10 things we’re excited to see in The Wheel of Time season 3
By Daniel Roman
From the Aiel Waste to new members of the Forsaken, the world of The Wheel of Time is about to get a lot bigger.
Season 2 of Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time is now at an end. While we’re still processing our feelings over the show’s epic season 2 finale, it’s never too early to start theorizing about what we’ll see next. The Wheel of Time laid a lot of groundwork for next season, and we have some predictions about what lies ahead.
Season 3 will primarily adapt the fourth book in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time saga, The Shadow Rising. It’s possible there will be elements from other books as well, but for today we’re going to be sticking mainly to analyzing what we’re expecting from book 4. As such, this article contains SPOILERS for the first four books in The Wheel of Time. With that, let’s get into what we’re excited to see in The Wheel of Time season 3.
1. The Three-Fold Land, or as wetlanders call it, the Aiel Waste
The Wheel of Time season 2 introduces us to three Aiel Maidens of the Spear: Aviendha, Bain and Chiad. They were searching for a mysterious figure known as the Car’a’carn, which translates to “Chief of Chiefs” in the Aiel language. Basically, they’re looking for the Dragon Reborn, about whom the Aiel have their own prophecies.
The bulk of The Shadow Rising revolves around Rand, Moiriane, Lan, Egwene and Mat going out into the desert homeland of the Aiel, called the Three-Fold Land. Or as everyone who doesn’t live there calls it, the Aiel Waste. We learn a ton about Aiel culture and history in this part of the story, and season 3 is poised to delve into the thick of it.
Like the Seanchan, the Aiel are a fascinating people with their own unique customs. There are 13 tribes of Aiel in the books; the show will have eight of them. We’ve already gotten an introduction to ji’e’toh, which is their system of honor, but there’s plenty more to discover. How are they related to the Dragon Reborn? How will they react to his coming? These are huge questions season 3 will answer.
2. Rhuidean
At the heart of Rand’s journey into the Aiel Waste is the mystical abandoned city of Rhuidean. This ruin is leftover from after the Breaking of the World and contains many objects of great magical power. Prospective Aiel chiefs must journey to the city, where they undergo a trial of visions which reveal secrets about Aiel history.
We won’t get into all of the details about what happens in Rhuidean, but suffice it to say that it’s one of the most memorable parts of The Shadow Rising. So far the production team hasn’t dropped any big hints about Rhuidean, but since it’s such a standout part of the book series we’re absolutely expecting to see it onscreen. Season 2 even foreshadowed a major event which is relevant to next season’s journey to the ruined city.