#wot tv spoilers

[avrelia]

Maigan Sedai

I was thinking about Maigan, and her influence on the story. First we see her at her full power and influence in Tar Valon. She it the Sitter of the Blue Ajah, she is quietly competent, intelligent and powerful.

Maigan saw the trouble coming, and went to investigate, but the Seanchan were the trouble, and she lost. Her freedom, her will and herself, as we first hear then see her as damane in the cell next to Egwene. She is broken and she knows that. Compared to Egwene’s empty cell, hers is almost luxurious - she has a bed and a table, but those conveniences have no meaning for her now. She knows she lost and there is nothing she could do until she dies.

We see her dead in the finale, from the explosion that kills most of the people who were on the Watchers tower. And it feels like the better ending for her.

But I want to remember Maigan as we saw her in Tar Valon – powerful, intelligent, driven to make the world better. She is our canary in the coalmine, she shows to Egwene and us the damage the Seanchan have wrought on the women they caught. The dehumanization. the emptiness.

[radiantmists]

also real talk why is 'you need to give someone the chance to love all of you. they might not. but you have to give them the chance' actually good advice

[murasaki-sama]

The Pattern: ah, I see the Dark One is stirring in his prison, that's not good.

The Pattern: I shall just drop a nice Dragon Reborn in there, that's should solve it

The Pattern, five seconds later: Actually....uh, he's gonna need some help. Hmmm. Oh, I have it! I shall drop 4 ta'veren down there with him. that'll do it

[xivu-arath]

actual finale thoughts:

I was salty about nynaeve at first but. after a night's sleep I do really like the building on her block (and plus associated trauma from the archways and her fake life within??) in a scene that was already juggling so many characters. plus it does set up her next arc really well. it stings for a finale but every wot finale until the last one is also inherently a bunch of setup, so! I'm More Chill Now

I knew how this would go with hopper the moment I saw a whitecloak presence and I got so teary at him jumping... (I do think the book death hits harder, the being pinned down with lances as he tries to leap...) But Still. I do feel it was early but also... well. it's important he die

I saw something in the tags about renna's death but honestly I feel it really works narratively for egwene at this moment, and for what mental space she'll be in for the next season

moiraine and lan <3 . great scenes, no notes. also I wonder who the big part of the fire banner was from, because it was very much filmed to draw attention to it being from a wholly different angle

the age of legends scene killed me. gonna be rotating "I know how much you hate being alive" and "I'm sorry but I can't do this again" and the repetition for YEARS

thinking about how the second after lanfear and ishy cuddle and affirm "we need each other" they both then move to betray each other with zero on screen regret. they know each other so well. this is how things go. I'm So Feral

speaking of isha'mael... his resignation when rand refuses! his extremely disinterested battle where he only does one weave and does not even try to change things up. he also knows how this will go, and there will be other chances for this to change before the end. at least he has a brief reprieve (:

(I also noted out loud that his dissolving into ash and crumbling away looks very similar aesthetically to how the heroes of the horn are pulled back. just wanna make that association)

mat's stuff was great <333 the awful lurch from feeling like he knows where he belongs to fucking it up. his frantic explaining it was a mistake

it feels like uno being a hero was either a gift to fans or a confirmation of a theory I'd never heard? honestly I'm p neutral on him so I didn't get much from it. I was however happy to see amaresu and birgitte!

I didn't expect to see the heron brands given how comparatively small and detailed they are, so that was such a gift. the scar looks so awful and grody too! wonderful. rand angst also fed really well for the future

everything with lanfear was great. her schemes! selling her coworkers to dump in the ocean like discarded pokemon! making sure she could fuck up isha'mael's contingencies. strolling into a total victory only to be fucked up by her least favourite coworker!! she's not my fave forsaken but she's been amazing all season and I'm glad for her

[squirrelwrangler]

today's WoT episode captured the emotion from reading a certain chapter of TGH and it was great but also i hate you, show, you did a great job

[the-real-obj]

Ok so WoTTV spoilers but

I'm okay with this season so far (3 episodes in). Some divergences from the books are fine, Nynaeve is crying too much, but all in all, pretty good. However... what is up with Rand jumping that man in the street?? Sure he was rude to an old sick man but that just felt wildly out of character for me.

[bogreader]

so the other Forsaken were sealed away in business casual but Lanfear just happened to be sealed away while relaxing in a bathtub of blood or something?

[eyyy-sedai]

The petty levels two incredibly powerful beings will reach for THIS ONE GUY

Glad the show confirmed that the Forsaken literally can't be normal when it comes to Lews Therin and Rand

[salazar-bollinger]

@becauseofreasons19 here's a little Lanfear just for you!

[halcyon-autumn]

Suian thinking they’d be better off if the Dragon were a girl is so funny. Like Suian, babe, I love you wholeheartedly but you would not have an easier time with EGWENE AL’VERE as your prophesied savior I promise. Sure you don’t have to worry about her going insane, but Egwene is so stubborn she’s resisting an empire that’s spent a thousand years perfecting indoctrination. Egwene once threatened a full-fledged sister because she blamed her for Nynaeve’s death. Egwene would say “I am going to get a good grade in ‘being the prophesied savior who will either save or destroy the world,’ something that’s normal to want and possible to achieve” and then start fucking the shit up of everyone she doesn’t like - INCLUDING everyone she doesn’t like in the White Tower. And keep in mind, her best friends are 1.) Nynaeve al’Meare, human embodiment of the “I’m a healer but…” meme, and 2.) Elayne Trakand, the heir to the throne of the most powerful country on the continent who knows Egwene for two days and then is so ride or die for her that she tries to follow her out of the Tower and then starts attacking the “women who enslave channelers” crew with a stick. You would not have a chill time with a Dragon!Egwene au I promise you that.

[sixth-light]

Getting in before S3 airs with a stray thought: Moghedien is absolutely gonna murder the hell out of Liandrin because the show is not going to be interested in fucking around with All The Bad Ladies Are Punished With Slavery Forever Because God Forbid We Kill A Woman, but, and this is important, she's going to do it in a way that leaves Nynaeve forever unsure whether Moghedien is now her #1 enemy because she killed Liandrin or because she killed Liandrin before Nynaeve could. Can you imagine the energy that's gonna bring to Moghedien being her secret prisoner in the middle of a town full of Aes Sedai? I can and it's great.

[queenofmalkier]

Lan really said "That's it I'm telling your WIFE."

[radiantmists]

the forsaken really have their shit together in the show and it is terrifying.

like, there's this bit in the great hunt that sorta parallels the fade scene in this episode, wandering around the portal world with loial and hurin and they're suddenly set upon by a bunch of grolm in what is pretty clearly an attempt on lanfear's part to get rand to channel and open the gate. instead, rand kills five grolm with his bow, and then when she just summons more in response, opens the portal and then plays it off as though he hasn't just channeled. and lanfear, still pretending to be ignorant selene, barely mutters a comment before going back to trying to get him to chase the horn because the glory, rand!

meanwhile, show-lanfear has spent months figuring out all rand's insecurities, actually gets him alone when she's trying to get him to channel, corners him up close with a fade so he has no chance without the power, and then flawlessly preys on his self-hatred about channeling (that flinch!) so that when she does accept him instead (after having gotten that love confession) it must feel like salvation.

i do think show-lanfear has been using compulsion (there was another instance this ep where he firmly says no to something, and then suddenly changes his mind for basically no reason) but it isn't the only crutch keeping them together, just a little extra to smooth the way.

like ishamael, show-lanfear is a good manipulator, the kind who speaks to what people want-- acceptance for rand, freedom from visions for min. part of this definitely comes from writing them as actual human beings rather than cartoon villains-- book-lanfear is unfortunately the kind of character who uses glory as the main motivator because it's her main motivator.

and while rand luckily got saved before he got drawn any further in, this makes me really excited to see what the less direct forsaken get up to.

[murasaki-sama]

How come people keep recognizing Two Rivers' work? isn't it supposed to be some backwater no one has ever heard or something?

[xivu-arath]

every age of legends scene just kills me each time!! more forever pls I just need to suffer in exactly this way

[squirrelwrangler]

watched episode 8 of season 2 - some stuff that didn't land as much, some Very clever combining and rescrambling of plot points, satisfying for show-only, and the last scene I was standing out of my seat with giddy excitement