How The Wheel of Time built the Tower at Falme for the finale

The Wheel of Time season 2 is at an end, and what a season it was. Prime Video’s fantasy show — based on the beloved book series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson — went out with a bang, wrapping up with a massive battle at the coastal city of Falme.

From a production standpoint, the season finale “What Was Meant To Be” is easily the most ambitious episode of The Wheel of Time to date. Now that it’s out and we’ve all seen it, Prime Video is letting us know how it created some of those incredible scenes. Check out this video from the official Wheel of Time X account which shows how they filmed the climactic fight on the tower where Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) and all of his friends took on the Forsaken channeler Ishamael (Fares Fares):

For the Battle of Falme, The Wheel of Time built a literal tower-top in a desert

Unlike many of its contemporaries, The Wheel of Time films heavily in real-world locations. While many scenes set in Falme were filmed in the Moroccan city of Ouarzazate, there was no tower  there that would work for the finale’s big finish. So the production team built one.

“We built the Tower in the middle of the Moroccan desert outside Ouarzazate. And this was a huge challenge for our production designer, Ondrej Nekvasil, figuring out the locations and starting the builds with the Moroccan teams,” explained showrunner Rafe Judkins. “The Tower was this spectacular sequence that was built by every single person on this production, putting in very, very hard work.”

Despite the fact that The Wheel of Time team had to build a large set, it was important that it be done out in the desert as opposed to on a soundstage in order to get the right feel for the scenes. “We discussed the fact that, if you want to do it like in a completely controlled environment, it’s not ideal for us because we are able to achieve a lot of real shots here on location,” said Ondrej Nekvasil.

“For scenes like this we have to coordinate all the departments with, you know, makeup, costume, SFX, VFX. So…it’s kind of like that big movie magic where we enmesh all the worlds,” added season 2 finale director Sanaa Hamri. It’s easy to see what she means in that video, where we see Madeleine Madden (Egwene) flung across the tower top on wires. While there are sweeping desert vistas around the tower, there are also patches of green screen beside it, presumably so the production could add in the ocean around Falme.

Josha Stradowski (Rand): “And then, season 3!”

Despite how much hard work went into creating the Tower, it sounds like the cast and crew had a lot of fun as well. “We just wrapped on the Tower and the end of 208, and it’s really wonderful that we can all spend this last moment together,” Madden said.

With its second season, The Wheel of Time has staked its claim as one of the best fantasy shows on TV. From the sets to the special effects, writing and acting, it was an enormous step up from season 1. With 11 more books to adapt in The Wheel of Time series, there’s plenty more good stuff ahead. Josha Stradowski puts it best: “And then, season 3!”

The Wheel of Time season 2 is available to stream in its entirety on Prime Video. Season 3 is currently filming, and is expected to release sometime in 2025.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels