We are down to the final 2 episodes of the first season of Amazon’s The Wheel of Time. We know there will be a season 2 (and there are 14 books, so it’s not like there isn’t a huge story left to tell), but it gives us an idea of how things may wrap up by next week’s finale. Check out our review of episode 7 - Spoilers Ahead!
The Flashback
The episode opens with what we eventually realize is a flashback to a young woman fighting for her life against a bunch of armored soldiers on a snowy mountainside. She is one of the Aiel warriors that we briefly learned about in a past episode. She easily dispatches soldier after soldier even though she is wounded and then we realize she is pregnant! In fact, she is ready to give birth as she kills the last couple of soldiers.
One final warrior walks up, ready to kill her, but sees what is actually happening and he puts down his sword - that we recognize as Rand’s father’s sword - and helps her give birth before dying. A younger version of Tam (Rand’s father) then picks up the baby and we fade out to the present day again.
This scene essentially brings the Dragon Reborn story back in line with the books. Although it isn’t official quite yet.
A Dangerous Trip through The Ways
The episode picks up where episode 6 left off, with our heroic party heading into the magical realm of The Ways, which will allow them to travel a vast distance in a fraction of the time, but at great risk. In a departure from the books, Mat chooses to stay behind rather than joining his friends in The Ways. Initially, the crew wants to turn back for him, but Moiraine and Loial explain that there is no way to open the portal to where they just left. They must go forward.
This leads to a perilous journey through The Ways, a sort of side universe that was once lush and green (maybe a bit like the land of faerie from folklore) but now is dark, and is a bottomless chasm on each side of the pathway. The troupe is attacked by a Trolloc as they near their destination and Egwene uses the One Power to throw it off the path, but this wakes up a great evil that resides in The Ways and has made them so terrible - Machin Shin (The Black Wind). The Black Wind catches them and begins whispering their worst nightmares to them. But, Nynaeve uses the One Power to hold back the wind while Moiraine is able to open the portal to their destination.
Lan’s Backstory
The traumatized group arrives at Fal Dara, a stronghold that stands near the Blight, a creeping environment of evil filled with Trollocs and other monsters. The people of Fal Dara have stood against the armies of the darkness for generations, supporting the Aes Sedai in their battle with the Dark One. We learn that Lan is from Fal Dara and more than that, he is the hereditary king of a land that was swallowed by the Blight not long after his birth. He was secreted away by some of his family’s soldiers and raised in Fal Dara as a warrior against the Dark.
Lan’s love story with Nynaeve also continues, as she comes to know more about him and his past.
A Choice
Moiraine finally explains to the group that the next day they will travel to the Eye of the World, where they will face the Dark One and the Dragon Reborn will be revealed. But, anyone else who goes to the Eye who is not the Dragon, will die. She remains uncertain which of the remaining four people from the Two Rivers (Nynaeve, Egwene, Perin, or Rand) is the Dragon. In fact, she thinks it could still be Mat, but the darkness growing inside him gives her pause which is why she actually didn’t try to force him to join them in The Ways. Instead, she sends word back to the White Tower from Fal Dara that the Red Ajah should find Mat and deal with him. Not great for Mat.
But, now the 4 remaining potential Dragons must decide if they will still go to the Eye, knowing that at least 3 of them will die. Nynaeve is for getting the heck out of dodge, but Egwene and Perrin both clearly feel obligated to do what they can to save everyone, even if it results in their deaths. Nynaeve likely feels the same way, but she remains very conflicted about trusting Moiraine and wanting to protect the other Two Rivers folk. The group has the night to think on their decision, although it’s also clear that Moiraine probably won’t take NO for an answer.
The Dragon Reborn Revealed
Now for the reveal. Rand is shown working through what the Black Wind whispered to him in The Ways. He also thinks back to several instances where it is now clear that he has used the One Power. He also flashes back to the first episode when he was taking his father back to town after being injured in the Trolloc attack. His father, delirious with Trolloc poison, admitted that Rand was not his son and that he brought him home from somewhere else - which we know was the mountain overlooking Tar Valon. Rand finally acknowledges that he is the Dragon Reborn and visits Moiraine before sunrise so the two of them can go to The Eye of the World themselves, leaving the others behind.
This brings it all back in line with the books, which we suspected would happen. But, give the show credit for trying to keep even readers of the books uncertain if the show would actually change such a huge part of the story. With Rand’s revelation, he also takes his first step toward being the growing hero we met in the books.
How will the season finale end? We’ll know next week!
