The Wheel of Time Recap: Cities in Dust

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In my view, “The Wheel of Time” shines brightest when it allows for a momentary pause in the continuous flow. During season two, I noticed that the series found its rhythm and stability with self-contained episodes or extended scenes, such as Nynaeve’s heartrending trek through the Aes Sedai’s Arches, or Egwene’s harrowing ordeal under Renna’s Seanchan captor. Over time, I’ve observed that the show tends to thrive when it concentrates on specific stories and characters.

As a fan who hasn’t yet delved into Robert Jordan’s source material, I’ve heard from others that it’s the sheer abundance of events, characters, cultures, and locations that make it so appealing. It seems like there’s always something happening, with numerous quests being pursued by various individuals across diverse landscapes. If you share my penchant for intricate fantasy worlds (which I certainly do!), then this abundance can be a thrilling experience.

I get why the show adopts this approach as its foundation. However, it’s refreshing when “The Wheel of Time” takes a moment to… well, not to smell the roses, but more like pause for some respite amidst the thorny challenges that the characters face. But on this show, instead of pausing for tranquility, it feels like they force the characters to confront even more difficulties or hardships.

This week’s episode stands out as the best of the young season yet. Its purpose is straightforward. Following some exposition that deepens Aiel society and tradition, the characters Rand al’Thor and Moiraine Sedai venture to Rhuidean, a city in the clouds revered by the Aiel people as sacred. In essence, it serves as a psychological test, a place veiled in fog where towering crystal columns reach towards the sky, guiding men who dare to traverse the deserted city through their ancestral past. Meanwhile, three massive interconnected rings call out to female explorers, granting them glimpses into a million potential futures. Those who persevere emerge as either clan leaders or Wise Ones.

On a particular day, it’s foretold by the Aiel prophecy that a man will bear not just one emblematic magical dragon tattoo, as is customary for those who have endured the city, but two – one on each arm. This man is the Car’a’carn, the Aiel’s messiah, fated to be both the annihilator of these people and the rescuer of those who live through the catastrophe he initiates. It’s easy to imagine how Rand’s arms would appear when he departs, I’d wager.

Just as with any test, it’s not the end result that matters, but rather the journey itself. Moiraine’s journey can be easily summarized. Upon reaching the rings, she discovers Aviendha suspended there; unbeknownst to many, Aviendha has been secretly undergoing training as a Wise One, reluctant to fulfill her duty but now compelled to adhere to her predestined path. Following Aviendha’s trail, Moiraine is lifted off the ground within the rings, creating one of the most stunning and lasting visuals the series has presented so far.

As she remains suspended, she is compelled to observe countless rotations of the Wheel, revealing fleeting visions of her potential fates. Some depict her as Rand’s servant, while others show them reversed roles. In some, she overpowers him, in some, she takes his life, and in some, they are bound by love. Other scenarios portray her and Lanfear as lovers, but more frequently, it is Lanfear who ends her life, repeatedly, in various versions of the future. Moiraine understands that these visions are not definite outcomes, but this particular one seems more probable than the others.

In contrast, Rand’s adventure propels him not forward but backward in time. With each temporal distortion, he is catapulted back deeper into the physical forms of his most significant forebears. His father, who committed the regicide of Cairhien’s king, who dared to fell a sacred tree to construct his throne. The first Aiel leader to tread in Rhuidean, a city constructed by the Aes Sedai to reveal the Aiel’s disgraceful past as oath-breakers. The young man who transgressed the Aiel taboo against killing and forged the violent culture of the Aiel that we recognize today while his peaceful countrymen, later known as the Tuatha’an, continued their nomadic journeys. The old man who, alongside his grandson, preserved that nomadic tradition which left many of the Aiel questioning the path set before them.

The faithful servant of the Aes Sedai who guided the Aiel, once a lower class in the capital prior to the World’s Shattering, into exile, each bearing a magical tree seedling in their wagon; his own contained a unique magical artifact, a crystal orb named Sakarnen, a more potent sa’angreal (or item forged with the One Power) than the renowned sword Callandor. The original Aiel servant who worked under Mierin Sedai, later known as Lanfear before she liberated the Dark One and became a Forsaken, returns to labor among his people at her behest – to avoid the devastation and ruin of the colossal Death Star-sized sphere that served as our capital, which Mierin later destroys, leaving an opening in the sky from where the Dark One presumably emerges.

This series is jam-packed, but it doesn’t seem that way compared to the first three episodes which were overflowing with subplots and characters, making it feel like it could topple under its own weight. However, I trusted creator/showrunner Rafe Lee Judkins because of his past work. It was a pleasant surprise to see him credited as the writer for this episode, especially since it feels like a minor victory given the challenge of fitting millennia of backstory and countless prophecies into a single show without slowing things down too much. The way they manage this is by incorporating these information dumps into lengthy, action-packed scenes. These intense sequences are made as visually appealing as possible, taking inspiration from science fiction and video games to create striking images such as Moiraine and Aviendha floating in the rings or a potential rival to Rand tearing out his own eyes rather than face the past that the glass columns have forced him to confront.

In short, you make the infodump bitchin’.

In the prime of “Game of Thrones”, creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss found a method to present rather dry discussions about characters’ lineages or motives, which was often when characters themselves were nude or observing others in similar states. This technique, dubbed “sexposition” by critics, involved blending background stories with exposed bodies. I’ve never fully grasped the opposition to it. After all, we’re engrossed in an epic fantasy, and history lessons are bound to be delivered at some point, just as surely as there will be battles and magic. Why not make those lessons more intriguing by presenting them during intimate moments?

In “The Wheel of Time,” there’s no denying the dramatic flair. While Moiraine’s visions may seem suggestive at times, they’re not sexposition in the traditional sense. Instead, it employs a similar storytelling technique, trading nudity for surreal imagery. The glass pillars, the three interconnected rings, the defying gravity scenes, the man tearing at his own eyes, the striking resemblance of actor Josha Stradowski’s facial structure across time, the feeling that we’re traveling both forward and backward through time at a critical moment where the future could shift instantly – all these elements certainly add an edge to what essentially boils down to a summary of Aiel history and Rand’s lineage. In essence, it’s like receiving this information from Littlefinger as he watches a rather unusual scene involving prostitutes. However, the comparison may understate its impact, given that this information is delivered more subtly, yet just as effectively.

What I’m saying is that this is television, baby. Enjoy it while it lasts.

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2025-03-20 18:54