The Wheel of Time Season 1: Cast, release and plot details are already known to us

When The wheel of time when its first season ended on Amazon in December, it was a bittersweet note: Yes, Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) and her warder Lan (Daniel Henney) had found Rand (Josha Stradowski), who is the dragon reincarnated. And yes, Egwene (Madeleine Madden) and Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) had come into their own. And yet, after their first attack on the Dark One (Fares Fares), they almost felt defeated. Rand went into hiding on his own, Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) was betrayed by a trusted ally, and Moiraine was mentally cut off from her power and her connection to Lan.

It’s a tough place to stop, with all of its one step forward, one step back energy. But thankfully, Amazon’s high fantasy show (or at least the first before The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power) is already underway with Season 2, having received a Season 2 renewal before it even premiered.

That’s not particularly surprising – while Amazon has other fantasy skins in play, the Wheel of Time books have a large following keen on finally getting the adaptation they deserve. While showrunner Rafe Judkins’ vision drastically changed the world of Robert Jordan’s books, the response has been pretty positive. But even with the early extension and filming since July 2021, Amazon hasn’t said much about the timeline for Season 2’s arrival. Luckily, we know a few things about what Season 2 will bring The wheel of time.

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for the second Wheel of Time book, which may be the entire basis for the second season of The Wheel of Time.]

When does Wheel of Time season 2 start?

Photo: Jan Thijs/Amazon Prime Video

Amazon hasn’t said that yet. But since filming has been underway since July 2021 (again In front Season 1 premiered), one might hope Season 2 will be here before the year is out. Still with Lord of the rings Premiered in early September, it will likely be the last quarter of 2022 before we catch up with the Ta’veren.

“We’re going to be very careful about how we release these shows,” said Vernon Sanders, head of global TV at Amazon Studios. said TV Line

Rand, the reincarnated dragon from The Wheel of Time, is about to do some growth

After much back-and-forth on who the great dragon reborn might be, it’s… Rand! Just like in the books. But in several postmortem interviewsJudkins carefully emphasized that the show should be about all five members of the Two Rivers crew, not just Rand’s journey as “the chosen one.”

That being said, Rand’s showdown with the Dark One set the tone for what viewers can expect from future fights. In particular, Judkins wanted actor Josha Stradowski to establish his own style of channeling, unlike the women we’ve seen so far.

“The channeling was one of the biggest challenges for me, but I was really thankful for the books because they’re in the books [have] lots of descriptions – beautiful descriptions – of what male channeling is and what it feels like and what it’s like,” Judkins said The Wrap in December 2021. “And what I wanted is for people to see that it definitely costs you something … And as a man, it’s also something that’s also dangerous because that One Power — if you use it like that, is in a man.” it’s corrupted by the dark, so the more you use it, the closer you really get to insanity.”

Photo: Jan Thijs/Amazon Prime Video

That’s ultimately why Rand decides to go off alone and make his loved ones think he’s dead.

“He’s cut off from his roots now. And that’s the beginning of an identity shift. Becoming Dragon Reincarnated means that you are the only person in the whole wide world who can save the world or destroy it, and the responsibility is crazy,” Judkins said.

“It weighs heavily and yes, I think Rand needs to find his own way now to do what he needs to do. And it’s just the beginning of his transformation into – now that he knows he’s the dragon reincarnated, now it’s actually about becoming the dragon reincarnated. And how do you do that? Who can help you? And it’s the beginning of a very difficult, dark, dramatic journey.”

What happens in Wheel of Time Season 2?

While Amazon hasn’t said exactly what will be included in Season 2, the arc of Season 1 is – drawn from the first book in the series and the prequel New spring – suggests it’s probably (mostly) based on that The Great Hunt.

In this book, Rand struggles with his newfound knowledge of being the dragon reincarnated while attempting to keep the Horn of Valere out of the Dark One’s grasp. This horn is a magical horn meant to be blown by the reincarnated dragon as it embarks on the “final battle” against the Dark One. He joins other Ta’veren and Shienaran soldiers to protect it while Egwene, Nynaeve and Elayne go to the White Spire to learn the ways of the Aes Sedai.

Photo: Jan Thijs/Amazon Prime Video

In the show, Perrin is the one who finds the Horn of Valere – although it is promptly stolen by Padan Fain, who reveals he is a dark friend who came to the Two Rivers to find the Ta’veren. That change was intentional, Judkins told The Wrap.

“You can’t spend much time with the dark friends in the books outside of the Forsaken. And so we really wanted to make sure that every dark friend that we meet on the show, like Dana, who you met in Episode 3, and Padan Fain… you kind of understand them as people and that their goal isn’t, you know , the evil. They are not just evil people who were born evil and want evil.” said Judkins.

“They have complex human emotions and feelings and they probably see what they do as positive, either for themselves or for the world or for their loved ones, or for some reason they see what they do as important and we wanted to give it the padan fain. And that drives a lot of what we’ll see in Season 2, with each of our main characters also struggling with the balance of darkness and light within themselves.”

For any fans concerned about possible departures from the book, Sanders hopes to allay fears. In the same interview with TV Line, Sanders said he thinks Season 2 would be “bigger, bolder and bigger wheel of time.”

“Rafe was a fantastic leader – thoughtful, kind, genuinely trying to do this the right way – and so was Rosamund,” Sanders said. “So we went into Season 2 with a real conversation, ‘What can we do better now that we’ve introduced this massive world and established these characters?'”

One thing we know for sure: the first episode will be called “A Taste of Solitude”.

This sentence is the title of the 18th chapter in the sixth book of Wheel of Time, Lord of Chaos; make of it what you want.

Who are the people who attacked at the end of Season 1?

In a day for the first season, a young girl plays on a beach along the Far Western Shore. She looks out across the water and sees a line of ships; The camera zooms in on (what appears to be) two Aes Sedai being manipulated to use the One Power to create an enormous tidal wave.

Photo: Jan Thijs/Amazon Prime Video

While season 1 didn’t give us much to go on, The Great Hunt includes a subplot where an empire called Seanchan attacks. Wanting to reclaim the continent their ancestors came from, they have been gathering resources for what they call “the return” for years. This means they are armed and ready, including enslaved channelers like those seen at the end of Season 1.

The women we see channeling are damane, or “on a leash,” according to a Seanchan language translation. They are controlled by Sul’dam – “line holders” – and taken from anywhere the Seanchan can find them, including kidnapped Aes Sedai.

What happens to Lan and Moiraine?

The final chapter shattered a seemingly impenetrable bond: Moiraine severed her ties with Lan to go to the (“first”) battle. But after battling the Dark One, she is cut off from the One Power – unable to mend it and Lan’s bond.

To that end, Daniel teased Henney (who plays Lan) just a bit an interview with Content Mode:

Lan and Moiraine are tested. Individually and as a Warder/Aes Sedai unit. You will be faced with challenges that will have tremendous impact. I view Season 2 as a “season of travel” for Lan. He is faced with many moments and situations that force him to question everything he has believed in and how he has lived his life so far. It’s really hard for me not to give too much away, but I’ll say this – 2 swords, multiple fades, blood… lots of blood.

The cast of Wheel of Time is growing

Most of the main cast will return for Season 2: Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred, Henney as Lan, as well as Ta’veran contestants Josha Stradowski, Marcus Rutherford, Zoë Robins and Madeleine Madden.

As previously announced, Dónal Finn takes over the role of Mat from Barney Harris. Although no one out wheel of time has commented on the reason for the swap, saying the transition feels “seamless” between the actors.

And Season 2 will also welcome some new characters. Ceara Coveney will play Elayne Trakand, Queen of Andor and Cairhien BroadchurchMeera Syal and Peaky Blinders Star Natasha O’Keeffe will be joining (in roles to be announced). Ayoola Smart was heralded as Aviendha, a sage introduced in the third book in the series; She is one of the strongest female channelers out there. And while we don’t know the details of how wheel of time will cover her on screen, she is one of Rand’s love interests in the books.

Also joining as Bayle Domon is Julian Lewis Joneswho has been in things like justice league and Invictus. His character Bayle is introduced for the first time The eye of the world (Book One of The Wheel of Time Series), but more important factors the great hunt, especially in the battles against the Seanchan.