In the explosive premiere of The Wheel of Time season 3, Rand and Moiraine begin their journey to the Aiel Waste instead of Tear with Egwene, Lan, and Aviendha in tow. Meanwhile, the rest of those in Tar Valon and beyond deal with the fallout of the Black Ajah’s attack on The White Tower.
The Wheel of Time season 3 episode 2, "A Question of Crimson," begins many years earlier as the Queen of Andor, Morgase of House Trakand (Olivia Williams), murders those who would challenge her throne at Elaida Sedai’s (Shohreh Aghdashloo) urging. You might recognize the Trakand name because Morgase is actually Elayne’s mom.
Queen Morgase arrives in Tar Valon
Shortly after, Queen Morgase arrives in Tar Valon with the Prince Consort of the Queen, Lord Gaebril (Nuno Lopes) and Elaida Sedai of the Red Ajah, along with Elayne’s Prince brothers. After scoring a few moments with the Amyrlin Seat, Siaun Sanche (Sophie Okonedo) in The White Tower, Queen Morgase accuses Siuan of hiding what happened to Elayne (Ceara Coveney), and she threatens not to leave until that is revealed. Siaun takes the queen to see her daughter after they catch up about how things have been going.
Later, Elayne reunites with her brothers and Gaebril, who everyone seems to not recognize immediately before suddenly remembering. It’s quite interesting. Then, Elayne learns the real reason her mother has come, to bring her back to Andor. Elayne finally speaks to her mother, but Elayne is sworn to secrecy. She does reveal that a Darkfriend was in the tower. Elaida also gathers information, and she prepares to make a big move. What it is, we don’t know yet.
During the episode, Siaun gives Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) and Elayne a secret mission to find the Black Ajah. Watch this storyline throughout season 3!
Elayne reveals to Nynaeve that she is going back to Andor, but Nynaeve gets upset about her decision, which seems to shift Elayne’s position on the matter. Finally, Elayne tells her mother that she’s not coming home after having a little chat with Gaebril after trying on the Queen’s crown.
Finally, Queen Morgase leaves for Andor, leaving Elayne behind, but Elaida stays behind to remain at The White Tower.
Rand makes it to the Aiel Waste
Rand (Josha Stradowski), Egwene (Madeleine Madden), Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), Lan (Daniel Henney), and Aviendha (Ayoola Smart) travel great distances to the Aeil Waste through the Spine of the World. They set up camp along the way before finishing the journey later in the episode.
While they wait, Lan teaches Rand lessons with the sword, which Moiraine, Egwene, and Aviendha can’t understand. My guy is the Dragon Reborn after all. While they watch Lan and Rand, Aviendha explains she must bring Rand to her land, but she also shares that Rand will both save the Aiel people and also destroy them.
That night, Egwene dreams again. She’s trapped in the Seanchan’s cell with Renna (Xelia Mendes-Jones) again, but then, the dream changes.
Rand dreams, too, of the nights in Cairhien with Lanfear (Natasha O’Keeffe). They have a little chat about what Rand is up to now, and why he turned down Tear and Callandor. She tries to warn him about the Forsaken, but he isn’t ready for it now. Then, they talk about Egwene, and she warns Rand that eventually Egwene will see the real him.
Then, Egwene is in desert dreamworld, and an Aiel woman tells her, “You do not belong here.” And, Egwene wakes up. She shares with Rand what happened, and she reveals that she’s not haunted by her power or what she did to Renna. It’s that she is still tortured by her time with Renna and reliving that nightmare.
Before they make to the Aiel Waste, Rand explains what channeling feels like to Moiraine. He says that he’s dying of thirst, and the only prescription is more power, but when he does, it turns bitter. Moiraine reminds him he must always keep those feelings separate and never forget – the sweetness vs. bitterness – or he will lose himself.
Finally, Rand and the gang make it to the Aiel Waste, but there are other Aiel waiting for them, including the woman, Bair (Nukâka Coster-Waldeau) from Egwene’s dream. She recites the Prophecy of Rhuidien.
Perrin returns to The Two Rivers
Loia (Hammed Animashaun)l leads Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) and the two Aiel warriors – Bain (Ragga Ragnars) and Chiad (Maja Simonsen) – to The Two Rivers through the Ways. Perrin knows someone has come before them, a man and a woman who smell of ash.
They have a long walk back to the Two Rivers, but the Aiel enjoy it. Loial claims this is where the Manetheren once stood, but Perrin corrects him that it was a long time ago. For reference, the Manetheren was the old capital city.
In The Two Rivers, Perrin sees Egwene’s mother, and she explains that things are different now. The Whitecloaks are near, and they are looking for Perrin after what happened in Falme with all that axe business.
Mistress al’Vere hides them in the attic, but there are others there, too. Alanna (Priyanka Bose) and Maksim (Taylor Napier) are the ones who went through the Ways. They left after the fight with the Black Ajah, but we still don’t know why exactly they came to The Two Rivers.
They’re offering gold for turning over anyone connected to Perrin, and they’re also protecting the town from the trollocs who are on the move more after what happened with Rand and the gang back in season 1.
Mat stays in Tar Valon
Mat (Donal Finn), on the other hand, is still in The White Tower. The Aes Sedai try to heal his mind, but even the most experienced healers don’t know how to help him. One of the Aes Sedai tells Nynaeve that Mat might already be dead.
Min reveals that she’s seeing dead Aes Sedai all over the tower. She doesn’t know when, obviously, but she knows a battle is coming. Then, she tries to apologize to Mat for selling him out to the Forsaken, but Mat doesn’t want to hear it.
Min takes him to Siuan, who reveals that anyone would kill him for the Horn of Valere, and she’s going to hold it for him until someone kills him and takes the Horn and uses it.
The Wheel of Time season 3 episode 2 grade
There’s no doubt The Wheel of Time season 3 episode 2, “A Question of Crimson,” is the slower episode of the first two episodes in season 3, but it’s a necessary pacing adjustment to move the characters to where they need to go. It definitely moves this story forward, and it sets up some major reveals on the way soon.
Obviously, Rand’s storyline is the focus, but I’m almost more interested in the other four characters from the Emond’s Field Five, honestly. Egwene is teetering on the edge and seems to be really struggling. I love how the creative team is setting up Nynaeve’s journey in season 3 so far. She will play a critical role.
And, the big mystery of episode 2 is why the Whitecloaks are so interested in Perrin. I mean, we know the why, but this is an exceptionally petty vindetta as the forces and minions of the Dark One move freely again.
The Wheel of Time season 3 episode 2 grade: B
There’s definitely room for improvement in terms of the drama, but I see what they’re doing, and I like it. On to The Wheel of Time season 3 episode 3 on Prime Video!