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Now that was a necessary humbling for Sitara. Had to realize that she was played like a fiddle and once she noticed, it was far too late. Now let's see what she can do to get Töregene back and how they want to even face Boraqchin. Of course, there are probably some people that suspect a murder as well, but finding them will be the biggest issue. Because as it stands now, the empire is even more solid than before. I wonder if they can get Sorghaghtani on their side. Would definitely be a risky move, but at this point they are lacking allies to do anything at all. Also, whenever an actual event happens (so a battle, a death etc.) I go check how much truth there is to it and the whole ritual being the cause of Tolui's death is actually part of the "recorded history". Though, of course, it is highly doubtful how much of that is true.

Without knowing the history, I assume the main aspect is still planting the seeds of distrust towards the Ögedei clan. They don't really need to expose Boraqchin, they just have to make sure that enough people believe that something about Tolui's death was strange. Combined with the fact that a lot of them probably already wanted to see Tolui as leader, this might be enough for them to think that Ögedei or someone close to him took out Tolui. The main problem they have is that they don't have a lot of "cloud". Töregene is the wife of Ögedei, but known to not be very friendly towards the mongols as a whole. While they might even believe her to having poisoned Ögedei, this could even backfire if people believe that the poisoning lead to the ritual and Tolui taking Ögedei's place. Sitara has a similar problem. Especially since I assume they would want her to stay close to Boraqchin (so appearing to take her offer). Which makes this really hard. The good thing is that they understood that Boraqchin is the mind behind the assassination. While Ögedei is intelligent as well when it comes to foreign policies, he is lacking in domestic politics. So I think it is important that they have Boraqchin "look somewhere else" when it comes to that aspect. Not sure how they can do that, but maybe Töregene knows more.

Ngl, I kinda feel bad about Tolui. If my first impression of him wasn't so bad, I probably would've felt more bad. I feel worse about his wife and kids tho. Well played, Boraqchin. I doubt the curse just came back to haunt Tolui. She's probably the one who deliberately poisoned Tolui and Ogedei. She probably stopped giving Ogedei poison while spiking Tolui to a deadly amount. And she probably put all that blame on Toregene. She's insanely cunning. Tolui is finally dead, and Sitara finally got her book back. But it feels like a hollow victory. Because she didn't really do anything. If anything, she became Boraqchin's pawn. Worst case, she would've gone down with Toregene. But thankfully that didn't happen. And Toregene didn't sell her out either. She made up a lie so Sitara would at least get her book back. I'm so glad Sitara had a realization. It's not over yet. She still has something to do. Save Toregene. So, Guyuk is Toregene's firstborn son, huh? As Ogedei's son, he could be the next Great Kha'an. But I'm sure there's a huge competition. Even that short wife has children. And Guyuk being so paranoid doesn't bode well. I doubt his relationship with his mother is all that great either, considering she didn't seem to care much about the Mongols after losing her old husband and children. Great episode. Can't wait for more.

I do like how this show has handled Sitara’s revenge quest so far, in that it’s been basically a complete failure from the start. Genghis Khan, the one most responsible for her suffering, died from natural causes with her unable to do anything, and now Tolui, the person who most directly harmed her, also died from circumstances completely unrelated to her and her plans. Meanwhile the empire is stronger than ever. I think Guyuk might actually have a decent relationship with his mother. He did task Qadaq with looking out for her and now trying to save her life.

According to Mongol laws, I think Guyuk's chance to become the next Khagan is quite small actually. The Mongol Empire inheritance law is a kind of Ultimogeniture, meaning the youngest son have get the biggest piece of cake. This is why Tolui control the largest army after Genghis Khan died. Not to mention, who get to sit on the throne is decided by an election, independent of other inheritance like wealth, land, army, etc...

But it feels like a hollow victory It is a complete and utter defeat, the plan was to have house Touli grow in power and antagonize house Ogedei fracturing the mongol empire and bringing it down from the inside as they kill each other The opposite happened and now the mongol empire is stronger than ever, plus her one and only confidant and true ally Toregene is on the books market for execution under suspicion of being the one who poisoned Ogedei She may have the book back, and Touli may be dead, but this went horribly bad for her revenge plan, she kind of has to start over again, with no leads

Unfortunately for Fatima.... Touli's wife, Sorghaghtani, is not aiming for the mongol empire to crumble Far from it, her whole deal has always to elevate the mongols into a new era, and chances are she will try to make one of her sons, into the next Khan (don't google the names of her sons BTW) So the fact that Sorghaghtani is actually smart, and will start fighting back again, is horrible, terrible, devastating news for Fatima Toragene is Sitara's only ally, and they are losing badly

It takes really impressive character writing to make the character who we’re introduced to at the start of the series by destroying the MC’s life and kickstarting the plot into someone genuinely likable and someone who seems like an all around good guy to those close to him. That’s something I like about all the characters in this story so far. Despite all the grand schemes, conquest, and nation building they’re involved in they all feel very normal and human. Sorgaghtani is incredibly sharp and doing her fair share of court intrigue, but also genuinely loved Tolui and was distraught at his death. Same with Boraqchin and Ogedei, though in a more maternal sense, and even through Ogedei, the Great Kahn, and how much he genuinely cared for his brother all the way to the end. I think that’s something a lot of political/court intrigue stories can miss. That the characters aren’t just their elaborate plans and schemes, they’re people too.

I think most people are confused on why Fatima cried and is frustrated this episode. She isn’t frustrated because she didn’t get to deliver Tolui to his death herself, she’s frustrated because she wanted Tolui to succeed and go against Ogedei(hence her attempt to “set Sorghaghtani up” in front of Boraqchin), but in stead was played perfectly by Boraqchin and almost believed her words and moved on from her hatred. Her revenge plans went from just getting the book to wanting the destruction of Mongol, but even after years of working by Sorghtaghni’s side, not only did she failed to acquire the book back and was handled it back so easily by Boraqchin. It must be super frustrating and humiliating for her as she thought she had wisdom above the others only to realize she’s not even on Boraqchin’s level, and in stead of having her and Toregene’s plans go on, it all went according to how Boraqchin planned it. Beautiful episode again though, the starting segment between the brothers was bittersweet. I felt really sad when Tolui said to take care of Sorghtaghni and him dying by her hands. Tolui went out like a champ. I also liked the segment of them showing Fatima riding forward against all the other slaves in the background. Showing how she almost moved on with her life, but the realization that Toregene didn’t betray her made her determined to hold on to her anger and head in another direction again, unlike those other slaves that have already moved on and settled in Mongol.

It must be super frustrating and humiliating for her as she thought she had wisdom above the others only to realize she’s not even on Boraqchin’s level, and in stead of having her and Toregene’s plans go on, it all went according to how Boraqchin planned it. Agreed, I think this is how the scene should be read. She thought herself a mastermind, only to end up as a hapless pawn. Throughout the series so far, Sitara never blamed Tolui specifically. Yes, of course, he caused her the greatest deal of personal suffering, but her hate was for the Mongol Empire as a whole. It wasn't Tolui alone who took Tus, killed or enslaved its inhabitants, but his soldiers. And hordes like his also attacked and did the same to other cities, including the one Muhammad went to. Killing one man was never the plan. Boraqchin's triumph is not only humilliating, but ruins her plans. A big source of instability inside the Mongol Empire has been dealt with, power is concentrating in Ogedei's hands, and the empire keeps expanding and solidifying. Boraqchin's dream is Sitara's nightmare from a geopolitical point of view.

Yes! Sitara went away after one conversation with Boraqchin already thinking she’s easier to handle than expected and excited to share her achievements with Toregene, like, girl is naive and proud. I mean not like saying stuffs about Sorghtaghni would’ve affected Boraqchin’s plans at all (she probably had it planned for a while imo), but she literally gave seeds for Boraqchin to sow and plant that distrust between Toregene and her and was fooled completely. The only win she have against Boraqchin was being able to see through her plans and lies, but even then it’s been too late and Tolui’s already dead. Also yes, if she only hated Tolui she would be working on just destroying him and not the entire Mongol, it just so happens that she played a part in his death too and she’s obviously not happy about that. Neither is she happy about receiving the book back, she was more confused and hesitant than ever in fact.

Despite now having the book, by being used by Boraqchin she ended helping to strengthen the foundation of the Mongol empire by allowing the Ogede clan to consolidate power while the one venue she had to bring them down house Touli is being dismantled So a complete failure, it makes total sense for her to feel frustrated Also now her only confidant queen Toregene may be executed and blamed of poisoning Ogedei, which adds more layers to the frustration

Excepted she didn't. Because through her interactions with Toreguene and other slaves, she understood Tolui was not the cause of her suffering, but a consequence of the mongol empire which she swore to destroy. And she did the very opposite of that as it is now more united than ever. What she yearned for years was handed to her so easily that it made her feel hollow and almost give up on her resolve and move on with her life. And she did gain something after he displacement (Toreguene's friendship) and she may very well lost that as well by saving boraqchin.

A fantastic episode. RIP to Tolui, a true brother till the very end. Boraqchin is terrifying, she concocted this scheme so quickly after getting saved by Fatima and executed it perfectly. Curing her poisoning was a mistake. What a way to return the book back to Fatima, the call back to the dropped basin and Muhammad was neat too. Wonder how they're going to save Toregene? Guyuk and Sorghagtani are not ok. Maybe Ogedei?

“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.” It would be nice to think that Tolui did sacrifice his life for Ogedei, as depicted in The Secret History of Mongols, but in reality he was most likely poisoned to resolve the power imbalance issue, with him basically controlling the army even though he was not the Great Khan. And truth be told, if one were to follow the inheritance laws of the Mongols, Tolui should have become the Great Khan after Genghis Khan died, notwithstanding the latter’s wish for Ogedei to inherit instead.

I liked how the series addressed the ambiguity in what happened. From Ogedei's perspective, his visions make sense within the Mongol cosmology... though he could have just been influenced by the decoration in his tent, plus the voices he must have heard during his convalescence. Meanwhile, non-Mongols like Sitara and Shira immediately feel that the explanation is too convenient and suspect murder right away.

Boraqchin's entire thing is knowledge. She doesn't seem to have a lot of charisma and she isn't really kind enough to inspire love. So she has to know everything to stay in control. We saw one of her strats in this episode with her drip feeding that she knows everything about you, but then giving you what you want at the same time. She knows that one wife was being overly ambitious about her son's glory and rewards, but also followed it up by giving the son some reward all the same. You stay scared of her, but also loyal because she pays out. For Sitara, Boraqchin tried the same scheme and it almost worked until Sitara asked what Boraqchin knew about her reasons for wanting the book. Boraqchin got the answer wrong. Which meant two things, Boraqchin is not invincible or omniscient and that Toregene didn't spill all the facts about her and Sitara's relationship. This reignited Sitara's drive to resist. Sitara would have been a useful agent for Boraqchin to use, otherwise.

Sitara’s frustrated because she does not want Tolui dead, remember? Her plan is to have Tolui succeed and then have the kingdom of Mongol split into two because the Tolui faction is too strong. So if anything, having Tolui dead is bad for her. She’s frustrated because she realize she played right into Boraqchin’s plan of having Tolui “sacrifice” for Ogedei, and almost believed her words enough to switch factions and move on.

I’m glad that Sitara went to rescue Töregene. I really do hope that she’s safe because Empress Boraqchin is probably planning to dispose of her scapegoat soon. Sitara does seem to have changed through the events of this week’s episode. Having gotten “revenge” for her late mistress, she could’ve chosen to do a number of different things. Yet Sitara chose to dive back into danger out of her own volition. This decision speaks of her close bond with Töregene. Not as a servant but a friend.

curious if people believed that Tolui sacked Tus and other cities in Khorasan for a book Nah, as other episodes showcase, the Mongols have been busy conquering and sacking lots of cities. Tus was just another stop in a major campaign against the Khwarezmian Empire. In episode 3, the brothers Ogedei, Chagatai, Jochi and Tolui talk about the state of the campaign. Jochi lost too much when conquering his target, which had angered his father, whereas Tolui boasted that he was doing "the name of Genghis Khan proud" in battle. He only mentions the book later, indeed like a husband talking about a souvenir he got for his wife on a business trip.

Yep, I think they mentioned Gurganj by name, and it wasn't a coincidence that it was Chagatai who berated him. That said, Jochi probably had it hard even without the problems at Gurganj. Being the eldest was actually a demerit for Mongol inheritance, and while Genghis Khan never entertained the thought in public, there were serious questions about his parentage (he was the son born immediately after Temujin rescued his wife from the Merkits who had kidnapped her).