The tables have turned on The Wheel of Time. In “Blood Calls Blood,” Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) and Egwene (Madeleine Madden) run into a familiar face. After escaping servants of the Dark One, Rand (Josha Stradowski) and Mat (Barney Harris) continue their journey to the White Tower. The Aes Sedai suffered a massive blow when Logain (Álvaro Morte) attacked their camp. The group was forced to gentle him before returning to the White Tower.
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The Aes Sedai lay their dead to rest, including their sister Kerene (Clare Perkins). A month later, they all arrive at the White Tower, with Logain. Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) asks Lan (Daniel Henney) about Nynaeve (Zoë Robins), but the wisdom doesn’t talk much. Lan says Nynaeve is worried about Stepin (Peter Franzén). It’s not customary for a warder to out live their Aes Sedai. As for the four young people from the Twin Rivers, Moiraine says if they are at the White Tower or not, she will find them.
Rand and Mat are on the road after narrowly escaping a servant of the Dark One. Mat looks sick and he’s very irritable. Rand recognizes the mountain they are approaching and as they get closer, he sees the White Tower. They find someplace to rest and wash up. Mat is looking really sick, but he says he’s just tired. He can’t get the image of the little girl out of his mind. Rand says the Fade killed that family at the farm, but Mat thinks he did. As for Thom (Alexandre Willaume), Mat is pretty sure he’s dead too.
Moiraine and Lan take Nynaeve to a warder’s room so she doesn’t run into any of the Aes Sedai. Nynaeve really wants nothing to do with the Aes Sedai or their politics. Regardless, the sisters saw Nynaeve touch the One Power. As soon as news spread, they will want to make her a novice. Moiraine says the Tower’s politics will eat her alive. Nynaeve thinks if she is as powerful as Moiraine thinks she is, then the Aes Sedai shouldn’t underestimate her.
Lan leaves Moiraine to talk to Nynaeve. Moiraine says it’s okay to be afraid. Touching the power makes you see how small you are compared to the One Power. Nynaeve will never be the same. Moiraine tells Nynaeve to stay in the room, not to speak to anyone and she will protect her. When she finds her friends, she will bring them to her.
The Tuatha’an continue to travel to the White Tower. Perrin sees their dogs feeding on dead carcasses and says it’s hypocritical. Aram (Daryl McCormack) says it’s in the law of nature to be violent. The Way of the Leaf is accepting that. Egwene catches up with Perrin, telling him they are close to the White Tower. They wonder if Mat and Rand are already there.
The caravan is stopped by Eamon Valda (Abdul Salis) and the White Cloaks. Valda recognizes Perrin and Egwene. He demands that they go with him. Ila (Maria Doyle Kennedy), Raen (Narinder Samra), and the entire caravan lock arms and stand in front of the cloaks to protect Egwene and Perrin. Aram leads Egwene and Perrin away from the caravan. Two White Cloaks catch up and knock out Aram. Perrin and Egwene hold each other as the riders circle them.
Rand explores in a room of books and meets Loial (Hammed Animashaun). Loial is a ogier, pronounced o-gear. Rand is startled by him because of his appearance and size. He even pulled his sword on Loial. Loial just laughs at him. He calls Rand something else. Rand says he’s from the Twin Rivers so he’s human, but Loial recognizes other traits in him.
Rand recognizes a book and gets sad thinking of the girl who used to read it. He tells Loial about the girl and they are interrupted by a commotion outside, Loial tells him that the Aes Sedai have come back from battle with a false dragon. Rand looks out the window and sees Mat roaming the streets. He says he has to go and Loial offers to go with him, but Loial also moves at a leisurely pace. Rand leaves and Loial laughs at how rushed humans are. He says they never fully prepare for what they are walking into.
Rand sees Mat sitting on a ledge. There are Aes Sedai everywhere and he rushes to sit with Mat. When the procession turns the corner, people start throwing food at the cage that Logain sits in. As he passes, Logain looks up at Mat and starts laughing. Mat is scared and asks Rand to never let him get like that. He doesn’t care what the prophecy says, he doesn’t want to be mad like that.
Stepin prepares for a ceremony with Lan and their friends Ihvon (Emmanuel Imani) and Maksim (Taylor Napier). He tells them about the first time he met Kerene. He was a stupid, drunk kid looking for a fight and she just laughed at him. When she picked him to be her warder, he told her to reconsider. She just rolled her eyes at him. He carries her ring around his neck. Lan tries to console him, mentioning that he can look forward to serving another Aes Sedai. Stepin snaps at him saying it won’t be easy to bond with another Aes Sedai.
Stepin leads the warders to a door. They stay behind the door while he goes through. He holds Kerene’s ring in his hand before placing it in a giant bowl of fire. The ring immediately melts. Afterward, Lan goes to Moiraine. He kneels by her side with tears in his eyes.
The White Cloaks bathe Egwene, brush out her hair, and clean her nails. She is taken to Valda while he eats. The white cloaks tie her to a chair. Perrin is also brought in and tied up. Egwene tries to plead for their lives saying they are not who he thinks. Valda thinks Egwene is an Aes Sedai and Perrin is her warder. And if they aren’t, there’s still a reason the Light brought them before him … twice. Egwene insists that she cannot channel. Valda holds a knife to her throat and tells her to stop him. She can’t but he’s persistent. Valda enjoys killing Aes Sedai and collecting their rings. He goes as far as cutting Perrin’s back so he bleeds. Perrin’s eyes turn yellow when he does this.
Valda says humans are meant to be of this earth, to struggle and fight for everything humans have. The Creator never meant for humans to have access to so much power. He says the Aes Sedai make a mockery of human existence walking like gods amongst men. The idea that the One Power comes from anywhere but the dark is absurd. So Valda has been called to stamp it out woman, by woman. Valda tells Egwene to channel for him and he will let Perrin go but kill her. If she doesn’t channel, he will kill Perrin and let her go. Valda leaves the tent to let them discuss who will die.
Stepin visits Nynaeve and asks her for tea to help him sleep. He’s been drinking and says he starts to drift off and the pain goes away. That’s all he has left of Kerene … the pain. He’s not ready to let that go yet. Nynaeve says the pain will never go away. When Stephin exits, he leaves the door open and Nynaeve steps out of her room. In the hallway are several statues of warders.
Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood) appears and tells Nynaeve a little bit about the statues. Nynaeve asks why Reds don’t have warders. She assumes it’s because the Reds hate men. Liandrin says women hold the One Power but the men still control much of the world. They are rarely kind to little girls who show a spark of being greater than men. Liandrin tells Nynaeve to enjoy her freedom and directs her to the garden.
Loial checks on Rand and lets him know that he has access to the White Tower grounds. He says he went there and found the woman Rand spoke of earlier. Nynaeve comes from behind Loial. He sees how sick Mat is and asks what happened. Mat is happy to see her. She asks to see his tongue and Mat lashes out at her. He quickly apologizes and she tells him to rest.
Rand thinks Mat can channel, but he hasn’t seen it. He says Mat is losing himself though. He questions why they followed Moiraine and says he doesn’t trust her. They all saw what Aes Sedai did to the False Dragon. Nynaeve says they don’t need the Aes Sedai. She will heal Mat as much as she can. When Egwene and Perrin arrive, they will all leave together.
Nynaeve tells Rand about a time when Egwene was sick. She had a sickness that made her body bend backwards. The Wisdom didn’t know what to do so she made a tea to help Egwene pass easier. Egwene refused the tea, so Nynaeve sat with her throughout the night. Egwene said she wasn’t ready to die. The next morning, her fever broke and Egwene was okay. Nynaeve says Egwene is many things, but above all else, she’s unbreakable.
Egwene tries to channel so Valda won’t kill Perrin. Perrin tells her to stop and thinks he should be the one to die. He says it’s what he deserves because he killed Laila. Perrin tells Egwene how Laila died. Egwene doesn’t want him to die. Valda returns and neither of them say anything. He takes a knife walks toward Perrin, cutting his back again. Egwene says Laila’s death was an accident. It may take his whole life to realize that but he will.
Wolves howl in the distance as Egwene reaches in deep and starts to channel. Valda is amused by her efforts to kill him with the small amount of power that she channeled. He walks towards her to kill her and Perrin snaps his ropes. Egwene sent part of her power to Perrin’s ropes to burn them. Perrin’s eyes turn yellow and he starts to growl. He walks to Valda, scaring the White Cloak and he drops his knife. Valda begs for the Light to protect him. Meanwhile Egwene uses her power to undo her ropes. She picks up the knife and stabs Valda in the back.
Perrin and Egwene run outside and it’s chaos. A pack of wolves is killing the white Cloaks. Perrin and Egwene run toward the horses and a wolf jumps in front of them. The wolf barks at them, but Perrin knows the wolf won’t hurt them. The wolf runs away, clearing the path to the horses.
Liandrin taunts Moiraine about Nynaeve. She says Nynaeve will become a novice and will need a mentor. Liandrin implies that she plans to recruit Nynaeve to become a Red. They both believe people should follow the rules. Moiraine laughs saying Nynaeve doesn’t share Liandrin’s contempt for men, so she should look for converts elsewhere.
Stepin makes an offering to ward off the forsaken. Lan checks in on him. Stepin says he’s warding off the father of lies because he needs to see clearly. Lan offers to stay with Stepin until the morning.
Alanna (Priyanka Bose) plans to offer Stepin a place as her warder. His bond with Kerene was so strong though. Moiraine mentions that there is a way to release the bond. Alanna thinks she’s talking about her bond with Lan. She says Moiraine and Lan have nothing to worry about.
Alanna tells Moiraine that Amyrlin Seat is returning to the White Tower and summons them to answer for Logain. She needs someone to blame. Moiraine isn’t worried but Alanna says the Tower isn’t like it was before she left. Moiraine is one of few sisters strong enough to challenge for the Amyrlin Seat. Liandrin is another and she’s very influential. For someone who’s barely in the Tower, Moiraine has two very powerful enemies. Alanna says one day Moiraine has to trust someone with her secrets.
Stepin makes tea for him and Lan that only Lan seems to be drinking. Stepin asks about Nynaeve, but there’s not much to tell. He can see that she has fallen for Lan. Her first time touching the One Power was to save his life. Lan is aware, but thinks love is dangerous.
The next morning, Lan wakes up on Stepin’s floor with a tea cup in his hand. Stepin is missing and he feels that something is wrong. Lan runs to find Stepin. He finds his friend sitting by the warder statues, dead. Stepin stabbed himself in the stomach and bled to death.
The warders hold Stepin’s funeral. Lan is called forward to relief them of their grief. He kneels by Stephin’s body. The others pound their chests. Lan looks at Moiraine and starts to cry. Lan beats his chest and screams in grief for his friend. Moiraine looks on with tears in her eyes as Lan lets out one last cry.
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