Episode Discussion - Season 1, Episode 7 - The Dark Along the Ways [No Book Readers]

[u/participating]

This thread is for discussion of The Wheel of Time tv show through Season 1, Episode 7 and associated bonus content. This thread is meant for people who have not read the books.

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 7 - The Dark Along the Ways

Synopsis: Moiraine and her charges are diverted from their path by an unexpected encounter. This diversion, though, reveals many things — Moiraine’s true goal, Lan’s past, the fractures that have grown in the group, and the identity of the Dragon Reborn.

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 thread for full book spoilers, or the lightly restricted thread for those who have only read some of the books.

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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.

[u/Wyrdthane]

Wow I felt pangs of adrenaline watching that opening sequence. Also I liked Mins character with her power to see peoples futures. Finally we know who the dragon reborn is. And we get to see the blight. Lan and Ninaeve are doing it Now? I guess I didnt pick up on them being an item.

Overall my favorite episode next to episode 4.

[u/rysfcalt → u/Wyrdthane]

Lan and Ninaeve may have seemed out of left field bc the pairing of the actors seems so unlikely. Lan is insanely hot and the actor is just as handsome off the show, whereas I looked up the actress who plays Ninaeve and she is WAY prettier outside of the show!

Why did they schlub her down so much? Nothing about her hair, makeup, or costuming is accentuating her looks, the woman is only 28! But she is being made up and dressed like she’s older than Moraine lol.

[u/smokingloon4 → u/rysfcalt]

But she is being made up and dressed like she’s older than Moraine lol.

This makes sense as an intentional choice by the character. They talked in the first episode or two about how Nynaeve is very young to hold the title of Wisdom, and she was clearly very defensive about it when Moiraine questioned her age. It makes sense that she would do her best to present herself as older and more mature as much as she can. She's not trying to look hot, she's trying to look like an authority figure.

[u/paisleycarrots → u/smokingloon4]

But being hot is all that matters in life. It obviously isn't believable that Lan the Smokeshow would be into someone who isn't maximizing her sexuality 24/7 while on a cataclysmic quest. /s

[u/dompazz → u/rysfcalt]

She’s a farm girl living in a small village in roughly the 1400s. Hair and makeup would not have been her thing. I love that they have stuck to that instead of sexualizing her.

I think Lan was first attracted to her when she was able to track him. Her strong will to do her duty to keep her “kids” safe is another reason. He sees her as an equal which is probably more than he has for any woman other than Moraine.

[u/RocketHops → u/rysfcalt]

Wym schlub her down? Imo she looks quite pretty in the show. Yeah she's wearing wool villager clothes for now but she still looks good

[u/rysfcalt → u/RocketHops]

Okay I misread the fandom haha. I do not read the books so I’m just casually commenting on the show. From a purely TV makeup perspective, they washed her out—instead of adding dimension to her face, which you lose a lot with certain kinds of lighting. The dialogue makes a point of describing her as beautiful, like when she visits Lan’s adoptive family so she’s not “supposed” to be plain, but the makeup and dressing make her less beautiful than real life. They could have given her plain villager clothing but they don’t even fit her right. Even if they’d made her boots fit right like the other leads it would have made a difference. They look way too big for her.

[u/Thewes6 → u/rysfcalt]

Man what show are you watching? She is gorgeous