The Wheel of Time boss answers fan questions and drops season 3 hints
By Dan Selcke
Now that the Hollywood writers strike is over, scribes everywhere are eager to talk to fans again. That includes Rafe Judkins, the showrunner on Amazon’s The Wheel of Time.
The second season of The Wheel of Time is reaching its climax, and so far, fans have been responding very well. This is a little surprising, since fans had a good number of problems with the first season, which suffered a bit from having to film during the beginning of the COVID pandemic; with those last two episodes especially, it’s obvious that the production was constrained.
Judkins engaged with fans on Twitter in a recent Thread, soaking up their compliments, talking about season 2, and teasing what lies beyond…
Why is The Wheel of Time season 2 better than season 1?
A few fans told Judkins how much more they’re enjoying season 2 than season 1. He mentioned COVID being a factor, but also said that Amazon gave them more freedom this time around:
It’s most of the same writers for both seasons, but we were given freedom to have longer episodes in season 2 which I think really makes a huge difference to our ability to tell the story from an emotional character driven POV
— Rafe Judkins (@rafejudkins) September 27, 2023
The first season of The Wheel of Time is based on The Eye of the World, the first book in Robert Jordan’s saga. The second season mashes together Books 2 and 3, The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn. As Judkins points out, those books have “the same arc,” so it made sense to combine them.
— end of 208. So that all the characters have had the necessary experiences they need to do the story of Book 4. I think we achieve that, even including some of the unexpected swerves and gusts of wind we had to tackle.
— Rafe Judkins (@rafejudkins) September 27, 2023
It sounds like Judkins is particularly excited to adapt Book 4, The Shadow Rising. Expect that in season 3, which is already filming!
The Wheel of Time showrunner knew Episode 206 would be a hit
The most recent episode of The Wheel of Time, “Eyes Without Pity,” may be the best episode the show has yet produced. It largely revolves around Egwene (Madeleine Madden) getting kidnapped by the Seanchan and forced to become a magic-using slave called a damane. It was intense in a way that the show hadn’t really been up to that point. Now that the writers strike is over, Judkins is happy that he can finally sing the praises of Madden and episode writer Rammy Park.
More than anything to praise the work of our amazing writers and actors. Even just this last week, both Rammy Park and Maddy Madden delivered at such unbelievably high levels. The show couldn’t be what it is without them
— Rafe Judkins (@rafejudkins) September 27, 2023
While we do see Renna enslave Egwene in the books, a lot of the most brutal treatment that Egwene suffers happens off screen. Egwene makes a passing remark in a single paragraph about how she thought to use a pitcher of water to attack Renna, and the sul’dam subsequently used it to bludgeon obedience into her. The show’s writers expanded that out to form the core of the episode. Judkins and his writers saw potential for great TV in the interactions between Egwene and Renna. It seems like their instincts were correct:
I just read that paragraph prepping for S2 and it felt like an entire story. It was one of the most impactful stories to me when I first read the books and I wanted to figure out how best to do it in this medium
— Rafe Judkins (@rafejudkins) September 27, 2023
Like I said, fans have responded very well to Episode 206. It sounds like Judkins knew it would go over well, although he’s also excited for us to watch Episode 207:
I thought 206 would land well even though it’s mostly just one paragraph expanded out, and I think 207 will push some buttons as it has some of the most iconic scenes from the books mixed with some storytelling required for the show version of the story.
— Rafe Judkins (@rafejudkins) September 27, 2023
The Wheel of Time season 2 regrets
That said, there were things that Judkins and company couldn’t do in season 2. They were combining two books and had to cut some stuff. For instance, in The Great Hunt, Rand, Perrin and Mat all go off hunting for the Horn of Valere together. But because this season also brought in stuff from The Dragon Reborn, the boys had to be separated. I think that was a good choice, but Judkins misses the bro bonding:
My biggest sadness of S2 is that we couldn’t do the boys on the Hunt for The Horn. I love those three together
— Rafe Judkins (@rafejudkins) September 27, 2023
More than that, Judkins regrets that, with Hollywood actors still on strike, the stars of the show — including Rosamund Pike (Moiraine) and Daniel Henney (Lan) haven’t been able to promote it:
The worlds very difficult right now and we’ve had to be the one of the only shows to premiere without actor publicity. It’s incredibly damaging to viewership numbers to not have Rosamund Daniel and the others out there, so I anticipate we will need to build and build this season
— Rafe Judkins (@rafejudkins) September 27, 2023
Now that Judkins mentions it, I do feel like I haven’t seen much promotion for this season of The Wheel of Time, which is a shame because it’s been so strong. Hopefully, it’s been strong enough for word of mouth to spread and for fans to find it on their own. With season 3 already ordered, I’m not too worried. By the time it airs, actors will be able to do promotion again. And if season 3 is as good as season 2, they’ll have something spectacular to promote.
The Wheel of Time season 2 finale will give us “happy tears”
The Wheel of Time Episode 207, “Daes Dae’mar,” airs on Friday. Then the season finale, “What Was Meant to Be,” airs the week after.
Judkins is getting ahead of things hyping up the big finish. Apparently Mat (Dónal Finn) has a scene in the finale that brings “happy tears” to his eyes:
Mat has a scene in 208 that brings happy tears to my eyes every time
— Rafe Judkins (@rafejudkins) September 27, 2023
Also something to look forward to: we’ll see Perrin’s best wolf friend Hopper mix it up in the finale:
Don’t even. Hoppers performance in 208 is best performance by an animal. Makes me so happy we had real animals instead of CG
— Rafe Judkins (@rafejudkins) September 27, 2023
Judkins also promises a great Moiraine scene in the finale:
My favorite is in 208. But I love the one in 206 in the attic with Anvaere. Her wish to be someone other than who she had to be. She and Rand share a lot in the destiny they were burdened with, and her heroism in pursuing it is really inspiring I think
— Rafe Judkins (@rafejudkins) September 27, 2023
The Wheel of Time season 3 is “even more sophisticated and rich and deep” than season 2
In that last tweet, Judkins mentions Anvaere, Moiraine’s sister played by Lindsay Duncan. We don’t see a ton of her in the books, but she’s made an impression on The Wheel of Time season 2. And apparently she’s an important part of Judkins’ plans for the show going forward:
Anvaere
— Rafe Judkins (@rafejudkins) September 27, 2023
Speaking of future seasons, Judkins is really looking forward to showing everybody season 3, which apparently one-ups season 2 the way season 2 one-upped the first season:
I’ve always said that people grew up with the books. That the tone and storytelling and emotions of the first book progress and mature until you reach the incredible depths of the final books. I hope the show is the same. S3 is even more sophisticated and rich and deep than S2
— Rafe Judkins (@rafejudkins) September 27, 2023
Only two episodes left until The Wheel of Time season 2 finale! We’ll be covering it all here on WiC.
Next. All the biggest book changes in The Wheel of Time Episode 206. dark
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