The episode begins in Ghealdan where a battle is waged. Several soldiers watch as Logain Ablar (Alvaro Morte) walks toward them. The soldiers throw spears in his direction, but he uses his magic to stop the spears from hitting him. Later, he approaches the king who tells him that he’ll never wear the silver crown. Logain tells him that the crown doesn’t mean anything to the Dragon Reborn. The king approaches and asks if he really believes that. Logain hears Elusha’s voice as she encourages him to be done with it. The king tells him he has already sent word to the White Tower so the Aes Sedai will be coming for him. Logain argues those women should be following him instead of fighting him, but they’re afraid the Dragon will break the world again. He shows him a small dagger and says the last Dragon broke the world.

He is different because he plans to bind it. After the intro, we see Nynaeve al’Meara (Zoe Robins) watch over the Aes Sedai. Lan (Daniel Henney) looks up at her while Kerene (Clare Perkins) takes care of Moiraine’s wound. Once she has finished, Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) sits up and thanks her. Moiraine finds out that Kerene is strained because she has been helping the others restrain Logain. She wants to meet the false Dragon who has thousands of true believers. Kerene explains only Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood), Alanna (Pyrianka Bose) and her are strong enough to shield him from using the One Power and they have to work in pairs to do it. As Moiraine approaches him, she learns they’ve clogged his ears with air as she says she heard he conquered half of Ghealdan. Liandrin says they crept into his camp when he slept and used their power to shield him. A few bolts of lightning convinced his followers to run back to their mothers.

Kerene isn’t sure so she arranged for wards to alert them if anyone approaches. When asked about his madness, Liandrin says he is worse than other men who can channel the power since he already called himself the Dragon. Although she argues they have enough to dish out their own punishment, Kerene reminds them that the Amyrlin Seat commanded them to bring him to the Tower for trial. Moiraine offers to help keep him shielded since she has regained her strength. She raises her shield before Liandrin drops hers to ensure there are no gaps. Liandrin tells Moiraine what she feels is only half his power. Outside, Lan trains with Stepin (Peter Franzen) who tells him about life at the Tower and the fact that the Amyrlin Seat is still not fond of Moiraine. They chat about Nynaeve being with Lan before Kerene walks by. Stepin follows her as they talk about Kerene’s relationship with Moiraine.

She explains it is hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn’t want to say anything. Stepin claims Lan is the same. He is worried Liandrin is gaining traction with the others so they could remove Logain’s powers without a trial. Stepin claims the Reds have been doing that across the countryside although Kerene doesn’t think Liandrin would cross the Amyrlin Seat. He encourages her to get some rest. Egwene (Madeleine Madden) approaches Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) who is concerned about the group they’re traveling with. She says they should leave if either of them thinks they should. Aram (Daryl McCormack) interrupts to tell them they’re heading east to Tar Valon. He offers to keep them around for as long as they want to stay and realizes they’re not bandits because they were walking around in rags without food or gold.

As they prepare to move, Thomas (Alexandra Willaume) tells Rand (Josha Stradowski) and Mat he sees a farm ahead. Mat (Barney Harris) has trouble controlling his house. Rand asks him what the gleeman is doing with them since he stole their money. Mat reminds him that the gleeman saved their lives. Mat says Dana said the Dragon could be one of the five of them. It could be him, Rand, Perrin, or Egwene. He wonders who the fifth person might be. Moiraine talks to Alanna about the experience of keeping Logain shielded. Alanna describes it like holding a cat in the bath. They talk about the dog Moiraine kept when she was a novice so she knows Kerene was Alanna to get information from her. She tells Alanna that she could’ve easily been Blue Ajah. Alanna explains she thought it would be heroic when she picked green because the Battle Ajah are trained to fight the Dark One during the last battle.

She confesses she never thought she’d see the last battle herself. Moiraine suggests he could be false. Even so, Alanna has never seen so much power before. She believes the end of the age is here. Moiraine is glad they’re going to have Alannah’s strength on their side if the last battle is coming. She explains they can’t let the world break again. Alannah wonders if they’re supposed to have the Dragon there and admits it wouldn’t be possible if the Reds gentle him. They feel Logain’s power and quickly shut it down before Moiraine says the dog’s name was Jenny. Moments later, Liandrin approaches Nynaeve and tells her she likes her braid. Nynaeve knows she came over there because she wants something and she wants to find out what it is immediately. Then, she asks Liandrin how long she has known Moiraine. Thom tells the others they’re going to sneak into the barn and stay there for the night.

Mat’s horse acts out again before they’re approached by a man with a bow. Mat covertly goes for his blade while Rand tells the man the truth about their plan to sleep in his barn. He calms the man who agrees to let them stay in the barn after consulting with his wife. However, they’ll have to work first. Liandrin tells Nyn about Moiraine choosing the Blue Ajah. She claims they’re spies while the Reds protect the world from people who misuse the One Power. Lan interrupts. Liandrin tells Nyn that the Red tent is open to all women so she can join them for dinner. Once she is gone, Nyn tells Lan she is a snake. He insists they’ll reach the Tower soon and they can use the resources there to find her friends. He invites her to join them by the fire if she promises not to shove anyone into it. Aram tells Perrin and Egwene they haven’t spotted anyone else on the roads and rarely travel this way.

Perrin argues a group of that size should be able to defend itself, but Aram tells him that they don’t have weapons. Ila (Marie Doyle Kennedy) reveals they follow the way of the leaf so they’ll run from possible attackers. If they are killed, they’ll eventually return because nothing is ever lost and the Wheel returns all. She asks Perrin if he has ever picked up a weapon and whether his life has been better for it. While Mat and Rand work, Thom sits around because a gleeman needs to stay fresh before a performance. Mat seems exhausted or ill and decides to take a break. He walks away and throws up. We see black stuff on his mouth that goes back into his throat. A little girl approaches, says her mommy sent her, and gives him a piece of bread to thank for their help. The girl admits she can’t tell him her name because he is a stranger. She was supposed to deliver the message and return although she didn’t.

Mat admits his sisters never listen either. He says they’re safe at home before the little girl gives him her doll named Brigitte. It protects her and she wants Mat to take it to his sisters. Thom and Rand talk about Mat’s condition and what is going on. He tells Rand about his nephew Owyn who went sour one day. Nobody could figure out what happened until Owyn threw a rock without using his hands. Rand argues that Mat would tell him the truth although Thom isn’t sure about that. Thom explains the Dark One corrupted the One Power to ensure men couldn’t use it without going mad. Regardless of Thom telling him those stories, his nephew lied to him. When he was away, the Red Aes Sedai found the boy and took away his powers. They gentled him or cut him off from the One Power forever. Once that happens, they feel like their lives are over so Owyn cut his throat at the dinner table.

Thom says they need to do everything they can to keep Mat away from those women. He says he calls himself a gleeman because it sounds less frightening. Regardless, nothing is more dangerous than a man who knows the past. Meanwhile, Nyn joins Lan and his friends by the fire as they joke about past events. Once she tells them how she tracked Lan, she says the Warders are more fun than they look. Maksim (Taylor Napier) claims he looks fun though. She learns that there is no bond closer than the one between an Aes Sedai and her Warder. In the Old Tongue, Aes Sedai means Servants of All because they serve the world. As for the Warders, that makes them proud. They admit they don’t know how Lan keeps up with Moiraine.

Once Alanna walks by, Maskim and Ihvon decide to head to bed with her. Nyn asks about their relationship as Lan excuses himself. Lan returns to his tent to talk to Moiraine about Logain and whether he could be the Dragon Reborn. She admits she doesn’t know. Lan doesn’t believe he is the Dragon since the others are having dreams and they’re being hunted by Trollocs, but Moiraine is starting to think the Dark One doesn’t know who it is either. She says they hunted for them twenty years and lost them. When Lan takes the blame and calls them his losses, Moiraine says they’re her losses as well before grabbing his hand. Lan jokes he shouldn’t have drunk because she gets emotional when he does. Meanwhile, Egwene dances with Aram while Perrin watches from a distance. She asks Aram about the song that everyone keeps talking about.

He says their people supposedly knew a song in the last age and that song could bring harmony to the world. That song was lost in the Breaking, but some believe they can find the song and make people live in peace again. Although he doesn’t believe it, Egwene wonders if they’re already found it. Perrin helps Ila before saying some of her people don’t seem so peaceful. She tells him about Sarai who was once a hired killer. Perrin tells her there are some things you can’t run from although she says they’re not running. Ila believes everyone around the world has to stop to eliminate violence and that will take time. She confesses she doesn’t do this for herself or her people. Ila begins telling him about Aram’s mother and her daughter who was attacked by bandits despite not having any gold. When she found her daughter, it was clear the bandits had killed her for sport.

She admits she wanted revenge but explains there is no greater revenge against violence than peace. Perrin is told that the Wheel will turn out her daughter’s soul again at some point. Aram asks Egwene about the man who holds her heart and whether he has been lost. She knows she hasn’t lost him because she would know. Aram reveals they leave the wagons when they turn twenty to experience things they wouldn’t otherwise. Most return. That night, Rand reminds Mat that he is there whenever he needs him. Rand has a nightmare in which the Dark One grabs Egwene. When he wakes up, Thom is there to comfort him although Mat is gone. They go inside and find that the family has been killed. Mat seems to be in a trance. He holds the dagger and says he can see them. Once the Fade shows itself, Thom throws a knife at it and instructs Rand to get Thom out of there.

Thom stays to fight the Fade. As Rand takes Mat outside, they notice the young girl and the fact that she has been killed. They flee on horses and Mat leaves the little doll behind. Next, Nynaeve follows Lan. Kerene approaches Liandrian and says she spoke to everyone else but not her. Lian realizes that they’re going to have a hard time keeping the shield on Logain all the way to the White Tower. If he breaks out, the Three Oaths would allow them to gentle Logain. Kerene says the White Tower has stood for 3,000 years because the women always do what is right. Lian is reminded that the law governs them as well as everyone else. Nynaeve finds Lan performing a ritual that is traditionally used by his people. He tells her about it before she kneels down and says something in the Old Tongue. She admits she doesn’t know the Old Tongue and that is what her parents last said to her when they hid her in the cellar before the attack on her town.

She used to say it whenever she was scared. When she admits she doesn’t know what it means, Lan tells her it is what the last king of Manetheren said to his wife before the battle they knew they were going to lose. It means we shall go into the land so our children can always hold us and will never be alone. Nynaeve tells Lan he isn’t what she thought he was. He responds by saying she is exactly what he thought she was. She asks what that would be before their conversation is interrupted by the sound of soldiers in the distance. Kerene receives a message from her Wards and tells Lian that the army didn’t run after all. Before long, the camp is attacked by the king and Logain’s other men. Alanna manages to use her power to stop the arrows from killing them. She redirects them and attacks the soldiers using them. During the battle, Lan and Nynaeve try to get to the cave.

Logain uses his power to release himself before Moiraine approaches and says they have little time to talk. She wants to know why she should believe he is the Dragon Reborn. Logain starts by saying he can hear all of them when he channels. The dragons and the lives he had led are teaching him how to do better this time. He believes the Wheel turns them out again and again to achieve this, but she says the Wheel wants nothing. Moiraine argues that the voices in his head are the voices of madness. He is also told his power is only a pinprick of candlelight against the raging sun that will be the Dragon Reborn. Kerene attacks him with her power before the three women try to shield him again. Logain fights back and uses his power to attack them, but Kerene redirects it and saves them while sacrificing herself. Stepin feels it while Alanna and the others continue fighting the army. Moiraine warns Liandrin she is drawing too much and will burn herself out although she says she doesn’t care.

Stepin finds out what has happened and tries to attack Logain. However, Logain uses his power to turn his axes into shrapnel that is blasted out and kills almost everyone in the cave. Nynaeve rushes over to Lan who has a nasty gash on his throat. She screams and uses her power to curse their wounds and bring them back to life. Logain watches and says it was like a raging sun once she has finished. The Aes Sedai link together to steal Logain’s ability to use the One Power. He cries on the ground while Stepin holds Kerene’s lifeless body.

 

The Wheel Of Time Review

The 4th episode of The Wheel of Time was undoubtedly better than the previous three although there is still plenty of room for improvement. The constant jumping back and forth between camps has been difficult to take. Combine that with the ancient lore of the story and many viewers will find themselves frustrated and confused.

Another issue with the show is the fact that none of the characters are particularly interesting or likable. While most of the characters are tolerable, the only one standing out is Mat for some odd reason. The anti-woke crowd should just go ahead and stay away from The Wheel of Time because they’ll find plenty to complain about that really doesn’t fit into a fantasy from this time period.

It would be an easy fix really. The show needs to work on its character development, speed up the pace, and drop some of the overly confusing lore that won’t matter in the long run anyway. I’ll likely stick with it because I’ve already come this far and I have nothing else to watch right now, but I can see why others have already given up on this show. The episode scores a 6.5 out of 10.

Recaps of The Wheel of Time can be found on Reel Mockery here.