The Wheel of Time Season Season 2 Episode 8 Review: What Was Meant to Be
The second season finale of The Wheel of Time achieved a lot with the plot, and it proved to be very exciting!
The Wheel of Time Season 2 Episode 8 finally saw all of our main characters make it to Falme and also fight their way through the town.
Also, an unexpected ally (not really an ally, more like the enemy of my enemy) launched a full-out assault on the Seanchan.
The White Cloaks have always been a strange, menacing force in the series since we first got introduced to them on The Wheel of Time Season 1 Episode 2.
We don't know much about them other than that they hate anyone who channels the One Power (part of the reason for their attack on the Seanchan).
Even though our heroes are not fans of the White Cloaks (and neither are we), their attack against the Seanchan managed to help in some cases.
Perrin found Loial and Ingtar, and because of the ensuing battles, they managed to travel with his Aiel companions through the city without running into too many Seanchan soldiers.
Of course, they did have to fight their way out of some situations, and one of those situations cost Ingtar his life. He and Loial had stolen the horn of Valere and needed to deliver it to Rand, and Ingtar died protecting them.
Perrin then ran into Mat, and the two shared a short reunion before Seanchan soldiers caught up to Mat.
Mat was being chased because Ishamael (with the help of Padan Fain) tried to get Mat to touch the dagger again and embrace the dark.
But Ishamael and Fain failed to take into consideration that Mat was one of the most cunning out of the all the Two Rivers clan, and Mat managed to use the knife to his advantage without actually touching it by forming a makeshift spear with it.
That's one major thing that this season did right that we hear from all over the internet: they improved Mat immensely!
Whether it's because of the role being taken over (seamlessly) by the wonderfully charismatic Dónal Finn, or just that the writing improved, or a combination of the two, Mat became a wonderful Tritagonist throughout The Wheel of Time Season 2.
Perrin: Egwene!
Mat: Rand will be headed where she is.
Perrin: Rand? Are you sure?
Mat: Yes, he's alive. I've seen him with my own two eyes. He's got shit hair, but he's alive.
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We're happy that he managed to use his cleverness to everyone's advantage without turning himself over to the dark.
Speaking of clever plans, Nynaeve and Elayne finished the final touches on their plan to try and save Egwene.
Elayne did Nynaeve's makeup just like a Sul'dam's to make the rouse more believable, and Nynaeve tortured information out of the woman they turned into a Damane.
They made their way through the city, but Damane got shot in the neck by a White Cloak, leaving them without a plan, and Elayne got an arrow to the leg, stunting their progress entirely.
Nynaeve once again failed to channel to help heal Elayne, and while we didn't get a resolution on her power issues, we hope that it gets addressed during the already-confirmed third season.
Luckily, Egwene figured out how to save herself.
We knew Egwene was headstrong and powerful, but she used the circumstances she was given to fight back against Renna.
Because Egwene refused to attack, their side of the tower got hit by an incoming projectile from the White Cloaks's catapults.
This left the entire tower in rubble, killing most of the Sul'dam and Damane (including the Blue Ajah Maigan, if we saw that correctly). Using one of the collars that fell off a Damane, she managed to get it on Renna.
While we didn't think that would do anything (neither did Renna) because the collars only worked on people who had access to the one power, the collar worked, and Egwene (thankfully) explained what happened.
It turns out that all of the Sul'dam do have access to the Power, just very weakly that they did not know. But the reason why their connection was so strong was because Renna was connected to her through the power as well.
Renna: Stupid Egwene. The A'dam only works on women who can channel!
Egwene: I know. It didn't make sense to me, how we could connect to each other. At first, I thought it was like the warder bond. Then I realized that you can see our weaves too. You feel it when I channel because we're linked. We're the same. You Sul'dam are just so weak in power the searches didn't find you.
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Egwene then starts to use her powers against her Sul'dam and forces Renna to release Egwene as her Damane. However, instead of letting the woman go, Egwene kills Renna.
We truly got a taste of Egwene's full power this season, and even more so during this final episode.
One final piece of the puzzle remained: Rand. Rand found Egwene just as she finished Renna off, but the two did not get a chance to reunite for long.
Ishamael appeared and forced Rand to make a decision: join the dark or be gentled.
The Seanchan fleet, led by Lady Suroth, managed to combine some Damane powers to shield Rand from the one power so he couldn't fight back.
Mat arrived and saw Ishamael talking with Rand and threw the spear at the forsaken, only for it to go right through him and impale Rand in the stomach. It was a trick, and we finally got to see Min's vision of Rand dying in Mat's arms from The Wheel of Time Season 2 Episode 2.
Luckily, Egwene was there to protect Rand from Ishamael's attacks after The Dragon pledged never to join the dark.
We actually think we need to thank the Seanchan for this use of her power because without her being captured and used as a Damane, she would never have used her power at such great strength or even known she could.
But now, armed with the knowledge of her own abilities, she managed to protect Rand long enough for Perrin to arrive with a shield when he jumped in the help.
Finally, Nynaeve and Elayne appeared as well, and Elayne managed to heal Rand's potentially fatal wound.
Wait a minute, Nynaeve, Egwene, Rand, Mat, and Perrin? The entire Two Rivers crew finally ended up at the same place! We've been wanting this for so long, and it finally happened.
What is even better is that they all were working together to help defeat Ishamael. We got to see them all in action! It was an incredible scene, and when Rand regained his power, he managed to walk right up to Ishamael and kill him.
He regained his power with the help of Moiraine, who just reestablished her bond with Lan.
Early on, Lanfear dumped the Aes Sedai and Lan on a beech seemingly far away from Falme, but this beach gave Moiraine the perfect vantage point to stop the ships from shielding Rand.
She took out the ships with her power, and Rand regained his abilities and stabbed Ishamael right through the heart.
It seemed that Ishamael had somewhat of a happy ending. All he ever really wanted (at least, in the series) was not to repeat life over again. He was tired of the wheel's constant turning and tired of life, and his death scene implied that he finally achieved true death.
Obviously, he still was a servant of the dark one and had a backup plan. He knew Lanfear would betray him, so he freed the other forsaken, but before that, Moiraine made sure Rand was declared the Dragon Reborn.
She summoned a firey dragon using her power that surrounded the tower in what was probably the best special effect of the season (and the entire series, but that's a low bar).
Rand then presented himself on the top of the tower as the Dragon Reborn, while the audience below, including Loial, the Aiel, and Lanfear, rejoiced in the proclamation.
After this, Lanfear ran into one of the forsaken, Moghedien, who threatened Lanfear and the Dragon Reborn. Once freed from Moghedien's webbing, she said something that gave us goosebumps!
Light help you, Rand al'Thor.
Lanfear
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To hear a forsaken wish for the light to help someone was shocking, and we really appreciated it from a writing standpoint. I think everyone on the internet has fallen in love with Mother- I mean, Lanfear, this season.
This season ended with a bang, and we are very grateful for how they handled the ending. And we got to see the incredible main title sequence again, which we greatly missed!
The entire season managed to become a major improvement over the first, which is pretty rare for a show's second season! Fan reactions have been much more positive to this go-around, and we hope that continues into the third outing.
We only wish that each season was more than eight episodes! It feels like only yesterday that we started the new season.
There's also so much more to be explored with the story! We don't know exactly what happened with Siuan at the end of The Wheel of Time Season 2 Episode 7 or what Moiraine's punishment will be for abandoning her.
Is this truly the end of the Seanchan? Are the other forsaken going to be the villains for next season? Only time will tell!
So, Fanatics, what did you think of The Wheel of Time Season 2 finale?
Are you as impatient as we are with wanting Season 3 right away?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Keep it here at TV Fanatic, and we'll stay on top of all the news about The Wheel of Time Season 3!