REVIEW: ‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 3 Episode 8 – “He Who Comes With the Dawn”

In yet another standout season finale, The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 8 promises new directions for its core cast moving forward. It has been extraordinary to witness the leaps and bounds that this show, based on the fantasy series by Robert Jordan, has taken throughout three seasons. While the first was rocky, the second showed signs of promise. Yet Season 3 is its best yet, rich in scenic tapestries, expanding worlds, and pivotal, character-defining moments. “He Who Comes With the Dawn” is the perfect cap and, in a way, feels like the end of the setup to the larger, grand-scale story to come.

While Episode 7 dealt with Perrin’s (Marcus Rutherford) story in the Two Rivers, The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 8 has the herculean task of wrapping up the entirety of the rest of the cast. For the most part, this works because of the tight setup the writing has established up until this point. It’s essentially broken into three main settings: Tanchico, the Aiel Waste, and the White Tower. All three deliver high-stakes showdowns and direct each character down the path they will take. And many of them are armed with new, consequential strength and/or knowledge.

Despite having the best group of characters, the Tanchico storyline is the most rushed. This is unfortunate due to the breadth of information unfolding. Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) and Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood) being in a race against one another for the a’dam collar, which possesses the ability to control the Dragon Reborn, could easily be its own episode. These characters have served as foils to one another throughout the series, both emboldened by the pain they have suffered. But while Liandrin believes that her affection for her son made her weak, Nynaeve knows that her love and care for others make her strong.

Mat and Nynaeve go through major changes in The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 8.

So while Liandrin makes away with the collar by the end of the finale, Nynaeve has become a more formidable opponent. In a climactic moment as she drowns at Liandrin’s doing, she regains the ability to channel again. We keep hearing how Nynaeve is the most powerful channeler in a thousand years. “He Who Comes From the Dawn” finally delivers on that promise with a spectacular display as she splits the ocean to escape Liandrin’s clutches.

But for every success comes a new hurdle. Mat’s (Dónal Finn) storyline has significantly diverged from his storyline in the book. In the novels, he travels with Rand to the Aiel Waste and Rhuidean, though he doesn’t enter the columns with Rand. Here, the adaptation and the original story converge and work against one another. He walks through a ter’angreal which transports him into a room where an Eelfinn stands, ready to interrogate him. It’s a disorienting sequence where Mat, rightfully, responds with hostility to.

The Eelfinn repeats itself, asking Mat what his needs are. But Mat, too frustrated to think clearly, reacts in anger. He says he wants all of the magical beings of the world to leave him alone, that he wants the screaming in his brain to stop, and that he wants to be away from the Eelfinn and back in Tanchico. The Eelfinn grants his wishes, though he calls him a fool for not specifying how and why. He may leave, but it’s now up to the Eelfinn’s discretion on how, which leaves him hanging from the doorway, suffocating, just like in Min’s vision.

He doesn’t die thanks to Min (Kae Alexander), but it’s when another critical change happens. He no longer has the screaming of past souls lodged in his brain, but he also has spots in his memory that he can’t reconcile. While in the book, he asks the Eelfin for the holes in his memory to be filled. Ever since the start of the series, the adaptation has played with expectations and timelines for his storyline. But as he acquires the markings that will define his character —the scar around his neck and the foxhead medallion —we have to wonder how they will shift the narrative next.

The Light is threatened in the Season 3 finale. 

The central plot points, however, in The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 8, work in tandem. As Siuan (Sophie Okonedo) fights for, and loses, control of The White Tower at the hands of Elaida (Shohreh Aghdashloo), Morraine (Rosamund Pike) does her best to protect Rand (Josha Stradowski) from Lanfear (Natasha O’Keeffe). Rand, who finally sees Lanfear for the monster she is, sends her into a frenzied rage. All of this happens as Rand is set to stand before the Aiel clans and declare himself the Car’a’carn. However, Lanfear acts quickly, roping in another Aiel to try to falsify Rand’s status.

The plan fails, however, due to Rand sharing what he saw in Rhuidean, a major taboo. However, as the Car’a’carn, he’s meant to break down the Aiel and make them see their truth. The prophecy foretold of a leader who would be of the blood but not raised by it. He speaks of their history, of how they’re Oath Breakers and must embrace their true selves to rise above. And then, in his ultimate move, he calls upon his power to make it rain in the desert. Stradowski remains the weakest link, but it doesn’t diminish the overall effect of the moment. Yet another stepping stone in his path towards leadership.

From here on out, it becomes a gamble on how he makes it to The Last Battle. But he and Morraine share the same goals in perhaps their strongest and most mature discussion yet. They both have the same objective – to see Rand make it to the Last Battle while fighting for the Light, rather than succumbing to the darkness. And if he should fall, they both trust that she’ll kill him.

It’s part of what makes her fight with Lanfear so intense (though Pike’s commitment to pulling faces nearly kills the tension). Because we know that without Morraine, it’s not just that they lose a significant source of power, they also lose the person who can and will stop Rand if the worst is to happen.

Darkness continues to lurk even as Rand triumphs.

The story deals Morraine another killing blow, however. In another big change in the series (and major spoilers for the end of the finale), Elaida kills Siuan, accusing her of being a Darkfriend. Morraine feels her loss as she dies, using her grief to fortify her in battle before succumbing to it once Lanfear leaves. This shift in politics at The White Tower promises enormous consequences. As the Forsaken rally and Moghedien (Laia Costa) strengthen, the fact that the Tower is also succumbing to darkness and power-hungry leadership threatens Rand’s steps.

He may be accepted as the Car’a’carn, but he’s losing allies. It sets the series up for major storylines as each character has new paths to take. From Elayne realizing her mother is being betrayed, thanks to Mat losing the gaps in memory, and Rand acquiring an army, these characters are on the precipice of greatness or darkness. Or, even more interesting, something that lies in between.

The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 8 is a superb finale that raises the stakes. The characters are genuinely at the point of no return. Throughout all of Season 3, the production has demonstrated its detailed approach to worldbuilding through the costuming and makeup, and how it weaves together the book’s narrative and its distinctive twists. “He Who Comes With the Dawn” reminds us of how far the show has come while further cementing our interest in this epic tale of the fight between forces and the battle of souls as our hero tries not to succumb to the shadow.

The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 8 is out now on Prime Video. 

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