Season 3, Episode 4, titled The Road to the Spear, directed by Thomas Napper and written by Rafe Judkins explores Rand’s journey into the deep and tragic history of the Aiel—how they began as peaceful, friendly pacifists and became the hardened, violent warriors of the present day. The transformation of the Aiel is tragic, highlighting the devastating impact the Dark One and his evil have had on the world, from the Age of Legends to the Third Age.
The central theme of this episode is remembrance. Latra Posae Decume of the Aes Sedai turned Rhuidean into a sacred, ruined city where Aiel clan chiefs and Wise Ones undergo trials to either witness the lives of their ancestors or see visions of the future. Those who survive these trials are deemed worthy to lead the Aiel; those who reject the visions due to pride in their current warrior identity die in Rhuidean. The purpose of these trials is to ensure that the Aiel never forget who they truly are and to prepare them for the coming of the Car’a’carn, the Dragon Reborn, who will lead them against the Shadow in the Last Battle. This episode emphasizes that all nations—even in the real world—must study their histories, roots, and cultures with unwavering dedication so they never forget their identities or how they came to be.
The City of Rhuidean
In the Aiel Waste, Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) and the Taardad Aiel arrive at the outskirts of Rhuidean, where Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski), Moiraine Damodred, and Aviendha (Ayoola Smart) each face their respective trials in the ancient city.
As the Dragon Reborn, Rand is destined to become the chief of all Aiel chiefs, the Car’a’carn, and must undertake the same trial that clan chiefs face in order to be recognized. Upon entering the glass columns, an Aiel man experiences the lives of his people’s oldest ancestors, learning the true origins of the Aiel. The visions differ slightly from person to person, showing pivotal events through the eyes of a direct ancestor—most notably, the sharing of water with the Cairhienin and the Treaty of Rhuidean.
Through these ancestral visions, the Aiel leaders learn that they descend from a people sworn to peace, who betrayed their oaths and became the warrior clans of today. The shame of this truth is unbearable for some, and many who enter the glass columns never return. Only one in three men survive the pilgrimage. A man who survives bears a golden dragon tattoo on one arm, marking him as a clan chief. However, when the Dragon Reborn emerges, both arms bear dragon tattoos—signifying that he is the Car’a’carn, the chief of chiefs.
Meanwhile, Aviendha is told by Wise One Bair (Nukâka Coster-Waldau) that she will no longer be a Maiden of the Spear but must instead become a Wise One apprentice. This upsets Aviendha, who took great pride in her role as a warrior, but Bair sympathizes, having experienced a similar denial in her youth before realizing the importance of her role. Aviendha must undergo the trial of the Three Rings, a ter’angreal used as a rite of passage for a woman becoming a Wise One apprentice. When one enters any of the rings, she experiences countless future possibilities based on every decision she might make. Most women don’t remember everything they see, but the most important visions remain with them when they are most needed.
The Taardad Aiel
Before the trials, the Taardad Aiel encounter the Shaido Aiel, led by their Wise One, Sevanna (Natasha Culzac), and protected by Couladin (Set Sjostrand), a Shaido warrior and the brother of Muradin, Sevanna’s second husband who has entered Rhuidean to become a clan chief. Notably, the Shaido Aiel are the most dishonorable among the Aiel—closest to becoming fully fledged Darkfriends or vulnerable to Forsaken manipulation. Despite their reputation, the Shaido still honor Aiel traditions in their own way. Sevanna reluctantly allows Rand to undertake the trial, enraging Couladin, who sees Rand as an unworthy wetlander. Due to their dishonor, it takes the Shaido longer than most clans to produce a proper clan chief who passes the Rhuidean trial.
Moiraine then requests permission from the Wise Ones to enter Rhuidean and undertake the same trial Aviendha faces, in order to better understand what it means to be a Wise One and aid Rand in his ascension as Car’a’carn. She hopes this will help him rally the Aiel army needed to face the Forsaken, Darkfriends, and the Shadowspawn armies. Ideally, other nations—such as Andor and the Children of the Light—will follow suit when the time comes. Wise Ones Bair and Melindhra (Synnøve Macody Lund) accept her request, recognizing Moiraine’s role in the Dragon Reborn’s mission.
Avendesora: The Tree of Life
Within Rhuidean, Rand and Moiraine pass through architecture that holds hundreds of objects of the One Power. At the city’s center stands Avendesora, the last known chora tree—a large, trefoil-leaved tree-like construct from the Age of Legends, genetically engineered using the One Power. Chora trees emitted an aura of peace and well-being, and it was said that a city without them felt as bleak as the wilderness. Their presence may have contributed to the utopian peace of the Age of Legends, keeping citizens in a constant state of contentment.
Moiraine recognizes Avendesora and reminisces about Avendoraldera, a sapling from the same tree, gifted to Cairhien by the Aiel in 509 NE. The Aiel gave the tree in gratitude after Cairhienin ancestors had provided them with water following the Breaking. Along with the sapling, Cairhienin merchants were granted safe passage through the Waste, as long as they bore a banner with the chora tree’s trefoil leaf.
However, Cairhien never truly understood the significance of this gift. Avendoraldera stood for 400 years before King Laman Damodred—Moiraine’s uncle—cut it down to build a grand throne, triggering the Aiel War. Though the Aiel were justified in executing Laman for breaking the long-standing oath of friendship, their slaughter of countless innocents who didn’t understand the war’s cause weakened the forces of the Light.
Rand Enters the Glass Columns
Rand enters the Glass Columns and sees five of the most important events in Aiel history through the lives of six ancestors: Charn, Rhodric, Jonai, Lewin, Mandein, and Janduin.
Charn (Josha Stradowski), during the Age of Legends, is a Da’shain Aiel who follows the Way of the Leaf and works in V’saine at the University of Collam Daan. He serves Mierin Eronaile (Natasha O’Keeffe), an Aes Sedai who leads the research team that drills into the Pattern, creating the Bore. The Bore’s creation releases the Dark One, destroys Sharom, and corrupts V’saine into Shayol Ghul. Charn survives but lives a life of sorrow until he is killed during the War of Power. On the other hand, Mierin eventually becomes the Forsaken known as Lanfear.
Rhodric (Josha Stradowski), Charn’s great-grandson, meets with Tamyrlin Latra Posae Decume (Katie Brayben) during the Breaking of the World. Coumin and the Da’shain Aiel prepare 10,000 wagons filled with chora tree saplings, including the one that will become Avendesora. Latra entrusts him with the Sakarnen, the female counterpart to Callandor. Solinda Sedai (Thandi Sebe) disagrees, fearing the male Aes Sedai will find and misuse it. Latra counters that the Da’shain’s peaceful nature makes them the perfect guardians.
Jonai (Josha Stradowski) and his grandson Adan (Atom Uniacke) survive a brutal bandit attack. In its aftermath, the remaining Da’shain Aiel in Jonai’s group abandon their oaths and become the Tuatha’an—the Tinkers first introduced in Season 1. Jonai and Adan, however, remain faithful to the Way of the Leaf and continue east with Avendesora, eventually reuniting with the other Da’shain Aiel.
Lewin (Josha Stradowski), Adan’s grandson, arrives in the desert with his family and the rest of the Da’shain Aiel, now renamed the Jenn Aiel. This barren land—destined to become the Aiel Waste—will one day hold the city of Rhuidean. There, the Jenn will plant Avendesora at its heart and construct buildings to safeguard the objects of the One Power entrusted to them by the Aes Sedai. After rescuing his sister from bandits and taking a life for the first time, Lewin is exiled for breaking the Way of the Leaf. He and his friend Alijha, masked by shame, become the first Aiel warriors—wielding only spears, the tools of a hunter, not a soldier.
Mandein (Josha Stradowski), Rand’s ancestor, meets with elderly Latra Sedai (Ania Marson) at the fully grown Avendesora. With the Jenn Aiel now extinct, she uses the Sakarnen to cloak Rhuidean in mist, create the Glass Columns, and activate the Three Rings. She explains the prophecy of the Car’a’carn and the need for future Aiel leaders to understand their full history.
Lastly, Janduin (Josha Stradowski), Rand’s father, leads the Taardad during the Aiel War. He succeeds in killing King Laman on Dragonmount but loses his wife Shaiel and their unborn child. Crushed by grief, Janduin screams in despair at the destruction of his family.
The Three Rings
Moiraine finds the Sakarnen inside Avendesora and takes it, knowing its power will be needed in the future. She then finds Aviendha levitating in one of the Three Rings, screaming. Moiraine enters another ring and experiences countless terrifying futures, including ones in which Rand can only survive if she dies at the hands of Lanfear.
When Rand emerges from the columns, bearing dragon tattoos on both arms, he finds Moiraine traumatized and carries her back to the Taardad camp. The two don’t speak for the rest of the day, still reeling from their experiences. Rand finally understands the Aiel and apologizes to Aviendha for dismissing her. Moiraine remains silent, haunted by what she saw.
Rating: 9.5/10
