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The Wheel of Time season 3 for me is a stunning and riveting improvement on its predecessors with each episode leaving me more hooked than the last. Each of the individual story arcs we were taking on had something gripping to commend it. So without further ado, let’s dive into each of the storylines this third season embarked on and the journeys each of the characters undertook. 

“To Race the Shadow” – THE WHEEL OF TIME. Pictured: Josha Stradowski as Rand al’Thor, Marcus Rutherford as Perrin Aybara,  Dónal Finn as Mat Cauthon. Photo: Prime Video ©2025 Amazon MGM Studios

Rand, Moiraine, Egwene and Lan 

The most significant arc for the wider story saw Rand and co. head for the Aiel Wastes so he could fulfil his destiny as the Car’a’carn for the Aiel people and gain an army for the Last Battle. 

Josha Stradowski has come on in leaps and bounds since the first season and in this season he goes from strength to strength as he starts to come into his own with regards to his powers and his fate. The fourth episode, ‘The Dragon Reborn’ is a standout in the season as it takes Rand through his past lives and deepens his understanding of himself, while Moiraine suffers the trauma of watching herself and Rand die over and over again in multiple possible futures.

Rand is more caught between the Light and the Dark than ever as he taps into the One Power more and more throughout the season. The sixth episode ends with a heartbreaking twist as he accidentally kills the little girl he’d taken a liking to and Stradowski is a powerhouse in displaying all of Rand’s grief. 

“He Who Comes with the Dawn” – THE WHEEL OF TIME. Pictured: Josha Stradowski as Rand al’Thor. Photo: Prime Video ©2025 Amazon MGM Studios

Moiraine and Lan continue to prove why their friendship is the heart of the show but her greatest moment other than being trapped in the rings in Rhuidean, is when she defeats Lanfear in a blaze of power after sensing Siuan’s death. The events at the Tower orchestrated by Elaida (a brilliant turn from Shoreh Aghdashloo) felt a bit rushed but both Aghdashloo and Sophie Okonedo put in the performances of a lifetime in Siuan’s final scene. It’s a premature death, so it will be interesting to see how Elaida’s stint as the Amyrlin plays out. 

Egwene also gets a nice arc as she recovers from the trauma of what happened to her last season, and develops her powers as the Aiel Wise ones teach her about walking Tel’aran’rhiod. She also deals with the growing gulf between herself and Rand as they both come to the slow and often painful realisation that they have just grown too different since they left Two Rivers behind. They never really quite had that romantic chemistry that brings other couples like Lan and Nynaeve to life so I’m looking forward to the fresh perspective on their relationship now they are beginning to accept the inevitability of their branching paths. 

“He Who Comes with the Dawn” – THE WHEEL OF TIME. Pictured: Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred, Natasha O’Keeffe as Lanfear. Photo: Prime Video ©2025 Amazon MGM Studios

Perrin, Alanna, Maksim and Loial 

Speaking of the Two Rivers, Perrin’s journey this season takes him back to where it all began where he must face the demons of his past and killing his wife while also facing off with hordes of Trollocs and a band of Whitecloaks led by a grieving and vengeful Dain Bornhald whose father Perrin killed at the end of last season. 

Grief plays a big part in the Two Rivers arc with the characters in various stages of recovery by the end. Perrin’s meeting with Faile helps him to come to terms with Laila’s death and a heartwarming new romance begins to develop. By comparison, the key enemy of Perrin’s story, Dain, is nowhere near moving on from his father’s death. He drinks to an insane degree, and even betrays his own morals by turning over Natti Cauthon to Child Valda, leading to her horrific death.

“Goldeneyes” – THE WHEEL OF TIME. Pictured: Jay Duffy as Dain Bornhald. Photo: Prime Video ©2025 Amazon MGM Studios

Alanna and Maksim meanwhile are in The Two Rivers for Alanna to find channellers and form her own army for the Last Battle. Through it all, the two find themselves in conflict as they grieve Ihvon in different ways after his murder at the hands of Liandrin. As far as subplots go, theirs was probably my favourite part of the season and it was gratifying to see them find a way to come together and move forward as they start to build something new without their partner. 

It was great to see Perrin get this much focus this season with the battle in episode 7 being full of tremendous moments from Alanna and the other channellers raining shards of ice down on the enemy to Loial’s noble sacrifice and the Cauthon sisters burning Child Valda alive while Alanna laughs. The storyline ends with Perrin keeping his promise to Dain and allowing himself to be arrested. Marcus Rutherford and Jay Duffy have great chemistry with each other, whether they’re momentary allies or enemies, and their strong moral values and personal conflict promise fantastic scenes in a potential season 4. 

“Goldeneyes” – THE WHEEL OF TIME. Pictured: Marcus Rutherford as Perrin Aybara. Photo: Prime Video ©2025 Amazon MGM Studios

Nynaeve, Mat, Elayne and Min 

Over in Tanchico, Nynaeve, Mat, Elayne and Min are hunting the Black Ajah while also embarking on a grand MacGuffin treasure hunt to find an a’dam collar to prevent Liandrin from being able to collar Rand. Mat’s subtle luck ability gets them a bracelet piece they didn’t even know they needed though it is soon stolen by the creepy and unsettling Moghedien. 

In the eighth episode, Elayne discovers through Thom Merrilin that Lord Gaebril has never existed and is likely a Forsaken, setting up what should be a tense storyline if the show is renewed. She also gets to let her hair down in one of the funnest scenes of the season as she performs the Hills of Tanchico, and shows off her excellent singing abilities. 

Nynaeve meanwhile finally breaks through the block on her magic in one of the most visually stunning scenes as she literally parts the ocean to save herself from drowning. The setup to this scene provided some great character work as she tries to get through to Liandrin, believing they both hold the same values of family in their hearts though Liandrin is quick to disabuse her of this notion. 

“He Who Comes with the Dawn” – THE WHEEL OF TIME. Pictured: Zoë Robins as Nynaeve al’Meara. Photo: Prime Video ©2025 Amazon MGM Studios

Mat gets one of the most interesting – and possibly confusing for non-book readers – scenes as he transports himself accidentally through a redstone doorway into the realm of the Eelfinn. He is also pretty confused by this turn of events and ends up making three wishes – to be free of magic, to have the memories from the Horn taken away and to leave the realm. This last wish leads him to be hanged from the doorway as Min foresaw earlier in the season and when he is revived, there seem to be strange holes in his memory – I wonder if it may have something to do with his wish to be free of magic. 

The Tanchico storyline doesn’t seem to get the same sort of resolution or time as the other main storylines this season, likely a casualty from having such a broad cast. It would be great to see this group be given more to do next season, especially now Nynaeve has access to her power and Mat has a new problem to solve. 

“He Who Comes with the Dawn” – THE WHEEL OF TIME. Pictured: Robert Strange as the Eelfinn, Dónal Finn as Mat Cauthon. Photo: Prime Video ©2025 Amazon MGM Studios

Final Thoughts 

Overall, this has been an impressive season with each character getting at least one moment to shine even if the broad scope of the story and the amount of characters to juggle leave some storylines (specifically the Tower and Tanchico storylines) feeling shortchanged. 

Apart from Sammael, all of the antagonists make it out alive. Lanfear escapes Moiraine’s wrath, Liandrin and Moghedien form a tense alliance, Rahvin lurks in the shadows, Dain and the Whitecloaks have Perrin in their grasp and Elaida is firmly planted on the Amyrlin Seat. Even Padan Fain manages to make off with his life intact thanks to Perrin’s mercy. 

With all these threats crowding in, if The Wheel of Time is renewed for a fourth season, our heroes will have their work cut out for them. And with powerhouses like Rand and Nynaeve coming into their own, it promises to be an electrifying ride. 

What were your thoughts on the season? Sound off in the comments below!

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