The Dragon Reborn holds the key to the future in the new season of The Wheel of Time
He’s got the whole world in his hands. In the much-anticipated third season of the expansive fantasy series The Wheel of Time, the Dragon Reborn contends with dark threats against the light as the last battle looms on the path ahead.
The first three episodes of the new season will be available to stream on premiere day, with new episodes following each week until wrapping up with a finale on Thursday, April 17.
Once simply a shepherd from the village of Emond’s Field, Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) has proven himself to be the prophesied Dragon Reborn, a powerful figure with the ability to either save the world from the Dark One or break it again.
Rand was discovered by Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike), an Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah, a matriarchal order committed to protecting humanity and healing it from the devastation brought on by the last Dark One. Broken by men, the world has been repaired by the women of the order, but now the future is out of even their powerful hands.
This season, Moiraine and Rand, tragically tethered in every timeline that lies ahead of them, must face an agonizing reality.
“I have seen a thousand thousand futures. In every future where I lived, Rand dies,” Moiraine narrates over a montage of possible ends in new season. “The only way he lives is if I don’t,” she makes very clear.
The future of humanity rests on Rand’s survival and the choice he must make between darkness and light. As he grows stronger, the darkness begins to turn his head away from the light and his allies, Moiraine and Egwene al’Vere (Madeleine Madden ).
Per Prime Video, “These powerful women, who started the series as teacher and student, must now work together to prevent the Dragon from turning to the Dark . . . no matter the cost.” Those who crave power are just as interested in Rand as those who want humanity to flourish.
Based on the bestselling fantasy book series of the same name, this latest season jumps into the fourth instalment, The Shadow Rising. The visual manifestation of the magical powers rendered by the series’ characters has more than lived up to readers’ imaginations, the show having been nominated for a BAFTA in 2024 for visual effects.
Expanding on the already incredible sets and effects of its first two seasons, the upcoming season highlights the terrifying beauty of the Wheel of Time world. Viewers will witness the White Tower being literally and figuratively torn apart, while Moiraine conjures power in a desolate desert as battles are waged over all kinds of terrain.
In a description from Prime Video, the upcoming season “will take viewers to many new regions and cities across the fictional continent of the Westlands, including the vast deserts of the Aiel Waste, the intoxicating and dangerous port city of Tanchico, and the forbidden and fog-shrouded ancient city of Rhuidean, where Rand and Moiraine will both experience life-changing revelations.”
The action-packed season is split between a journey toward open-ended prophecy fulfilment and the wars that are waged as a result. “We don’t win battles with politics and prophecies. We win with armies,” Alanna Mosvani (Priyanka Bose) preaches, while Moiraine receives torturous visions in the rings.
The Wheel of Time book series —initially authored by Jordan Sanderson, and then his son, Brandon Sanderson, after Jordan’s passing in 2007 — rivals J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings for the title of most beloved fantasy epic. The series has sold more than 90 million copies since its first book, The Eye of the World, was published in 1990. Known for their doorstopper length, the series includes 14 instalments, a prequel and three companion books, and its popularity has inspired comics, role-playing games and even a soundtrack.
The Wheel of Time, streaming Thursday, March 13 on Prime Video