Idk, I had no problem with that. Though to be fair, I also saw the animated shorts by now which go into that a bit.

In addition to your Ep 4 explanation: we also get explicitly shown and told that some of the sisters are actually pretty exhausted cause they had to cage Logain. That was a big part of the episode.

Early in the series a dozen trained Aes Sedai have trouble fending off a few dozen armed dudes in the woods. In Episode 8, five untrained women kill an army of 20,000 in a few seconds. Makes no sense.

Counterpoint: The show doesn’t work at all.

As someone who hasn’t read the books the show is actually doing a pretty good job introducing the world and the characters. It’s fascinating to me how it just doesn’t work for you (which fair, YMMV after all) cause it’s well structured to draw you in with some more familiar fantasy tropes and then slowly let it…

Are all of these reviews just going to be comparisons to how close the series is to the source material? Because I haven’t read the books and I’d like, i don’t know, 5% of the review to just talk about the show on its own merits.

It worked for me because I thought it was a great way of worldbuilding - not just telling us how important the bond is between Warder and Aes Sedai, but showing it to us on a deeper level. Not only does it help the audience fill out more information regarding the Aes Sedai, but it also lays the groundwork for some…

So, first things first with Stefan and Kerene: they were both killed in New Spring, which takes place 20 in-universe years before EotW. But what they are building up to is Moiraine’s eventual fight with Lanfear, and how beforehand, she arranges to pass her bond with Lan to Myrelle Berengari in the event of her death.…

Nynaeve is my girl in the books, and the end of this episode was full on Avengers: Endgame level of overwhelming, tears streaming down my face, whole body buzzing experience. There was an extremely brief flash of bright light at the end of a promo for this ep that planted the seed in my mind that Nynaeve would maybe…

C+? Wow, that’s super harsh. I get it wasn’t the best episode but that seems hardly fair. I actually enjoyed the body swapping and never had any issues with working out which one Izel was, I think that was a weird criticism. Though the more general point of Izel being a little undercooked I can agree more with.

I’m familiar with who Pachakuteq is due to my Peruvian lineage. It was nice to see an homage to the Incas. He was a real person and the name does mean he who bends space and time or something along those lines. Machu Picchu is theorized to have been built for him. Like his own private retreat.

Personally, I ignore the grades on recaps. Season 1 was pretty much a C- the whole way, but we still watched. And it gets better and better each season. This one was bereft of any action heavy scenes, and for a lot of folks, it’s not Marvel without a few well choreographed ass kickings. ;)

- I know I say this in every big arc on this show, but you know who’d probably be helpful right about now? An angry Viking God with a giant axe-hammer who’s probably looking for a chance to vent some stress. And maybe a big, green, rage monster depending on his mental status at this point.

Snowflake’s crazy sobered up real fast when Sarge left her to die.  Guess she’s not ready to be a butterfly.

- Motormouth and Smiles, love it!

- “You need therapy.” Truer words were never said. Why the hell S.H.I.E.L.D. never hired a therapist is mind-boggling.

I know you want this resolved. The show isn’t shy about revisiting flashbacks and consequences so it may still happen someday. This might not have been the episode to bring up the issue since it was so focused on just the two of them. Close, though, I grant you. Hopefully the show knows it needs a three character…

That was an all time great episode. Henstridge and De Caestecker knocked it out of the park.  Baby Simmons was adorable.  Leopold and Ringu!Simmons going at it was telegraphed but still hilarious.  When Shield cooks, it cooks, and I can't wait for Fitz to meet his failgrandson.

I think C is harsh for an episode which gave us some great sequences in terms of fight choreography and body horror, brought back Deke mostly successfully, and also advanced the plot in new and interesting ways, even if some of the humour was a bit too much.

I, for one, appreciate MAoS’s attempts at levity this season after last season’s claustrophobic feel. A solid A as far as I’m concerned, and loved the Instagram stories to end things on.