more thoughts on 3x05 & the 3x06 sneak peek
I have a messy collection of thoughts about Moiraine after seeing the sneak peek. I'm going to stop cleaning them up and just let them be messy.
While I do understand Moiraine needed a night off her duties to grieve for herself... the narrative is really going to punish her for it.
For twenty years, she's chosen duty over everything. For this one night, she chooses her personal life instead, and that happens to be the same night when Lanfear's manipulations are able to tip Rand over far enough to kiss her -- in part because of the truths that Moiraine has withheld from Rand about how far Lanfear (and Moiraine) was willing to go to try to force Rand to follow the path that Lanfear (and Moiraine) wanted him to follow.
In the sneak peek, Lanfear says that Moiraine has been avoiding her since Rhuidean (keeping herself awake with the One Power, maybe?) and pokes Moiraine about how she is failing to keep their deal, because Moiraine is meant to help keep Egwene away from Rand.
That puts Moiraine's concern over Egwene's bruises in 3x02 in a different light. Even at the time, it seemed a bit strange that even as she was urging Rand to channel, she was telling Egwene how the OP was going to make Rand dangerous and warning her about watching out for the signs of his madness -- now, it seems that she was following Lanfear's playbook. It's nothing untrue, because Moiraine can't lie, but leaning on the fact of channeling leading to madness now seems like a clear attempt to try to urge Egwene away from Rand, as requested by Lanfear.
This appears to be an additional deal that Moiraine and Lanfear have made, beyond what we saw them make in 3x01. They've had more conversations since then. Conversations, perhaps, that Moiraine left Lan out of. Deals made in dreams.
And what Lanfear does here is meant both to further implicate Moiraine in Lanfear's actions against Rand, and also as a test to see if Moiraine will dare to act against her and tell Rand (I'm guessing).
So... in 3x01, Moiraine allowed Rand and his friends to be attacked by Lanfear (which almost resulted in Nynaeve's death), but I think Moiraine likely believed that her deal with Lanfear was successful in splitting up the group (because she wasn't privy to their private discussions). She thinks it worked.
Now, Lanfear has given Moiraine notice of another "surprise" for Rand. And Moiraine has to make a choice. Does she tell Rand or does she allow Lanfear free rein?
The thing that Moiraine has never been willing to understand about Rand is that being honest and open with him would have gotten her so much further than all this manipulation and deception. Say it plain, so that I know it's true. That's what Rand wants, and he has told her that very clearly. But manipulation is what Moiraine understands, and it's what she genuinely believes works (I think the events of 3x01 only made her believe more strongly that manipulation was the path with Rand, unfortunately).
She's already lost one chance to be honest with Rand post-Rhuidean, prioritizing her personal goodbye with Siuan over revealing the truth about Lanfear. If she'd told Rand about what she saw in the rings -- and if she'd told Rand that Lanfear was behind the attack in the inn, that Lanfear was the reason that Egwene, Perrin, and Nynaeve were all gravely injured and needed healing... he would not have kissed Lanfear in his dream that night. Zero percent chance.
An understandable decision on Moiraine's part. She's been selfless for so long. It's very understandable that she wanted one night to be selfish.
But it has already had consequences.
I hope Moiraine takes the chance to be honest with Rand before it's too late, and before Rand finds out the truth from someone else. Before more people get hurt because of Lanfear, and because Moiraine stood aside and allowed Lanfear to act.
