The Wheel of Time Season 2 Episode 7 Review: Daes Dae’mar
The Wheel of Time Season 2 Episode 7, “Daes Dae’mar,” is by far the best episode of the season. There’s no competition.
There are a couple of factors that contribute to the success of the episode — a lot of our characters are in the same spot for the first time in a while; the combination of Moiraine, Rand, and Lan; some solid twists; and the momentum that’s building to whatever is awaiting us in Falme.
The bulk of the episode is spent around Siuan’s visit to Cairhien. There are a lot of moving parts and storylines happening surrounding her visit, and, for the most part, The Wheel of Time manages to weave things together nicely.
Usually, you can tell when a show is hinting a bit too hard with one storyline, but that’s not the case with the shields.
Learning about shielding with Rand is a rare instance of the show explaining something to us, which is exciting in and of itself. There’s so much about the One Power we still don’t know, and Rand is just as clueless as we are, so it’s not weird to have Moiraine explain it to him.
So, we don’t think anything of it, and then the reveal comes that Moiraine isn’t cut off, she’s just shielded from the One Power.
This reveal is so well done, and the fact that Lan is the one to figure it out makes it even better. He and Moiraine have had a rocky relationship this season, and even though she pushed him away, he never stopped being her warder.
The Wheel of Time has done an excellent job at developing all these complex relationships, specifically ones involving Moiraine.
We’re told (and shown) time and time again how she doesn’t trust anyone and will keep things to herself, not even letting Lan in on the plan. So, when we get little moments like Moiraine trusting Rand to use his powers to help her, they speak volumes.
And it goes both ways — Rand doesn’t even hesitate to protect Moiraine from Lanfear.
The Wheel of Time is at its best when it focuses on the characters and their relationships with each other. With everyone so spread out for the majority of the season, we haven’t really had a chance to explore those bonds, and the show has suffered because of it.
More and more of our characters are making their way to Falme, so hopefully, we have some wonderful relationship moments in store for us in the finale.
Stray Thoughts
- Moiraine’s sister is the MVP of the episode.
- I need about 5 business days to recover from those final Moiraine and Siuan scenes.
- Nynaeve and Elayne are quickly becoming my favorite friends on this show.
- Lanfear’s style is unmatched, and I love it whenever she’s on screen.
- Mat and Ishamael provide a couple of laughs, but that’s about it. I don’t buy the tea revealing Mat’s true self at all.
- Perrin’s still off on his own, but at least we don’t follow him around that much.
- I love seeing the different factions within the Aes Sedai.
- Renna and Egwene would make the perfect enemies-to-lovers couple.
What did you think of this episode of The Wheel of Time? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New episodes of The Wheel of Time release on Fridays on Prime Video.
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Allison Nichols
Allison is in a love affair with television that doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Slightly damaged fictional characters are her weakness. She loves to spend her free time curled up with a cat and a show to binge-watch. Allison is a Tomatometer-approved critic (Rotten Tomatoes).