As the 7th episode of The Wheel of Time begins, we see a female soldier running through a battlefield with dead soldiers around her. When she stops and turns, we see she is pregnant and on the verge of giving birth. She sits down in hopes of giving birth only to be attacked by a soldier. She kills him before several others arrive. She fights three male soldiers at once and deals with two of them easily. The lone remaining soldier grabs her from behind and stabs his dagger into her side. Once she takes care of him, she grabs his cape, crawls over to the rock, and tries to give birth to her baby. She is confronted by another soldier who points his sword at her. After the intro, Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) argues with Nynaeve (Zoe Robins) and the others about leaving Mat behind. Rand (Josha Stradowski) accuses Moiraine of making Mat’s choice for him, but she doesn’t think Mat is ready for what lies ahead because of the darkness in him.

Rand believes he is ready for it. Moiraine isn’t willing to open the way gate or wait any longer. Loial (Hammed Animashaun) tells them that using the One Power in the Way would be like throwing yourself at Machin Shin and asking it to feast on your soul. Nynaeve tries to get him to elaborate on that, but he refuses. He says Moiraine isn’t slowing down and he is slow so he has to catch up. The others discuss their choices before Nynaeve promises they’ll find Mat (Barney Harris) when all of this is over. As they continue, Lan (Daniel Henney) and Moiraine chat about the possibility of Mat being the Dragon Reborn. She believes Mat would turn to the shadow and side with the Dark One so she can’t let him anywhere near him. Loial mentions that fruit trees used to thrive on every island and the path used to be covered in grass. If they fall, they’ll fall into a bottomless pit now. Lan tells Nyn that Mat is safer there than he would be with them.

Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) notices something ahead of them and immediately warns the others. As they get closer, Loial identifies it as one of the Guiding Stones although it looks like someone has tried to destroy it. Since Loial will need time to figure out what it is saying and the Waygate is at least a day away, they decide to rest for a bit. When Rand asks Perrin how he saw that, he admits he doesn’t know. Lan tells Moiraine something is following them. Egwene (Madeleine Madden) rests with Rand while Perrin watches them and sits alone. Later, Egwene is awoken by what sounds like whistling. She quickly tells Rand before they’re confronted by a Trolloc. During the chaos, Egwene accidentally uses the One Power to knock the beast from the path and into the bottomless pit. A Trolloc shouldn’t be in the Way, but it explains everything. They ask about the Machin Shin which means the black wind.

Moiraine warns them that Machin Shin will speak to them although they shouldn’t listen. Lan knows they’re not going to reach the Waygate so they should try going to the Fal Dara gate. Loial guides them toward the closest gate. Once they get close, they’re stopped by the black wind. It begins talking to each of them. Moiraine is told she is wrong about everything, will murder children, and it isn’t heroic. Egwene is called an imposter and fraud. It tells Rand that Egwene will never love him as much as he loves her. He is also warned she’ll leave him again. As for Perrin, it claims he wanted Laila dead and out of the way because he loved another woman. Lan is told he won’t be able to protect her and will have to watch her die. Nynaeve is told something similar about her friends. Nynaeve uses her Power to stop the black shadow and is joined by Moiraine who opens the Way gate for them.

The group makes it through the Way gate safely. They learn they’re near the fortress city of Fal Dara and the Eye of the World is a day’s walk beyond the city. They have friends at Fal Dara and will be able to rest there. We notice that Rand and the others are struggling with the things they heard. Moiraine reminds them to put whatever they heard out of their minds. Once they entered the city, they’re welcomed by Lord Agelmar (Thomas Chaanhing). Once they meet with the Lord, he wonders if his anxious sister sent a letter to the White Tower with overblown stories of the encroaching Blight. She doesn’t doubt their ability to keep the Blight away. Agelmar says they’ve defended Tarwin’s Gap for many years and fought off large armies of Trollocs. Moiraine is only there to warn him about the Dark One using the Ways to move his armies.

She suggests it would be wise to have a group of men wall up the Fal Daran Waygate. He quickly orders his soldier to do as she says. He returns to Moiraine to tell her that her group is welcome for as long as they like. We see someone step through the Fal Daran Way Gate. While Moiraine is led to her chambers, she tells Agelmar’s sister that she intends to visit the seer Min Farshaw (Kae Alexander). Moiraine is asked why she was in the Ways. She reminds his sister that she trained with them although she wasn’t strong enough to become an Aes Sedai. Moiraine hopes she can still trust her discretion. She tells Moiraine that her allegiance remains with the city and not the Amyrlin Seat. Moiraine wonders if she could help send a message to the Tower. She wants to tell the Red Ajah to find Mat Cauthon. As they walk through town, Egwene tries to get Rand to forget anything the wind told him since none of it is true. Perrin believes he spots a familiar face in the city.

He believes it was Padan Fain (Johann Myers) who seemed to exit the Way Gate earlier. Nynaeve doesn’t believe that since he is likely dead since he was at Bel Tine when the Trollocs came. Perrin tells her how that feels like so long ago. Moiraine enters the pub while Rand and the others eat and drink. Moiraine approaches Min as Nyn tries to figure out what she is doing. Moiraine tells Min nobody knows what she is because she would be hounded every minute of the day if people knew. Min uses her power to study Rand and the others. She says Perrin has yellow eyes and blood running down his chin. As for Rand, he is rocking a baby. When she looks at the girls, she sees a white flame and a ring of gold. They’re all linked and that is unusual. Min sees sparks of light around them trying to fill the shadows. The shadows are trying to cover the sparks. As for Moiraine, she sees the Amyrlin Seat wearing full regalia and she is going to be Moiraine’s downfall.

Later that night, Moiraine tells Perrin and the others that they’ll leave tomorrow. She is stopped and asked about the bartender. She says it is a woman she has known since she was young. They force Moiraine to tell them that Min sees glimpses of the future and she was hoping she could tell her which was the Dragon so she could save the rest. They’re warned that whoever goes to the Eye of the World and isn’t the Dragon will die there. They still don’t know who the Dragon is so Moiraine is going to take them there and three will not return. Perrin questions that and wonders if Mat could’ve been the dragon. He wonders if they’ll survive and if she is wrong. Regardless, Moiraine says she is going to follow the path anyways because she knows what is right. She instructs them to make their decisions tonight because they’re leaving in the morning.

Once she leaves, Rand says she’ll force them if necessary. Nyn believes they should let her try. Egwene thinks they’re protecting their loved ones although Nyn doesn’t believe everything Moiraine says. Rand and Nynaeve realize Moiraine knew they would die for a while and she can easily mislead them or could be wrong. Egwene argues going to the Eye of the World is worth it if there is even a slim chance that Moiraine is right. Since Nynaeve is a Wisdom, Egwene thinks she’d be all for this if Moiraine wasn’t involved. Rand says they’ve lost too many people and can’t afford to lose another. Perrin is worried they’ll throw their lives away for nothing if they’re not the Dragon Reborn. Rand wonders if it could be Mat, but he knows Egwene never thought much of him. He knows she never gave him a chance. She should’ve because she would’ve known what Mat has gone through and how he never had much.

Egwene gets upset and complains that Mat left them and likely went back for that bloody dagger. Rand ridicules her by calling her the expert on that. When Rand says she is the only one who has ever left him, Perrin gets up to tell Rand he needs to apologize. Nynaeve encourages them to stop fighting over Egwene like she is something they can win. Rand begins laughing and says it is funny because it has been right in front of him this whole time. He remembers getting together with Egwene on the day Perrin proposed to Laila. Perrin insists he only loved his wife. Rand walks off and Egwene follows. Later, Lan tells Moiraine that they’ll come although she isn’t sure whether it’ll be willingly. When he questions what is going on, she says nothing. She believes it is nostalgia since the air in the borderlands reminds her of the night they met.

Moiraine believes she has taken everything and more from Lan although he denies it saying he had nothing to live for or die for before her. She has given him both. He admits there are goodbyes he must say in the city before they leave. Before he walks away, Moiraine tells him she likes the Wisdom. Lan leaves and has dinner with his old friends. Nynaeve follows and watches him. He catches her after he steps outside and argues this isn’t tracking. He asks her if she is going to stand there or come in. She is invited in and immediately introduced to everyone. Although she isn’t an Aes Sedai, they say she is beautiful. Lan says he hadn’t noticed. The older gentleman thanks her for keeping his Dai Shin safe and bringing him home. Once they leave, they talk about Lan’s relationship with the little girl. Nynaeve thanks him for including her although he doesn’t think he had much of a choice.

After he tells her goodnight, he goes into his room and begins getting undressed. Nynaeve enters and joins him. She asks if he wants her to go. He doesn’t answer and instead touches her arm. They kiss and one thing leads to another. Meanwhile, Rand practices with his bow. Egwene approaches and complains she waited for an hour for him to come apologize. He has learned through experience that she’ll find him when she is ready to talk. He apologizes because he knows there is nothing between her and Perrin. Egwene is angry that he suggested she wouldn’t fight and die for Mat. Rand explains he was scared because he doesn’t want to lose her. Egwene suggests Moiraine is wrong about them not coming back. Rand tells her that she shouldn’t ignore the power that lives inside of her because it won’t let her. Although he believes she should go to the White Tower and be what she always wanted, Egwene doesn’t want to do it unless he is with her.

He promises to come with her and be her Warder since every Aes Sedai needs one. They kiss. Egwene promises to stand by him if he is the one. Lan wakes up and finds Nynaeve preparing to leave. She asks him about the Dai Shin. He says it is a title given to future kings of Malkier. He isn’t sure it matters since the Blight took Malkier so many years ago. As for the man, he was one of his father’s arms men. His family was slaughtered when the Blight overran Malkier. They helped smuggle Lan out of the palace. Nynaeve never understood why he bonded himself to Moiraine and calls him a king without a kingdom and a boy without a family. Now, he finally belongs to her. Lan insists she doesn’t own him. That night, Rand has nightmares about his father being attacked by the Trolloc and having to save his life. He remembers his father telling him something about Kari, not meaning to find her there, and having to get away.

They went up the mountain into the snow. Rand steps outside and gets a perfect bullseye. He remembers Dana (Izuka Hoyle) locking him in with her and using the Power to break down the door. He also recalls telling Mat he had seen the White Tower before. A quick flashback shows that Rand used the One Power in the Ways and not Egwene. The black wind tells him he always knew it was him regardless of how far he has tried to run. He was told he is the Dragon Reborn. He steps into the pub and confronts Min. He wants her to tell him he isn’t the dragon reborn so she does. Then, he tries to smooth things over. She warns him that there will be no turning back once she tells him the truth. Once he sits down, she tells him about the first vision she had as a kid walking down a damp alleyway in Tar Valon. When she turned the corner, she saw a man in armor carrying Rand’s heron-marked blade. She looked at him and saw snow and blood. We see a flashback of Rand’s father helping the woman give birth. Min says she saw a baby born on the slopes of Dragonmount.

The mother died so the man raised the boy in a wooden house beside fields of sheep in a village surrounded by two rivers. The baby was something impossible. When Min looks at him now, she sees rainbows, carnivals, and three beautiful women. She wishes she didn’t see the Eye of the World because he seems like a decent person. She doesn’t say whether he makes it back, but Rand says he didn’t think so. In the morning, Egwene goes looking for Nynaeve who isn’t in her room. When she returns, Nynaeve says she wasn’t anywhere. Egwene doesn’t push it any further. Nyn apologizes for speaking out of turn and stirring things up. When Perrin joins them, Egwene says she wants to go. The others seem to agree before they ask about Rand. We see Rand knock on someone’s door. Lan approaches Nyn who asks what happened. When Moiraine opens the door, Rand tells her it is him. Lane tells Nyn that Moiraine masked their bond.

She left with Rand. Seconds later, we see Rand and Moiraine approach the Blight. Moiraine says they’ll have to go through it to reach the Eye of the World. They begin walking through it as the episode ends.

 

The Wheel Of Time Review

The Wheel of Time is finally getting down to the stuff that matters. At the very least, the things going on in this episode and the next should matter since we’re reaching the finale. It is easy to see why people have criticized The Wheel of Time and many of them are correct. While it hasn’t been as bad in recent episodes, the characters are incredibly shallow making it difficult to care what happens to any of them.

The need to create an inclusive show has certainly hurt the show’s credibility, but this is to be expected. In 2021 and 2022, viewers have to expect shows to be as diverse as possible whether it makes sense or not. It could’ve made sense in The Wheel of Time, but not the way they decided to create a juxtaposition in every city. Those who enjoy the show will be happy to ignore a few mishaps and mistakes here and there, but it’ll only further justify those ridiculing this show.

Has The Wheel of Time been outstanding or great? Not in the least, but it hasn’t been the worst show ever either. It has improved over seven episodes although I am not sure everyone will stick with it this long. Those who’ve read the novels can likely find more reasons to hate the adaptation. Whether the show will be worthwhile will depend on the outcome of the finale. A strong finale may make the season worth sitting through in the long run.

However, a weak finale will likely leave a bad taste in viewers’ mouths. There isn’t much to do now but wait and see how the finale plays out. The 7th episode was okay although a bit slow and uneventful. It scores a 6 out of 10. The Wheel of Time recaps can be found on Reel Mockery here.