The Wheel Of Time Cast & Crew Talk Season 3 Conflicts and Relationships

Amazon Prime series The Wheel of Time is heading into its third season, which promises to be its most epic yet. Hero Rand al’Thor has been revealed to the world as the Dragon Reborn, the villainous Forsaken are loose, and conflict is stirring within the ranks of the Aes Sedai. Based on the classic novel series by Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time is an action-packed fantasy series set in a rich world where destiny has great things in store for a group of once-ordinary villagers from the Two Rivers.

Game Rant spoke about all things Season 3 with the cast and crew of Amazon Prime‘s The Wheel of Time: Josha Stradowski (Rand al’Thor), Rosamund Pike (Moiraine Damodred), Daniel Henney (al’Lan Mandragoran), Sophie Okonedo (Siuan Sanche), Dónal Finn (Mat Cauthon), Marcus Rutherford (Perrin Aybara), Ceara Coveney (Elayne Trakand), Ayoola Smart (Aviendha), and showrunner Rafe Judkins. The group discussed their individual characters’ reactions to the great changes occurring in the show’s world, the focus on relationships both new and old in Season 3, and more. This transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Rand And Moiraine Are Facing The Future With Confidence

Q: At the end of Season 2, it became public knowledge that Rand al’Thor is the Dragon Reborn. How is he feeling about that going into Season 3?

Stradowski: He’s ready. This season he really wants the truth about everything. About where he belongs, where he needs to go, and where he comes from. There’s a moment where he actually gets the truth—not just Rand, but Moiraine as well. And that’s when he really wishes he could go back to the Two Rivers because that truth can be tough. He goes into this big depression, but there’s no point back. Without spoiling too much, it’s rotten.

Q: We saw Moiraine without her powers for much of Season 2. Now that they’re back, what’s the feeling there? Is it triumph, pride, nerves?

Pike: It’s just feeling normal again. It’s like you were missing your life force, and your potential is back. Right from the first time I set foot on set as Moiraine, I’ve always felt that her stillness is only ever counterpoint to the fury she knows she can unleash. If you have the first part without the other part, you’re a kind of shadow of yourself, which she was for most of Season 2. It was frustrating and destabilizing.

I think that’s what’s interesting. It’s a knowledge of strength, of inner strength, which she carries around all the time. It makes her who she is, whether or not we see her using it—which we will. She has a very interesting journey with her power in this one.

Q: Lan and Moiraine had a strong bond in Season 1, and then in Season 2 we didn’t get to see much of them together. Are you glad to be back filming with Daniel Henney again and see that pair reunited?

Pike: Yes, it’s great to be back together. They still have some moments where she tries to push him away again in this one, because of the knowledge she gains throughout the season. I think, ultimately, she sometimes fears—as she discussed back in Season 1—that this man has given up his life for her, and anything else he might have done. She knows his loyalty is so steadfast, and it’s a beautiful thing.

But Moiraine’s ties this season are really with Rand, particularly from about Episode 4 onwards. It’s a bond, a knowledge, and an experience that they go through, that Lan cannot be a part of. But he has that bond with her back. He’s feeling all the fear, all the pain, all the rage. Everything that Moiraine is feeling right now, Lan is sharing, so that is back, and it’s so interesting for Daniel and I to play.

Q: For Rand, does he rely on Moiraine more this season, now that he and Mat and Perrin are going in such different directions on their journeys?

Stradowski: I feel that Rand always relies on Moiraine, but he is becoming more independent. Apart from all the voices, and all the different characters, something is pulling him. It’s a weird homecoming to a place he hasn’t been before. It’s like an echo of a past life whispering in his ear while he’s having a conversation with Moiraine, and still relying on her and his friends, but also relying on something new.

Lan And Siuan Both Have Deep Relationships With Moiraine

Q: I love how Lan communicates so much while still being a man of few words. He uses so much action and so much gesture. What strategies do you use to portray Lan’s style of communication?

Henney: Honestly, it’s going to sound cheesy, but I’ve learned a lot through playing Lan. In the first season, he’s always quiet and in the background. As an actor, if you have a lot of those scenes, you wonder if you’re doing enough whether he’s just loading the saddles in the back or tending to something. I learned quickly that just standing and being present, for Lan, is all he needs to do, and it does read quite well on camera. I’ve learned a lot as far as stillness goes, playing Lan.

Q: What’s it like to be the Amyrlin Seat? To be in charge of the Aes Sedai when so much is happening with the Forsaken being released and Liandrin’s treachery being uncovered?

Okonedo: As an actor, I’d rather be in charge at this time than when it was going smoothly because otherwise it’d be boring. It’d be nothing to do. This is the best time to be the Amyrlin Seat because you get to do and feel and be in the crazy intrigue and things falling apart. Can you pull them back together again? As an actor, that’s what you want to be doing.

Q: Lan and Moiraine were very separate in Season 2. You had a lot of scenes apart and hopefully will have more together in Season 3. Was it a different filming experience?

Henney: Absolutely. I can relate a lot to Sophie [Okonedo] because Lan and Siuan both have a lot of scenes where we’re kind of by ourselves. And although that can be a quicker day sometimes and easier work-wise, you miss out on the community aspect of working with this amazing cast.

I relied a lot on Rosamund in the first season. She’s wonderful. There was a bit of a hole in Season 2, and I did miss her quite a bit. It’s nice to be back together and to be mission-focused again, and it was really fun. We spent time in South Africa together, doing stuff outside of work. It was just great.

Q: Speaking of Moiraine, her and Siuan’s relationship is wonderful, although we’ve seen some strain with them lately. Can you give us any hints about what might be going on for them in Season 3?

Okonedo: Let’s just say they are still the love of each other’s lives, and it’s full of pain, separation, and miscommunications. [Laughs] You know, the usual sh*t. It’s really intense between them, and sometimes very sad.

Q: Is it harder for Siuan to be in a leadership role while Moiraine is off doing her own thing, and the two of them can’t be together as much?

Okonedo: A lot of these characters put other people and the situation, the world they’re in, and their responsibilities ahead of themselves. It’s so opposite to now, where everybody is like, “me first” and everyone else can come later, even if they’re running the country. [Siuan’s] quite the type to care about how the whole culture, the whole planet, works together. That’s more important than the individual. Of course, there’s a balance. There should be a balance there. There’s something to be said for that.

Perrin And Mat Are Looking Back At The Past

Q: The death of Hopper the wolf was one of the saddest moments of Season 2. Is Perrin still processing that loss going into Season 3?

Rutherford: Definitely. It was a very big moment in the books, quite a symbolic moment, that drove him to pick up a weapon and avenge Hopper’s death. I think that the consequences of that are something that is still percolating in his head quite a lot when we find him in Season 3. “An eye for an eye,” or even just warfare, anything like that, is something he’s tried to remove himself from.

He’s learned a lot on his journey about death, war, and how it creates more war. He’s starting to wish he could be the person we found right at the start of that first-ever episode, just back home in Two Rivers, outside any destruction or violence like that. I think we realize that it’s not the easiest kind of route—I don’t think it’s a possible route—but I think he has a lot of that [feeling] with all the grief he’s had previously. The loss of Hopper weighs heavily on him, for sure.

Q: Mat goes through so much. How does he stay this positive, light-hearted center of the show?

Finn: Do you know what I think? I think it comes from the reason that these people all know each other. They grew up in the same village and first and foremost, before being selected by Moiraine, they are mates. I think Mat understands that they all have journeys to go on, but what is the glue to their connection? I think, for each of them, it’s a journey of self-discovery and figuring out what the pattern has in store for them.

But why? Why do they need to know these things? It’s because they want to protect a life that they know. I think Mat understands that. He looks around the table and thinks it’s so easy to hang on to the difficulty of what’s going on for every individual character. Sometimes you need someone who says, “Hey, it’s six o’clock, let’s go for a pint.” Just leave the heaviness of the day, the experience that you’re going through.

I think these characters like Perrin and Rand need someone like that. And I think—not in a selfish way, I don’t think he pats himself on the back too much for it—Mat wants to be that person for his mates. That’s how he remains positive. Also, it’s just his way of managing what he’s going through. He is the change he wants to see in the world. I think Mat would respond really well to someone who behaves like him. Maybe Min is like that, so that’s probably one of the reasons that they get on so well.

Elayne And Aviendha Are Exploring New Relationships

Q: Elayne has to balance so much in her life. She’s the heir to a kingdom, training with the Aes Sedai, meeting Rand and his friends, and helping them out. How does she balance it all?

Coveney: I don’t know, I’m asking those questions myself. I’m like, “How does she do that?” Because I need to take that advice into my own life. She has a lot on her plate and balances it all so well. Maybe sometimes I don’t know if she feels that way about herself, especially when face to face with these battles and who to please. I think she has a lot of responsibility on her shoulders and sometimes questions about whether to look after herself or the relationships around her. She has a lot to navigate.

Q: I love seeing Aviendha in action. The Aiel get some awesome fights. Do we get to see more action from her in Season 3?

Smart: Without giving too much away, with the Aiel, you’re never far from the action.

Q: Aviendha distrust many characters, but she develops this closeness with Elayne quite quickly. What do you think draws Aviendha to Elayne?

Smart: I think there’s something there—a kind of kinship and kindred spirit they see in each other. Their lives, in one sense, are very different, but they both have these responsibilities and paths laid before them, even if those paths are very different. I think they recognize that in each other pretty early on.

Also, the curiosity they have for life, to understand things on a deeper level, to go beyond their comfort zones if that’s what’s required of them. I think that’s an exciting thing, to see parts of yourself reflected in someone and them in you. There’s an opportunity for tenderness—which I think is a scary concept, particularly in this world—but when it presents itself, you have to take it. The fact that they both take it also says a lot here.

Q: Elayne has deep connections not just with Aviendha, but with so many women in her life. What is it like developing these female friendships that we don’t often see in fantasy?

Coveney: It’s wonderful to explore all these different relationships she has. And I enjoyed last season, playing the new relationships she has with Egwene and Nynaeve. Meeting these other strong, powerful women and letting those dynamics take place, and what that means for her, and how it shapes her.

And then, in the White Tower, she has Siuan as well, and she has all these “powers that be,” as well as her mother [Morgase]. Then meeting Aviendha as well—she’s surrounded by powerful women from very different backgrounds. I think it inspires her, but it can challenge her in ways. I always loved the part of the books where it spoke of Elayne watching Nynaeve and Egwene and their bravery, and internally questioning whether she had that bravery when she should. I loved playing with that this season—that mentality of trying to draw from other women to expand herself and challenge herself in those ways.

Rafe Judkins Was Thrilled To Write Season 3 – Especially The Forsaken

Q: Are there any moments or characters from the Wheel of Time books that you’re particularly excited to adapt to the show?

Judkins: So many! This season is from my favorite book in the series, the one that hooked me and made me feel that this thing will be an important part of my life. To name just a few of them: Egwene’s dream, walking with the Wise Ones, Rhuidean, and the crystal columns, we get to go back to the Age of Legends and meet Mierin.

I think that there are a huge number of moments this season. One of my favorite scenes in the books is Mat and Siuan, talking about the Horn of Valere—we get to do that scene. We have some of my favorite stuff from the books this season, and it’s exciting that we get to do it.

Q: Has it sunk in yet that you’re the guy who gets to do this? To adapt The Wheel of Time? Or does it still hit you sometimes?

Judkins: Yeah, it does sometimes. I’ve always felt lucky that I’m the person who gets to do this, and very lucky that I had a career leading up to it that set me up to do it to the best of my ability. I don’t think that ever really leaves you. I don’t think it leaves any of us, the idea that we’re adapting something that’s deeply, emotionally special to people and that we’re also creating something new that people who’ve never read the books are seeing and enjoying. My favorite thing is seeing someone who watched the show and has now gone back and read all the books. That, to me, is the best job we could possibly do: bringing more people into this world.

Q: Is it fun writing for the Forsaken, now that they’ve been released into the world?

Judkins: The Forsaken are the most fun people to write for. I said, “If there’s a Moghedien scene, I’ll write that for you.” Then the other writers are like, “But we want to write those!” 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. It’s exciting, as writers, to get to create these people.

Q: Which is harder? Writing The Wheel of Time or competing on Survivor?

Judkins: [Laughs] Physically, Survivor. Emotionally, Wheel of Time, without a doubt.