The Wheel of Time season 3 teaser breakdown: Rhuidean visions and a blood bath in Tar Valon

Over the weekend, Prime Video revealed the first trailer for the third season of The Wheel of Time, its fantasy show based on the book series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. Over the course of its first two seasons, The Wheel of Time has consistently improved and delved deep into its source material to create a vivid fantasy world onscreen. But if this trailer is any indicator, we ain't seen nothing yet.

At the heart of The Wheel of Time is a young man named Rand al'Thor who discovers he's a prophesied figure named the Dragon Reborn who is destined to fight against the forces of the Dark One. The first two seasons were largely about Rand coming to grips with this weighty destiny as his friends and allies grappled with their own divergent paths. In season 3, Rand will face a new challenge: getting the support of world powers to help him in his battle.

The Wheel of Time season 3 is primarily adapting the fourth book in Jordan's series, The Shadow Rising, which is all about Rand's journey out into the Aiel people's desert homeland to win them to his cause. We get many glimpses of this journey in the trailer, along with a slew of other exciting stuff. Prime Video may have called this a "teaser," but it has so many details that it blows most full-length trailers out of the water.

To celebrate the return of the Dragon Reborn, we're breaking out our magnifying glass and going through the trailer shot by shot to find all the hidden secrets we can. So strap in and come along with us to the Aiel Waste, Tar Valon, and beyond.

There will be SPOILERS for the fourth Wheel of Time book, The Shadow Rising, below.

The Wheel of Time season 3 teaser trailer breakdown

This trailer starts with a bang: yes, that is Rhuidean! Rhuidean is a ruined Aiel city which features prominently in The Shadow Rising, and it is a place of foreboding magic and prophecy. When Rand is brought before the Aiel people and proclaimed the car'a'carn (chief of chiefs), he must go to Rhuidean to undergo a series of visions in order to prove he's the prophesied figure they've all been waiting for.

Showrunner Rafe Judkins confirmed at Comic Con last year that the show was adapting the Rhuidean portion of The Shadow Rising and he sounded pretty excited about it. A lot of this trailer centers around the visions that Rand and Moiraine undergo during their journeys there, so it makes total sense that the teaser would open with this sweeping shot. Check out that fog! It's going to be a mysterious, weird journey.

A few other details to note: there's one Maiden of the Spear on the right side of the image. It may be Aviendha, an Aiel woman we met in the second season; she has her own relationship with Rhuidean in the novel. But it's hard to be certain from just this one shot. The person with the hat beside Rand is probably Moiraine. As for the Aiel, the main thing I'm curious about is whether the man to Rand's right is Rhuarc, a recurring character in the books and one of the key Aiel chieftains.

Speaking of Moiraine, she'll be having her own visions at Rhuidean. I have a feeling this shot of her floating in water is connected to that. The lighting matches some shots we see of her and Rand later in the trailer that are likely from Rhuidean.

Our next shot features three huge stone statues of women, hands raised like they're channeling, in a large building. Those are likely Aes Sedai — note the gemstones on their foreheads over their third eyes, in the same fashion we saw Moiraine wear them in season 1. As the camera pans outward, we see a group of four women walking away from the statues, two in yellow, one in a blackish sort of coat, and one in a dark blue coat. I'm guessing this is a group of Aes Sedai of various Ajahs, but it's too quick a shot to be certain of their identities.

As for the scene as I whole, I'm guessing we're in Tar Valon, perhaps some part of the White Tower we haven't seen before. I imagine there aren't too many other places in the world that have gigantic Aes Sedai statues.

Next we see Moiraine in a dark blue hood standing in a city street as it rains and thunders overhead. Again, this looks like Tar Valon to me. I have a feeling Moiraine and a few other characters will either start the season there or head there right in one of the first episodes. We'll talk about why shortly.

Here's an interesting one. Obviously that's Rand. But what's with his hair and clothing? We've never seen Rand dressed like this. My guess is this is part of the visions he undergoes in Rhuidean, which will show him the ancient lore of the world — and, likely, glimpses of his own past lives. I don't know if this is supposed to be Rand standing in for Lews Therin Telamon or a different life, but I'm very intrigued!

This one's pretty straight forward: it's Moiraine's warder Lan standing in the Aiel Waste and scowling, as Lan does. He's got a nice poncho and has yet to draw his sword. I wonder what's got him in a mood?

This shot is of Liandrin, the Aes Sedai who we learned in season 2 was an agent of the Black Ajah, which secretly serves the forces of darkness. Without going too deep into spoilers, season 3 will cover a plotline set in the coastal city of Tanchico which prominently includes Liandrin in the books. I think there's a good chance she's in Tanchico in this image, which accounts for the intersting fashions fashion she and the women behind her are wearing. Tanchico is going to have its own flair, and we get several hints of it throughout this trailer.

Despite her allegiance to the Black Ajah, which wil undoubtedly be revealed to many of her Aes Sedai sisters early in season 3 (Nynaeve, Elayne, and Egwene escaped her trap with the Seanchan last season, and they'll surely tell everyone about it), Liandrin is still wearing red here, including her Aes Sedai ring. Even when she's been ousted as a traitor, she'll probably keep on wearing the trappings of the Red Ajah like armor, fooling anyone she can.

Next up we've got Elayne Trakand putting on a crown! Elayne is the daughter-heir of Andor, a powerful kingdom with its seat in the city of Caemlyn. That's most likely where this is, since Elayne probably doesn't carry a crown around with her.

I have some theories about Caemlyn which we'll discuss later. For now, I'll just say to make note of the window design behind Elayne.

This is a loaded shot if ever I've seen one. "Who knows how deep the Shadow's roots have taken hold here?" asks Siuan Sanche, the leader of the Aes Sedai. The scene above could be one of two things. It's either Siuan sitting on the Amyrlin Seat in the Hall of the Sitters with her Keeper, Leane Sharif, beside her...or it's someone else resting on the highest chair in the White Tower.

That person in the Amyrlin Seat is wearing red, so perhaps it's Liandrin Guiraile or another member of the Red Ajah imagining themselves in that vaunted seat of power. If so, it raises a huge question about who the Aes Sedai in white is next to her. Is that a member of the White Ajah? Are we getting our first look at Alviarin, a White sister and key ally of Liandrin's?

Here we see Moiraine pick up a white orb from the sand as weaves of magic start to flow into it. The location seems to be the Aiel Waste or Tel'aran'rhiod, the world of dreams, but it's hard to be sure.

As for the orb, I have my theories. Perhaps it's the show's take on the key to the Choeden Kal, a very important ter'angreal (magical object) that features later in the series? The Choeden Kal keys are described as small statues of a man and a woman, each with a little crystalline ball in their hand. Maybe the show is doing away with the little statuettes and only including the crystal balls themselves.

Next we see a woman channeling on a large rock formation. However, I'm not convinced this is Moiraine, for two reasons. The first is that the individual's skirt looks a little tattered in a way none of Moiraine's outfits do in this trailer. The second and more solid reason that I don't think this is tied to the previous scene is because the woman channeling isn't holding anything. If you go through this scene one frame at a time, you can see that she's got both arms outstretched. Unless it's Moiraine palming the orb in just one hand, I'd guess it's someone else. And all that's aside from the fact that the Choeden Kal is extremely dangerous to touch, even for Moiraine.

I'd guess this is Aviendha. In the books, Aviendha has a storyline which deals with the fact she is able to channel, and that all starts in The Shadow Rising. So maybe we're seeing her start to grapple with that here.

One other cool detail to note: the weaves in this shot appear to be of earth and spirit. Magical weaves in The Wheel of Time have colors which correspond to their given elements, which have gotten more visually distinguishable with each season. If the trailer is any indication, the weaves are going to look fantastic this time around.

Egwene's Accepted trial

Speaking of weaves, we see some more of them at work in the shot above — this time they're spirit and water. This shot shows three Aes Sedai opening the arches for the trials used to elevate a Novice to Accepted in the White Tower. Those Aes Sedai are Amyrlin Seat Siuan Sanche at the front, Leane Sharif, and a third woman I don't recognize — likely a new Aes Sedai we haven't met yet. The woman on the left side of the picture is Egwene al'Vere, and this looks to pretty clealry be depicting Egwene going into her Accepted trial.

This is especially notable because while season 3 will mostly be adapting The Shadow Rising, this scene confirms it will also bring in some key scenes from the previous book The Dragon Reborn, including Egwene's Accepted trial. Here's hoping Egwene's trial goes a little better than Nynaeve's did last season.

Next, Moiraine wake up on the ground, as she narrates "I have seen a thousand thousand futures." The setting that looks like either the Aiel Waste or Tel'aran'rhiod. She's wearing the same clothing as in the shot above with the white orb, so this is probably all part of the same scene or vision.

It's an eye! Who's eye? Your guess is as good as mine. This is one of the hardest shots to parse of the whole trailer, because it gives us very little to go on. My first two guesses were Egwene or Moiraine — we know that both of them will be doing a lot of eye-opening this season, since Moiraine's undergoing visions and Egwene has a plotline in The Shadow Rising where she explores Dreamwalking with the Aiel. But that's just a guess and I wouldn't wager a heron mark blade on it or anything.

Back to Moiraine, standing up in the desert. This is probably still part of that same scene above where she wakes up and finds the white orb.

The glass columns of Rhuidean

These are the feet or Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn. We know this for two reasons: there's a shot later in the trailer where we see Rand's face with this same sort of lighting, and these feet are walking by glass columns. The glass column ter'angreal are mystical artifacts Rand encounters in Rhuidean, which push him through his vision quest. The Aiel use these to test prospective chiefs and Wise Ones, and indeed, Rand will be tested in the extreme.

The sight of those glass columns in the background gets me insanely excited. I can still hardly believe we're actually going to see Rhuidean on screen this season.

Next we have one of the only shots of Nynaeve in the trailer. She's back in her white Accepted dress, which means she's back at the White Tower of Tar Valon. I'm expecting this scene early in the season, before Nynaeve heads to Tanchico in pursuit of the Black Ajah with Elayne.

Hard times for Rand and Egwene

One of the more interesting interpersonal developments over the course of The Shadow Rising is that the relationship between Rand and his childhood sweetheart Egwene changes, becoming less of a romance and more of a brother/sister bond. The show has played Rand and Egwene's romance up even more...but there's no way they're staying together, because they each have other, iconic romances they need to embark on later in the series.

That means we're going to see them go through some sort of split in season 3. I think this scene, where they're lying on a rug somewhere in the Aiel Waste, is probably part of that storyline. Perhaps they try to be romantic, and it doesn't work out? More on that in a second.

The next shot is a trippy, upside-down one of Moiraine flying through the air. The lighting, hair, and expression on Moiraine's face in this shot make me think this is part of the same scene where she's lying in the water that opened the trailer. The lighting makes me think it might be part of her Rhuidean storyline, where she'll undergo the visions which feature so heavily in this trailer. She's also wearing a shirt that we're going to see again in a later scene, when she and Rand are presenting themselves before the Wise Ones.

Rand and Lan will train together at last!

The next shot is another one that made me cheer out loud: Rand and Lan training together, back-to-back. Lan's training of Rand is a beloved storyline in the books that begins with The Great Hunt, where the seasoned warder imparts martial wisdom to Rand as they travel together. Because of the way the characters were split up in season 2, the show wasn't able to do that storyline. But now that Rand and Lan are back together, we'll finally get to watch Lan build Rand into the formidable swordsman he'll have to become to survive the challenges ahead!

Next we see Rand and a cloaked figure walk through the desert toward a huge assemblage of Aiel. It's hard to be certain about the second figure; one of the only details I can pick out is that they have brown hair. So I'm going to guess Moiraine, since we see the two of them present themselves to the Aiel in the very next shot:

Yup, this is Rand and Moiraine standing before the Aiel Wise Ones! The Wise Ones are the Aiel equivalent to Aes Sedai. They impart wisdom and help guide the chieftains, and some of them — though not all — have access to the One Power. They're the ones who have to approve Rand and Moiraine's journey to Rhuidean, the first step in Rand claiming his station as the car'a'carn.

Moiraine's narration returns here, saying "In every future where I lived..."

Avendesora

We shift back to Rhuidean, for another absurdly exciting shot: that tree is Avendesora, the Tree of Life. In the book, Rand and Mat encounter it on their journey into Rhuidean. The show's gonna have it too, and it looks just as striking as it should!

Another shot of Rand, walking through the glass columns at Rhuidean. This shot pretty much confirms those staggering boots we saw earlier were Rand's.

Moiraine finishes her previous line of narration: "...Rand dies." And lo! We see him die in this very shot, where Moiraine is clutching him as he passes. This is an upside down shot — it looks like Tel'aran'rhiod to me, and this trailer uses a lot of sweeping, inverted pans on shots that take place in the realm of dreams.

Some cool details here: Moiraine is wearing regal clothing and a crown. Perhaps in this reality, she's seeing what would happen if she became the ruler of Cairhien? Don't forget, Moiraine is the daughter of an ancient and noble house. Rand's sword is bloody, and it looks like he's been stabbed in the same spot as his unhealing wound which he took during his battle with Ishamael.

From Rand's dying body, we head to a ridge overlooking the vast desert of the Aiel Waste. I'm betting that Maiden of the Spear is most likely Aviendha, who we met during season 2. She's a majorly important character, and we'll hopefully be seeing a lot of her this season.

That's not Lanfear...

Moiraine's narration returns: "And the only way he lives..." We see the Forsaken Lanfear kissing Rand's neck. Or is she? The camera flips to show Rand's face, giving us a different perspective:

The person kissing Rand looks like she has dark, wavy hair. Lanfear's hair in the preceding shot is straight. But we do see another person with similar hair to this later in the trailer: Egwene.

I'm betting that Rand is trying to have some quality time with Egwene in this scene, but he's haunted by flashes of Lanfear. So while it's Egwene that goes to kiss him, he has a brief moment of remembering his time with Lanfear. And that will all tie into that gradual split between Egwene and Rand that we're going to see happen this season.

Speaking of Lanfear, here she is again. This time it looks like she's in Tel'aran'rhiod, giving someone the smirk as she turns her back and walks away. I'm guessing the person she's talking to is Moiraine, because the blur in the foreground looks like it could be Moiraine's long brown hair. And we know Moiraine's going to be seeing a lot of Lanfear in her visions, because the trailer gives us a ton of it:

Here's Moiraine, getting seduced by Lanfear in bed before the Forsaken suddenly grabs her throat and starts strangling her.

And here Lanfear is, strangling Moiraine again. This time it's in a desert, with another one of those inverting camera sweeps that makes me think it's probably Tel'aran'rhiod.

Another inverted shot of Moiraine dying. This time it looks like Lanfear is slitting her throat in the streets of Tar Valon — the design on the column on the left side of the image matches those we see in the city during Alanna's fight with Liandrin later in the trailer.

Moiraine finishes her line of narration: "...is if I don't." And it looks like she's actually saying it, here, in this scene where she's sitting at a campfire with Lan. This is important, because it tells us that in the show, Moiraine will tell Lan about what she sees in Rhuidean. In the books, it's left up to interpretation — we never actually find out all the details of what Moiraine saw there, aside from a few very small hints.

This whole idea that Rand can only live if Moiraine dies is very foreboding. We're not going to discuss too much because we don't want to get into later book spoilers, but it very much has me wondering if a certain red stone doorway scene may end up happening this season. It's seeming more and more likely.

Battle in the streets of Tar Valon

Next we get a glimpse at another important scene which didn't appear at all in the books: a bloody fight in the streets of Tar Valon. We'll look at more scenes from this momentarily, which confirm the person Alanna is fighting here is Liandrin. In this shot, the Aes Seda sister of the Green Ajah squares up with her two warders, Ihvon and Maksim, and unleashes a devastating blast of magic. Ihvon has been recast this season.

The weaves Alanna uses here are a mix of earth and fire, and the result is explosive:

Mark the column on the left side — same designs as Moiraine's vision. Alanna and her warders are stationed in front of a gate in this scene, which make me wonder if they're going to be the last line of defense before Liandrin escapes Tar Valon early in season 3.

Assassination attempt on Rand

Our next pair of shots depict another scene I'm pretty psyched for. Early in The Shadow Rising, Rand is attacked by his own reflection while he's recuperating in a castle before heading to the Aiel Waste, a result of a "bubble of evil" appearing and distorting reality. I believe that's what we're seeing here, in this very quick scene where Rand unleashes a blast of Saidin that obliterates two assailants: one on the bed, and one on the floor closer to Rand on the right side of the image. They're shiny, with a reflective sheen, and as Rand unleashes his power, they literally unravel:

So yes, I think this is the sudden assassination attempt on Rand. But one interesting aspect of it is the location. In the book, this happens in the Stone of Tear, a large fortress which Rand and his friends capture with the help of a group of Aiel at the end of the third book, The Dragon Reborn. The Stone of Tear hasn't appeared in the show yet, and I imagine it won't until later in the series, when the fabled sword housed there is more immediately relevant.

Instead, I think this scene is moving to either Caemlyn or Tar Valon. The clue for me is the windows: those look a little similar to the ones behind Elayne in the shot at the beginning of the trailer where she's putting on a crown. They're not an exact match, but close enough that they could still feasibly be in the same castle. Of course, Tar Valon loves some ornate windows as well.

I think we'll see Rand in either of those locations early in the season, where he's being brought to present himself to the powers that be as the Dragon Reborn. If it's in Caemlyn, it would give Rand a chance to begin falling in love with Elayne, which he does at this juncture of the novels. It would also let him cross paths with Elaida, a new Aes Sedai villain who will feature prominently in the series.

Having the scene occur in Tar Valon would be trickier, since Robert Jordan very purposely never had Rand actually set foot in the White Tower until a pivotal scene very late in the series. But we can cross that bridge when season 3 drops. No matter where this scene takes place, I imagine it will be part of the impetus for Rand leaving that location and starting his journey toward the Aiel Waste.

Rand vs Couladin

Here's another very exciting scene. Throughout The Shadow Rising, Rand finds himself falling afoul of an Aiel warrior named Couladin, who resents the idea that a wetlander is staking a claim as the car'a'carn and wants to take the title for himself. One of the climactic scenes of The Shadow Rising is Rand's showdown with Couladin in front of hte gathered Aiel chiefs and their warriors. I believe that is what we're seeing here.

The giveaway that the man in black armor behind Rand is Couladin is the dragon tattoos on his forearms. The prophecies state that the Dragon will gain those tattoos when he crosses through Rhuidean. In the poster for The Wheel of Time season 3, you can actually see that Rand does have these dragon tattoos if you zoom in on his right forearm. Couladin has these tattoos as well, although it is very much an open question during this confrontation whether he got them at Rhuidean as he claims, or through more surreptitious means.

Expect this to be a standout scene somewhere in the back half of season 3.

Here's a brief shot of Lanfear walking through glaring sunlight. She's wearing the same outfit here that we saw her in during the shot where she's strangling Moiraine in Tel'aran'rhiod, so I'm guessing it's all part of the same scene.

We return to Rand and Couladin, standing before the judgement of the Aiel. One interesting detail about this shot is that there are eight chairs on the ridge above them, which likely correspond to eight Aiel clan chiefs. There are 12 clans of Aiel in the books. I wouldn't be surprised if The Wheel of Time is trimming some of them, since a few don't feature a whole lot, similar to how it's paring down the Forsaken.

Another key detail about this shot is that Rand, the figure on the left on the circular dais, is taking off his jacket. That's probably to show the Aiel chiefs that he has the same dragon tattoos as Couladin, from his time at Rhuidean.

Meet Galad Damodred

We're not done with the exciting stuff yet, not even close! The next shot in the trailer shows none other than Galad Damodred, an important Wheel of Time character who is finally appearing in season 3. Galad is Elayne's half-brother, through their father Taringail Damodred.

Reliable scoop site WoTseries caught that actor Callum Kerr had updated his CV to include his role as Galad in The Wheel of Time season 3 last year, and this looks an awful lot like Kerr to me. Here he is training, presumably, in a courtyard of Caemlyn castle. Note the rampant lion crest of Andor on the outfit of the guard in red behind him.

There's no sign yet of Elayne and Galad's other brother, Gawyn. We'll have to wait and see if he shows up this season.

Another quick shot of Lan training. At least I'm assuming he's training, since he's spinning his sword around and there's no foe in sight. As before, it looks like he's in the Aiel Waste here.

Next we get a quick shot of a smith pounding a hammer onto a piece of metal. This is almost certainly Perrin Aybara. Perrin will be returning to his home in the Two Rivers this season and taking part in a massive battle there. We see him in armor in a following shot. I'm guessing he'll make peace with both his warrior side and his blacksmith side while he's there, and craft his own armor, which is what we're seeing here.

Our next shot is the sole appearance of Min Farshaw in the trailer, and she's in a very interesting place, surrounded by taxidermied animals and artifacts. My gut impression is that she's in the museum of the Panarch's Palace in Tanchico, a setting which features in some key scenes near the end of The Shadow Rising.

Speaking of characters we haven't seen much, here's our first glimpse of Mat Cauthon as well. This really doesn't give us much to go on for theorycrafting. Mat's in casual clothing that looks fit for sleeping in, he's got some bloody marks on the side of his neck, and he's staring as if he's in a dze. I wonder if it has anything to do with the cursed dagger he reclaimed at the end of season 2?

Moghedien and Liandrin

Another brief glimpse of a character we haven't seen yet: Moghedien, the new Forsaken introduced at the end of season 2. We see her here meeting with Liandrin. My guess is this is in Tanchico, since both Moghedien and Liandrin feature in that arc in the books.

Next, we've got a brief glimpse of Moiraine and Siuan kissing, in Siuan's fishing shack. When last we saw these two, they had just parted on bitter terms after Siuan tried to use an oath Moiraine swore to force her to obey her commands using the One Power. In return, Moiraine left Siuan immobilized by Lanfear and at the rest of the Aes Sedai, who would no doubt be unhappy the Amyrlin had let the Dragon Reborn slip through her fingers and escape Cairhien.

It seems like they'll at least get to have a reunion in season 3. This also tells us that Moiraine will spend some time in Tar Valon early next season, since that's where the portals to the fishing shack are located. I also have to shout out the staging of this scene, where Moiraine goes in for the kiss. When they parted ways in season 2, Siuan had just stripped Moiraine of her autonomy in a horrifying way. It's a beautiful bit of intentional staging that it's Moiraine who makes the move in this scene, choosing to forgive.

Perrin and Faile

Since we're on the topic of kisses, here's another one: that's Perrin...and Faile! Yes, we're getting to see Faile, Perrin's lover from the novels who is finally joining the series next year. Again, I love the little details here. Perrin often describes Faile as so slight that she feels tiny in his gigantic blacksmith arms in the books, and they're protraying that here in the scene in not-so-subtle, sleeveless ways. Faile is a great character, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the show's take on her.

Elayne in disguise!

This is a fun one. The image above shows Elayne Trakand, daughter-heir of Andor, in disguise as she goes undercover in Tanchico to hunt down members of the Black Ajah. This disguise is so good that it resulted in a riotous debate in the Wheel of Time fandom over the past week because some people were convinced it wasn't her. And hey, I'll just say I might have been one of them for a hot minute — every time I looked at this picture, I changed my mind. But costume designer Sharon Gilham has seemingly confirmed this is Elayne, which means we've got our first glimpse at her in disguise!

Egwene in Tel'aran'rhiod

While Elayne and Nynaeve are off hunting the Black Ajah, Egwene will be learning how to Dreamwalk the realm of Tel'aran'rhiod from the Aiel Wise Ones. This is a major arc for Egwene, and here, I think we're seeing her in the realm of dreams. Her lips quirk into the barest hint of a smile at the end of this shot, and the glaring sun and slightly out-of-focus surroundings fit the dream world.

Also, remember how I said Egwene had shorter, wavy hair in that earlier shot with a woman kissing Rand? Here's your good look at her new haircut for season 3.

This one's self-explanatory: it's Rand screaming. The lighting matches his Rhuidean shots from earlier in the trailer, so this is undoubtedly part of that same vision quest. We can assume it's not the most pleasant experience.

Another wickedly exciting shot: we're getting another flashback to Rand's birth in season 3. The dead woman here is the Aiel warrior Tigraine Mantear, who we last saw in the cold open for Episode 107, where she fought off a bunch of soldiers as she went into labor on the slopes of the Dragonmount. That scene cut away before we saw the fallout, but Tigraine dies there, while Tam al'Thor takes her newly born baby back to the Two Rivers to raise as his own.

Here, we see Tigraine's corpse, with blood soaking into a bit of fabric between her legs. The implication that she just gave birth is obvious. Less obvious is who the man is that's holding her body and screaming. Another Aiel? Rand's father, whose name I will not even type because of the spoilers it holds? We'll see.

Next, we see Lanfear fighting with Alanna in the streets of Tar Valon, confirming that this is who Alanna was fighting in that earlier scene with the blast of magic. And Liandrin looks scary. Her face and hands are covered in blood; clearly, she's been carving a path out of Tar Valon. Alanna meanwhile has formed the One Power into a blade, which is pretty cool — don't forget, the Greens are the Battle Ajah, and if anyone's going to be able to stand up to someone as powerful as Liandrin, it might be Alanna.

Another person covered in blood: Perrin. Here he is in his armor, wielding a massive battle axe as he shouts a war cry in front of burning buildings and scrambling fighters. A major set piece that's coming in season 3 is the Battle of the Two Rivers, and Perrin will be key to it. That's undoubtedly what we're seeing here.

Dark days for Alanna Sedai

Back to Alanna, we see her screaming over a body in the streets of Tar Valon. She's wearing the same clothing as the scene where she was fighting Liandrin, so this is all part of the same sequence. I'm going to guess one of Alanna's warders could die here — and if not them, someone else she cares about. The Wheel of Time has frontloaded a lot of character development for Alanna, since she comes into a more important role around halfway through the book series. Now, the time has come to start setting Alanna up for a very dark turn she'll have to take in the not-too-distant future. Alanna is going to have a very rough season ahead, mark my words.

And I'll just add, if this is one of Alanna's warders dead on the ground, that would be a perfect way for Liandrin to escape. Liandrin is a member of the Red Ajah, who look down on men and take no warders, viewing that dependence as a form of weakness. So how perfectly awful would it be if Alanna fought Liandrin to a standstill, and then Liandrin killed one of Alanna's warders, exploiting that "weakness" by using the tragedy to distract Alanna long enough to escape the city?

At last, we've arrived at the final shot of the trailer, and it is a doozy. Once more, Moiraine is dying on the ground, her throat seemingly cut. Except this time she's in the Ways, and is crawling away from a group of figures clad in black. Of all Moiraine's visions, this is the scariest: it's the heroes of this story, turned to the Shadow to become new Forsaken. From right to left, we have Rand, Egwene, Nynaeve, Lanfear, Mat, Elayne, Moghedien, and Perrin. And to top it off, Lanfear is back in her dominatrix outfit from season 2, and the style has captured everybody else, too. Poor Moiraine never had a chance.

That brings us to the end of our breakdown for the new teaser trailer for The Wheel of Time season 3! Which details were your favorites? Were there any we missed? Let us know in the comments!

The Wheel of Time season 3 returns March 13, 2025 on Prime Video. We'll be covering it extensively here at Winter Is Coming, so check back if you're watching the show!

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