Soon, The Wheel of Time will return for its third season, transporting viewers back into the world of Robert Jordan's beloved book series as the Dragon Reborn and his allies continue their battle against the Dark One. The hype has been high for this season, thanks in part to the fact that it's adapting one of the best books in the series, The Shadow Rising. Prime Video has unveiled a new full-length trailer for The Wheel of Time season 3, and it is stuffed to the gills with thrilling hints at what's ahead.
As Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski) sets out into the Aiel Waste to procure new allies, his friends scatter to the winds on different missions, all of which will have far-reaching impacts on the battles ahead. We're going to go through this trailer shot by shot, searching for every secret we can find. There will be SPOILERS for The Shadow Rising ahead.
Sercets of The Wheel of Time season 3 trailer
The trailer begins with a wide shot of silhouetted figures walking through a shimmering desert. That's Rand in the front, followed by a group of Aiel. The person behind him has a broad frame which matches that of Rhuarc (Björn Landberg) to my eye.
The next quick shot of the trailer shows three women in ornate dresses riding on horseback through a mountainous location. We've seen these three before in official images: that's Egwene (Madeleine Madden), Elayne (Ceara Coveney), and Nynaeve (Zoë Robins). Their clothing and horses match the photo we've already seen:
Madden confirmed that this scene is from Egwene's Accepted trial, writing on Instagram that "The way back will come but once." That's the cryptic line Aes Sedai say to novices as they head into the Arches beneath the White Tower. Remember that big traumatic trial Nynaeve went through last season where she walked through the Arches to become an Accepted? Well, this season it's going to be Egwene's turn.
Next is a close-up of Rand, standing in a river. Is that a hint of madness in his eyes?
A few interesting things about this image: the first is that Rand is wearing his iconic red jacket from the books; we saw him wear a similar coat during season 2, when Lanfear (Natasha O'Keeffe) brought him to a party for the nobility of Cairhien. The second is that Rand has long hair, while most of the scenes from the trailer have him with very short hair.
That means this is almost certainly a vision. But which vision? We know Rand will be getting a bunch of visions when he goes to the ruined Aiel city of Rhuidean, so that's an obvious candidate. Then again, those mountains seem a pretty close match to the landscape that Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne rode through in the previous scene. Could Rand's wild appearance be part of Egwene's Accepted trial?
Our next pair of images shows Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike), channeling the One Power from atop a towering rock formation in the Aiel Waste:
Moiraine spent most of season 2 cut off from her magic; clearly, she's making the most of being able to use it again.
The White Tower in peril
This shot is the first jaw-dropper of the trailer; get used to it, because this thing is packed. We see Siuan Sanche (Sophie Okonedo), the Amyrlin Seat, lifting Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood) with the One Power in the Hall of the Tower.
Siuan is flanked by her Keeper of the Chronicles, Leane Sharif (Jennifer Cheon), and the Green Aes Sedai Alanna (Priyanka Bose). Nynaeve is on the right side of the image, back in her white Accepted's dress. There are also several Aes Sedai seated on the left side of Siuan's throne, from what looks like the Green and Brown Ajahs. That means a formal council of the Sitters — the heads of each Aes Sedai Ajah — has been called.
In season 2, it was revealed that Liandrin was a member of the Black Ajah when she kidnapped Nynaeve, Egwene, and Elayne and handed them over to the Seanchan. We've heard reports that this season will bring that plot thread to a head right at the start, as the Aes Sedai confront the traitor in their midst. Previously that felt like a spoiler to say...but look at this trailer. The next few shots show all hell breaking loose in the Hall of the Tower, as Liandrin and the rest of the Aes Sedai lay into each other with the One Power. It looks amazing.
And it doesn't look like Liandrin is without allies. In the books, she escapes the White Tower with 12 other sisters of the Black Ajah. That happens off-screen, and we only hear about it after the fact. It looks like the TV show will turn it into a big showdown.
"We cannot stand behind these walls and pretend we still have control," Siuan says as he we get a few shots of the White Tower. We start with a wide shot of rain falling over the Tower and city of Tar Valon:
Then a shot of several people walking by a few towering statues. This scene also appeared in the first teaser trailer for season 3. At the time, I said I thought it was the White Tower, and those people were members of one of the Ajahs, perhaps Yellow from the dresses. I'm sticking with that guess!
Then, a dramatic frame of Siuan sitting on the Amyrlin Seat. It looks like some of the other Sitters are seated around her, and you can just make out Leane on the right with her staff:
Next up, Liandrin, giving her usual scene-stealing steely-eyed stare:
It doesn't look like she's in the White Tower to me. Her hair also isn't tied up in the intricate knotwork we saw in the previous scene. I'm guessing this is sometime after Liandrin makes her escape from Tar Valon. It's also worth noting that she's bowing her head here. I'm guessing that's because she's meeting one of the Forsaken.
Our next image shows Moiraine and Lan, looking up at something in concern. The buildings look like Tar Valon. It's also raining, which would match the previous wide shot we saw of the White Tower. Perhaps they hear chaos breaking loose there?
"This tower is destroying itself from the inside out," Egwene snarls. She's looking a little haggard here, with dirt and sweat on her face. Given the dialogue and her white novice's dress, she's probably back in the White Tower...but she certainly doesn't sound happy about it.
Our next shot is another one we saw in the teaser trailer, of Alanna standing with her warders Maksim (Taylor Napier) and Ihvon, who was recast in season 3 to Anthony Kaye. Alanna launches a burst of magic through the street of Tar Valon. From the previous teaser, we know this is part of the rumble with Liandrin in Tar Valon.
Rand al'Thor will need allies for The Last Battle
"If the White Tower does not bend the knee to Rand al'Thor, he will lose the Last Battle," says Moiraine. It looks to me like she's in Siuan's fishing hut, probably speaking to the Amyrlin Seat.
Without going into spoilers for later books, this line set off bells in my head for a particularly important event that occurs in book 6, Lord of Chaos. With any luck, season 3 will be a massive hit, The Wheel of Time will get renewed, and we'll get to see it play out.
The scene cuts to Rand and Moiraine walking through a bunch of spears. We've already seen that Rhuidean is surrounded by spears sticking out of the ground, so I'm guessing that's where they are. I'm also guessing those two women behind Rand are Wise Ones; Bair (Nukâka Coster-Waldau) on the left and Melaine (Salóme Gunnarsdóttir) on the right.
Rand may need allies to fight the Last Battle, but he won't be the only person from the Two Rivers in the thick of it...because this season, the fight is coming to the Two Rivers itself. Our next bunch of shots show battle joined there, between the people of the Two Rivers and an army of Trollocs! Check out the cool wooden palisade wall they've built! If you squint just right, you can just make out some Whitecloaks helping hold the gate closed in the bottom center of the shot.
Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) will be leading this war effort against an invading army of Trollocs, and he'll be looking great doing it:
The Battle of the Two Rivers is a lengthy sequences from The Shadow Rising, and we're going to get to see it onscreen this season! It's going to be a hugely important event for Perrin in particular, who will head home and end up leading the war effort.
There's plenty more trailer to break down, so much so that we can't even fit it all on one page. Click the button below to continue: