Last week, The Wheel of Time kicked off its third season with a block of three rock-solid episodes. This season of Prime Video's fantasy show is primarily adapting The Shadow Rising, one of the most acclaimed books in Robert Jordan's series. So far, it's living up to that high bar. Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski) headed out into the Aiel Waste with his allies to earn the allegiance of the Aiel people; Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford) headed home to the Two Rivers to find the once peaceful village under siege from Trollocs and Whitecloaks; and Mat Cauthon (Dónal Finn), Nynaeve al'Meara (Zoë Robins) and Elayne Trakand (Ceara Coveney) set off to the seedy port city of Tanchico to hunt the Black Ajah. A lot's going on this season, and that's not even getting into the shadowy schemes of the Forsaken.
Since Prime Video likes to drop the first three episodes of TV seasons all at once, that means we're already at the halfway point of season 3. And this episode is a big one: "The Road to the Spear" covers Rand's journey to Rhuidean, an iconic part of the books where he undergoes a trial of visions in order to prove he's truly the prophesied leader of the Aiel.
This is a moment that a lot of fans have been waiting for, and it's here at last. Does The Wheel of Time pull it off? FULL SPOILERS for the episode beyond this point.
The Wheel of Time Episode 304 is the best episode of the series yet
"The Road to the Spear" is a tight episode that is entirely focused on Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) and Rand's journey to Rhuidean. Structurally, it reminded me a bit of the Game of Thrones episode "Battle of the Bastards" in that we get a beginning 18 or so minutes which follow our characters on the eve of Rand's journey into the city, and then the entire rest of the episode is all about what happens to him and Moiraine there.
That focus does wonders for the episode. If there's any character in this series who deserves this kind of treatment, it's Rand, the prophesied hero upon which so much depends. The Wheel of Time has often emphasized its ensemble cast, but here at last it gives Rand the full spotlight. The result is spectacular, as Rand relives pivotal moments in the lives of his blood ancestors. This is Josha Stradowski's best acting in the series by leaps and bounds, helped by excellent makeup and costume design to transform him into seven different characters over the span of the episode. It's compelling, as well as deeply spiritual to watch Rand go on through his ancestry.
Of course, "The Road to the Spear" isn't only about Rand. It also has some important moments for other characters, like Aviendha (Ayoola Smart), who has a fun fight scene with Lan (Daniel Henney) before being forced to give up her spears by the Wise Ones. The fight scene itself is well-choreographed, and I like how much subtle information it conveys about the characters, such as how the Aiel view Lan as an equal in a way they don't for most of the other characters in his party. Meanwhile, we see the joy Aviendha has in running with the spears...right before they're taken away from her, and she's forced to accept her fate as a Wise One.
This is a major turning point for Aviendha as a character, and the show was smart to include it. But I do wish we'd gotten just a smidge more foreshadowing that it was coming. As it stands, it felt a little like it came out of left field. Yes, if you're wondering, this means that Aviendha can Channel the One Power — at least, in the books. Presumably, the show will make the same choice, since it's having Aviendha go down this path.
Another important character moment is the introduction of Sevannah (Natasha Culzac) and Couladin (Set Sjöstrand), the leaders of the Shaido clan. Those are the Aiel that seemingly killed the Tinkers in the previous episode, and they're just as antagonistic as you'd expect. The benevolent Taardad clan and the Shaido have a showdown on the mountain overlooking Rhuidean. It's laced with tension and complexity as various characters verbally spar with one another (and in one case, spar not-so-verbally). It highlights one of The Wheel of Time's strengths: conveying a lot of information in a very compact scene that doesn't waste a single frame or line of dialogue.
Steps through time
After Rand and Moiraine make their fateful decision to enter Rhuidean, we focus on the mystical city for almost the entirety of the episode's remaining 40-plus minutes. Beyond the aforementioned highlights of Stradowski's acting and transformations into various other characters, the enormous strength of this section is just how much it fleshes out the world and history of The Wheel of Time.
Just like Rand gets inundated with these visions to the point of being nearly overwhelmed, viewers are pounded with one scene after another that shows how the Aiel went from being part of the traveling Tuatha'an people following the Way of the Leaf, to the warrior tribes we see in the present. Each step that Rand takes through the striking glass columns ter'angreal launches him farther and farther back in time, so that we discover it all in reverse. His first vision sees him take the form of his own father, Janduin, who slew Moiraine's uncle on the slops of Dragonmount during the Aiel War. We already saw part of this scene in season 1, during the cold open for Episode 107 when Rand's mother gave birth to him. But now we see a wider view, which relates the context for the battle as well as the fact that it was Rand's father, not his mother, who was Aiel.
Of course, this raises a huge question: who was Rand's mom, who fought like an Aiel but didn't have their blood? The show seems to be building this up into a big reveal so I won't reveal more here, but suffice it to say that she's already been mentioned once this season and the series clearly has plans for her.
And that's only the first vision! Each subsequent one is just as packed with important events and information, taking us all the way back to the moment when Lanfear (Natasha O'Keeffe) accidentally created the Bore by punching through the Pattern into the Dark One's prison. Yes, we have our first real glimpse of the Dark One on the series, as the ancient Charn (Stradowski), a servant of Mierin Sedai, aka Lanfear, witnesses this world-shattering event.
The visions of Rhuidean are vast, and by the time it's through, we have a much better idea of how the Aiel came to be as they are, as well as their ancient connection to the Way of the Leaf. But beyond all that, it was striking to see the similarities and differences in the lives of Rand's ancestors. One had ties to Lanfear. One had two friends just like Perrin and Mat. Another was duty-bound to the Aes Sedai. Two were chieftains of the Aiel, a fate Rand is trying to secure for himself. These layers of meaning elevate this episode into something deeper and more spiritual than a typical hour of fantasy television. Props to The Wheel of Time for leaning in and making the most of it.
While all this is going on for Rand, Moiraine experiences flashes of numerous futures, each of which ends in some kind of tragedy. All of these flashes are very fast and very disorienting as the camera swings vertically across them. In almost every single one, we see either Rand or Moiraine meet a grisly end.
Moiraine's visions are a smaller part of this episode than I expected, but just like Rand's they are jam-packed with cool references. We see Moiraine as the Amyrlin Seat with Egwene serving as her Keeper of the Chronicles as they execute Rand in the White Tower. We see Moiraine releasing Lan from his bond as her Warder, and bonding Rand as her Warder instead. And in many, many visions, we see Lanfear murder Moiraine in horrific fashion. One of those even has our Two Rivers gang and Elayne standing at Lanfear and Moghedien's side as new Forsaken. There are a lot of ways things could go horrifically wrong for our heroes, it seems.
More than any episode of The Wheel of Time yet, "The Road to the Spear" does a great job leaning into the show's most surreal elements, editing them together in a way that is intentionally disorienting yet perfectly fits this part of the story. It's an expansive, emotional journey, and by the time Rand finally carries Moiraine out of the city at dawn a week later, I felt just as wrung out as they did.
The Bullet Points of Time
- Avendesora, the World Tree, is hidden in Rhuidean. This tree is important on so many levels, and here we find out that it tied Rand and Moiraine together from before his birth, when Moiraine's uncle cut down a sapling of it in Cairhien that was as symbol of peace gifted by the Aiel and sparked the Aiel war, where Rand was born on the slopes of Dragonmount.
- The leaf Loial used to open the Ways back in "A Question of Crimson" was an Avendesora leaf, so we've seen parts of the tree manifest there as well.
- Moiraine took the white orb ter'angreal from the tree. We saw that orb being used in Rand's second flashback, when the ancient Aes Sedai used it to create the glass columns. That's a very powerful object for Moiraine to have, so I'm curious what she'll do with it.
- Aviendha also passed her trials to become a Wise One. I like that she still gives Rand the same amount of sass, even seeing his twin dragon tattoos that prove he's the Car'a'carn once and for all.
- As cool as it is dramatically that Rand and Moiraine spent a week in Rhuidean, I can't help but wonder if they drank any water or anything during that time? I'm not positive how long a person can go without water in a desert climate, but a week feels like a lot.
- The ancient Aiel harvesting wheat in the final flashback are singing a song. That would most likely be the song the Tuatha'an are searching for in the present, which they've long forgotten.
- The main piece of Rhuidean from the book that was missing is Mat, who goes there with Rand in the novels. Some important things happen to Mat in the city; I'm waiting to see whether the show is repurposing them for Mat's trip to Tanchico, or cutting them altogether. I'm hoping for the former.
- It was fascinating to see Lanfear before she was a Forsaken, back when she thought she was doing a good thing by tapping into a mysterious new magic power that anyone could use. That power, as it turns out, was being dangled before her by the Dark One; it's known as the True Power in the books. It's not benevolent at all, but a type of magic which comes directly from the Dark One.
Verdict
"The Road to the Spear" is a powerful episode of The Wheel of Time which vastly expands the lore of the world while tapping into universal ideas of ancestry that give it extra meaning and resonance. Rand's journey through time is a high point for the series so far, and a fantastic adaptation of a key piece of Robert Jordan's book series. We're still waiting to find out whether Amazon will renew The Wheel of Time for a fourth season, but no matter what happens from here, we'll always have Rhuidean.
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