- Title: The Wheel of Time – Leavetaking
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Adapted from the fantasy series of the same name by Robert Jordan, the first episode of The Wheel of Time introduces us to several characters including Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike) and Lan Mandragoran (Daniel Henney) who are seeking the prophesied reincarnation of one capable of saving or destroying the world. Their search takes them to a village in the mountains, but they aren’t the only ones seeking to find the reborn Dragon who has just come of age and may soon come into power. Mostly set-up to a world that isn’t all that well described (perhaps believing only fans of Jordan’s books will seek out the series), “Leavetaking” is notable for the extended battle sequence near the end of the episode as Two Rivers is invaded by a legion of monsters.
The episode concludes in the battle’s aftermath with four of the characters from Two Rivers leaving the broken town and drawing away more legions of monsters after them who know, as Moiraine does, that one of these four is the prophesied Dragon. While the framing of the episode certainly suggests one more so than the others, the four characters are Egwene al’Vere (Madeleine Madden) who can hear the wind and her lover Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski), the unscrupulous Matrim Cauthon (Barney Harris), and the blacksmith Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford) grieving the loss of his wife in the attack. As an introductory episode, “Leavetaking is slow, spending almost the entirety of its time in a village that all our characters will leave by the time the credits roll.