“The world is changing,” says Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike), setting a very familiar fantasy tone for our first look at the third season of The Wheel of Time. Moiraine is very concerned about what she’s seen in “a thousand thousand futures.”
“In every future where I lived, Rand dies. And the only way he lives … is if I don’t,” she continues. Which is quite ominous—along with all the images of one or the other of them perishing terribly—but even a viewer who has not yet read the Robert Jordan books on which the series is based might be a bit skeptical that one of the two main characters is destined to perish so quickly. After all, very few humans perished in the battle at the end of season two (though we did lose one very good wolf).
The synopsis has a quick reminder of what else happened in that finale:
At the end of Season Two, after defeating Ishamael, Rand reunites with his friends at Falme and is declared the Dragon Reborn. But in Season Three, the threats against the Light are multiplying: the White Tower stands divided, the Black Ajah run free, old enemies return to the Two Rivers, and the remaining Forsaken are in hot pursuit of the Dragon… including Lanfear, whose relationship with Rand will mark a crucial choice between Light and Dark for them both. As the ties to his past begin to unravel, and his corrupted power grows stronger, Rand becomes increasingly unrecognizable to his closest allies, Moiraine and Egwene. These powerful women, who started the series as teacher and student, must now work together to prevent the Dragon from turning to the Dark…no matter the cost.
Not mentioned here: all those Forsaken Ishamael was revealed to have released, or Nynaeve’s new friend Elayne (or Nynaeve’s testing), or the very bad time Egwene had, or Mat’s convenient escape from Liandrin’s prison along with Min, or Mat blowing the Horn of Valere. There was a lot, in that quite good season. And I haven’t even mentioned Lanfear.
They’re all back for the third go-round: Daniel Henney as Lan Mandragoran, Josha Stradowski as Rand al’Thor, Zoë Robins as Nynaeve al’Meara, Madeleine Madden as Egwene al’Vere, Marcus Rutherford as Perrin Aybara, Dónal Finn as Mat Cauthon, Ceara Coveney as Elayne Trakand, Kate Fleetwood as Liandrin Guirale, Natasha O’Keeffe as Lanfear, Ayoola Smart as Aviendha, and Kae Alexander as Min Farshaw.
The Wheel of Time will have its third season premiere March 13th, 2025, on Prime Video.
