Diksha Sundriyal
The third season of Prime Video’s ‘The Wheel of Time’ comes to an explosive end with a finale titled ‘He Who Comes With the Dawn,’ which answers several mysteries set up in the first half of the season. The penultimate episode focused entirely on the Battle of Two Rivers, leaving Perrin’s fate in uncertainty as he hands himself over to the Whitecloaks. The finale moves on from that conflict and delivers a smorgasbord of emotions as the rest of Perrin’s friends embark on their own dangerous quests, all of which end in highly unexpected ways. The most shocking thing, however, happens in the White Tower, the repercussions of which will be felt throughout the next season or so. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Why does Elaida Kill Siuan Sanche?
The third season started with chaos erupting in the White Tower. The Amyrlin Seat tried to bring Liandrin to justice but failed to anticipate her influence within the tower and ended up bearing heavy losses. The impact of that event reverberates through this season as Siuan gets weaker by the day, and the strain of keeping up with the secrets and Moiraine’s expectations starts to take a toll on her. She starts to get sloppy, and Elaida, who has always had her eye on the throne, takes her chance. This episode begins with a ten-year flashback to the time when Siuan and Elaida stood against each other for the Amyrlin Seat. Interestingly, we see Elaida come out of an arch, which is a Ter’angreal.
This suggests that she did something drastic to get what she wanted, but when the voting happens, the results are not in her favor. Instead, Siuan is made the Amyrlin Seat, and Elaida finds a different path for herself in Andor. Still, she was promised the Amyrlin Seat, and she gets it this time by plotting against Siuan right under her nose. In a previous episode, she sent a group of Red Ajahs away from the White Tower. When Siuan finds out about it, she sends her most trusted Aes Sedai, to get them back, but that turns out to be a trap, as with them away, she has no supporters left in the White Tower. Interestingly, Elaida made sure that eleven Aes Sedai were still in the tower, all of whom supported her. She calls a vote without Siuan present and is declared the Amyrlin Seat.
By the time Siuan discovers what has happened, she is accused of being a Darkfriend and is stripped of her One Power, but Elaida does not stop there. She interrogates a heavily injured Siuan in front of the remaining Aes Sedai. She accuses her of working with Moiraine, who has already been ousted from the Tower, and is working with Rand, whom Elaida wants to be gentled. With nothing left to lose, Siuan comes clean about the prophecy that led Moiraine and her on the path they are now and reveals how bad things could turn out. She also claims her innocence and dedication to her role as the Amyrlin, accusing Elaida of being obsessed with nothing but power. However, her words have no impact on anyone, and it is revealed that her fate has already been sealed. She has been sentenced to be executed, and she is beheaded in the middle of the court, which she once ruled.
Does Lanfear Die? Does She Kill Moiraine?
While Siuan is busy tackling the backstabbing that eventually leads to her death in the White Tower, Moiraine is trying to gather support from Rand with the Aiels. In a previous episode, Sammael showed up to attack Rand, and it turns out that he was sent by Lanfear, not because she wanted Rand and his friends killed, but because she knew that Sammael would be a great person to teach her lover how to harness his unlimited power. Moiraine has the same thought in mind, but then Rand finds out about Egwene’s torture, and this leads him and Egwene to lay a trap on Lanfear. In his dream, Rand confronts Lanfear about all the bad things she has done and how she lost her humanity ages ago when she freed the Dark One. He calls her jealous and insecure and practically breaks off any ties with her.
This angers Lanfear, but before she can do anything, Egwene shows up and casts her out of their dream. The intent was to infuriate the Forsaken so much that she would show up in front of them for real. Everyone is ready to attack the moment she shows, but she never does. Or at least not in front of them. And Rand senses that. An angry Lanfear lashes out at Rand, but first, she decides to teach Moiraine a lesson. She reaches out to Melindhra, who turns out to be a Darkfriend and sends her to kill Lan. However, due to her loyalty to Malkier, Melindhra refuses to do as she is told, which means breaking her oath and dying because of it. Meanwhile, she also sends Moghedien to kill Sammael and meets with Rahvin to talk about getting Callandor.
Eventually, when Rand is busy meeting with the tribes of the Aiels to convince them of his status as the Car’a’carn, Moiraine prepares for Lanfear’s arrival because she believes that the vision of her death is about to come true in the desert. As expected, the Forsaken shows up, and with the Sakarnen’s power, Moiraine fights her. Her defenses start to get weak as she is alone, but then Lan shows up, and together, they fight her so hard that he manages to hit her with his sword. However, Lanfear manages to overpower both of them. She renders Lan unconscious and stabs Moiraine with her sword, just as it happened in one of the possibilities the Aes Sedai saw in Rhuidean. In a normal situation, there is no coming back from this, but at the same moment, Moiraine senses that Siuan has been killed.
The heartbreak courses through her in a surge of anger that leads her to pull the sword out, something that Lanfear had never seen happen before. She is so shocked by Moiraine’s power at that moment that it takes a while for her to realize that the Aes Sedai is now wielding the sword. Lanfear is hit right in the neck, and she sustains a major wound, but before Moiraine can attack her again, she immediately runs away. Her condition shows that the wound could be deadly for her, but considering Lanfear, this is not the last we’ve seen of her. It might take her some time to recuperate, but with the help of the other Forsaken, she will come back again. Meanwhile, a heartbroken Moiraine grieves Siuan’s death, with Lan trying to comfort her while a storm and rain rage in the background, all thanks to Rand.
Elayne Makes a Shocking Discovery About a Trusted Person
While the Dragon Reborn is busy trying to get an army, his friends try to find one of the few things that can render him powerless or, worse, in control of someone else. Mat, Min, Elayne, and Nynaeve, joined by Thom, continue their search for the shackles in Tanchico, and eventually, they find Liandrin, who receives the second bracelet from Moghedien, who is still pretending to be her servant. With only the collar remaining, they attack the palace to get to it. Liandrin doesn’t shy away from creating a bloodbath, and Nynaeve and her friends follow her closely. Inside the palace, they break up to cover more ground. Thom goes with Elayne and talks to her about the time when he last saw her. He reveals that when she was three or so, she almost pulled apart the entire palace brick by brick with her power.
He also tells her that he left Andor when she was around five, which is when she mentions Gaebril and is shocked to discover that Thom doesn’t know about the consort. He tells her that there has never been a person named Gaebril and that whatever memories she has of the guy are because he placed them in her brain. Something like this can only be done by a Forsaken, which means that the Queen and her kingdom are in grave danger. He tells Elayne to go back home once they have found the collar, and at one point, she even wonders who he is. Her question is left unanswered, but it is clear that Thom cares for her so much that he is ready to sacrifice himself for her. Luckily, she is not the one to run away from a fight and saves him by killing one of Liandrin’s goons.
Mat Lands Himself in Yet Another Trouble
Min and Mat continue their search for the collar, and it leads them to a room where there is all sorts of stuff, including an interesting arch. Min immediately recognizes it as the arch she saw in the vision with Mat hanging by a rope. She tries to stop him from getting close to it, but he enters it and finds himself in a completely different world. This arch is similar to the one we see Elaida come out at the beginning of the episode. In there, Mat meets Eelfinn, who asks him what he wants the most. With no way out, Mat is cornered by the mysterious being and says that he wants to go back. The creature also notices the voices inside his head, which aren’t his and offers to take them away. However, in agreeing to it, Mat unintentionally also agrees to pay the price set by the being. The truth about the said price is not revealed so far, but when Mat does come back, he is hanging by a noose around his neck.
Min saves him just in time, and when he comes to, he seems to have lost some of his memories. The voices inside his head are gone, and so are some of the recent things. For example, he doesn’t remember where he is and how he got there. Interestingly, there is also a strange necklace on him, from which comes the echo of the voices that had been haunting Mat for a while. Around the same time, Nynaeve goes after Liandrin. She manages to stay out of sight and even finds the collar. She waits for her friends outside the palace, but before them, Liandrin finds her. She takes the collar from her, binds her hands, and throws her in the water. For a minute there, it looks like Nynaeve is going to drown. At least, that’s what Liandrin believes when she walks away with the collar. But then, Nynaeve has visions of the daughter she never had. She hears her cries, and it is in trying to save her that the bounds she had placed on herself break, and the true extent of her power is released.
She creates a path for herself by completely clearing the water and walking away from the situation more powerful than before. With the revelation of Liandrin being a Black Ajah, the next step in her journey is revealed to be her desire to become a Forsaken. However, she knows she cannot get that without a Forsaken on her side, and she also knows that Lanfear is not the one who will help her get there. So, she seeks out the one with whom she has shared interests: Moghedien. From their previous interaction, Liandrin realized that the Forsaken had been keeping an eye on her all along. So, when she gets the collar, she offers one bracelet to Moghedien and proposes an alliance, which doesn’t sound too bad to her so far. Moreover, with Sammael dead, the position of a Forsaken is open, and Liandrin believes with Moghedien’s help, she can fill that role and more.
Why does Egwene Ask Rand to Let Go? Does He?
Rand al’Thor began his journey this season to gather an army for himself by convincing the Aiels that he is the savior they have been waiting for. He gets his tattoos following the trial of Rhuidean, and ideally, that should act as a major hint to convince all the tribes that he is the Car’a’carn. However, when Lanfear is scorned, she decides to make his task more difficult. She uses the Aiel warrior who had planned to go through the trial when Rand showed up and gives him the same tattoos as him. Meanwhile, when Lanfear does not show up for the trap created for her, Rand decides to hasten the process and meet the tribe immediately. When he arrives at their encampment, he, along with several others, is shocked to discover that there is another man with two dragon tattoos.
Rand is not fazed by this competition, and he immediately calls out the competitor for his lies. He asks him what he saw in his trial and if he actually went through with it. The man refuses to talk about it because that is the law, but Rand decides to use this against him. He talks about his own vision, which is not received well by the people who already follow him. He tells the Aiels of their past, where they came from, and how they became oathbreakers. His words lead to a riotous situation, and Rand is implored not to spill these secrets as they could destroy the bonds between the different tribes and lead them to spill each other’s blood. This is when Rand reminds them that the Car’a’carn’s job is to destroy them and save the remnants.
To remove any doubts about his status as their leader, he gives them a show of power. He channels the One Power to create a powerful storm that rains upon the Aiel. With this show of strength, he has them bend their knees to him one by one, and their Car’a’carn is truly declared. The only person that does not bend to him is Egwene. A short while ago, during their journey to meet the leaders of the tribes, she has a conversation with Aviendha, who tells her that as she is not an Aiel, she is not bound to follow the Car’a’carn. She has her own identity outside of Rand, and she must follow her own path. Seeing Rand unleash his power in front of the Aiel, Egwene seems to be on the brink of making up her mind about what she wants to do next. But while everyone else is bending their knee to Rand, she is the only one who notices that he is stretching it a bit too far.
While he might be the Dragon Reborn, he is still a man and any man who channels the One Power risks going mad. Only in Rand’s case, that would be a catastrophe no one is ready to handle. So, as she sees him intensify the display of his power, she sees him losing control and tells him to let go. He looks at her, but before we can find out whether he stopped, the screen cuts to black. If one is to go by the events of the books on which the show is based, Rand is yet to lose his mind. In fact, with the might of the Aiels behind him, he is ready for the first war that has been brewing towards him. The sudden cut to black means that there remains an uncertainty about whether Rand can really control his power and stay on the right path. More importantly, it shows Egwene’s doubts about him, and perhaps some of them might even come true the next time.
Read More: Is Loial Dead? Did Hammed Animashaun Leave The Wheel of Time?
You must be logged in to post a comment.