First Trailer discussion: The push

[Ibon Caseï]

Nynaeve pushing Egwene into a river, Egwene floating serenely in a river, and Egwene emerging from a river getting covered by colors...

1. Are these from the same scene, or are they 2/3 different scenes?

2. What's going on?!?
Theories I've seen:
-initiation as a Wisdom apprentice / initiation into the Woman's Circle
-accepted test
-a Dream (fortelling)

Are there any other theories?

What do you think?

 

[Jaryd Kosari]

Her dress was already a rainbow when Nynaeve pushed her, too. Also I think the writer said he didn't want to talk about that scene until the season was over, so...unlikely to be a Wisdom test?

 

[Arella Mathara]

I thought it was a Wisdom test/Women Circle thing at first but now I think it's the test for Accepted or something similar due to the people standing on the rocks behind her when she emerges from the water. The rocks are also almost forming a room, didn't do that when she was pushed. Foreshadowing it is for sure though, lol

Edited because I am the Queen of Typos and I hate it :rolleyes

 

[Alora Sionn]

I think it's the accepted test because before she is pushed, the pusher says "be strong" and it reminds me of the line from one of the tests "be steadfast"

 

[Imzadi Hopewind]

I have no clue what it is. So we just have to wait and see

But I think all those 3 are from same "test", because of the dress etc is same. But I might lean over to that it is a Wisdom test, because we have Nynaeve looks so proud at the inn, when Egwene walks in (with Rand and his huge grin).

 

[Arella Mathara]

I just want to add that I hope it's a come of age in the Two Rivers kind of ceremony. I think that would add to the culture. Show the significance of getting to braid your hair etc in a beautiful way. And it would just be really cool imo.

 

[Nadezhda al'Lanahrin]

To me, I really think that it's (a) the test for Wisdom, or (b) a dream in Tel'aran'rhiod/Foretelling. Firstly, the test for Wisdom makes the most sense knowing when the first season is taking place. Egwene doesn't become Accepted until much later in the books (The Dragon Reborn). Rafe Judkins has confirmed that Season 1 will have material from Books 1-3; however, seeing as it is only one season, I am not sure they'd get that far into the material.

Also, it is looks like the scenery is the Two Rivers and not Tar Valon. Not to mention, why would Nynaeve even be involved in her Accepted test? As far as I remember, the Aes Sedai and the candidate were the only ones involved in the testing. I think the reason Rafe WAFO'd us is the same reason why Brandon Sanderson RAFO's some things. He doesn't want to give anything away and if it is the Wisdom test, he may not want to give some fans a reason not to watch the show. (i.e. because there was a change).

I can't say with certainty what it means, but I think we might get some more answers in the second trailer. I feel confident that it is Two Rivers related. If it happens to be the Accepted test, I don't mind, but I don't believe it is.

 

[Arella Mathara]

If it's the Accepted test it will be scenes from within the testing ter'angreal so her being in the Two Rivers would make sense It wouldn't really be Nynaeve but an image of Nynaeve

They could also be changing how the test works making it more like the test for Aes Sedai.

 

[Nadezhda al'Lanahrin]

If it's the Accepted test it will be scenes from within the testing ter'angreal so her being in the Two Rivers would make sense It wouldn't really be Nynaeve but an image of Nynaeve

They could also be changing how the test works making it more like the test for Aes Sedai.

That's true enough! :reading
Any way it goes, I don't mind. They're all viable, logical theories. I'll be a little miffed if it's just Nynaeve pushing Egwene into the river, because she was staring at Rand too much, or something.

 

[Arella Mathara]

:rofl

That would be a surprise if nothing else.

But yeah, I'm just putting what I'm thinking out there. I love tinfoil theories and theories with a lot of meat on them so to speak and all the theories. I don't care if I'm right, I just like to chat about what we're seeing. I can't wait for the trailer they're promising us mg

So if anyone is sitting on a good/bad/ludicrous/boring theory please share it with me 3

 

[Satara al'Caelahn]

I think it's either Egwene's Accepted test, or it's a Dream. Either way, her Accepted test would be within a ter'angreal and wouldn't be "real" per se, and would have a dream like quality to it, also.

I think coming up being covered in the colors of all the Ajahs is a little too on the nose to be something that happens in the real, waking world. It's great foretelling from a visual, storytelling perspective, but not something that has a good, practical reason to happen to her within the boundaries of the plot as we know it.

I wouldn't mind it being something that has to do with Egwene coming of age, but her hair's already braided when Nynaeve pushes her, and (at least in the books) I don't think Nynaeve says anything to Egwene about becoming the next Wisdom until after she realizes she's likely to never go back to Emond's Field. Nynaeve spends the first two books wanting to be the Wisdom, get her people, and take them home, not wanting to abdicate her position as Wisdom to Egwene.

We won't know until we know.

 

[Arella Mathara]

I think coming up being covered in the colors of all the Ajahs is a little too on the nose to be something that happens in the real, waking world. It's great foretelling from a visual, storytelling perspective, but not something that has a good, practical reason to happen to her within the boundaries of the plot as we know it.

I agree, Satara Sedai. I've seen people theorising that the colours have become important to women in general and has a greater part of the general culture. While I like that idea it just seem too fantastical to do "irl". That and the other stuff I've already mentioned. And yeah, she already has the braid.

 

[Ilverin Matriam]

Rafe shared in the Q&A that followed the trailer, that we will find out what this is about at the end of the season. At first I thought it could be some initiation to the Women's circle or Wisdomdom but if it's revealed at the end of the season, I don't think it's either of those things anymore :scratch

If it's Egwene's Accepted test... I don't particularly like this sudden a change, but at least her coming up in the water with the colors might equal her third test, where she sees herself in "What is to be".

If it's a Dream, sure that also works, but Egwene starts having dreams of Rand before she starts having any other foretelling dreams... so I don't know what to think

 

[Merena Orithana]

So it does look like the same dress, but I think that the pushing piece could be the Wisdom test (though what does pushing someone into a river prove/teach exactly?) and the rocks/pool scene part of the White Tower testing.
White dresses are super versatile/functional, so I could see the same or a similar dress being used for both.

It also showcases the Wisdom test as a possible counterpoint to White Tower testing - or perhaps reminiscent of it...

 

[Nadezhda al'Lanahrin]

I was thinking her white dress might be her shift, but it looks a little long for one. There’s also a point to be made about the practicality of a village person having a plain, white dress. It’d get dirty very quickly, no?

 

[Elania al'Manir]

Before I realized the three scenes in the trailer were connected, I thought the end colored pool might be some sort of Tower initiation. Since we're spitballing here, they could have introduced a third ter'angreal used when women join the Tower in the first place. It's a (literal) crash-course in surrendering to saidar, culminating in being bathed in the colors of the Tower signifying you've completed the test (and then you exit).

That being said, I think dream sequence is the most likely scenario, although that still includes the symbolism of surrendering to the river and changes the end symbolism to Amyrlin foreshadowing instead of Tower initiation.

 

[Maianel Istor]

That being said, I think dream sequence is the most likely scenario, although that still includes the symbolism of surrendering to the river and changes the end symbolism to Amyrlin foreshadowing instead of Tower initiation.

That's where I went! My official crackpot theory is that this is one of Egwene's dreams, and what it actually foreshadows is her becoming Amyrlin, because there are seven stripes of color in that pool.

 

[Ibon Caseï]

This video mentions that there's a faint streak of color in the dress during the push, that MATCHES the placement of yellow in the pool. Also, it's the same dress. So the push could be AFTER the pool, theoretically.

 

[Alora Sionn]

In the books they mention burning their old clothes and washing in some kind of pool before putting on white to be a novice, don't they?
I'm wondering if they are kind of putting becoming novice and accepted together with the pool and the test, since it's TV they will probably condense a lot

 

[Nadezhda al'Lanahrin]

I think it's exciting that there's so many plausible and valid theories to this.