This will be our full spoiler review and episode breakdown for The Wheel of Time, Season 3, episodes 1-3. When we say “full spoilers,” we’re including the entire book series, as we will be discussing changes from the books and potential ramifications for the future. If you don’t want plot points from the books that may show up in future episodes and seasons of The Wheel of Time spoiled for you, please read our spoiler-free review of the season instead.
Introduction
Season 2 of The Wheel of Time finished airing on October 6, 2023, and now, a year and five months later, the Longing is ended. Adapting one of the most beloved books in the series, The Shadow Rising, Season 3 is poised to be the best season of the series so far, but can the finished product possibly meet the sometimes unrealistic expectations of diehard fans? While we can only speak for ourselves, as book fans, we understand that choices are a necessary part of adaptations and we will be including analysis of how some of the changes may possibly affect storylines going forward.
Because this review covers the first three episodes of the season, it is considerably longer than a typical review. After an episode summary, we’ll be specifying things we liked and disliked in each episode. If you just want to see our overall thoughts and individual ratings of each episode, you can scroll to the end of the article.
Summary of Episode 301 – To Race the Shadow (written by Justine Juel Gillmer)
It’s a rainy day in Tar Valon. Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood) is summoned to the Hall of the Tower to answer for her crimes, and the Sitters of the Red Ajah are barred access. Tensions are high, with Alanna (Priyanka Bose) and her warders mistrustful of other Aes Sedai. Inside the Hall, Liandrin accuses Siuan (Sophie Okonedo) of failing in her duties to control the Dragon Reborn. In return, Siuan states that Liandrin is Black Ajah, and presents Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) as a witness. Realizing she’s cornered, Liandrin attacks and is immediately countered by Siuan, Leane (Jennifer Cheon Garcia), and Alanna. Liandrin then signals the Black Ajah to reveal themselves, and a bloodbath ensues. Several Sitters are killed and Liandrin escapes with her remaining allies.
Meanwhile, Verin (Meera Syal) leads Adeleas (Nila Aalia) and Nyomi (Rachel Denning) to the Thirteenth Depository to protect the Tower’s most powerful ter’angreal and angreal. However, Nyomi turns on the others and attacks them with a weave. Verin manages to block it, but her Adeleas crumple to the ground, allowing Nyomi to collect a number of artifacts and escape. Nyomi joins Liandrin and the other Black Ajah in the streets of Tar Valon, where Alanna confronts them with her warders. Though the trio is able to take out some of the Black Ajah sisters and almost kill Liandrin, Liandrin and several others ultimately escape and Ihvon (Anthony Kaye) is killed protecting Alanna. Elsewhere in the streets, Siuan is almost taken captive by Joiya (Joelle) and Amico (Zenobia Kloppers), but Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) comes to her rescue.
Some time later, the Two Rivers gang discuss the recent happenings and the dangers of being in the Tower and Tar Valon. Moiraine informs them they will leave for Tear the next morning, so Rand (Josha Stradowski) can take Callandor from the Stone of Tear and fulfill a prophecy.
Lanfear (Natasha O’Keeffe) approaches Moiraine and proposes they work together to convince Rand to go to Tear, as he is being resistant to Moiraine’s leadership. Lanfear believes that if they can separate Rand from his friends, he will go to Tear if he believes it will keep them safe.
Siuan orders the girls to return to their duties in the White Tower, but Egwene (Madeleine Madden) is mistrustful of Siuan due to her role in trying to subdue Rand in Cairhien. She agrees to return on the condition that she take her Accepted test immediately. During her test, she sees herself as Amyrlin alongside Aes Sedai Elayne (Ceara Coveney) and Nynaeve, who must subdue an insane Rand. She passes her tests and once she has her Accepted ring she defies Siuan and leaves the Tower to return to Rand’s side.
The group prepare to enjoy their remaining time together: Rand, Mat (Dónal Finn), and Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) reminisce in a pub, Elayne advises Rand on effective leadership and later shares a romantic encounter with Aviendha (Ayoola Smart), and Nynaeve and Lan (Daniel Henney) discuss his struggle with his identity as the King of Malkier. Mat is also treated to a game of Maiden’s Kiss by Bain (Ragga Ragnars) and Chiad (Maja Simonsen).
That night, Mat notices the image on one of his playing cards is moving. While he is distracted, Nynaeve is stabbed by a mysterious figure who materializes from the shadows behind her. Rand and Egwene are attacked by multiple mirror images of Rand. Perrin’s axe moves on its own and tries to attack him and Loial (Hammed Animashaun). The mirror Rands, axe, cards, and mystery man are all defeated, and Moiraine heals Nynaeve’s wounds. The next morning, Moiraine and Lan confront Lanfear, who was behind the mirror images, the axe, and the cards, but not the man who stabbed Nynaeve. It turns out, he’s a gray man, and Lanfear seems very shaken by that fact.
The next morning, everyone says their farewells. Perrin leaves for the Two Rivers with Loial, Bain, and Chiad. Rand leaves with Egwene, Moiraine, Lan, and Aviendha, and the others stay behind in Tar Valon. In a last minute twist, Rand declares that instead of Tear, they will be going to the Aiel Waste, the last place the Forsaken will look for him.
The episode ends with Moghedien (Laia Costa) torturing a man until he agrees to become a gray man. Once he is turned, she says she has a mission for him.
Review of Episode 301 – To Race the Shadow
Likes: Most fans have already seen it by now, due to the previously released sneak peak, but “The Shredding” was spectacular, both visually and story-wise. This opening sequence did a lot of heavy lifting, establishing important information such as the extent of the Black Ajah’s infiltration, the minimum number of sitters needed for a vote, the Thirteenth Depository, and a glimpse of the possible devastation when channelers fight one another.
It was good for our souls to see the Two Rivers gang reunited in a brief moment of peace before their separate journeys. There were so many lovely character moments, like the three boys catching up over drinks and a game of Snakes and Foxes, Elayne and Aviendha’s budding relationship, Elayne advising Rand on leadership, and Lan giving Nynaeve his ring.
We were pleasantly surprised to see the Tear bubbles of evil incorporated into the show, even though the setup was a bit different. And speaking of evil, our two Forsaken (for now) continue to steal every scene they’re in, both terrifying in completely different ways. Poor Jaichim Carridin, we hardly knew ye.
Broadly speaking, we appreciated Ciaran Donnelly’s director’s touch in this episode, especially during the action sequences and numerous shots that establish scale and location. We’re excited to see him in full form this season after the unfortunate monkey wrenches that the Covid-19 pandemic threw into his episodes in Season 1.
Dislikes: Pacing and editing were a bit jerky, especially towards the middle of the episode as we constantly cut back and forth between the many different character groupings. This may have also been a simple byproduct of the character scenes being sandwiched between two explosive action sequences. However, we still found this was the best pacing of any season opener yet.
The streets of Tar Valon remain a bit “set-like”, for lack of a better term, which has been a nitpick of ours from the beginning, but this was also somewhat offset by the welcome increase in wide shots that help Tar Valon feel like the bustling city it is.
This show certainly loves impaling characters, but whether or not they drop dead immediately is based on their plot relevance. Poor Ihvon died instantly, while Liandrin survived the exact same type of wound long enough for a sister to heal her.
Finally, and this is something likely only noticeable by book readers, Egwene’s sudden criticism and disdain for the White Tower feels quite jarring since it’s the opposite of her character in the book at this point. We discuss this in a bit more detail in our book-to-screen changes section.
Summary of Episode 302 – A Question of Crimson (written by Katherine B. McKenna)
Andor and the White Tower
The episode opens with a flashback to twenty years earlier, when Morgase (Olivia Williams) ruthlessly takes the throne of Andor with her Aes Sedai advisor, Elaida (Shohreh Aghdashloo), at her side. In the present, Morgase and her entourage – princes Galad (Callum Kerr) and Gawyn (Luke Fetherston), prince consort Lord Gaebril (Nuno Lopes), and Elaida – arrive at the White Tower for an audience with the Amyrlin. Elaida immediately notices the scars of the Tower battle. Morgase demands to be taken to Elayne immediately.
Elayne is reunited with her brothers and Lord Gaebril, whose name she curiously stumbles over upon first meeting. She then meets with her mother, who informs her they have come to the Tower to bring her back to Andor, as it is no longer safe for her and her first duty is to her country.
Morgase and Elaida confer about what Siuan may be hiding, as something catastrophic has clearly happened recently in the Tower.
Various Yellow Ajah, including Ryma (Nyokabi Gethaiga) – who we’re glad to see escaped Falme – study Mat’s mind as Nynaeve looks on. Ryma is not optimistic that his mind can be healed. Later, Mat watches the Andoran princes sparring in an impressive display of swordsmanship that leaves Novices, Accepted, and Aes Sedai swooning. Mat is less than impressed.
Siuan, Leane, and Verin discuss how to handle Elaida, whom Siuan appears to have some bad blood with, but is not yet convinced is a true threat. Min (Kae Alexander) warns that she has seen visions of a battle in the White Tower, that has yet to happen. Siuan later summons Nynaeve and Elayne, whom she tasks with hunting the Black Ajah, knowing they may be the only two women she can trust in the Tower. Afterwards, Elayne breaks the news to Nynaeve that her duty to Andor comes first, leaving Nynaeve upset.
Siuan then summons Mat, where she convinces him to give her the Horn of Valere for safekeeping, as people might kill him to get it. She also tells him a story of her uncle, whom Mat shares many qualities with, including his heroism.
Elayne speaks with Lord Gaebril about how the people of Andor are becoming displeased with Morgase’s rule, and her throne might be in danger. Elayne then confronts Morgase, declaring she will stay at the Tower and become the first Aes Sedai queen of Andor. Morgase relents.
Before leaving to return to Andor, Morgase bids Siuan farewell and threatens war if Elayne is not kept safe. She also announces that the princes are staying to begin warder training, and Elaida will also stay as she is clearly needed in the Tower now more than ever.
To the Aiel Waste
Rand, Egwene, Moiraine, Lan, and Aviendha make their way across the Spine of the World to the Aiel Waste, or the Three-Fold Land as it is known to the Aiel. Rand and Lan practice sword forms as Aviendha teaches Egwene and Moiraine about Aiel prophecies regarding the car’a’carn, or chief of chiefs.
That night, Egwene and Rand both dream. Rand encounters Lanfear in his dreams, while Egwene has nightmares about Renna choking her. Just as Egwene is begging Renna to stop, she suddenly dissolves from the nightmare with Renna into a desert landscape, where an older woman dressed in Aiel garb is surprised to see her, and says she does not belong. Egwene wakes in a panic.
Later in the journey, Moiraine questions Rand about why he trains with Lan instead of practicing using the One Power. Rand explains to Moiraine what it feels like to channel the tainted saidin. As the group crests the final mountain pass and look out over the Aiel Waste, a group of Aiel appear around them, one of them the woman from Egwene’s dream, who quotes Aiel prophecy about the car’a’carn destroying them.
Two Rivers
Perrin, Loial, and Bain and Chiad arrive in the Two Rivers via Waygate, which Loial opens and closes using a leaf-shaped key. White Cloaks are riding through the village, and Marin al’Vere (Rina Mahoney), Egwene’s mother, spots Perrin and hurries him to the attic of the Winespring Inn, where he encounters Alanna and Maksim (Taylor Napier), who apparently also traveled there via the Waygate. Marin explains there have been escalating Trolloc attacks, and the Whitecloaks recently arrived looking for Perrin. Bain and Chiad encourage the townspeople to fight back, but Marin scoffs at the idea. Perrin admits that he did indeed kill Geofram Bornhald as claimed, and resolves to turn himself in.
Review of Episode 302 – A Question of Crimson
Likes: We enjoyed nearly everything about the Andoran royal family in this episode. Olivia Williams was a standout as Morgase, and Luke Featherstone and Callum Kerr perfectly embodied the princely brothers just as we remember from the early books (Galad: hot and serious, Gawyn: hot and silly). We expected Elayne might sneak away to Tanchico rather than go home with her mother, but we were pleasantly surprised to see her instead use politics and reason to convince Morgase that her staying was the right choice. And, we’d be remiss to discuss the royal family without mentioning Lord Gaebril – we liked the subtle hints towards his true identity, namely Leane and Elayne briefly stumbling over his name when first meeting.
Speaking of the Andoran royal family and the White Tower, we finally have the infamous Elaida do Avriny a’Roihan on our screens. Shohreh Agdashloo is, as expected, marvelous in the role, and in just a few short scenes has already laid the foundation for her eventual role in the Tower coup. Her wordless look at Siuan before leaving the Hall at the end of the episode, underscored by a somber rendition of composer Lorne Balfe’s newly-introduced Andoran musical motif, said more than words ever could.
There were also a number of moments that made our book reader hearts swell: the Waygate key finally making its appearance, the practically ripped-straight-from-the-page conversation between Siuan and Mat, a Tigraine name drop, at least two references to the Two Rivers folk being shepherds and not soldiers, and Lan and Rand practicing sword forms.
Dislikes: The Lion Throne sized elephant in the room: that Morgase flashback scene. The brutality was a jarring tonal shift, a bit too “shock value” for our taste, and felt it reminiscent of the oft-gratuitous political violence famously associated with another fantasy show. It’s one thing for Morgase to be ruthless and have agency – you can’t win the Lion Throne without both – but Morgase in the books was, overall, a good and beloved queen. The show makes it hard to think of her that way, as child murder is famously frowned upon in civilized society. However, this is an admittedly effective way to establish the stakes for Elayne, showing how far she might have to go to eventually claim the Lion Throne herself, and what dangers she might face. It’s also worth noting that Elaida likely had a hand in this decision, based on her comments to Min in episode three (which, as part of this mega-review, is fair game).
This is a much more frivolous nitpick, but Galad and Gawyn having loud sex with Novices in the White Tower was a…choice. It felt especially out of character for Galad, who isn’t the type to risk impropriety. In fact, episode three makes a point of emphasizing Galad’s obnoxiously over-the-top chivalry, making this scene feel even more jarring in comparison.
Summary of Episode 303 – Seeds of Shadow (written by Beverly Okhio)
Lord Gaebril meets with Lanfear and Sammael (Cameron Jack), where it’s revealed that Lord Gaebril is actually a Forsaken, Rahvin, and he has Queen Morgase, and anyone else who meets him, under Compulsion. After a bit of bickering, Lanfear tells the other two that she’s brought them together because she’s worried about Moghedien. Rahvin says he will consider her proposal, and share it with Graendal and Semirhage. After Lanfear and Sammael leave, Moghedien pops out of hiding to speak to Rahvin.
White Tower
Verin prepares Nynaeve and Elayne for the task of questioning the stilled Black Ajah captives, Joiya and Amico. The girls do their best to extract information about Liandrin’s plan, but in the end, they get two conflicting destinations: Tear and Saldaea. Nynaeve doesn’t trust the information and takes Elayne to the house where Liandrin hid her son, Aludran, where they find a mysterious painted symbol beneath the bed. While researching, they learn the symbol points to Tanchico as Liandrin’s true destination.They also review the items stolen from the Thirteenth Depository and realize one was an a’dam bracelet, like what the Seanchan use to control channelers. This leads them to suspect Liandrin has gone to hunt for its matching collar. The pair are then attacked by a gray man, who Elayne manages to blast away with the One Power. However, when they inspect its body, they see it has also been stabbed. After encountering Verin in the hallway and growing more and more suspicious, Nynaeve decides they should leave that night, as the Tower is too dangerous.
In her chambers, Elaida struggles to dress as she is having extreme tremors. She calls for help from a servant. Min enters and offers to assist. Elaida tries to request an audience with the Amyrlin, but is informed her that only a Sitter of the Hall can request an audience with the Amyrlin. Elaida goes to the Red Ajah quarters with gifts for Sitters Tsutama (Diêm Camille) and Galina (Clare Dunne). Tsutama rejects Elaida’s gift and asks her what she really wants. Elaida proposes they send eight Aes Sedai to find Rand and cage him, but is dismissed. Min continues to try and spy on Elaida, but Elaida calls her out on it. She also knows that Min is a seer, and she tells Min that having the power to see the future is a great responsibility, and with it comes great power.
Min and Mat have several confrontations, as Mat is understandably still angry at Min’s apparent betrayal last season. During one such confrontation, Min sees a vision of Mat hanging from a red doorframe, but Mat blows off her warnings. The arguing pair are encountered by Galad, who misinterprets the situation and tries to rescue Min from Mat. Mat goes to take out his frustrations in the warder training grounds, where he practices with a quarterstaff. Galad and Gawyn find him and offer a few choice insults. Nynaeve interrupts to tell Mat she is leaving, to which Mat insists he’ll come with her. Nynaeve refuses, and as the two argue, Galad again intervenes. Frustrated, Mat challenges both princes to a duel, and shocks them with his quarterstaff prowess as he resoundingly defeats them. He, Elayne, and Nynaeve board a ship to Tanchico, unaware they are being followed by Min.
Leane visits Tsutama in the quarters of the Red Ajah and instructs her to take seven other Aes Sedai to go after Mazrim Taim, a False Dragon, in Saldaea. With Tsutama leaving the tower, Elaida says she will need a temporary replacement as Sitter.
The Aiel Waste
Rand and the others head to Rhuidean with the Aiel they encountered at the end of the last episode. They find a group of slain Tuatha’an around a water source, who, upon inspection, appear to have been killed with spears. Though most Aiel wouldn’t ever kill the Tuatha’an (or anyone unarmed), there is one clan, the Shaido, who might. Wise One Melaine (Salóme Gunnarsdóttir) hurries the group along, but Egwene and Rand insist they bury the dead. Clan chief Rhuarc (Björn Landberg) stays with Rand to help.
Egwene speaks with Wise Ones Bair (Nukâka Coster-Waldau) and Melaine and learns a bit more about Dreamwalking. They tell her that if the woman in her dreams is bruising her, that person is alive, implying it cannot be Renna. They promise to teach her more after Rhuidean. In another dream, Rand and Lanfear are back at Selene’s inn in Cairhien. Lanfear seems unusually scared, and tells Rand that there’s a way to break her oaths. She says that if the strongest male and female sa’angreal were used together, they might be able to defeat the Dark One.
Moiraine and Lan are cleansing themselves in the Aiel sweat tents. One of the maidens in the tent, Melindhra (Synnøve Macody Lund), has a large tattoo of a crane on her back. Knowing Aiel do not have tattoos, Lan confronts her. She explains she fled Malkier as a girl when it fell, and was found and raised by the Tardaad Aiel.
The Two Rivers
Perrin buries his wedding ring in a copse of blooming apple trees. Alanna approaches him, ashes painted across her face. They discuss their grieving customs; she and Maksim are having difficulty grieving together over the loss of Ihvon.
Back at the Winespring, a man bursts into the inn. He is Lord Luc (Michael Lindall), a Hunter for the Horn, who is currently staying in the Two Rivers. He announces that Natti Cauthon (Juliet Howland) and her daughters have been kidnapped by Whitecloaks as retaliation for Abell helping Perrin’s family escape. Perrin asks where the Whitecloaks have taken the Cauthons, and another Hunter, a young woman (Isabella Bucceri), tells him that they’re in the Whitecloak camp on Watch Hill.
In the Whitecloak camp, the captive Cauthons watch in fear from a cage as Eamon Valda (Abdul Salis) tries to convince Dain Bornhald (Jay Duffy) to let him put people to the question. Dain initially says no, but tells Valda he can do things his way if Perrin doesn’t arrive before the Lord Captain Commander sends reinforcements.
Maksim and Alanna argue; Maksim feels like Alanna isn’t mourning, while Alanna feels she is drowning in Maksim’s grief. At night, the people of the Two Rivers debate what to do with Perrin. Despite some dissenting voices, they decide that they will protect him, as the Two Rivers defends its own. Perrin tells Loial he is going to rescue Mat’s family. Later, Perrin stops some of the other Two Rivers villagers from leaving and heading back to their farms, convincing them that if they stay together in the village, they have a chance. He and the mysterious female Hunter chat some more, and he learns her name: Faile.
Tanchico
Liandrin returns to her former home in the cutthroat city of Tanchico, walking into a wedding ceremony between the great-grandson of Liandrin’s husband and his child bride. Liandrin and the Black Ajah accompanying her kill everyone at the wedding, and Nyomi wipes the girl’s memory. The Black Ajah group establishes a base at the now vacant home. Liandrin informs the group that the bracelet they stole is part of a male a’dam, and its matching collar is somewhere in the city. They intend to collar the Dragon Reborn. Moghedien, posing as a servant, overhears Liandrin’s plan.
Review of Episode 303 – Seeds of Shadow
Likes: The episode begins with a good old Forsaken tea party, where our villain roster expands with Sammael and Rahvin, and we get name drops for Graendal and Semirhage. That leaves only one TV Forsaken unaccounted for – who might it be? Rahvin is handsome and charming, Sammael short (sorry) and no-nonsense, and Moghedien skitters throughout the episode just like her namesake. We continue to love every Forsaken scene, as their plotting and politicking embodies all the best parts of them in the books, and makes them even more realistic and menacing on-screen. And while she may not be a Forsaken, Liandrin might as well be considering what a compelling villain she continues to be. We’re finally introduced to Tanchico where she has a very bloody homecoming event, and the city is quickly established as a dark and dangerous place, making us nervous for the safety of our incoming Black Ajah hunting party.
Speaking of, we loved seeing Siuan’s Black Ajah hunters loose in the White Tower. Just as with the “Detective Verin” scenes in Season 2, this perfectly captured how we felt reading this plot in the books, and the show has done a fantastic job of establishing the undercurrent of fear and doubt running through the White Tower, which suddenly isn’t as safe as it once seemed.
Perrin’s return to the Two Rivers feels like coming home for book readers as well, although it’s hardly under ideal circumstances. The show quickly establishes the looming threat while providing important character moments for Perrin as he struggles with grief and leadership. And, of course, he finally meets his falcon, Mandarb joke and all.
We also get our first full episode inside the Aiel Waste, and although the number of named Aiel have been condensed in the show, the Aiel we do have are practically ripped from the pages, sweat tents and all. We also get specific discussion of Dreamwalking and Rhuidean
Finally, we can’t possibly finish this section without mentioning Mat’s fight with Galad and Gawyn, which had us grinning ear-to-ear as soon as Mat said, “or what?” The groundwork was well laid, complete with a sparring match between the brothers in the previous episode to establish their swordsmanship prowess, making Mat’s trouncing even more satisfying. It was also a nice win for Mat, who’s had a pretty rough go of it so far. And the evolution of Nynaeve’s facial expression throughout the fight was just the icing on the cake.
Dislikes: It’s a small nitpick, and this is another situation where our book reader hats may cloud our judgment, but some of us felt the Alanna and Maksim content took away from other more established characters, or new places we want to see more of such as the Aiel Waste.
Book to Screen Comparisons
Tear/Callandor: One of the most obvious changes is that Rand is heading off to the Aiel Waste before he tackles Tear. This is something that has been mentioned in cast interviews as a plot point that will be tackled in future seasons, and the show presents the change in a way that makes sense given Rand’s stubborn refusal to be told what to do. Reordering events in this way offers an opportunity for Callandor to be more immediately useful in the adaptation instead of sitting unused for several books. It also provides the potential for certain future book events to be relocated to Tear. Speaking of Callandor, Sakarnen is now its female counterpart, and the two sa’angreal can supposedly be used together to defeat the Dark One. This is reminiscent of the Choedan Kal in the books. Furthermore, in the books, Sakarnen was a male sa’angreal, even more powerful than Callandor. The show appears to be condensing the sa’angreal, which is an understandable adaptational choice. It’s worth noting this information is relayed by Lanfear, who may or may not be a reliable narrator.
Mat: In many ways Mat is starting Season 3 as he did at the beginning of the third book, The Dragon Reborn. This includes the long-awaited fan favorite fight between Mat and Elayne’s brothers. There are changes to the circumstances and motivations that start the fight, and the end result is that Mat’s more noble qualities are on display during the fight versus his immaturity as in the book. It’s a great change that helps illustrate the layers of character beneath the roguish exterior that Mat likes to show to the world.
Egwene: Egwene’s character is showing a significantly different opinion of the White Tower than her book counterpart, who was much more supportive of the Tower and its mission at this point in the story. Her fervent belief in the White Tower as an institution drives much of her character arc in the back half of the story, as she slowly discovers the extent of its crippling, and learns the Aes Sedai are not the sole authority on effective channeling. This ultimately drives her to reunite the schism, protect the Tower against attackers, and purge its ranks of Black Ajah. However, it does feel consistent with the way the show has approached Egwene’s arc so far. She was sold into slavery after watching the Tower give up her friend for dead and she knows that they tried to cage Rand. We’d rather they stay consistent to the logic they’ve built rather than do an about-face for the sake of appeasing book fans. As with many of the show’s changes so far, the jury is still out.
The Andoran Royals: We discussed this in our episode two review, but Morgase’s rise to power is quite gruesome, and doesn’t seem to fit with the Morgase we know from the early books. However, the books do reference that although the majority of her succession war was nonviolent, there were some assassinations, so this may not be as big of a change as it first seemed. It will be interesting to see how this affects Elayne’s future succession plot, as the violent visual will certainly provide additional tension.
Relationships: Rand and Egwene’s more serious relationship in Season 1 means it will take longer for it to come to a realistic end. Thus, instead of Egwene handing Rand off to Elayne, Rand and Egwene are still dealing with the struggle of two people desperately clinging to the way things might have been, rather than accepting the way things are. With Rand and Elayne no longer canoodling together in corners, that leaves Elayne and Aviendha available to explore a romantic relationship together. Though this might have come as a surprise for some book readers, other book readers have been “shipping” these two for decades. It also fits with Rafe Judkins’ comment long ago about how he’s more interested in making Rand’s relationship a polyamorous one, rather than polygamous.
Verin: Unlike the books, Verin stays in the White Tower instead of accompanying Alanna to the Two Rivers. Given Verin is sisters with Adeleas in the show, this makes narrative sense, and adds to the political intrigue taking place in the Tower. Giving some of Sheriam’s actions to Verin in the series does raise the question of whether or not everyone’s allegiances in the adaptation will end up being the same as in the books, but should the show get renewed for more seasons, we are happy to watch and find out.
Tower Plots: The show has done a great job of showing much more of the politicking between the various Aes Sedai and the Ajahs in the White Tower. From making Liandrin’s escape an explosive event that will surely not go unnoticed by Elaida, to bringing forward future book plots, the adaptation continues to make Aes Sedai plotting against each other some of the most satisfying scenes to watch. For book readers that know what’s coming, these White Tower scenes have an extra layer of dread.
Gray Men: Moghedien is responsible for gray men in the adaptation. This fits with the Forsaken’s nature to strike “softly, softly from the shadows” and also adds an extra dimension of creepiness to an already unsettling character.
Melindhra: Melindhra’s backstory is obviously completely different from the books, as she’s a Malkieri fugitive in the show who shares a scene with Lan. This appears to be a way to point him back towards his role as the lost king of Malkier, but we’re not sure how this will work out considering what we know of Melindhra from the books. This is another change where we will have to wait and see.
Final Thoughts
As mentioned in our non-spoiler review, the third season does an excellent job balancing material from the books, material referenced in the books, and new material to round out the adaptation. These first three episodes are an excellent example of the deft storytelling written by the show’s talented screenwriters, performed by the amazing cast, and brought to life by the hardworking and creative crew.
The best parts of prior seasons, for us, were ones that felt like we were reading the books again, although scenes are very rarely copied one for one from the books. We’re happy to say that in these first episodes of Season 3 alone, we got to experience that magic feeling almost constantly. It reminds us of how we described episodes 205, which many fans described as “the most Wheel of Time feeling episode yet”. All three of these episodes just exuded the essence of what we love about this series, with gorgeous visuals, tighter writing, book Easter eggs galore, and already plenty of payoff from setup done in the first two seasons. In just three episodes they were able to pack in a lot of information, and the rest of the season promises to be a wild ride. We can’t wait to experience it all with fellow fans.
Ratings
(Due to the bar being raised so high this season, we found it difficult to rate episodes with only half or full ratings to choose from. As a result, we have decided to add quarter ratings this season. Ratings are best compared to other episodes of the same season, versus across seasons.)
Episode 1 – To Race the Shadow (Overall: 3.85/5)
Lane: 3.5/5, Sara: 4/5, Eri: 4/5, Omar: 4/5, Cait: 3.75/5
Episode 2 – A Question of Crimson (Overall: 4.1/5)
Lane: 4/5, Sara: 4.25/5, Eri: 4.25/5, Omar: 4/5, Cait: 4/5
Episode 3 – Seeds of Shadow (Overall: 4.15/5)
Lane: 4/5, Sara: 4/5, Eri: 4.5/5, Omar: 4/5, Cait: 4.25
Lover of fantasy and other geeky goodness.
I'm a longtime SFF fan but Wheel of Time will always be my first love. I want to call myself Green Ajah, but--let's be real--I'm probably a Brown. In my spare time I enjoy cooking, writing, and getting lost in the wilderness.
I love books of all kinds and especially Wheel of Time (I even have a tattoo!) I also love video games and building community online. Blue/Brown ajah (don’t make me choose) and Spoiler Gaidin for the show-only crowd. Find me @feelinmyshelf.bsky.social
In episode 3, the Forsaken appear and leave in a bubble like fashion. What weaves are they doing? Traveling hasn’t been rediscovered yet and everything is different from the Age of Legends.