View source for WoT Monday 2: Season 1, Episode 2, Title and Writer!

''Author'': [[Jeffan Caliarthan]]<br>
''Published'': July 30 2018 - [https://blog.tarvalon.net/?p=346 Tar Valon Times Blog Link]<br>
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[[File:RafeTweetWoTMonday.png|center]]
[[File:S1E2WoTscript.jpeg|center]]

It seems like Wheel of Time Monday was very short lived – we’ll miss you! You were a nice way to start out the week. However, we got a lot out of this latest reveal by Rafe on Twitter. In the above image, you can read the following:
 
 
 
<center>''THE WHEEL OF TIME
EPISODE 102: “SHADOW’S WAITING”
written by
Amanda Kate Shuman
Based on Robert Jordan’s series'' The Wheel of Time</center>
 
First off, we have another writer for the series! Amanda Kate Shuman has worked on Chuck (which Rafe also worked on), as well as The Following, The Blacklist, and Berlin Station. Of those, The Blacklist is definitely the biggest hit. For that show served as story editor for 7 episodes, executive story editor for 22 episodes, and a writer for 4 episodes (with some overlap). The show itself is rated an 8.1/10 on IMDb, and all of the episodes that she was involved in have an average rating of 8.3/10, which is pretty fantastic for IMDb. For the episodes where she served as a writer, the average rating was 8.1/10, so still very solid. Now, this isn’t to say that IMDb is the go-to resource for how talented a writer is, but it is one of the only things we have out there, so it’s what we use.

Now, onward to speculation on the plot of the episode!

In last week’s Wheel of Time Monday post, we saw that the title of the episode was “Leavetaking”, and our analysis of what that might mean can be found '''[https://blog.tarvalon.net/?p=299 here]'''. We surmised that it would take our characters through Winternight, with the episode ending with them riding off with a draghkar behind them. The title of this episode is “Shadow’s Waiting”, which coincides with the title of Chapter 19 of ''The Eye of the World''. In the books, this chapter has the company making their way into Shadar Logoth. If we’re to assume that the writers stick close-ish to the books, then that means that Baerlon is going to be skipped, because there’s no way to insert all of Baerlon into the episode and still have them make their way to Shadar Logoth.

To be honest? I’m kind of okay with that. If we think about it, here are the main plot points of what happens in Baerlon:

* '''Min Is Introduced:''' This can also be done in Caemlyn. In fact, it makes more sense for this to happen in Caemlyn, because it seems a lot more reasonable that she would be hanging out in a town with a bunch of stuff going on rather than some small village.
* '''Nynaeve Catches Up with the Party:''' There are a couple of alternatives to this one: Nynaeve can meet up with them along the road between Emond’s Field and Shadar Logoth, or she can meet up with Lan and Moiraine after everyone gets separated after Shadar Logoth. The former would stick a bit more closely to the books, but the latter would have more of a shock value. Either way, Lan and Nynaeve will be able to have their, “omg you tracked me? I’m so careless.” “No, silly man, I’m just a good tracker.” “Oh wow I’m so in love with you right now woman but I refuse to show it because DUTY.” (Yes, that’s exactly what happened, do not try to convince me otherwise.)
* '''Hints of Padan Fain as a Baddie:''' This is also something that could be moved to Caemlyn, or it could be removed entirely. If it’s removed entirely, that creates a bit more of a shock when he shows up in Fal Dara.
* '''The Children of the Light are Introduced:''' This is the big one. I think having the Children of the Light in Baerlon actually plays a big part in the story. They definitely play an important part in the series, and them showing up here means that we know what it means when Perrin and Egwene are captured by them later on in the book. If they’re not introduced here, there’s not really a place for them to be introduced before Perrin and Egwene get captured. This’ll be a little bit tricky!

[[File:Aridhol-by-Bo-Zonneveld-300x162.jpg|center]]
<center>''Shadar Logoth by Bo Zonneveld''</center>

Other than the Children of the Light, everything else can be moved around pretty easily, so I’m not super mad about them skipping Baerlon.
 
 
So, now that we’ve established that we’re (probably) skipping Baerlon, this episode will most likely start with them fleeing from the draghkar, which is where we presumed the last episode would leave off. They would eventually lose the draghkar, and I really, realy hope that we see Moiraine sinking the ferry, because that shows you very early on that she only cares about keeping the boys safe, and will do anything to accomplish that. From there, we can assume that they still get pursued by trollocs after a short rest (where Nynaeve may show up), and then they flee into Shadar Logoth. For story purposes, all of this would probably have to happen in the first 20 minutes or so of the episode, because the main body should happen in Shadar Logoth.
 
Once they arrive in Shadar Logoth, they’ll have to make camp, and then the boys will go off and be idiots, because that’s what they do in Shadar Logoth. Mat still thinks he’s impervious to harm, so he’ll lead Rand and Perrin off, meet Mordeth, get lured into the creepy treasure dungeon, steal a dagger, get run out of the creepy treasure dungeon, and then make it back to camp. We hear a trolloc horn, everyone packs up and attempts to flee, and then boom, Mashadar. Our heroic party is disbanded, and the episode leave us wondering how our heroes are going to survive on their own.
 
Overall, it makes for a pretty great second episode!

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