Granted, this formula of characters walking and talking between plot points wore itself out quick enough during the middle years of Game of Thrones. That’s when the big questing party gets split up, and we have a chance to let pairs of characters wax philosophical about their troubles and place in the world, including some pointed commentary at how most don’t accept their part in “The Wheel,” a nod to the show’s take on destiny over free will. Watching Nynaeve match wits and willpower against Lan (Daniel Henney), who’s similarly been relegated to the background until now, is the first sign in this episode that the writers have figured out, albeit slowly, where this show might shine brightest.
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We begin with Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) escaping the clutches of her Trolloc captors in a surprisingly bloody and grotesque scene that puts her own brand of heroism on full display - for those who thought this was a throwaway character back in Episode 1, know that many book fans experienced something similar when first reading The Eye of the World, and it’s nice to see the show working her into the plot far earlier. That’s not to say the show has fully departed its source material, especially in spirit. (And it might even be better when it dares to go off-book.)
But Episode 3, while admittedly short on specific set piece moments ripped from the book, finally proves this show can weave its own pattern. The violent Trolloc attack on the Two Rivers in Episode 1 was harrowing, sure, and the escape from Shadar Logoth in Episode 2 had plenty of gripping suspense.
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For newcomers, the draws was perhaps the chance to find the next blockbuster fantasy with all the action and intensity they’ve been missing since a certain HBO series finished its run in 2019. What lured most of us to this show was a fascination with the book series and a desire to see it brought to life. The best shows, fantasy or otherwise, know when to expand their horizons and become about something deeper and wider than the original hooks they employ early on to ensnare curious viewers. It’s a tricky feat Prime Video’s adaptation struggled to pull off during its first two episodes.īut with Episode 3, titled “A Place of Safety,” the showrunners manage to convey that epic yet intimate scope using a technique I honestly didn’t expect to see. One of the central appeals of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time is how the late author managed to make his fantasy world feel both huge and small at the same time.