The New Teaser Trailer for "The Wheel of Time" Suggests Season 3 Will Be Its Best Yet
If the new footage is anything to go by, this adaptation of Robert Jordan's sprawling epic is, like "The Rings of Power," going from strength to strength.
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Warning: Spoilers for the book series The Wheel of Time contained herein.
Well, it’s here: the first teaser trailer for the third season of The Wheel of Time. I’m obviously a huge fan of the Amazon series, and I’ve been waiting with baited breath ever since The Rings of Power concluded earlier this fall for the streamer to finally release some footage, no matter how scanty. Now, at long last, we’ve gotten the first teaser trailer, and it looks like this season is going to be an even bigger banger than the first one. Even though it runs for just over a minute, it reveals the broader scope of the story, with Rand’s journey to Rhuidean and the splintering of the White Tower emerging as key narrative developments.
Rand’s journey to Rhuidean is one of the key plot points of the first half of The Wheel of Time, and so it makes sense that it would occupy a key place in the forthcoming third season. Judging by the trailer, we’re going to be immersed in the vast desert expanse known as the Aiel Waste. The Aiel are some of Robert Jordan’s most fascinating and enigmatic characters, with a society that is ornately, sometimes frustratingly, complex, with all sorts of mores and systems of honor and justice that are as bewildering to the reader as they are to the characters. Some of this, I’m sure, will be simplified for the series, but I’m still looking forward to seeing how they manifest.
Rand, of course, will be a key part of this forthcoming season and, given how much Josha Stradowski has really grown into the role, I’m very much looking forward to seeing him become a stronger and more unapologetic presence. It certainly looks as if they are going to dispense with much of the hand-wringing that is such a key part of the series and, based strictly on Rand’s facial expressions in the trailer, it certainly seems like he’s ready to hit the ground running when it comes to doing his part to become the true Dragon Reborn.
As a completely frivolous aside, can I just say that I am here for Stradowski’s face card? This man is truly so pretty and, in that sense, he’s still the ideal person to play Rand al’Thor, who is arguably one of the most himboest himbos to have ever himboed his way across the stage of epic fantasy. I’m glad to see that they’ve let him grow his hair out again; I have to admit that I wasn’t a fan of the buzzed look, so it’s nice to see that that’s been left behind.
However, while Rand’s journey toward being the Dragon Reborn will certainly be the core of this forthcoming season, it also seems that we’re going to experience one of the other epochal events chronicled in the middle books of The Wheel of Time: the rebellion against Siuan Sanche that leads to the splitting of the White Tower. Among other things, we see delightful villain Liandrin prominently featured in the trailer, and I am particularly eager to see whether, as I’ve long suspected, she’ll step into many of the narrative beats occupied by Alviarin in the books. If so, it will be particularly fun to see Kate Fleetwood share some scenes with Shohreh Aghdashloo’s Elaida (her casting was just announced today, though long rumored). Regardless, the trailer makes clear that the One Power is going to be used extensively within the halls of the White Tower, which is both thrilling and terrifying. (There’s also a hint that we’re finally going to meet Galad, since I’m assuming that’s who the shirtless young man is).
At the same time, the trailer also suggests that this season will see some notable developments for Elayne, Nynaeve, and Egwene, and I’m guessing–based on Siuan’s remark about how far the Shadow has reached–that this season will see these three young women dispatched to hunt down the members of the Black Ajah. This whole adventure will be as dangerous as anything Rand pursues, since we know that Liandrin and her allies aren’t above killing anyone who gets in the way of their plans and those of their master. The stakes are getting higher with every passing season, just as it should be.
Arguably the most haunting element of the entire trailer, however, is Moiraine’s recognition that, in order for Rand to survive and to emerge triumphant as the Dragon Reborn, she herself will have to die. I’m sure that I’m not the only one who has been dreading the moment when Moiraine sacrifices herself by throwing herself at Lanfear, sending them both plunging through a ter’angreal and, presumably, ending both of their lives. I don’t know about anyone else, but I find it hard to imagine a Wheel of Time without Rosamund Pike’s formidable presence. Then again, given that Moiraine doesn’t actually die in the series but instead emerges alive (though much diminished) very late in the saga, it seems likely that the creative minds behind the series will find a way of keeping her present.
On the other side of the moral equation are the Forsaken. Lanfear, unsurprisingly, features prominently, and we’re clearly going to get a lot more insight into the power that she wields in the World of Dreams. We’ve already seen just how far she’ll go to sink her claws into Rand and bend him to her will. Natasha O’Keeffe is such a powerful presence in the show and in this trailer in particular–headdress and all–so it’ll be so much fun to see her really letting her freak fly. The same goes for Laia Costa’s Moghedien, who we’ll presumably be seeing more of this season. Anyone who has read the books knows that the Forsaken are fantastic characters in their own right, so it’ll be a treat to see them get even more screen time.
All of this is a long way of saying that I am very much looking forward to the third season of The Wheel of Time. Given just how strong the second season was in comparison to the first, I think it’s safe to say that we’re going to be in for a hell of a ride. If we’re lucky, we may even get an announcement about a fourth season before the third one airs. Amazon has, on the whole, been kind to its banner productions, so I’m going to keep my fingers crossed!