S03.E02: A Question of Crimson

[paulvdb]

Quote

A dangerous visitor comes to the White Tower. Perrin returns home. Rand and Egwene forge their own path under Moiraine’s watchful eye.

Premiere date: March 13, 2025

[thuganomics85]

Well, on a surface level, Elayne certainly seems to be the polar opposite of her mother!  Queen Morgase doesn't fuck around!  Wins the throne twenty years ago, promises her rivals bygones will be bygones if they submit, only to have their leaders executed by their own supporters/family members to make a statement.  One of them was even a teenager!  Damn, that's a hell of an introduction!  Olivia Williams was a spot on choice for that role.  Only possibly bested by her Aes Sedai advisor, who is played by none other than Shohreh Aghdashloo!  Yeah, I am so looking forward to seeing more of her as someone who as the political clout and intelligence to pose a threat for Siuan.  Underestimate Chrisjen Avasarala at your own peril!

Did not have Two Rivers being taken over by the White Cloaks on my bingo card.  Those religious wing-nuts are a thorn in everybody's side!  At least they are keeping the trollocs at bay, but it seems like they are gunning for Perrin after he killed their leader.  Right now, he plans to turn himself in, but I'm guessing there is a lot more to come over this.  Glad we got a Tam mention.  Hope we see him again.

Poor Rand just wants to sword fight and bro out with Lan, and everyone else is like "Dude, you need to channel your dangerous magic that will eventually make you crazy!" instead.  Y'all are ruining his hobbies!

Sorry, Mat, but hot guys fighting shirtless will never go out of style in any place, world, universe, or setting!

Liked seeing Min again.

Looks like Lanfear can enter into Egwene's dreams as well.  Bet that will cause some drama soon!

Scenery shots where on point for this episode.  Found some great looking filming locations for sure!

Edited March 14 by thuganomics85

[MissLucas]

I don't care what the internet says. Any shows that gives me Shohreh Aghdashloo in fantastic costumes scheming to her dark heart's desire is an instant win!

[Noneofyourbusiness]

3 hours ago, MissLucas said:

I don't care what the internet says. Any shows that gives me Shohreh Aghdashloo in fantastic costumes scheming to her dark heart's desire is an instant win!

Ratings have been pretty good so far!: 

 

[Hanahope]

I'm not sure what Perrin is doing think he's going to turn himself into the White cloaks.  Whatever for?  

pretty rude of Selene to be giving Egwene nightmares, but she is still a foresaken and likely quite jealous.  

I've not read the books, so i have no idea what "destroyed" means but I'm going to guess it doesn't mean what everyone thinks it means.

What's in store for Mat besides horn blowing?  the White Tower needs to keep an eye on him. 

I'm glad Elane stood up to Morgause.  I get why Morgause did what she believed she needed to do, but Elane's situation is different and she does need real power if she actually has it.  And definitely can't wait to see more Shohreh!  Since she's now staying at the tower, does that mean she's going to be informed about the Black Ajah?

Edited March 14 by Hanahope

[MissLucas]

5 hours ago, Noneofyourbusiness said:

Ratings have been pretty good so far!: 

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.' 

 

[iarwain]

17 hours ago, Noneofyourbusiness said:

Ratings have been pretty good so far!

That's good, maybe we'll get another season.  As long as I'm paying for Prime, I might as well get some shows I enjoy.

[DoctorAtomic]

Olivia Williams is a good get. I really liked the huge opening with all the introductions when Morgase arrived at the Tower. In the way that it was funny with all the pomp. 

The AS must be pumped to work on Mat. 

This isn't a book spoiler, but how I read the names is just not how they're saying them on the show. I'm not saying the show is wrong, but it's just funny to me how I mangle all the names. I'm surprised I got Elayne right. 

I totally forgot about Min too. 

Everyone fangirling over Gawyn and Galad. Hilarious. 

After the first episode, some injection of humor was a good narrative choice. Siuan and Mat were hilarious. 

I really liked all the suspense in Tower. All the whispering putting everyone on edge. 

Poor Perrin. He comes home, and you've got basically a Hobson's choice. 

The actor playing Elayne is knocking it out. 

[Danny Franks]

The locations in this show are absolutely incredible. That shot at the end, coming over the mountainside to see the desert beyond, was breath-taking.

I didn't realise Olivia Williams was playing Morgase. That fits. I did know Shohreh Aghdashloo was playing Elaida. That really fits.

"That war is over now. Because I won it." That's a hell of a line. Morgase is ruthless and clearly a smart ruler. The power struggle between a queen and the Amyrlin Seat was very cool to watch (especially a queen who studied at the White Tower).

I did like that Morgase does seem to clearly love her daughter and not see her as a tool or just the furthering of her house. Pulling Elayne out of school would have been a big move, though. That girl needs an education!

Galad and Gawyn are two handsome, obnoxious gits. Perfect. I love how stiff Galad is, and how obviously different he and Gawyn are from each other.

The scene with them showing off for all the novices was hilarious. Mat being clearly envious was even funnier.

Ryma Sedai was rescued from the Seanchan. That's good to see. I have to say, I really like the bold colours of the costuming, and they seem more vivid than ever this season. The yellows really pop.

Bain and Chiad are quiet stars. They seem so curious and forthright in all their scenes. 

Egwene's mother's expression when she met Loial and the Aiel was a picture. Alanna and Maksim used the Ways without an Ogier? Of course Perrin thinks he can just make everything right by giving himself up.

Aviendha won't stop throwing shade at Rand, and it's not the kind of shade Aiel value (book reader joke, there). Aiel hating swords is a very fun cultural feature in the books, and I'm glad for it to be introduced, along with the Aiel prophecies of the Car'a'carn.

I realise in this episode that Egwene now has first hand knowledge of insane, murderous Rand, from her Accepted test, and that she's unlikely to ever be able to forget, no matter how much she tells herself it wasn't real.

And we keep seeing these snippets of Rand being tempted by the One Power, the edges of insanity when he talks about it, and we realise that the future Egwene saw could be very real.

The contrast of Egwene's nightmares of Renna to Rand's warm, happy dreams with Lanfear was great. And you're watching his dream thinking that maybe Lanfear isn't all bad, maybe she can be fixed... Then you learn that she's torturing Egwene, the "doe-eyed cow," out of jealousy and malice.

And finally. Aiel. Lots of Aiel.

Edited March 16 by Danny Franks

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't think Morgase really grasped how powerful Elayne really is until Elayne told her she fought a Foresaken and basically healed Rand on instinct. 

Morgase wasn't, and just trained at the Tower based on tradition. Taking away Elayne at this point would actually be a detriment to Andor because she's too powerful and undisciplined in actual use of the power. 

And it's true you're not going to learn much of governance without getting out there. 

Edited March 16 by DoctorAtomic

[tennisgurl]

I had no idea that we would be getting both Olivia Williams and Shohreh Aghdashloo in this season, I am so pumped. If Chrisjen was here we could just put her in charge of everything an be done with it, she would send the Dark friends, the White Cloaks, and whoever else causes trouble running in about a month. 

I really enjoyed meeting Elayne's family, that opener was very Game of Thrones and certainly set a tone for the Andor royal family. Elayne's mother the queen is scary, but seems like a dedicated ruler who cares about her family in a formal sort of way. I am really glad that she seems to realize that Elayne is here not just because of tradition but because of her talent, taking her away from the Tower now would be a huge mistake and a waste of her power. 

Elayne's brothers putting on a show for everyone at the Towers while the girls were all fangirling was hilarious, and the funniest part was Matt being so obviously jealous and annoyed. And then Elayne reminding Nynaeve that, as annoyed as she is about privileged royalty, she's dating a literal king. Albeit one who isn't really doing much king stuff, but never the less. 

I also really enjoyed the passive aggressive eyerolling when Queen Morgase and her massive entourage were kept waiting for a second with some eye rolling on both sides. No matter what world, passive aggressive politics are always there. 

Its always nice to see Min. Its less nice to see the White Cloaks at Two Rivers.

[Ottis]

On 3/14/2025 at 3:51 AM, thuganomics85 said:

Scenery shots where on point for this episode.  Found some great looking filming locations for sure!

When the background scenery is the highlight of an episode, that's not a good sign.

This show can't get out of its own way. Talk, talk, talk ... faction this, faction that. Rando do this, no do that. And lots and lots of walking and visiting.

I'm not one of those "action fiends." I FF'd through car chases and extended fight scenes. But I am a big fan of good pacing. This show does not have it. Unless you like soap operas.

On 3/15/2025 at 6:35 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

I totally forgot about Min too.

This happens a lot to me. The opening scenes with the queen, I kept wondering why I should care about any of what I am seeing. That queen past scene should have come later, after we meet the current queen at the White Tower.