“They’re Forever Changed.” The Wheel Of Time Season 3 Dives Off The Deep End.
The cast and crew of The Wheel of Time tease a bombastic Season 3.
The Wheel of Time has never been afraid to redefine its status quo. From one season to the next, the Prime Video series has pushed its sprawling cast to the brink and back — but Season 3 is poised to go even further than its predecessors.
The new season opens with a blindsiding bombshell for the Aes Sedai, the society of witches who can channel the One Power. After they discover a traitor in their midst, tensions in the White Tower reach a fever pitch, with Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood), a member of the shadowy “Black Ajah,” waging battle against Siuan Sanche (Sophie Okonedo) and those still loyal to the light. Their battle is a total shock to the system, not only because it’s the very first scene we get in Season 3, but because it shows the true ruthlessness of the Aes Sedai for the first time since Season 1.
“I got to have a whole group of superwomen that I was just having the most fun with.”
However daunting the sequence may be to the audience, the cast appreciated the opportunity to let off some steam.
“I know it’s probably not the right thing to say, but it was really quite a lot of fun,” Okonedo tells Inverse. “Usually I’m just in the tower with a couple of people, whereas this time, I got to have a whole group of superwomen that I was just having the most fun with.”
Placing this sequence so early in the season was also top priority for Rafe Judkins, who serves as showrunner for The Wheel of Time. “Usually you want to ramp your way up to a three-week battle shoot with every woman on wires flying across the room and fireballs exploding,” Judkins says wryly. “But luckily we’re in Season 3 now, [so] we could put it on its feet right out the gate — which is one of the gifts of being a show that’s been around this long.”
The Wheel of Time Season 3 opens with a shocking civil conflict for the Aes Sedai.
It’s been four years since The Wheel of Time first burst onto the scene, and back in 2021, no one knew quite what to make of this story. Like so many genre epics of the era, it was pulling from source material with a sprawling, fantastical world and a loyal fandom built in. For better or worse, it wasn’t your typical fantasy adaptation: The novels penned by Robert Jordan are chock-full of dense exposition and enough unique terms to make your head spin. Comparisons to franchises like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones felt apt, if only because they helped to contextualize such an uncompromising new world. Even now, in its third season, it’s hard to ignore the parallels to other major IP. But The Wheel of Time is your quintessential “trust the process” show: It slowly, steadily built up its world in its first two seasons, and now it has the freedom to tell its story on its own terms.
“It’s time for Moiraine to follow Rand.”
The Aes Sedai may take the spotlight in Season 3, but The Wheel of Time is still the story of Rand Al’Thor (Josha Stradowski), the Dragon Reborn. In Season 1, an ominous prophecy named him the one figure with the power to break, or save, the realm — but as a man born into a world where only women can channel magic, Rand is also destined to go mad. That nebulous fate has cast a sense of dread throughout The Wheel of Time, and it’s only gotten more worrisome as Rand further embraces his power.
Stradowski likens Rand’s arc in Season 3 to late-stage puberty. “I think this is the first season for Rand where he walks through life with integrity,” he tells Inverse. “He’s looking for truth, and he’s owning it more. And because of that, he becomes a bit more of a villain for the people around him, but less for himself.”
Rand’s growing power most notably shifts his relationship with Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike), his protector: “He’s been following her for quite some time,” continues Stradowski, “and now it’s maybe time to — I almost don’t dare to say it — but maybe it’s time for Moiraine to follow Rand.”
Rand and Moiraine will be “forever changed” after the events of Season 3.
Rand’s search for truth takes him to his homeland, the Aiel Waste, to recruit an army that could help him fight the infamous Dark One. But he can’t get something for nothing: Both he and Moiraine will have to embark on a harrowing spiritual journey to gain allies in the Aiel.
Ahead of Season 3, Pike teases a major shift in the dynamic between Moiraine and Rand. “They undergo the Trial of Rhuidean, which you might know if you’re a fan of the books. And from then on, they’re both forever changed.”
“It’s a very exciting world to get a glimpse of.”
The actor, who also serves as an executive producer for The Wheel of Time, is looking forward to sharing the Waste in live-action. “The Aiel Waste is one of Robert Jordan’s greatest creations,” Pike says. “It’s such a mystical land where, again, you have elders who are women. ... It’s a very exciting world to kind of get a glimpse of.”
And that’s not the only new realm playing a role this season. The Wheel of Time will also travel to new regions like Tanchico, a port where piracy thrives, and head back to the Two Rivers — where Rand and his childhood friends once lived. Most importantly, as the series travels into an even headier direction, Season 3 will spend more time in Tel’aran’rhiod, also known as the World of Dreams. It’s here that The Wheel of Time’s most unconventional antagonist, the Darkfriend Lanfear (Natasha O’Keeffe), thrives, setting the tone for more conflict for heroes and villains alike.
Natasha O’Keeffe continues her mean streak as Lanfear: “It’s one of the most fun things about having this character in the show.”
“It gets no simpler,” O’Keeffe says of Lanfear’s arc in Season 3. “The plot thickens, and things don’t go her way — then things do, then they don’t.” Still, playing in that uncertainty does make for good television, especially with a character as slippery as the Daughter of the Night.
“She’s the kind of bad guy you can root for sometimes, even though she’s doing terrible things to our characters,” Judkins adds. This season will see Lanfear go even further in her quest for power, freedom, and Rand’s affection. Per Judkins, that makes her one of the most exciting to write. “As long as she has a good reason for doing it inside her own head, you’ll follow her there. And I think it’s one of the most fun things about having this character in the show.”
The stakes will only get higher as The Wheel of Time soldiers on — but at this point in the series, it’s nice to know that the cast and crew are enjoying the process behind the scenes.
