*Contains spoilers for The Wheel of Time S03E04
Brief Synopsis
The most recent episode of Prime Video's The Wheel of Time is a visual wonder of storytelling. As it begins, we find our Group A (Rand, Morraine, Lan, Egwene, and Aviendha) making their way through the Aiel Wastes with their new companion guides. As they approach their destination of Rhuidean, a heavy trial awaits three of them. Rand, Morraine, and Aviendha enter the City of Clouds in order to prove themselves worthy of the Three-Fold Land's greatest titles. What happens next is nothing short of fascinating.
Rand's trial carries him through past lives; members of his bloodline spanning thousands of years. Each turn of the wheel reveals more about who he is and where he comes from. It's worth mentioning that each ancestor is consistently portrayed by Josha Stradowski, and he does a wonderful job of conveying so many different characters. I am an avid fan of spiritual journeys and past life regression, so watching Rand discover himself by literally becoming his past selves is exactly my cup of tea.
The biggest reveal (to me at least) is that the Aiel are actually the original Tuatha'an. Before they took up spears and became some of the land's greatest warriors, they were sworn to the Way of the Leaf and traveled alongside their fellow Aielmen with their wagons and songs. One of Rand's past lives, a carefree youth named Lewin, had his life turned upside down when he learned of his sister and her friend being abducted by bandits. Confused by his own family's unwillingness to try and rescue her, he set out with two of his friends to do just that.
By nightfall, they found the two young women being held in a camp. Their captors were asleep, but they were afraid to leave for fear of being caught and enduring more of the abuse they had clearly been subject to already. But their hesitation allowed time for the bandits to be alerted to the presence of their rescuers, forcing Lewin and his friends into a fight. They killed the bandits, but lost one of their own in the process.
When they returned with the girls, Lewin and his surviving friend were not greeted with a warm reception. Having broken their oath to the Way of the Leaf, the two boys were immediately shunned and exiled from their home. But with a heavy heart, they donned the masked visage we know of the modern Aiel and vowed to protect their people from danger, even if only from a distance.
The Way of the Leaf
More and more history of the Aiel were revealed, showing even more pain and suffering brought upon them despite (or perhaps because of) their peaceful ways. A particular saying rang out repeatedly:
"We bury our dead, then we go on. What else is there?"
This particular philosophy has never quite sat right with me.
Those poor young girls were abducted and abused by simple men. Not soldiers, warriors, or deadly mercenaries. Their attackers looked to be sloppy town drunks who probably knew all too well how easy it would be to pick off a few Aiel for sport. There's no telling how long those women would have been held there, or if they would've been allowed to live after these monsters were done with them. And if they had been let go, would they return to the wagons? What would they be returning to? A supposed family that would allow the same thing to happen to them again if another group of men showed up the very next day? Because if so, then the bandits aren't the only ones to be held accountable for what happened.
It is the cruelest joke to surrender your fate to the will of whoever so happens upon you, only to call it "the will of The Wheel." The Way of the Leaf sounds wonderful in theory, but peace is not something that can exist undefended. There will always be someone or something looming in the distance, ready to strike when the opportunity arises.
What's the Solution?
The problem with these factions and philosophies is that those that come after its originators have been given no choice or knowledge of all else that exists. They are born into a way of life that says "this is our way. Comply or be exiled; tossed into the unknown." It's an unfortunate and cruel method of control, regardless of intention.
The Tuatha'an say folks leave the wagons when they turn twenty years of age. They experience the outside world through all manner of means; travel, setting sail, or even taking up arms. It is then that they decide if the Way of the Leaf is truly for them, and whether or not to return to the wagons. But I say that's too late.
When a group of bandits attacks and abducts a few of the Aiel/Tuatha'an, who are their victims? Are they grabbing women of an advanced age who know full well the possibilities of suffering they could be subject to under the Way of the Leaf? Or are they abducting woman who have probably yet to leave the wagons; women who know nothing other than the Aiel way of life?
These horrors then become the only thing they know of the outside world. What fear must exist within them at just the thought of leaving the wagons. Or even, what rage may build when they discover cities with enforced rules against such savagery. Or when they meet warriors, channelers, or other simple folk who actively stand up to such injustices. What does it mean then to compare all that possibility to the cruel fate you were forced into simply by birth?
I know so many of us want to live in light. We want to devote ourselves to lives of peace away from all the horrors of the world. But to do so is to deny the very nature of our existence. We are not creatures of light or shadow. We are all encompassing of both. Light, darkness, and everything in between.
The Tuatha'an and Aiel now exist as two sides of the same coin, yet they should be united. It's a beautiful thing to choose peace and unbordered unity. But it is an even more greater thing to know when and how to defend that peace.
Lewin's decision to remain at his people's side as a protector is one that should have been made long ago, and the two factions should have traveled side by side from that point on. It's a sad thing to see them so distanced, both physically and philosophically. I cannot help but imagine that is the very reason Wise One prophecy saw the full destruction of the Aiel should the Car'a'carn not arrive.
