The Wheel of Time 03x08 Review
! Spoilers ahead !
I will talk here about my feelings on the season finale and there are gonna be spoilers so be sure to watch the episode before reading this.
I apologize for the large amount of text.
First of all, this was an epic episode, clearly one of the best of the season but also one of the best of the series. The only thing that annoyed me was the fact that it seems rushed. I mean, considering all the narrative arcs, longer episodes would be better because there are missing pieces between some scenes. We can use our imagination and create the missing scenes in our head but just having the time to deal with each character / group of characters would be great. Like, as some people wrote here or on other social medias, 03x07 was mostly centered on Perrin and so the season finale should have been split in two parts with an episode for Tanchico and another one for Rand proclaiming himself the Dragon Reborn to the Aiels that could have been tied with The White Tower storyline.
But this is mainly the only flaw of this episode for me, that fast pace that makes, us a little disappointed as we could have had more and that some more time would just have been an opportunity to properly develop the story.
Otherwise, a lot of scenes gave me chills, thanks to the brilliant acting but also the music with once again amazing soundtracks. Visual and practical effects were great too, I mean the scene where Lanfear and Gaebril found Sammael's body?! (rip my beloved forsaken, you should have had more screentime) Sorry but Moghedien has made a piece of art that is at the same time fascinating and disgusting.
Now, let's dive into the scenes with some more details.
Searching for the collar in Tanchico
These scenes were my favorites. I love this place and its atmosphere and the group - Nynaeve, Elayne, Min, Mat and Thom - is really nice and we like to follow them in this exotic world. I was so nervous during these scenes, mostly because I was pretty sure Thom Merrilin would die while protecting the others so when he came facing Jeaine, I was like "It's over" but I was so wrong! Elayne literally saving Thom's life was such a relief. I love the dynamics between these two and I really hope we could see more of this duo in the future (even though I haven't seen Thom on the ship at the end).
The confrontation between Nynaeve and Liandrin was great - and better than the other confrontation against the others Aes Sedai accompanying Liandrin - and Nynaeve finally taking control on her power was incredibly emotional. I smiled and had tears in my eyes when Nynaeve walked out of the water.
I was more perplexed with Mat and his encounter with an Aelfinn because as I haven't read the books, I wasn familiar with this creature and I don't really understand who they are, where they live and what is their purpose.
Rand proclaiming himself the Car'a'carn
Meanwhile, in the Aiel Waste, Rand, Egwene, Moiraine, Lan are on their way to rally all of the Aiels to fight sides by sides with the Dragon Reborn. The climax, closely linked to the events occurring at the same time at The White Tower, was so great with Rand channeling, showing that he truly is the Car'a'carn, and Moiraine and Lan doing their best to prevent Lanfear to attack and kill Rand. It was shocking to see Moiraine badly wounded by Lanfear but the worst was yet to come with Siuan's death and the effects on Moiraine who lost the love of her life. Of course it helped her defeat Lanfear with an almost lethal sword attack but it's a huge loss both for Moiraine and the spectator.
Troubles at the White Tower
Indeed, at the White Tower, Elaida is slowly taking power, a sort of revenge for the one who was about to be the Amyrlin Seat 20 years ago but was eventually put aside as the Aes Sedai chose Siuan. We knew from the promo trailer that something bad would happen at the White Tower but nothing prepared us for this! As Rafe Judkins said in "Inside the wheel of time" dedicate to episode 8, it was a major change from the books and so the shock must have been real for everyone, readers as non-readers. Siuan deserved better but it's coherent with the story.
Well, that's what I had to say about this season finale. I really hope the series will get renewed, even though the words of Zoë Robins in "Inside The Wheel of Time" make us wonder if it's not the end (I hope not!).
Also, if you have seen my previous posts, with fanarts or gifs, be assured that I will make gifs from this episode and probably at least another fanart of Thom with a screenshot of this episode as the reference.
And you, what did you think about this season finale?