At the end of Season 2 of The Wheel of Time’s TV adaptation, everything changed. The status quo shifted dramatically, and it became clear that nothing was the same — nor would it ever be again. Protagonist Rand al’Thor was publicly proclaimed the Dragon Reborn, the villainous Forsaken were released from confinement, and treachery was revealed within the ranks of the Aes Sedai. As The Wheel of Time enters its third season, the characters must contend with the dangers and difficulties of this new reality.
Game Rant spoke to The Wheel of Time cast members Josha Stradowski (Rand al’Thor), Rosamund Pike (Moiraine Damodred), Dónal Finn (Mat Cauthon), Marcus Rutherford (Perrin Aybara), and showrunner Rafe Judkins about the upcoming third season of the Amazon Prime series. Some actors felt their characters were prepared to face the new dangers ahead, while others expressed a nostalgic longing for the simple life in Two Rivers that the friends left behind in the show’s very first episode.
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Rand Is Ready To Face His New Responsibilities
When asked how Rand was coping with the public announcement of his identity as the Dragon Reborn, Stradowski answered without hesitation. “He’s ready. He really wants the truth about everything.” Season 3 will see new dangers and responsibilities for Rand, including the discovery of important truths about his future and destiny that he has been seeking. Stradowski did reveal that Rand “really wishes he could go back to Two Rivers” at times, but that he is committed to facing his destiny.
The Wheel of Time‘s Moiraine, who identified Rand as a potential Dragon Reborn and started him on his journey in Season 1, will be an ally and a source of strength for Rand in this changed world. “Moiraine’s ties this season are really with Rand,” Pike said of her character, who recently regained her Aes Sedai magic after it was stripped in Season 2. Stradowski agreed that Rand relies on Moiraine closely this season, especially as his journey takes him away from his childhood friends Mat, Perrin, and Egwene.
While Rand may feel ready to face his destiny as the Dragon Reborn, his path won’t be an easy one. Season 3 will focus on the Forsaken, a group of villains recently freed from their confinement. Judkins described writing for the Forsaken as one of his favorite things about Season 3:
“They’re all such fun characters because they have fun with the world they’re in. They’re excited to be out of their cage and playing around. And so it’s exciting, as writers, to get to create these people.”
While Rand Looks Forward, Mat and Perrin Look Back
Rutherford and Finn, on the other hand, both feel that their characters have responded to the great changes in their lives by looking back at and longing for their time in Two Rivers. “[Perrin’s] starting to wish he could be the person that we found right at the start of that first-ever episode,” said Rutherford. Perrin struggles with the loss, war, and destruction around him, particularly the loss of his wolf ally Hopper in Season 2, and longs for a simpler time before everything changed.
On the other hand, Mat uses his bond with his friends and his memory of their time together in the Two Rivers to strengthen himself as he faces a new and uncertain future. “Mat understands that they all have journeys to go on,” said Finn. “[Rand and Perrin] want to protect a life that they know. I think Mat really understands that.” Whether they approach it with good humor, confidence, longing, fear, or all of the above, the cast of The Wheel of Time has an epic journey facing them in Season 3 as they approach a world that has completely changed from the one they once knew.
