S1E2 "Shadow's Waiting" -- w/ Book Spoilers

[Loraella Melodie]

One thing that crossed my mind after they all got separated and left Shadar Logoth .... where did Bela go and how are they going to bring her back in? Obviously in the books, she's with Egwene and Perrin. But the show had them jump off the wall into the water.

Also, I LOVED the ending of episode 2 with Nynaeve finding Lan. Her line was perfect and he was clearly surprised
"If you don't take me to them now, I'll slit your throat "

 

[Axis m'Troutilas]

Yeah, I was trying to spot if Bela is with Lan too.

 

[Cahalan Sothron]

I love Lan's sassiness to Valda. He clearly gives no sh*ts about whether or not they think he's a Darkfriend and I am here for it.

 

[Cahalan Sothron]

Double-posting because I really love how intact they kept Aridhol. It speaks to its Ogier masonry and lays a good foundation for that tidbit later. It's a tiny detail, but if I didn't love tiny details, WoT wouldn't be my favorite

 

[Catt Heckathorne]

Hmmm. Is this going to be confusing for the Black Wind stuff in the Ways, for seeing Mashadar the way they portrayed it? Or will it be similar to the point the viewers can automatically tell oh, crap, it's that wonky stuff from Shadar Logoth, you idiots?

Kinda curious to see how they will distinguish the two.

 

[Thovin al'Deebo]

Ah, that's a good point, if they portray Machin Shin as a fog, with Mashadar being the creeping shadow, it will be easier to tell the two apart.

 

[Alora Sionn]

I love how as soon as they went in it was dead silent and still. It was the first thing I noticed, no music, no wind, just dead silence and it made that whole scene for me

 

[Idine Espanyas]

I love how as soon as they went in it was dead silent and still. It was the first thing I noticed, no music, no wind, just dead silence and it made that whole scene for me

Yes!! Agreed. It was so unnerving and creepy. I really liked this episode.

 

[Rit'koma]

Also, since no one's mentioned the whistle sound cue ... in S1E1, there's a J-cut from the Fade entering on Winternight and Padan arriving the next day with his whistle as the audio lead. The same whistle shows up again in Shadar Logoth when Mat is being lured out.

Spoiler

That's Fain whistling.

 

[Aratouial Delafeld]

It makes sense to me that it would be-- trollocs won't go into the city, but humans can over-ride their self-preservation instincts more. So for Padan to be sent? volunteer? could work. Also sets the stage of the later Ordeith line.

 

[Rollyn Montagorae]

I want to praise the Whitecloak scene in this episode for Moiraine's illustration of speaking around the First Oath.

It's a perfect example to me of a change for the television that foregrounds "show don't tell" so that the audience can see how adeptly the AS can bend their words when needed. We can applaud it here as an audience, and then we'll be set up well for the next time a less trustworthy AS is talking to our characters, and it's all better than just describing the words of the Oath in dialogue. And I'll happily trade the "giant Moiraine" illusion for a more taut dramatic scene like this. Bravo to the writers!

 

[Leo Kian]

Okay sorry for Double Post, but there is one thing that annoyed me.

Are they portraying channeling as something that has to be done with the hands? Which is why the Whitecloaks cut that Aes Sedai's hands off? And all Moiraine's gestures?

They learn in the White Tower that you should not use hand motions because then you'll forever have to use the motion to channel that weave. It's a weakness. For example, if you were tied up, or buried underground, or whatever and couldn't move your hands, then you would still be able to channel. From the books, people are not able to tell a woman is channeling, and the other Aes Sedai can only tell with the glow.

So are they changing all of this in the show??

The below is from 13th Depository and cross referenced withWoT Encyclopedia. I don't have my books with me.
.....
The first way a channeller learns to do a weave for a particular thing imprints itself on them so that learning a second way is very difficult and almost never works nearly as well (The Path of Daggers, New Alliances).

Unlike the Wise Ones, Aes Sedai use hand gestures when they weave. The gestures are a part of the weave, but are essential purely because they were part of learning the weave and therefore imprinted with it (The Path of Daggers, New Alliances).
.....
I seem to remember Cadsuane thinking that you can tell who taught someone a weave by the way/hand gestures used. Also something about not really needing to 'throw' a fireball but it happens. Not a major thing just something that stood out.

I can see why they had the Questioner with the rings but I didn't like it. I get they are trying to show them as more of a threat than they are in the books but yeah the sister being completely powerless was a bit odd.

I also really do not like the rings

 

[Yenie Antagar]

the sister being completely powerless was a bit odd.

She could be burned out at that point though

 

[Rhyin al'Hut]

The weep for Manetheren song had me kinda weeping on my re-watch.

 

[Leo Kian]

She could be burned out at that point though

Maybe. Doesn't seem to fit but. I may be over thinking it.

 

[Arella Mathara]

I was thinking forkroot was a widely known thing or something

 

[Rollyn Montagorae]

Yes I was generally puzzled by how the AS was captured. Forkroot was my first thought but it's not been namechecked or even hinted at in the show yet. Shielding isn't an option.

I actually wonder if the show is leaning on the idea that AS handicap themselves with their channeling hand motions to the extent that cutting off their hands is effectively perma-shielding them. Or maybe even just the act of tying them up? It can't be that simple, surely?

 

[Cahalan Sothron]

I thought that, too, Arella. Or they may blend Valda with Carradin and make him a darkfriend. If that's the case, it's possible she's shielded. But that's just a theory without any basis.

 

[Arella Mathara]

Yeah, for sure. My thought was forkroot for capture then the hands thing to keep her here there as well as forkroot. I don't necessarily think they will do the forkroot though, at least not yet. It's one of the few things I don't like so far in the show but we'll see what they're actually going for. The hands thing, I mean. They are obviously making the Whitecloaks a bigger threat so they will need something to take a Sister down as well as keep her captive. Moiraine and Lan's brief conversation also made me think this wasn't a common thing and that Valda has something extra up his sleeves. Yeah, we'll see, lol. I really like that we don't know everything and that we still have lots to speculate on though

 

[Nadezhda al'Lanahrin]

I love Lan's sassiness to Valda. He clearly gives no sh*ts about whether or not they think he's a Darkfriend and I am here for it.

+1

Ah, that's a good point, if they portray Machin Shin as a fog, with Mashadar being the creeping shadow, it will be easier to tell the two apart.

+1

I love how as soon as they went in it was dead silent and still. It was the first thing I noticed, no music, no wind, just dead silence and it made that whole scene for me

+1

I want to praise the Whitecloak scene in this episode for Moiraine's illustration of speaking around the First Oath.

It's a perfect example to me of a change for the television that foregrounds "show don't tell" so that the audience can see how adeptly the AS can bend their words when needed. We can applaud it here as an audience, and then we'll be set up well for the next time a less trustworthy AS is talking to our characters, and it's all better than just describing the words of the Oath in dialogue. And I'll happily trade the "giant Moiraine" illusion for a more taut dramatic scene like this. Bravo to the writers!

+1

I seem to remember Cadsuane thinking that you can tell who taught someone a weave by the way/hand gestures used.

+1 This is true, I remember reading it in one of the books I just read, but I can't remember which one that it was.

I was thinking forkroot was a widely known thing or something

I don't think forkroot was widely known. When Nynaeve and Elayne are captured by Elaida's eyes and ears in one of the books, they didn't know about it. This is something I think Nynaeve would've known about and I think they talk about it.