User Reviews

Finally a quality episode, this is the best one yet.

The story continues to be different from the books, I still do not like some aspects of the changes like the Mat storyline and the needless YA-style love triangle. But it is starting to feel like the show runners are getting into a rhythm and telling a compelling story. Perhaps I am finally aligning to Sanderson's view that this TV series is a different turning of the wheel, and starting to enjoy the TV series on its own merit. In this Episode I felt like they finally got the pacing right, there were no awkward continuity issues. Whoever directed this Episode knows what they were doing, give him/her some more episodes please.

The cold open was by far the best one yet, what an awesome intro to the Aiel for the non book audience. Glad we got to see blood snow! The ways were done nicely, even though Machin Shin was very different to how I imagined it. The Blight looked cool, again different from the books but such visual liberties are understandable. The dragon reveal was done neatly, it made sense within the TV story so far. I liked the subtlety in the script instead of over explaining everything - eg, Moiraine gently pushing Lan towards Nynaeve, giving herself the opportunity to mask the bond without raising his suspicions. While this was not in the books, "book Moiraine" would have done exactly the same if she believed she was going towards a certain death.

The book readers finally got the Tam-Rand scene missing from Episode 1, and also the Avendesora leaf for the way gate which caused such overreaction in the last episode (see bonus stuff). Seriously book fans who continue to give 1/10 ratings need to get a life. I am giving a 10/10 to counter those idiots, but IMO this was a solid 8/10.

All in all, a great episode. Finally getting a feeling that this is an epic. Can't wait for the final episode. For the first time, I have a good feeling about this.

-Acting: 7/10. As usual, Nynaeve, Moiraine and Lan were perfect. Very good acting for the others (damn, does Marcus feel... Perrin!), except for Egwene and Rand: let me explain. They were both good, yet there is something in Egwene that makes her feel... fake? She will, I am sure, fit the character (episode 5 gave me a wonderful proof of her fitting this role), but I think I saw her acting the same way for 7 episodes: maybe she didn't have the right chance yet. Rand... it is another type of problem: Josha was very good in this, expecially while talking to Min (Min is like I imagined her to behave while reading the books. And I can already see their chemistry), but his character seems so anonymus, because of how poorly he was hidden during 6 episodes. Rand, which is, in my opinion, one of the best, if not the best, character ever created by human hand, is anonymus here: Sure, he MUST grow (up) before becoming the complex and beloved character that I grew up with... but until now he did nothing, there is no scene of Rand worth remembering (there are very few until now, but still, this is only season one), and in episodes like 5 and 6 he only had 2 or 3 scenes. So, if I didn't know how gorgeous he'll become, I'd be bored by show Rand, and I'd be very pissed of by the big reveal. So not Josha's fault, but showrunners. If he fits the role, he will have plenty of occasions to prove himself: Rand becomes so complex that only a genius will be able to represent him;

-Score: well, we have the OST in the old tongue. I guess it's a 9/10;

-Changes: 1) Min. The only change is her home town. And her first vision. We'll talk about this one later. 2) Moiraine explains why it's better that Mat didn't make it into the Ways. For me fixes episode 6, because it actually makes sense that, if Mat were to be the Dragon, with his head being so messed up, he should be at 100 miles from the Dark One. 3) Red Ajah hunting down Mat? We'll see in season 2. I can see were they are going.

-Pacing: good. Not excellent, still some minor issues, but for the first time after Dragon Reborn I felt that almost everyone had its screentime (Rand got more than 2 frames this one, so good!);

-Filler? No, damn it. We get to know about Lan's past, Rand's past, we see relationships develop, a foreshadowing of the plot, the revelation of the Dragon Reborn. How can this be filler? I can see hoever people's complaint with the Egwene x Perrin x Rand. We'll talk about that later but yes, this was filler and almost broke immersion for me;

• Cons?: sure.

1) If I didn't read the books, Rand's reveal would seem quite unexpected. That's because they managed his character poorly (as long as hiding him) until now, so it will be like... WTF?

2) The big revelation was good. Not perfect, I pictured it in other ways in my mind so I will just say good (with the whole ko'di stuff makes sense that Rand hits the targets once he embreces the revelation). Though, when Machin Shin tells for the second time "you are the dragon reborn", we have a shot at Rand's face. It's too close, his nose seems so big, and he almost fades to the corner. Well, I ain't no director, but I think there were more efficient ways to deliever that; 3) The Perrin x Egwene x Rand. Now, having read the italian version, I can tell you there was no hint to that. But several abroad friends told me that in english Jordan wrote some subtle words to hint to that. Surely, in the series we got a lot of hints to this. Subtle, but they were there. So the problem is that this thing felt rushed, and pretty unnecessary: the time they spent on this could have been used in many more efficent ways for exploring Fal Dara...

-Setting: Fal Dara is marvelous. The Ways too, but both of them are too quick. We'll see more about Fal Dara in season 2; the Blight is terrigìfying, but there is one problem: were did the soldiers at Tarwin's Pass go when Moiraine and Rand walk towards the Blight? Bah. 9/10 as setting!

Mistake? 1): Min telling everything Tam has done since he got Rand. Well, Min sees images, not the whole life! So it felt kinda strange to me that she knew where and how Rand was raised. This is also different from the books;

2) Nynaeve having sex with Lan so easily? It isn't like her. Yet, it is a pro for me: their relationship in the books was slowed down even by Myrelle's filler subplot, so their relationship already feels strong: so definitely a PRO for me! Even though, at this point, I would have expected that all those subplots were already established: now we MUST talk about what's important: the Dragon and the Eye. So, not a bad scene or whatsoever, just the wrong episode imho;

-Fixes: yes. Moiraine's speech about Mat makes sense, and now I can see that the logic of Mat non going to the Eye is superior to the books. Still worried about season 2 plot for Mat.

All in all, it would be an 8.5, but I gave it an 8 for many reasons: camera work still ain't great; where did Loial go? I expected the revelation to be more badass; the bad work they've done with hiding Rand upsetted some people. IGN gave the first episode a 9 and said this was the weakest of the series because of changes. IGN doesn't know crap about WoT books and of course episode 1 is crap in comperison to any other, especially to this one, but they were right on the fact that Egwene X Perrin X Rand was unnecessary, and Rand's revelation was arbitrary, because that's how it felt. Besides, still some minor pacing problems, Egwene's actress didn't do a top notch performance as she did in ep 5; and the soldiers at tarwin pass make no sense since they randomly disappear. All in all: there is still something wrong about this show. Yes, EoTW is not a masterpiece, a good novel s full of cliché and crap, so it felt like this, but then we have Great hunt which is gorgeous. Maybe it's the fact that I'll have to wait one year to see the mistakes being corrected from showrunners... Don't know. That's why a gave an 8 instead of a 9.

Just deliever a good finale and fix what was wrong in the next season. This episode is good, but very hardly my score of the season will be higher than 7. I need a masterpiece as a final episode!

P. S imho the 1-4 scores are as fake as 10 scores. Even if you didn't like the episode, you have to reward score, pacing, acting and setting. And, even though you loved the episode, there are some mistakes one has to aknowledge. I feel this is the kind of show who gets underserved 10s (no episode was like a Mr Robot or Breaking Bad one in terms of quality) and undeserved 1-4 scores. It will have a complicated life. I hope showrunners will fix their mistakes.

But we only saw Uno for about 5 seconds sadly. No mind, this episode is brilliant! It is a little bit slow in the middle but the soul of the story feels more alive than in any other episode, and the beginning in particular was spectacular. Everything is leading nicely toward the closer, and I am bloody excited for it.

Okay so I just finished binge watching the new season of The Witcher then proceeded to watch the latest episode of The Wheel Of Time and came to realize their concepts are pretty similar. Basically there's this person, the dragon (wheel of time) and Ciri, the daughter of chaos (the Witcher), who's prophesied to save the world, but in the wrong hands could also bring about the end to it; and in both shows the people playing in these roles have no idea, their lives are just turned upside down one day. There's this older, knowledgeable, antisocial, secretive person from an elite group of warriors, Geralt and moraine, who're going out of their way to protect them and ensure that doesn't happen. Not a review, just something I noticed.

Absolutely brilliant episode, I wasn't expecting that after previous two disappointing episodes. It just kicked off. What an opening... Doesn't matter if it feels like rushed for book readers, it's definitely worth watching.

And what a beginning! The first 4 minutes of the show are revolutionary leaving book fans in tears and new fans intrigued. The episode is true to the vision of how this adaptation was presented, a true vision of the series built on the foundation of the books. It is clear that the writers have a clear path to bring the full story to the screen. As a longtime fan, this was the greatest hour. No question this series has the heart and spine intact. Wow.

OH MY GOD!!!!!

I LOVE EPISODE 7 ❤❤❤❤❤

Opening scene - absolute kick ass. Bring on the Aiel.

The ways - different to book but will stand out against other parts of story locales.

Lan & Nynaeve - really brings their love story alive. Really buying into it more so than in the books.

Dragon Reborn - finally, no more than 1 of 5 rubbish.

Everything else - Top Draw, congratulations for delivering a superb penultimate episode.

1 episode left next week a binge rewatch of 1st 7 then finale.

Side note: more than 8 episodes next season please.

There are no words that can sum up how much I enjoyed this episode... but I'll try.

There are changes that are sure to enrage book purists, and I get it. Once again, they change the story. But personally, I loved the changes. LOVED them. This is exactly what I, personally, want. Same characters, same major events, but told in a new way. I love the books as they are, and I love the show as it is. I'm getting to fall in love all over again. This style of adaptation doesn't suit everyone, and I get that too. But I'm loving this ride I'm being taken on, and this episode is pretty close to edging out episode four as a favorite; I'll have to see how I feel after a re-watch.

There was only one bit in the episode I didn't like, which involved a message sent to Tar Valon. That wasn't enough to dent my overall enjoyment of the episode, though, not even close.

Enjoyment is once again a ten out of ten.

Wow this episode was amazing!

I have accepted that this show isn't the books, and constantly remind myself to not see it as that. Things like pathways, where you need to channel to open and close the gates. It doesn't make sense to me as they were created for non-channelers to traverse long distances. These details are small things a book reader will get annoyed with and to be fair to the people who say us "bookreaders are complaining too much about something like this", there shouldn't be too many changes to the canon in the books, as these little bits of lore makes us smile. They don't have to explain why a leaf opens the pathway. It saves in budget, effects and time as well. That just plainly sucks.

BUT I try to see past that, since everything else is so great, especially the actors and the characters they play. Min for example. Okay she is not in Caemlyn but in Fal Dara, whatever! She is still awesome! The relationship between Nynaeve and Lan, Egwene and Rand, Loial!! Nynaeve and Egwene. Its just sooooo good,

Then there is the first scene of the episode, wow!!! Just wow!! Really wow!!

This episode gets a 10 out of 10 for me, as it sets up so much and also answers so much, while gives us the characters and the feeling I loved when I read the books.

Finally, we get some much needed time to flesh out the protagonists!

We got some great explanation as to what was going on in the plot, and a reveal of the Dragon! Finally, we can move past that plotline and into the real meat and potatoes of the book series!

Besides that, the Ways were spooky!

Episode 8 should be bonkers.

There is so much good stuff going on in this show, but rushing relationships and sex is not improving it. Use that time to advance the actual plot. Most of the acting is decent to good (Perrin getting "huffy" falls flat - both in response to the needless love triangle and in the tent of the children of the light).

There's a lot of good book material to work with, and in general it's coming across well, but it's like someone has a Hollywood show-by-numbers kit and just stops everything to say "ok, Hollywood demands sex here, relationship angst over here, a love triangle..."

Magnificent plot, heartfelt interactions, suspense from the beginning to the end, great soundtrack. A cliffhanger that will make the waiting for the last episode unbearable.

Storytelling 10/10 Scenes 10/10 Contant 10/10 Timeline 7/10 wished it would be episode 8 but there would be 10 episodes so it could rise next episode to the final in episode 10 Picture 9/10.

Absolutely fantastic episode, from the opening sequence, to the feels, the suspense, the reveals, just so good. I've loved every episode but up until now, four had been my favourite. But seven just had everything.

Ok, so the teen angst in the middle is perhaps a little silly, but it wouldn't be WoT without slightly daft romance plots! It looks like with Barney's departure some rewrites were required, and I think all things considered they did a spectacular job in the face of a potentially huge problem.

Can't wait to see how the end of the series unfolds after this, but I'm also sad it's coming to a close!

This episode had the best cold open by far. Such fanservice.

Rest of the episode is very solid , but this episode will be remembered fore the opening.

Great character building was done as well Only one more episode and I hope they can keep the momentum up.

Can the people who read the books just stop talking! Enough is enough. We get it, its not like the books. But guess what? Its not bad either so you have two options 1 stick to the books you already read and liked 2 watch the show with us and point out the pros and cons of the cinematography, acting and dialogue but stop giving the episodes low rating just because its not a 100% like the books !