The Wheel of Time – Season 2 Episode 1 “A Taste of Solitude” Recap & Review

A Taste of Solitude

At the beginning of episode 1 of The Wheel of Time season 2, a small girl is seen touching the flame of Tar Valon. Immediately after this, she sees trollocs approaching, and she dashes inside a nearby house but comes face to face with Ishmael. He brings up the fact that people have labelled him a monster. He then inquires as to whether or not she considers him to be an evildoer. When she says no, he allows her to pet a trolloc.

The focus then shifts to Moiraine, who is grieving the fact that she is no longer able to wield The One Power. A significant amount of time has elapsed since Rand and Moiraine fought Ishmael within the ruins of Fal Dara. Soon after that, Moiraine has a visitor, and Lan lets her know about his arrival. As soon as they are severed from their connection to The One Power, it is clear that Moiraine and Lan’s bond is suffering.

At The White Tower, Nynaeve and Egwene are seen undergoing their training to become Aes Sedai. While Egwene is putting her all into the training, Nynaeve is standing her ground and refusing to wield The One Power. She is doing so because she believes that one person shouldn’t have so much access to power.

Liandrin is keeping a close eye on the two novices while attempting to put her plan into action. She is aiming to use the current circumstances to further her goals. Meanwhile, Perrin is having a conversation with Liolal. It seems as though Perrin has come to believe that Rand has passed away. In light of this, he is worried about his other friends, particularly Mat.

In the climactic episode of the first season, Padan Fain was seen stealing the Horn of Valare from Perrin and Liolal. As a consequence of this, Perrin and Liolal decide to embark on a journey together to locate Padan Fain and retrieve the Horn of Valare from him. On the journey, it is revealed that Perrin is particularly furious with Fain as he used to travel to the Two Rivers.

Back then, Perrin, his late wife, and the people of the village would provide Fain with refuge and assist him with anything else he required. In response, Fain led the trollocs to the village, which resulted in the deaths of many people, including Perrin’s wife. In light of everything that has transpired, Perrin is seething with rage and is intent on exacting retribution.

When the action moves to Moiraine, we find out that the traveler owns a quindiar along with a poem that was written on it. In exchange for both of them, he requests that Moiraine make a payment to him but she only buys the poem from him, which comes as a complete surprise to him. Not much longer after that, Moiraine is seen pushing Lan to leave her. But he is equally stubborn and refuses to leave.

At the White Tower, Liandrin wields The One Power and pushes Nynaeve to do the same. She is forced to wield The One Power to defend herself and Liandrin tells her that she wishes for her to become incredibly powerful someday, sowing the seeds of her motives.

The narrative shifts to Lan, who confronts Moiraine regarding her actions of distancing herself from him. Meanwhile, we see Liandrin has Mat confined. She continues to hurt him by reading a letter Perrin wrote to Nynaeve and Egwene, leaving out the part where Perrin referred to Mat.

As Lan attempts to make amends in Moiraine’s room, we observe that she is not there. After seeing Moiraine on a horse, the Fade attacks her. She is seen getting injured, but Lan shows up and helps her. Despite Lan’s vigorous counterattack, he sustains injuries and ultimately succumbs to the attacks of the Fade. Suddenly, Lan and Moiraine receive help from Verin and Adeleas, and the episode comes to a close.

The Episode Review

The Wheel of Time season 2 kicks off with an exciting premiere. However, episode 1 doesn’t spend much time diving in and introducing us to unfamiliar characters. We’ve hardly had time to get to know any of these characters before we’re thrust into some very intricate events.

The show’s action is excellent, just like in the first season. However, there are certain flaws in certain characters’ acting quality. The performances of Moraine, Lan, and Nynaeve, among others, are excellent. Some of the primary cast, though, including Perrin and Mat, perform only adequately. However, since we’ve only seen the premiere episode, it may be too soon to tell.

Supporters of Jordan’s novels may be disappointed by the adaptation’s numerous deviations from the source material, especially its modified plot. There is no underlying idea of men being inferior to women, for instance, throughout the book. This concept, however, is relentlessly pushed throughout the show, especially by Liandrin.

The episode as a whole, though, is thrilling and enjoyable to watch. Some of the loose strands from season 1 are also tied up in this episode. It’ll be interesting to watch the plot unfold in the upcoming episodes.