The Wheel of Time season 3 leak points to major changes in Tanchico storyline?

It's a new year! 2023 was filled with some great fantasy and science fiction shows, movies and books, but the time has come to look forward. New seasons! New series! New super-secret information leaked straight from the set of our favorite shows!

To wit, The Wheel of Time news channel WoT Up! is reporting some interesting leaks about the highly-anticipated third season of Prime Video's fantasy show. These leaks concern Tanchico, a coastal city that is slated to be a major setting in The Wheel of Time season 3. As such, there will be some SPOILERS beyond this point for The Wheel of Time TV show as well as The Wheel of Time books.

Tanchico features in the fourth book of The Wheel of Time, The Shadow Rising, which will form the basis for season 3. During that novel, Elayne Trakand and Nynaeve al'Meara head to the city to hunt for members of the Black Ajah—a sect of Aes Sedai sworn to the Dark One. They discover that the Black Ajah is after a particularly dangerous magical artifact, and the stakes skyrocket from there. Tanchico plays host to some extremely memorable scenes, including one involving the newly awakened Forsaken Moghedien which is a crucial moment for the series.

Thanks to comments that showrunner Rafe Judkins made at last year's New York Comic Con, we already had confirmation that Elayne (Ceara Coveney) and Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) will be traveling Tanchico during season 3 of the TV show. According to WoT Up!, both Robins and Coveney have been seen on set, alongside Kate Fleetwood (Liandrin), Laia Costa (Moghedien) and newcomer Olumide Olorunfemi, who is reportedly playing another Aes Sedai named Ispan. All of these characters are relevant to the Tanchico plot in the book series, so it lines up pretty well with what we were expecting.

The big surprise from WoT Up!'s scoop is that there are a few other actors who were spotted on the Tanchico set who do not go there in the books: Dónal Finn (Mat Cauthon), Alexandre Willaume (Thom Merrilin) and Kae Alexander (Min). "They filmed scenes with Elayne and Nynaeve, and they filmed scenes for the Tanchico storyline," said WoT Up! host Jon MacDonald.

If this proves accurate, it will be a pretty large departure from the novels. In the books, while Elayne and Nynaeve are in Tanchico, Mat travels to the Aiel Waste along with Rand. He has a few very important scenes there, especially in the latter half of the book; the show has foreshadowed those events already. Meanwhile, Min spends most of The Shadow Rising at the White Tower, and by the end of the book has becomes embroiled in some huge events.

Thom, however, does go to Tanchico in the novels at the behest of Moiraine, in order to watch over Elayne and Nynaeve. It's here that some of the secrets of his past start coming to the surface as we learn more about him, so it's good to see Thom on the roster for Tanchico in season 3. It sounds like he may end up sticking closer to his book material after sitting out the second season.

How will The Wheel of Time season 3 change Tanchico?

All this begs a pretty big question: how exactly will season 3 be changing Tanchico from the books? Personally, I'm hoping that any time Mat spends there will be early in the season, maybe on the way to the Aiel Waste. After all, season 2 ended with our characters at Falme, about as far away from the Aiel Waste as you can get. That's a big contrast from the third book, The Dragon Reborn, which ends at a fortress called the Stone of Tear that's situated right on the border to the Waste. There could be opportunities for characters like Mat to have a few pit stops on the way, and still make it to the Waste in time for his important book scenes from The Shadow Rising.

The same case can be made for Min, who spends most of The Dragon Reborn traveling and then most of The Shadow Rising offscreen, save for some chapters near the beginning and end of the book. When last we saw Min in the show, she was in Cairhien. Whether she's still relevant to the events at the White Tower from The Shadow Rising that we're expecting to see in season 3, the show probably has a window of time to have her do other things before she arrives there.

WoT Up!'s theory is that the show could combine events from Tanchico with a later book plotline in the city of Ebou Dar. Both follow somewhat similar trajectories, with Elayne and Nynaeve leading a hunt for a magical object in a city before things devolve into chaos. The big difference is that Mat is involved in Ebou Dar, unlike Tanchico. Personally, I'm hoping this isn't the case. Ebou Dar does use some of the same storytelling beats as Tanchico, but it's also a major turning point for Mat that could be better left for later in the story. Plus, the magical artifact relevant to Ebou Dar, the Bowl of the Winds, deals with an important plot point that hasn't appeared at all in the show yet. I'm hoping the TV series will get to it eventually.

Another possibility is that season 3 might pull in a couple of events from Mat's plotline in The Dragon Reborn which didn't appear in season 2. In that book, Mat spends time imprisoned at the White Tower after being separated from the ruby-hilted dagger, just like in season 2. However, Elayne, Nynaeve and Egwene free him so that he can deliver a letter to Elayne's mother Morgase, the queen of Andor. Mat then runs into Thom performing at a tavern (which is named The Woman of Tanchico, because foreshadowing), and the two journey together to Caemlyn and eventually to Tear.

Maybe the show will use some elements of this plotline, like Mat and Thom traveling together, while ditching the parts that are no longer relevant to the story? Considering that we're also expecting to see Caemlyn in season 3, it seems like the show has a lot of options.

The Wheel of Time is based on the 14 book-strong series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson; however, the television show is slated to only run 8 seasons. As such, the show is making some fascinating adaptation choices in order to fit as much of the story into that runtime as possible. If this latest leak from WoT Up! pans out, it'll be another interesting example of how the show combines material from multiple novels into one season.

The Wheel of Time season 3 is currently filming in South Africa. Season 2 is available to binge now on Prime Video. If you enjoy the show, don't forget to check out our post-season interviews with some of the cast:

• Josha Stradowski (Rand)
• Kate Fleetwood (Liandrin)
• Ayoola Smart (Aviendha)
• Natasha O'Keefe (Lanfear)
• Zoë Robins (Nynaeve)

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