I believe Tokyo Vice is a very underrated series and not because it has a low rating, reason why is because not many people knows about it or talks about but, at times it can be a bit slow as any other police / journalist tv series who are after the bad guys but then it picks up very quickly.
On season one for me it was always Jake, Samantha and Sato the main characters but on season two things have change a bit but always with Jake in the middle of the storm, Samantha has turn into a disposable character with her moments but not as focus as in first season, Sato has probably remain at the top three but now Tozawa and Katagari next to Jake all the time.
Episode eight was every exiting to watch with a lot of retaliation specially at Chihara-Kai ever since Hayama took over after their Oyabun death, the monster that Tozawa has turn in after he came back is expanding rapidly starting to control not only the streets but high power inside the government and probably the US embassy.
– IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2887954/
– Platform: MAX
Tokyo Vice: The Noble Path – Season 02 – Episode 08 – RECAP
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Episode starts with a Yakuza arrest in the the US while they were having a good time in Hawaii, after they got busted its not known if they are part of Tozawa clan, this arrest seem very random without much details like Yakuza overall is expanding in the US without limits, similar to the wave of violence that is happening in Japan at the moment with Tozawa just watching from the distance like he is promoting all this without been directly involve.
Tokyo Vice: The Noble Path – Season 02 – Episode 08 – RECAP
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Jake return from the US early because he found evidence that can tie Tozawa to a case of corruption, how he got to the US and got a liver transplant along with many other charges, Katagiri is now pushing Jake to publish but Meisho won’t allow it mainly because he doesn’t have much proof and besides it seems someone inside is working for Tozawa ever since the evidence tape at Meisho burn down, video tape that involve the Transport Minister in a murder case.
Tokyo Vice: The Noble Path – Season 02 – Episode 08 – RECAP
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Samantha as usual hits rock bottom again but she is not alone this time, Sato is back with her out of nothing and it sucks because he was always there for her and only after her club got shut down and she needed a shoulder to cry she let in Sato knowing one of her models was going out with him, what a bitch. Sato also needs a shoulder and some support because he was thrown out of Chihara Kai after Hayama took over, to make things worst his brother join Chihara Kai and most likely will be abuse or end up dead very quick, Sato is looking for a way to get his brother back, there is a lot of revenge going on in this episode because Sato does get what he is looking for and what his Oyabun Ishida wanted all the time if he ever died.
Tokyo Vice: The Noble Path – Season 02 – Episode 08 – RECAP
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Jake came early to Japan, at Meisho there were a lot of people mad at him after his last tantrum before he left, the reason he left; brought them some gift and try to make amends although Tin Tin deserve it after acting like a cry baby when he got played by the Minister and blame Jake for it. That story about the Yakuza bust just came up at Meisho, Trendy and Jake are assign to it and this could serve as a piggy back for Jake so he can keep digging although he already got his answers, now he has to some how connect them to hard prove to publish, once again he gets shut down by the corrupt system who latter on will slap everyone on their faces.
Tokyo Vice: The Noble Path – Season 02 – Episode 08 – RECAP
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Jake’s boss, Emi; has been instructed to investigate the Meisho current director Baku after the video tape evidence burn down, they are suspecting that Baku is working for Tozawa because if they had publish that story it would connect the Minister of Transport and Tozawa to a murder case and some one would have talk to safe their ass, specially Minister of Transport who already told the truth of what was going on between him and Tozawa after one night Katagiri got tired of playing by the rules and went down ninja style into his place, treating to cut his finger off. After all Tin Tin did found and old article from Tozawa home town where Baku interview him directly so this is a start, some how Baku and Tozawa know each other.
Tokyo Vice: The Noble Path – Season 02 – Episode 08 – RECAP
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There is constant humor into this series specially coming from Tozawa, the guy is constantly making fun of people because he can basically do what ever the fuck he wants, this time comes into the room after his wife was trying to sneak around a deal with the Transport Minister behind his back but Tozawa has eyes and ears every where so he got there to remember the Minister of certain video tape that could come back at any moment and destroy his career, he does not want a Transport Minister, he needs the Minister of Justice on his side.
Tokyo Vice: The Noble Path – Season 02 – Episode 08 – RECAP
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Tozawa again displaying his power, Katagiri new boss Nagata was making a lot of progress busting Yakuza left and right, now getting closer to Tozawa thanks to Jake and Katagiri but the moment she got too close to the sun her wings burn down, there is a new Justice Minister, Nagata gets replaced, Jake had a meeting with Yabuki, Tozawa’s right hand; to let him know if he continues with his story they going to kill him.
Sato getting back to Chihara Kai does not surprise me I really though he would eventually but how Tozawa start to control everything and kill Ishida shows a lot of power out of him right now, when he left he was very ill and didn’t have this much power on the government and the streets but after killing Ishida and taking over his Wife’s family organization he got stronger than ever been able to pull strings everywhere and cover things up so he doesn’t get involve, even showing up at the police station to proof his innocence, its just ridiculous.
Question at hand is, will Sato retaliate and go after Tozawa? will Jake work with him? its going to be war in the streets and Tozawa has a lot of enemies after him, also those who work for him like Baku and the new Justice Minister are been secretly investigated, there are a lot of twist to this series although it looks very basic from the outside, I give Episode 8 a 7.5/10.
What Was Meant to Be, episode eight of The Wheel of Time Season Two, for me; could be the best episode of a TV series on 2023, everything that was meant to be happen, not necessary as Moiraine thought it would happen since Selene (Lanfear) had a lot to do with it, in fact she was the reason all this happen, she fool Ishamael all the time, she rescue Rand from Amyrlin Seat setting on fire the town as a distraction, took Moiraine and Lan to the exact spot where she could attack Lady Surtoh ships and all this because she loves Rand, really the OG dragon; this time seems she is focus more than ever to help him but at the end her goal is to have him for her but this is something not clear for me because when she was going to do something about it a few episodes back Moiraine show up and cut her through, I have not read the books so all I know is what I have seen so far. Another interesting topic is how Ishamael was imprison with the rest of the forsaken by Lews who was the reincarnation of The Dragon, they were “friends” but had different opinions about The Wheel, Ishamael wanted to distroy it probably he has a similar kind of though like Thanos, why suffer when he can end it all while Lews knew this was not the way, season leaves me with quite a few questions of whats next on season three, at this point everyone has a good control of their power including Perrin, Mat never had any powers he was just destine to do certain things since he was part of Rand inner circle.
Season two started very slow for that getting some what low scores of 7/10 but after episode three things started to pick up the pace rapidly to the point that every episode was a hit, out of the eight episodes it average a score of 8/10 on IMDB, considering the first episode got a 7.1 and the last episode a 9/10 showing in numbers how good this episode was its just pure and constant dopamine rush that kept me to the edge, it is in fact so good of an episode and has so many details that I saw it more than twice.
To this day I don’t know who free Ishamael but at least now I know who imprison him, good old Dragon back in the day who was his “friend” knew Ishamael was a serious problem to deal with and the rest of the forsaken so he put them inside rocks that serve as prison where they will be alive but not aware of time, this seal was suppose to be so strong that not even Lews would be able to break it so how Ishamael got out and then how did he free the rest of the forsaken including Lanfear??
Once again Lanfear shows Rand she is the only one who really care for him but specifically told him the rest only care for what he can do when she doesn’t so this clear out the question she is not after his powers? because that would be the most obvious answer, during this entire process as I mention, Lanfear was the one pulling the strings and putting all the pieces in place so Rand can win this battle, Lanfear still have bone to pick with Moiraine, if she provoke Lanfear and Rand is not there to get in the middle I’m sure she would not hesitate to take Moirinae life, once again Lanfear helps Moiraine and Rand, dropping Moiraine close to Falme but far enough so she could claim the Dragon with a fire banner on the sky as she mention but this distance also gave her the perfect strategy to attack the city from far away, on top she now has Lan to cover her back again.
I just love how Lanfera manipulate Ishamael, he knows it but has no other option on the other hand Rand tries to manipulate her with cheap tricks and even having all that power she agrees every time he ask for help and she likes it, so hilarious. Now I understand Ishamael wanted more time, from the start he was trying to make Rand feel everyone abandon him because that story that the Dragon eventually kills everyone so far doesn’t fit with Rand, he was not going to kill his friends so Ishamael had no other option to separate them, for some time it work but Ishamael worst mistake was to awake Lanfear thinking she was going to kill Rand.
This is one of the best Karma scenes I have seen this year, on previous episode Egwene told Renna, “I’m going to kill you” and Renna did nothing, but the worst of not doing anything is that she didn’t realize Egwene just went over the adam, she though of ways to hurt her suldam, that’s rule number one you cant hurt your suldam or even think about it. Renna keeps provoking Egwene, the city is under attack and all suldam and damane need to defend it, when a damane refuse orders during battle first punishment is cut her tongue and second her hands, Renna cut Egwene hair to show off her power while still holding the leach, Egwene was like bitch did you just cut my hair?? That look on Egwene before she start attacking the white cloaks who are invading the city said it all.
Ishamael is highly suspicious that Lanfear is going to betray him mainly because he feels she is rushing things and been so sure that Rand is going to switch sides on top of that Turak the leader of seanchan was murder by Rand but he has an ace with him, Mat is “suppose” to kill Rand but Kim did said many times that her visions not always become true, temptation knocks at Mat’s door, Padan Fain brought him the dagger that once posses him and the one he will use to kill Rand, Mat knows he is not strong enough not to touch it so went around and made a spear out of it, problem solved right? not really.
The episode is about Rand been declare as The Dragon but in my opinion this was Egwene episode, Nynaeve is suppose to be way stronger than Egwene something that might come up on season three but for how the one that has shown her powers more than anyone else is Egwene, she is not only strong and pretty but so fucking smart, the tower gets hit badly by the White Cloak army, a big rock hit them and some suldam and damene die but not Renna and Egwene, she use the opportunity to gram an adam collar from a dead sedai and wait for the exact moment to put it on Renna’s neck, so they are both suldam and damane, takes the big risk to hang Renna by the collar and waits to find out who will die first or who forfeit and release the other from the adam, eventually Renna accept because she doesn’t want to die expecting Egwene to release her from the adam and to my joy she doesn’t and watch Renna die kicking and screaming while hanging from pilar.
During previous episodes I constantly complain about some characters that basically do shit, two of them are Mat and Perrin, well Mat in fact hurt Rand badly, it did not play out exactly as Ishamael though but he did set a trap so Mat tries to kill him from behind but Ishamael some how predict it and it was an ilusion, ends up stabing Mat and almost kill him if it wasn’t by Egwene, Perrin and Elayne, btw Nynaeve did’t do shit during this episode, yes its me complaining again but its just so stagnating with some of this characters, I wonder if on the books its like this?
Egwene stand against Ishamael taking almost all his attacks so thats shows she might go hand to hand with some of the forsaken, until Perrin shows up with a shield that was giving to him by Uno who is now one of the Heroes of the Horn so there must be something special about that help Egwene hold the attacks until Elayne is healing Rand, there is a scene I did not show and thats Moiraine attacking the Seanchan ships with damane holding down Rand, after the ships are destroy and Elayne heal Rand he was then able to kill Ishamael.
The scene that sets Season 3, the seals for the rest of the forsaken are broken, every single one is free now, Lanfear is the only one on Rand side, she is suppose to be the strongest one of all them but there was something about Moghedien, another forsaken; that scare the shit out of her or was it the fact that they are all free against Rand? Lanfear thought everything went according to her plan but she never thought Ishamael could or would free the rest of the forsaken.
Ishamael is gone now, Seachan’s are done too but there is a bigger threat and that is the other forsaken together after The Dragon now that everyone knows its Rand, truth is that Rand and his friends now know how to control their powers way better that the start of the season but how powerful the forsaken are? Egwene and Rand can exchange blows with them but is the White Tower and Aes Sedais be on their side too? considering Moiraine and the Amyrlin Seat are not in good terms? this puts Rand in the middle of multiple battles on top of this a small civil war against the White Cloaks, this make think they might be surrounded, more powerful than before but more direct enemies than before so it won’t be easy to stay alive, another question that is left hanging is on what side will Lanfear be? what are her true motives to be with Rand? she keeps saying she loves him and is the only one not after his powers? I’m sure season three will be as explosive as season two.
There are some TV series and movies that when it comes to make my post about it, a recap trying to narrate the events that I consider the most important or make the more impact for me, there could be so many details that I kind of hate the process of creating the post although once it is done it feels very satisfying, WOT is one of those TV series probably why it took me some time to create the post, didn’t want it to be short and cover my favorite events during this episode, same thing happens to me with For All Mankind.
REACHER season two brings more context to the story, it feels nice when you watch a TV series with proper story structure, season one was full of action with very little of who Reacher really is, all we knew was that he was in the army, he is fucking tank you don’t mess with and is one of the good guys, but there were a few questions like why really he stop giving a fuck about everything and decided to disappear, no phone, no address, travel light, on his own words that is all Reacher was.
Season 2 brings more context by starting to develop what that part of his life was, Mayor Reacher had a crew, he was running a team of special investigators who he selectively hand pick, at first things did not make sense to most of the but everyone was there for a reason and not just random guys from all over the army, Reacher is like the final version of the Hulk, when Bruce Banner finally understood Hulk as an improvement and not a disease, that’s Reacher, the final version of the Hulk and it would be nice to see him working hard than usual, suffer a bit, may be would be nice to see some one giving him a proper fight one to one, season two starts with the death of Calving Franz, member of this old crew the 100th unit, Franz was torture and then thrown off a helicopter, not a cheap death so must be a high profile case he was after, Reacher now comes in to get to the bottom of this murder and make sure justice is serve in the name of his friend.
It would not be a Reacher episode without a proper kick ass, Reacher was minding his own business, buying a change clothe at a local store by the pound, it was funny that he even change clothe there and the puts the old one on the counter LOL, he sees this women doing multiple withdraws from an ATM and simple ask her if she has been carjacked, not sure how he got to that conclusion but most of the time you don’t care, when you watch this type of series or movies like John Wick all you want is massive shooting, kick ass fights, break some stuff and that’s is what Reacher is all about, they complement with a story but this is the perfect sample of a proper Reacher kick ass scene, if not the series would be very boring watch a big guy like him just doing investigator job. Reacher is like Bruce Banner transform into the Hulk but with a bit more of attitude and sarcasm, at the end he ask the kid if he wants to see his mom? jajajaja very funny scene.
An old friend and crew member, Frances Neagley; was trying to reach him since he had no where to be contacted at, as a last resource she use a clever way to send a distress call using his bank account, so when he pick up the recipe from the ATM, a deposit of $1.10 and then balance went to $1,030, this are the kind of things only people from the army of where the use this codes frequently are aware of on their daily routine, its like if I see 127.0.0.1 on my mind that’s HOME. Neagley the women with Reacher at the phone wanted to notify him Franz was murdered.
Episode one brings Mayor Reacher, Special Investigator crew to the scene, they were few but very well selected by Reacher himself, trying to be as efficient as possible, some of the them like young blood David O’Donell had no clue how such team will work out, Reacher had his doubts too but things started on the right foot after they all witness Reacher had their back no matter what.
Reacher catch up with Neagley during breakfast after he flight to New York where she is at, a lot has happen since he has been out, this crew probably understood he wanted to be alone or that he didn’t care anymore, its either one of the two so they didn’t put that much effort to contact him but this time was different, one of them has been torture and murdered, not an event to swallow that easy so Neagley did everything she could to contact him. Episode one was either very predictable or its a trap for the viewer, right out of the start they are been follow everyone and two guys monitoring them, we see the one following them with the list of Reacher crew members, who do they work for? are they government? are they with the people who kill Franz? who the fuck they are?, if you ask any viewer the first though would be they are with the bad guys.
On top, Reacher calls O’donnell and told him where is he and Neagley are staying, latter on he shows up after Neagley’s room was turn apart, so it’s either some one else who is listening to their calls who did it or O’donnel is with the bad guys? see all the possibilities and outcomes of episode one? I’m 200% sure we will see some sort of treason against Reacher in the upcoming episodes, because some one who knows him and his ex crew is after them, Franz was the first victim.
Reacher is all about been just and defending the little one, even though the entire crew is mention on episode one there is very little known about them besides Neagley and O’donnell, she even mention Karla Dixon from Reacher crew that he liked her but never had anything with her because he was running the team, seem wrong for him, that kind of just guy. The rest of the crew only fill the space even Franz didn’t said much during the episode.
Remember how I said Reacher had their back? it was this scene where they got into a bar fight because it was a “officers only” bar and Neagley was Sergeant, that evening started boring, they didn’t know each other, O’donnell was constantly running his mouth about the rest, even Dixon said leaving after her first beer but it was that fight that make the crew stick together and bond at a camp fire, singing, drinking, that night Neagley probably became Reacher right hand, after all that is what he was looking for, a tight crew that stick together not a bunch of military police doing what they were told to do at the military.
Within the possible bad guys there is Mr. Mount who is always reading a comic book, using fake passports as he burn the one he was holding during this scene to then buy a few more from a random guy who makes them, it even makes me think he he has nothing to do with the other two guys from before, on this episode their names were not mention but I look them up on IMDB, there is also O’donnell who for the time is with Reacher but I don’t trust anyone other than Neagley for now.
After some data they found on a USB that Franz left behind, btw the USB had a password and it was Reacher, Franz always wanted to be like him. Reacher comes to the conclusion that they are after his old crew so they decided to get in contact with who ever they could, decided to visit Swan and found his dog Maisi dead, dehydrated, makes Reacher think Swan is dead too because he would not let this happen if he was able to come home.
Episode 1 of Reacher, Season 2; was great, not only we got two short kick as fight scenes, I would like the bar fight to show more but it was only to make a point, there is even a third fight, not really fight, where Reacher jump some local drug dealers just to release some steam, still great episode and I think the rating of 8.5/10 talks by itself, the entire season two has been release and most episodes have high scores, for me it is only and indicative although I don’t make my opinion out of review scores, after all something that I think can be solve if this sites run on a blockchain but that is a project I have in mind for the future since I’m not a developer.
Going back to the episode since I was getting out of track, this episode leaves a lot of questions, different than your traditional first episode where new characters are presented properly with some background, this time its a bit different since they were all mention but besides Neagley we are left knowing very little about the rest, it was a nine member crew, there is a lot to be unfold for the next seven episodes and this is something I have been thinking about, the amount of episodes for a good story is at minimum eight, best if its a ten episode season but I have notice that anything below six sux most of the time. I’m glad season two is this good, yes it still has that cliche of the big dumb guy who brakes stuff but not really, its different, smart big good guy who brakes stuff, not your usual army related tv series.
Episode Seven has start an event I was waiting for some time, everyone including Rand and Egwene start using their powers at will, there is one thing I never consider is that Moiraine will recover her ability to connect again with the one power, not only that its exciting to see all this characters using their powers there is also Lanfear trying to show Rand she cares for him although it is still not clear when and where her “love” for Rand, The Dragon; goes off the cliff, they keep saying its always the same story that never ends and never change, Lanfear herself mention it “after 3000 years here I am…” when she was trying to help Rand escape, she is so powerful she feels been there creating a distraction for Rand is a waste of her time but she still did it because she loves Rand although he doesn’t remember anything from his previous life.
There is also a good amount of the episode that gives more details about Siuan and Moiraine love story, on season one there was an episode that shows them sneaking out to a small house next to the river, I always ask myself why was that and where was that, but this episode gives more context of why they sneak out and where, things have change drastically when Siuan finds out Rand is the Dragon and Moiraine kept him from her and The White Tower, Siuan is piss at her badly to the point she demands as her superior and not as the women once loved her.
Let me tell you Moiraine looks so weird smiling, specially with such a big simile, all her teeth showing, for the most part on season one and two she have never laugh or smile like that I can remember, her dream and hope was to be with Siuan, get out of the tower and start a life together now that the ongoing war is over, Siuan thought the same but something more quiet, a house next to the river like she had when she was child, her dad’s house, Moiraine even call herself Siaun Fishwife, I really don’t give two fucks if the series was trying to push a message or not, it is very entertaining. It was at this point on her life that Moiraine would be destine to find the Dragon after she hold on her hands Sister Gitara, Ais Sedai; who had a vision of The Dragon Reborn, it was Rand’s mother giving birth after battling for her life caring him inside.
This scene they divided in like three parts but mostly was Rand trying to be tough but at the same time docile, he finally meet with Amyrlin Seat, Siuan Seday, after all this entire party is for him, I wonder how much of his power will he be using on this season because he has no control over it, he is suppose to be the most powerful of them all but when ever he tries to use his powers it consume him, in this scene Siuan cut the bullshit and tells him straight up that The White Tower has rules and procedures, one of them put The Dragon in a cage and use him as a weapon to this Rand tries to fight back but it only took her a single wave of her hand to put him on his knees, at his point he has the potential but no control over his powers I think he cant even beat Moiraine on a one on one fight.
Moiraine is called by Siuan, she kept Rand from everyone else with the assumption that The White Tower was corrupt so she must kept him out of danger until he was ready, this got her no where, she “lost” her powers, Rand was found first by Lanfear and he cant even beat Siuan so they have got no where and Siuan feels the same, its time for things been done The White Tower way.
It is true that I have mention on this post how Rand has no control over his powers but he now has discover a way to communicate with Lanfear without having to actually sleep?? Lanfear is a dream walker, she can enter anyone’s dream and kill him if she wanted. Rand is send to the dungeon to keep prisoner until Siuan says, he is been watch by Leane Sedai and at this point Moiraine still can’t use her powers so there is no way out for Rand until he ask for Lanfear help, she is so fkn hot on her leather dress, obviously she accept to help him escape but not after a little foreplay, she likes to be “manipulated” by him like she wants him to be in charge but its not his time, things might be different in the future and this is when I think Rand will be tempted by the dark side, once he is able to fully control his powers, makes me think that at some point he will have his doubts and might side with Lanfear.
After I’m done with this season I might rewatch the entire thing including season one because I think I’m missing when may be Moiraine or some one else explain why Lanfear wants Rand so badly, at first I thought it was for his powers or to kill him but that was never the case, that time Moiraine cut Lanfear throat at the cabin she was about to do something with Rand, he was tied up to the bed but then Moiraine show up and ruin the hole thing, Lanfear creates the perfect distraction and set the town on fire so Rand could escape, Siuan had to team up with other sisters and create rain to put off the fire.
For the most part this episode was pure action, it was all about Lanfear, Rand, Moiraine and Siuan trying to make things work out, well except Lanfear she will just go with Rand but things went south when Siuan got Moiraine against the wall.
When Rand finally got the time to look at Moiraine and knew that her powers were taking he saw something in her, Ishamael put some sort of tie, a spell; that limits her so she could not use the one power and he had to gently destroy it, as they explain it was risky because if he use too much power could kill her but that was the boring part, it was Moiraine reaction to feel the power again that was really cool, it was a mid point of happy, cry and laughing at the same time, she opens a gateway, portals to travel through space and time; old dark passage, the moment Siuan caught them she force Moiraine to close it against her will using her power but everything came down for Siuan when Lanfear appears, I think Siuan is been blind by the fact that she is the Amyrlin Seat and by the White Tower laws, I don’t want to say power got her overestimate Rand and Lanfear but its actually lack of understanding of what she is dealing, who she is dealing with, she thought could beat Lanfear and got drag around like it was nothing, falling and had to watch Lanfear open the gateway with Rand and Moiraine following her, WTF she must be thinking at that moment, who would have knowing a forsaken, the dragon and Aes Sedai getting into a gateway.
In between this entire awesome episode that got an 8.2/10, anything above 8 is fucking great; the cherry on top was Egwene, Rena and her got to a training session, there were a few things that got my attention, when they were about to execute an attack Rena told her “don’t worry for this one I dont need anything from you” then Egwene explodes in power creating a huge expansion wave but the BEST part probably from the entire episode is when Egwene told Rena TO HER FACE, wearing her collar “I will kill you”, this is HUGE, the reason is because women wearing the A’dam can not even THINK about hurting the one holding the leach, the fact that Egwene was able to do this says a lot of her power, how she had dominate and control her feelings, mind and powers is insane.
As usual WOT episodes end up on long posts, there were a few things that I try to resume from this one, now that I’m changing the format of my posts I try to bring a more graphic representation of my writing and I really enjoy but its way more work than previous posts, for those who support my content I really appreciate it.
This episode was crazy and from what I have seen the next, last episode is probably even better; finally every one is going to meet at Falme for the final of this season, I wonder who dies, I have to assume Lanfear doesn’t because I think she will stay close to Rand until he is able to control his powers, so far seems that season three is on its way for 2024, now that Moiraine has her powers back things are going to change drastically but for how long she will stay close to Rand, after all Lanfear hates her.
Perry side story is still very insignificant for the main story but has become way more interesting than it was, same goes for Mat but those two are characters to fill up.
From all the TV series of 2023, WOT season two had the most dramatic come back in a season after people were constantly complaining for the first half how slow, boring, it was, while I was on the other side of the fence thinking this is going to get wild towards the end and it did.
I don’t think, I’m certain this is the most brutal episode I have seen on this series so far, season two of The Wheel of Time pick up the pace episode by episode, as always I’m just a regular viewer, not an expert and have no opinion about the books, I’m not the reading guy but still here I’m writing a blog.
On episode two you will fell the pain and agony of some of the characters, I think at some point even Rand shows how impotent he feels with all this power but still has no clue how to use it or control it, on the other hand there is Egwene how now has a better understanding how to weave and use The One Power but unfortunately she falls into the hands of the Seanchan, given as a Damane to Renna who now controls the leash and now way to escape from her d’ama, a device so powerful that can’t be broken and looks like it feeds from the power of the damane protecting the sul’dam, the one holding the leash in this case Renna, I mention all this about Egwene because she is the one that turns the jets on this episode.
Episode six is like the season exploded in pieces, like it was holding so much information and now even though there are scenes that only have a couple of minutes it goes one after another in an adrenaline rush that you keep asking for more drama, for more fight, more blood, more use of the one power, it is this moment when more than one character shows their power but I think the main reason is been so expose to an enemy like the Seanchan. As I mention there is a rush of feelings going on through the episode because other characters like Liandrin, Ryma, Maigan, Siuan, they all suffer one way of another, some are even torture, broken from the inside once they are under the leash, episode six is really a jewel of season two.
On episode five Moiraine understood that Rand doesn’t need her protection, Selene/Lanfear is in love with him, that’s their never ending story, both are entities that reincarnate in the case of Rand although Lanfear never dies she can only be contain so she does remember every time this exact same thing happens, every time the Dragon is Reborn and at some moment in his life she meets him again, the most easy way for Rand to contact Lanfear is in the world of dreams but she feels Lanfear is going to hurt him or worst kill him, Rand is outgun at Lanfear world of dreams but he is safe, Lanfear wants him with her, for her, so he can trust her, she wont hurt him in exchange Rand ask her to help him in Ishamael to that she puts one condition, NO MOIRAINE.
Lanfear explicitly tells Rand that if she sees Moiraine next to him she will kill her so he had to go away, from her house, Rand feels now that more than ever he needs to wild his power and be able to control it, some times Moiraine is a bitch too, he will visit the only man who can teach him, Logain; but then she told him SHE put him away from the Tower so he never be able to teach him but that’s not true, Logain knows now that all this happening, him and Rand at the same place its Moiraine’s work.
Thanks to Moiraine now Lanfear can reach Rand anytime he sleeps, he keeps having nightmares of how he keels everyone he loves, at least that the curse of men who wild The One Power, Ishamael is also a dream walker and torment Rand but Lanfear protects him now, she even grand him a wish, she ask Rand who he would like to see and he ask for Egwene, Lanfear shows him the cell she is in, she looks beaten, no shows, desperate and Egwene can hear him but cant see him, this broke him and now is determine to safe her. Lanfear gets jealous when he ask her where Egwene is but still tells him Ishamael got her and THATS when Rand makes a pact with the devil, he tells Lanfear he will do anything to rescue her basically asking Lanfear help me and I’m yours.
Talking about making pacts with the devil there are a few rules, first rule is you can’t take it back if you try you will suffer the concurrences and most of the time before you get what you ask for you will go through a series of extreme suffering that will leave a permanent mark in your soul.
This is exactly what happens to Liandrin when Lanfear pays her a visit, I think Lanfear doesn’t know all the details of Ishamael plans and knows Liandrin is working for him, although the oath was not to Ishamael but to the Dark, she kills Liandin’s son Aludran in front of her, a way to bully the powerful Liandrin, showing her she is not on the same league as Lanfear, then she tells Liandrin “there are many paths to walk through the night” , I think what she is trying to tell Liandrin is that she doesn’t work for Ishamael but for the Dark, in this case Liandrin represents the Dark Power while Ishamael is just a messenger, I’m sure Lanfear is doing all this to help Rand, Lanfear is on the same side as Ishamael but doesn’t work with or for him.
Lets get to the meat and potatoes of episode six, Renna and Egwene. Renna is a Seanchaw in Falme, I always say I’m ok with inconsistencies and in this case looking up who was Renna I find out a particular fact online about the book, Renna held Egwene leash after she was collar and on the series she let Egwene kept her name but on the book she didn’t she change Egwene name to Tuli and some other details that are different in the story, point been Renna was Egwene’s d’man who really wanted to be on Egwene good side so they can be one making them the strongest couple in the entire army but Egwene refuse and kept trying to release her.
Renna kept trying to be on Egwene good side and one day show her how powerful they can be together, that was the first time they channel together, Renna must have some kind of power too, probably she cant channel as Egwene but there is something between them or its just the collar and the leash that creates the bridge between them, Egwene felt it but she also felt something else and I think it was Renna help, I still believe that she can some how channel but may be they were not though how to. On the series not many details are given on how exactly the a’dam work only the obvious.
The A’dam is design to protect the one holding the leash, you know how you can also sin of though, well the a’dam very well brings that to life, the Damane cant get her hands on anything she thinks can use to damage her sul’dam, Renna test for Egwene was very simple, serve me a glass of water, Egwene constantly failed, she has to be pure of though before she can even serve Renna a glass of water, on the next cell was Maigan Sedai who was send by the Amyrlin Seat to scout the Seanchan but eventually got caught and collar, she mention how Egwene lasted more than her and she was a Blue Ajah, to become a Damane they have to be pure of though against her sul’dam, this break Egwene soul the moment she was able to serve Renna a glass of water.
When Nynaeve and Elayne escape from High Lady Suroth after been betrayed by Liandrin, they went after Egwene ending in Falme where Ryma Sedai got them first before the Seanchaw army who was looking for them through the city and kept patrolling the city looking for any infiltrates, Nynaeve tells Ryma about Liandrin how she is friends with the dark and have broken her oath, she also tells about Egwene been collar and want to rescue but Ryma makes them aware of the collar that so far no one have broke out of it, the three Ryma, Nynaeve and Elayne channel together without pushing too much power into the collar so others Damane cant detect them, the only one who felt something more was Nynaeve she actually understand the collar, its like the collar is ill or curse and the only way to be fix or heal is by putting it to a women, in this case a women that channel and it CAN NOT be broken.
The local patrol discover their hide out, they felt the power, both Ryma and her warden Basan sacrifice themself trying to stop the Seanchan before they discover Nynaeve and Elayne, this fight was also very brutal both when Ryma explode in tears after Basan was killed, how she almost turn into a ball the Sul’dan that killed him but they were out number, after so long she finally would join her sister Maigan Sedai after been collar.
Rand is about to go to Falme and rescue Egwene, he knows Ishamael will be waiting for him that’s why he got his hands on Egwene, probably he was only willing to get Nynaeve and drag Rand to flame after capturing her through Liandrin but he end up with Egwene that would still work for him, Rand visits Logain so he could teach him how to channel but its too little time and too soon, channeling is something that takes time and in the case of Rand he needs to be very careful if you will blow into dust after taking too much power, on this scene Logain only tells him the start but Rand goes further taking too much power and ends up puking, this was very lame in my opinion because right after this he decides to still rescue Egwene knowing he is no match for Ishamael and has no control over his powers.
Mat is now in Cairhien after Min brought him, she was instructed by Liandrin and Ishamael in exchange she ask him to get rid of her visions, all her life her visions were curse that make her life miserable after been used as a fortune teller since she was a kid, not only that but seen other people die before they even get to know each other, she saw Mat killing Rand and still betray him. Mat and Rand found each other in the streets on Cairhein then had a drink but Rand had to tell him the truth because he was in a hurry, so both agree to got to Falme and rescue Egwene, another stupid idea, the two will safe Egwene from a place flooded by Seanchan besides the fact that is Ishamael is waiting for them.
Mat agrees with Rand to meet at the gate in one hour, before Mat leaves with Rand he visits Min to let her know but she is drunk, she was visited by Ishamael, he ask her to make sure Mat leaves with Rand and realize they both know about her vision, Ishamael break their deal and ask her to do this one last thing, she gets drunk and when Mats get to tell her he is leaving with Rand tells him the truth, Mats is broken, after loosing everything and his friends he is and feels betrayed by Min who he truly consider a friend, Mat doesn’t have a good record when feeling down, the last time he felt this way end up been consume by the dark power inside a knife and that’s what I thought it was going to happen because Min vision is that Mat kills Rand with the knife but no body knows when, where and why, Mat gets pissed off and leaves the room but never left Cairhein with Rand who after waiting more than an hour decides to leave without Mat.
The Amyrlin Seat, Siaun Sanche, leader of the Aes Sedai arrive to Cairhein after Lan confess to her about Moiraine plans that she have found The Dragon Reborn, he betray Moiraine trust by doing this but he was trying to protect her from herself, Moiraine was decided to die if necessary to protect Rand but without the help of The White Tower, she didn’t want them to cage him like an animal and use him as a weapon, when The Amyrlin Seat knows she put together fourteen Aes Sedai in Cairhein a very unusual move but her plan is to capture Rand for this she brings all her sister’s power in case Rand turns out to be more skill than she thought.
I have seen longer posts on Hive but this is a new record for me, not all of this is part of my imagination as I’m just giving my opinion on the different scenes. Episode six of The Wheel of Time feels as I mention, very brutal specially the scenes of Liandrin loosing her son, how Lanfear catch her Liandrin attack when she got into the room like it was nothing, that moment she knows there is no chance she can even touch Lanfear after all she is one of the most dangerous and powerful forsaken and then had to watch how Lanfear kills her son, the reason why she betray her sisters and broke her oath, because if we think about it yes Liandrin doesnt like anyone at the white tower and if it was for her she would be in charge and only Red Aes Sedai existed but wouldn’t betray them if it wasn’t for her son that was dying so seen Lanfear kill him broke Liandrin badly, Lanfear also remind her of why she doesn’t like men and its because she was force to get married very little basically abuse by men at a very young age that’s why she hate so much men specially those that can channel like Logain. All the scenes where Egwene was force against her will to obey, act and thought, was very difficult to digest, all that power contain, how she feels incapable of doing anything to get free of the collar, every time she tries to take it off, attack Renna or even get close to her or touch something she might think to use against Renna the collar push her making her twist and puke out of pain, ironically Renna kept trying to be “her friend” even showing her how powerful they can be together but at the same time treating Egwene as her powerful pet on a leash and the moment when she finally serve the cup and then screams out of her lungs. Episode six reveal many details of both sides plans:
Lan tells The Amyrlin Seat, Moiraine plans and about Rand (The Dragon Reborn)
Lanfear gets on Rand side, helping him against Ishamael
Ryma learns about Liandrin treason, even probably why her sisters got caught at Falme
It was Liandrin who kept talking about the invation and probably why Ryma end up in Falme
Mat finally knows Min set him up to meet with Rand
It was secret after secret reveal almost every scene, not much fighting and action happen across the episode except for Ryma and her warden fighting the Seanchan army so I guess the next two episodes will have more fighting and action, even some more treason between sides, there were some scenes that I didn’t mention because I felt they were not as important, for example there as an argument between Moiraine and her sister about her been Moiraine and not giving a shit about anyone when she is busy, also how Lan was basically force to tell the truth about why he wanted to go to Cairhein that was to visit Moiraine but when Alanna and her two warden threat to kill him if he didn’t tell the truth Lan gave up so they caught up with The Amyrlin Seat, it was not on her plans to visit Cairhein and setup such a great force of all her sisters until she knew The Dragon Reborn was probably there, Lan snitching on Moiraine was very shitty of him because one way or another he betray her trust, you got to sink with the ship when it comes to trust.
From time to time there is that TV Series that I enjoy watching a lot, I do like fantasy theme TV Series although at a adult age not young kids discovering magic, for example The Magicians was a TV Show I enjoy same as The Rings of Power but I’m not a such a fan of other fantasy stories like Harry Potter.
Season two of WOT is in full force and introducing new characters or catching up with story lines is over, the fourth episode introduce its last main character with Selene now known as Lanfear, she was a mystery at first during the season but now she is pissed, not only now we know that she is a forsaken but we are starting to understand her interest to Rand, she is basically in love with him, he is too precious for him but she wants him to join her, she doesn’t want to force him this is why so far she haven’t hurt him, it will remain a mystery what she was going to do when she started channeling. Rand finally meet her real personality, Lanfear on his dreams, she is a dream walker, she can get into others people mind when they are dreaming without been invited, once she is in you are on her world with her rules and you can die on that world too.
On episode five we also get to know a bit more about Seanchan too, a city that looks a lot like Constantinople to be honest, Damane another term on their thong use to those women who can channel, they are not free they are leash by Seanchan and are use as a weapon by their controller or master in this case known as Sul’dam using a collar known as a’dam, all women who can channel including Aes Sidai are consider a marath’damane, an abomination of nature and need to be controlled, similar to how Aes Sidai think of men who can channel although they have this though because men who can channel usually go mad including the Dragon Reborn.
Moiraine got just in time when Selene was on top of Rand, she was about to channel after she tied him to the bed and Moiraine cut her throat but this was just a temporary solution and to loose her they had to pull a few old tricks like getting on horses and then leave them going into an opposite direction on foot but this was just to gain some time before Lanfear figure it out. Moiraine plan didn’t work as she thought because Logain was suppose to teach Rand how to explode his power but that never happen, now he is unprepared and Lanfear is after them, she also told him the truth, this is just starting and a higher dark power has been unleash.
Perrin finally gets some good amount of screen time, we already know he is a tracker but for some reason he is having a hard time to accept what he is, Elyas tries to guide him although he is not a big help since he is of the mind that the pack has to stay together and all Perrin can think about is his friends who have been capture by the Seachan Army, one of them Uno Modesta killed when he revise to swear loyalty.
Eamon Valda and the White Cloaks, children of the light, a blast form the past season one, Eamon torture Perrin because he is consider a monster, anyone who can channel is a monster for the White Cloaks, they have now take over the small village that Seachan Army and High Lady Suroth attacked.
When Perrin return to the Village with the intention of finding some of his friends or where they were taking, he free Aviendha who is a Maidem of the Spear, a great fighter that was capture by the White Cloaks and put on a cage, Perrin who has a great heart free her without knowing who she is but soon she show him her skills as a fighter, a fucking John Wick of the Spear putting down a good amount of White Cloaks when they surround them after Perrin free her, she is now in debt with him so she follow him where ever he goes.
Things start to unfold at The White Tower when Verin Mathwin gets back, there are rumors of Aes Sidai missing, she also went looking for Egwene and Nynaeve but they were no where to be found at the tower, she seek information on her two friends at the library who can get her more information about this reports, who got in and out of the tower but something is odd about the reports, like either someone fake the reports or use some sort of spell what they call a weave, in this case on Sheriam Sedai who wrote the report. This would only mean that there is a traitor between the lines of the Aes Sidai, someone join the dark power, one of her sisters.
At this point no body knows at The White Tower but the traitor is Liandrin, I have been thinking why she did it and there is only one answer, her son who is dying, she actually explain this to Nynaeve before knock her out and deliver her with Egwene and Elayne to High Lady Suroth by orders of Ishamael, Liandrin had some compassion for Nynaeve and before she left cut her ropes so they could have a chance to escape. This shows how Liandrin is not that bad but still a selfish traitor after all.
Verin Sedai caught Liandrin when she was coming back, of course Liandrin had alibi and brought some white asparagus to try to sweet Verin wiith but she already know something is cooking and is after the traitor, she doesn’t know yet Liandrin is guilty.
High Lady Suroth is just part of the army, she is not the one in power to dictate what their people do or not, in fact Ishamael is using her, High Lady Suroth doesn’t seem she can channel, nos sure how then they get to such high power probably just been part of a royal family. Ishamael was after the Horn of Valere and deliver it to the High Lord Turak who is commander for the Seachan Army, I dont know what is up with this people and long nails but it seems a symbol of high power among them, High Lady Suroth nails get trim because she disobey orders at invading land she was not suppose to but this was Ishamael plan all this time.
To calm down things and get on High Lord Turak good side, Ishamael not only offer The Horn of Valere as a gift but also brought a very powerful women, this was Egwene who gets put on a’dam, a very powerful collar and then a leach by her new master, I like this scene very much since Madeleine Madden did a great job at showing Egwene pain when she was put on the collar, it has some sort of power over those who can channel that makes Egwene scream in pain and put her on her knees without giving her any orders, just looks insane, also the way the collar turns into a half chest piece in a transformer way look so sick.
During the entire episode Moiraine and Rand were running from Lanfear until they got back to her home, at home was her sister and nephew who welcome both, Moiraine was running out of time and knew it was only a few days or hours before Lanfear find them, she once gave her sister an advice and that is to truly think if things are necessary, in this case means “Does Rand really needs to be protected from Lanfear?” even though he is not in control of his powers Lanfear would have kill him long time ago, been with Rand for three months and it was just fucking around, literally, so Moiraine throw him into the lion den, let Rand sleep so Lanfear can come to him that way they will find out her real plan, that’s the cover image for this post.
There is really no excuse to think this TV Series is crap, its true that season two started very slow but it was necessary, even though the TV Series is not probably word by word close to the books they at least taking some time to not rush things, make it last as much as possible to develop the story at a pace that doesn’t feel they cutting corners like for example the Perrin story, it was about time his character get a bit more of screen time, same goes for Mat and I think they will on the next episodes, it cant be always Egwene, Nynaeve and Rand, so to balance things some episodes need to be a bit slower, for example episode five there was not much fighting but there was a lot of good drama and unfolding more of what Ishamael and High Lady Suroth want, that’s to take over Seachan, he is expecting Rand to join them at their city and be on their side too, WOT is just getting better and better.
I know I’m behind on this series but I love it and prefer to take my time to enjoy it, not staying up late during weekdays, I usually load up everything into my VR setup and watch all this TV Series on Saturdays when I stay home, relaxing.
For anyone that doubt WOT season two because of it’s very slow first two episodes I have to say things are starting to turn up and everything starts to make sense, on episode four more about Ishamael and Selene or by her real name Lanfear, Daughter of The Night the most dangerous Forsaken finally we get to know who this mysterious women who does nothing during the day and only fuck Rand’s brains out at night and who Moiraine fears a lot, but it still yet to know what are her motive and reasons to be after Rand? the most obvious reason that comes to mind is that she either wants to drain his powers, use him to do something for her or just kill him and as a last crazy idea is that she is truly in love with him. Moiraine has mention before that what they living right now has happen before many times through the centuries, meaning that Rand or The Dragon Reborn is an entity that comes to the world many times and even dies but always the story is very similar so there must be a connection between LanfeAr and Rand so yes probably she is in love with him but he doesn’t remember, the difference between them even if they met before is that Rand is a new men when Lanfear was awaken so she was probably a prisoner of some spell.
Episode four keeps telling us more and more about the past of some of the characters, in this case a bit more about Moiraine Damodred, she goes back to her home town where her little sister Anvaere Damodred lives and haven’t seen in many years, Aes Sedai live longer than other mortals because they are connected to the true power so they will age slower and see friends and entire family die before them, that’s the case of Liandrin and her son, same case between Moiraine and her little sister Anvaere.
Its on Episode Four when we see Moiraine change her clothes into what she is wearing on the Season Two Cover Poster so probably from now on she means business.
The reason for Logain to be in this town same where Rand is, all that happen because Moiraine wanted so, she is looking for Rand around town and visit the Asylum he is was working at where Logain is but can’t find him, goes and visit Logain who wants to kill her if he could, keep in mind that may be he can since Moiraine has no powers but she wont let him besides she has a dagger, she offers it to Logain and what I can interpret from their conversation is that she will either let him kill her or give him the dagger so he can kill himself, she mentions “…what all those cut off from the One Power desire most of all”
Perrin and Mat are two of the least important of the main five characters so far with very little screen time plus I still don’t know how their powers help or relate to Rand, they cant channel but still have to do with The Story that repeats over and over.
Perrin was help to escape by the pack of wolfs and Elyas who serve him as a guide to discover his powers, most of the things that they talk about are very vague, like Elyas doesn’t want to talk to Perrin about his powers but let him discover them by instinct.
Liandrin has been trying to bond with Nynaeve for her own benefit, she has been talking about how great it will be to use her as the biggest wepon The White Tower has ever had but now she tricked her, sitting at the Arches Liandrin tells Nynaeve that there was an invasion on the west, a black smith from The Two Rivers traveling with an Ogier were caught prisoner, this is a lie because at this point because they WERE capture and then Perrin got away but that’s not the point, Liandrin knows Nynaeve can’t get out of the tower without reporting and if she does then she has to sneak out, Liandrin knows exactly what escape route she will take so she ambush her and knock her out, to make things worst Nynaeve was not alone she was with Egwene and Elayne who probably where not part of Liandrin plan. It is still yet to know why Liandrin ambush them and I think this time it has nothing to do with The White Tower and Nynaeve becoming an Aes Sedai.
Moiraine keeps looking for Rand every where but can’t find him, she is starting to worry Lanfear will got him first but she has been with him all this time, none of the things that she plan for happen, Logain have not train Rand at all and Lanfear has been with Rand all this time.
Rand is starting to manifest his powers but only when he is under a lot of pressure, meaning when he is mad, angry and this makes him dangerous because this are the moments he has less control of himself but I wonder if this is exactly what Landfear wants, for some mysterious reason a Fade or Myrddraal appears and tries to attack Rand from the back, when they were together out side of Selene cabin at the top of the hill and Rand display his powers burning the Fade to aches.
This seem to be a turn on for Selene because very casual they go into the cabin, she wants more of Rand but this time not only sex, she ties him to the bed and confess to him that she is also a monster, Rand can’t get out of his head that he will eventually go mad and kill everyone he loves with this power so he thinks he is a monster too and just in time but I’m not sure if this is good, Moraine cut her through from the back leaving Selene laying on the floor all bloody, what a mess.
Moiraine keep saying Lanfear/Selene is not good for Rand but so far he has done nothing to hurt him, the moment Moiraine shows up Selene was starting to channel and now I’m wondering what exactly she was going to do THANKS MOIRAINE!!! At first Rand gets mad as fuck with her and puts her against the wall because lucky for him Moiraine has no powers at the moment, if Moiraine had her powers she would probably kick Rand ass in a second, yes he is The Dragon but he has no training, similar Liandrin knock out Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne all at the same time.
What annoys me of this episode is how many dark scenes there were, you really need a good video source and good definition screen to see all the dark colors and go through this scenes, but we are starting to see more characters channel for example Rand, Selene, Ishamael, I hope it comes to that and more characters channeling at the main battle of this series since at some point Rand will face Ishamael again either alone or with the rest of his friends. Another thing that bugs me is that Mat is set to some how kill Rand like its destiny so may be the same thing has happen over and over through their history, remember all this characters have reincarnate.
Finally knowing who Selene is, that’s a great relieve, watching her doing nothing during the day and just fucking Rand at night was not fun for me, I knew there was something else than that but never thought she was a Forsaken, based on Moiraine one of the worst, the first scene when Ishamael wakes up a women cover in blood did make me think about Selene also Moiraine kept saying since episode one that their encounter with him was not the last battle and she was wrong, it was the start of everything and that he was going to awake a higher power. Season two is turning into a banger, I really like this series and would like to see at least five seasons if possible out of it, I don’t know how far advance the story is at the moment compare to the books but over three seasons is a win. I give this episode a solid 8/10.
The Wheel of Time is picking up pace, after two episodes of watching Moiraine complaining about how Lan fail her and does not need him anymore, even after he safe her life one more time; way more important to her now because she got no powers, the story is starting to move more than before, also Nynaeve and Egwene has build up some context at The White Tower of what they have been up to and what others expect from them.
I would say the second most powerful character in the story Nynaeve is put up to a task that not all Aes Sedai take on the first try but as reckless as she is took it as soon as Liandrin and the others Aes Sedai ask her too, she wants to demonstrate and become as powerful as they say, I think Nynaeve is tired of taking crap from others, this task will take her through three arch each will show her worst fears and nightmares that she will have to face, not only face but walk away from them, similar to a parallel world, inside this other world she can still be hurt or killed if not careful enough, some of this fears and nightmares is to leave what she loves the most and if she doesn’t will stay inside this world for ever.
Liandrin is in a rush to make Nynaeve into an Aes Sedai, also would love her to be a red; she push other two of her sisters to take Nynaeve to the Archers, there are many other Arch, some have been explore, some have burn Aes Sedai but this inside the tower will show her fears, to become a sister Nynaeve will have to face her worst fears and come back to them, if she refuse three times then will be kick out of the tower but if she starts she cant stop, it takes three Aes Sedai combine power to activate The Archers.
Each arch she goes in is a different reality, on the first one Nynaeve goes back to the moment she was a child, here she meets with her father and mother, there was something interesting that her father told her “remember red is dead” , could this make reference to the red Aes Sedai? after all Liandrin would love Nynaeve to become a red, usually the most aggressive and radical Aes Sedai, inside this Arch Nynaeve and her family are attacked by a large group of raiders, its weird because for some reason they want to kill them like twenty arm men against a child and her parents, they are corner inside their house until they raiders brake in, last thing Nynaeve saw of their parents was them been slaughter while she hide in the basement looking up, at that moment the Arch show up inside the basement and she have to come back to the tower.
As part of the ritual every time she comes back from an Arch, an Aes Sedai throws water on her head saying “you are washed clean of you sins and the sins committed against you…” and Leane would heal her if she was hurt. After the first Arch Nynaeve was panicking, she could not understand how it felt so real even when she knows it was not, each Arch she gets in looks like it felt more real since on the second one kept complaining more telling the rest that they need to go to the Two Rivers because there is a lot of people that need help, friends of her.
The first two Arch were less difficult than the last one, the third Arch seem to be impossible to escape from, on this last one trip she fall into a world full of shadow, she was dress in red and comes back to the room with the other Aes Sedai with Lan’s hair on her hand and all cover in blood, blood was not hers, she thinks she hurt Lan and got piss off at the Aes Sedai wanting to leave the tower, it even look like it was the real deal until she meets with Lan and the Arch in the back shows up but she could not come back this time. At least not on this try, I’m sure she is not lost on this world and some how will return, you can’t killed the second main character of the story so early.
On the other side of the world, one of the less but still part of the puzzle characters, Perrin is about to find out what his power really are, he and the rest of the warriors he was marching with, lead by Ingtar Shinowa are no prisoners of High Lady Suroth but specially Ishamael, who I had my doubts if he was really helping Lady Suroth or he had his own agenda and the second answer seems to be the case, High Lady Suroth came to conquer and Ishamael is after unleashing a bigger power, he is interested on Perrin so he must be the key to something Ishamael is after.
The tracker that once help Perrin and the other warriors locate the town that was attacked, named Elias, already know who he was, the moment Perrin and other prisoners were transported, he appear with a wolf pack an attack the caravan, free Perrin, helping him to escape to latter on regroup.
There is some disappointment and sadness in The White Tower after Nynaeve didn’t came back from the last Arch, Egwene find out about the news after she went looking for her and found Aes SedaiSheriam picking up Nynaeve things and let her know what happen. For the first time we see Egwene mad, she was piss off, she went looking for Liandrin because she thinks either she wanted Nynaeve dead or gone when it was the opposite, Liandrin always wanted Nynaeve to become Aes Sedai to weaponize her, Egwene confronts Liandrin and as she is walking away she lights up in fire, very similar to what Brand has done in a few occasions, its strange that so far other characters rather than Rand have shown part of their power before him, sometimes I wonder if we will ever see them fight with their full powers or may be not, at the current pace of the series if they do not crunch the story this might take another season for them to show their full potential.
Rand keeps wasting his time with Logain, a trickster who is drunk in pain after the Aes Sedai took his powers, Rand finally find his way up to Logain in the Asylum, he has ask for a specific wine bottle in exchange to show Rand how to control his powers, Selene, the mysterious woman who look like she has everything and enough time to fool around with Rand every night helps him get this bottle. Logain is only selling him smoke, he is just mad with the world after loosing his powers and is probably jealous of Rand, after Rand gave him the wine all he tells him is that he can’t control it, he can’t stop it, all he can do is embrace it, it will eventually spills out.
Rand is starting to manifest more his powers, I think Selene knows this and thats exactly what she is looking for but so far doesn’t reveal who she really is and what does she wants from Rand, sure thing is that some how she wants to manipulate him but with what purpose and who is she?
In a desperate attempt to bring Nynaeve back from the third Arch, Egwene tries to power the Arch by herself, desperate actions for desperate times seems to be forcing everyone to show their powers, this includes Rand, Perrin, Nynaeve and Egwene has show part of their powers that they haven’t in previous episodes, finally its starting to get interesting.
Egwene is stop by Elayene, her novice companion, tells her that it takes three Aes Sedai to power the Arches and that in a thousand years many have try to bring back friends, lovers, that have been lost in the Arches with no luck. All they could do is sit there and hope, Nynaeve was deep on that dream, the first chance she had to come back she didn’t, no body knows what happens on the other side so no body knows if the Arches gives you more than one chance to come back, as any other of this kind of test is up to the one been tested to decide what to do but as I though they could not get rid of the second main character so early in the series. While Egwene and Elayne were sitting there, tired, she finally came back crying for all the pain she went through on that last trip where she was with Lan and even had a daughter, lost them all to Trollocks.
I’m going to have to take a day in advance to write this WOT recaps, with so many side stories at the same time, this are long ones, way over 1500 words from all what is happening, probably one of the most exciting episodes, the first two I agree were very slow and boring but they had a purpose, season one left us with everyone going into different directions, defeated, so characters had to regroup, from now on I think we will see more of their powers and probably who the hell is Selene and what she wants with Rand, also Moiraine didn’t show on this episode I’m sure on next episode will come up telling everyone what to do and when.
A character I haven’t cover that much is Mat, same as Perrin they are not that interesting from me, Nynaeve, Egwene and Rand can channel and are very powerful but what does Perrin and Mat does? what is their purpose on the series, Min did see Mat killing or at least stabbing Rand but what else is about it, this are things that has not unfold yet and why the story remains interesting.
As some good things in life you need to have some patience, same goes for some TV Series, few weeks ago I saw online how people were saying that season 2 of The Wheel of Time (WOT) was just too slow, it was not interesting, was nothing like the books and to that I have to say a few things.
– None of these series based on books or novels will be some times even 80% like the books, the amount of things they have to adjust because of time, budget, TV restrictions, etc do change an entire season, all the cut scenes, so don’t expect it to be like the book
– If you read the books, I have not; I’m sure you will spend more time waiting for some action than in the TV Series
– It took the season three episodes to pic up some pace and do something different than not just Moiraine arguing with Lan, latter on you will find out why, there was a reason for those to first episodes.
I’m not sure if this TV Series was ever intended to be make for real NBA fans or just to bring more exposure to the league and the L.A Lakers, after many articles online criticizing the way some of their characters are develop like Jerry West or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, even on some of the game play there is a double that looks totally different than the actor Solomon Hughes and that’s confusing, makes me think how much of the story is real, even though they do present some facts like “this was real or this really happen”; clear proof that it was never meant to be hundred percent attach to how everything happen, so lets take it for what it is, a fiction story, not saying that everything is false but also I’m not an NBA or Lakers expert so I’ll keep my comments based on the TV Series, after all this is not a review and just my comments on it, I do not consider my posts reviews since I got no position of expert, just blogging and having some fun.
On this episode Magic Johnson comes back after a knee injure, he got surgery; he is playing but it still doesn’t feel right plus the team has change its tactics, coach Paul Westhead implement “The System” and players are having a hard time to adapt but it is getting a certain percent of acceptance among players and its giving good results, problem is at the time they had two players each as good going for the same position that’s Nixon and Magic, usually in futbol you cant have that unless one of those two players can go for other positions and if you bench one usually it has less talent than the starting line but this was not the case between Nixon and Johnson, playing over and over The System also expose them and eventually other teams will figure this out, Paul Westhead didn’t think so and force the team to always go for his plan, to make things worst the hole hollywood and power went to his head believing he was all mighty and only he had a saying on what can be done or not with the team.
After Magic got back he was out of rhythm, not only physically but psychologically, it lower performance was expected and everyone notice it but during this time the offense of the team was going through changes, one of them Nixon replacing him, for coach Westhead he was a more moldable player, Magic on the other hand was more use to improvise, something at the time their coach was trying to change, his direct approach was more production of hoops at the places each player was the most effective.
Magic love the press and the press love him, seems he always had something to entertain them with, it was either his performance of the drama around him, a young start who at first thought he could carry the hole team but latter on learn the hard way, after he came back he understood how others could take charge of his spot on the starting line and Kareem remaining the captain without a doubt, they were performing better than when he left.
Coach assistant Pat Riley at the time figure out Magic’s problem, he was worried that it would happen again and probably be done for good from playing, Pat was a player too so he went through this stages, anyone who do any sport at a competitive level will go through rough times or injuries, some take more time than others to heal, some need external assistance and that what Pat was intending do, help Magic get back in shape, not with the purpose to take Nixon out or gain power over the team, although this was not how coach Westhead saw it.
Nixon was as great player that was giving great results for coach Westhead but as any other professional level sport sometimes you have to trade players or buy players, the world keeps spinning so the league, rumors run around that they are going to trade Nixon for a new player David Thompson, this got leak to the press some how and that’s how Nixon finds out.
On the series Lakers had a huge problem at management, players had direct line with the team owner and I think that is probably still the case on many sports, it happens at many companies, rumors were killing them and Westhead would not allow other players think Magic’s opinion had some influence over their fates, that I give it to him although this phrase had double intention because he thought HE was almighty. Coach ends up killing the trade but I’m not sure if that was the best interest for the team.
Lakers start fighting for the ball between each other, actually Nixon and Magic, during the series the nights that they were playing together no one could beat them but when they fighting it was easy to turn them apart, Kareem always took the wheel and kept the team in check when it was necessary, but that direct line that Magic had with Dr. Buss plus rumors kept leaking mad a big damage to the team, I think after all this drama best thing to do was take off magic from the starting line for some time, let things cool down. All this also directly affect Pat’s relationship with coach Westhead as he thought Pat was going behind his back to make deals and gain power over the team like helping Magic get better by training him or knowing about the trade before him this gave coach more energy to show everyone he is in charge and he will take the team to the finals his way; what it looks is that it was never Pat’s intention to take glory from Westhead but keep in mind there is a lot of fiction on this story.
Lakers were having a hard time, ups and downs, as it has happen on most of this stories, they are on the line for elimination, fifteen seconds on the clock, Lakers down by one. Coach strictly tells Magic “no hero ball” but then Pat tells Magic “You are the guy”, I wonder if he did it for revenge against Westhead, both him and Magic were risking a lot instead of going for the play he went for a solo shot and ends up loosing the game.
On all sports franchise there are rivalries behind the curtains either between players or at the administration level, Lakers had a great time probably to at least be at the finals but all the rumors, glory and fame kill them, Dr. Buss did change the game when he bought the Lakers he turn it into a show something more appealing and attractive to investors at the same time giving something more to the audience than just two teams going at each other but this for good or bad got the players and staff, from there starts the power hunger Westhead plus the rival vary between Nixon and Magic for the starting line spot, keeping in mind that coach also make drastic changes after wining the finals, now forcing the players to perform an offense they were not comfortable with. I have to give it to this series, as a comedy is great in my opinion but the more I watch this last seasons the more I want to find out how much of this was truth to make a comparison, may be when I’m done watching the series will continue to do some digging and do a post between what was fiction and whats not, good episode solid 7/10.
This is a TV Series that I would love to have been posting when it started to cover it and today after its second season HBO decided to cancel it, I haven’t seen how it ends but did had a blast watching season one so no complains, I will probably comment about why it got cancel latter onLeoThreads.
Second mention before I start, this is not a documentary, this is a TV Show, meaning that I expect a lot of it not been as close to real story, although this might have to do why they cancel it shortly after two seasons since the LA Lakers story I’m sure is more than just two season, so DO NOT expect this TV Show to cover every single character exactly as they were in real life.
I believe Winning Time is that type of series that you can watch right from season two and still have fun with it as it is mostly a comedy, characters like Jerry Buss, Magic Johnson, Norm Nixon, Michael Cooper, during the entire TV series they would always put a smile on your face, specially Jerry Buss.
This Tv Series covers a mix of different characters specially on season one when the entire structure of the story is created, season two is the continuation after the Jerry Buss bought the LA Lakers, change the business for ever turning NBA games into a party, he wanted people to come to The Forum (La Lakers Stadium at the time) to watch the game, come to the bar, spend time there watching the game and then party after Lakers win, that was the plan but not always work. This change the perception of a basketball game into a show with more attractions than just the game or the players, creating a bigger audience, building revenue (not always, at least was the idea) and trying to turn The Forum into a successful business, a place that can host more than just NBA games.
I not going to pretend to be the biggest NBA fan and know all the details about its story but I do know when to appreciate a good TV Show. I’m from the 80’s and my two bigger cousins were hard core NBA fans, Michael Jordan fans, I saw the greatest player in history play the game latter on saw other players like Kobe Bryant, Shaquile Oneal, Karl Malone and extensive list of great players so I became a fan too, specially Michael Jordan fan. I do remember one of the most hardcore cities in NBA was Boston, during the times of this TV Show it was LA Lakers vs Boston Celtics, on season two the Lakers just won their first title and are looking to repeat the story, every time they face the Celtics it was war, specially if the Lakers win the game they were chase to their bus and had to run away before they were run down by the fans.
Winning Time: One Ring Dont Make a Dynasty – Season 2 – Episode 1 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
Episode two starts with Magic Johnson having some troubles for not been careful enough, during the TV Show he was presented as a young man, with a lot of talent, who started making a ton of money at the Lakers and love to party and was very smooth with the ladies, this got him into hot water, one of this ladies insist he got her pregnant and now Magic face a though decision, to not “stain” his image now his legal council wants to make a deal with this woman so she never speaks about it and in exchange will receive “financial assistance” in exchange for silence, Magic found this cold at first but lawyers sweet talk him to believe he cant afford a scandal not now that big sponsors are after him.
Latter on down the line Kareem, his mother and ex girlfriend had Magic change his mind about been a father, he was a good guy in a world full of snakes trying to stay feeding of his success so from time to time he got blind but all this fame and money that comes with success.
Winning Time: One Ring Dont Make a Dynasty – Season 2 – Episode 1 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
Ever since Magic got into the team he was a revolutionary and most of the time step out his boundaries, he was special player, one of the best on the team but he was no captain although he though he was, constantly he was trying to convince the other players, but for years before him Kareem got the Lakers lock down, he was the captain that all players respect and would not turn their backs on him for no body specially not for Magic.
Winning Time: One Ring Dont Make a Dynasty – Season 2 – Episode 1 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
Jerry Buss, one of the main characters, one of my favorites, was a man with a lot of vision, he knew that the future was not the games but the show, the different attractions that he could build around the game, Celtics already got the game but he was after something bigger than just winning the season, he wanted to revolutionize the sport and in the way make a ton of money. He knew that in order to win again one of the first things he had to do was to lock down the team, keep his players, now some of them have become starts others went up in value so he decided to skyrocket their contracts into the thousands, something that again change the story and was consider insanity by any other person within the NBA business.
Winning Time: One Ring Dont Make a Dynasty – Season 2 – Episode 1 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
JeanieBuss, Jerry’s daughter, was the only one in the family with his father vision, she support him in every single crazy idea he had, she also had his ambition for making The Forum something bigger than just NBA games, also had a strong temper to keep up with his father something her brothers didn’t, they were too soft for Jerry, this eventually brakes the family apart.
Winning Time: One Ring Dont Make a Dynasty – Season 2 – Episode 1 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
Kareem was going through a rough time, he look out of shape, but not necessarily physically, probably it was the fact that he was about to be a father, Magic saw the opportunity and tried to take over the team but Kareem would not go down without a fight, also the rest of the team including the coach respect him and knew he is the cap, not Magic, this would not stop Magic from trying at least to show others he can be better than Kareem, at the same time he still fear Kareem too in a funny way.
Winning Time: One Ring Dont Make a Dynasty – Season 2 – Episode 1 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
The thing about skyrocket players contract, made Jerry West go nuts, Buss was about to pay players what he earn almost in their entire carrier, but again there was that Jerry Buss vision of revolutionize the sports business.
Winning Time: One Ring Dont Make a Dynasty – Season 2 – Episode 1 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
Karma is a bitch, the moment Magic though he could take over the team, complaining about Kareem shape, he gets his knew injured and cant play for three months, this obviously makes everybody on the team go crazy because Magic is not just a good player anymore, he is one of their biggest stars, they feel their chances of keeping the title diminish with Magic absence.
Winning Time: One Ring Dont Make a Dynasty – Season 2 – Episode 1 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
Lakers start to loose a good amount of games but head coach Paul Westhead comes with “The System”, he had this idea to get all his five starting players to move fast down the court and shoot as soon as they get the back, from specific places where they are the most effective, something that players didn’t agree with since in a bad night shutting that fast would make them loose the game, they were more use to build up their game, improvising but with Magic out of the team due to his injure it was hard for them to win this way, at first the players denied to play as Paul ask them but down the line agree to give it a try, Kareem took the lead and a few games before Magic was ready to at least walk again they started to win games.
Winning Time: One Ring Dont Make a Dynasty – Season 2 – Episode 1 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
Magic becomes a father, get his cast off his leg, comes back as spectator after so long just to watch Larry Bird beat their ass like it was nothing, there was bad blood between Magic and Bird from way before they got into NBA.
At the moment of this post I have not read the article about why HBO decided to cancel the show but as you can tell is a very entertaining story that I know any NBA fan after the 90’s would love, I say this because for those who know the exact story might not be as pleasant since I’m sure the TV Show is not exactly as it happen in real time, as a TV Show is very entertaining and could get new eyes into the sport. The story covers a lot of characters that had a lot of material to probably produce five seasons out of it, only two seasons will probably be too short depending on how they decide to end it, just season one was great and it tries to cover their first title win and I don’t think a bad job at it, also consider that Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty got 8.3/10 on IMDB.
I believe Tokyo Vice is a very underrated series and not because it has a low rating, reason why is because not many people knows about it or talks about but, at times it can be a bit slow as any other police / journalist tv series who are after the bad guys but then it picks up very quickly.
