In Praise of Rosamund Pike

The British actress gave a performance that was nothing short of spectacular, doing justice to one of Robert Jordan's best, and most enigmatic, characters.

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Well, it’s now been just about a month since we got word that Amazon was pulling the plug on The Wheel of Time and, like many others in the fandom, I’m not yet over it. There are many reasons why I’m still processing what it means for this show not to get any more seasons, but for this week I want to, once again, celebrate one of the best gifts that Rafe Lee Judkins and his company gave us: namely, Rosamund Pike as Moiraine. From the very first episode to the finale of the third season Pike gave one of the very best performances of her extraordinary career, and she elevated what was already a very strong fantasy show into the realm of true greatness.

If you’ve read the books, you’ll know that Moiraine is one of the most fascinating yet enigmatic characters in the entire saga. We get a few chapters from her point of view, but even these aren’t particularly revealing, since Jordan delights in keeping crucial information from the reader (often to great effect). Much of the access that we have to Moiraine is mediated through others, most of whom have no reason to trust her and many of whom, particularly Nynaeve, actively dislike her. Even so, she remains a draw to many readers, and so it’s no wonder that she finally got her own novella, New Spring, way back in 2004.

From the beginning, the Amazon series made it clear that Moiraine was going to be a far more central figure than she was in the books, starting with the casting of a big name like Rosamund Pike to fill the role. While this might have rubbed some book readers the wrong way, I personally think it was the best thing that they could have done, as it fleshed Moiraine out and allowed her to breathe as a character. There’s also no doubt that Pike really made this role her own. She simply is Moiraine. She nails the character’s icy, cool demeanor, her ruthless determination to ensure that the Dragon Reborn survives to fight in and lead the Last Battle, and her skills at manipulation.

At the same time, Pike breathes far more life and complexity into Moiraine than she is ever allowed in the books. No matter how much insight we get into Moiraine’s motivation–and, to reiterate, there’s not that much to go on–the books go out of their way to paint her as something very close to a villain. All of the main characters, particularly those from Emond’s Field, view her with thinly-veiled hostility and mistrust, despite the fact that, almost without exception, they’re all a bunch of idiots (I said what I said. I love them, but whew, they do not know what they’re doing at all). In the series, by contrast, Moiraine is a figure worthy of respect and admiration, even if some–notably Rand and Nynaeve–continue to distrust her.

For all that Pike excels at capturing the icy facade of Moiraine and the placid face that she shows to the world, she also shows that there is much more to this Blue sister than the outside world suspects. Her romance with Siuan Sanche–played by the incandescent Sophie Okonedo–is one of the highlights of the show, and I continue to applaud Judkins and his team for bringing out the sapphic resonance of the books. Seeing these two extraordinary women together, one can well imagine what another turning of the Wheel might look like, one in which Moiraine and Siuan get to spend their lives together, forging a romantic future, rather than sacrificing everything for a bunch of young people who view them with hostility and distrust.

This isn’t to say that Moiraine isn’t a morally gray character, because she is. Like her book counterpart, her primary motivation–indeed her guiding principle–is to make sure that Rand survives and, just as importantly, that he doesn’t turn to the Dark before he has a chance to face off against the Dark One. As a result of this, she even forges an alliance of convenience with Lanfear and, while this no doubt enraged those who didn’t like this deviation from the source material, Pike allows us to see how much it costs her to make this perilous choice.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention Moiraine’s deep and powerful relationship with Lan. Just as there’s electric chemistry between Okonedo and Pike, so there is between Pike and Daniel Henney. They perfectly convey the sense that these are two people who have walked the same road for decades and know one another better than they know anyone else in the world. Watching them share intimate seasons–whether in the bath or in the sweat tents of the Aiel–is one of the great pleasures of the series.

Pike’s performance reaches its highest point in the brutal duel with Lanfear that ends the third season, and I will never forget the devastation on Moiraine’s face when she realizes that Siuan has been killed. If there is any justice in the world, Pike will get an Emmy nomination, and the award itself, for her performance in this moment alone. This is the kind of scene that yanks your heart out of your chest and leaves you devastated, and so much of its impact and its affect stems from Pike’s inimitable ability to convey Moiraine’s anguish and her heartbreak.

As a result of Pike’s performance, we got the Moiraine that, I think, we should have gotten in the books. While I obviously understand why Jordan took the path that he did with the character, up to a point, I do think it was a mistake not to give us more insight into what motivates her, particularly given how much she ends up sacrificing so that Rand can endure. This is a woman, after all, who pushed Lanfear–Lanfear, one of the most powerful and terrifying of the Forsaken–through a ter’angreal, even knowing that doing so would result in her own death. If this isn’t the definition of heroism, then I don’t know what is.

At this point it’s impossible to say whether The Wheel of Time will ever be adapted to the screen again. One thing we can say with some measure of certainty, however. There will never be another Moiraine Damodred quite like the one that Rosamund Pike was able to create. She managed to be deeply human while also holding onto the enigmatic stoicism that makes Moiraine so captivating and yet so elusive.

To end on a light note, I want to point out that Pike also rocked every single outfit she was given, whether that was the blocky dress of Cairhien or the sun hat that she wore for much of the third season. She is one of those actresses who, quite simply, embodies grace and coolness, and I’m just so glad that we got three seasons worth of incredible performances.