‘The Wheel of Time’ – “Shadow’s Waiting” – Review
We got our first taste of what awaited fantasy fans in Episode One of The Wheel of Time, “Leavetaking” and now things quickly move forward as our heroes are forced into the quest to confront a mysterious destiny that all of them must now face.
While Episode One, ‘LeaveTaking” establishes the tone of The Wheel of Time and introduced us to its primary characters, Episode Two “Shadow’s Waiting” quickly built up the momentum of the series and things are moving very quickly in this second episode. Out heroes Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), al’Lan Mandragoran (Daniel Henney) and newcomers Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski), Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford), Egwene al’Vere (Madeleine Madden) and Mat Cauthon (Barney Harris) quickly move across the fabled mythical land of The Wheel of Time as they attempt to escape a Trollic attack and the adrenaline gets turned up in this episode.
Close calls and action is the name of the game here in “Shadow’s Waiting” but the real emphasis of this second episode is that we see how our characters react to being forced from their homes and having to deal with a destiny that is not of their choosing. As an audience, it’s interesting to see them have to deal with this newfound destiny and how it affects their characters and we come to see what they’re made of as an audience.
We are also introduced to a new threat in the form of the Whitecloaks, a fanatical, militarized religious order who are led by the sadistic zealot Child Eamon Valda (Abdul Salis). Salis makes for a particularly loathsome villain and it’s very clear that he has an axe to grind with the women of the Aes Sedai. The presence of the Whitecloacks makes this second chapter of The Wheel of Time that much more intense and I’m certain that we’ll see Valda bringing more chaos to the story as the narrative moves forward.
Episode Two, “Shadow’s Waiting” builds out the world and ends on a hell of a cliffhanger and fantasy fans are in for a solid rush now thanks to The Wheel of Time.
The Wheel of Time streams on Amazon Prime on Fridays.
Image: Amazon Prime