So in this episode we had:
* Egwene putting the collar on Renna. If she thought it could be used to hurt Renna, the adam wouldn't allow her to do that. The only way to touch the pitcher was to absolutely convince herself she wouldn't use it to harm the one holding her leash. She absolutely planned to harm her with the adam.
* Egwene, while collared, channeled to attack Renna and lift her onto the hook. It's impossible for someone leashed with an adam to channel without the suldam's permission. That Renna couldn't hit Egwene showed that the adam still works even when they are mutually leashed by the other. Even if Egwene could channel, which the TV show's version says she can't... she wouldn't have been able to lift Renna onto the hook to choke her because that would be harming her leash holder. See above point about the pitcher and how they just showed that is still in effect.
* Moiraine broke the third Oath ("Never to use the
One Power as a weapon except against
Darkfriends or
Shadowspawn, or in the last extreme defense of her life, the life of her
Warder, or another Aes Sedai."). She used the power to attack a boat full of damane at least a half mile distant, who were not even aware she was there so there is no argument that can be made doing so was in the last extreme defense of her life or Lan's. While there were some Seanchan soldiers attacking on the beach that Lan dealt with, she could only use the power as a weapon on them, not on the damane on the boat.
I guess I should assume they ignore the book part that no one but other Aes Sedai can see a weave, with the TV show's special effects. So Suroth seeing Moiraine's weave coming at the boat that would be impossible in the books could at least happen in the TV show if so, but I'm going to point it out, because this TV show pisses me off.
The conclusion with Ishamael was utterly anticlimactic. To the point of stupidity. Ishamael has been bombarding them with the power CONTINUOUSLY the last 10 minutes. And the moment Rand steps forward from behind the shield where he could be hurt by it, Ishamael just stops his assault. And stands there to be killed.
The conclusion with Turak was similarly anticlimactic. Why even use the line about testing a heron-sword wielder if Rand is just going to wipe him out with the power?
Ingtar. Argh I want to strangle the writers. Ingtar is such a good story in the book. My friend who hasn't read the books who I've been watching each episode with, accidentally read online that Ingtar is a Darkfriend. I was expecting even though they really did nothing to make his story clear, that since they had House Shinowa's sigil seen at Ishamael's meeting of Darkfriends (where Padan Fain and the Tinker woman and child were at), they they were going to at least work it in even if it was being poorly told by not showing Ingtar's obsession with the Horn sufficiently. But nope they didn't even really do that.
The whole comment about one person holding 50 was completely pointless. Not only wasn't it a particularly narrow point, but Ingtar didn't even stay in the narrow part, he jumped out into a big intersection where he could easily be surrounded and where one person could not hold 50. In fact he held about ten before he died if we're generous that every swing of his sword that landed, killed. And they had room they could have just run around him while others fought.
I told my friend Ingtar's whole story from the book after the episode was done, why he had turned to the Shadow because he felt the other nations had left Shienar to die to the Blight, how he was chasing the Horn to walk again in the Light but that he realized (because of Hurin if I remember right) that he'd been seeking glory when the prophecy said it should only be sounded by one seeking salvation. And then him asking Rand if it's true what they say, that no one can walk in the Shadow so long that they can't turn back to the Light, and Rand realizes then that Ingtar has been a Darkfriend. And then Ingtar sacrificing himself for the rest, and them leaving and hearing his battle cry behind them. And my friend got upset they ruined such a great story by not even bothering to tell it, making the whole presence of Ingtar in the show pointless. She then asked about the House Shinowa sigil and I told her I don't know what the TV show intends. That Masema wasn't a Darkfriend in the book but he does have issues but maybe that's who they'll say was at Ishamael's meeting.
Well I then proceeded to tell her basically the gist of the book 2 plot. That Nynaeve and Elayne free Egwene, and she's free of the adam when she puts it on Renna because she'd figured out Renna was someone who could be taught to channel. That Rand got engulfed in the fog from the Horn and when he fought Ishamael, it was in the sky overhead where everyone could see. And how he looked down and realized the battle against the Seanchan was mirroring his success and failure against Ishamael. Explained about Lan telling Rand back in Shienar about Sheathing the Sword, and how he looked down and saw Egwene/Nynaeve/Elayne fighting the Seanchan in the streets trying to make it to Bayle Domon's ship, and to save Egwene is why he takes the wound in his side.
Yeah, her take was just hearing me tell it, it was a much better version than what they did on TV. But that's been the case consistently through the show.
I also explained Mat's situation in the books, even jumped ahead and explained the Book 4 stuff for him with the two redstone doorways and how he gets the ashenderei and gets hanged, and how they look like they will be using the dagger tied to a staff in place of the ashenderei. Told her his three 'wishes' and explained about the holes in his memory getting filled which she thought would have been cool to have, and about his luck which he had even before the doorways which seems to be his 'power' in the way that Perrin has the Wolfbrother stuff.
Anyway, just utterly disappointing. I mean the entire series has been one giant "why did you rewrite that part of the story when the original was so much better than what you came up with?". But at least they could have stayed internally consistent. The moment Egwene was doing that stuff the adam wouldn't allow, and Moiraine used the power to attack, my non-book friend was jumping all over them for it before I said anything.