The Wheel of Time Season 1 Episode 7 review: Finally, the Dragon Reborn is revealed!

Story:

Based on Robert Jordan’s best-selling fantasy novels, The Wheel of Time stars Rosamund Pike, Josha Stradowski, Marcus Rutherford, Zoë Robins, Barney Harris, Madeleine Madden and Daniel Henney. The story of the latest episode shows the Two Rivers friends and Moiraine trying to reach the Dark One. As they embark on the journey, several revelations are made which creates spite in the group. The highlight of the episode is the revelation of The Dragon Reborn.

Review:

The series opens with a fight scene in snowy mountains where a pregnant woman is seen solely fighting an army of men. It looks unbelievable and a bit over the top as she doesn't seem to possess any special powers as she continues to run her sword through them. She then settles down and gives birth to a baby boy. Her enemy sees it but instead of killing her, shows pity and supports her during the birthing.

The scene then abruptly cuts to Moiraine and the others at the gate to the Waygate calling out to Mat to join them but he refuses to move and the gate gets closed, leaving viewers confused about who the woman is and what's the relevance of the scene in the story. But it is explained at the end of the episode.

Mat's friends from Two Rivers refuse to proceed further, they give in and continue to walk through what looks like a dungeon with Moiraine. They discover a guiding stone that could take them to the Dark One but as they decode it, they get attacked by the Trollocs army. They also hear prophecy by Machin Shin during the dark winds which Moiraine asks them to ignore. The prophecies and the revelations get the group upset.

Perrin seems to be in love with someone else and that's why perhaps, he couldn't stop himself when he accidentally killed his wife Laila. His actual love interest is also revealed later in the story.

The VFX used in the episode is commendable. The scene where Moiraine and Nynaeve channel look magical. Nynaeve's character arc is explored further, which makes you sympathise with her. Even though initially, she seems rigid and questions everything that Moiraine says, she is a simple lonely person. Her love story with Lan is also explored.

The group reaches the Fal Dara, the town they need to cross by to reach the Dark One. Moiraine finally tells the others that ones who are not Dragon Reborn will get killed as they encounter the two powers of nature. Nynaeve refuses to believe everything that she says and tells her that she might have made a choice with what's written in her fate but the others will decide what they'd like to choose. The Two Rivers friends are then seen getting into an argument where several revelations are made, which will leave you surprised as well.

The episode reveals the Dragon Reborn and one could have guessed it had they been observing the character closely throughout the season so far. The makers did do a good job to try and confuse the viewers about who it could actually be.

Verdict:

The series adds more layers to the story and gets lot more complicated. But it gets interesting towards the end, like always, making you curious to find what happens next.