This article contains spoilers for The Wheel of Time season 2 episode 1, "A Taste of Solitude".
After what felt like forever, The Wheel of Time season 2 has landed on Prime Video with an epic three-part premiere, and the first episode alone is packed with plenty of action.
In the season premiere, we bear witness to a meeting between the Dark One's allies, catch up with Nynaeve and Egwene as they undertake their training as Novices in The White Tower, find Loial and Perrin on the hunt for the Horn of Valere (stolen by Padan Fain in the The Wheel of Time season 1 finale), and find tension has sprouted between Moiraine and her Warder, Lan. Here's what happened in The Wheel of Time season 2 episode 1.
The Darkfriend Prologue
The second season opens with the Darkfriend Prologue, in which a young girl interrupts a meeting between The Dark One’s allies, including Padan Fain. The man whom Rand confronted at the Eye of the World in the season 1 finale takes the girl out to see a Trolloc and teaches her they aren’t really monsters.
Following the titles, we jump to where Moiraine gathering water from a well to fill a bath (in which she mourns her lost connection to the One Power), whilst Lan practices his swordsmanship outside. They’ve been staying with Verin Mathwin (Meera Syal). Tensions have grown between Moiraine and her warder; Moiraine’s been receiving a string of messengers, but not revealing their purpose to Lan, something which is clearly grating on him. One such rider arrives that very morning: Bayle Domon, a ship captain from Illian, and she sits down to discuss business with him and ushers Lan out of the room.
We then head to the White Tower, where Egwene and Nynaeve have joined the Aes Sedai as Novices, to begin their training, though this currently amounts primarily to cleaning up around the Tower, intermixed with training on how to channel the power.
Alanna, of the Green Ajah, tells the two ta’veren and a group of Novices to practice filtering a cup of dirty dishwater with the One Power. Nynaeve has been refusing to channel the power for five months, following the raw explosion of power she displayed at Fal Dara. Stubbornly, she refuses to comply with Alanna’s lesson, and drinks her cup of dirty dishwasher instead before heading off to train with some of the warders in the Tower.
At a later meeting between several of the Aes Sedai, Liandrin of the Red Ajah asks the Master of Novices to be allowed to speak to Nynaeve, who is the most powerful channeller they’ve seen in a thousand years. Liandrin receives permission, though Alanna is perturbed.
We then jump over to Perrin and Loial who have taken up with a group of Shienarans that are on the trail of Padan Fain and the Horn of Valere. The group is working with Elyas, a new tracker with golden eyes. On the trail, they come across a group of bodies; at the scene, Perrin’s eyes turn golden, and he witnesses a vision of what had happened before the attack. Subsequently, the group comes across the body of a Shienaran, who they believe had helped the Dark One’s forces reach Fal Dara.
Purchasing the poem
Back with Moiraine, Bayle Domon is attempting to sell a broken piece of heartstone to Moiraine. Meanwhile, Lan is discussing the distance between him and Moiraine with Tomas. He tells Lan that he can leave, as he will protect both her and Verin, though Lan refuses to abandon her.
Domon explains that the heartstone comes from a shattered moon dial outside Cairhien, a few months back. Moiraine notes there’s some writing on the stone, and he explains the whole dial was covered with a poem written in blood (which he has a copy of). He wants to sell the stone for 50 marks, with the poem for five more on top. She bargains him down to one mark for the poem, which she subsequently tells him is all she really wanted in the first place. When she asks about the men he mentioned were following him, she hands him extra money for provisions to sail as far away as he can.
Nynaeve’s crossing swords with two warders, and they tell her the Aes Sedai will put her under grueling training, and that she’ll save herself a lot of pain and time if she can answer why she came here. Egwene goes to see Alanna about her trouble focussing on channeling; whilst she’s gone, Nynaeve goes to try the water test again…where she’s ambushed by Liandrin. She goads her into demonstrating her raw power with the One Power, and tells her she wants to see her become so powerful that no one could take her powers away from her.
Perrin and the Shienarans are burying the bodies. Perrin asks the leader of his squadron why they’re buying the Darkfriend, and talks about how he would have sought revenge. He tells him how Padan Fain betraying the Two Rivers folk who used to welcome him to their village with open arms; he says he fears he won’t be able to stop himself from killing Fain as and when they find him.
The Fades attack
At the White Tower, Nynaeve brings a letter from Perrin to read with Egwene, talking about their search for Fain and how he hoped they could reunite with Mat to celebrate the festival of Bel Tine together next year.
Unbeknownst to them, Liandrin actually has Mat captive in a secluded corner of the White Tower - she’s reading a letter to him; he asks what she wants for him, and tells her he’s no threat to the Red Ajah or anyone else. When Liandrin leaves, he continues to dig away at the cement in the wall of his cell. Separated, Perrin, Egwene and (in another unknown location) Rand mark the festival by lighting a lantern, as is tradition.
Lan goes to Moiraine to ask about her meeting with the sailor. Annoyed by her coyness, he confronts her for having shut him out during their stay. At dinner with Verin, Tomas, and Adealas, they discuss the distance that’s grown between Lan and Moiraine. Verin reassures him that Moiraine has experienced something unimaginable, having been cut off from the One Power. He goes to bring her dinner up to her (as she requested, in their earlier argument) but finds the room empty.
Moiraine is elsewhere, saddling up a horse to leave Verin’s home. Riding off, she’s attacked by a Fade. She manages to strike one, but another appears and wounds her. As it readies a blow, Lan comes to her aid. He faces the two Fades in combat, but takes a fair few slashes in the fight; thankfully, their companions step in to save them. The episode ends with Lan demanding to know what Moiraine hasn’t been telling him about her plans.
The Wheel of Time season 2 is now streaming on Prime Video. If you're looking for even more shows to watch right now, check out our top picks for the best fantasy TV shows you should be streaming right now.
