The Wheel of Time Season 2 Episode 8 Review: What Was Meant to Be
After a stellar penultimate episode, The Wheel of Time Season 2 Episode 8, “What Was Meant to Be,” is underwhelming.
Yes, it’s great to see all our friends reunited once again, and the excitement builds as each of them makes their way to Rand and faces off against Ishamael. However, that final confrontation cannot save the rest of the episode.
When everyone arrives at Falme, chaos breaks loose, and we’re thrown into battle.
There’s very little storyline development here, and the moments we have are rushed because there’s a big battle going on. We jump from one group to another group as they battle it out, and not every group that we cut to features one of our Two Rivers friends.
We spend time with The Children of the Light, who have been so poorly explained that it is impossible to care about them, but it’s clear that the show is creating a rivalry between the son and Perrin. “What Was Meant to Be” isn’t successful in making us care about this, but it’s a thing that happens.
The Wheel of Time could have used at least another episode to cover the events of the finale. We could have developed some storylines a bit more and explained some moments, but this show loves to vaguely hint at things and assume we all understand what’s going on.
Speaking of vague hints, Mat seems to have an aha moment when he blows the Horn of Valere.
My best guess is this is him realizing the tea lied, and he’s a good person. But it’s unclear if he’s remembering a past life where he was a hero or what exactly the specifics are.
Additionally, we could use a bit more information on the horn itself. If it is needed for the last battle, is it okay that Mat used it early?
Nynaeve’s arc this season is handled poorly, which is frustrating.
She still can’t channel by the end of the season, and there’s no reason why. She’s never properly trained (neither is Egwene, but she manages to surprise everyone, somehow), and yet Nynaeve survived the arches, so she’s an Aes Sedai.
She doesn’t need the One Power to be an interesting character, but her inability to do so is at the center of most of her scenes. It’s exasperating that she ends the season without making any progress on remedying the situation. She’s sidelined during the battle at Falme, which just allows Elayne to step up and have a moment with Rand.
Next season, Moiraine needs to step in and train Nynaeve and help her get past this mental block.
The Wheel of Time Season 2 delivers what we expected it to after Season 1. The show doesn’t make any headway on fixing the issues that plagued last season — they still run rampant during Season 2 — but, its failings are not a deal-breaker.
The characters are what kept us tuning in week after week, and they’ll be the reason we return for Season 3. There are plenty of ways the show can improve, but The Wheel of Time is still a darn good fantasy TV show.
Stray Thoughts
- The twist that Renna can channel is well done.
- Egwene shows no mercy, and I love her for it.
- The animal death is completely unnecessary and does not need to feature so many close-ups.
- The only thing the flashback accomplishes is reminding us that Ishamael was friends with Lews.
- Rand’s wound does not look good/normal. I’m worried that there will be lasting effects from the dark magic/energy of dagger.
What did you think of the finale of The Wheel of Time? Don’t worry, it’s already been renewed for a third season. Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
The Wheel of Time Season 2 is now streaming on Prime Video.
Follow us on Twitter and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
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).