TV Review: "The Wheel of Time: Strangers and Friends" (Season 2, Episode 2)
The second episode of the second season continues to build up the great characters, even if the action does stall a bit.
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Having established the central conflicts of the season with its first episode, the second episode of the second season of The Wheel of Time, “Strangers and Friends” continues to build up its characters and the stakes of their various questions. While Perrin continues grappling with his wolf gift (before being taken captive by the Seanchan), Rand works in with the mentally ill, Nynaeve tries to figure out whether she wants to train in the White Tower at all, Egwene meets a new friend, and Mat has a chummy little encounter with fellow prisoner Min. Meanwhile, Moiraine seems to definitively break with Lan.
There’s some fascinating character work going on in this episode, particularly when it comes to the female characters. Rosamund Pike continues to be simply amazing as Moiraine, and I appreciate that we get to see a bit more of her struggles and crises of conscience (which were largely opaque in the book, since we get very few chapters from her point of view). Her conversation with Lan is one of the most heartbreaking we’ve yet seen, particularly since it’s clear just how much they care about one another and how deep their Bond runs. However, Moiraine realizes, even if Lan can’t right now, that they are on two separate paths, and she can’t have him with her right now. (As a book reader, I suspect they’re moving up some of the plots in the later books that revolve around Moiraine falling through the ter’angreal and going to a realm where she is stripped of the One Power).
Strangely enough, one of the other great stories in this episode revolves around Liandrin, whose true loyalties still seem very opaque. I’m genuinely pleased with the work the show has been doing with her character, and Kate Fleetwood and her jawline are truly a force of nature. In this episode, we see that she in fact has a son who has grown old while she has stayed young, and Fleetwood gives a wrenching and emotionally fraught performance. If, as in the book, Liandrin does turn out to be a member of the Black Ajah, it’s easy to see how she could have been lured astray (perhaps with a promise that her son might be saved from inevitable death)? If, on the other hand, the show has something else in mind for her, this allows her to be something more than a villain.
Meanwhile, there’s a new dynamic taking shape between Nynaeve and Egwene, with the latter increasingly jealous of the former. Both Zoë Robins Madeleine Madden continue to do fantastic work with their characters. This episode was also remarkable for its introduction of another key character, Elayne Trakand, the Daughter-Heir of Andor, played here by Ceara Coveney. Coveney is pitch-perfect in the role, capturing just the right amount of selflessness and effortless hauteur that are so key to the character. It’ll be fun to watch her bond with Egwene (and, to a lesser extent, Nynaeve) mature and grow as the season and series go on.
On the other hand, the men are still sort of spinning their wheels. Perrin still grapples with his anger, Mat is languishing in a prison in Tar Valon, and Rand is trying to find himself by working in a mental institution, presumably so that he can gain some insight into what awaits him as his own madness takes hold. Though we get relatively few scenes with him, they are artfully constructed, and Josha Stradowski continues to grow into the book. His is a grittier, less vacillating Rand than in the book, and that is definitely to the series’ benefit. This episode also makes it clear that he’s a genuinely good guy, even if there is a darkness growing inside of him, and even if he has already fallen in with a woman who is far more than meets the eye.
Those of us who have read the books know just who Selene is and what she’s about. Unless the show decides to go in some radically new direction, she is none other than the sinister Lanfear, one of the most powerful and subtle of the Forsaken. There are enough hints that this is who she is, particularly the moment when she claims that Rand reminds her of a man that she lost. Who else could this be but Lews Therin himself? It’ll be fun to see how this revelation is brought to light, and I like that the series allows them to have an actual sexual relationship rather than the far more chaste one they have in the novels.
Of the characters, Mat’s story is the one that I continue to find the most frustrating. I don’t know just how long they intend to keep him trapped in that dungeon, but I hope that it’s for no more than another episode. Dònal Finn seems like he’s going to do a good job as Mat, with a far lighter touch than Barney Harris before him (I liked Harris, but there was far too much brooding and too little lightness and mischief). It was nice to see him interact with Min, but he has to actually do something in order for him to remain an interesting character in his own right.
This was, overall, a very strong episode, but I do hope that the rest of the season starts to pick up. As of now, it still feels like we’re setting the stage for conflicts to come. What I’ve seen of the Seanchan is appropriately chilling, even if they are little more than a vague threat at this moment (I have to say that I’m a little disappointed that they don’t seem likely to speak in a southern accent). It’s also nice that we finally got confirmation that the escaped Forsaken is, in fact, Ishamael. This season has done some great work giving more depth and richness to its characters (one of the shortcomings of the first season was the relative flatness of its heroes), but it’s time for them all to start doing something. Let’s hope that it happens sooner rather than later, and let’s also hope that we get to see a lot more of our beloved Verin!