One week is probably not enough to recover from the stunning storytelling of The Wheel of Time Season 3, Episode 4. I am still processing all the information about the past and possible future that that episode dramatized so thrillingly. But the show must go on. It’s time to move all the present plotlines forward, and The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 5 ‘Tel’aran’rhiod’ does exactly that. And it does so in an exciting fashion.
After going through the trial of Rhuidean, Rand’s (Josha Stradowski) arms now bear the marks that prove he is the Car’a’carn to the Aiel. He is one step closer to having these fierce tribes as his army in the Last Battle. Other prospects are not so bright, however. Nynaeve (Zoe Robins), Elyane (Ceara Coveney), and Mat (Donal Finn) are on the trail of the Black Ajah, while Siuan (Sophie Okenedo) is still trying to figure out who she can trust among the Aes Sedai she leads. And Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) has to avoid the Whitecloaks who are looking for him in the Two Rivers. Let’s not forget about the connection Rand has with Lanfear (Natasha O’Keeffe) because, well, she’s a Forsaken and he’s supposed to be taken!
Obviously, the drama part of this fantasy drama is particularly juicy right now, and The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 5 ‘Tel’aran’rhiod’ is a case in point. The episode also adds or deepens some details of this fantasy world. That makes it another consistent episode in this (so far) stellar season.
MORE: Relive the excellent episode ‘The Road to the Spear’ with our review of The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 4!
“You have power over your own dreams.”
Let’s start with the title of this episode. Tel’aran’rhiod is the world of dreams, and Egwene (Madeleine Madden) is learning all about it this season. She is having troubling dreams about being captured and tortured by the Seanchan last season. When Egwene met the Wise Women of the Aiel, they realized the attacks in her dreams came from a live person. The writers revealed it was Lanfear infiltrating her dreams.
Now, Egwene learns to control this ability. She needs practice at first, and Lanfear’s interference is presented in such a creepy way, but she makes progress. In fact, the final sequence of The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 5 ‘Tel’aran’rhiod’ proves that. Egwene visits her friends’ dreams and they are all sweet and positive. You hope for these things to come true… well, that is, until she gets to Rand and finds Lanfear visiting him. A confrontation is clearly in their future.
There are other expansions of magic in this episode, too. While Nynaeve, Elayne, and Mat sail to Tanchico, Nynaeve’s seasickness sends them up on deck. They see the female sailors channeling magic so the ship will sail faster. “There is more than one way to channel, more than one way to be a woman,” one of the sailors tells them. An inclusive message like that is always a good thing. It is also important that Nynaeve and Elayne get another perspective on magic outside of the Aes Sedai, just like Egwene is getting from the Aiel. Details like this make a created world feel layered and fully realized.
MORE: Take a look at our review for The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 3!
“It flows whether you want it to or not.”
The writers take care to make every storyline interesting in this episode. In the Two Rivers, Perrin finds out that the White Cloaks have taken Mat’s mother and sisters captive. They are trying to punish the whole town because Perrin killed a White Cloak at the Battle of Falme last season. Well, Perrin is not going to sit by and do nothing, and he has help in the form of Aes Sedai Alanna (Priyanka Bose). Alanna and her Warder, Maksim (Taylor Napier), are in a bad place right now. They are grieving the loss of Ivhon, Alanna’s other Warder and the third member of their throuple. Maksim doesn’t understand why Alanna wanted to come to the Two Rivers instead of hunting down Ivhon’s killer, Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood).
Well, Alanna has a good reason for that. Besides Rand being the Dragon Reborn, Egwene and Nynaeve are the two most powerful channelers to come along in centuries, Mat became the Hornblower when he blew the Horn of Valere at the Battle of Falme, and Perrin is a woflbrother. Alanna insists this place is special if it produced all 5 of these people. She has a point. The rescue of Mat’s family from the White Cloaks reveals even more evidence that she is right. Even though it has big shoes to fill after the brilliance of the previous episode, The Wheel of Time Season 3, Episode 5 ‘Tel’aran’rhiod’ engages with all the plotlines in an interesting way.
MORE: Remind yourself what happened in ‘A Question of Crimson’ with our review of The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 2!
The Wheel of Time Season 3 is streaming on Prime Video.
