According to Rafe Judkins, Sophie Okonedo was independently both his and Rosamund Pike’s first choice for the role, and the chemistry between Pike as Moiraine and Okonedo as Siuan Sanche is scorching. This is the part where, if you are watching this episode with a beloved lesbian, you get to listen to them scream and watch them shake their computer until they cry. By the time Moiraine appears in Siuan’s fishing hut in her nightshirt, fully unbuttoned, the horny is dialed up to 11. It didn’t help that Liandrin, who last week was busy skeeving on Moiraine in the hallways, is the one pushing to make the confrontation worse. I suppose we are theoretically supposed to be convinced that the unspoken emotion behind Moiraine and Siuan’s confrontation is anger, but even in this scene it feels sexual. However, that scene is VIBRATING with undercurrents. The show has also been working hard to convince us that Moiraine and Siuan Sanche, the Amyrlin Seat, are at odds, so their tense confrontation when they meet is to be expected. In this case the purpose is to transport the user… somewhere? I’m a little fuzzy on the details, but that’s my best guess. It turns out that painting is probably a ter’angreal, an item created with the One Power that has a specific purpose. Of all the reasons I thought Moiraine was staring longingly at that painting in her room last episode, “If I stare at it hard enough it can transport me to my lover’s fishing hut” was not on the list. Which brings us back to the clandestine gay sex portal. Related: ‘The Wheel of Time’ season 1, episode 5 review: Vaguely threatening persimmons and fridging that I approve of Honorable mention for “Give her my love,” the line that confirmed I was about to have my wildest dreams come true. When Moiraine questions if that is an order, Lan says, “Did it sound like a suggestion?” which has already become a staple response in my household. They have both realized they are in more danger than they anticipated in the White Tower and Lan is reluctant to be disconnected longer than necessary.
With the bond masked, Lan is unable to feel what is happening to Moiraine and is not as able to protect her. The second was when he confronted Moiraine about masking their bond for the first time in two years.
He somehow manages to be restrained and stoic while also projecting an aura of someone whose inner monologue would curl your toes. It’s… I know objectively this is not the funniest line ever written for television, but Daniel Henney’s delivery was so good. Rand is surprised to see them and says, “You’re alive,” to which Lan responds, “Well, it’s nice to see you, too,” looking so hilariously offended. The first is when they first meet Rand again. Lan’s dry sense of humor can fuel me for days and he had two lines that made me laugh out loud this week. Both Lan and Moiraine are so much more emotionally accessible at this point in the show than they were in the book. Absolutely every decision that has been made with regard to his character has been flawless. Rafe Judkins, is Lan Mandragoran your favorite Wheel of Time character? The show is making a compelling argument that he is. Let’s start with Lan and then move on to the clandestine gay sex portal. If this article were truly to give you a glimpse inside my brain immediately following the episode, it would probably consist of “ Moiraine Siuan KISS KISS KISS” repeated for about 1000 words and then maybe three sentences to recap Lan’s banger lines, of which there were many. If you don’t want horny reviews, don’t put clandestine gay sex portals in your episodes. In my defense, this was a very horny episode. I apologize for the fact that this is going to be a very horny review. We were both looking forward to this week’s episode and it did not disappoint. Sylvia spent her last week of school, while working in the glass blowing studio on final projects, re-listening to the first book, The Eye of The World, and calling me two to three times a day to discuss plot points. Sylvia’s Wheel of Time knowledge previously came from listening to a selection of audiobooks with me on her elementary school commute, as well as my explanations of things as I read new books. My particular beloved lesbian, Sylvia, is away at college, so we had to watch via a combination of Amazon Watch Party and FaceTime, but it was well worth the technological battle. If you’ve been thinking to yourself, “I’d really like to find the perfect Wheel of Time episode to watch with a beloved lesbian” then The Wheel of Time episode 6, ‘The Flame of Tar Valon,’ is the one for you.