On December 7th, The Wheel of Time tv show had a panel at CCXP in Brazil. On that same day, we got our first teaser trailer. It was about a minute long and served as an introduction to what we’ll see in season 3.

SPOILER ALERT! Season 3 of the Wheel of Time will cover roughly parts of Book 3 (The Dragon Reborn), most of Book 4 (The Shadow Rising) and may cover parts of Book 5 (The Fires of Heaven, specifically the ending). I have read the series (multiple times!) so there may be spoilers through book 5 and definitely spoilers for the first two seasons of the show. You’ve been warned.

I have had very mixed feelings about the tv adaptation so far. The first season was pretty rough for me and I had some issues with certain adaptation choices, for example Perrin having a wife and how she dies directly at his hand. I feel as though there were points where things just went a step too far. I also understand the challenges of filming during COVID, a cast member leaving unexpectedly midway through season one, and that had a huge impact on the season and caused certain decisions to be made that they otherwise wouldn’t have done. Especially the unexpected departure of a castmate in season one had ripple effects all the way into season 2. I don’t want to rehash all that because I do believe that the show did the best they could with what they were given. There are plenty of other places on the internet that have done deep dives into all that, so a quick google search can bring up those sources if you choose to go down that rabbit hole.

All that being said, the season 3 teaser looks really good. It is more recognizable as the Wheel of Time and there are some fan favorite and classic scenes that look like they will be amazing. Rand and Moiraine in Rhuidean, glimpses of Rand’s journey through the glass columns… and it looks like we will actually get to see Moiraine’s journey, which we didn’t get in the books. That segment looks fantastic and I’m looking forward to that.

I’m also looking forward to Mat getting back to being the Mat we know from the books. He has some great iconic scenes coming up from the books that I hope have made it to the screen. Elayne, Egwene and Nynaeve we didn’t get to see too much of in the teaser, but from what little was there, it at least looks like Elayne and Nynaeve will be in Tanchico. Seems like Mat may be there too but we will probably see more of that in the final full trailer. This is mostly based on fan speculation of course. But that’s what’s so fun!

Anyway, I am probably most concerned about Perrin. I really want him to become the Perrin that he is meant to be when he goes back to the Two Rivers. It’s hard to imagine how Perrin will get to where he needs to be. I think that having him be the person who actually kills his wife, accident that it was, is just so much to overcome. The timeline on the show is condensed of course, so I’m afraid that his new romance with Faile will seem rushed or unrealistic, given how things with his wife played out. I’m reserving judgment of course, but I hope it makes sense within the confines of the show.

Overall, the teaser does have me excited for season 3 because I think the show will finally get on solid footing- no production issues, COVID, writer’s strike, departing cast members. That’s a lot to overcome and keep the storytelling consistent. Looking forward to season 3 and returning to old favorite characters, the departure of some favorites, and meeting some of the awesome new characters we’ve got coming! If you know you know! (wink wink).