The penultimate episode of The Wheel of Time season 3 is here, and it's a big one. Like the show's mid-season barnburner "The Road to the Spear," this latest episode is focused entirely on one location. This time it's the Two Rivers, where Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford) is leading the folk of his idyllic home in a desperate battle against a horde of Trollocs.
The Wheel of Time has had big action scenes before, but "Goldeneyes" easily takes the crown as the best-produced battle episode of the show to date. It also serves as a great way to highlight Perrin and those around him, which is much needed for everyone's favorite Wolfbrother at this point in the series. The Battle of the Two Rivers is a crucible which changes Perrin forever, and it's a crucial sequence for the show to get right.
FULL SPOILERS for "Goldeneyes" beyond this point.
The Wheel of Time Episode 307 review: "Goldeneyes"
While "Goldeneyes" is all about the big showdown at the Two Rivers, the episode takes its time getting there, with nearly half of its 58 minutes dedicated to the preparations before the main event. As with Rand's journey to Rhuidean, this calm before the storm are much needed to give us time to understand the stakes and dynamics for all of the characters whose lives are about to imperiled. It's a testament to how well The Wheel of Time navigates it all that some of my favorite scenes of the episode happen before the battle, such as Alanna (Priyanka Bose) and Maksim's (Taylor Napier) reconciliation where they finally start to build something new following the tragic loss of their third partner Ihvon (Anthony Kaye).
It's also a lot of fun to get to spend some time with the Two Rivers folk, who may have taken to calling Perrin "Lord Goldeneyes," but aren't about to blindly follow orders from the likes of Alanna or Maksim. Shoutout to Cenn Buie (Gregory Gudgeon) and Daise Congar (Mandi Symonds) for being just as incorrigible and fun as this reader could have hoped.
The set-up for the battle has a lot of moving pieces, including a failed negotiation between Perrin and Dain Bornhald (Jay Duffy), the arrival of a group of Tuatha'an seeking refuge from the Trollocs, Loial (Hammed Animashaun) trying to trick Bain (Ragga Ragnars) and Chiad (Maja Simonsen) into leaving before the battle through a botched game of Maiden's Kiss, and the solidifying of Perrin as a general. Despite his protests that he doesn't want to be considered a lord, the people create a makeshift wolf banner for Perrin at the urging of Faile (Isabella Bashere) to give them something to rally behind.
This is Marcus Rutherford's episode first and foremost, and he does a tremendous job as Perrin. Just as it felt like Mat (Dónal Finn) and Rand (Josha Stradowski) had truly "arrived" at various points earlier in the season, this is that point for Perrin. His relationship with Faile also gets a good amount of development this episode, and the chemistry between Rutherford and Bucceri is excellent.
Some other highlights before the battle: the Two Rivers and mountain pass settings are gorgeous, the music is catchy and different from the often brooding soundtracks that accompany medieval battle scenes, and the writing is fairly tight throughout. But let's be real: we're all here for the big showdown, and it isn't too long before we're thrust into it.
The Battle of the Two Rivers
The Battle of the Two Rivers is a staggered affair that takes place in multiple locations, beginning in the mountain pass above Emond's Field before the chaos eventually spills into the heart of the village itself. The Wheel of Time does a pretty solid job of chaining these events together in a natural way so that each time the Two Rivers forces lose ground it's a gut punch as things get worse and worse. There are a ton of memorable sequences, from Alanna's magical hailstorm spearing Trollocs and Darkfriends, to Perrin and Faile slicing their way through the Trolloc forces in the heart of the Two Rivers, to the Whitecloaks inadvertently letting Padan Fain's (Johann Myers) Darkfriends into the town, and more. This battle is a blast, with a scale and scope that far surpasses season 2's climactic battle at Falme.
The action itself also contains some of The Wheel of Time's best fight choreography. As a fantasy viewer spoiled by shows like Game of Thrones and The Witcher, Wheel's fighting hasn't always quite reached the same highs. The Battle of the Two Rivers firmly lays that complaint to rest. Perrin chopping up Darkfriends with his axe is brutal. Bain and Chiad and Loial attacking the Waygate is thrilling. The Two Rivers folk fighting back against the Trollocs feels appropriately harrowing and exciting. "Goldeneyes" really hit the mark.
There are a number of very important developments that happen in the midst of it all. Loial, the lovable Ogier, plummets to his death inside the Ways by hammering the bridge connecting it to the Waygate until it crumbles. Loial does not die in this manner in the books, so this scene was quite a shock to me. I'm still holding out some hope that he isn't truly gone — we didn't see a body! — but for now it seems more likely than not that Loial is out of the picture. I can only hope he turns up one day at an Ogier stedding, healing from his ordeal.
Another edge-of-your-seat moment comes from an unexpected quarter, as the Tinker Aram (Daryl McCormack) is forced to kill a Trolloc to defend himself and the infant strapped to his chest. The Tuatha'an were forced to flee the Two Rivers during the battle, taking the village's children with them. I loved that the show includes this moment for Aram, where he's forced to decide between his belief in the Way of the Leaf and his willingness to let himself and an innocent child die a horrible death. Aram chooses the sword. It's a great parallel to all the Aiel history we saw through Rand's eyes earlier in the season.
There are a few brief things that felt a little contrived or odd to me, like the fact that Alanna tries to get the Cauthon girls to heal her while she still has a massive arrow in her stomach. Or that the Trollocs have one Darkfriend run over the mountain pass barricade by dramatically scaling a row of shields only for Maksim to shoot them, and the Darkfriends proceed to just run around the barricade two seconds later. I was also sad we didn't get to see any wolves in this episode. This is presumably Perrin's final appearance of the season, which means that aside from his dream of Hopper, we didn't see Perrin interact with a single wolf in season 3. I hope that future seasons include this important part of his character a bit more.
But all in all, it's hard to be too hung up on that. Perrin's final moment where he convinces Padan Fain to call of his Darkfriends is Trollocs was one of Rutherford's best scenes of the show so far, and the battle is top notch.
Perrin chooses peace
Now, let's take a moment to talk about the ending of the episode. The morning after the battle, the Whitecloaks return and demand that Perrin turn himself in, since Perrin swore he would do so if they helped in the battle. And while they did let a bunch of Darkfriends and Trollocs into the village, I suppose they did help fight them off after. Perrin certainly thinks it counts, so he agrees to go with them and subject himself to their judgment. He's marched out of the Two Rivers while we hear Loial's narration about Manetherin and the people chant "Lord Perrin Goldeneyes!"
It's a striking ending to the episode, and I really like how the show has dug into Perrin's conflict regarding violence. But man does this ending have me very confused and curious about what the show is going to do with him next. In the books, the Whitecloaks refuse to help the people of the Two Rivers. After the battle, the villagers run them off. They never take Perrin at this point in the story, and he continues to solidify his position as an unwilling leader to the various factions which gather around him.
However, there is a part much later in the series where Perrin does have to reconcile his differences with the Whitecloaks and answer for the death of Geofram Bornhald. My gut reaction to this ending is that I wonder if they're pulling that storyline from the final books of the series all the way up to season 4. While I'm nervous how that could work, I can also see why the show might consider it: Perrin doesn't appear at all in book 5 of The Wheel of Time, so the show needs to figure out what to do with him next season. Plus, his conflict with the Whitecloaks kind of drags on in the background in a way that probably wouldn't make sense to do dramatically on a television show. So I'm less upset by this change than very intrigued.
It'll be a while before we see how it all resolves. For now, Lord Perrin Goldeneyes has bought the people of the Two Rivers a chance to survive and recover after their brutal ordeal with the Trollocs. What an episode!
The Bullet Points of Time
- Lord Luc serves as the envoy between the people of the Two Rivers and the Whitecloaks. He's a character with a very twisty backstory in the books, but this episode left him a mystery. I wonder when we'll see him next?
- This was probably the best episode for Bain and Chiad, who had a ton of great material as they help Loial win back the Waygate. I'm glad they survived!
- RIP to Daise Congar. I'm glad she got some good screentime this episode, but it was brutal to watch her get shot through with Trolloc arrows.
- Goodbye also to Eamon Valda, who got burnt to a crisp by Mat's younger sisters. He's been a very compelling but totally reprehensible villain. It's been a while since I was so happy to see a TV villain get their just deserts.
Verdict
"Goldeneyes" is a huge episode for Perrin, for the people of the Two Rivers, and for The Wheel of Time. This is by far the best fantasy battle the show has had yet, and arguably one of the best ones we've gotten onscreen in years. The Wheel of Time did the books proud with this one, and I imagine fans will be rewatching it for a long time to come.
Episode grade: A
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.