit her throat. I think there was face stabbing. Anyways.
Moiraine and Rand immediately rush off and get to this little barn house in the middle of nowhere, and Moiraine tells the stable woman who runs the place, you’ve got to help us. She makes it look like they’re the ones heading out and running, they kill the fourth horse, and she has the lady take off. It’s a feint. Then Lanfear gets on a horse, because there’s a guy there, I don’t know if it’s the stable woman’s husband or whoever he is.
And by the way, Lanfear is no joke. She blew a guy’s head up. All she did was gesture, and it was glorious. It’s rough, but they’re establishing quickly who she is.
We also get the name drop of Tel’aran’rhiod. I’ve always said it a different way, and that’s fine. I trust their pronunciations in the show. She’s a dreamwalker. She knows how to travel through the world of dreams, so we get that reveal, and Moiraine and Rand refuse to sleep this entire episode because it’s dangerous. She’ll come get them for real. So they head to the one place Moiraine knows she might be able to get some kind of help, and that’s Cairhien.
That gave us more about Moiraine, her sister and her nephew, which Mrs. Know-It-All really liked. The part she thought was so cool was when Moiraine’s sister said, “I had a very wise sister once who told me,” and then gave it back to her. Moiraine’s having a hard time. She’s bellyaching about how she’s going to protect Rand and she’s really stressed out about it. There were two questions, and the second one was along the lines of, can you actually offer him protection?
Rosamund Pike is great, by the way, because it’s when she realizes, I don’t know if I can by myself. You can see that answer on her face. The big question mark just pops up. And I think it gives her a measure of relief. I don’t have to bellyache about it anymore. I can’t protect him, so what can I do? That’s a very Cairhienin response. Remember, the Cairhienin play the Game of Houses better than anybody. The minute you walk into that town, you’re part of the Game of Houses on some level. You can see the wheels and the machinations working. I love that.
Perrin, the Whitecloaks, and Aviendha
Perrin has left the wolf brothers briefly, because he’s determined to find out what happened to Loial and the Shienarans who were with them. Hopper goes with him, and they’re talking the way they do. Perrin asks more of Elyas: who am I, what is this? And Elyas says, listen, these people are not your pack. Even your wife wasn’t your pack. That hits a chord with him. Elyas tells him you’re never going to be alone, we’ll find you, we’ll come to you at some point. So Perrin leaves on his own and heads back to Atuan’s Mill.
And there he runs into Dain Bornhald. I say it like that because those of you who read the books know. Oh my God, it’s Dain Bornhald.
This was such a name drop episode for me. I was fangirling all over the place, if I’m being honest. This episode probably took longer for us to watch because every time a name dropped, I hit pause. Do you know who that is? Of course she doesn’t. We’ve literally just started reading book two. I figured she more or less has the highlights of book one, which to me is the longest, most interminable book in the series. All the rest are actually very, very good. Book one sets up a lot of things. It’s fine. So we jumped into book two.
While Perrin’s there, he sees his old friend Uno, the guy who was killed when the Seanchan took over. He finds him hanging in a metal cage. Turns out the Children of the Light have taken back the town, obviously, if Dain Bornhald is there.
More important than that, we get introduced to a new character. The Aiel woman, a Maiden of the Spear, Far Dareis Mai. We’re talking about Aviendha. Bad girl. I like her. She’s so dope.
Perrin sees that jackass Whitecloak from Season 1, so he’s hiding out in his room waiting to leave late. When he does, he releases Aviendha, and the Whitecloaks come in. Aviendha says, “My water is yours.” I love the way the Aiel talk. Then, after they whoop up on some Whitecloaks, she says to him, “I have toh.” Another pause. Let me tell you what that means.
The concept of ji’e’toh is such a fun concept, and if you read the books, it’s great to see the deep dive that happens there. I was trying to explain it to Mrs. Know-It-All from the books, and not being able to explain it kind of explains what it is. I’m liking the way they did it. Toh goes deeper than honor, all the way to a life debt. In the books there’s a group of Far Dareis Mai who have toh with Rand, and at any given point Rand’s trying to get them to see, look, you saved my life, we’re good. And they tell him the Car’a’carn doesn’t tell us when we’ve executed our toh. And he’s like, dang it.
The other thing I was reminded of is the dance of spears, which is dope. She tells Perrin he dances the spears well. Man, the Aiel are so awesome. And why is she there? She’s looking for the Car’a’carn. She’s looking for Rand, bro. I am so excited for what’s coming.
Mrs. Know-It-All likes the way Perrin’s coming around, very slowly. He doesn’t seem to be fighting it so much, because Hopper does go with him after he leaves Elyas and the rest of the pack. I think the books might’ve even made a joke that for a brief period they were a pack of two. Eventually Perrin’s got to meet someone special, and that someone special is not Aviendha. At least it hasn’t been. I don’t know what they’re going to do in the show. I hope it’s not that.
How Far Away Is Dumai’s Wells
Mrs. Know-It-All asked how far away that kind of encounter with the Maidens is. Judging by the speed at which things are happening, I believe we probably get it next season.
For instance, I don’t believe we’re going to get Dumai’s Wells at all this season. Dumai’s Wells is when Rand really shows his nuts. Rand at Dumai’s Wells changes the game completely. Short version: at some point the Reds in the books capture him and they’re trying to take him back to Tar Valon. It takes a bunch of them to keep him tied off, because he can still be tied off from the One Power just like any other man. Being more powerful doesn’t change that. They keep him in a chest, he’s been tortured at this point, and he busts out in such a big, bad way.
Then again, there’s a big fight coming this season. There has to be, because the Horn is here, the Horn is going to get blown, and Mat is the guy who’s going to do it. I fully expect next week’s episode to focus on Mat and a lot of the ancillaries we didn’t get a whole lot of today. Somebody from the main group is going to drop out, and we’re going to get more of Mat, because Mat has to eventually meet up with them.
Mrs. Know-It-All likes the anticipation of it, especially as someone who hasn’t read the books. It’s so good. Chef’s kiss.
The Seanchan Have Speakers, and Suroth Lost Her Nails
Egwene, Nynaeve and Elayne have been taken. Liandrin has them in the Ways, and that’s where she reveals that she’s Black Ajah, that she’s a Darkfriend, and that she’s been ordered by Ishamael to take them through the Waygates over to the Falme gate.
Meanwhile they’ve introduced new characters, and we’re following Ishamael and the Lady Suroth. Suroth has been called in front of Turak, who is actually of the High Blood, which is a big, high ranking thing with the Seanchan.
I love the fact that they have speakers. I forgot about that. For those of you playing at home, when you’re of a certain level among the Seanchan, you have a speaker who is your voice. Everything they do is a type of sign language. Eye gestures, head moves, hand twists, little subtle things, and the speakers understand it, translate it, and speak with confidence.
So she’s summoned, and Turak is so pissed at her. You had no business taking that town. You defied us. We need to be the ones to do this. And he tells her to speak for herself. She basically gets dressed down, and he tells her she’s not allowed in his presence until she does right again. Then he has her kneel and put her hands out. She’s got the big long nails. Brother comes out, pulls a sword, and the nails are gone.
That’s kind of cool. I don’t care if you’re familiar with the material or not. Just the way they play that scene, you know this is bad. She’s excommunicated, but not fully. When your nails grow back, you can come say hi, basically.
There’s a really cool encounter toward the end where Ishamael is called before Turak, and Turak says, I know you. You’ve got to remember the Seanchan are very, very superstitious. Apparently Ishamael had appeared in physical form across the sea in the Seanchan empire, and he was the one who started revealing some of the portents that led them to believe it’s time to go back to the mainland and reclaim our people. The Seanchan’s mission is literally to claim everybody to prepare them for the Last Battle, which is what all this is about.
So Turak tells him he can ask for any one thing. And Ishamael says all I ask is that you let Lady Suroth give you a gift. And they bring him Egwene.
This is what I mean by we’re getting things from future books. I believe this doesn’t happen until later, like book three or four. But it’s okay, because you’re trying to consolidate a whole lot of stuff. We don’t have time for Rand sitting around a palace in Cairhien after Tear falls. Which might still happen, as much as I’m talking trash, because Tear has to fall before that can happen.
Pause, Pause, He Said Graendal
There’s this really interesting conversation between Ishamael and Lanfear in Tel’aran’rhiod where she asks him, why would you release me? And then there’s a series of name drops again. Pause. Pause. I was literally like, oh my God, he said Moghedien. Oh my God, he said Graendal. All these cool characters.
That leads me to believe we’re going to get introduced to them, and I hope to God it’s in some way, shape or form like them. We haven’t even gone near Caemlyn yet, which tells me we’re probably not going to get Moghedien until much later.
I’m excited, because each of these people has to be dealt with. Sammael’s got to be defeated. Ishamael has to be defeated. Eventually you get to Lanfear, who more or less kind of tries to take charge. I’m getting way ahead of myself. They’re doing a very, very good job.
Verin Is Back and People Are Lying
We almost didn’t talk about this, and Mrs. Know-It-All is the one who brought it up. Verin Sedai, the Brown, is back. I like this part. She’s gone to the Tower and she’s investigating, and she single-handedly begins to uncover some things. She uncovers that Sheriam Sedai is either dirty or under the control of what’s called Compulsion, which is a very specific series of threads. It’s also a series of threads that’s been lost, unless you’re the Forsaken.
So she’s uncovering people lying all over the place, which shouldn’t be possible. Then she runs into Liandrin, and Liandrin is trying to play it off so hardcore, because she just got finished depositing the girls with the Seanchan.
I did forget that part, by the way. Nynaeve and Elayne have been captured. Well, not really. A Yellow Aes Sedai has them, and she’s telling them, you guys have got to change. Based on the trailer for next week, it sounds like they’re going to be hanging out there for a minute.
I believe this is where we’re building toward that big fight. That fight is what pushes the Seanchan back and makes them have to regroup. This isn’t the Last Battle, and it’s still going to be so hopeless that Mat has no choice but to blow the Horn. When he does, Artur Hawkwing and the heroes of old show up. I’m talking big heroes, glowing horses, the whole nine yards. They just push them back. It’s going to be so good.
What We Didn’t Like
I asked Mrs. Know-It-All what she didn’t like, and she said it was a good episode. It was a long one, I kept pausing to talk to her, and she still felt like it went fast.
I don’t think there was anything I didn’t like, in all honesty. If you’re waiting to hear something bad, I’ve got to tell you, this isn’t it. I’m hard pressed to give it a bad score, and I’m really trying to be more critical these days, especially with everybody voting that they want me to start doing more film and TV criticism.
The most I could criticize is that it isn’t exactly like the books. But everything else is great. This is the first episode where I didn’t once find myself thinking, what’s going on, why is it so far away from how the books are done? I was genuinely enjoying everything about it. We talked about that too. When you’re reading a book it’s very linear, and when you can show it, you can condense it. I absolutely agree.
The Verdict
The Wheel of Time Season 2 Episode 5 is a 9 and a half out of 10 on the Know-It-All Index.
Mrs. Know-It-All went first, and she gives it a 9. It kept going for her even with all the other nonsense she and I were talking about. She feels like she knows more. She doesn’t feel lost. She’s got Cliff Notes sitting next to her, sure, but even without them she thinks she’d be okay, and she still enjoyed it.
So for the first time ever we’re going to disagree, but not by much. I’m at 9 and a half out of 10. I really liked this episode. I almost wanted to give it a 10, but I have a feeling there’s a slightly better episode coming, and I don’t think this was my 10.
I’m enjoying the heck out of this show. They’re doing really good work.
Tell me what you’re thinking of the show and whether you’re enjoying it. And if you know whether or not Brandon Sanderson helped out with this season, let me know. I’m going to research it myself and we’ll talk more about it next week. The conversation lives in the comments on the video above.
