10 Things To Expect In ‘The Wheel Of Time’ Season 3

Never-before-seen exotic locales, new Forsaken, and different cultures’ way of channeling and dreamwalking. These are but a few intriguing things that viewers can expect from the third season of The Wheel of Time (WOT).

The Prime Video epic fantasy series’ action-packed Season 2 finale sees Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) declared as the Dragon Reborn after killing Ishamael the Forsaken (Fares Fares) at the Battle of Falme.

While The Wheel of Time Season 2 covered elements in book two and three of Robert Jordan’s 15-novel fantasy series, namely The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn, Season 3 will be primarily based on book four, The Shadow Rising, with a tad from book five, The Fires of Heaven.

Showrunner Rafe Judkins revealed the above-mentioned information and a whole lot more at New York Comic Con 2023 and during a Q&A session after a special Season 2 finale in-theater screening at New York’s Whitby Hotel in October.

Based on his teasing insights, here are 10 key elements you can expect to see in The Wheel of Time Season 3:

(Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead.)

10 Things To Expect in ‘The Wheel of Time’ S3

1. The Aiel Waste

This harsh, waterless land is home to the Aiel, or The Three-Fold Land as the natives call it. In Episode 205, “Damane”, Aiel Maiden of the Spear Avienda (Ayoola Smart) tells Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) that she is searching for the Car'a'carn (“Chief of Chiefs” in the Old Tongue,) basically the Aiel’s version of the Dragon Reborn. After seeing the “dragon-bannered” Rand in Falme, she believes he is the one.

If Season 3 follows the book to a T—and we know that is not a given!—we will see Rand following Avienda and her fellow warriors back to their homeland, accompanied by Ewgene (Madeleine Madden), Mat (Dónal Finn), Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) and Lan (Daniel Henney). There they meet the Aiel Wise Ones, who can channel as well as dreamwalk (the ability to enter other people’s dreams).

2. Rhuidean

Located in the Aiel Waste, this ruinous sacred city was once filled with tall glass-covered buildings, wide avenues and striking statues. Many significant events take place in this mystical place and hopefully the show will bring most of them to life.

For one, Rand entering a crystal ter'angreal in the center of the city to prove whether he is indeed the Dragon Reborn or Car'a'carn should be a certainty. Moiraine stepping through a three-hooped ter'angreal where she foresees the future is another.

Then there is Mat’s momentous experiences after entering a doorway ter'angreal. A heart-stopping incident that happened here was actually foreshadowed in one of Mat’s hallucinations after he drank Ishamael’s tea in E207, "Daes Dae'Mar,” so maybe just maybe this plotline will make it into the show.

3. Battle of Two Rivers

The big battle in Season 3 will be the one at Two Rivers where Perrin returns to protect his hometown from both Trollocs and Whitecloaks.

He not only has Darkfriend Padan Fain (Johann Myers) to deal with, there’s also Whitecloak Dain Bornhald (Jay Duffy) who will probably be out to get Perrin for killing his father.

Other characters who will be involved here include Alanna Mosvani (Priyanka Bose) and Verin (Meera Syal) Sedai who happened to be in Two Rivers hoping to recruit girls who can channel for the White Tower.

Some fans are also hoping that Rand’s father and blademaster, Tam al’Thor (Michael McElhatton) will play a key part in the battle, as well as Mat’s father Abell Cauthon (Christopher Sciueref) although the latter was a cad and barely seen in Season 1.

4. Tanchico

Judkins promised that the new locale of Tanchico will be something viewers have never seen on WOT in terms of costumes, settings and characters.

For starters, the capital city of Tarabon will have a tropical setting. In one of the sets, there is a bar built that was so cosy that the production crew actually went there to chill after filming for the day was done! It is for a scene in which Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) and Elayne (Ceara Coveney) find themselves in during their quest to hunt down the Black Ajah.

The fast-becoming-dynamic duo meets a lot of intriguing characters in Tanchico, but none more so than the one known as The Spider…

5. Moghedien Spins Her Web

After her short but mesmerizing appearance in the Season 2 finale E208, “What Was Meant To Be,” Moghedien (a creepily good Laia Costa) is undoubtedly the Forsaken to watch in Season 3.

Known as The Spider as she likes to lurk “softly, softly from the shadows” before entrapping people in her web, Moghedien may not be the strongest Forsaken but by the way she ambushed Lanfear (a brilliant Natasha O’Keeffe) in Ishamael's room in Falme, she shows she has the wits and means to achieve her targets.

Skilled at navigating Tel’aran’rhiod (or The World of Dreams)—even better than Lanfear it’s been said—Moghedien masquerades as a commoner in Tanchico in The Shadow Rising. A huge power showdown between Nynaeve and The Spider could be one of the highlights of Season 3.

6. Another New Forsaken

After Lanfear betrayed him, Ishamael releases the remaining six Forsaken (which includes Moghedien) from their seals in the Season 2 finale. Judkins revealed that at least one new Forsaken will appear in Season 3 but teasingly refused to name names.

The show only features eight Forsaken as opposed to the original 13 in the books. As it is, Sammael, Semirhage and Asmodean are mentioned in The Shadow Rising. Of these, the Forsaken most likely to appear could be Asmodean as he allies with Lanfear to track down Rand in the Aiel Waste.

Sammael though was name-dropped (along with Moghedien) during the cold open flashback in E208, so he could also be the one. And if Season 3 ends with bits from The Fires of Heaven, Rahvin might just be another Forsaken to get a look-in too.

7. Big Trouble at the White Tower

“The Tower is filled with your enemies!” Moiraine snapped at Siuan Sanche (Sophie Okonedo) in Cairhien after the latter had shielded Rand. In Season 3, Siuan will discover exactly who her enemies are.

If they go by the book, Mat's former cellmate and vision-seeing Min (Kar Alexander) goes to see Siuan at the White Tower and inadvertently sets off a chain of events that leads to an Aes Sedai mutiny.

Led by a prominent Red Ajah named Elaida do Avriny a’Roiha (rumored to be played by The Expanse’s Shohreh Aghdashloo), the uprising will find the Amyrlin and her Keeper of the Chronicles, Leane (Jennifer Cheon Garcia), in severe dire straits.

8. Cat Crosses The Courtyard Part II

In an interview with Tor.com, Judkins explained that the iconic sword fight between Rand and High Lord Turak in The Great Hunt did not materialize in the Season 2 finale as “the storyline of Rand doing the sword forms with Lan” has yet to be done on the show. However, “it’s a story that’s coming” he asserted.

As Rand has a few one-to-one confrontations in The Shadow Rising, perhaps Season 3 will finally see Lan teaching the Dragon Reborn a few more whimsical-named sword forms so that he can use his heron-marked sword more efficiently. Wonder if the crystal sword Callandor which Rand gained at the end of The Dragon Reborn will ever get a look-in on the show though?

9. The Sea Folk

Also known as the Atha’an Miere, the Sea Folk will be introduced in Season 3 as Nynaeve and Elayne cross their paths on the way to Tanchico.

Seafaring people known for their trading shrewdness, the Sea Folk live and do practically everything aboard their ships. They are described as being exotic in appearance, with brightly colored tattoos on their hands, matched with fancy jewelry and vibrantly-hued garb.

Hopefully, we will also get to see Elayne learning a thing or two from their Windfinders, who are also channelers of the One Power.

10. The Gleeman Returns (?)

Though Judkins did not mentioned it, Thom Merrilin (Alexandre Willaume) is one character whom some fans are speculating will make a return in Season 3.

First and last seen in Season 1 where he first steals Rand and Mat’s gold before rescuing them from a Darkfriend and a Fade, the gleeman actually has quite a significant role in the books, even becoming a vital partner to one of the main protagonists in a future storyline.

In The Shadow Rising, after events in the Stone of Tear, he was instructed by Moiraine to accompany Nynaeve and Elayne to Tanchico. Let’s see if the show will bring him back into the mix for Season 3.

The Wheel of Time Season 1 and 2 is streaming exclusively on Prime Video. Season 3 is expected to premiere either late 2024 or in 2025.

Read also:

* ‘The Wheel Of Time’ Season 2: 10 Most Memorable Moments

* 5 Epic Fantasy Sagas To Watch And Read: From ‘House Of The Dragon’ To ‘The Wheel Of Time’

* ‘House Of The Dragon’ Season One: The 20 Best Quotes From The ‘Game Of Thrones’ Prequel

* 7 ‘Game of Thrones’ Fan Theories About the Crypts of Winterfell

* 'Game of Thrones' Season 8: Why Jon Snow May Use Greatsword Dawn to Slay the Night King