The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 5 Prophesizes That for Rand to Rise, Another Character Must Fall

As Rand's destiny comes to a head, another character reveals a secret about his ascension. Read The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 5 Review!

The post The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 5 Prophesizes That for Rand to Rise, Another Character Must Fall appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Was anyone expecting The Wheel of Time to end the episode on a CW-level love triangle cliffhanger?

Yeah, I didn’t either, which is why I gasped at that delicious scene.

Is it wrong to be rooting for the good guys and the bad guys at the same time? All of the characters, especially The Forsaken, are so complex and amazing.

Not to mention that The Wheel of Time has gotten good at leaving us begging for more. With the number of characters the series has introduced, it’s a miracle anyone gets screen time.

As impressive as The Wheel of Time is, the plot has become harder to follow due to the constant shifting of characters.

There are so many separate stories happening at once that I find myself thinking, “Oh, right. That character is over there doing that thing.”

That’s why Perrin’s arc is a welcomed familiarity amidst all the aspects of the story that have changed since The Wheel of Time Season 1. Take me back to simpler times in the Two Rivers.

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The Wheel of Time Is Ironically Bringing Things Full Circle as Perrin Takes on the Mantle of the Two River’s New Leader with a Partner Viewers Should Keep Their Eyes On

It feels like a lifetime ago since Perrin and the rest set out for The White Tower to discover the identity of “The Dragon Reborn.”

Since then, Perrin has embraced his role as a “wolf brother” and has become the leader of the Two Rivers. Not too bad for a blacksmith from a small village.

Now, I don’t want to give anything away to anyone unfamiliar with the books, but let’s just say Perrin has found a great “partner” in Isabella Bucceri’s Faile Bashere.

Since debuting on The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 3, she has been inching her way from “recurring” to “supporting” character.

If the show, which has mostly been faithful to the books, stays on the path it has been on for two and a half seasons, we can expect Faile to stick around for a while.

I’m not mad about it either because she is a beast with those knives. Plus, Perrin couldn’t have taken on The White Cloaks alone.

What is that group’s deal, anyway? In the books, the “Children of Light” were started to expose “Darkfriends.”

However, in the televised version of the story, they seem wholly concerned with sniffing out Aes Sedai.

Sure, they weren’t known for their sanity and logic in the books, having knocked off an Aes Sedai or two. Still, the live-action White Cloaks don’t seem concerned with The Forsaken or The Dark One.

In the series, The White Cloaks are just a bunch of guys with military funding who are butt-hurt that there are women more powerful than them. Incels much?

In all seriousness, the White Cloaks in the show haven’t served much of a purpose other than to world-build and motivate other characters.

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This episode alone proves that point, as Mat’s mom met an unfortunate end after one of his sisters displayed the ability to channel.

At least Dónal Finn’s (The Witcher) Mat will finally serve a purpose or have some kind of arc. The character feels like he’s only included in the show because he was so crucial in the books, but the writers don’t know what to do with him.

So, they have Mat float around with other characters until the hands behind the show find something for him to do. In this case, it looks like revenge or something akin to it is on the menu.

One Character Has Barely Proven Their Usefulness in Three Seasons While Another Is Earning Her Keep Like Her Life Depends on It

Oh, Mat. I am sure there are die-hard fans of the books who will defend Dónal Finn’s character with their dying breath, but I just can’t get on board with Mr. Cauthon.

I know the character hasn’t had an easy life, and his circumstances tend to lean more bad than good, but which character isn’t that true for? Everything sucks all the time for everyone.

That’s why it’s so annoying that Mat just sulks and aggravates everyone around him with his boredom. Okay, I may more than just “dislike” Mat Cauthon, but he’s the only one not taking the current mission seriously.

For some reason, Elayne is practically the leader at this point, making it her personal goal to see this mission of finding the black Ajah through.

My feelings for Elayne are very much the opposite of what they are for Mat. The princess came out of nowhere in The Wheel of Time Season 2 and has not stopped since.

She’s a central and pivotal character considered one of the strongest channelers the Aes Sedai have seen in hundreds of years.

In the literature, she has the fun and convenient ability of “fast learning,” which seems like a quick and easy way to explain why a character is suddenly proficient in something they have never done before.

In Elayne’s case, it means being able to mimic or recreate a weave after having seen it once or twice.

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It’s hard to know for sure what direction the series will take the character since the show has already departed from a few literary story points.

For one, Elayne and Rand aren’t a couple, with Elayne’s interest lying with Aviendha. Now, there is a character who is getting their backstory fast-tracked.

However, if Elayne wants that dream of being a Windfinder with Aviendha, she better get off that boat and find that black Ajah because Siuan Sanche is not doing too well back at the tower.

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Honestly, the hardest part about reviewing a show like The Wheel of Time is trying not to mix the book facts with the TV ones.

In the case of Shohreh Aghdashloo’s (The Penguin) Elaida, most of her literary details have just about been thrown out or skipped over.

The character is receiving the same subtle revisions that many of the others have gone through.

This is why, during “Tel’aran’rhiod,” it felt like The Wheel of Time had basically switched out one evil red Ajah for another.

However, watching Elaida flex all over those captured black Ajah was boss-level. But did anyone else think for a moment that it was the end of the road for the Aes Sedai when the grey man assassin came for her?

It’s my fault for thinking a dozen stabbings could slow down a character on The Wheel of Time, but why would Moghedien send a grey man after Elaida?

While multiple agents of The Forsaken have been released, I think I speak for everyone when I say we are only concerned with what this crazy chick is up to.

Now, she is a character who needs an entire episode dedicated to their backstory.

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We already know the character is departing from the books since she’s supposed to be a master of Tel’aran’rhiod but didn’t appear in this episode.

Laia Costa’s (The Diplomat) Moghedien is just so damn creepy, and you know she is next-level insane if even Lanfear is trying to keep her distance.

The Wheel of Time Is Swinging Big by Pitting Rand’s Destiny Against Moiraine’s and Asks, How Much Control Over Our Own Destiny’s Do We Really Have?

Speaking of the baddest agent of The Forsaken, please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks it might be fun if Lanfear seduces Rand to the dark. There are power couples, and then there would be that apocalyptic pairing.

Anything is possible on a high fantasy show, and Lord knows Amazon has the budget to make just about any idea a reality, but that would be a nightmare story-wise.

Lanfear and Rand would be WAY too powerful together. They’d have the whole world destroyed by lunch. Overpowered as hell.

Watch me talk about how Rand and Lanfear together would never work for the plot, only for the series to turn around and make it happen.

Here’s a question for everyone: At what point during Egwene’s journey through everyone’s dreams did you realize she was going to see Rand and Lanfear together?

As soon as she went to the second dream and watched without saying anything, I knew she was going to jump from friend to friend to check on everyone.

My entire body broke out in goosebumps when I saw Egwene standing in the mountains of Rand’s dream.

That was a Riverdale-level reveal, and now I am foaming at the mouth to see what’s going to happen next because it’s about to get mess, mess, messy.

Is Egwene going to confront Rand about it in the dream? Is she going to tell the others? Will Rand own up to meeting Lanfear in his dreams? How will Moiraine interpret these actions? Betrayal or destiny?

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Moiraine Sidai is on a journey all of her own despite still preparing The Dragon Reborn for The Final Battle. I guess no one’s told them Siuan got wigged at the gig, and they should just take their time returning to the tower.

Besides, Moiraine has bigger issues to deal with, like the fact that, apparently, Rand can only ascend if Moiraine dies.

Okay, that wasn’t as impactful as the writers probably thought it was, considering how often magic is used on the show to bypass the laws of nature.

Ten bucks says that Moiraine dies and then returns or is brought back to life. She’ll probably even pull some kind of Gandalf arc and return from The Wheel more powerful.

Why else would the series introduce the sa’angreal “Sakarnen” and make it female if it wasn’t to be some kind of “Hail Mary” for Rosamund Pike’s (3 Body Problem) Moiraine in the end?

Before we even get to what’s in store for the final battle, Rand will have to choose a side.

Despite his progress, there is still every chance he could be the world’s destroyer rather than its savior.

It feels like a lot of the deciding factors will be present in the next episode, and with how the show packs every episode to the brim, there’s no telling who will make it out alive.

The central theme of The Wheel of Time is whether or not we really have control over the people we become. Or is our destiny already written for us?

Do you think Rand will own up to his interactions with Natasha O’Keeffe’s (Sherlock) Lanfear?

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How do you think The Wheel of Time will handle the revelation that for Rand to ascend, Moiraine must first fall?

Please drop a comment below to let me know what you think, and join me again when I review another episode of The Wheel of Time!

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The post The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 5 Prophesizes That for Rand to Rise, Another Character Must Fall appeared first on TV Fanatic.