WoT S2E1: A Taste of Solitude
Feb. 4th, 2024 10:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerHere are a few more thoughts about S2E1 of the Wheel of Time series streaming on Amazon Prime. The episode is entitled "A Taste of Solitude", not "The Darkfriend Social" like you might have thought from my previous blog. That's just a fun sobriquet that a friend of mine created over 30 years ago that's since become common in the fandom! Following that the bulk of the episode aligns to its name, showing how the main characters are split up and dealing with things on their own. Here are Five Things:
Yes, Moiraine's still cut off— Ishamael did that to her in S1E8— even though it's apparently been several months now. I think the writers intend this as Moiraine being Stilled, as it was called in the books, rather than merely temporarily shielded. In the books both things can happen, though being Stilled is far more powerful and punishing. It seems the show writers do not differentiate the two.
Of course, in terms of divergence from the books, the show writers also made up Moiraine being exiled from the White Tower earlier in S1 and being out here with Verin in S2. In the books Verin was in the Tower at this point. The show writers are definitely writing their own story at this point.
As I explained in my previous blog, that's not bad per se. It is a bit disorienting to us viewers familiar with the books. But ultimately this show will have to stand on its own as good TV. I think they're making good TV here by pushing Moiraine into the background, showing what a plotter she still is, and leaving the younger folks from the Two Rivers to have to fend more for themselves. That part at least is true to the spirit of the books.
This is an enjoyably vivid way of showing these two aspects of Egwene's and Nynaeve's life in the tower compared to the page, and pages, and pages of, frankly, dull prose in the books describing it. That's often the case with visual media, though. Showrunners can show a scene that conveys in 2 minutes what 100 pages struggle to say. Oh, and Nynaeve's stubbornness and difficulty channeling are beautifully shown in a quick scene where she simply gives up on the filter weave and voluntarily drinks the glass of dirty water.
There's still the books-vs-TV issue that Nynaeve is a novice. In the books she was admitted as Accepted right away because of her strength in the power. I'm not sure this really matters. Frankly I like it better with the two women from the Two Rivers continuing to bond as there was time for little of that character development in season 1.
The TV writers change up the plotlines here. Mat and Rand are not with Perrin here. Nor is Verin; she's off at her private ranch with Moiraine, as noted above. In the books they're on this mission together. But one person I was surprised to see here is Loial— he's not dead!
The showrunners left it vague at the end of S1 whether Loial had died when had Padan Fain stabbed him (and Uno, and others) with a cursed dagger in Fal Dara. I assumed they meant to kill off Loial because they'd obviously spent so little money on FX for portraying him as an 8 to 9 foot tall quasi-human with tufted ears and hands. I mean, it only makes sense to cheap out so badly with a low-budget Loial in S1E5 if they've rewritten him as a throw-away minor character going who only has a few brief appearances.
For those not familiar with the books— and, okay, for us fans of the books, too— part of what makes this is a big reveal is probably, "Wait, is that Idris Elba?!" Haha, no, it's actor Gary Beadle. The showrunners aren't willing to spend the kind of money it would take to cast a big-screen star like Elba, especially for a minor character. Though Beadle's makeup and costuming with glowing, golden eyes sure recall Elba's portrayal of Heimdall in various Marvel movies.
The group's leader, Ingtar, cautions Perrin about the perils of revenge as a mindset. He explains that if Shienarans sought revenge for all wrongs, there'd be no Shienarans left. He notes that people who do seemingly bad things must've had some reason to do what they did, and admonishes Perrin to pause to consider what that reason might be before assuming the worst and killing them for retribution.
The first half of Ingtar's lesson is standard fare for speeches about revenge, but the second half seems a bit off. Knowing what's revealed later in the books makes it way off. Lord Ingtar is a darkfriend. Remember that Darkfriend Social that was the first scene in this episode? In the books he's there. Though it's unclear if the TV series portrayed him there. And in the books he's the darkfriend who let Padan Fain into the keep at Fal Dara. So it's ironic that he's leading the party chasing the man that he helped. And when he says "They had a reason" he's foreshadowing that he had a reason and hopes Perrin won't kill him. Though who knows if Ingtar is still the darkfriend who helped Fain in the TV version of the story. 🙄
1. Moiraine Labors Without the One Power
In the next scene we see Moiraine at Tifan's Well, a remote villa owned by fellow Aes Sedai Verin Mathwin. She's laboring to carry water drawn from a well up the hill to the manor. She's doing this as part of her... exercises, for lack of a better term... to keep herself focused while cut off from the One Power.Yes, Moiraine's still cut off— Ishamael did that to her in S1E8— even though it's apparently been several months now. I think the writers intend this as Moiraine being Stilled, as it was called in the books, rather than merely temporarily shielded. In the books both things can happen, though being Stilled is far more powerful and punishing. It seems the show writers do not differentiate the two.
Of course, in terms of divergence from the books, the show writers also made up Moiraine being exiled from the White Tower earlier in S1 and being out here with Verin in S2. In the books Verin was in the Tower at this point. The show writers are definitely writing their own story at this point.
As I explained in my previous blog, that's not bad per se. It is a bit disorienting to us viewers familiar with the books. But ultimately this show will have to stand on its own as good TV. I think they're making good TV here by pushing Moiraine into the background, showing what a plotter she still is, and leaving the younger folks from the Two Rivers to have to fend more for themselves. That part at least is true to the spirit of the books.
2. Novices in the Tower
The third major scene shows Egwene and Nynaeve studying as Novices in the Tower. We see the degradation of the scut work they're given (novices scrub plates and pots in the kitchen) and the harsh way the Aes Sedai frame their lessons in channeling the One Power. Each of the girls is given a glass of dirty water and told they must drink it— after passing it through a magic weave they're being taught to purify it. The harshness is "Learn this thing fast or you swallow mud," which the teacher is very direct about.This is an enjoyably vivid way of showing these two aspects of Egwene's and Nynaeve's life in the tower compared to the page, and pages, and pages of, frankly, dull prose in the books describing it. That's often the case with visual media, though. Showrunners can show a scene that conveys in 2 minutes what 100 pages struggle to say. Oh, and Nynaeve's stubbornness and difficulty channeling are beautifully shown in a quick scene where she simply gives up on the filter weave and voluntarily drinks the glass of dirty water.
There's still the books-vs-TV issue that Nynaeve is a novice. In the books she was admitted as Accepted right away because of her strength in the power. I'm not sure this really matters. Frankly I like it better with the two women from the Two Rivers continuing to bond as there was time for little of that character development in season 1.
3. Loial's Not Dead!
The next arc of the episode follows Perrin as the viewpoint character. He's traveling with a band of Shienaran soldiers pursuing the dastardly darkfriend Padan Fain. Fain snuck into Fal Dara (in Shienar), killed a bunch of people, and stole the Horn of Valere. (That was S1E8 in the TV series but early 2nd book.) The horn is a magical artifact that summons heroes of legend and is storied to be important in winning the looming battle against the Dark One.The TV writers change up the plotlines here. Mat and Rand are not with Perrin here. Nor is Verin; she's off at her private ranch with Moiraine, as noted above. In the books they're on this mission together. But one person I was surprised to see here is Loial— he's not dead!
The showrunners left it vague at the end of S1 whether Loial had died when had Padan Fain stabbed him (and Uno, and others) with a cursed dagger in Fal Dara. I assumed they meant to kill off Loial because they'd obviously spent so little money on FX for portraying him as an 8 to 9 foot tall quasi-human with tufted ears and hands. I mean, it only makes sense to cheap out so badly with a low-budget Loial in S1E5 if they've rewritten him as a throw-away minor character going who only has a few brief appearances.
4. Is that Idris Elba?
Another juggle in "Who's where, and when?" between books and TV involves the Shienarans' new tracker. In the books it's a long-term minor character, Hurin. In the TV series there's mumbling between soldier extras about "some new tracker". In a big reveal we see it's Elyas Machera— an interesting minor character from book 1 who was sadly cut out of season 1 to condense the story. While he's minor in the story as a whole he's actually really important to helping develop Perrin's character, so I'm glad they worked him in here.For those not familiar with the books— and, okay, for us fans of the books, too— part of what makes this is a big reveal is probably, "Wait, is that Idris Elba?!" Haha, no, it's actor Gary Beadle. The showrunners aren't willing to spend the kind of money it would take to cast a big-screen star like Elba, especially for a minor character. Though Beadle's makeup and costuming with glowing, golden eyes sure recall Elba's portrayal of Heimdall in various Marvel movies.
5. Ingtar Admonishes Perrin: "They had a reason"
As Perrin and the Shienarans survey a slaughter scene left behind by Padan Fain and his band of darkfriends and evil monsters, Perrin frets about how he may not be able to contain his rage when they catch the darkfriends.The group's leader, Ingtar, cautions Perrin about the perils of revenge as a mindset. He explains that if Shienarans sought revenge for all wrongs, there'd be no Shienarans left. He notes that people who do seemingly bad things must've had some reason to do what they did, and admonishes Perrin to pause to consider what that reason might be before assuming the worst and killing them for retribution.
The first half of Ingtar's lesson is standard fare for speeches about revenge, but the second half seems a bit off. Knowing what's revealed later in the books makes it way off. Lord Ingtar is a darkfriend. Remember that Darkfriend Social that was the first scene in this episode? In the books he's there. Though it's unclear if the TV series portrayed him there. And in the books he's the darkfriend who let Padan Fain into the keep at Fal Dara. So it's ironic that he's leading the party chasing the man that he helped. And when he says "They had a reason" he's foreshadowing that he had a reason and hopes Perrin won't kill him. Though who knows if Ingtar is still the darkfriend who helped Fain in the TV version of the story. 🙄
