The Wheel Of Time – Season 2 Episode 8 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

What Was Meant to Be

The Wheel Of Time season 2 episode 8 opens 3000 years back in time. Lews Therin has successfully bound Ishamael, as we can see. It seems like Ishamael and Lews are friends. Instead of keeping him bound for thousands of years, Ishamael virtually begs him to kill him. Lews, however, is intent on preventing his rebirth and dismisses him, so he remains sealed.

Does Moirane agree to bond with Lan?

In the present timeline, all four of them—Rand, Moiraine, Lan, and Lanfear—have entered the Waygate. The group is being led by Lanfear. However, not long after, in an undisclosed seaside region, Lanfear forces Moiraine and Lan out of the Waygate. When Rand urges Lanfear to let them inside, she ignores him.

Lan and Moiraine are out for a walk by the water. Moiraine is asked to re-bond with Lan. Following this, he informs her that he finally accepts her assessment that they are unequal. Moiraine then elaborates, explaining that she meant to convey that he is her better half when she originally said it. Moiraine then listens to Lan, and they bond again.

How does Lanfear attempt to help Rand?

Lanfear goes to see Ishamael at Falme. She then reveals that she brought Rand to Falme herself. Ishamael is thrown off by this and tells her that they aren’t prepared yet. Lanfear assures Ishamael that they are prepared and that Rand will pick the dark side this time.

Bayle Damon receives a visit from Lanfear. Then, she has him release seals belonging to the forsaken somewhere out at sea. At first, he rejects the idea. She offers him money, and he eventually agrees.

What happens during the Whitecloaks attack on the Seanchan?

The Whitecloaks are seen preparing for battle. They intend to invade Falme and launch an attack on the Seanchan there. The Whitecloaks then band together for a decisive attack. Following that, they launch an assault on the Seanchan by storming the gates of Falme.

Perrin and his friend Aviendha have just arrived in Falme. He asks his wolf friend Hopper to stay behind, assuring him that he’ll return safely.

With Seta’s help—after wrapping an a’dam around her neck and assuming control—Nynaeve and Elayne are preparing to rescue Egwene. This prompts the group to make plans to enter the tower and rescue Egwene. As for Perrin, he meets up with Loial, Ingtar, and Mesma again. The Horn of Valere, which is essential for Rand to win the war, is also brought back with them.

As a consequence, Loial and the others make up their minds to rescue their remaining companions, among them Egwene. However, not long after, Ingar is killed during the conflict with Seanchan troops.

How are the Dark Ones preparing for the battle?

The High Lord Turak hears that he has misplaced the Horn of Valere. Following that, he orders his subordinates to track it down and bring it to him. Just as they’re about to leave, Rand appears and channels the One Power to kill them all.

Ishamael visits Padan Fain, a Darkfriend who previously stole the Horn of Valere. Ishamael fills him in on what happened with Lanfear’s betrayal. Following this, Padan Fain takes it upon himself to persuade Mat to kill Rand with the blade, as foreseen by Min’s vision. Padan Fain then imprisons Mat with the dagger. But Mat skillfully avoids the dagger and gets away.

In the meantime, Ishamael walks over to Lady Suroth. He then proposes that she take her subordinates offshore. Then, he tells her that she must use her Damane’s to assist in taming the reborn dragon.

Does Egwene escape from the clutches of the Seanchan?

In response to the Whitecloak attack on the Seanchan, the Sul’dams and the Damane’s have been given orders to collaborate in order to eliminate the threat. Egwene’s stubbornness in the face of advice from her Sul’dam Renna led to a crushing defeat for the Seanchans.

Thankfully, Egwene survives the fight. Renna is also spared death in this scenario. However, Egwene discovers an a’dam belonging to a deceased Damane and uses it to murder Renna by suffocating her.

Soon after, Rand reaches the tower and reunites with Egwene. Following that, he makes an attempt to justify his decision to withhold the information of his survival from her.

Who wins the battle?

On the other hand, Perrin bumps into Mat. They need the Horn of Valere to get to Rand despite the disarray caused by the war between the Seanchan and the Whitecloaks. Following this, Mat decides to take the Horn of Valere to Rand, and so he rushes. Hopper, meanwhile, dies trying to save Perrin. As a consequence, Perrin avenges his death by killing Geofram.

Mat is making an effort to reach Rand. However, Seanchan soldiers stand between him and his goal. He then blows the Horn of Valere as if by intuition. In light of this, he contacts his ancestors from previous lifetimes and recalls that, in every one of them, he fought for the Light. They then fight the Seanchan soldiers together, and they manage to defeat them.

Ishamael storms the tower, attacking Rand and Egwene in the course of events. At this point, Lady Suroth and her Damane successfully soften Rand by shielding him from the One Power.

Mat’s arrival only serves to worsen the situation. He intends to stab Ishamael, but Ishamael’s deft illusion causes him to accidentally stab Rand. Mat then offers his apologies and offers help to Rand. At this point, Egwene gets up and faces Ishamael. Not long after that, Nynaeve, Elayne, and Perrin show up in order to stand by Rand. Additionally, Elayne helps heal Rand, so he’s able to confront Ishamael.

From the seaside, Moiraine gets a view of the tower in addition to Lady Suroth’s doing. Following this, she launches an attack on Lady Suroth’s Damanes and slaughters them.

With the deck stacked in his favour, Rand is able to kill Ishamael. Moiraine then creates a fire dragon to spread the word that Rand is the Dragon Reborn and consequently fulfils the prophecy. Now that Rand has won, Lanfear knows about it and is happy for him, indicating that she was on Rand’s side the whole time.

Who is Moghedian?

Moghedian, a forsaken, is waiting for Lanfear as she returns to her room. Lanfear learns that Ishamael freed her, as he didn’t trust Lanfear. Later, Moghedian explains that Lanfears and Ishamael’s downfall was due to their excessive attachment to the Dragon Reborn. Nonetheless, she stresses that this is not an issue for her. The release of yet another Forsaken, and a very icy one at that, marks the end of the season.

The Episode Review

During this episode, the friends from the Two Rivers are finally reunited. Following that, we see the gang banding together with Rand to defeat Ishamael, with help from Moiraine and Lan. A new, colder Forsaken is unveiled as the season comes to a close.

The season opens and closes on quite different notes. This episode brings the friends of the Two Rivers together and ties up all the loose ends. In addition, the introduction of a new Forsaken who appears crueller than Lanfear and Ishamael leaves us wanting more.

The episode was able to take us on an emotional roller coaster. Every minute of it kept us on the edge of our seats. This was the episode we’d been waiting for all season, and it didn’t let us down. Although this season deviated significantly from the source material, it nevertheless managed to keep us intrigued.

Lanfear, Ishamael, Moiraine, and Rand all give outstanding performances in this episode. We’re hoping that next season, characters like Mat and Perrin will have more to work with. However, the episode as a whole was quite fascinating, and we’re looking forward to seeing what the future season has in store for us.