The Wheel of Time adapts Robert Jordan’s iconic novel series of the same name, and the show must get 10 massive moments from the novels right to do justice to Jordan’s story. The Wheel of Time book series includes 14 novels, which makes it all but impossible to directly adapt the story. However, it’s critical for The Wheel of Time season 3 and all future seasons to remain as loyal to the source material as possible.
The Wheel of Time season 2’s ending did a mixed job of this, ending the season in the same place as Jordan’s novels but drastically changing the path there. As The Wheel of Time‘s cast spreads out around Jordan’s enormous world in season 3, the show must firmly decide which storylines from the books can be cut. However, it also needs to be careful to get 10 massive moments from the books right, or it could risk losing fans of the book series.
Perhaps the most important event on The Wheel of Time‘s wishlist is the cleansing of Saidin by Rand and Nynaeve at the end of Winter’s Heart. This momentous scene involves the use of the Choedan Kal — the two most powerful sa’angreal ever made — as Rand uses them to siphon the Dark One’s taint out of the male half of the One Power, dumping it into the ruined city of Shadar Logoth. After the cleansing, men can channel without losing their minds, making this one of the most critical events in the series.
Beyond the obvious importance this scene plays in The Wheel of Time‘s overall story, it’s also a wildly entertaining sequence, as the amount of the One Power being channeled is so immense that virtually any channeler on the continent could feel it. This alerts the Forsaken immediately, leading to an epic battle between most of the Forsaken and the friends Rand brings to protect him while he performs the cleansing. If The Wheel of Time gets this right, it could be one of the show’s most exhilarating scenes.
One moment that should happen in The Wheel of Time season 3 is Rand’s journey through the mystical ruins of Rhuidean in the Aiel Waste. Rhuidean is shrouded in a thick layer of mist, but those who journey through the ruins come across a collection of ter’angreal that show them the memories of their ancestors. This rite of passage is required for any man seeking to become a clan chief and any woman seeking to become a Wise One.
Rand’s journey through Rhuidean is important because it reveals a lot about the Aiel, but it also fulfills a critical part of the Aiel’s Prophecies of the Dragon, which state that the Car’a’carn — the Aiel’s name for the Dragon — will be marked with a dragon tattoo on both forearms. Typically, when a man survives the journey through Rhuidean, he returns with the dragon tattoo on one forearm, so Rand’s double tattoos prove to the Aiel that he really is the Dragon Reborn, making this a crucial moment for the show to get right.
As the Dark One’s touch on the world grows stronger in The Wheel of Time, he eventually becomes strong enough to affect the weather, sending out relentless heat waves and severe droughts. To counter the Dark One’s effect on the weather, Nynaeve, Elayne, and several others use a powerful ter’angreal known as the Bowl of the Winds to change the weather back to normal and end the continent-wide drought.
By the time the Bowl is used, the weather has become so severe that few crops can be grown and famine begins to grip the land, so this moment is crucial to the fight against the Dark One. With that in mind, this is not a moment that Prime Video’s Wheel of Time adaptation can afford to mess up. It will take some time to properly set this event up, but considering how critical it is to the story in Jordan’s novels, the show needs to get this one right.
In the penultimate Wheel of Time book, Mat journeys to the Tower of Ghenjei, using it to access the world of the Eelfinn and the Aelfinn and rescue Moiraine from her imprisonment therein. Moiraine is trapped there in The Fires of Heaven after she sacrifices herself by dragging Lanfear through a portal to the world of the Finn, trapping them both. When Thom Merrilin reveals to Mat that there’s a way to save Moiraine, they travel to the tower, fighting their way out and saving the iconic Aes Sedai.
For a while during The Wheel of Time books, Moiraine is presumed dead. This makes it thrilling when it’s revealed that the Aes Sedai is alive and there is a way to save her. Moiraine is sometimes considered the Gandalf of The Wheel of Time, as fans see her rescue from the Finn as something akin to Gandalf’s death and return as Gandalf the White in The Lord of the Rings. With that in mind, The Wheel of Time could be missing out on a huge opportunity if it fails to properly execute Mat’s rescue and Moiraine’s miraculous return.
The White Tower coup is one of the single most important moments in The Wheel of Time book series, as it leads to a civil war between Aes Sedai that divides the sisters when the world needs them most. This momentous event has been set up in Prime Video’s adaptation, but it’s unclear if it will occur in the upcoming season 3, or if it will happen early in the next season. Regardless, this is a critical event that The Wheel of Time needs to handle carefully.
The struggle between the two factions of Aes Sedai lasts for most of the story, so the foundation The Wheel of Time lays for this conflict in season 3 will be imperative. Never before in the history of the White Tower has there been a schism so broad or so public, making this hugely impactful on the rest of the continent. Bad things are happening all around by this time, and the Aes Sedai — who are supposed to be servants of all — are busy squabbling among themselves. The panic this causes must be properly conveyed in Prime Video’s adaptation.
Perrin Aybara’s Wheel of Time season 3 arc is expected to take him back to the Two Rivers, where he will rally Emond’s Field and the neighboring villages to throw off the oppressive White Cloaks and protect their land from the massive force of invading trollocs. Perrin and the men and women of the Two Rivers defend their home valiantly, beating back a force of trollocs nobody would have given them a chance against.
In short, this is one of the best battles in The Wheel of Time books, and Prime Video’s adaptation absolutely must get it right. The battle is won largely by the use of Two Rivers longbows and some makeshift siege engines that allow the villagers to fight the trollocs from a distance, which provides an excellent basis for a battle on television. If The Wheel of Time properly builds up to this battle and carefully shoots it in an epic but comprehensible way, it could be a high point for the show.
Rand directly duels a number of the Forsaken by the end of The Wheel of Time, but the most spectacular of these fights is, debatably, his duel with Rahvin. In The Fires of Heaven, Rand assaults Rahvin’s base in Caemlyn, resulting in the deaths of several key characters. This sends Rand into a terrible fury, allowing him to destroy Rahvin with a blast of balefire so large that it removes his existence from the Pattern before the death of Rand’s companions, effectively reversing their deaths.
This moment is one of the most shocking twists in the entire book series, so Prime Video’s Wheel of Time needs to handle it carefully. Further, the actual battle with Rahvin rages all around the Royal Palace, bouncing in and out of Tel’aran’rhiod as Rand chases the Forsaken, making it incredibly entertaining to read. With that in mind, it should be even more spectacular on-screen, so this is a key moment for The Wheel of Time show to get right.
The Battle of Dumai’s Wells is one of the most infamous battles in The Wheel of Time, as the unchained Asha’man ruthlessly use the One Power to eviscerate their opponents, spraying blood without reserve. The battle occurs after Rand is captured by a group of Aes Sedai, prompting Perrin to rally a force and assault Rand’s captors. While they are successful in rescuing Rand, the battle leaves everyone present traumatized in one way or another.
This is one of the bloodiest battles in the series, which makes it important for The Wheel of Time to depict it effectively, but the most important part of this exchange is the impact it has on Rand. After being locked in a chest for several days before his rescue, Rand becomes extremely paranoid and claustrophobic. This also deepens his distrust of Aes Sedai, which leads to tension between the two parties at a time when they need to work together, which is another thing The Wheel of Time needs to properly depict.
The further into The Wheel of Time book series one goes, the more paranoid and unhinged Rand becomes. While he never loses his sanity or becomes evil, he struggles to handle the enormous amounts of stress and pressure he is under, assuming the only way he can do what he must is to harden himself. However, Rand becomes so hard that his heart nearly shatters. Finally, after nearly using the Choedan Khal to destroy an entire city, Rand Travels to the top of Dragonmount and contemplates his place.
When Rand is on the brink of snapping and destroying the world, he has a revelation, deciding that the cycle of rebirth is not a curse, but a chance for one to do better than they did in their last life. With this realization, Rand becomes a totally different person, his mind merging with Lews Therin as he becomes the true champion of the Light. For this moment to be as gratifying in the show as it is in the books, The Wheel of Time needs to carefully build to this point over several seasons.