‘The Wheel of Time’ Recap: ‘The Dragon Reborn’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Four of ‘The Wheel of Time’.
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Something that has become commonplace in modern television, is serialized storytelling. For creative minds everywhere have come to realize that tying together each and every episode, keeps an audience invested and hungry for more, and audiences have been quite receptive to this as well. Since they continuously tune into shows that make use of this format, and it really has grown in popularity enough that every network out there, makes this kind of story available. But despite its rampant popularity, there are still some shows that defy this red-hot convention and opt to tell stories that are grand and sweeping in nature and don’t necessarily connect right away and they tend to feature individual storylines revolving around the show’s ensemble cast, and one such series that meets that criterion is The Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime.
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For this particular series is indeed telling a grand and sweeping story and it is defying the norms by taking its time to bring everything together while offering up all kinds of unique moments that both grow the characters and this universe and for proof… look no further than this week’s episode. Because ‘The Dragon Reborn’ made a point to spotlight how everyone was doing while it indulged in a little worldbuilding along the way and that led to a bevy of compelling storylines. Some of which were relaxed in nature, as was the case with Egwene and Perrin. Since they were still spending time with the Tinkers, despite Perrin’s concerns that they may cause the both of them great harm. But Egwene saw no need for worry and her desire to keep things relaxed on this leg of the journey, allowed for the both of them to learn more about these gentle people and their wondrous views on life. 

Which is a storyline that served as the anthesis to Mat and Rand’s. Since they continued along with Gleeman Thom Merrlin, and eventually found shelter at a farm in the woods. Wherein it seemed they could rest for a bit before heading off to the Tower, courtesy of the kindness of these farmers. But the longer they stayed the more it became apparent that something was seriously wrong with Mat. Since he began to vomit up a black substance that resembled what they encountered in Shadar Logoth and it in turn allowed for Mat to become an agent of evil really. Since the dark inside eventually took control and motivated him to do something quite horrible… in that, he killed the kind family that took everyone in and alerted the Fade to their whereabouts before finally being snapped out of his twisted trance. Leaving him confused and worried and on the run again as he and his friends ventured off into the night. 

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But while those four friends walked vastly different paths, Moiraine and Lan and Nynaeve were dealing with quite the bigger problem. For the Aes Sedai had grave concerns about the man they’d captured who was claiming to be the Dragon Reborn. For said ‘Dragon’, whose real name was Logain Albar, did indeed wield some incredible power. The kind that had brought down a kingdom and motivated its former king to follow him and bring forth devastation, and to complicate matters further, it was up to the Aes Sedai to keep him unconscious via magic until he was ready to stand trial at the White Tower. Which meant these powerful women, found themselves worn down quickly, since it took great power to counterbalance Logain’s and while that indeed gave us great insight to this mysterious order and how their Warders connect with them, stopping to catch their breath and establish control, brought about some serious trouble and a heck of a surprise.
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Because Logain was in fact… playing possum all along. So that his forces could surround the encampment and attack and free him and well… that led to quite the battle, one that saw one member of the Aes Sedai enter the great beyond and it also saw Lan nearly die of a horrific neck wound when Logain freed himself from his chains. But that’s when that surprise came into play. In that, in a moment of fury and outright panic, Nynaeve somehow channeled a surge of power. One so strong that Logain was stunned, and everyone wounded was healed. Allowing for the Aes Sedai to finally defeat him and remove his ability to connect with the one power, whilst bringing forth a bevy of questions. Such as… does this mean that Nynaeve is the Dragon Reborn? Or has she tapped into something powerful she never knew she had a connection with?

Obviously, time will tell, and while we wait to learn the answers to those questions… we can bask in the wonder of an unconventional tale. One that truly offered up a bevy of unconnected storylines that are most certainly building toward something more and this jam-packed episode served to remind us, that this really is the right way to tell this tale. Because this series is so grand and sweeping, that serialized storytelling would have outright ruined it. So, it’s wonderful to know that every important moment will be focused upon here and that every plot thread will eventually have its payoff and well, now that we are at the halfway mark for season one of this series… this writer has no doubt that the story is only going to get more intense from here. For evil will undoubtedly come calling for Nyaneve, now that her power is revealed, Dragon Reborn or not, and that means grand battles are ahead… the kind that will decide the fate and the future of this world. Until next time.   

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