Episode 7 of The Wheel of Time season 3 is set entirely in Two Rivers. It’s only fair that, as we reach the end of the show, we have a war. It is a fantasy show at the end of the day, and that’s exactly why we get a battle in episode 7. In this episode, we see how Perrin goes from being just a guy from Two Rivers to the golden-eyed leader of Two Rivers. In this episode, some old friends come to find Perrin, some good and some evil. As a non-reader, who doesn’t fully understand what’s going on, I feel like this kind of episode is much more cohesive than trying to get a little bit of everybody in, but having said that, it also means we won’t know what’s happening with the other characters for weeks, so that’s not a solution either. But this was definitely quite fun, and I should get used to songs coming out of each episode from now on. But, with that said, let’s jump straight into episode 7 of season 3.
Spoiler Alert
Who Joins Perrin In The Battle Against The Trollocs?
Episode 7 of The Wheel of Time season 3 begins with the people of Two Rivers preparing to go to war as instructed by Perrin. Soon, they have visitors, and it’s not the Trollocs but the Tuatha’an. Perrin is delighted to see his friends, but sad to hear that one of them has passed. Perrin and Aram are excited to see each other, but Aram looks like he wishes he could save his granddad, even if it meant becoming violent. On the other hand, Loial watches as the two Aiel women with him make suggestive gestures about Aram. But as you can imagine, the Aiel would never “tarnish” themselves by sleeping with the Tutha’an. But this interaction gives Loial an idea. See, the Aiel women are in Two Rivers because they owe Loial their “toh,” so Loial makes a plan to send them back because he doesn’t want them to fight a battle that isn’t theirs.
Loial asks the two women to play a game of maiden’s kiss with him. Loial doesn’t let the two women kiss him until they’ve nearly put their blades through his throat. They decide to stop because they don’t want to kill the man, pretending that the reason was that they didn’t ask for permission to play the game. But now that Loial risked his life to save the both of them, they make a new plan. While there are two women, only one of them owed Loial before, so now the other one owes him too, meaning he knows for sure that they’re not going anywhere.
At the same time, Alanna teaches the Cauthon sisters how to channel enough so that she can use their power to strengthen her own. She also meets the new Wisdom and asks her to join them. Meanwhile, Faile tells some villagers that the Trollocs are afraid of wolves, you know, so they can feel safe and protected by Perrin. A little later, they get a visit from Dain Bornhald, and Perrin asks him to bring the Whitecloaks to help them defeat the Trollocs. He also clarifies that he’s not a Darkfriend, but it doesn’t seem like Dain is convinced. Plus, the guy did kill his father. Perrin reminds him of what he did to Natty, the innocent woman burnt at the stake for no reason. He tells Dain that they’ve both done wrong by each other, and they should stop now, that not fighting for Two Rivers would be going against everything the Whitecloaks stand for. Finally, he makes a deal with Dain, telling him that he’ll go with him when the battle’s done.
On the other hand, Alanna and Maksim finally find some intimacy with each other for the last time before the battle. They’re quite certain there’s going to be no coming back from this one. Alanna and Maksim are finally able to look at each other without Ihvon. They also decide to keep the bond on until the battle’s over at least. Meanwhile, Perrin tries to stop Faile from fighting the battle, but she brings up how his ex-wife died to make a point that she doesn’t need saving.
What Happens to Perrin?
Perrin makes a plan on how to keep the Trollocs away with the few people who can help him in this battle. Loial says that the only way to truly keep True Rivers safe is by closing the Waygate so no more backup can show up to help the Trollocs. Loial also promises Perrin that people are going to remember his name and calls him the golden-eyed lord, too. The battle soon begins after Perrin gets everybody to join him in the song of Two Rivers. They put up their shield, but they can’t hold it for long, so Perrin instructs Maksim to get Alanna to do her thing. Alanna, the Cauthon sisters, and the Wisdom, who finally joined her, all gathered their strength to make it rain hailstones as sharp as diamonds to cut through the enemy. It works at first, and it looks like the Trollocs are all retreating, but it’s way too soon for celebrations.
Perrin senses there’s something wrong, but before he can actually do something, a happy Alanna walking towards him gets hit by an arrow. The Cauthon sisters don’t know what to do, but Perrin tells them to take her somewhere safe. Maksim can feel the arrow through him, and the people start to falter, but he reminds them that battles are not won by soldiers, but by those who are not foolish enough to see when they’re being defeated. He turns things around, and everybody joins the fight again, completely fearless. On the other hand, Loial goes into the Waygate, asking the Aiel women to keep him safe. Meanwhile, the people of the leaf take the kids of Two Rivers all into the forest to hide them, just as Perrin had asked of them.
Finally, Dain shows up with his Whitecloaks, but Perrin thinks there’s something odd about how easily they made it without being attacked by the Trollocs. He realizes a bit too late that something is wrong, and before he knows it, Padan Fain is in Two Rivers. Perrin can’t get the gates shut soon enough, so Two Rivers gets attacked by Fain’s people, too. Loial dies after closing the Waygate, saving Two Rivers, and on the other hand, Aram kills a Trolloc to keep the baby in his arms safe. Remember Eamon Valda? Well, the Cauthon sisters show him their strength by powering themselves up, though they weren’t able to do it earlier to save Alanna. It is, of course, the anger and sadness of their mother’s death that made them act out, kill the man, and burn him alive.
At the end of The Wheel of Time episode 7, Perrin catches hold of Padan Fain and fears he can’t save Two Rivers. But, being the bigger man, Perrin makes a deal with Padan and sets him free in exchange for the lives of the people of Two Rivers. Perrin asks Padan what they’ve done for him to have so much hatred against them. Padan tells them that the Dark One wants Two Rivers to be destroyed to teach Rand a lesson. However, Padan agrees to the deal when he realizes Perrin will definitely kill him and immediately gets his men to retreat, leaving Two Rivers safe again in Perrin’s hands. In the end, Perrin is the leader Two Rivers always needed. Alanna tells the Cauthon girls that she’s not taking them to the tower, and that the Pattern has different plans for them instead. Aram gets to stay back as a blacksmith, you know, since he went against the way of his people. Perrin goes through the book Loial left behind for him, calling Perrin the leader of Two Rivers. Finally, Dain shows up and asks Perrin about the deal. Perrin says his goodbyes, walking into a death trap with Dain.
With only the final episode left in The Wheel of Time season 3, I can’t imagine the gang will get back together. Episode 8 will likely focus on Rand and Moiraine’s side of things, seeing as he is the ultimate main character of the show. I’m sure Faile will find a way to save Perrin. I suppose there’ll be another battle on the Liandrin side of things.
