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What We Know So Far and What We're Dying to See
This article contains spoilers for Season 1 of the Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime and for the first two books in the series.
Two weeks ago, Amazon confirmed that the filming of Season 2 of the Wheel of Time has wrapped. The short video released to commemorate the occasion was reminiscent of Season 1’s table read and stirred up memories of the good old days, when fans ruthlessly picked apart seconds-long footage, frame by frame.
As anticipation builds and speculation abounds, it seems the right time to review what we know so far and what we're most excited to see in Season 2. For me, it’s Thom Merrilin, but so far we’ve seen nothing on him other than Alexandre Willaume being hot on Instagram.
In the absence of #ThomNews, I've consoled myself by thinking about all the unknowns I am most looking forward to discovering in Season 2. The result was this list of my top 10 most anticipated Season 2 reveals.
10. Moiraine and Lan’s Storyline
Other than some light research and a quickie with a draghkar, Moiraine and Lan do next to nothing in The Great Hunt after leaving Shienar. But with Rosamund Pike and Daniel Henney as leading actors on the Wheel of Time, they'll need something to do in Season 2.
Leading roles aside, Moiraine's loss of access to the One Power at the Eye of the World in Season 1 is a drastic divergence from the books that will further necessitate the creation of new plotlines for Moiraine and Lan in Season 2.
In an interview with Content Mode, Daniel Henney hinted at what Season 2 will look like for Moiriane and Lan:
“Lan and Moiraine will be tested. Individually and as a Warder/Aes Sedai unit. They’ll face challenges that have huge implications. I consider season 2 a ‘journey season’ for Lan. He will be faced with many moments and situations that force him to question everything he’s believed in and how he’s lived his life up to this point. It’s really hard for me to not give too much away, but I will say this—2 swords, multiple fades, blood….lots of blood.”
Like, more blood than was spurting out of Lan's neck at the end of Episode 4? I’m here for it.
9. Those F***ing Waygates
I know. I didn’t want them on this list any more than you did. But in this world of technology-saturated isolation and short attention spans, meme-ability and mockability are royalty, and the WoT Waygate has made a strong play for the throne.
The Waygate, beautiful yet somehow visually unsatisfying as a doorway and nothing like it’s described in the books, has grown on me (not in small part because of the Tweeter of Chaos’s undying love).
I now have a grudging appreciation for the Waygate—not necessarily for its use on the Wheel of Time, but for who it is as a person. At the very least, the Waygate brought our heroes to Shienar and gave Fain a cool place to stand and hold a trefoil leaf.
So what is the fate of the Waygate in Season 2? The Wayfate, if you will (not sorry). Some have wondered if the Waygates could also be used as portal stones, which are heavily featured in Book 2 of the series, The Great Hunt.
Leaked photos of two similar structures in Morocco (one in an overgrown area, one on a beach) suggest that the show's love affair with Waygates is far from over. Whatever happens, it seems the Waygate could be a contender for "best glow-up" in the series on a future top 10 list.
8. What is Rand doing in Falme?
According to the JordanCon AMA, Falme is where “we are going” in Season 2. And while not confirmed, rumor has it that Rand will be there as well, specifically in “the cosmopolitan city of Falme.”
Why does Rand choose Falme to hide while he plays dead, and how did he get there? What does he do all day? Does he ever get to learn some sword forms? Does he dare to buy a snacc from a street vendor?
These questions, along with our sacred mission to experience more of Josha Stradowski’s acting, make it very hard to wait to learn more about Season 2 Rand's journey.
7. Dónal Finn’s Mat
Ever since the news broke in September, I’ve been watching my Twitter timeline try to make sense of the loss of Barney Harris as Mat. Everyone processes grief in different ways, and Harris’s gorgeous performance in Season 1 set some of us back a step or two, but one thing is now abundantly clear: the final stage of grief is thirst for Dónal Finn.
New artwork of Mat, excitement over any glimpse of him in photos of the cast in Prague, demands as to why he was not seen at the latest Wheel of Time Q & A—the fandom seems ready to not only meet but embrace Finn’s Mat. With Rafe’s seal of approval, plus the mystery of how exactly the show will introduce Mat 2.0, it's no wonder Dónal Finn has our full attention now.
6. Ceara Coveney as Elayne
With a slew of social media posts that scream pure Elayne energy (from this saucy selfie, to this “one cup” of wine, to this bath scene), plus her reliable stream of Instagram stories revealing glimpses of other cast members, Ceara Coveney has already captured the hearts of the fandom.
Whether she’s wearing novice white in Tar Valon or elaborate gowns in the palace at Caemlyn, I can’t wait to see Coveney officially waving her nose in the air in Season 2. And now that we know Aviendha is cast, will Elayne meet her future first-sister? Amazon, please let me know because I will need to prepare several boxes of tissues for that moment.
5. The Seanchan
If the tidal wave epilogue in Season 1 didn't do it for you when it comes to the Seanchan, maybe the casting news will. Not to be outdone by Hot Masema, Hot Turak (Daniel Francis) appeared on the same day we learned Season 2 had wrapped.
We also know that Suroth has been cast—we just aren’t sure by whom (my hope is for it to be Jessica Boone, who, according to WoT Series, was seen with half her head shaved in August 2021).
Between the Seanchan playing such an important role in the climax of The Great Hunt, my disproportionate level of love for Turak compared to his actual page time, and Rand vs. Turak being one of the best fight scenes in the series, I cannot wait to see some Seanchan action in Season 2.
4. Elyas and Perrin
First we thought Elyas was cut. Then we thought Stepin was Elyas. When Stepin wasn't Elyas, we went back to thinking Elyas was cut. But we should have had faith the show would bring him on at some point, especially given Perrin’s understandably but torturously slow arc in Season 1.
Perrin needs a mentor to move on. Killing your wife isn’t something you get over in seven episodes, so it makes sense that Perrin would still be conflicted about violence and the Way of the Leaf in Episode 8. And with “freeze” being the third response after fight or flight, it isn't all too unrealistic that Perrin does nothing in those last moments with Fain. It's just not very exciting.
With Gary Beadle cast as Elyas cast in Season Two, there’s hope that Perrin will start to heal under the care of his mentor, learn that he is a Wolfbrother, start to forgive himself for that tragic accident, and then go on to axe some Darkfriends without remorse and recover the Horn of Valere.
3. What the Hell is this Wheel?
This wheel has a lot of explaining to do. Much like the Waygate, this literally dusty wheel is never described in the books and seems like an unnecessarily ostentatious set piece.
When adapting a book series for TV, it’s not necessarily wrong to take artistic license or build a random torture device in the desert. But why would you choose such a blatantly obvious reference to the title of the show? If you’re a fan, you know the Wheel of Time isn’t actually a wheel, but that still doesn't mean it's OK to put a giant one on the set.
That said, I am willing to withhold judgment on the sex wheel until we’ve actually seen what it is, how it’s used in the show, and who is strapped onto it (Nynaeve and Lanfear being the most popular guesses).
Speculations on potential uses for the wheel include Inquistor torture device, Seanchan torture device, or Accepted test torture device (illusory, of course—the Aes Sedai on the show do not seem like they would be into that kind of thing).
Based on the success of the fandom’s predictions for Season 1, the wheel is probably none of those things. Whatever it is, it better be good enough to overpower its own absurdity.
2. Maidens of the Spear
In the cold open to Episode 7, the bar for Aiel was set disturbingly high by the collective efforts of director Ciaran Donnelly, stunt coordinator Jan Petrina, stunt actor Magdalena Sittova, and a Bolt camera. While it's hard to believe they could ever top that scene, I still can't wait to see what Season 2 has in store for the Aiel, in particular for spear-wielding Ayoola Smart as Aviendha.
But what about her spear-sisters? There’s quite a bit of evidence that the women of Filmka Stunt Team could be our Far Dareis Mai, from their presence in Ourzazate during filming for Season 2, Smart “liking” their post on Instagram, to this spear-like fight choreography by one of the actors.
Based in Prague, Filmka was also on the Wheel of Time set during Season 1.
Regardless of who is playing them, the Maidens are bound to be amazing, and I'm dying to meet them.
1. Who are Natasha O'Keefe and Meera Syal?
We’ve known since New York Comic Con almost 8 months ago that Natasha O'Keefe and Meera Syal have been cast in Season 2 and will be “playing two of the most important characters in the whole book series.” And while Wheel of Time fans can speculate ad infinitum, we still have no idea who either of them will play.
The only other hint we have is that, according to Rafe Judkins, the two are “going to really deepen and bring to life the rest of the world of the Wheel of Time." Can you imagine how many heads will explode when we first see them on screen as Verin, Elaida, Lanfear, or another character we haven’t considered? Casting so far has been one of the show's strong points, so, whoever they are playing, it stands to reason that O'Keefe and Syal are going to nail their roles.
This week’s honorable mention goes to the stunt team body slam at 0:19 in the Season 2 wrap video. Despite the stunt actor having a very Josha-like buzz cut, his goatee caused many to rule out that it was Rand getting his ass kicked. I’m still holding out hope that facial hair doesn’t matter, and Rand's opponent is either an Aiel welcoming committee or Turak with martial arts skills. Either way, that move is fire, and you better believe I’m going to be looking for it in every fight scene of Season 2.
Bain & Chiad is a regular contributor to thegreatblight.com and the creator of Maidens’ List, a weekly opinion column about the Wheel of Time book series, TV show, and fandom.
An updated version of this list will be posted before Season 2 drops, taking into account the most recent news, interviews, trailers, and other clues fans have pieced together.
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