The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 8 Review: He Who Comes with the Dawn

The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 8, “He Who Comes with the Dawn,” covers a lot of ground in one episode, and, as a result, the show has to gloss over parts to move the plot along.

There are a couple of moments on “He Who Comes with the Dawn” where you do a double-take because something is mentioned that you didn’t see happen.

Last we saw Elayne and Nynaeve on The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 6, “The Shadow in the Night,” they forgot that they encountered Moghedien, but now all of a sudden they know she is the one who toyed with their minds and took the bracelet.

Obviously, we knew all that, but it’s confusing to pick up with the Tanchico crew knowing it too.

It would have been great to see the lightbulb moment for the Tanchico crew, as would it have been to see the moment Rand (or whoever) concocted the plan to attack Lanfear. These could have been great character moments, but we’re robbed of that.

The Wheel of Time Season 3 is ambitious in the story it tries to tell in eight episodes, and the show would have benefitted from a couple more episodes.

On The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 4, “The Road to the Spear,” we saw many different weaves the wheel could spin. One that came up a frightening amount was Lanfear killing Moiraine in the desert, so it’s no surprise that Moiraine believes that today is the day Lanfear kills her.

Rand: The funny thing is it’s been a while since we left the Two Rivers. All this time the only person who has always been there and never left me is you. And it’s not because you want to use me, it’s because you want me to succeed. The only thing that matters to you is that I win this battle.

Moiraine: Don’t confuse yourself, Rand. I’ve been the knife at your throat since this began. I’ve been ready to kill you if you chose the dark or if you lost your mind. I don’t want you to get to the last battle unless I know you can win it for the light.

Rand: Exactly. You want what I want. You are the only one who does. Thank you. I’m here because of you. I see that now.

Moiraine: I won’t be here forever.

Rand: I know, and I won’t either, but I want you to stand by my side until then.

Between the glimpses we saw of her dying over and over and Moiraine’s surprisingly heartfelt conversation with Rand, the odds of Moiraine surviving the finale seemed low. I was mentally preparing for her to die.

Lanfear and Moiraine are two extremely powerful channelers, so we’re going into this expecting a badass fight. Thankfully, the show delivers an excellent brawl between these two women.

Sometimes cutting away to other storylines causes the show to lose momentum, but that’s not the case here. Rand and Suian are each giving the speeches of their lives, and both of those scenes have extremely high stakes despite neither being in (obvious) danger like Moiraine is.

The Wheel of Time is able to build on the tension and the momentum across those three storylines.

Then, you add in the emotional connection between Moiraine and Suian, and Moiraine’s fight scene is elevated to a whole different level. It’s heartbreaking to see the moment Moiraine realizes Siuan is gone, but that rage serves her well against Lanfear.

The only slightly confusing thing about Moiraine’s showdown with Lanfear is why Egwene is not there to assist.

She is just standing supporting her former man, which feels like a waste considering how powerful of a channeler she is. Egwene is much more interesting when she’s her own person, away from Rand.

Moiraine could’ve used her in that fight, or at the very least, Egwene could have been there to heal Moiraine afterward.

Despite its issues, “He Who Comes with the Dawn” sets up an exciting The Wheel of Time Season 4 for our characters.

Rand has his army, and now he can tackle whatever the next step in the Dragon Reborn’s journey is. Nynaeve can finally channel again, so we’re done watching her be put into situations where she could’ve made a difference if she could channel.

There are two particular aspects that The Wheel of Time Season 4 will likely explore that are particularly interesting, at least to me.

Under Suian’s rule, the White Tower, or at least the Amyrlin Seat, has always been on Rand’s side. Now that Elaida has taken over, it’s likely that the White Tower will become an obstacle for Rand and company to overcome.

We’ll likely get to visit Andor as Elayne goes to save her mother and her kingdom. The Wheel of Time Season 3 lays the groundwork for this well by introducing us to Elayne’s family and reminding us of her duties to Andor.

The politics and dynamics of the world outside of the White Tower are still relatively new to us, so it will be cool to enter a different political court and see Elayne and some other characters trying to navigate it. Plus, there’s a chance Mat could face off with Elayne’s brothers again.

Stray Thoughts

• I have so many questions about the weird doorway that Mat went through. Also, it’s clear he paid his price, but has Elaida paid hers?
• Egwene had a weird arc this season if we can even call it an arc.
• Moiraine crying when Rand thanked her broke me. You can tell that she never expected that.
• Lanfear’s plan of having that random guy pretend to be the Car’a’carn didn’t do much of anything.
• Nynaeve showing off her chopstick skills after Mat complained about having to use them is one of the many reasons why I love them.
• Lan losing one of his people, Melindhra, has to impact him somehow in the next season.
• “If you stand for nothing, Burr, what’ll you fall for?” – Suian to Elaida basically.

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The Wheel of Time Season 3 is now streaming on Prime Video.

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