TV Review: "The Wheel of Time: The Shadow in the Night" (S3, Ep. 6)
In yet another fantastic episode--which even includes a musical number!--Amazon's epic fantasy series continues to skillfully blend personal drama and existential conflict for heady storytelling.
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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode, and for the Wheel of Time book series, follow.
One of the best things about being a fan of Amazon’s The Wheel of Time from the first season onward is getting to watch the show grow and become stronger with each passing season, as the creators move into the more compelling volumes in the series and become more confident in their storytelling powers. By now we’re well past the halfway mark of the third season, and it’s clear that The Wheel of Time has slowly become one of the best fantasy series of the 2020s. It’s one of those shows that deftly balances heartbreaking personal drama with larger cosmological and apocalyptic conflict, and the results are truly astounding.
There are some episodes of TV that really just break your heart, and I think it’s safe to say that “The Shadow in the Night” is going to go down as one such episode. Poor Rand has already endured quite a lot as a result of his walking through Rhuidean–lest we forget, the poor guy had to inhabit his own fathers’s point of view and thus bore witness to his mother’s dead body–but now he learns that use of the One Power, particularly in moments of duress, can have unintended consequences. What’s more, he also has to grapple with the fact that it has its limits.
I knew as soon as Rand started to bond with Alsera that this wasn’t going to end well, that she wasn’t likely to make it to the end of the season, or perhaps even the episode. While I did enjoy their tender moments–particularly her tendency to always refer to him as “Rand 'al'Thor” in her childishly formal way–I couldn’t help but sense that her demise was imminent. Still, nothing could quite have prepared me for devastating her death was going to be, nor could I have prepared for Josha Stradowski’s phenomenal acting. I can’t help but marvel at how much he’s grown as a performer, and he really digs deep to show us how dangerously close to the edge Rand hovers. You can practically see and feel the madness emanating from him and dancing in his eyes as, driven to desperation, he really does seem to believe that saidin can cure death.
What’s particularly striking and effective about this episode is just how closely it aligns with Rand’s arc in the novels. As readers will well remember, a major part of Rand’s development–or lack thereof, depending on your perspective–revolves around his profound guilt over the death of the women who are part of his life precisely because they are part of it. Just as importantly, this whole moment also brings home to Rand, and to the viewer, just how limited the Power can be. Yes, it might enable men and women to do things that those without the ability to channel could never dream of doing, but some things simply can’t be undone.
The Aiel Waste storyline also shows us how tense things are becoming for both Moiraine and Egwene. While the former continues to grapple with what it will mean for her to die so that Rand can fulfill his destiny, the latter gets a shock when she discovers that Rand has been with Lanfear all along and knew that she was a Forsaken. Madeleine Madden, like Stradowski, has also grown as a performer this season, and I love how the conversation between Rand and Egwene reveals just how far apart they’ve grown. When it comes down to it, Rand is right: Egwene does yearn for power and for something more than just being his beloved. This isn’t an indictment, just as it isn’t when Rand says it. It’s just a statement of fact, and it’s a part of her personality that will become more vital to her arc the longer the series goes on.
And how about Sammael? The ending to this episode gives us another glimpse at this most aggressive of the Forsaken, a man who is more than happy to bludgeon anyone who stands in the way of his getting vengeance against Rand al’Thor (or Lews Therin). I’m not convinced that he’s really dead, and it might well be that he isn’t Sammael at all but Asmodean in disguise. We know that Lanfear–who is prone to making veiled threats to Moiraine–is going to be sending someone to help Rand, and we know that Asmodean plays the role of tutor in the books, so it makes sense that he will put in an appearance. Fingers crossed!
Meanwhile, things are continuing to grow more dangerous in Tanchico, as Nynaeve, Elayne, Mat, and Min all have to navigate the fraught waters of the city while also staying on the alert for the Black Ajah, to say nothing of the sly Moghedien. I love the sense of exoticism that permeates Tanchico–even if it is also a bit Orientalist–but I’m even more enamored of the fact that this new environment, and some spirits, allows Nynaeve to finally let her hair down a bit. It’s a particular delight to see her bond with Min, and each of them clearly finds a kindred spirit in the other, since they’re both burdened with a power they would rather not possess.
While Sammael might be the most belligerent and bellicose of the Forsaken, we mustn’t forget that Moghedien is terrifying in her own right. As Lanfear has remarked time and again, she’s content to work from the shadows, to scheme and manipulate while others, like Sammael, will strike first and ask questions later. Laia Costa continues to do a truly terrifying job in the role, and there were moments during her moments on-screen where my skin was literally quivering (particularly when she kills one of the Black Ajah in cold blood). Unlike Lanfear, whose motives are at least explicable in that they stem from jealousy and desire, Moghedien is far more enigmatic, and this makes her especially unsettling.
Her ruthlessness comes to the fore in the moment when she uses Compulsion on Nynaeve and Elayne. The irony to all of this is that Moghedien has made an inveterate enemy in Nynaeve. Nynaeve isn’t the type of person who is willing to just let being Compelled by a Forsaken go without trying to get revenge. The fact that she fights against the weave is a testament to just how dangerous she’s going to become and, as we know, she’s a remarkably powerful channeler when she’s able to work through her block. Moghedien might be under the impression that she is able to do what she wants with the Aes Sedai of this fallen Age, but she’s going to find out that these young women are far more badass than she, or any of the other Forsaken, could have foreseen.
Speaking of Aes Sedai, I love that we get more insight into Liandrin’s character and backstory. There’s no question that she’s given herself to the Dark but, just as the series has fleshed out and developed Lanfear so that she is a psychologically complex character in her own right, so now we come to see that there were some good reasons for Liandrin’s abandonment of the Light. No one who turns to the Dark does so for uncomplicated reasons, and one can see why Liandrin–tormented and subjugated when she was little more than a child–might come to the conclusion that the Light had nothing to offer and that if she wanted to get the justice she felt she deserved she could only rely on the Dark One. At the same time, this episode also makes it clear that she is also a creature of ambition, though this puts her squarely in Lanfear’s crosshairs. When it comes to serving the Dark, as we know, the path is often paved with daggers. Liandrin might aspire to become one of the Chosen, but there’s a very big gap between intentions and reality. (Side note: it’s clear from the prologue of this episode that our dearly departed Ishamael has been playing a very long game indeed, exerting an influence on the world long before Rand al’Thor was even a twinkle in Tigraine’s eyes).
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Elayne’s amazing musical number in this episode. Before we get to that, though, I have to admit that I’m quite glad to see Thom Merrillin again. He might not be quite the kindly old man that we meet in the books, but I do appreciate what Alexandre Willaume is doing with the character. I’m also genuinely curious to see what the show does with his arc, particularly since we’ve already seen that Moiraine’s heart will always be given to Siuan, even if their romance is now done, at least in this turning of the Wheel. I guess time will tell!
Elayne’s song, however, is really a remarkable moment in the show, and I do hope that it becomes the sort of viral hit that “Toss a Coin to your Witcher” did for Netflix’s The Witcher. It’s not just infectiously lisenable; it also showcases Elayne’s ability to really adapt to whatever situation arises. She might be the Daughter-Heir of Andor and thus one of the most important people in the Westlands, but her mother has trained her well. She is able to rub shoulders with commoners and royalty and nobles alike, which is what makes her such a valuable asset as they attempt to ferret out the Black Ajah and their sinister plot to shackle the Dragon Reborn.
Lastly, we come to the Two Rivers storyline. I continue to find this the most frustrating and least interesting of the many plots going on this season. While I’m glad that Alanna was Healed by the Cauthon girls, it really does seem as if Healing in this show isn’t nearly as complicated as it is in the books. This is one of many times that grievous wounds are swept away by what verges on a plot contrivance, but I am glad at least that the Cauthon girls get to show just how powerful the blood of Manetheren really does flow in the Two Rivers. I’m also a bit on the fence about Padan Fain, for while he’s always a chilling presence, we don’t really get enough of him in this episode to really chill our blood.
On the other side of the equation, I really did enjoy getting to see more of the dynamic between Perrin and Faile. Each of them shared something important with the other, and while I don’t particularly care that the series seems to have made some pretty drastic changes to Faile’s storyline, I am curious as to whether she is telling the entire truth. What is clear, though, is that there’s something really special taking place between these two characters, each of whom is clearly hurting and looking for a powerful human connection. And, I have to be honest, I am a little in love with the way that Isabella Bucceri says “Aybara.” It’s just so infectiously sexy and playful, and I will go on record as saying that I already love Show Faile much more than I could ever imagine loving Book Faile.
This is one of those episodes that is effective both in itself and also for the extent to which it sets up some things to come later in the season. The alliance between Moiraine and Lanfear is clearly one that can only go so far, and neither of them can teach Rand how to channel. For this reason, as I alluded to earlier, I suspect that we’re going to meet Asmodean before the end of the season, since he is the one who ends up training Rand in the books. There are some who theorize that the show might choose to combine Thom and Asmodean and, while I think that that’s a possibility–in the sense that this new Thom might just be the Forsaken adopting a guise that would be more likely to sway others to his rank–I don’t think it's’ likely.
One thing is for sure, though. The next episodes are going to knock our socks off, and I truly can’t wait to see what Rafe and company have in store for us. And, lastly: Amazon, renew this show for season four already!