If you need a refresher on what the show has already shown, you can catch up on it here. But let’s hop into this story more to see what this episode was about and what worked and didn’t. As always, spoilers for the previous episodes. But for this episode, I’ll have a spoiler section at the bottom.

The Dragon Reborn Recap

Mat and Rand are on the run with Thom Merrlin headed towards Tar Valon. They are suspicious that now any town might have dark friends in it, and why Thom is keen on helping him. Meanwhile Perrin and Egwene actually find a moment of piece. The tinkerers, not what they expected, let them forget their worries for a moment. Or at least for Egwene, Perrin still is weighed down by the death that he caused.

Moiraine, on the other hand is confronted by her sisters and the captured man claiming to be the dragon, Logain. Is what Moiraine set out on not the truth? Did she lead herself and Lan the wrong direction? And what is Lan going to do about their new companion, Nyneave. Is Nyneave worth having around, and is there more trouble brewing that he’ll have to protect her and Moiraine from?

What Doesn’t Work

There is a shell game played in this episode. It basically is asking who the Dragon is going to be. Who is the person who might save the world from the Dark One or who might cause the world to break again. This doesn’t happen in the books. I won’t say who it is because the goal of this shell game is to create that suspense. Unfortunately, for me, it’s not that effective. When one of six characters at points in time could be the Dragon, I don’t care.

I’m going to do a book comparison here, no spoilers, but in the book the character knows that it’s likely them from the start. And the first few books are them struggling with the fact they might be the Dragon. And then them trying to deny that fact. That provides good character depth and tension. This, on the other hand, feels like it weakens the character of the Dragon. Just tell me who the Dragon is, if anyone could be the dragon.

I get what they are going for. The mystery of who it is going to be is likely to be the end of season one reveal. And then we get that internal struggle for the character. But don’t sleep on characters not knowing. It’s more interesting to figure out when the character comes to believe it. And when the other characters figure it out and watching that process, in my opinion anyways.

What Worked

The relationship building was strong again in this episode. I mentioned the pairings that are set-up, and we got to see growth in all of them. When this show slows down a little bit, mainly the first episode was too fast, it does a good job of building up characters. I still think that Mat is one of the best characters in terms of changes they’ve made. Him being more mature than he is in the book, or at least older, gives him the chance to have more depth of character. And the character misdirect is really good.

I also think, that while they haven’t always gotten Nyneave “right” it was fun to see her character more developed. I might get into this more with spoilers. But she’s supposed to be a fiery character who stands up to everyone. She’s got some of that, but she should be more. And she gets a moment to shine most definitely in this episode.

I also think that they did a decent job of introducing the Aes Sedai. In a little bit of dialog and showing some of what they can do, we got an idea about the different Ajah. And the tension within the Aes Sedai, Tar Valon (seat of the Aes Sedai) and the different Ajah. This is a situation where they did a good job of starting to explain without delving into everything. But they feed us enough to know what is going on.

The Dragon Reborn Final Thoughts

This was an interesting episode. Like I said, I didn’t love the shell game that they played with “who is the dragon”. That storyline isn’t that interesting to me. But for the most part this episode has slowed down and really shows character development and story development.

And I do get it. There is so much story development that needs to happen that you couldn’t have to show start out too slow. But I think now that they are spending more time on character and world building, the show is a lot better. Talking with Kristen, my wife, after watching the episode, I came to the realization that the first episode feels like a pilot.

What do I mean by that? I think it feels like th at episode that gets filmed to pitch the show to a bunch of television stations and streaming services. Then once it gets picked up six months later, they go back and film the rest. But now they have budget, That isn’t the case with this show, but that is what it feels like to me.

But back to The Dragon Reborn, I would give this episode a solid 8.5 out of 10. I think it’s up there for the best episodes of the series. Yes, there is a quibble, but it’s fairly minor. Especially now that we are getting to know the characters more.

What did you think of Episode 4: The Dragon Reborn?

Spoilers

This is going to be a lighter section, but I do want to talk about Perrin. I’ve complained and complained in the first episode about the changes made the Perrin. I get what they are going for in that a lot of his growth is through internal dialog. However, it was changed to be done in a very heavy handed way. However, with the tinkerers, we’re starting to see the payoff.

Him sitting there and listening to what they are saying. And this idea that violence, something Perrin doesn’t inherently like, isn’t the answer, is so tempting to him. And it’ll be interesting to see how they have Perrin reconcile what he’s done, what he’s going to need to do to protect Egwene and others going forward. The line about how peace is the biggest “revenge” to violence is amazingly well delivered and said. They really are giving the show depth.

And, I know I saw this on a forum I was reading, where someone was questioning if they were implying, when Rand, Mat, and Thom meet the farmer, if Mat was going to channel the power. When we see the shot of him with his hand down at his side. I can get why the person thought that, but no, that is the dagger. He is implied to be ready to draw his dagger and start a fight before Rand steps in. That is supposed to then plant the seed in our head that when we see the family dead, it was Mat.

They are, seemingly, though imply that Nyneave might be Ta’veren as well. I kind of want to knock this, I think the show is trying to make all the main five more equal. Probably to keep up the who is the Dragon mystery. But it’s more interesting that there are some who are Ta’veren and some who aren’t. Ta’veren are people so “strong” in their pull that the wheel weaves around them and changes to fit them in.

So, I get that they want everyone to be important. But being Ta’veren, and we see this in the book, there is a deeper question of whether or not they have their own will. And how much freedom of will the people around them have. It creates a more interesting struggle as character push away from being Ta’veren, and others try not to get wrapped up in everything. And how much free will the characters can have.

The show is using it to show that characters are more powerful and important. It doesn’t really mean that so much in the book. It means more that your story is almost more tied to everything. You have a destiny that you need to fulfill or the weave of the wheel of time breaks. Like I said, you almost lose some choice. So I hope that the show doesn’t use it just to symbolize power but delves into the other side as well.

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Just a quick reminder, I am going to talk about the episode in broader strokes, there might be some spoilers, but I don’t want to get too far into detail. I’ll have a spoiler section at the bottom. There will be spoilers for previous episodes in what I talk about though.

A Place of Safety Recap

After having been split up at Shadar Logoth, Egwene and Perrin need to set out on their own, not really knowing where they are going, or where in the wilderness is safe. Lan needs to find a way to work with Nyneave in order to help Moiraine who is still suffering from the affects of their quick travels and the wound she look from the trollocs in Emond’s Field. Meanwhile Rand and Mat struggle between wanting to go home and fear of the trollocs following them. And when they find a town to stay at for a little bit, they find two interesting characters there.

What Didn’t Work

I thought that this was another strong episode in that it gave me what I wanted. Again, it jumped around some in the story and we’re still waiting on certain characters to show up that have already in the book. We get one of them here, one of the two interesting characters. And I think that they do a solid job with the character, but they are a bit more rough around the edges seeming than they are in the book. They still have the charisma that I’d expect though, and another very solid casting.

I also want more time with Egwene and Perrin, this is where a character is really missing, and honestly, I like Egwene and Perrin’s characters a lot. So I’d not complain about seeing them spend more time on their character. I also think that Perrin’s character needs to be fleshed out more. While him killing his wife in the first episode, on accident, does give him some of his drive to hate a weapon, they could have done more with it. And the introduction of the wolves is great, they do matter, but I want to see what they are going to do with them.

So really it’s less of two things that didn’t work, it’s more things that I want more of. So probably the one thing that didn’t work as well for me was the pacing in the episode. It felt rushed at times and while they did a good job of dwelling on Mat and Rand, a slight slowdown in the Egwene and Perrin storyline would make it feel like we know them more as characters.

What Worked

The Mat and Rand storyline worked. It works for multiple reasons. The first being they show how Mat’s personality is shifting. We know in the show that Shadar Logoth is a bad place, but we’re starting to see what that might mean. And I like the character development for Rand, again with the dagger but also the depth that they’ve given him about being a gambler, a risk taker, and a bit shady, but really doing that for the sake of his sisters and his concern for them.

I think that change for Mat is needed from the books and this is comes from the characters being older. In the book he is very care free and free wheeling at the beginning. Life is a big adventure and that’s all he cares about. He’s older in the show, so I don’t think he’d have kept that feeling as much. Mat is still the most care free of the group but now there’s a bit of motivation for some of his darker side besides the ruby hilted dagger.

We also meet two interesting characters, I kind of talked about it already, how it’s not when that character is introduced, but they do a good job with the character. Want to know more about him, spoiler section.

A Place of Safety – Final Thoughts

This was another good episode, I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t so sure while I was watching it though. Pacing on the episodes, like I said, is a bit off. I want more time with Egwene and Perrin, but I will admit that what they are doing now isn’t the most interesting. Instead they focused on Mat and Rand, and that is probably the right spot to focus right now.

Is this better than Shadow’s Waiting, I’m hard pressed to say that, but some of why I like Shadow’s Waiting is that it feels better paced, and better choices in it compared to Leavetaking. This one, I think, arguably has some more interesting story moments for Rand and Mat as well as Lan, Moiraine, and Nyneave. I didn’t mention this but for Lan, Moiraine and Nyneave, the story is diverging in characters introduced. Needed drama, I don’t know, but I don’t dislike it.

If I were to grade this one, and let’s be fair, I am going to do, I’d say it’s an 8 to 8.5. It is very similar to what the previous episode was, but a new character I really like helps it.

What did you think of A Place of Safety?

Spoilers

So, we finally get to meet Thom Merrlin, and it’s another very good casting. I will say that Alexandre Willaume plays Thom maybe a bit more rough around the edges than he seems in the book, but the charisma is still there. A friend on Twitter says that Thom is what everyone wants to be as a Bard in Dungeons and Dragons, and I think that’s pretty accurate. He captivates the room and can stab you in the back.

I also like that they begin to form a tenuous connection between him, Rand, and Mat. He protects them from the dark friend in the town. But he also spends time with Mat, and you get to see his more caring side. I am assuming now that he’s killed a dark friend in the town, and the town killed an Aiel for possibly stealing or some possible crime, they won’t want him around even for his songs and stories.

The dark friend also worked in the show. I do think they maybe needed Moiraine to tell them not to trust anyone and more about dark friends in the previous episode, so we’d know what they are. But for me, I did, it makes Rand and Mat’s position on their own seem more perilous. And I want to be suspecting everyone as a potential dark friend when it comes to those two characters. Especially Mat with his ruby dagger and the taint of Shadar Logoth should be extremely suspicious now.

I also thought it was interesting they introduced Liandrin Sedai already. She is introduced in the first book but not this soon. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to bring her in early though. She is an important character, same with Alanna Sedai. We’ll see how they are used in the show, but two interesting characters to bring in at this point. Even in my spoilers, I’m not going to say how they are and why they matter. But to see them with Logain, specially Liandrin as part of the Red Ajah makes sense.

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