1.7 "The Dark Along the Ways" Trivia Quiz

Answer: She is in labour

Our first view of an Aiel in the series came in episode 4 when Rand and Mat encountered a caged (deceased) Aiel outside the mining village of Breen's Spring. Here, we get to see the incredible and renowned skill of an Aiel warrior as this single, very pregnant, fighter (played by Magdalena Sittova) takes on a number of enemy soldiers and defeats them all with her spears, while experiencing labour pains.

Unfortunately, it is also her labour pains that ends up being her downfall as one of her contractions distracts her enough to allow one of the soldiers to stab her with a knife. She still manages to dispatch him, and then she sinks to the ground and makes ready to give birth... when one more soldier comes upon her with sword in hand (fade to opening credits).

Answer: Machin Shin

Translated from the Old Tongue, 'Machin Shin' is the 'Black Wind', and is a manifestation of the Dark One's corruption that struck the male half of the One Power. As Loial (Hammed Animashaun) explains, the Ways were once green and verdant (and well-lit) with fruit trees on every 'island', but since they were created by male Aes Sedai during the Breaking of the World, they slowly fell to darkness and decay. Loial's further warning is that Machin Shin would feast on their souls.

Faced with this reality, the group of young people realize that they have no choice but to leave Mat (Barney Harris) behind and continue on their journey without him. And as Egwene (Madeleine Madden) tells them all, it was Mat who made the choice to leave them, not the other way around.

Moiraine Sedai is portrayed by Rosamund Pike.

Answer: A Trolloc

Egwene is surprised to see the Trolloc at the edge of the firelight, and before it can attack, a blast of channeling knocks the it off the edge of the island just as Rand (Josha Stradowski) jumps forward to try to protect her. As Loial had earlier warned, the inadvertent channeling draws the attention of the Black Wind, and Moiraine urges Loial to lead them to the Fal Dara Waygate, which is closer than her intended destination Waygate, but still close enough to the Blight and the Eye of the World be able to continue their mission.

The discovery of Shadowspawn using the Ways finally explains the mystery of how the Trollocs came to be in the Two Rivers without being seen travelling down from the Borderlands.

Answer: Loial - "You're nothing, an imposter, a fraud."

Machin Shin whips around them and we hear the voice speaking to each person in turn (except Loial, who may have heard something, but his experience is not shared on screen). The whispering of "You're nothing, and imposter, a fraud" was actually what Egwene heard, and not Loial.

To recap for the others, here is what was whispered to each individual:
Moiraine - "You are wrong about everything. You will murder these children and call it heroism."
Rand - "Egwene will never love you as much as you love her. She left you once and she'll leave you again."
Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) - "You wanted Laila dead, out of the way. That's why you killed her. Because you loved another woman more than your wife."
Lan (Daniel Henney) - "You can't protect her. You'll watch her die."
Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) - "You'll hear their screams as they die, just like you heard your parents, and you'll do nothing to save them. You lost Mat, and now you'll lose the others one by one, till you have nothing and no one. You can't protect them. You can't."

With this last whispering, Nynaeve unleashes another torrent of the One Power, holding Machin Shin at bay, and allowing everyone to escape through the Fal Dara Waygate.

Answer: Padan Fain

Padan Fain, portrayed by Johann Myers, was in the Two Rivers at the beginning - the shady peddler who bought stolen property from Mat. We saw him watch the Trolloc attack with a smile and a whistle as he turned away nonchalantly.

Since then, he has followed the group (or some of the group) on their journey. His whistling was heard in Shadar Logoth just before Mat found the dagger, he was seen watching Rand and Mat in the streets of Tar Valon, and before stepping out of the Ways, his whistling was heard in the dark before the encounter with the Trolloc.

The question of how Fain activated the Waygate is not addressed on screen, and viewers only saw that Moiraine used the One Power to activate it, but in the show extras one of the production stills shows Fain holding a small stone Avendesora leaf, which is the means by which it is accomplished in the books (moving the leaf from one spot on the gate to another).

A little later in the episode, Perrin catches sight of Fain walking through the streets of Fal Dara, as well, although he is not sure if it was actually him, and Nynaeve says that he must be dead.

Answer: Min

Portrayed by Kae Alexander, Min Farshaw comes across as no-nonsense but also a little world-weary. As a 'seer', her ability to see parts of the Pattern (manifested through visions and auras around people) is known to the White Tower, and specifically Moiraine and the greater Blue Ajah.

When Moiraine asks what she sees around the Two Rivers youths at a nearby table, Min replies, "The one on the left (Perrin) has yellow eyes, blood running down his chin. And the redhead is rocking a baby." Around the girls (Egwene and Nynaeve), Min sees, "White flame... and a ring of gold."

Significantly, she also tells Moiraine that they are unusually all linked, "I see sparks of light trying to fill the shadows, and the shadows trying to swallow the sparks." And she stresses that her visions were all very clear, and that the more important someone is to the Pattern, the clearer the vision.

Min also explains one further vision that she had... about Moiraine, "I see the Amyrlin Seat, and she's wearing full regalia, and she's going to be your downfall."

Answer: Malkier

When the party enters Fal Dara (in the Borderland country of Shienar) after exiting the Ways, it is Lan who is recognized and greeted as 'Dai Shan', and welcomed home. It is not until after Nynaeve's encounter with the family that Lan visits (and after she sleeps with him), that she asks about the title.

Lan responds by explaining that Dai Shan is the title given to future kings of Malkier, but that it is no longer relevent, as his homeland was taken by the Blight long ago. The old man that they visited was one of the soldiers that carried Lan out of Malkier as a baby when the Blight overran the city (the rest of his family was slaughtered).

Answer: Practicing archery

A little earlier in the episode, we see Rand practicing his archery skills, and not having much accuracy. This was immediately having an argument with his friends and generally being upset. Egwene approaches and they reconcile, leading to 'further activities'.

Afterwards, the memory of carrying his father Tam (played by Michael McElhatton) through the woods after the attack on Bel Tine keeps him awake. His father spoke through his delirium of finding a baby during a battle (which we saw in the show's cold open). Unable to get back to sleep, Rand returns to his archery practice, this time showing that his focus has returned, and every shot hits true. And while he is shooting the arrows, the memory flashbacks continue, showing him channeling in Breen's Spring to escape Dana's trap, and channeling in the Ways to protect Egwene from the Trolloc.

But the key memory is what more was said to him by the Black Wind, Machin Shin: "It's you. You've always known it's you, deep down. No matter how fast or how far you run, you cannot escape your fate. You are the Dragon Reborn. You are the Dragon Reborn."

Answer: She doesn't answer him.

Min's non-response lets Rand assume that he will not return, and will likely die. When Min just turns away, Rand says, "I didn't think so."

What Min tells Rand about in their conversation is her first vision that she had as a child in Tar Valon, when she saw a man in armor, carrying a Heron-marked blade. She saw snow and blood and a baby born on the slopes of Dragonmount, and that the man would raise the baby in a land with two rivers. And that the baby was something 'impossible'. This confirms what he suspected in the memory sequence where we saw him carrying his wounded father, when Tam spoke of finding a baby during a battle.

Answer: Only Rand and Moiraine

In the early hours of the morning, Rand visits Moiraine and tells her of his epiphany.

(Seemingly) simultaneously, Egwene, Nynaeve and Perrin meet in Nynaeve's room and discuss their decision on whether or not to go to the Eye. While talking, Lan knocks on the door and tells them that Moiraine has masked their bond, and that she is gone.

Everyone rightly assumes that Moiraine and Rand have departed for the Blight and the Eye of the World, leaving the rest behind.