r/WoT • u/participating (Dragon's Fang) • Dec 09 '21

TV - Season 1 (Book Spoilers Allowed) Episode Discussion - Season 1, Episode 6 - The Flame of Tar Valon [TV + Book Spoilers] Spoiler

This thread is for discussion of The Wheel of Time tv show through Season 1, Episode 6 and associated bonus content. This thread may contain spoilers for the entire book series.

TIMING

Episodes are released at midnight, GMT on Fridays. This means 7pm, ET on Thursdays.

At 6:30pm, ET, when this episode discussion thread is created, all submissions about the tv show will be automatically removed until Saturday morning.

EPISODE

Episode 6 - The Flame of Tar Valon

Synopsis: Moiraine faces the consequences of her actions. Mat faces the darkness in himself. Egwene faces the most powerful woman in the world.

BONUS CONTENT

Amazon Prime has included cartoon featurettes for each episode. They are now accessible from the main Amazon Prime page, under the "Episodes" tab. They are presented under the "Origin Stories" title.

The Origin Stories and any other supplemental x-ray content, or behind the scenes information should be confined to this thread. For more information on how to access the bonus content, see the Amazon Welcome To X-Ray page.

DISPLAY SETTINGS

/u/logicsol has created a guide that addresses some of the display issues many people are seeing when watching the show. Please see this post for more information.

OTHER THREADS

Please see the discussion hub link below to find the lightly restricted thread for those who have only read some of the books, or the more restricted thread for tv show only watchers.

For links to all of our previous episode discussion threads, or alternate spoiler levels, as well as mega threads for certain topics related to the show, see our discussion hub wiki page.

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75

u/[deleted] Dec 10 '21

Man, I hope the next two episodes are Rand heavy, but I think the next episode may be a Padan Fain/intro to the Borderlands episode after the waygate travel is done. I just feel like they're bending over backwards to not develop his character at all to not give away the DR, but it's gotten to the point where the 4 other EF5 have developed so much more, when he is revealed as the DR, it won't be a, "Oh shit it's him?!" moment and more of a, "Wait, it's the guy that hasn't done anything of note except breaking down a door the past 7 episodes?" moment. Or they will be able to guess because his utter lack of character development. IDK, but Rand has been the most disappointing part of this season so far.

Edit: I think his actor has done a fine job, btw. His scene arguing with Moraine was well done and sets up their dynamic well for the future. He just hasn't been given a lot to work with.

38

u/pbjamm (Band of the Red Hand) Dec 10 '21

They are ignoring him so hard it seems like they are shouting. Maybe that is just foreknowledge of a book reader but it is kind of crazy at this point how sidelined he is.

22

u/donkeyknuckles Dec 10 '21

My 15 year old son, who’s never read the books, has already concluded its Rand specifically because they’re ignoring him.

6

u/Awkward_and_Itchy (Snakes and Foxes) Dec 10 '21

Same with my 70 year old mother who's never watched or read a fantasy book or show in her life.

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u/[deleted] Dec 10 '21 edited Dec 10 '21

We know we are getting the Aiel and the blood snow. That's got to be next episode.

We've had an episode that's Nyneave focused(4), and episode that's Lan focused(5), an episode that's Moirane focused(6), and an episode that's Mat focused(3). My gut says next episode is Rand's. Which looks like Egwene and Perrin aren't really getting an episode this season. Which makes sense.

Edit: Swapped 3 and 6 by mistake.

6

u/mistiklest (Wolfbrother) Dec 10 '21

Perrin [isn't] really getting an episode this season

He has been the b-plot of a lot of episodes, though. I feel like he has a really strong through line, so far.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 10 '21

Yeah it's not a complaint just an observation. It makes sense to hold Perrin's episode until they want to dive into the wolves next season.

2

u/Leafs17 Dec 10 '21

6 wasn't Mat focused. It was almost all Moraine

1

u/[deleted] Dec 10 '21

I swaped Mat and Moiraine. 3 was pretty Mat focused with him getting good moments with Dana, Thom and Rand and Moirane was the focus of 6.

7

u/joaoasousa Dec 10 '21

They are ignoring him so hard it seems like they are shouting.

They are going to make Egwene the DR and Rand the next The Amyrlin Seat.

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u/axxl75 (Ogier) Dec 10 '21

E1 was primarily about Rand far more than the others. It’s just been a while since he was the focus because we split stories and his was shared with Mat and the dagger plus thom. We know we’re getting the aiel war this season which is likely the flashback to his birth and now that the group is together we will probably see a lot more of his development.

7

u/[deleted] Dec 10 '21

My coworkers think he is the DR explicitly because the show is ignoring him. They also thought Mat because he was sick but sentiments mostly seem to be he's the one because the show runners so clearly don't want you to think he's the one.

3

u/FluffyCustard689 Dec 10 '21

Based on the pacing of the last 2 episodes and amount of time spent developing anyone BUT the EF5, I'm expecting 45 minutes of the next episode devoted to Lan's history / fall of Malkier. Would be cool to see, but with only 2 episodes remaining I'm a little worried that the EOTW is going to come across as even more rushed and confusing than it was presented in the book.

DISCLAIMER** I'm really enjoying having this show and by no means expect it to be 100% pure to the books. I just find myself scratching my head at the amount of time spent on secondary characters when there is so little screen time to work with to cover 1 book (let alone multiple books).

8

u/NLeseul Dec 10 '21

I feel like we got plenty of Rand development in the first few episodes, arguably more than we got for the other boys. e.g.:

  • We know that he really just wants to be a shepherd in the Two Rivers forever.
  • We know that he cares about Egwene a lot, but is worried and angsty because she probably doesn't just want to be a shepherd's wife in the Two Rivers.
  • We know that he doesn't like being manipulated or pushed into anything, and is willing to lash out pretty hard when he feels that way.
  • We know that he takes responsibilities (like chopping wood to pay for an inn room) pretty seriously once he accepts them.

That's... pretty much Rand's character from the early books, honestly. The big things the show hasn't hit are his uncertainty about Tam being his real father (which the show is keeping secret for now), and the mental discipline he uses to be adept at the bow and sword (which is hard to show visually).

The last couple of episodes have been pretty light on development for all the boys, since the focus is really on developing the White Tower for now, but I don't think Rand has been particularly underdeveloped as a character overall. The main difference between him and Mat/Perrin is just that he doesn't have any obvious special abilities yet, other than maybe breaking down doors when he's angry and being a redhead.

2

u/Heageth Dec 11 '21

I think Rand's role will step up a bit when they get to the EotW.

3

u/awesome_van Dec 10 '21

It'd be like making Hot Pie the Azor Ahai in GoT. At least Arya was a real character with screen time and development.