This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes. We stand with the SAG-AFTRA. Without them, the movies and television shows we cover would not exist.
Every once in a while, a television show needs to give the good guys a win in the middle of the story. Or at least most of them. Especially if the story is a long saga with some time still to go. The Wheel of Time 2×07 is a rousing and exciting installment that offers moments to cheer for after the harrowing drama of the previous episode.
The second season of The Wheel of Time has largely kept its central heroes separate. They have been mostly in different places, focusing on different goals and problems. This is in contrast to the first season, when the characters were together almost all the time. The individual experiences they’re having now have made for strong development for each of them. They all had meaningful things to do. This has also resulted in a plot that has advanced quickly throughout each episode. Fans could go breathless recounting all the things that have happened so far this season. And it’s not over yet.
Before the season ends with the next episode, The Wheel of Time 2×07 needed to alleviate the darkness of the last episode. It does that and more. There are welcome positive moments when you feel like the protagonists are being active and making progress. It fits in with the fast pace of the rest of the season, too. I’m more than ready for the finale after this episode.
“You are the water that turns the Wheel itself.”
Nynaeve (Zoe Robins) and Elayne (Ceara Coveney) have been trying to figure out a way to rescue Egwene (Madeleine Madden) from the Seanchan for the past couple of episodes. The Seanchan are ruthless and capture any channeler of magic they can find. Egwene’s ordeal in the last episode proves how brutal their enslavement can be. Nynaeve and Elayne will have to find a way to help Egwene without magic.
Thankfully, they gather their courage and do something. The Seanchan control their captives by putting a collar on them. They wear a bracelet to control that collar. The Aes Sedai who was hiding Nynaeve and Elayne left behind a collar and bracelet when she was captured. Now, they put a plan into action. Nynaeve doesn’t trust anyone easily but she must work with Elayne now. Thankfully, they make a good team. They manage to put the collar on a Seanchan. I’m really going to like seeing them make things happen in the next episode.
Meanwhile, Egwene may be under the Seanchan’s control but her spirit is still as independent as ever. Her power may be at the beck and call of the Seanchan now but we know she will work toward her own freedom if she can. When she tells her despicable jailer “I will kill you,” we believe her. Again, I have a feeling the next episode is going to satisfying for her character.
“I hope you’re worth it.”
No one wants to free Egwene more than Rand (Josha Stradowski). He knows now that his friends aren’t as safe without him as he thought, and that’s hard for him. But the more immediate problem is how the leader of the Aes Sedai, Siuan Sanche (Sophie Okonedo), handles his status as Dragon Reborn. She insists that they must keep him under lock and key until they can use his power against the Seanchan.
What Siuan wants is now at odds with what Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) knows is the best thing to do. This is a dramatic situation on more than one level. Siuan is Moiriane’s leader as an Aes Sedai but the two are also lovers. Oh, the conflict! The meaty interactions between them in this episode are best saved for viewing but I will say this plotline is one that hints at plenty of story for future seasons.
As for the end of this season, which is the next episode, all of our heroes are headed for the city of Falme. Or they’re already there. That is where the Seanchan are based, where Egwene is being held, and where Rand is supposed to reveal himself as the Dragon Reborn. The characters we’ve come to care about all being in the same place again is an example of the positive things we want to see happen more after The Wheel of Time 2×07. The writers have started to show us the light at the end of the tunnel so I’m crossing my fingers that they follow through.
The Wheel of Time is streaming on Prime Video.
