Spoilers for Episode 8 

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I'm mostly still processing, but thought I'd lay out some initial thoughts. 

Overall, I really enjoyed it. There were times when I was smacking the couch and cheering. When I saw the "3000 years ago" I squealed. I really, really liked seeing the AoL. I was too engrossed to really process what the Latra and LTT said to each other, but the scene was beautiful. LTT just seemed like a normal guy.  The aesthetic was really beautiful. The formality between the two of them, even as they disagreed, was really noticeable. It felt civilized and like from another age (pun intended). And the clothing. I am really loving the clothing of the AoL style. It felt so futuristic and modern yet not like current Earth either.

I really enjoyed the architecture of the wall blocking the Gap. Those arrow slits with crossbow bolts flying out of them was sick. When the trollocs climbed the walls, all I had in my head with the climb of zombies in World War Z. I thought it was a pretty clever way for the trollocs to get over the wall. Lord Agelmar was a favorite of mine, when he gave the speech to his sister about buying time for the other cities, it was very moving. I really enjoyed that scene. 

The circle and the women burning out was incredible. I never ever got the kind of high stakes from the books about the dangers of burning out. Showing this was awesome. The burning from inside to crispy crisps was scary and awesome at the same time. Amalisa talking about the beauty and incredible senses that came with that amount of power was a great Easter egg to the lure, addiction, and intensity of the power. 

The Blight vines and whatnot was creepy and really showed what the infestation of the Blight is like. I really liked seeing the bodies taken over by the growth and how the plants were starting to cover Rand's hand as he slept. That was the kind of horror movie stuff I like. Could have used more with critters and monsters, but I understand there is only so many minutes and only so many CGI-dollars. And isn't that the rub, we can always use more.

Ishamael. Ishamael Ishamael. 
I've a huge villain crush on this Ishamael. The swagger and confidence and power. That little laugh at Moiriane when he shielded her. I was pretty apprehensive at first when I saw the casting, but putting the package together, it was great. 

The Eye aesthetic was really interesting adaptation. Afterward, I told manflesh about the Book-Eye and he agreed the show made the right choice in changing it. In his words, the book-eye sounded "cheesy". Rand's decision about "what about what she wants" was a great epiphany. 

Rosamund's performance at the end was outstanding. She is great as Moiraine. I can absolutely see her at the end, the very end of book 14 and stroking Rand's hair after the showdown with the DO and saying "well done, Rand. well done."

The 3rd Age, Arad Doman.



“Promise me you’ll sleep on it one more night,” Daryen told Trista, hands on her shoulders with the urgency of a plea. She agreed. Daryen finally retired to his own quarters afterward but only to pour over the details himself one final time.

The sun rose on the day that Daryen promised High Lord Sivikawa to have a response on their treaty. Daryen dwelled long into the night, toiling upon the stakes but again no new insight presented itself. He knew the Dragon and White Tower supported his decision either way. Neighboring Falme and Tarabon were already under Seanchan control. Altara was the seat of their power on the continent. In any other life, Daryen would want to see their homeland, if only to explore someplace that he didn’t know existed until their arrival. But this was not another life. It was his life, and he had to do the best he could. Ultimately, the decision, and the risk, was his. 

There was no trace of Trista when he woke. He hadn’t anticipated any different, but he scanned the room anyway. Inevitably, his gaze was drawn to the work from the previous night, and that chasm of indecision began to yawn once more until someone literally yawned. A hand lazily tugged him back to the pillows. Trust Jai to pull him from the quicksand of his own mind.  

But he resisted the pull, no matter how much he didn't want to. “Unlike you, brother. I cannot sleep all day,” he said only to get a kick on the shin in return. It was enough to make him laugh.

Sierra watched as they dove under the water and bit back her desire to hold her breathe until they came back up.  Who knew how long it would be.

She leaned back against the tree trunk and stoked the fire to a nice burn and then close her eyes while she waited.  Never curled up next to her, he awaited her in the dream

****

She opened her eyes in the same place.  But it was different.  It always was the same.  Never jumped and crossed her path with a wofish grin on his muzzle.  He loved the dream.  His images came across more like words now. 

So happy!  He danced.  Wish Bre could be here!

Miss pack already.  Soon?  He looked up hopeful.

"I hope so."

Sierra scratched behind Never's ears. "You were trying to say something before?"

But Never was bounding around the dream for the moment.  Sierra would have to wait for him to center himself again.  Or it might not happen at all today.  He was a still a pup eager as ever to explore.

[[Continued from Wanderlust]]

On the journey to the shoreline, Thalia asked Tristan about his life in Iceland. She had been to Reykjavik before, but only on a tourist excursion with her sister (a birthday present), and that many years ago now. She remembered the beauty, though. She spoke a little about her own home in Moscow, her work, and her sister. Asked Sierra where she was from, and inquired if the dog-not-dogs had names. She never pressed deeply for answers if they were reluctantly given, but was curious about both of their lives, and soaked in every detail they chose to give willingly. In the lulls she meandered tales of the island’s history and folklore (especially pertaining to the lake and rock), and spoke with the genuine awe and enthusiasm of someone charmed by life’s mysteries; who was naturally inquisitive about, well, everything. And sometimes she was quiet, too, distracted by the scenery and the beribboned totems that dotted the path. For all that she was happy to fill the silences, they didn’t seem to bother her either.

She paused briefly once the broad, bright surface of the lake first came into view beyond the trees, much as she had done her first day here. Then she followed the incline down to the shingled beach. A few tourists milled, but it was early and peaceful still. Thalia let the others choose a sheltered spot before she dropped her bag from her shoulder. Perhaps it was just that the sun was barely up, but it was not as warm as yesterday, the wind biting a little bitter as she wiggled out of her borrowed garments. She envied the dog-not-dogs their thick pelts of fur. Her swimming costume beneath was still a little damp, though she had rung it out in the cabin, and it felt not exactly pleasant now the cold took nibbles from exposed skin. She folded Sierra’s clothes more carefully than she would have her own, and placed them with her things. Though she had left most of her belongings at her homestay in the village, everything important was in that bag; her wallet and money, her pens and sketches, and the pinecone in its burn box.

“Will you wait here or return to the cabin?” she asked Sierra. She was not quite sure if the woman actually disliked her, and it made her deeply uncomfortable as a possibility; especially as, whatever the other woman’s true feelings might be, she still made the effort to be kind. Thalia was warm in return, and perhaps a little more obviously so in fear of that rejection. She sat with her for a moment longer, staring out at the water, her hand snaking up over her shoulder where the first poppies bloomed a large design down her back. The voluptuous figure inked amongst the flowers there was an exorcism at the time, but it had been a beginning not an end. Not for the first time she wondered where Yana was now, or if it was just the point at which she’d left reality and never returned.

“There are more drawings of the Tuuru creature in my sketchbook,” she said eventually. “You are welcome to look, if you wanted. Maybe you will understand more of it than I did.”

After that she stood, and waited for Tristan to lead them on.

[[continued from Da Capo]]

A hint of laughter. “Don’t forget: you followed me.”

Natalie claimed to hate the game and play only by her own rules, but she still played. Adrian claimed patience. Not a man for undue risk or rashness. That was useful to know, but not necessarily what she had been looking for. She could not sway him with the recklessness of her cause, nor entice him with insinuations of power (and nor would she have been content with the latter; this wasn’t about power). Desire was easy to manipulate; everyone had a price they paid willingly for the things they most wanted – Natalie included, of course. Moving people into advantageous places was helpful, and often it was easy, but it was also a soul-destroying sort of tiring. She’d treated Evelyn like a piece on a gameboard, but what she’d truly wanted at the time was an ally.

Time forged that, and little else. But the foundations had to be laid somehow. He didn’t salivate at the thought of Brandon’s praise, or wasn’t willing to admit to it anyway. Since it was hardly a question she could ask outright, that would have to be enough.

“You’re right, I do.” She shrugged, and ignored the apology offered. She didn’t ever speak of her father, and she wasn’t about to start with a stranger. Even Jay didn’t know the half of it, and she was uncomfortable enough with what even he had seen of that particular demon. Adrian wasn’t actually asking though; or, at least, she did not think he truly cared for gossip half a decade old. Natalie’s expression had retreated into habitual stillness, second-nature reflex by now whenever it came up, but otherwise she might have smiled slyly at the tactic. She was too jaded to consider the chivalry truthful, even if it was.

“Some wrongs can’t be forgiven,” she agreed. Natalie’s was an enduring loyalty, more enduring than was probably good for her, but when betrayal severed those ties, they were severed forever. Her reply held a note of that truth, in warning or acknowledgement. She didn’t know what caused him to turn away from his family, after all, and she would not ask now, though she did drop her gaze to the ring for half a moment. He was seeking commonality not sharing secrets. “Perhaps we have something in common after all.”

By now darkness had plunged outside the car, the lights of civilisation dotted fewer. A rougher road began to grind under the car’s wheels, until it finally pulled to a stop. Little could be seen out of the windows anymore, just the reflection of their own faces.

Episode 7 spoilers


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I just finished the episode and am still processing everything. 

Overall: my favorite episode of the season so far. 

I had my first moment of actual disappointment - bonus points to anyone who guesses the 1 thing that really bothered me for the first time this entire show. I bet nobody guesses it. 

But even that 1 thing isn't enough to dislodge episode 7 as my favorite so far.

I had to rewind and rewatch a couple of things as soon as it was over b/c I just couldn't process what I'd seen quick enough. 

All I can say is I have this emotion in me that is this split of I can't believe I'm watching what I'm watching and I just want to stand up and scream with excitement. 

I'll write in depth review and thoughts tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to process by then.

Tar Valon, 
The White Tower,
The Red Ajah
Kekura Sedai

The Third Age

One of my favorite authors passed away. Anne Rice's works and imagination were pivotal to my coming of age. I devoured all her works during a very difficult time in my life. Seeing her characters deal with darkness in themselves and in their world strongly influenced my ability to deal with the same during the formative years of my life. 

Thank you to Anne for her wonderful worlds, mythos, world-building and countless hours of entertainment. 

If you were a fan, please share your memories and maybe some of your favorite books or stories.

SPOILERS for episode 6
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Huh. Interesting. I’m not actually sure what I think. It’s definitely one that will need a rewatch.

That ending though.

I loved the cold intro and Moiraine and Suian’s relationship. I figured the portrait in Moiraine’s room was going to be something to do with communicating with Suian, but the actual implementation seemed strange, because it felt like they both met in a fishing hut in Tear. Like, what? Since when can ter’angreal do that? Was it supposed to be TAR?

I’m gonna go ahead and assume that Ishy is sending Suian false dreams (or maybe one of the others, I’m not convinced he’s the only one able to touch the world right now). My prediction is that they will tie in whatever happens at the Eye with the obvious release of the Forsaken. Not really sure why they think the DO’s prison is there, unless it’s a result of misinformation (or they changed it I suppose).

Loved the obvious difference between the face Suian presents as the Amyrlin and the clothes she chooses to wear in her study.

If the Waygate is opened by a channeler, how did the trollocs get through? 

Also found it curious that Moiraine said she didn’t know Nynaeve was a channeler prior to the healing, but still recognised the potential in Egwene.

I don’t think Mat is clear of the dagger influence. Did we actually see what happened to it? All I remember is that Lan covered it up. I suspect from the “he’ll get corrupted if he touches it again'' comment that what she did may be more akin to the reprieve of the books. Which explains why he stayed behind.

Logain’s performance was stand-out. Poor Loial felt underutilised though.

Who is Liandrin meeting up with in the city? I think she’s getting her information on the E5 from Fain.

I guess the flashbacks are going to come as a result of the characters all getting the chance to share stories (from Moiraine’s line of dialogue as they left)? The reunion was quite sweet but the exposition a little clunky. I wonder if the Ways themselves might prove to be a much more horror-esque sequence. Although Machin Shin was different to Mashadar, they run the risk of feeling very same-y as a threat.

I dunno. I have no idea how they’re going to pull all this together at this point.

It was nice to see Moiraine’s Eyes and Ears network in play, and it had some great bits to it, but I’m not sure if an episode entirely from her POV right now comes at the expense of the E5, especially after the last episode (happy to wait and see how the final two episodes roll out though). I think it might be one I enjoy watching more when the whole season is done. From the perspective of someone who hasn’t read the books, I think it was important for plot purposes.

Either the hour slot isn’t long enough, or there only being 8 episodes has just compressed things too much. I mostly like the direction they take, it’s not that, but I don’t feel like we’re getting everything we should.

SPOILERS for episode 5
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What did you all think?

Thoughts on Loial?

Did we see background portal stones? Or were they more like roadmarkers to Tar Valon?

Wow, okay. I found this episode very emotional, it has a very strong focus on themes of love, loss, and grief. I thought it had a lot of strong and nuanced character building. And lots of foreshadowing, worldbuilding, and setup.

First impressions:

Nynaeve holding onto her braid in the opening sequence got me right in the feels.

Maksim kept Kerene’s boots *cries*

Love the tiny detail of longer hair after a time jump.

Rand noticing Dragonmount!

Finally, some book swearing!

Padan Fain’s whistling when the boys first arrive was a nice touch. In fact you can see him in a doorway watching as they enter the inn (I only noticed the latter because of a fortuitous pause lol). You see him once again after that, laughing. Whatever Mordeth did he looks far better for it than poor ol’ Mat.

Odd they cut Gill after mentioning he’s Thom’s friend. Maybe we see him next episode, he has been cast. There were a few times during this ep where it again felt like there should have been a little more that would have made the transition between scenes smoother, but it had to be cut to fit in the 1hr time slot.

I liked that Mat wondered about the little girl, that even though he’s now clearly deep in the dagger’s grip, he still has his good heart. By the way, the extras description for the Grinwells on the official prime page DOES say that it was the fade who killed the family. I am glad to be wrong. 

Aram’s comment about accepting that violence is a part of everyone was a bit strange, it felt less like a tinker philosophy and more like a poignant thing to point out to Perrin. Mind you, it always seemed dumb to me that in the books they’re vegetarian since they’re also nomadic. Violence and hunting are separate things, that’s the whole reason Aiel use the spear. I will be surprised if the show tinkers shun those who stray, they seem too forgiving. I did love their defiance to the Whitecloaks, and that we saw pacifism doesn’t mean being *passive*. I really like Ila.

Interesting that Moiraine makes a point of also warning Nynaeve specifically about the sisters they travelled with -- does she suspect Liandrin? Or was it just common sense? Because as she also points out, Nynaeve is now going to be considered a game piece all the AS will want to move.

The scene with Maksim and the other warders was beautiful. I like seeing the warders as a brotherhood and how they rallied around a grieving brother. Melting the ring was a nice touch. Maksim’s grief really resonated with me, and the way his loss affected the others was very well done. Maksim’s later explanation for why he cannot sleep, and Nynaeve’s reply, were spot on.

Jumping from something beautiful, poignant, and sad, to Egwene & and the Whitecloaks made it even more difficult to watch. The added detail of the way they take out her braid and the rough treatment of her hair was a nice touch.

Goldeneyes! I was really ready for the wolves to turn up at this point

I’m going to go ahead and assume that they haven’t just adjusted Valda’s position in the Children but merged him with Asunawa. I don’t think he even particularly thought Egwene was a channeler, considering he left them alone for so long. It just seemed like he had a reasonable excuse for some torture time and took it.

I continue to like Liandrin despite myself, they are doing a very good job of making her relatable. Her trying to be nice to Nynaeve seemed so manufactured I can only credit the actress for her performance. Is there a reason she sent Nyn to the gardens? It’s clearly where she met Loial and was able to reunite with the boys. Is this just Liandrin trying to win trust? Did Padan Fain instruct her? At this point Moiriane still seems totally ignorant that Mat and Rand are in Tar Valon, which seemed a little odd given what she said to Nyn.

Thought it was a bit odd we didn’t SEE Nyn go to the gardens. The skip from her standing in the corridor outside the Hall to reuniting with the boys was jarring. Loial’s roundabout introduction was spot on though.

Oh, also liked that they included the story about Egwene’s breakbone fever and Nynaeve’s certainty that Egwene is still alive. The AS are totally wrong about the cave being the first time Nyn channeled but I liked that this wasn’t made explicit. I also liked that when Mat was surprised to see her, she replied “who else would I be?” After Moiraine’s speech I loved this display of Nynaeve’s strength and pure stubbornness to not let power change her. She is my favourite character at the moment.

Eg stealing the AS rings! Does the girls using these (presumably) to pose as AS later have a different feel to it now we know dead AS rings are melted down as a mark of respect to their passing? We really see Egwene’s beginnings as a leader here. Also, her comment that Perrin might spend his entire life before he accepts Laila was an accident gives me faith they will handle that storyline well, and not just gloss over it.

Liandrin and Moiraine have a past? That would be an interesting twist (Liandrin’s prime description does suggest they were intimate once). It’s starting to seem like Moiriane was a bit of a lady killer in her youth.

Also, the novice dresses are far more stylish than I ever envisioned them.

Forsaken! One of the figurines looked like a squat chewbacca, I’ll bet that was Sammael lol. Did anyone count them?

Ah, so Alanna was planning to offer a bond to Stepin, I’m glad they included this (I wonder if they will merge her character with Myrelle for future plotlines). Discussion of consent now will contrast with what she does later in grief. The way they chatted on the bed was very reminiscent of how they must have been as novices, which I thought was a nice touch. Also loved the “you’ll be around for a long time yet” line. Yikes. Good setup for the Tower split too, though interesting that it’s Liandrin they’re rallying around. The picture in the wall cabinet was interesting, I didn’t know what to make of it though (beyond it being a little heavy on the symbolism).

The Amyrlin travelling back from Caemlyn was an amusing touch. I wonder if that has anything to do with Elayne.

Agh, Stepin slipped Lan the sleeping tea! I wasn’t sure how I felt about his suicide by something like seppaku rather than him trying to take out Logain, though I thought it worked better for the tone fo the episode. What was the symbol on the blade hilt? It felt like the camera focused there, but maybe it was just so we could see he’d killed himself. It reminded me of one of the chapter symbols from the books.

I thought the funeral, and Lan being a conduit for grief no one else could express, was excellent and very moving.

The only negative I had, aside from scenes sometimes feeling a bit choppy again, was the sets. They still felt too much like sets imo (though they were very beautiful). Tar Valon’s background noise just felt like stock sound. The White Tower felt FAR too empty. I know it was a huge place for not many people, but it just felt abandoned. Aside from our main characters, we literally saw two novices wandering about and that’s it. The rooms all felt cavernous and a little empty too. They make a joke about Moiriane’s, but even Stepin’s felt sparse. I would have expected more wallhangings and tapestry at the very least. It looked like it would be cold!

EDIT, oh and I almost forgot, the ending credits music also got me in the feels. It was a sombre version of Mashiara, specifically the bit that speaks about love.