The Wheel of Time Episode 5 takes place 1 month after Episode 4. Rand and Mat got to
Tar Valon first. Then Nynaeve arrived with the group of Aes Sedai who have the False Dragon,
Logain Ablar. Last but not least, Perrin and Egwene got within sight of the White Tower.
They were captured by Eamon Valda, but with the help of the wolves, they escaped. So everybody
is pretty close together now. And of course, the episode began with Kerene Nagashi’s funeral
and it ended with her Warder Stepin’s funeral. In this video, I will add color to a few scenes
so as to explain what is really happening in cases that are not too spoilery. I will also
highlight other important lines that you should keep on your radar, without going into them in
detail so as to not spoil their eventual payoffs. Let’s start by looking at Perrin and Egwene. Ila,
Raen, and the rest of the Tuatha’an tried to protect Perrin and Egwene, but they got beat
down for their efforts. Aram led Perrin and Egwene off to a village, but unfortunately, Aram was run
down, and Perrin and Egwene were captured. Somehow, Eamon Valda got inside information
because he knows that Egwene can channel. That might mean that someone has been following the
group out of the Two Rivers. This guy is the prime suspect. As a reminder, Padan Fain is the peddler
who arrived to the Two Rivers in episode 1. When the trollocs attacked, he didn’t seem very scared.
It’s worth noting that when he first arrived, he was whistling a very specific tune.
Fast forward to Shadar Logoth, and right before Mat was lured to the dagger,
you could hear that exact same tune. So Padan Fain was following them. Now he is at Tar Valon.
And there’s a chance that Padan Fain told Eamon Valda that Egwene could channel.
So Eamon Valda began to torture Perrin in front of Egwene so that she would confess to being able to
touch the One Power. Then he gave them some time to talk. Perrin admitted to Egwene that he had
killed his wife, Laila. So the next time Eamon began to torture Perrin, Egwene had had enough.
She channeled and threw a pathetic little ball of fire at him. Or was it pathetic? Maybe. Maybe not.
Either way, it worked as a distraction because Egwene also lit Perrin’s ropes on fire,
which allowed Perrin to break free. And the Perrin that broke free wasn’t the blacksmith
from the Two Rivers. It was Perrin Goldeneyes. A man who has a bond with wolves. Egwene grabbed the
rings of the fallen Aes Sedai, and the wolves helped them escape. So Perrin and Egwene will
probably meet up with their friends in the next episode. And before we move on, notice how one
of the wolves jumped up. Or rather, he flew. Odds are, this is a very important wolf named: Hopper.
Now let’s look at Mat and Rand. When Mat and Rand approached Tar Valon,
Rand noticed the mountain in the background and said that he thought he’d seen it before.
Very strange. These two were the first to arrive to the island city of Tar Valon,
where they saw new animals, such as a camel and new food as well. Rand and Mat are from
a small town, so they were shocked by the amount of buildings and people in the city. As a result,
Rand threw out the shows first, “Blood and Ashes,” which is basically an in-world way of swearing.
Just like Nynaeve, Rand does not trust Aes Sedai, so instead of going to the White Tower,
he led them to an inn which Thom Merrilin had told him about.
Rand tried to reassure Mat that the Fade killed the farmers and their little girl,
but technically, we don’t know that for sure, and more importantly,
Mat doesn’t know that for sure. So Mat is broken by the possibility that he killed them.
Rand left Mat and met an Ogier named Loial in the library. At first, Rand thought that the Ogier was
a trolloc since Ogier are so big. But Ogiers are definitely not trollocs. The Ogier are a peaceful
race that have an affinity with nature. They also love history and knowledge. And for the most part,
they live in places called steddings. When Ogier are outside of steddings too long, they suffer.
They can even die. So it begs the question: how long has Loial been outside the stedding?
Loial was very funny. Since Rand has red hair, Loial falsely assumed that Rand was an Aielman.
Rand, of course, is from the two rivers, so he denied that, which made Loial laugh.
Loial was excited to have met an Aielman from the Two Rivers who insisted that he is not an Aielman.
And here’s something pretty cool. When Rand met Loial, he was holding a book written by
the legendary adventurer Jain Farstrider. This is a world where some people live very long
lives and a world of reincarnation. So one way or another, keep your eyes out for Jain Farstrider.
Ogiers live very long lives, and because of that, Ogier consider humans to be hasty. Case in point,
Rand heard that the Aes Sedai had arrived with the False Dragon, and Loial wanted to slowly gather
up his books first. But Rand is a human. A hasty human, so Rand ran off and met Mat on the balcony.
When Logain was escorted past them, Logain looked up and noticed them. There is a specific reason as
to why he looked up to that balcony. Logain has what known as the Talent, which is the ability
to see ta’veren. A ta’veren is someone with whom the Wheel shapes the pattern. Basically,
the most influential people in the world. And as a reminder, Moiraine had heard rumors that
there were four ta’veren in the Two Rivers. Mat’s condition has gotten much worse. He is
being overcome with madness, and thus, Mat asked Rand to promise him that he won’t let him go mad
like Logain. Rand then asked Mat to promise him the same. Since the Ogier named Loial has
access to the White Tower, he went there and found Nynaeve for Rand. As we saw in the last episode,
Nynaeve is an incredible healer. Unfortunately, Mat snapped at her due to the madness. So for
the time being, Nynaeve has not yet done anything to heal him. More on that to come.
Outside of their room, Rand worried about Perrin and Egwene, but Nynaeve assured him that Egwene
was still alive. And there’s a reason that she knows this, or rather, that she can feel this.
So Nynaeve told Rand a story about Egwene. How Egwene had Breakbone Fever when she was a kid.
Nynaeve said that the Wisdom did not know what to do. So basically, it is implied that Nynaeve,
unknowingly healed Egwene using the One Power. And here is a minor spoiler. It won’t ruin anything
for you. Nynaeve probably does not realize this yet, but the reason that she can sense Egwene is
still alive is because she healed Egwene using the One Power. And when you do that to someone,
you develop an affinity for that person. That affinity allows you to sense when that person is
near. So again, Nynaeve probably does not realize this, but that is why she reassured Rand that
Egwene is still alive. Because Egwene is near. Okay, now let’s look specifically at Nynaeve.
Liandrin had approached Nynaeve back at camp. And she approached Nynaeve again in the White Tower.
So Liandrin is trying to recruit Nynaeve to the Red Ajah. Of course, there’s a big problem with
that. As Moiraine pointed out, Nynaeve likes men. Since the Red Ajah do not take on Warders, Nynaeve
probably won’t choose the Red Ajah. Moreover, Nynaeve is clearly a gifted healer. The Yellow
Ajah focus on healing, and thus, Moiraine suspects that if Nynaeve were to become Aes Sedai, she may
gravitate towards the Yellow Ajah. There’s one problem though. Nynaeve does not trust Aes Sedai.
And Nynaeve does not want to become an Aes Sedai. All Nynaeve wants is for Perrin and Egwene to
arrive, to heal Mat, and then regroup and figure out what the Emond’s Field Five should do next.
Now let’s look at the White Tower Politics. Moiraine has been out of the tower for 2 years.
And presumably, she will leave the tower again. That may cause issues. First off, if Nynaeve or
Egwene were to stay at the White Tower, then someone like Liandrin could influence them.
Speaking of Liandrin, Allana Sedai told Moiraine that Liandrin has gained a lot of support
over the last couple years. Allana also warned Moiraine that the Amylin seat is angry with her.
This ties back to something that Stepin had said to Lan in episode 4.
Stepin told Lan that the Amyrlin Seat has not grown any fonder of Moiraine. That is why Allana
warned Moiraine that she has two powerful enemies at the White Tower. Liandrin and the Amyrlin.
The Amyrlin is on her way back from the city of Caemlyn, so expect Moiraine and her to reunite for
the first time in a couple years. And remember, Aes Sedai cannot lie. But the truth an Aes Sedai
tells you is not always the truth you think it is. Moreover, the conversation between Allana
and Moiraine inside the cave about Moiraine’s pet dog may take on new meaning in the next episode.
So go rewatch that if you want, and try to figure out what they were really talking about.
It very well may tie into this painting here. Last but not least, let’s talk about Stepin.
Stepin was bonded to Kerene Nagashi. The Green Sister whom Logain killed. When a
Warder or an Aes Sedai is injured, the other one feels their pain. And when one of them dies,
it is not like losing a loved one. It’s more than that. It’s like losing a piece of your soul.
Sometimes, Warders will bond a new Aes Sedai. This can help the Warder overcome the pain.
That is why Alanna offered to bond Stepin. Unfortunately, he did not do it. Instead
he chose to sheathe the dagger in his own body. He killed himself.
But taking a step back, on their ride into Tar Valon, Lan told Moiraine that Nynaeve was
worried about Stepin. The show writers didn’t have to include Nynaeve in that conversation,
but it’s awesome that they did because that it Nynaeve’s biggest strength and her core attribute.
Nynaeve loves others, or rather, Nynaeve hates to see others in pain. That’s why Nynaeve is
such a good healer. So Nynaeve worried for Stepin, and later, Nynaeve cried for Lan.
Similarly, Moiraine also cried for Lan, partially due to their Warder bond and partially because
they are friends. They are family. Moiraine loves Lan so much that she is now considering breaking
her bond to him so as to proactively save him from the pain that Stepin felt. More to come on that.
Okay. Now we are briefly going to talk about the Forsaken. Lan came upon Stepin
doing a ritual to ward off the Forsaken, specifically Ishamael, the father of lies.
So the show introduced trollocs and Fades. Then they introduced Dana as a darkfriend.
But above all of them are 13 people known as the Forsaken. Very powerful channelers who have sided
with the Dark One for reasons such as the promise of eternal life. The Last Dragon sealed the
Forsaken away in a magical prison so to say, but eternity is a long time. So keep your eyes out for
the Forsaken because they are definitely lurking. Some fans aren’t going to like the fact that Lan
cried since Lan is described as stone in the books. But that is just his exterior.
Lan is a very, very caring man and he does feel loss like any person with a heart.
The saddest part is that Lan had planned on staying the night with Stepin. But Nynaeve
had given Stepin medicine to help him sleep, and Stepin snuck it into Lan’s drink instead.
So Lan now blames himself for Stepin’s death. The loss of Stepin hurt him, and as a result,
he broke down. However, there is always another fight over the next horizon.
And the Last Battle is coming. So say a prayer for the dead, al’Lan Mandragoran, and ride on.