It’s hard for me to be normal about The Wheel of Time. I love the books, I love the characters, and I super duper love the kind and inclusive fandom. Everything about Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy saga gives me the warm fuzzies and I adore most of what showrunner Rafe Judkins has done with the Prime Video adaptation so far.
So when I tore into screeners for all eight episodes of The Wheel of Time Season 3, I was about as thrilled as Lanfear (Natasha O’Keeffe) gets whenever she’s got Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) in her thrall. The Wheel of Time fangirl in me is pleased to confirm that Season 3 is by far and away the best season of the show yet. The Wheel of Time Season 3 deftly juggles countless characters, storylines, and twists, often with sleek sophistication and winking inside jokes for fans. Episodes 4 and 7 are two of the best standalone hours of genre television I’ve seen in my long life of being a geek. However, The Wheel of Time Season 3’s rushed, messy, and doomed-to-be-divisive finale almost undoes so much of that greatness.
The Wheel of Time Season 3 is the Prime Video fantasy at its ecstatic, creative best right up until the disappointing end.
The Wheel of Time Season 1 introduced us to five friends from the quiet mountain hamlet of the Two Rivers. Rand al’Thor, Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford), Nynaeve al’Meara (Zoë Robins), Egwene al’Vere (Madeleine Madden), and Matrim “Mat” Cauthon (Dónal Finn) are pulled into a war between absolute good and evil by a wise and cunning Aes Sedai named Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike). Moiraine and her warder Lan (Daniel Henney) want to find the Dragon Reborn, the reincarnation of the most powerful channeler who ever lived, before he can fall to the machinations of Shadow.
We’ve since learned that Rand is the Dragon Reborn, making him the target of schemes, assassins, and sycophants. The thing is, all of Rand’s friends also have special superpowers and important roles to play in the battles ahead. Perrin can communicate with wolves, Nynaeve and Egwene are both among the most powerful channelers in centuries, and Mat now has all of the memories of each past warrior life he’s lived. New friends like Elayne Trakand (Ceara Coveney) and Min Farshaw (Kae Alexander) add to the ever-increasing bench of super special hero buddies. Of course, there is also a rogue’s gallery of compelling (and somewhat kinky) villains challenging Rand and pals everywhere they go.
The Wheel of Time Season 3 is mostly inspired by the events of the fourth Jordan book, The Shadow Rising. The righteous Aes Sedai of the White Tower are ambushed by the reveal that many of their members have been “Black Ajah,” aka working for the Dark One, this whole time. Nynaeve and Elayne are dispatched to hunt the rogue sisters before they can cause more trouble. Rand al’Thor decides to swerve away from prophecies he has to conquer the city of Tear and instead goes to the Aiel Waste to learn more about his real lineage. Finally, Perrin Aybara decides to return to the Two Rivers, where he’s met with an unexpected adventure all his own.
The Wheel of Time Season 3 doesn’t just manage to make time for its vast cast of interconnected characters, but it also impressively brings to life some of the most otherworldly aspects of the novels. This season explores the parallel dream world of Tel’aran’rhiod, visions of infinite possible futures, and even one character traveling back in time through the memories of their own ancestors. These are incredibly abstract concepts that somehow work onscreen, pulling the world of The Wheel of Time ever closer to the true magic of the books. It’s dazzling to watch and offers some of the show’s actors meatier material than they’ve ever had before.
The Wheel of Time‘s cast is stacked with incredible actors — Rosamund Pike is predictably wonderful, Ceara Coveney gets to flex some strong comic chops later in the season, and Marcus Rutherford fully steps up as an arresting male lead — but the biggest revelation is Josha Stradowski, the Dragon Reborn, himself. Stradowski has been great in seasons past, but much like Rand, he levels up and accepts the tortured mantle of responsibility onto his broad shoulders. He no longer sounds like the naive farm boy we met in Season 1 when he argues with Moiraine, but her equal.
Most of The Wheel of Time Season 3 is thrilling to behold. Visually, the locations are stunning, the costumes are intricate, and each culture stands out as its own unique civilization, simultaneously fresh, yet familiar. There’s more confidence in the storytelling this season, too. The two best episodes of the season (if not series) each turn their hyper-focus on one major storyline, letting the show’s competing narratives fall away for a beat. Because Episode 4 is all-in on Aiel culture and Episode 7 is firmly rooted in the Two Rivers, these two installments feel awesomely cinematic in a way The Wheel of Time never has before.
Everything is great in The Wheel of Time Season 3 up until the end. After the highs of the rest of the season, The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episode 8 feels like a slumping afterthought. The conclusions to most of the major storylines feels rushed. The show’s vast scope quickly contracts. Massive changes are made from the books to streamline potential future seasons and they leave tragically bitter aftertastes.
At best, The Wheel of Time Season 3’s ending will be remembered as an Empire Strikes Back-esque turning point, pushing the show and its characters into darker, deeper material. At worst — say, if Prime Video doesn’t pick up Season 4 — it will be one of the most notoriously contentious endings to any genre show. The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, after all.
The Wheel of Time Season 3 premieres on Prime Video on Thursday, March 13.