S02.E01: A Taste of Solitude

[AnimeMania]

Moiraine, Lan, Nynaeve, Egwene, Perrin, and Mat find themselves more alone than ever.

Premiere date: September 1, 2023    Prime Video      

[thuganomics85]

The Wheel of Time finally returns a.k.a. the show that seems to get a lot of hate on a lot of places online and yet I kind of enjoy it: flaws and all.

Looks like they are currently doing the whole "Party has been split and are off doing their own things until they eventually get reunited" bit.  You've got Nynaeve and Egwene in training to be one of the Sisters and dealing with all sorts of problems (especially Liandrin a.k.a. possibly evil Red Sister.)  Perrin is off with some soldiers still chasing the Dragon and barely keeping his rage at bay (but still showing off some decent wolf powers!)  Rand is still in hiding and it looks like Mat is back and a prisoner of Liandrin's.  Finally, Moiraine and Lan are at a swanky resort but are having absolutely no fun since their bond being broken is clearly doing a number on both of them.  Vocal communication is clearly neither one of their strong suits!

They certainly went all in with the Mat recast in that he doesn't even look anywhere close to the original actor to me.  For a second, I thought he was Rand the first time we saw him.

The scenery continues to be great.

Battle sequence was too dark which seems to be a disappointing, common approach to that type of action sequences these days.

The Dark One is still here and is as creepy as always.

Curious to see how this season goes!

[Danny Franks]

Opening scene - Fares Fares is killing it. He's charming and disarming and I really enjoyed the analogy for the appeal of the Dark One, and how easily he can sway the innocent. That little girl's parents are obviously Darkfriends, and she likely will be too.

Moiraine having to do everything by hand, much as she would have done as a novice, while looking miserable as fuck. Sitting in the bath, crying at the hopelessness of it all... That's an energy that a lot of people will empathise with, these days.

But I loved her poise in the rest of the episode. She really exudes that Aes Sedai serenity. Rosamund Pike is such a boss.

It looks like Daniel Henney got even more jacked for season 2, which will go down well with most people.

And Verin! Played by Meera Syal! Perfect. And Bayle Domon! Even perfecter.

Egwene's horror at Alanna spending quality time with her warders made me laugh.  And her "do you need a moment to get dressed?" Obviously she's not asked that question before, when she should have. Looks like her and Nynaeve have a season of 'witches at boarding school' ahead of them. A classic. Only Nynaeve is so stubborn she goes to witch school and hangs out with the security guards.

The new Channelling CGI looks good. I wanted to see the weaves have different colours, and they do. And Nynaeve is a stubborn arse.

Not a whole lot with the boys - Perrin is hunting Padan Fain and meeting a guy who will surely be his mentor, Nu Mat is in a really fucking unpleasant position, and Rand is keeping his head down (and shaved).

The show looks better, I think. I know they adjusted the colour grading and it seems to have worked well. Not quite as bright, but still not GoT gloomy. It looks and feels like it had a bigger budget. Still some shots that were supposed to be outside but were clearly on sets, though.

 

[quarks]

I was bound to enjoy this episode, because, Verin, my hands down favorite character in the books.  I love that she's bought a lovely villa and agreed to share it with Adeleas - who is able to appreciate Lan's full worth. That was awesome. Also, Verin! Did not disappoint, and I'm hoping she'll have a large role in the show going forward.

But to my surprise my hands down favorite character in this episode wasn't Verin, but Nynaeve. Everything from the "why I am working in the kitchens?" to drinking the filthy water (good thing she knows a little bit about Healing and herbs!) to the sword fighting. I am only sorry that Egwene was the one to encounter Alanna and her warders, not Nynaeve. Zoe Robins is really killing it in this role.

I'm glad they made a point of clarifying Mat's name, because, yeah, looks nothing like the original actor.

[DoctorAtomic]

They brought in Verin quick! Good. She actually looks close to in my head. Domon looks good too. I thought he was younger, but no one looks like they did in my head. And Alanna too. They're dropping in a boatload of new characters. There's one I'm hoping *not* to see so soon though. 

I liked the introductory scene of Egw in the Tower too. Lots to pick up on. I thought it gave a good portrayal of the scale without being overly expository. And Ny being Ny.

I'm interested in how she can overcome the block because she's going to be drinking a lot of dishwater. She's in an interesting position because in the kitchen scene, clearly she's the oldest novice. You'd think how she would channel could be different. (The shield looked really cool). Though I'm not so sure we should be pissing her off. 

I really liked her training with the Warders.

Great advice from Alanna to Egw - "Maybe you need to get laid?" Only to be supplanted by Lan telling Mo she could have her dinner right up her ass. Whee!

This was a pretty good kick off to the season. A lot going on, but I like the pace. I'm glad Amazon has the X Ray so I can keep track of who is who. 

 

Edited September 2, 2023 by DoctorAtomic

[DoctorAtomic]

7 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

But I loved her poise in the rest of the episode. She really exudes that Aes Sedai serenity.

It's a nice parallel with her knifing the Fade and Ny training with the Warders. 

 

[Joana]

Ten minutes in and Nynaeve is more of an insufferable brat than ever. I'm out. I'm just hoping the blonde sorceress rips her a new one, but I wouldn't be holding my breath.

Also, I must have confused this show with something else because I was sure the hot bodyguard guy had died.

These long ass breaks are really not good for shows like this. 

[shrewd.buddha]

11 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I'm glad Amazon has the X Ray so I can keep track of who is who. 

There are so many characters -- with not-so-easy-to-remember names.  I am constantly wondering “is this someone I am supposed to remember?“

[SueB]

Quick review:

Yay Verin!

I love every scene at the Moraine/Lan connection.  I don’t like Moraine being powerless.  I hope that changes. 
 

Egwene & Nynaeve are perfect.   I know Alanna is hedonistic but the whole lot of Aes Sedei seem like a collection of people who just go their own way.  Where is the Amyrlin?   There feels like a lack of discipline. 
 

Perrin bring the heart.  I’m feeling his pain.  
Mat as a prisoner.  I hiss every time Liandrin walks in. 
Rand!   Hanging a Beltine lamp

That use of Beltine was spot on.  

The Forsaken were perfect.  I didn’t realize until I used XRay that they were in Tel’Aran’Rhiod.  Of course they were, but I didn’t think of it at the time.  Also Ishamael is f*cking scary.  I worried that he was going to feed the little girl to the Trolloc.  
 

And the way the Fades moved was really fabulous.  Th k goodness for Verin!

Edited September 2, 2023 by SueB

[Danny Franks]

 

7 hours ago, SueB said:

 

I love every scene at the Moraine/Lan connection.  I don’t like Moraine being powerless.  I hope that changes. 

I suspect Moiraine believes (or desperately hopes) that she's only shielded, rather than Stilled. She tried to find the One Power at the end of the first episode which suggests she can still feel it, in some fashion.

I'm going to have to rewatch and pick up on all the dialogue to be sure, but I couldn't tell whether Lan knew she can't channel, or whether her failure to channel at the end of the episode was supposed to be a reveal for him.

He should know if she can't.

Edit: I have rewatched, and he does know. But, typically of Moiraine, she's kept all the details of how it happened from him.

 

Edited September 2, 2023 by Danny Franks

[quarks]

7 hours ago, shrewd.buddha said:

There are so many characters -- with not-so-easy-to-remember names.  I am constantly wondering “is this someone I am supposed to remember?“

If it helps, I've read the books, and I'm still watching this with The Wheel of Time Companion by my side because, yeah, lots of characters.

Lots.

And they've made just enough changes to the books that I'm not 100% sure who I'm supposed to be remembering. 

That probably didn't help. 

[Avaleigh]

9 hours ago, shrewd.buddha said:

There are so many characters -- with not-so-easy-to-remember names.  I am constantly wondering “is this someone I am supposed to remember?“

I'm in the same boat. I'm currently on book 6 of the series and it hasn't really helped me keep track of what's going on on the show. If anything it's made it harder to remember. GoT had a lot of characters but I didn't have much difficulty keeping track of who's who aside from some characters in Dany's story. 

1 hour ago, quarks said:

If it helps, I've read the books, and I'm still watching this with The Wheel of Time Companion by my side because, yeah, lots of characters.

Lots.

And they've made just enough changes to the books that I'm not 100% sure who I'm supposed to be remembering. 

That probably didn't help. 

This makes me feel better.

9 hours ago, SueB said:

 I don’t like Moraine being powerless.  I hope that changes. 

I really don't like seeing her this way. Just watching her lug around water and do boring ass chores didn't exactly make for compelling TV for me. 

21 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

They brought in Verin quick! Good. She actually looks close to in my head. Domon looks good too. I thought he was younger, but no one looks like they did in my head.

I really like these characters. He doesn't quite sound as pirate-like as I imagined but I think the actor is good. Verin is already a favorite character. 

On 9/1/2023 at 12:46 PM, Danny Franks said:

Opening scene - Fares Fares is killing it. He's charming and disarming and I really enjoyed the analogy for the appeal of the Dark One, and how easily he can sway the innocent. That little girl's parents are obviously Darkfriends, and she likely will be too.

This was probably my favorite scene in the episode. You wonder why anyone would become a Darkfriend, but it's easy to see how a young person might be taken in especially if their parents have been sucked into it. I was so uneasy when he had the girl pet the Trolloc. I couldn't decide whether or not the scene was going to take a hard left. Ishamael is unsettling and I think I spotted Padan Fain in the circle of cloaks. What a group for these parents to have their kid socializing with lol.

[quarks]

49 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

This was probably my favorite scene in the episode. You wonder why anyone would become a Darkfriend, but it's easy to see how a young person might be taken in especially if their parents have been sucked into it. I was so uneasy when he had the girl pet the Trolloc. I couldn't decide whether or not the scene was going to take a hard left. Ishamael is unsettling and I think I spotted Padan Fain in the circle of cloaks. What a group for these parents to have their kid socializing with lol.

Padan Fain was definitely in that scene - he looked up and watched Ishamael and the little girl leave the room.

[RachelKM]

5 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I'm going to have to rewatch and pick up on all the dialogue to be sure, but I couldn't tell whether Lan knew she can't channel, or whether her failure to channel at the end of the episode was supposed to be a reveal for him.

 

I rewatch the last two episodes of S1 because I realize last week I had no idea where everyone ended up. I'm pretty sure she told him when he asked her to restore their bond at the end of last season.  So he should be aware.

As for Moiraine's connection to One Power, my recollection is that she is just shielded.  The Dark One dude said something about being able to feel it and not use it being a form of torture. So I don't think she's completely cut off, she just can't call it or use it.

[Blue Plastic]

I've read all the books, though it's been a long time, and I'm also having to use X-ray to see who everyone is supposed to be except for the core group from last season. It doesn't help with how much they changed from the books, either!

The channeling looks better to me this season so far.

Fight scenes still too dark.

Have forgotten just about everything that happened in the first season and just kind of trying to figure it out as I go along.

[Haleth]

I read the second book exactly a year ago and didn't care for it.  This is a rare example (IMO) of the show being better than the books.  Rosamund Pike is so good.  I'd watch if it was just her and Daniel Henney riding around fuming at each other.

[DoctorAtomic]

My problem in addition to all the characters is that they pronounce the names all different than what was in my head too. 

I used to say Moirane as Moy-rain. At least I got Rand right. 

I'm not complaining. It's just funny how I'm always, "that's how you say it?" 

[paigow]

21 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I used to say Moirane as Moy-rain. At least I got Rand right. 

Egg-When... Who has a name using only one of the vowels where the last one is silent????

[Ottis]

19 hours ago, RachelKM said:

I rewatch the last two episodes of S1 because I realize last week I had no idea where everyone ended up. I'm pretty sure she told him when he asked her to restore their bond at the end of last season.  So he should be aware.

As for Moiraine's connection to One Power, my recollection is that she is just shielded.  The Dark One dude said something about being able to feel it and not use it being a form of torture. So I don't think she's completely cut off, she just can't call it or use it.

Re: Shielding… that would tie in having us see the Red Aes Sedei do the same thing, temporarily, to the apprentice in the kitchen, as a reminder.

As for the Dark One’s charm, isn’t that how it always works? The evil threat is lovely, while the good saviors are all “train this, suffer that, do your chores, grumble grumble” disappointingly.

[Avaleigh]

2 hours ago, paigow said:

Egg-When... Who has a name using only one of the vowels where the last one is silent????

See, I thought they were saying Egg-wayne. I never pronounce things the right way with this series. 

[calvinshobbes]

On 9/2/2023 at 1:44 AM, Joana said:

Ten minutes in and Nynaeve is more of an insufferable brat than ever. I'm out. I'm just hoping the blonde sorceress rips her a new one, but I wouldn't be holding my breath.

Also, I must have confused this show with something else because I was sure the hot bodyguard guy had died.

These long ass breaks are really not good for shows like this. 

i agree. Nynaeve is the worst in the book and not better on the show. She decides to abandon a village full of injuried people to chase after 4 Emond Fielders because reasons, treating them as children with no agency to decide their own future. She is able to track  Moiraine somehow because of a supposed tell when Moiraine was literally unconscious on horseback during the escape. Nynaeve is the  ultimate Mary Sue. boring and entitled. 

Edited September 4, 2023 by calvinshobbes

[Tachi Rocinante]

A decent opener to get back into the swing.

• If Moraine is on the rag all season, this is going to be a chore.
• Did they borrow the director from GoT for those extra dark scenes?

[Affogato]

I haven't read the books and apparently I can't remember anything from the previous season, except Moraine and her tai chi buddy. I am not sure whether I want to watch the first season again. Bother.

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, Affogato said:

I haven't read the books and apparently I can't remember anything from the previous season, except Moraine and her tai chi buddy. I am not sure whether I want to watch the first season again. Bother.

There is a Season 1 recap video in the media thread.

[Affogato]

1 hour ago, AnimeMania said:

There is a Season 1 recap video in the media thread.

That helps. Thanks. 

[tennisgurl]

I am really going to need to find a character list, especially now that the main cast has been separated and there are even more characters to remember. I was a bit confused, but I think that was a pretty strong start to the season, even if this was clearly a set up episode. 

That opening with the Dark One had me sweating, I was so worried that things were going to take a very gruesome turn when the little girl started petting the Trolloc. Most kids only have to deal with their parents weird book club friends, this girl has her parents local Darkfriend chapter, poor kid was probably stuck on that path since day one. Its truly chilling how charming the guy was, its easy to wonder why anyone wants to join these obviously evil people but in that scene you can see why people get sucked in, especially if they start young.

Egwene & Nynaeve at witch school was fun, I'm glad that at least some of the cast is together. Meanwhile Perrin is on a fight-y road trip with a bunch of colorful characters, Rand is lighting a lamp, and some guy they keep calling Mat is locked up in a dungeon at magic school. Yeah, I am really glad they specified who that was, this guy looks nothing like the first actor who played Mat, if anything he looked like a dark haired Rand. I know that a lot of stories have to do these split the party arcs, but I hope things consolidate soon.

Moiraine and Lan might be really having a rough time with her connection is blocked, as is their connection to each other, but at least they have a fantastic villa to hang out in! I really feel for both of them, it must be hard to communicate when your used to basically living in each others minds. Hopefully this is temporary, Moiraine having no powers is sad to watch.

The fight scenes are as annoying dark as ever. Would it kill someone to use all of that magic to turn on a light?!

Edited September 6, 2023 by tennisgurl

[DoctorAtomic]

Xray has a character list. 

[chaifan]

On 9/1/2023 at 3:21 AM, thuganomics85 said:

They certainly went all in with the Mat recast in that he doesn't even look anywhere close to the original actor to me.  For a second, I thought he was Rand the first time we saw him.

It's been so long since I watched Season 1, they could have easily recast everyone except for Moraine and Lan and I wouldn't have noticed.  I didn't notice Mat was different, I barely remembered the character.

And that's my problem with Season 2 - I just barely remember anything about Season 1.  Yeah, I watched the recap, and about 60% of it rang a bell, the rest may have well been scenes they edited out and then stuck back in. 

But, still, I enjoyed Ep 1 for what it was.  Maybe I'll go back and re-watch a bit of Season 1, but I doubt I'll bother.  I agree the filming seems better, bigger budget.  Not as many really dark scenes.  I hate it when I can't watch certain shows in daylight because my screen is one big dark grey blob if there's sunlight in the room.  I stopped watching Witcher because I just couldn't see a damn thing happening on the screen!  I like the witch school, love the red witch, hope to see more of her.