The latest episode of The Wheel of Time, "Goldeneyes," featured a big battle in the Two Rivers, with Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford) at its center. But there were plenty of people involved. Take Loial (Hammed Animashaun), the soft-spoken gentle gentle giant. Loial is an Ogier, a race of beings responsible for creating the Ways, a magical network of roads that connects places from all over the continent. In "Goldeneyes," Trollocs were using the Ways to get into the Two Rivers and attack the people who lived here, and it fell to Loial to block their passage. He tried to destroy the Waygate itself, but found he couldn't. Instead, he collapsed the bridge in front of it, plunging both himself and the Trolloc army into the depths below.
Is this the end of Loial? In The Wheel of Time books, the answer is a firm no; he lives beyond the Battle of the Two Rivers. But based on the way showrunner Rafe Judkins is talking, it sounds like this is the end for Loial on the show. "Loial doesn't go out in a blaze of glory, like, you know, taking people down with his hammer. He sacrifices himself in a way that's kind of more intelligent and actually saves the day," Judkins told Game Rant. "Loial is such a wonderful character in the books because, of all the characters, he sort of has this sense of innate goodness about him. And, you know, one of his biggest, most important moments in the book series is closing this Waygate to protect the Two Rivers in this battle. So we really wanted to highlight that moment and let Loial’s sacrifice, to close this Waygate, be even bigger than what it was in the books. Like, he's willing to give his life for this. That, you know, I think people can really connect with—that even in this world of violence and war and battle, this character is willing to do anything to protect the people he cares about. That is quite beautiful to see, and hopeful."
As a fan of Loial, there's part of me that wants to deny that this is the end. We didn't see a body, after all. Judkins only says that he's "willing to give his life," not that he definitely does. Maybe Rand or Perrin or someone could run across Loial recuperating at an Ogier stedding in a future season. It could happen!
At one point, Loial's fate was left "a bit open"
But I feel like I'm running against the wind on this one. Marcus Rutherford, who plays Perrin, also talked about Loial's last stand. Intriguingly, he says that Loial's fate was left open, at least at the early stages of the script.
"We were quite lucky that we did [my storylines] quite chronologically, but I think at the moment [we shot their goodbye hug], to be honest, it was a bit open what was happening with Loial in the script at that time. I think because of the writer strikes, they couldn't really edit, so it wasn't certain what his fate would be, but it was implied in certain ways," Rutherford said. "But I've worked with Hammed so closely for three seasons now, and there isn't anyone on the show who puts in that level of commitment and time, and he's the best actor on the show, I'll happily say. I think sometimes I don't think people realize what he's always doing. It's so physically taxing, and he manipulates his voice in ways that it makes sense when you see all the prosthetics and everything. But he's a stage actor, and he's a comic actor, and he can do so much through the prosthetics. And I actually think in this season they've modified the look and tried to get a balance for what looks right, but also what's not too demanding for Hammed, even though he does so much physically."
"And I think there's something about that episode where you can see him smiling, and you can see his features and his emotions coming through, especially in the Waygate, and it's just, it's so beautiful. It was a really lovely scene. It was really sad. I think it almost felt like two lads having a bit of a private chat outside, and he's an absolute joy to work with, and I'm so glad that he has some really lovely moments [in his final episode]."
And then there are the final moments of the episode, where Loial narrates passages from the book he's been writing over images of Perrin going willingly away with the Whitecloaks to await their justice. "I think that final sequence, I remember reading the episode, and that final sequence is with Loial's voice narrating it. And I think that's what kind of sent me," Rutherford said. "They got Hammed to probably just do a voice note — he's that good, he's like a Shakespearean actor, so he probably just did it in the car — but they played that over my scene of when I'm reading his book. Because it is Loial writing the books in the series, it is from his perspective, so there is something really beautiful and powerful about that. And there's something sacrificial and similar to Perrin in a way. It's not big and loud, like, 'I'm going to go defend the Waygate, and I might not come back!' And there's something really quiet and subtle about their heroic nature, which I think is really lovely to watch."
There's one more episode of The Wheel of Time season 3 left to watch, but so far as Loial's ultimate fate is concerned, we may have to wait for future seasons...or I could just accept that the character is dead and move on with my life, but the wound is still fresh and I have a bit more stewing to do.
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