The Wheel of Time Episode 5: TV Review (No Spoilers)
"Blood Calls Blood" keeps the good Wheel rolling
Amazon Prime’s The Wheel of Time episode 5, “Blood calls Blood,” proves the qualitative leap made by episode 4 was more than a lucky one-off. The narrative is engaging and remains centered on character development as our heroes grow and reveal themselves in interesting ways.
Uplifting and beautiful as the scenery, the new CGI City of Tar Valon is more realistic than the series’ previous urban efforts, digitally speaking. Tar Valon is the second-largest city in the Westlands, the second-most populous and the seat of the infamous White Tower and Aes Sedai power. The cityscape looms intricate and polished with a smoldering volcano (Dragonmount) on the horizon.
The Wheel of Time turns around Tar Valon, and Tar Valon turns around the Tower.
—Axiom of the Westlands, origin unknown
Due to Amazon’s pricey CGI effort, we’re likely to see a lot of Tar Valon. And it has big shoes to fill, visually: the Wheel berg will be compared to the likes of Minas Tirith and King’s Landing and it knows it. The interior room and hallway sets are grand and spotless to the point of almost being too perfect, but they work. They’d probably sparkle better if we weren’t already used to the super-clean village environments in this world.
The main story (minus the teaser) of “Blood Calls Blood” takes place one month after the events of the previous episode. Moiraine’s scattered company straggles into Tar Valon only to find as much danger inside the walls as out. Within the shadows of bustling exotic markets and the corridors of the great citadel the deadly power game is afoot: the leader of the Aes Sedai, called the Amyrlin Seat, fears threats to her position from the strongest members in her seven ranks . . . and there is reason for concern.
This episode focuses more on Moiraine, Lan, the Aes Sedai and the Wardens than the youngsters in tow, but they all get screentime showcasing several members’ burgeoning magical strengths. Wheel continues to carry a small nonviolence vs. violence storyline as well nod towards a world where sexual orientation is of no matter. We also meet an interesting new character, a large, chatty oiger (the kinder version of the word “ogre”) named Loial who is apparently a warrior/scholar of some kind (and apparently sympathetic to our leads).
Since the Aes Sedai are prominent in this episode I looked up what their different cloak colors represent. All wear the Great Serpent Ring. There are seven groups (with one extra exception), called Ajah. Here’s what I found:
RED: charged with finding and destroying any misuse of the “One Power,” usually by tracking down females channeling outside the White Tower law and male “false dragons.” Red Ajah are the largest single group and do not bond with male Wardens.
GREEN: (2nd largest Ajah) Aes Sedai warriors trained for the mysterious “last battle.” Green can select as many Warden lovers as they like but are usually married to only one.
GRAY: (3rd largest Ajah) removed from the other groups, the Gray Ajah concentrate on diplomacy and mediation in politics.
BROWN: (4th largest Ajah) dedicated to the collection and preservation of knowledge. The White Tower librarians are mostly Brown sisters.
YELLOW: (5th largest Ajah) the Yellow are healers with a leader called the First Weaver.
BLUE: (6th largest Ajah) Blue are the questors, taking up causes of righteousness and justice. The blues run a surveillance watch called the “Eyes and Ears” network.
WHITE: as the smallest Ajah, the isolated Whites study logic and philosophy and rarely take Wardens.
??? (BLACK) the Aes Sedai forcefully deny the existence of this 8th Ajah said to have a membership of Darkfriends (people who have been lured into the army of the Dark One with promises of power and immortality). The Black Aes Sedai are also members of one of the established 7 Ajah and keep their dark allegiances secret. Most Black Ajah cannot channel. **
There is much tragedy and sadness in “Blood Calls Blood” and we’re drawn in by well-acted and written scenes swamped in the pain of loss. Having settled down, the show now shows its exposition as much as it discusses it and mostly does so seamlessly. We still have to accept a lot of this world’s history and culture on faith but that is the method for any fantasy show with a complicated narrative—which is exactly what we want.
My description above portrays “Blood Calls Blood” as a heart wrenching episode but you’ll find uplifting elements to balance it out. Above all, “Blood Calls Blood” is a story about enduring friendship, love and loyalty. It’s fun to watch. (Superb final scene, by the way!)
EPISODE RATING: 7.6 out of 10
**(Hat Tip) The Aes Sedai cloak colors information was sourced from The Wheel of Time Wiki.
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