S03.E07: Goldeneyes

[paulvdb]

Quote

Perrin begins to embrace his role as a leader among the people of the Two Rivers.

Premiere date: April 10, 2025

[UnoAgain]

Valda's finally dead...Good. sad to see Loial ho, but he went out a champ. Enjoyed the episode, but really thought we'd get some Wolf action

[MissLucas]

Loial just pulled a Gandalf - not hearing otherwise *Ladidi, Ladida*

How refreshing to see first a battle scene in daylight without disorientating edits and then a battle in nighttime where it was still possible to see what's going on!

Things I loved:

• Chiad and Bain's whole plot, their not so silent disdain for the 'Lost Ones', their annoyed coughs when their speed was being ignored, their scheming against Loials scheme, the little music grace note before they took their final stand at the Waygate.
• Perrin showing Mat's sisters the painting and their response. That was a moment of desperately needed light heartedness.
• Alanna and Maksim. 'She will be insufferable from now on.' 
• Faile following Perrin through the battle like the Waif and being just as deadly.
• Valda getting his fiery and well-deserved comeuppance.

Less enthused about:

• I still think the build-up to Perrin Lord of the Two Rivers was lacklustre. Especially the Wolfbrother aspect needed more substance to make the moment the banner was shown really work.
• The deal with Padan Faine was too easy.
• Child Bornhald's manpain.

[thuganomics85]

Interesting that this was like episode 4, where they just focused on only one location and its characters for the entire episode instead of jumping back and forth like normal.  Understandable, since this was a battle focused episode and it would have been odd to jump away from it.  Reminded me a bit of when Game of Thrones would do that.

Figured we would have at least one major death and it turns out it was Loial: sacrificing himself by destroying the waypath, so that reinforcements could not follow.  Sniff... he wasn't my favorite character, but he was likable and brave, so it was sad to see him go.  At least he saved a lot of lives doing so.  Glad that Chiad and Bain actually made it through.  Need more of the Spear Maidens trash-talking and cussing everyone in sign language, when they aren't busy trying to get every man and woman in Two Rivers to play Maiden's Kiss with them.

Glad to see the Way of the Leaf again, and dive more into Aram and Ila (Maria Doyle Kennedy!)  Not surprised that it was heading towards Aram having to kill a Trollic, and that likely putting him at odds with Ila.  Which, again, I respect the Way of the Leaf's beliefs and ideals, but in this world?  It's just too hard.  He was defending a baby!  A baby!!

I get that Dan Bornhald will probably never see it the same way, but it's not like Perrin just killed his father for the hell of it.  If I remember correctly, he was the one who killed Perrin's wolf buddy himself.  It might just be an animal to Bornhald, but for Perrin, it was a bond that was way beyond that.  I guess we'll see what he does now that Perrin has turned himself over.

Eamon Valda got his well-deserved comeuppance.  Will miss the actor sliming it up, but getting torched by Mat's sisters is a fitting end for him.

Every time i think Alanna is done for, she pulls through.  Woman has nine lives!

Speaking of extra lives, I do think Perrin will end up regretting sparing Padan Fain, but I'm looking forward to seeing what that little weasel does next!

Battle sequences were pretty good.  Could even tell what was happening in the nighttime scenes!

A little sad that we only have one episode left this season.  It's been a hell of a ride!  Can't wait to see what is in store come finale time!
 

[MissLucas]

19 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

Which, again, I respect the Way of the Leaf's beliefs and ideals, but in this world?  It's just too hard.  He was defending a baby!  A baby!!

The Way of the Leaf just works (barely) because there are people willing to fight for them - as shown in the flashback in episode four. Also, for people opposed to violence they sure are not hesitant when it comes to emotional violence.

Forgot to add to my list of things I loved: The Women's Circle.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

19 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Battle sequences were pretty good.  Could even tell what was happening in the nighttime scenes!

20 hours ago, MissLucas said:

How refreshing to see first a battle scene in daylight without disorientating edits and then a battle in nighttime where it was still possible to see what's going on!

I don't understand this modern trend. Buffy and Angel had lots of night scenes and they were well-lit enough that you could see what was happening.

[areca]

The way of the leaf is herd immunity, due to people willing to do violence.  It's somewhat like how the 2nd amendment and gun control people dance around each other.

  Unpopular opinion?  Sue me, don't clutter up the board about it please.

I wonder how this is going to end up, considering that there's a very good argument that Loial was writing the entire series?

I did love that whole scene at the end though, where the gang was paying their respects.

And let's talk about the actor playing Perrin.  My dude brought some depth here toward the end that I was absolutely not expecting.  "I'm looking forward to his next efforts" level good. Pleasant surprise. I keep feeling like this show's casting is afflicted with Star Trek: TNG pain.  It's taking them forever to gel, but once it gets there, it could be gold.  I also love the wee little thing playing Faile.  I wanted to strangle her in the books, she felt utterly abusive to me - but on screen, it's making more sense.

[MissLucas]

I'm still hoping for Loial pulling a Gandalf but since it was mentioned in a couple of reviews that the actor might be busy with other projects I checked his IMDB. Hammed Animashaun is one of the leads in the BBC crime comedy 'Black Ops' - he also received a BAFTA nomination for this part. Season 2 is currently in production, season 1 is on Hulu now. I'll miss Loial but I'm glad the actor has a steady gig, for which he gains recognition (without having to sit for long hours in make-up and wardrobe).

[iarwain]

On 4/10/2025 at 2:18 PM, MissLucas said:

How refreshing to see first a battle scene in daylight without disorientating edits and then a battle in nighttime where it was still possible to see what's going on!

I was dreading that the whole show.  I was thinking it was going to get dark and then you wouldn't be able to see anything.  We've seen that several times before.  But thankfully that wasn't the case.  Good episode, although it was disappointing to see Perrin go off with the Whitecloaks at the end.  You would think someone would go along with him, if for no other reason than to document what happened to the Lord of Two Rivers.  I'm surprised Faile stayed behind so agreeably.

[Danny Franks]

This was a good episode. Not quite the epic that I hoped for, but there's only so much you can do with the budget they have. The show needs to do better at not having dramatic pauses before action sequences, like when Fain turned up at the gates, and when Perrin and Faile had time to chat and pose while everyone was dying.

Words can't express how much I love Faile already, which I was not expecting. She seems genuinely smitten with Perrin. She's got such an expressive, interesting face, and she's a stabby little murder pixie.

I want to learn a lot more about her next season (assuming we get it).

Bain and Chiad are great too, and I liked their little interplay with Loial. Aiel Ji'e'Toh is complicated business. Their constant disdain for everything Wetlands never gets old. And their smiles whenever they get to kill things are great.

Maksim, on the other hand, I was rooting for him to die. I'd much rather he'd been the one to give the episode emotional weight, rather than Loial. But I do get killing Loial from a practical point of view - he's a time intensive character who needs a lot of makeup and prosthetics, and he really doesn't do very much.

Good to see the Tuatha'an again, and especially Maria Doyle Kennedy. She's so good, and I loved her disappointed little jabs at Perrin for not converting to the Way of the Leaf.

I also loved seeing the contempt the Aiel have for the Tuatha'an, especially now we know they were once the same people. But the Aiel are right, the Way of the Leaf is stupid. Imagine being disgusted by your grandson killing a trolloc to save a baby.

Of course Valda has to sneak away from the battle to fulfil his woman murder kink. But I guess being incinerated by two girl witches was the poetic way for him to go.

I'm really not a fan of how easy the show makes channelling for complete novices. And not much of a fan of how much Alanna gets skewered by arrows but still survives.

The climax of the battle just didn't work for me. Perrin has Fain at his mercy, and spends an age building up to getting him to call off the attack. Then, when Perrin lets Fain up he... sticks to his word and they all leave? Why would he not immediately stab Perrin and have the Trollocs kill everyone?

I guess Perrin keeping his word to Dain is very much in character, though. Somehow, I doubt Faile is going to let him get away with sacrificing himself.

[Ottis]

On 4/10/2025 at 2:34 PM, thuganomics85 said:

Figured we would have at least one major death and it turns out it was Loial: sacrificing himself by destroying the waypath, so that reinforcements could not follow. 

No way that character is actually dead.

36 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

This was a good episode.

Well, something actually happened. It wasn't all talk. I still couldn't quite tell what was happening at night, especially who was a "darkfriend" who wasn't a Trolloc, but my TV switched to some cinematic mode when the show would come on so maybe that darkened it.

4 hours ago, iarwain said:

although it was disappointing to see Perrin go off with the Whitecloaks at the end. 

I would think that since the Whitecloaks let in a bunch of the enemy, the deal would be off. But just like the reason why Perrin killed the Whitecloak's dad, no one seems to bring it up.

So this season has been a bunch of wandering and several magical tests, and, eventually, one battle.

 

[iarwain]

2 hours ago, Ottis said:

I would think that since the Whitecloaks let in a bunch of the enemy, the deal would be off. 

I didn't think they made the deal in the first place.  The Whitecloak refused the deal and walked off.  Later he showed up and said it was because it was "the right thing to do".  Instead he wanted to hold him to the deal that was never made in the first place IMO.

Oh well, doesn't matter.  Perrin chose not to fight, and that was the end of it.  I was surprised how quickly the Aiel snapped her spear back in its sheath when he said he wouldn't fight.  They really looked to him as the leader, and was to be obeyed instantly.  

Also interesting to see the Aiel verbally disrespecting the Tuatha'an, when we now know that the Aiel are descendants of the Tuatha'an.

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm late this week because I was on the road. 

I guess we're getting a lot of Perrin this week. And Alanna has her hands full with teen girls wanting to throw fire balls.

I did laugh that Lolial knew the Maiden hand talk and that it was totally filthy. And crafty Lolial. 

I will be here all day to hear the whitecloaks called out for the dudflakes that they are. I still don't get how they have any authority over anything. 

They're certainly killing it with the songs on this show. 

I'm not so sure I wouldn't have put some archers up where Alanna was, but I guess the range was too far. 

I wonder if the actor was told she'd be playing a powerful sexy wizard but lots of arrows. 

Egwene's mom DOES NOT PLAY. You hold that line!

On 4/10/2025 at 12:18 PM, MissLucas said:

Loial just pulled a Gandalf - not hearing otherwise *Ladidi, Ladida*

My first thought. A bridge. Smashing it. Falling. Come on.

On 4/10/2025 at 12:18 PM, MissLucas said:

Child Bornhald's manpain.

He just sits on the 'you killed my father'! line. You can count it down.

On 4/11/2025 at 6:43 PM, areca said:

I wonder how this is going to end up, considering that there's a very good argument that Loial was writing the entire series?

I always said that Londo was writing Babylon 5. Clever. 

5 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I'd much rather he'd been the one to give the episode emotional weight, rather than Loial.

Alanna already lost one warder though. I don't think you could have gone with it a second time. 

5 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Why would he not immediately stab Perrin and have the Trollocs kill everyone?

Fain is a coward and knew he got beat when the way gate blew up. He doesn't have it in him to actually kill face to face, and I don't think he would have got the drop on Perrin. He even said - I don't care. Why engage at that point? He's kind of like Krycek from the X Files. He's just there, and then he shows up somewhere else. 

 

Long live Manetheren! 

 

[Hanahope]

Seriously how did Alanna survive that huge spear that rammed through her abdomen?  
 

Loved the sisters burning Valda. So deserved. Will Alanna try to teach them or just keep them around for links?

Padan Fain is such a bad penny who will turn up again.

Perrin better survive this, somehow I think he will.

Loial will be missed.  I’m curious if he comes back in some way later.

 

[DoctorAtomic]

iirc Alanna said something like 'I don't have time to teach you the weaves so you're just going to link with me.' 

[Tachi Rocinante]

No explanation of why Perrin didn't call in any wolves?  Not even one?

They put up a banner for crying out loud.

[Danny Franks]

35 minutes ago, Tachi Rocinante said:

No explanation of why Perrin didn't call in any wolves?  Not even one?

They put up a banner for crying out loud.

An earlier episode showed lots of wolf heads on stakes at the Whitecloak camp. I would assume they've been killing wolves, to salve Valda's ego over almost being killed by one, and there aren't any around.

From a practical point of view, trying to use a pack of trained dogs in a dynamic action scene with lots of extras and pyrotechnics seems like it would be incredibly challenging and also hard to guarantee the safety of the animals.

Edited April 14 by Danny Franks

[DoctorAtomic]

Also (speculation no spoilers), you can use them to break out Perrin in the next episode. 

[tennisgurl]

I am glad that they just stuck to one story in this episode for a fight that has been hyped up all season, even though I missed the other plots and characters. It was overall a good episode, they did a lot with what they had and I liked getting to know some of the other Two Rivers people and see Perrin step up as a leader, although it did not have quite the climax I wanted. Perrin might not be as good of a fighter as Chiad and Bain or have as much experience in war as Alanna and Maksim, but he knows this area and its people and has a natural charisma. Hopefully his wolf friends will come to help him break out of prison.

This is probably the one time I have ever been happy to see the White Cloaks, and even then Valda still has to run off to be a dick even in the middle of a massive attack and they brought Padan Faine along, which caused even more problems. I get the whole "you killed my father" thing, but its not like Perrin did it just for fun. 

It was nice to see the Tuath'an again and I am always thrilled to see Maria Doyle Kennedy. I really do appreciate their pacifism in such a violent world, but in a world like that, it can also be really frustrating. The most frustrating part is how they treat their people who have to hurt or even kill people in self defense or to save others so terribly, it seems deeply unfair, going back to those flashbacks that caused the schism between them and the people who become the Aiel. Rescue your sister from rapists? Your dead to me. Kill a monster in defense of a baby in a life or death fight? Disappointment. They're lucky that other people are willing to fight to protect them or they would probably have been wiped out years ago.

I love Bain and Chiad and their vibes with Loial, their snark over the wetlanders, and their utter glee at getting to finally fight. 

Good on Mat's sister, burn that asshole, use those fireballs. We got some much needed comedy from them, wanting to learn how to throw fireballs and lightning and do cool stuff, sounding a bit like their big brother, and their reactions to what Mat is up to. 

Very sad to see Loial go, but I am still not totally sure he's gone forever, I tend to follow the television rule of no body, no confirmation of death. 

A lot of really good effects and the fight scenes looked great, especially those ice pieces slices into the bad guys.

[DoctorAtomic]

38 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Kill a monster in defense of a baby in a life or death fight?

This may be a misstep in the narrative if the show is trying to portray the Lost Ones in a positive light. The Trolloc isn't human. It may be living, but I'd be hard pressed to say it's sentient. I think there would be more impact if Aram actually killed a Whitecloak or an actual human Darkfriend that was chasing him down with the Trollocs. 

Maybe the show isn't though and they're just sanctimonious cowards who can't make hard choices. Pacifism maybe is ok when things are going smooth; you're not going to get involved in petty wars between nations, and they're going to leave you alone. 

But this is the literal end of days. Not just armies squabbling over a piece of land. You have to live in the real world. No one is safe, and they know that. I'm not sure they're thinking about their longevity as a people here. 

[Noneofyourbusiness]

On 4/10/2025 at 2:18 PM, MissLucas said:

Loial just pulled a Gandalf - not hearing otherwise *Ladidi, Ladida*

When a character falls into an abyss without leaving a body, especially in an interdimensional transport system, that character is very unlikely to be dead. Just look at the end of Volume 8 of RWBY, when the majority of the main cast did that very thing.

On 4/12/2025 at 12:10 PM, MissLucas said:

I'm still hoping for Loial pulling a Gandalf but since it was mentioned in a couple of reviews that the actor might be busy with other projects I checked his IMDB. Hammed Animashaun is one of the leads in the BBC crime comedy 'Black Ops' - he also received a BAFTA nomination for this part. Season 2 is currently in production, season 1 is on Hulu now. I'll miss Loial but I'm glad the actor has a steady gig, for which he gains recognition (without having to sit for long hours in make-up and wardrobe).

It could take more than one season for him to reappear, though.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

On 4/12/2025 at 10:08 PM, iarwain said:

Also interesting to see the Aiel verbally disrespecting the Tuatha'an, when we now know that the Aiel are descendants of the Tuatha'an.

Other way around. They were called Aiel originally, as we saw in the Age of Legends part of "The Road to the Spear" (fifth and sixth flashbacks). The ones who abandoned the journey to find a safe place for the sa'angreal the Aes Sedai had given them and went in search of the songs of their ancestors (fourth flashback) became the Tuatha'an. The ones who kept moving towards the Waste but abandoned the Way of the Leaf (third flashback) kept calling themselves Aiel.

On 4/13/2025 at 12:19 AM, DoctorAtomic said:

I will be here all day to hear the whitecloaks called out for the dudflakes that they are. I still don't get how they have any authority over anything.

They only have official authority in Amadicia, but they like to pretend they have authority everywhere.

Edited April 15 by Noneofyourbusiness

[Noneofyourbusiness]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

going back to those flashbacks that caused the schism between them and the people who become the Aiel. Rescue your sister from rapists? Your dead to me.

The Tuatha'an are actually descended from the earlier schism (which we saw later) where some caravans stopped moving towards the Waste, and they were already called Aiel. "The Aiel will always follow the Way of the Leaf," as Rand's Age of Legends ancestor in the fifth flashback said. The pacifistic Aiel (the "True Aiel" the Wise Ones referred to) from the later schism simply dwindled to nothing over time as they either died or joined the warrior Aiel who were moving with them and protecting them.

Edited April 15 by Noneofyourbusiness

[Megras]

6 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

This may be a misstep in the narrative if the show is trying to portray the Lost Ones in a positive light. The Trolloc isn't human. It may be living, but I'd be hard pressed to say it's sentient. I think there would be more impact if Aram actually killed a Whitecloak or an actual human Darkfriend that was chasing him down with the Trollocs. 

 

It has overtones of various Buddhist sects that sweep where they are walking to avoid killing anything that might be underfoot.Apparently it is a shared trait of a few Indian religions called Ahisma.

 Also given that the trollocs were described as unusually organised and Fain was able to call them off I would say that they are most likely sentient.