Episode 3 of The Wheel of Time sees Elayne and Nynaeve do exactly what Siuan wants of them. Meanwhile, we learn a little bit more about Egwene, who seems to add more feathers to her cap every few months. On the other hand, it is revealed that someone close to the queen is a Darkfriend, and nobody’s been able to see through his facade. Rand finds himself in the Aiel Waste, but is it possible he’ll get swayed by Lanfear? In episode 2, we saw that Rand is very tempted by the dark side, but will he be able to control himself with Moiraine’s guidance? Also, Nynaeve and Elayne’s friendship is an interesting one. I suppose they’ll be the two that save the White Tower from impending doom, but at what cost? Anyway, with that said, let’s dive straight into episode 3.
Spoiler Alert
Who Is Lord Gabriel?
The Wheel of Time episode 3 begins with Lanfear meeting with Lord Gaebril, who actually goes by Rahvin and is a Forsaken and Sammael. Since it’s been only two months since the release of the Forsaken, Rahvin couldn’t have been around the queen for any longer than that. But everybody believes the queen and he have been in love for over a decade, and he’s also labeled the prince consort to the queen. Lanfear talks about Moghedien planning to get rid of the Chosens one by one until she gets to Lanfear herself. This way she can be the “Nae’blis,” someone who will rule one step below the Dark One. Lanfear is worried about Moghedien and has invited the two other forsaken to discuss her, but what she doesn’t know is that Moghedien and Rahvin are already quite a team. I wonder what they plan on achieving together, even though Rahvin is certain that working against other Forsaken will be bad for them.
Where Are Elayne And Nynaeve Heading To?
In episode 3, Elayne and Nynaeve leave Verin behind to interrogate the two Aes Sedai that tried to kill Siuan. Aes Sedai can’t lie, but Elayne and Nynaeve can, which puts them at an advantage. According to Amico, one of the captured Aes Sedai, the Black Ajah know only about their own “heart,” a group of three who know that the others are Black Ajah too. Each Aes Sedai in the Black Ajah only knows about one other Black Ajah outside of their heart. Nynaeve and Elayne go as far as saying they’ll kill the two Aes Sedai, but the duo still don’t tell them the truth. Amico tells the girls that Liandrin is headed to Tear to help one of the Forsaken take the Callandor, but only the Dragon reborn can break the walls leading to the Callandor. But Joiya tells them that she’s gone to look for the False Dragon Mazrim Taim in Saldea.
In the meanwhile, Min visits Elaida in her room, where she looks like she’s suffering from some sort of illness. Min tells Elaida she’ll be her servant for the time being, and Elaida accepts. But Elaida isn’t one to ignore even the smallest of details. She finds out about Min and learns that she’s a seer. Turns out Elaida is a seer too, but she believes she can actually change the future, unlike Min, who thinks she’s a passive viewer. Elaida tells Min that she helped Morgase take the Lion Throne thanks to her visions.
Meanwhile, Elayne and Nynaeve visit the house where Liandrin cared for her son to find clues about where she might be. They notice a symbol under the bed, which I think implies that he’s dead, but we’ll get to that in a bit. On the other hand, Leane and Verin stop Elaida from speaking to Siuan. She needs to request a formal audience with Siuan. Verin tells Elaida that it isn’t her right as a sister to request an audience; it’s only so for “sitters” in the hall. Elaida warns the two women that if they cross her now, she’ll remember, but Leane calms her down a little bit, telling her she’ll see what she can do. Maybe it’s because she’s been gone so long, or just because she’s not really an Aes Sedai since she hasn’t been in the tower for years, but Elaida is shunned by her own Ajah. I guess she’s also so powerful that she can take anybody’s seat within the Ajah, so they’re being extra cautious? Tsutama, the Highest of the Red Ajah, even refuses to take her gift, calling it gaudy.
At the Aiel Waste, Rand and the gang find dead Tuatha’ans near water. According to Aviendha, more blood has been shed for water than gold at the Waste. These are generally interclan wars, but the Tuatha’ans are not a threat to the Aiel. In fact, the Aiel would never hurt somebody who won’t defend themselves. I wonder if this is the Whitecloaks’ doing. How did they get here? Meanwhile, Perrin goes to the grave of his wife and notices how the seed that was planted in the ground with her has grown into a beautiful tree. He’s both sad and happy to see that it’s thrived without her.
It appears that Maksim thinks Alanna isn’t grieving Ihvon, but she tells him that she’s protecting herself because she can feel his grief, and it’s too much. The Whitecloaks arrest Natti, Mat’s mother, in order to get to Perrin. But the villagers have started to believe that Perrin might be a Darkfriend. Now, they’ve got a new “leader” named Luc, who is a hunter. On the other hand, at the tower, Mat is still mad at Min for selling him out to Ishmael. But Min tells him that she chose him over her own freedom in the end, so it’s time he forgives her. Nynaeve and Elayne find a book with the symbol on it that Liandrin drew under her son’s bed.
It’s a symbol from Tanchico, the place Liandrin is from. Naomi stole some things from the Tower before she left, and Verin documented it all. Finally, the girls discover the drawing of a bracelet, similar to the one the Seanchan use to control the women who can wield the Power. Now they’re certain that Liandrin is in Tanchico to find the ancient magic collar, so that’s where they’ll head. But before that, they get attacked by a Grayman in the Tower. The Grayman appears to be dead after Elayne uses her Power on him, but it looks like he’s been stabbed, too. Verin tells the girls to leave because the tower isn’t safe, but Nynaeve notices that she doesn’t wonder who stabbed the man. Does this mean she did it herself? Or that she might’ve known about the Grayman before? Is Verin a Darkfriend?
What Happens In Tanchico?
On the other hand, Liandrin takes her gang to where she was married to a man with the family name “Lounalt.” When she learns that that man’s great-grandson is about to marry a child, quite similar to her own situation from back in the day, she kills him in front of everybody and rips his heart out. Nyomi then erases the young girl’s memories, probably making her a recruit for the Black Aja too. On the other hand, Elaida tells Min in confidence that Siuan will lose and the Red Ajah will take over the tower, “restoring” it by finding and caging the Dragon reborn.
In the meanwhile, the Aiel woman tells Egwene that she is a dreamwalker, something that is a rare sight in Aes Sedai. The Aiel woman asks Egwene what she was running from during the dream, and Egwene says it’s a dead woman who tortured her in the past. But, since Egwene still has fresh markings on her neck, the Aiel woman tells her that it’s all real, and whoever is in her dream is actually capable of harming her. It’s got to be Lanfear, right? At the same time, Rand and Lanfear have a conversation in his dream, and Rand learns that there is another sa’angreal as powerful as Callandor called the Sakarnen that is meant to be used by a woman. Lanfear claims that she can escape her Dark Oaths if she can find this sa’angreal. But, more importantly, if they use them together, they can defeat the Dark One. And that would mean Lanfear’s death, I think.
Back in Aiel, a woman with a tattoo on her back invites Lan to join her in bed. But this tattoo means something to Lan. This woman is Melindhra, from the Chumai Sept of the Taardad Aiel. But Lan reminds her that the Aiel don’t have tattoos. He asks her why she has the Golden Crane of Malkier on her back, while she tells him it’s good he remembers who he is. Melindhra was taken by a Wise One as her own daughter after the Blight took everything away from her. But if Lan were to become king now, she’d follow him to the Blight to take back what was once theirs. She tells him, as long as even one man and woman wear the hadori and the ki’sain, the Malkier aren’t dead.
What Happens At Two Rivers?
Perrin tells the village that he’s going to turn himself in so that the village can focus on the Trollocs, but the villagers are not willing to sacrifice him just like that. “The Two Rivers defends its own.” Even those who believed Perrin was a Darkfriend are silenced because he’s got the capability of having everyone listen to him. Mandarb, a woman who is with Lord Luc, basically tells Perrin that he shouldn’t go for the Whitecloaks by himself because that would mean certain death. She tells him he should lead, because his people clearly listen to him. He asks for her real name, and she says it’s Faile. A new romance is blooming here for sure.
In the meanwhile, Mat apologizes to Min for being a prick. He’s accepted her apology too, but Min suggests that maybe Mat’s dreams can be used for good. However, this train of thought is ruined when she sees a vision of Mat presumably having hanged himself. Mat grabs Min to tell her that he doesn’t want to know what will come for him in the future, but one of Elayne’s brothers notices him “harassing” Min, so he comes in the way. Leana tells the Highest of the Red Ajah that she has to take 7 women to capture the False Dragon. But this gives Elaida the opening to take on the role of Highest, or at least manipulate the Red Ajah to take her side.
At the end of episode 3, Perrin gives the people of Two Rivers a talk about staying together so they can steer clear of the Trollocs and the Whitecloaks as a big group. It seems he will be their leader. On the other hand, the princes ask Mat to fight them. At the same time, Nynaeve tells Mat that she’s leaving with Elayne, so she needs to say goodbye. Mat says he’ll go with her, but the princes think he’s harassing her too, so he decides to show them up with a wooden stick. Shocking to everyone, including Nynaeve, Mat’s able to defeat the princes with ease, so he’s going along with them. Back in Tanchico, Liandrin paints the symbol in what I assume was her son’s birthplace. She then joins Naomi, who is examining the bracelet. She says that the Weaves have no power over it, to which Liandrin replies that it’s because it’s not meant to control a woman. All they need to do is find the collar and then grab the Dragon reborn himself. The episode ends with Moghedien walking out of the room, with Liandrin and Naomi having no clue who she is. Moghedien then leaves with words from the shadow.
