'The Wheel of Time' Episode 8 Review: Epic, thrilling and a finale worth remembering
After a thrilling journey of more than seven weeks, the day has finally arrived for the fans to sit on their couches and watch the season finale of Amazon Prime Video’s ‘The Wheel of Time’. The show has been outrageously successful for the streaming service and became the number one show in the world with more than a billion viewing minutes. So, it comes as no guesses that there is a lot of anticipation for the finale.
The series was “unfairly” compared to ‘Game of Thrones’ even though the stories are different. But the show has managed to create its own base and those who liked ‘GoT’ also liking the show for its thrilling sequences and characters. For seven weeks, we have been waiting for Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike), Egwene (Madeleine Madden), Rand’al (Josha Stradowski), Mat (Barney Harris), Perrin (Marcus Rutherford), Nynaeve (Zoe Robins), and Lan (Daniel Henney) to showcase their powers in the battle against the Dark One, and looks like they are set to unleash themselves in order to save everyone.
RELATED ARTICLES
DC taps Leslie Grace to play Batgirl in film, fans call it 'another race swapping movie'
The finale is over 56 minutes long and in those minutes, the show has managed to give viewers what they were expecting to see during the season finale. The final episode starts with Moiraine and Rand’al going through a dense jungle to meet the Dark One. Everyone else is trying to find them, but no one is able to trace them. Meanwhile, Nynaeve, Egwene, and Perrin are inside the kingdom of Malkier and become a part of the war as an army of Trollocs is moving forward to destroy the kingdom.
I would seriously like to applaud the makers for handling the finale with such efficiency. The episode could have gotten very complex because of all the plotlines they had to show in it, but they focused on the main points and masterfully tackled them. Now, we already got to know that Rand’al was the Dragon Reborn, but it couldn’t be that easy for him to just go and obliterate the main villain. So, we witness a certain situation where Rand is tested and is manipulated by the dark one to do what the previous Dragon did: burn the whole world. The tension and nervousness that the entire scenario builds throughout the episode is brilliant and you will see that the wait was worth it.
As far as acting is concerned, Rosamund Pike steals the show once again and shows why she is one of the top actors in the world right now. Throughout the series, she has been shown as someone who is powerful and will do anything to save the people she cares about. However, in the finale, her role changes a bit. In the finale, she mainly is a supporting kind of character, which is good, because it gives the writers to explore more about the other main characters, especially the Dragon Reborn.
Josha Stradowski is the one to watch out for in the finale. He has been doing great over the weeks, but when he was needed to show his range, he didn’t disappoint. Meanwhile, Zoe Robins, Madeleine Madden, and Marcus Rutherford have played their respective roles effortlessly. Watch out for Zoe and Madeleine in the finale, they will blow everyone’s minds in the final moments of the show.
Although Daniel Henney doesn’t have a bigger role in the finale he has been phenomenal throughout the season.
Now, let’s come to the main verdict. Is the season finale of ‘The Wheel of Time’ satisfying? As a viewer, who knew nothing about the book series, the journey has been really special for me and the finale just made me realize that I won’t be able to forget it for a very long time. The finale is epic, thrilling, and won’t go out of fans’ minds for many years to come.
But this is not the end of the road and we know that this is just the beginning of the war for all the characters. So, let’s wait for Season 2 and embrace what we have witnessed for the last eight weeks.
‘The Wheel of Time’ is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.