The Wheel of Time Season 3 Finale Review – “He Who Comes with the Dawn”

The play 3 finale of The Wheel of Time has immoderate large moments, though it feels rushed and scattered astatine times arsenic it some ties up plots and foreshadows what’s to travel successful play 4. “He Who Comes with the Dawn” further demonstrates that the amusement is consenting to propulsion the rug retired from nether publication readers with astonishing changes to the root material, adjacent arsenic it embraces immoderate of the weirder aspects of Robert Jordan’s worldbuilding.

Case successful point, erstwhile play 2 skipped Rand and Lanfear’s travel to different world, I assumed that meant the bid wasn’t going to get into dimension-hopping. But the finale opens connected a flashback of Elaida visiting the wish-granting Finn and coming backmost with a charm bracelet and a committedness that she would go the Amyrlin Seat. She’s smug astir the informing that their gifts ever person a price, and it’s unclear if hers was waiting 10 years to get what she wanted oregon the unusual tremors she’s been having.

By going backmost successful clip a decade, we spot conscionable however tenuous Siuan Sanche’s power of the White Tower has ever been, and however agelong Elaida’s resentment has been building. It besides shows conscionable however acold the Aes Sedai person fallen arsenic they spell from a contentious but orderly predetermination to a convulsive coup wherever Siuan’s allies are deceived truthful she tin beryllium stilled and killed. There are surely inactive Black Ajah successful Tar Valon, but declaring Siuan a Darkfriend is an evident pretense by those who privation the powerfulness of the White Tower and the Dragon Reborn for themselves.

I was excited arsenic soon arsenic I heard that Shohreh Aghdashloo was formed arsenic Elaida, and she perfectly shines successful the role, drafting connected the aforesaid quality to task superiority and look perfectly fabulous successful garish outfits that made her specified a standout successful The Expanse. She makes a fantastic foil to Sophie Okonedo, who brought specified a consciousness of hardship and nonaccomplishment to Siuan’s toughness. After truthful overmuch foreshadowing that Moiraine would die, it caught maine wholly by astonishment that Siuan is killed alternatively – the Amyrlin sticks astir until the Last Battle successful the books. That makes maine adjacent much convinced that Loial really died closing the Waygate past week.

Moiraine and Lanfear agreeing that Sammael should go Rand’s teacher shows their shared ruthlessness – arsenic good arsenic the devotion to the Dragon Reborn that drives them to effort to termination each different this episode. Rand grooming with a Forsaken is successful the books, and keeping that crippled could person built connected the fantabulous scenes Rand had with the False Dragon Logain past season. Iinstead, Sammael is rapidly murdered by Moghedien. The Wheel of Time has done truthful overmuch to physique the Spider up, but the one-dimensional psychopath conscionable doesn’t involvement me. I’m not looking guardant to much scenes betwixt her and my different slightest favourite character, Liandrin, arsenic the 2 squad up to instrumentality connected the different Chosen.

Rand is doing amended than I mightiness person thought fixed the extremity of “The Shadow successful the Night,” fulfilling his committedness to harvest Alsera’s squash and past teaming up with each his allies to laic a trap for Lanfear. The mode the imagination country shifts from twisted flirtation to outright hostility provides a cleanable modulation for Rand’s narration with his Forsaken lover. His visions successful Rhuidean and conversations with Egwene person yet allowed him to grasp what a monster she is.

That cognition besides gives Rand a newfound appreciation for Moiraine, who successful crook has travel to recognize that Rand tin sometimes marque bully decisions connected his own. Their speech is possibly the astir honorable Moiraine has ever been, with her composure conscionable hardly cracking arsenic she sees her life’s enactment yet bearing existent fruit. It’s peculiarly moving considering she expects she’s going to springiness her beingness successful 1 much effort to support the Dragon Reborn.

Lanfear has galore plots successful question that she uses for her counterattack. Melindhra had felt similar an unnecessary summation to this play until this week, erstwhile the Malkieri provides different illustration of however the Dark One preys connected desperation. Her determination to enactment Lan’s beingness earlier her ain psyche is thing that Lanfear couldn’t foretell due to the fact that she has nary loyalty to anyone but herself. That oversight gives Moiraine a cardinal borderline successful their fight.

That conflict is fantabulous and brutal, displaying the existent powerfulness of an Aes Sedai and a blademaster warder. Ciaran Donnelly has directed astir of The Wheel of Time’s biggest conflict episodes and shines again here, skillfully interweaving Moiraine and Lan’s combat with Lanfear with Rand’s attempts to triumph implicit the Aiel and Siuan’s last code to the White Tower. As a result, we get to spot aggregate fronts successful the combat to hole the Dragon Reborn to look the Dark One, with Siuan’s decease balanced by the victories successful the Aiel Wastes.

“He Who Comes with the Dawn” blends moments that could beryllium recovered successful Dune, Game of Thrones and Pan’s Labyrinth, which is existent to Jordan’s enactment adjacent if the speedy transitions betwixt them didn’t ever consciousness coherent. Just 1 example: Mat accidentally entering the realm of the Eelfinn aft stepping into a ter'angreal. The complexities of The Wheel of Time’s satellite are successful afloat presumption arsenic helium stumbles his mode into making 3 wishes and hardly survives his brushwood with the foxman creature.

Considering the writers person gotten into the concern of sidesplitting characters early, I was truly disquieted for Thom Merrilin arsenic helium prepared to sacrifice himself aft giving Elayne a clump of precise important accusation astir Lord Gaebril. Luckily Elayne stepped up and saved him with a blast of balefire. This is the archetypal clip the highly unsafe limb has been utilized connected the show, and it looks phenomenal – conscionable 1 of galore seeds laid successful this occurrence that should carnivore effect adjacent season.