We're officially in The Wheel of Time pre-season marketing blitz. Last week, the series revived "#WOTWednesdays," a popular fan-favorite weekly event where the team behind the show reveals new announcements, images, behind-the-scenes looks and more to keep the hype building. We learned of five actors joining the series in season 3, including some who play key characters.
And now it's time for another #WOTWednesday! Today we've got 10 beautiful new first-look images from season 3. Let's check them out:
Our first image is a sweeping shot of Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski), Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), and her warder Lan (Daniel Henney) standing on a desert clifftop with a group of Aiel. Season 3 is largely adapting Robert Jordan's novel The Shadow Rising, a large portion of which centers around Rand's journey into the homeland of the Aiel people. We'll be seeing that in season 3; I'd guess from another similar shot we saw in the first trailer for the season that they're looking out at Rhuidean, the fog-shrouded ruin where prospective Aiel Chiefs must go to prove themselves by undergoing a trial of visions.
There are a few other notable faces in this image. The woman on the far-left is Bair, an Aiel Wise One played by Nukâka Coster-Waldau; and the man standing beside Rand is Rhuarc, the well-regarded Clan Chief of the Taardad Aiel played by Björn Landberg.
Speaking of Rhuidean, I'm betting that's where Moiraine is in this image. Here we see Moiraine standing in a striking blue-and-bronze outfit holding a white orb which is being filled with magic. We got a glimpse of that orb in the trailer, although it seemed to be in a different scene, because Moiraine had on a totally different costume; remember, Rhuidean gives people visions, and we've already seen in the trailer that Moiraine will experience plenty of them.
My guess is that the orb is the show's interpretation of the key to the Choeden Khal, powerful magical artifacts (known as sa'angreal in the parlance of the story) which possess a world-shattering amount of the One Power to draw on. They're so powerful in the books that Moiraine would not be able to handle them without risking near certain death...but anything's possible in a vision!
At any rate, that's just my guess; we'll find out for sure when season 3 premieres in March.
Meet Queen Morgase Trakand and Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan
This image has my hype level through the roof. It shows Elayne Trakand's mother Queen Morgase with her Aes Sedai advisor, Elaida. These are two massively important characters in the overall Wheel of Time story, and the show pulled in some amazing veteran genre TV talent by casting Olivia Williams (Dune: Prophecy) and Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Expanse) to play them. I'll be shocked if these two don't become fan-favorites.
There are a few notable details here that clue us in to their location. The first is the red lion banner of Andor behind them being held by a retinue of guards; that rampant lion symbol is the sigil of House Trakand, which rules the most powerful kingdom in the western part of the continent. At first glance you could be forgiven for thinking that means this picture was taken in Andor, Morgase's kingdom. But there are also some Aes Sedai novices in this image, recognizable by their distinctive white dresses and gray smocks. Novices aren't allowed to leave the White Tower on Tar Valon, so that must be where they are.
But none of that matters, because look at Morgase's insane outfit. Costume designer Sharon Gilham went hard this season.
Speaking of insane outfits, here are a few more. From left to right, we have Elayne Trakand (Ceara Coveney), Egwene al'Vere (Madeleine Madden), and Nynaeve al'Meara (Zoë Robins) on horseback. They're sporting regal dresses and armor, along with new hairstyles.
I imagine this scene is some kind of vision, or perhaps it's taking place in the dream world, Tel'aran'rhiod? I can't think of a single scene from The Shadow Rising that would line up with it; in the book, Nynaeve and Elayne end up on opposite ends of the map from Egwene. Whatever's happening in this mysterious image, you've gotta respect the show's costume game!
This image is much easier to parse: that's Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski) training with Lan Mandragoran (Daniel Henney). This is an iconic part of the book series, where Lan teaches Rand the way of the sword while they travel the world together, helping transform him from a humble sheepherder into a master swordsman. Lan's training of Rand actually begins in the second book, but on the show it's only coming into play now. I'm very excited to see these two spend some time together in season 3.
This is another fairly straightforward image: that's Siuan Sanche (Sophie Okonedo), the Amyrlin Seat and leader of the Aes Sedai. She's decked out in one of her formal gowns and head pieces, and wielding the One Power. The Wheel of Time has consistently made its magic more visually spectacular each season, and season 3 will continue that trend. The big question is what (or who) is she taking aim at here?
Next we've got an image of Lanfear, the Forsaken sorceress played by Natasha O'Keeffe. As always, she's got lots of style and looks on the edge of a smirk. Lanfear was one of the breakout characters from season 2; O'Keeffe radiated delightful villainy in a way that was infectious. Obviously, we're all very excited to see what mischief she gets up to this season.
Mat's journey will be different in The Wheel of Time season 3
This is a very interesting image. Above, we see Mat Cauthon (Dónal Finn), Nynaeve, and the seer Min Farshaw (Kae Alexander) in what looks like a seedy tavern. They're wearing some unusually flamboyant costuming for their characters and dealing with a guy in a sketchy fedora. I'm going to bet this is in Tanchico, a seaside city where some of the characters will travel in season 3. In the books, Nynaeve and Elayne go there in their hunt for the sisters of the Black Ajah.
That said, it is very curious to see Mat and Min there. That's a change from the books, where Mat goes with Rand into the Aiel Waste. We've known The Wheel of Time might be making this shift for a while now thanks to a filming leak, but the particulars remain unknown.
Our next shot features Elayne Trakand raising a glass with Aivendha (Ayoola Smart), the Aiel Maiden of the Spear whom Perrin met in season 2. Aviendha and Elayne have a close bond in the books, and that starts at right about this point in the series, before Rand heads out to the Aiel Waste. It looks like the show is including it in some form, which I'm all for!
We end our exciting batch of first-look images with three lads from the Two Rivers: that's Rand, Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) and Mat. Perrin and Rand are holding some mugs and there are bottles on the shelf in the background, so I'm going to guess this is at a bar. The friendship between these three young men is at the heart of The Wheel of Time, but they haven't spent much time onscreen together in the TV series. Whatever season 3 holds for them, it's nice to get a confirmation that we'll get at least one scene of them kicking back and hanging out at this crucial juncture in the story.
The Wheel of Time season 3 premieres March 13 on Prime Video. We'll be covering it extensively, so if you're as excited about the show as we are, make sure to check back for more!
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