‘The Wheel of Time’ Boss Leaned Into the ‘Very Weird’ Parts From the Books for Season 3

“The Wheel of Time” is hurtling toward a part of the story that fans of 14-book fantasy series consider among the best, and showrunner Rafe Judkins is excited to get weird with it.

Season 3 of Prime Video’s adaptation of Robert Jordan’s beloved series primarily adapted the fourth book — “The Shadow Rising” — which is considered by many fans to be among the best entries in the lengthy fantasy epic. With Book 4, the series begins to shift from a more traditional fantasy story to something darker and odder. Judkins told TheWrap he was excited to lean into that “weirdness” deeper this season.

“We have a lot of trust from our network now because the show’s a success and people like it,” he said. “That’s priceless for us. The books are very unique, the books are very weird. We get to do a lot of that weirdness this season, which I like a lot.”

The third season picks up shortly after Season 2 ended back in 2023. Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) has been revealed to be The Dragon Reborn — a reincarnated hero prophesied to break the world or save it — and is now grappling with where to go next to prepare for his inevitable battle with The Dark One. Meanwhile, Rand’s closest advisor Moraine (Rosamund Pike) has to juggle guiding The Dragon Reborn with a growing schism in the ranks of the magical order she’s a part of, known as the Aes Sedai.

That’s only what’s going on with merely two of the show’s characters. The new season also jumps back into Mat Cauthon (Dónal Finn) blowing a magic horn that summoned dead heroes to his aid and left him with a dead language in his head, and Perrin Aybara’s (Marcus Rutherford) growing connection to wolves and newly golden eyes — but if that already sounds like a lot you are not the only one to think it. Judkins admitted that a lot of the first two seasons had to dedicate runtime to building out the world, the rules, the magic system, and a lot of the groundwork. Season 3 felt like the opportunity for storylines to start paying off, while also enjoying smaller moments with the characters.

“A lot of the first two seasons we have so little screen time, and it’s so precious, and to spend those precious moments on just like foundation block building,” Judkins said. “It really feels like a payoff in Season 3, when we’re just cruising and you’re just able to go.”

He finished, “These are some of the stories that made all of us fall in love with the books in the first place. So to be able to put those up and to have succeeded, I think, in laying these foundation blocks so we can tell these stories and just tell them in the best way possible, it feels really satisfying. It was really exciting for all of us who love the books and work on the show.”

“The Wheel of Time” releases new episodes Thursdays on Prime Video.

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