Every episode of The Wheel of Time season 2, ranked worst to best

6. Episode 204, “Daughter of the Night”

Honestly, the first two episodes of season 2 are the only ones I had real problems with. It’s all gravy from here on out, starting with Episode 204, “Daughter of the Night.” The title is a reference to Lanfear, a thousands-year-old Forsaken sorceress who has been posing as Rand’s main squeeze Selene with the aim of turning the Dragon Reborn to the dark side. The reveal of who she really is comes at the end of the episode, and it’s pretty juicy.

But it’s not the only good twist in the episode. We also get Liandrin attacking Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne for reasons we aren’t told yet, but we sure are curious to find out. Some of the interstitial scenes are also solid, as paths start to cross and characters meet up. For instance, I enjoyed the tension between Moiraine and the False Dragon Logain as she promises him what most people cut off from the One Power want: death…if he helps her. I also liked her interactions with her estranged sister Anvaere. This is a jam-packed season, but they managed to find room for a little family drama.

As someone who’s read The Wheel of Time books, it warmed my heart to see Perrin meeting Hopper, his best wolf buddy. Predictably, the worst part of the episode involves Lan trying to come to grips with losing his bond with Moiraine. I don’t know, I knew this plot wasn’t going anywhere so it just seemed like wasted time. Meanwhile, Mat and Min are on the move here, but don’t do anything especially memorable.

Still, things are improving! Now let’s jump to near the end of the season:

5. Episode 207, “Daes Dae’mar”

The main action in this episodes takes place in Cairhien, where Rand is taken before the Amyrlin Seat Siuan Sanche, who now knows that he is the Dragon Reborn. In a major swerve from the books, where Siuan and Moiraine are on the same page about nurturing Rand, Siuan wants to control him and use him as a weapon, which puts her at odds with her beloved Moiraine. It’s a big change, but it does create a lot of tension and throws characters we haven’t seen interact in a while back together.

Later, Rand calls upon Lanfear for help. She vamps it up at the Foregate, blowing up everything in sight to distract the Aes Sedai while Rand and Moiraine make a run for it with the help of Verin, who is a great addition to the supporting cast this season. Everything comes to a head at the Waygate in Cairhien. Moiraine’s I-lost-my-powers arc finally pays off as Rand is able to untie the weaves holding her back. Actor Rosamund Pike completely sells the relief on Moiraine’s face.

And then Moiraine has to fight her lover Siuan Sanche! And then Lanfear interferes and lays the smackdown on the Amyrlin Seat herself! It’s drama left, right and center.

Over in Falme, we get an excellently creepy scene where Mat drinks some funky tea and has freaky visions of his past and future. In the first season, Mat was played by Barney Harris. In season 2, actor Dónal Finn stepped in. That made some fans nervous, but Finn emerged as one of the standout performers of the season, with this scene as Exhibit A.

The weakest part of “Daes Dae’mar” is probably Perrin’s trek through the desert with Aviendha and the other Aiel warriors. Aviendha’s brutal beating, administered to satisfy some kind of honor code, comes off as more weird and goofy than profound and powerful.