‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 3 — What to Expect Based on the Book

The Big Picture

• Filming for Season 3 of The Wheel of Time is well underway, adapting the fourth book in Robert Jordan’s series, The Shadow Rising.
• Season 3 will feature familiar locations like the Aiel Waste and introduce new cultures to the show.
• The White Tower may face internal divisions, while Tanchico and the Sea Folk will also play a role in Season 3.

Filming for The Wheel of Time Season 3 has already been well underway for the past few months and will be coming to our TV screens hopefully sooner rather than later, though likely in 2025. After a fantastic Season 2, the next season will be adapting The Shadow Rising, the fourth book of Robert Jordan‘s series. The Dragon Reborn, book 3, will be skipped, although elements from it have already made their way into the show. This is likely because the third book’s character arcs are repeats of what we saw this season, and Season 2 has already set up the arcs in The Shadow Rising perfectly. There’s a lot that Season 3 has in store for us. We will return to familiar places and explore new ones like the Aiel Waste, and there will even be more cultures to be introduced to. There are, of course, some spoilers for where The Wheel of Time will likely go, so tread lightly if you do not wish to know.

‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 3 May Set Different Storylines in Motion

Although several of the main arcs have already been set in motion, the characters do end up in a very different place in The Dragon Reborn: The Stone of Tear. The show isn’t there yet — our beloved characters are currently in Falme where Rand (Josha Stradowski) has been declared the Dragon Reborn. The Stone of Tear introduces us to many different things, from the sword that is not a sword, named Callandor, to the beings that are the Finn. Callandor is a sa’angreal that is specifically meant to be wielded by the Dragon Reborn. We haven’t seen it yet, but its appearance will likely be shifted to later in the series.

The Finn (Aelfinn and Eelfinn), however, are extradimensional beings that can only be reached through redstone ter’angreal doorframes in the Stone of Tear and Rhuidean, or the Tower of Ghenjei (which has not appeared in the show at this point). It is the Aelfinn who tell Mat (Dónal Finn) to follow Rand to Rhuidean, a location that we know has been confirmed for Season 3. Hopefully, we will get some version of the Finn, as they are a unique aspect of The Wheel of Time that would set the show apart from other fantasy series.

The Aiel Waste Will Take Center Stage in ‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 3

Showrunner Rafe Judkins has confirmed that Season 3 will take a deep exploration into Rand, and that means Aiel! In The Shadow Rising, Rand makes his journey out into the waste to be acknowledged as the Car’a’carn, Mat follows at the word of the Aelfinn, Egwene (Madeleine Madden) goes there to expand her dreamwalking, and Aviendha (Ayoola Smart) reluctantly takes steps toward becoming a Wise One. Rand and the others must travel to the abandoned ancient city of Rhuidean so he can prove he is the Aiel’s prophesied leader, though Rand may have a fight on his hands, as another Aiel has claimed to be their Messiah.

Egwene and Mat have the biggest secondary stories here. Egwene develops her dreamwalking skills learning with the Aiel Wise Ones, a big cultural contrast to her time learning to channel in the White Tower, so expect a lot more lore-heavy explorations of Tel’aran’rhiod. We have already seen her dream in Season 2, specifically when Lanfear (Natasha O’Keeffe) takes Rand to see her after she’s been captured by the Seanchan. Here, Mat has an encounter with the Eelfinn that will reveal more about him, and tie up some foreshadowing from Season 2.

We’re Likely Headed Back to the Two Rivers in ‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 3

The other major arc of this upcoming season is that of the Two Rivers. After Dain Bornhald (Jay Duffy) witnesses his father’s murder at the hand of Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) in the Season 2 finale, it looks as if he will strike back at Perrin the only way he knows how: his home. But the troublesome Whitecloaks are not the only thing Perrin has to worry about; the familiar forces of the Shadow send an army of trollocs back to the Two Rivers, and Perrin has to become a leader himself to rile up the people of the Two Rivers to fight back — or their home may be lost forever.

The White Tower May Be Fractured in ‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 3

In The Shadow Rising, the White Tower finds itself divided. At the end of Season 2, there are a lot of big shifts in the Aes Sedai, particularly after the Amyrlin Seat’s (Sophie Okonedo) arrival in Cairhien. Verin (Meera Syal) is clever enough with her words to get Leane (Jennifer Cheon Garcia) to pass the shield on Rand to her, whom she subsequently frees. Could Siuan’s failure to cage the Dragon Reborn be her downfall? It would not be surprising if there was a plot against her. This is especially relevant, as Judkins has confirmed that Elaida (no official casting as of now), a fan-favorite character, will be making an appearance in the show. And of course, do not forget about the Black Ajah, the Darkfriend Aes Sedai that are within the White Tower itself. Among their untold number of members is Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood) — who, earlier in Season 2, threatened Leane that if the Amyrlin Seat falls, she will fall too.

Tanchico and the Sea Folk Will Also Appear in ‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 3

Judkins has also revealed that Season 3 will introduce Tanchico and the Sea Folk. For non-readers, the Sea Folk play a large role in Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) and Elayne’s (Ceara Coveney) story, and are the reason they arrive in Tanchico in the first place. The Sea Folk are a very different and interesting culture to what we’ve seen in the show, not to mention bringing in more representation — as they are a largely Black culture in the world of The Wheel of Time. They travel the seas and have their own channelers called Windfinders, who are often on the deck helping fill the sails to propel their ships, and they are especially suspicious of the Aes Sedai. They also have their own name for the Dragon Reborn: Coramoor. For the Tanchico storyline, expect Nynaeve and Elayne to go up against the mischievous plotting of the Black Ajah.

The Shadow Rising is widely regarded by fans as the book where the series finally comes into its own and cements itself as The Wheel of Time. The ideas broaden themselves out from traditional fantasy archetypes, as the early books are considerably compared to that of Tolkien‘s The Lord of the Rings. Season 3 has a lot to juggle in the eight episodes that have been ordered by Amazon (hopefully, one day it will be 10-episode seasons), but the show has proven that it can accomplish a lot already. Do not expect a 1-to-1 adaptation; for this 15-book series, it is impossible to adapt everything, so some things will be condensed and changed as they have been in the last two seasons. No matter what, The Wheel of Time Season 3 will be even bigger and even better than what we’ve already seen.

The Wheel of Time is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.

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