TV Review: "The Wheel of Time: A Taste of Solitude" (Season 2, Episode 1)
The second season of Amazon's blockbuster is off to a very strong start with its first episode.
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Unlike many other people, both in the commentariat and in the Wheel of Time fandom, I was actually quite a fan of the first season of the Prime Video adaptation. While I don’t think every storytelling choice worked, as a whole I thought it was a fantastic introduction to Jordan’s world, and the cast was uniformly excellent (with Rosamund Pike giving one of the best performances of her career as the subtle but ruthless Aes Sedai Moiraine). Now, nearly two years later, we’re back in Randland and, if the evidence from the first episode of the new season is anything to go by, this is going to be an even better adventure than the first time around.
In a densely-packed hour, we get to see just what everyone has been up to since the climactic events of the first season finale. Moiraine, still unable to access the Power, is in exile at the home of sisters Adeleas and Verin, perusing ancient scrolls and receiving visitors, while Lan seethes at her increasing inaccessibility. Egwene and Nynaeve, meanwhile, struggle through their lessons at the White Tower, with the latter in particular finding it nearly impossible to work through her block. Rand is in exile somewhere, Perrin is in pursuit of the Horn of Valere in the company of Loial, and Mat is seemingly imprisoned in Tar Valon.
As she did in the first season, Rosamund Pike delivers a knockout performance as Moiraine. She captures so much of what makes the novel character so beloved: haughty yet selfless, cunning yet kind, patrician yet down-to-earth. We might not yet know just what it is that she’s up to, but we can at least have confidence that it is something that will be for the good of the land and, one hopes, to the detriment of the Dark One. I do have a bit of a quibble with the continuing insistence on her not being able to touch the True Source, but I have faith that this will be rectified early in this season. Likewise, I don’t really like it that we see both her and Lan brought down by a group of Fades, but I suppose this has been done in the service of making them seem more “human.” I do hope that we get to see more of the badass Moiraine that we know from the books during this season. (On the bright side, we do get to see Lan with his shirt off, and that more than makes up for any shortcomings. Just ask Adeleas).
I’ve long enjoyed the bond between Nynaeve and Egwene, and once again both Zoë Robins and Madeleine Madden turn in terrific performances. Each of them allows us to see into the minds of their characters, allowing us to understand and feel what it is like to be them, as they struggle to both accept the fact that they are no longer home anymore and that mastering the One Power is going to be far more difficult than they anticipated. I give special credit to Robbins, who has really grown into the role of Nynaeve. Her bristling confrontation with Liandrin is, I think, my favorite moment in the entire episode, as it makes it clear not just that Nynaeve has a long road ahead if she wants to break through her block, but also that Liandrin probably understands her better than anyone else in the White Tower. If Liandrin is the same kind of character as she is in the book, this could have some very sinister consequences.
Now, to be fair, the men get the short end of the stick in this episode. We get one brief glimpse of Rand, a very brief interlude in which Mat is being psychologically tortured by Liandrin (no surprise there), and a few scenes with Perrin. Perrin fares the best in this premiere, as we get to see some of his struggles with his emerging wolf-like nature and his aversion to his temper. Notably, we also finally get to meet Elyas Machera, though as of yet we don’t see too much of what role he’s going to play. I know that I for one am looking forward to his tutelage of the reluctant Perrin and, given how much we know Perrin struggles with his anger and his grief, this will hopefully be a strong dramatic arc this season.
This episode also gives us introductions to some other fan-favorite characters. Moiraine and Lan are staying with the sisters Adeleas and Verin (the latter being a substitute for the canonical Vandene, presumably to cut down on the number of characters viewers have to keep track of). We also get a brief encounter between beloved Illianer Bayle Domon and Moiraine, though the former isn’t quite as stilted in his speech as his book counterpart. There are also some new Aes Sedai, including Sheriam, the Mistress of Novices (who, I think, is perfectly cast).
On the other side of the scale there’s Ba’alzamon/Ishamael, who we get to see during a meeting of powerful Darkfriends (one of whom bears the signature Seanchan long nails). Fares Fares is absolutely perfect in this role. He imbues Ishamael with just the right amount of sinister charisma, and it’s quite fascinating to watch him be comforting to a young girl, when we know just how capable he is of unspeakable cruelty. He delights in twisting words and morality, and it’s easy to see why he would have so easily fallen under the sway of the Dark One, so convinced is he of his own rightness. He’s a monster, but he’s an undeniably appealing one.
Overall, I thought that this first episode was a strong introduction to the stakes of the second season. The transition from the first season to the second isn’t entirely smooth–among other things, there’s no mention of just how Loial managed to recover from those terrible wounds he endured in Fal Dara–but that’s a minor quibble. Even this first episode shows a series surer in its footing than its freshman outing, and I know that I for one am thrilled with the casting. Don’t listen to the haters. Diversity has always been one of the great strengths of Jordan’s world, and I’m happy to see it continue in this new season.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have another episode to watch!