Here is my The Wheel of Time S2 Episode 6 review and for me this was horrific viewing at times, but damn good drama. As always I will staying as SPOILER FREE as possible in this review, so let’s get to it. The events of Episode 5 saw Nyn and Elayne on the run, and Egwene captured by the Seanchan and collared. It would be fair to say the main focus of Episode 6 is on what happened next. More so, this episode fully explores what being collared as a Damane means in this Universe.
Damane
Without spoiling anything, Episode 6 is a pretty rough watch if you’re looking for light entertainment. This is not light entertainment. Now we are starting to get into some of the grittiness and cruelty of the world dreamed up by Robert Jordan. This is honestly when I sat up and began to take notice of the story when I read the books.
We explore Egwene being ‘trained’ as a Damane by her Seanchan Sul’dam Reema. I want to keep as vague as possible, but I was morbidly looking forward to this part of the story. For one reason, until now Egwene has had the least development of any of the main characters in the books. So far that’s only beaten by Matt in the show due to outlying factors in Season 1.
We see Egwene brought as low as she can be, and it’s fundamental to her character arc going forward. Madeleine McCann honestly is phenomenal in Episode 6. Just brilliant acting and her scenes are almost lifted straight from the books. Egwene’s was the one actor I still had doubts about. However, now I see why McCann got this part. It’s for me an Emmy winning performance right here. I’m being serious with that folks.
Seanchan
We learn a lot more about the Seanchan. Specifically the true horror of what a Damane really is from the point of view of Elayne and Nynaeve. Honestly those scenes were also pure class and Ryma, the Aes Sedai we met who rescued Nyn and Elayne last week is brilliant. Against this we have Nynaeve getting to feel real guilty and also begin to develop a connection with Elayne in Egwene’s absence and incarceration. All three are brilliant this week.
There’s also a great scene, because it feels wrong, between Suroth and Loial which was well executed. It made you feel uncomfortable, like something profoundly important and magical was being soiled by someone very ignorant. Well played.
Right now, just like the books, I hate the Seanchan. I hate everything about their society and customs. That’s exactly where we should be as viewer now. That feeling will only be increased until the point where it’s time to learn a little more.
The Rest of the Gang?
As for the rest of the gang, where are they? Well outside of what is mentioned above, which is the real meat of Episode 6, the other characters we spend most time with are Rand, Lanfear and Moiraine. Moiraine’s story in Cairhien continues to be well written and Lanfear is marvelously evil as she was last week. This is a bit of a moving on episode for Rand as a lot happens without him getting a massive amount of screen time. A reunion, albeit short lived was very well handled though.
Meanwhile, we see a little of Matt and Min, and whilst I’m less sold on this story for Min, I am really enjoying Donal Flynn as our new Matt. This period of his character development is different from the books. However, we end up with Matt in the same head space here and it’s working for me.
Criticisms
Okay, I have a few grumbles this week. One is travelling. Characters are getting to places very far away in what seems like far too short a space of time. Liandrin for example we see in one scene in Caemlyn (close to Tar Valon) and that is also where we hear the Amirlyn seat at or close to. Then what seems like 1-2 days later, they are all in Cairhien. Now I know this show has to move fast, and there will be solutions to some of these issues in later seasons. However, if I notice it as strange, then more could be done to alleviate the symptoms in my opinion.
My second criticism is Lan’s portion of the story this week. Lan and Moiraine have a different story here than the books, and whilst I love Moiraine’s, I don’t actually like Lan’s new story that much. That point was accentuated to me this week because I really felt the Lan scenes didn’t make much sense. I get the story needs Lan to go to a certain place, but of all the set ups in Season 2 so far, his feels the most ‘TV’. By that I mean, hashed out over a water cooler to get a character from point a to point b.
RELATED: Wheel Of Time S2 Episode 5 Review – Best Episode Yet
The Lan of the books reminded me a lot of Geralt in The Witcher books. Completely different, but they have a similar taciturn and stoic nature. At the moment I am not really getting that sense from Lan in the show. I don’t think it’s actor Daniel Henney at all, it’s that his Season 2 story hasn’t had the same love and care the others have been given.
I won’t get into plot specifics here, but there are a few story beats I didn’t understand. They were too convenient, or just felt out of character. Not necessarily Lan himself, but how other characters view him here makes no sense to me at one point. Then something happens that I am just a little bemused by. Of all the ways to get a set of characters to a certain place, this one made the least sense to me.
Wrap it Up
Overall, there is just enough criticisms here to matter to me. However, please don’t think of this as a negative review, as you’ll see it’s not by my grade below. This episode had the potential to be the best of the Season. Instead, so far, that was last week’s Episode 5 for me.
The main story being told in Episode 6 is electric, tough to watch, but great drama and well adapted. All I’m saying is this. Lan’s story could rejigged a little to make more sense. Also the travelling long distances too quickly feel too obvious. If not for these factors, Episode 6 would likely be my favorite of the season so far. The good far outweigh’s the negative here, and to be fair, this may be a book fan annoyance. Show watcher’s I don’t think have a scale for the distances involved here and Lan’s story may come across fine when you don’t have the books to go by and thus cursed by that future knowledge.
Another criticism I’ve seen online and agree with, is that the show needs to have some maps. Or, we need to have characters look at maps so we understand where all these locations are we visit so readily. My worry is that they like people not knowing how far it is between Cairhien and Tar Valon. One thing Game of Thrones did well that is hard to replicate was the opening credits maps. The Rings of Power has opted for fade in maps, but so far nothing map wise for Wheel of Time. I’d take even the character consulting a map for non-book readers.
Great drama though folks, I hope you enjoy.
GRADE: A
As always, let me know what you thought of my Wheel of Time S2 Episode 6 review and share your own Episode 6 thoughts or reviews below.
The Dragon Reviewed for S2 Episode 6 will be filmed and out today or tomorrow folks. Feel free to check out what Kyle, Christine and myself thought of Episode 5 Here.
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