The Wheel of Time showrunner explains newest episode, and why they went SO HARD on it

The Wheel of Time has been getting better with each passing season, but even in the content of that steady rise, the latest episode was a big step up. "The Road to the Spear" adapts a crucial portion of Rand al'Thor's journey from Robert Jordan's epic book series: his visit to the sacred Aiel city of Rhuidean. To prove he can lead the Aiel people, Rand stepped back into the past and learned many things about the world as it once was.

Rand's visit to Rhuidean is one of showrunner Rafe Judkins' favorite parts from the books, so he was determined to get this episode right, even if it meant producing something out of the ordinary. “It doesn’t feel like it may be sometimes, but to pull off so many different eras, to have [Rand actor Josha Stradowski] in different makeup, to have him giving a different performance… every single thing that we did through building this episode is really hard to do in television,” Judkins told Screenrant. “One of the reasons I wrote the script is because, if another writer on the show had done it, the network, studio, and all the HODs would’ve just said ‘No, we’re not doing this. It's too f***ing insane.’”

"I think it’s one of the best things The Wheel of Time books do–this sort of trippy look at ourselves, our pasts, our futures, and the circularity of time. If we didn’t pull off Rhuidean, I would’ve felt like I failed as a showrunner...When I sent the script out, everyone’s brain exploded, and they all wanted to kill me, because it’s a huge production undertaking."

But it was worth it; "The Road to the Spear" is currently the highest-rated episode of the show by fans on IMDb. “This was a moment to do a love letter to so many of the things we love in the books,”Judkins said.

But obviously, Judkins didn't do it alone. He made sure to praise folk like production designer Ondrej Nekvasil, costume designer Sharon Gilham, hair and makeup artist Davina Lamont, composer Lorne Balfe and director Thomas Napper. And of course there's Josha Stradowski, who not only played Rand in this episode, but also several of Rand's ancestors during this trip back in time.

“That was important to me from the conceptual stage of it in the writer’s room," Judkins said. "I felt like I needed Josha to play all the characters because the most important thing to me was that the audience could emotionally connect with these stories.”

"I felt that if Josha played these characters, it would let the audience feel like Rand was seeing these worlds through his own eyes … Even though you’re able to view them all as individual characters who are different. As you watch it, you are feeling that Rand is experiencing these emotions and feelings of those characters in the past."

I'll admit that I didn't realize that Stradowski was playing every single one of the ancestors; I didn't pick up that it was Stradowski playing old man Jonai. It was very impressive. Thus far, The Wheel of Time hasn't gotten much awards consideration for its actors, but maybe that should change.

Why it was important to see Lanfear "before she became a bad girl"

Rand's journey back through time ends with his ancestor Charn meeting with Mierin, a researcher who will eventually become Lanfear (Natasha O'Keeffe), the Forsaken sorceress we know and fear today. It ends up that Mierin was the one who punched a hole through the fabric of reality and unleashed the Dark One from his prison, an event known in Wheel of Time lore as drilling of the Bore. She had good intentions, but clearly they went awry.

"It’s something we thought a lot about how to bring to screen, because it’s essentially the beginning of evil in the world. It’s the inciting incident, almost," Judkins said. “In the books, you don’t actually talk to Lanfear. But for me, it was really important to see her and who she was...I thought it was quite interesting, and something we could only do on The Wheel of Time television show, that one of our characters could see another character thousands of years ago, and who she used to be–essentially, who she was before she became a bad girl.”

"I think it’s actually really important to the Rand-Lanfear relationship, this moment that he sees who she was and what she wanted, because she was a different person before she swore her Dark Oaths. A lot of that’s hinted at in the books … but to actually see this woman in those shoes aspiring to a greater scientific goal lets you feel for Lanfear in a different way."

Moiraine: Sorceress, spy, shoplifter

Rand gets the lion's share of attention in this episode, but Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) has some big moments too. While Rand peers into the past, she endures visions of the future. And she dies in most of them, which will set her on a new path going forward.

She also steals a powerful sa’angreal (a magical artifact, basically) called the Sakarnen. “There’s something really interesting that happens in the books. When Moiraine is in Rhuidean, she just starts grabbing s*** and pocketing it, which I’ve always thought was just so weird and kind of iconic at the same time," Judkins explained. “Of course she would. She’s a spy. These are objects of power. She can grab whatever it is and buckle down. That’s the kind of person she is, even if you don’t think of her that way sometimes because she seems so purposeful.”

"We collapsed it down from her pocketing all this random stuff in Rhuidean that doesn't end up playing too big of a role, ultimately, in the books, into her finding this one thing that does play a really big role in the books, and is something that we really need to pay attention to."

In The Wheel of Time books, the world is lousy with these kinds of magical artifacts. The lore around them can get pretty arcane, but superfan Rafe Judkins has it well in hand. “There’s the Choedan Kal in the books, then there’s Callandor and Vora’s wand, and we wanted to combine all of those things into this one incredibly powerful sa’angreal for men, Callandor, and this one incredibly power sa’angreal for women, the Sakarnen,” he said. If you read the books, you know what he's talking about. If you didn't, all you need to know right now is that by using the Sakarnen Moiraine can greatly increase her strength in the One Power.

Will The Wheel of Time continue after season 3?

All of this has fans very eager to see the rest of the season, and hopefully more beyond that. We haven't heard whether or not Amazon will back The Wheel of Time for more seasons, but Judkins and company have a long ways to go before they can adapt the whole story, and he's laying the groundwork. "It’s very important to what happens to him–at the end of this episode, but also through the whole rest of the season and the series," Judkins said of Rand's journey in this episode. "It’s a really powerful and important part of the story for him.

So does that mean we're getting season 4? All Judkins would say is: "I think it's a very important part of the series for Rand."

New episodes of The Wheel of Time drop Thursday on Prime Video.

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