Wheel Of Time S3E5 Review – In Dreams

Here’s my The Wheel of Time S3E5 review folks and the ‘dream one’ was in my opinion, rather cool and…dreamy. This is a SPOILER FREE Review, so I’ll dance around the plot without getting into details. Given the episode’s name Tel’Aran’Rhiod, and my title, this one was reasonably focused on the Dream World in the series.

In Dreams

We know Egwene has been having some, ‘bad dreams’ shall we say lately. We already know the Wise Ones are skilled in the Dream World. They attempt to teach Egwene the basics whilst looking to keep her safe from these attacks. Meanwhile we also go back to the Two Rivers, White Tower and new Tanchico (travel) stories. There’s also a little bit more on the Aiel Waste storyline to chew on as well.

A lot is covered in this episode, lots of talking and only small moments of action. However, I don’t need action to be satisfied and I really enjoyed the pacing for this one, given how much was covered. The visuals of the Sea Folk using the power to control their ships, was just very cool. I also really liked the visuals of the Dream World which so far we’ve tended to see from Lanfear’s perspective only.

I appreciated some scenes from the books and how they were adapted. However, there are some changes here which I think work really well. The ending leaves us on a bit of s shock moment. Whilst it did not happen like this in the books, it makes more sense based on other changes made so far. I’m being deliberately vague folks. Plus, I loved the “five arrows ago” scene.

So far Season 3 has been excellent because I think we finally have the true dynamics of Wheel of Time to play with. The Aiel are here, we have the Sea Folks, the Forsaken, the White Tower and Elaida (more on her below), plus Elayne’s family (we don’t see them this week). Season 1 and less so Season 2, just felt like some of these ingredients were missing from the piece.

RELATED: The Wheel Of Time S3E4 Review – It’s Rhuidean And It’s Great

I do want to talk about some of the excellent casting for this show. The casting was initially criticised bay many fans due to Season 1 simply not working, for a variety of reasons. But now we are on Season 3, and we feel back on track, with better writing, the cast has been great.

I’m really feeling all the ‘kids’ roles actors are really finding their feet now. Plus we have some great additions this season. Not just in the main cast, like Shoreh Aghdashloo as Elaida, but the supporting cast who are in and out are being much better used as well. The world simply feels, more real, despite spending so much time in the Dream Version this week.

Elaida herself has been a slow burn, but we really are seeing her character open up as the season progresses. Aghdashloo would have made a great Cadsuane, like she was fan cast for, don’t get me wrong. However, she is brilliant and so well cast as Elaida. I’m sure non-book fans are already beginning to both hate and love Elaida as they should now.

Whilst Episode 5 does not quite hit the heights of Episode 4, understandably, there were moments that just had me grinning. The Sea Folks sailing, Faile and Perrin, Egwene dream hopping, were all so cool. At the same time there’s some dark moments here also, and violence. Hey, that’s the attraction of fantasy, right? The darkness and the light, trapped in an eternal dance and the shades of transition between the twain. Also how Jimmy Page describes Led Zeppelin’s music, which is probably why I love them.

GRADE: A

Genuinely beautiful at times, and genuinely dark at times. Episode 6 has at time a dreamy quality, but the juxtaposed tone makes for a compelling and fast paced episode. Season 3 continues to be great TV so far, and this one is pretty on the eyes as well.

What do you think of my Wheel of Time S3E5 review? Let me know what you thought of the episode below. Oh, and here is last week’s The Dragon Reviewed, if you want to know what non-book readers Kyle, Christine and myself thought with full episode spoilers but no book spoilers. Check it out.

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