MissLucas

There were more than five arrows - and at least two of them went through sticking out on the other side - one in her shoulder and the other one in her left arm. She was an Aes Sedai version of St. Sebastian. I wonder if the reason for that overkill is that they want to follow-up on the theme of channelers within the Two Rivers - someone will have to heal her.

Cold Rocks Hold looks absolutely perfect! I loved Rand having a somewhat lighthearted moment with the little girl - later it becomes clear how much it all weighs on him, i.e. after Egwene left. This was really an episode with wonderful subtle character moments. Moraine and Lan getting sloshed in the desert was not on my bingo card but it was a wonderful exploration of their relationship. I loved Elayne, Nynaeve and Matt together. And that Windfinder channeling looked gorgeous. I also loved how intrigued Nynaeve was by the Shipmistress and her words. Maybe there's wisdom outside the Tower that could help her break through her block. I just wish we had had a bit of better lighting during those ship scenes. Okay, I really tried hard but after 5 episodes in I have to say it: I hate Perrin's haircut!!! Speaking of hate: I can't wait for Eamon Valda to find something sharp and pointy embedded deep into one or preferably several vital organs. At this rate my loathing for the character starts to bleed into the actor and I won't have 'Love Actually' ruined like that! I guess Mat's mother was not the one channeling but sacrificed herself like Katara's mother in ATLA. The Two Rivers scenes were also pretty dark - both literally and figuratively - but I loved the bits of levity thrown in: Chiad and Bain's smirk when Faile showed her blade-work to Perrin, Loial's line about stealth not being his forte and Maksim getting the Bat signal just five arrows ago (damn, Alanna is hardcore). Is Elaida ruining my love for rose perfume? I'm just going to handwave that that bit was added because Shoreh loves rose perfume (given her persian legacy not a stretch) and I'll be okay. She's not a Black Ajah but is ruthless and definitely harboring her own ideological agenda - just like Umbridge was not a Death-Eater yet still a horrible character. At least Elaida has the better fashion sense. I'm not sure she will be grateful to Siuan for healing her - to be fair why should she? She got stabbed because the trap Siuan set for her. Also: White Tower security sucks. Moraine and Siuan were really heartbreaking. I do wonder if Moraine's initial refusal to kiss was really caused by her not being able to forgive Siuan or if it had more to do with her not wanting to give in to those feelings because they could become a problem for what she presumes must be her ultimate sacrifice. She also did not Siuan tell about that part of the prophecy despite announcing that she had learned 'two things' in Rhuidean. Yes, Egwene's progress in dreamwalking was handled a tad hasty. However I expect there will be repercussions for what she did. I don't mean the obvious fallout from catching Rand with the Forsaken who haunted her dreams. She was clearly overstepping and going against the orders of her teachers. I expect an epic dressing down by the Wise Ones. And she won't be allowed to do something so rash for quite a while. Even though her walking through her friends dreams was sweet - well, until it wasn't. I loved the subtitles at the beginning reading 'optimistic music' because it was clear where this was going.

I think focussing on Rand (and to a lesser extent Moraine) was the right decision - the reveal about the Aiel and their history is so explosive that Mat showing up in all that would have been a massive distraction. Truth be told that's exactly how I felt reading the books when Rand was not given much time to digest what he just experienced because he had to do CPR on his friend. As @quarks has pointed out that particular part of Mat's journey does not necessarily have to take place in Rhuidean and Min's vision makes it clear that it will happen.

Well that's not surprising - everybody knows that villains have great fashion sense - so creating those get ups is a costume designer's dream come true! That said I'm not sure about Mat's mullet and Egwene's kneesock. But Nynaeve looks fantastic! Thanks for the link!

I think calling them 'Aiel' in Rand's oldest 'flashback' really brought the point home that they were the ancestors of the Aiel (and the Tinkers/Tuatha'an) even if it is strictly speaking an anachronism. Given the amount of lore they had to pack into this episode I understand that they used this shortcut.

Well, the rumours were not wrong. That was several truckloads - or 10 000 wagons - full of lore delivered in a quite spectacular method. The Aiel are an extreme bunch in all their iterations - shunning a young man for saving his sister from her rapists, clawing your eyes out for finding out your ancestors were pacifists and oathbreakers. We got a different version of credits - I must admit that I did not pay too much attention this season. Did they change for every episode? Moraine and her knives were the only mild comic relief for what otherwise was a dead serious episode. Aviendha's time playing Maiden of the Spear is over - I loved Bair's mix of empathy and sternness, both actresses really sold that scene. Sevanna seems to shop hear headdresses at the same milliner as Lanfear. And Couladin has the worst timing - dude, don't interrupt Bain when she's about to talk about Rand's mother, who is apparently not Aiel! Also: hello channelling Wise One! Rhuidean looked great. Dissecting Rand's journey through his ancestors will take some time, I agree Josha Stradowski did a great job - as did hair and makeup. Well, mostly because I was not on board with last guy's haircut. The actress playing Lewin's mother was great, she certainly sold that woman's pain and despair. I also loved how Lewin's friends were reminiscent of Mat and Perrin - that was a nice karmic touch so to speak. I loved the juxtaposition of the Aiel 1.0 harvesting and singing and the futuristic orb hovering in the background of that rural scene - and the orb collapsing and releasing the not-Eye-of-Sauron was truly terrifying to watch and to listen to - as the sound effects certainly sold that something evil was about to come. Moraine was on a wild trip of her own. Someone on YT counted 16 scenarios - the last ones were all variations of Lanfear killing her. That can't be good. Great episode - not sure I would call it the best fantasy episode ever as some reviewers do but definitely up there in my top 10.

Well, Mrs. B brought this on herself - she was the one who replied to Matty or Alfie's questions 'Figure it out!' Of course she will feel betrayed but since she was not more helpful and basically encouraged/ordered strangers on the internet to do something she can hardly complain that she ended up as collateral damage.

I feel dumb now. I did not notice that Elaida in her in her tête-à-tête with Min had planted the seeds for the Highest of the Red Ajah's removal - despite loving the scene so much. It took a reviewer to point it out - Avasarala would be so disappointed in me. Girl should have shown more appreciation for that bling!

Shohreh Aghdashloo is 72.

LOL! Yeah, that was another reason I did not finish. Almost every relationship between men and women had to have this antagonistic dynamic. There's a good chance they will go down that route, especially as this Min is really quite different from the Min of the books. For the life of me I can't picture her jumping on Rand's lap.

Some folks claim there had always been a gay subtext to their relationship. I never noticed that in the books but it's been a while since I read them and I've forgotten a lot of things. I do however remember that Rand and his harem gave me a bit the ick - it was one of the reasons I did not finish the series - so I'm quite happy to see them change those dynamics a bit.

Explanation for the massive landscape porn we're getting this season right at the beginning. Mild spoilers for the rest of the interview.

I didn't see the Gaebril reveal coming! But it explains that awkward moment in last episode when Morgause and her retinue arrived at the White Tower and Leane struggled to remember his name. I thought it was because Morgause kept changing lovers regularly but then later in the episode it seems as if he had been around for a long time and I was a bit confused about that scene. Well played show, well played. Damn, even in a show with great costumes Shohreh Aghdashloo stands out. I read somewhere that the jewellery Avasarala was wearing in the 'Expanse' came from her private collection and now I'm wondering if that's also the case for this show. All her scenes were great, but the one with Min was absolutely mesmerizing. Mat taking down the two preening Andorian princes was oddly satisfying. Nukaka, the actress playing the Aiel dreamwalker has such a striking face and great screen presence. And both her on-screen and off-screen husbands are dreamboats *showing myself out*

Good to hear, I was more referring to reviews and commentary sections. I love this show for many reasons but just the way it looks would be enough to keep watching. The costumes are great, as is the landscape porn. The opening scene was very Game of Thrones but it really set the stage for the exploration of Elayne's family dynamics and background that is so dramatically different from the others. The person to make me laugh this episode was Ninaeve with her dry delivery of 'Everybody likes this sort of thing, Mat.'

I knew who the Redditor was from the moment it was clear the call had come from inside the house. Because I watch too much tv and kept wondering why they would hire Patricia Belcher for a part that looked a bit like comic relief and an occasional provider of intel on the firm's inside mechanisms. She's a great actress and I look forward to seeing her reaction to Matty's reveal. I do hope Bitsy stays around for a bit longer. She's such a perfect foil for Matty, Bates and Hagerty are incredible together. Is it just me or have they reduced Alfie's involvement in sleuthing? Nowadays it's mostly Edwin doing the on-line research - as it should be - while Alfie is finally shown being a teenager.