The third season of Prime Video’s ‘The Wheel of Time‘ concludes in a dramatic fashion with the finale episode named ‘He Who Comes With the Dawn,’ which resolves some of the mysteries established in the first half of the season. The second-to-last episode was exclusively devoted to the Battle of Two Rivers, leaving the fate of Perrin in suspense as he surrenders himself to the Whitecloaks. The season finale picks up from that battle and serves a smorgasbord of feeling as the remaining of Perrin’s friends set out on their own perilous missions, each of which is resolved in extremely unexpected manners. The most surprising occurrence, though, takes place within the White Tower, and the effects will be felt for the remainder of the next season or so. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Why does Elaida Kill Siuan Sanche?
The third season began with chaos breaking loose in the White Tower. The Amyrlin Seat attempted to have Liandrin brought to justice but did not expect her power within the tower and found to bear heavy losses. The influence of that event echoes throughout this season as Siuan weakens day by day, and the pressure of keeping pace with the secrets and Moiraine’s demands begins to affect her. She begins to be careless, and Elaida, who has long coveted the throne, makes her move. This first episode takes a ten-year flashback to the moment Siuan and Elaida faced off against one another for the position of Amyrlin Seat. Unbelievably, we see Elaida emerge from an archway, which is a Ter’angreal.
This implies that she did something extreme to obtain what she desired, but when the voting takes place, she is not the winner. Rather, Siuan is appointed the Amyrlin Seat, and Elaida develops another avenue for herself in Andor. Nevertheless, she was promised the Amyrin Seat, and she obtains it this time by conspiring against Siuan under her nose. In an earlier episode, she drove a team of Red Ajahs out of the White Tower. When Siuan learns of it, she sends her most trusted Aes Sedai, to retrieve them, but that is a trap, as with them gone, she has no allies remaining in the White Tower. Curiously, Elaida ensured that eleven Aes Sedai remained in the tower and were all her supporters. She holds a vote in absentia without Siuan and is elected Amyrlin Seat. By the time Siuan finds out what has occurred, she is charged with being a Darkfriend and her One Power is taken from her, but Elaida does not leave it at that. She questions a severely wounded Siuan in the presence of the other remaining Aes Sedai. She charges her with conspiring with Moiraine, who has already been expelled from the Tower, and consorting with Rand, who is the one Elaida desires to be gentled. With all she has to lose, Siuan reveals the truth about the prophecy that set Moiraine and her on their current path and shows how worst things may get. She also protests her innocence and loyalty to the duties of the Amyrlin, accusing Elaida of being fixated on nothing but power. But what she says does not affect anyone, and it is learned that her own destiny is already fixed. She has been condemned to be killed, and she is beheaded in the center of the court, which she once controlled.
Does Lanfear Die? Does She Kill Moiraine?
As Siuan is busy combating the backstabbing which ultimately results in her being killed in the White Tower, Moiraine is attempting to rally support from Rand with the Aiels. In a previous episode, Sammael showed up to attack Rand, and it turns out that he was sent by Lanfear, not because she wanted Rand and his friends killed, but because she knew that Sammael would be a great person to teach her lover how to harness his unlimited power. Moiraine similarly has the same thought in mind, but then Rand learns about Egwene’s being tortured, and this makes him and Egwene set a trap on Lanfear. In his dream, Rand accuses Lanfear of all the negative things that she has done and how she lost her humanness centuries ago when she released the Dark One. He labels her jealous and insecure and almost cuts off any contact with her.
This makes Lanfear angry, but before she can act, Egwene appears and banishes her from their dream. The idea was to make the Forsaken so enraged that she would appear before them in real life. Everybody is prepared to attack the moment she appears, but she never does. Or at least not before them. And Rand feels it. An enraged Lanfear attacks Rand, but she is going to start with giving Moiraine a lesson. She calls Melindhra, who happens to be a Darkfriend, and orders her to assassinate Lan. Since she is a loyal subject of Malkier, Melindhra does not carry out the orders by breaking her oath and ending up dead in the process.
At the same time, she also dispatches Moghedien to assassinate Sammael and encounters Rahvin to discuss obtaining Callandor. Later, while Rand is occupied negotiating with the Aiels’ tribes in order to persuade them of his Car’a’carn status, Moiraine readies herself for the arrival of Lanfear because she feels the vision of her own death is soon to be fulfilled in the desert. As anticipated, the Forsaken arrives and, using the Sakarnen’s strength, Moiraine battles with her. Her defenses begin to weaken since she is alone, but then Lan arrives and, with him, they battle her so ruthlessly that he is able to strike her with his sword. Nevertheless, Lanfear overpowers them both. She knocks Lan out and stabs Moiraine with her sword, just as happened in one of the alternatives the Aes Sedai experienced in Rhuidean. Under normal circumstances, there is no returning from this, but simultaneously, Moiraine feels that Siuan has been assassinated.
The sorrow runs through her in a burst of rage that causes her to draw the sword out, something Lanfear had never witnessed before. She is so amazed at Moiraine’s strength at that particular time that it takes some time for her to notice that the Aes Sedai has the sword in her possession. Lanfear is hit right in the neck, and she sustains a major wound, but before Moiraine can attack her again, she immediately runs away. Her condition shows that the wound could be deadly for her, but considering Lanfear, this is not the last we’ve seen of her. It might take her some time to recuperate, but with the help of the other Forsaken, she will come back again. At the same time, distraught Moiraine mourns the demise of Siuan, with Lan attempting to console her as a storm and rain pour in the background, all courtesy of Rand.
Elayne Discovers Something Stunning About Someone
She Trusts As the Dragon Reborn is occupied attempting to obtain an army, his friends attempt to locate one of the very few things that can make him powerless or, worse still, in control of another. Mat, Min, Elayne, and Nynaeve, accompanied by Thom, continue the quest for the shackles in Tanchico, and they eventually locate Liandrin, who receives the second bracelet from Moghedien, who continues to pretend to be her servant. With just the collar left, they invade the palace to reach it. Liandrin does not shy from making a bloodbath, and Nynaeve and her friends are hot on her heels. Within the palace, they split up in order to cover larger distances. Thom accompanies Elayne and discusses with her the last time he saw her. He reveals that when she was three or thereabouts, she nearly tore apart the entire palace brick by brick with her ability.
He also informs her that he departed Andor when she was five, where she first brings up Gaebril and is taken aback to learn that Thom has no knowledge of the consort. He informs her that there has never existed a fellow named Gaebril and that all the recollections that she has of the fellow are because he put them in her head. Something like this could only be accomplished by a Forsaken, and that means that the Queen and her kingdom are at risk of being destroyed. He instructs Elayne to return home after they have located the collar, and she even considers at one point who he is. Her question goes unanswered, but it is obvious that Thom loves her so much that he is willing to die for her. Fortunately, she is not the type who will flee a battle and rescues him by assassinating one of Liandrin’s thugs.
Mat Gets Himself into Yet Another Trouble
Min and Mat continue looking for the collar, and they take them to a room full of all kinds of things, including this interesting arch. Min recognizes it in an instant as the arch she saw in the vision with Mat suspended from a rope. She attempts to make him back away from it, but he goes inside and discovers himself in a whole new world. That arch is actually identical to the one where we see Elaida emerge at the start of the episode. Inside, Mat encounters Eelfinn, who seeks to know what he wants most. Having nowhere to turn, Mat is trapped by the enigmatic creature and declares that he wishes to return. The creature also senses the voices within his mind, trickster voices that trickster him into taking them away. However, in doing so, Mat unknowingly offers to pay the price demanded by the creature. The secret about the aforementioned price is not exposed until now, though, when Mat returns, he hangs from a noose around his neck.
Min rescues him on time, and when he wakes up, he has forgotten some of his memories. The voices in his head are no more, and neither are some of the recent events. For instance, he can’t recall where he is and how he ended up there. In a twist, he also has a weird necklace on him, from which the echoes of the voices that had been bugging Mat for some time emerge. Sometime around the same period, Nynaeve pursues Liandrin. She is able to keep out of sight and even locate the collar. She stands outside the palace waiting for her friends, but Liandrin finds her before them. She removes the collar from her, binds her wrists, and pushes her into the water. For one minute there, Nynaeve seems to be going to drown. At least, that’s what Liandrin thinks as she leaves with the collar. But then Nynaeve gets visions about the daughter she never had. She listens to her screams, and it is in attempting to rescue her that the limits she had set upon herself shatter, and the full scope of her power is unleashed. She clears an avenue for herself by clearing the water entirely and walking away from the situation stronger than before. Now that the secret of Liandrin being Black Ajah has been revealed, the next step of her path is discovered to be wishing to become Forsaken. She knows that she cannot achieve that without a Forsaken beside her, but she also knows that Lanfear is not the person who will assist her in achieving that. So she turns to the person with whom she shares common interests: Moghedien. It had been apparent to her from their last encounter that the Forsaken had been monitoring her. Therefore, when she receives the collar, she gives one of her bracelets to Moghedien and suggests an alliance, which doesn’t seem so horrible to her yet. Furthermore, since Sammael is no longer alive, there is an opening for a position of a Forsaken, and Liandrin thinks, with Moghedien, she can become one and a lot more.
Why Does Egwene Ask Rand to Let Go? Does He?
Rand al’Thor started this season by embarking on a journey to raise an army for himself by persuading the Aiels that he is the messiah the latter have been expecting. He receives his tattoos after the Rhuidean trial, and that should hopefully serve as a big clue to persuade all the tribes that he is the Car’a’carn. But when Lanfear is insulted, she decides to make his work tougher. She takes the Aiel fighter who had intended to undergo the test when Rand appeared and applies the same tattoos upon him. In the meantime, when Lanfear fails to appear for the trap laid for her, Rand resolves to expedite the process and meet the tribe sooner. When he gets to their encampment, he and a few others are surprised to see another guy with two dragon tattoos. Rand is not intimidated by this rivalry, and he immediately accuses the rival of lying.
He asks him what happened in his trial and if he actually did it. The man won’t discuss it because that is the law, but Rand uses this against him. He discusses his own dream, and this isn’t well received by those who already believe in him. He explains the Aiels’ history, how they had gotten there, and how they had become oathbreakers. His words create a riotous scene, and Rand is urged not to let these secrets out because they would break the ties between the various tribes and make them spill blood from each other. This is when Rand tries to remind them that it is the Car’a’carn’s work to kill them and preserve the survivors. In order to dispel any of their doubts about his position as their leader, he demonstrates power. He uses the One Power to generate an enormous storm that rains on the Aiel. Through this display of power, he has them bow their knees to him singly and one by one, and their Car’a’carn is officially declared. The only individual who does not bow to him is Egwene. Recently, on their way to meet with the Aiel leaders, she sits down and talks to Aviendha, and she says that since she is not Aiel herself, she isn’t obligated to obey the Car’a’carn. She exists apart from Rand, and she needs to go her own way. Witnessing Rand unleash his fury in front of the Aiel, Egwene appears to be on the verge of deciding what she is going to do next. While everyone else is bending their knee to Rand, however, she is the only one who realizes he is pushing it a little too far. Even though he may be the Dragon Reborn, he is human and any man who directs the One Power risks insanity.
Except in Rand’s case, which would be a disaster nobody is prepared to deal with. So, as she witnesses him expand on the exhibition of his might, she witnesses him lose control and commands him to release. He glances at her, but before we can see if he stopped, the screen fades to black. If one is to judge from the happenings of the books that the show is adapted from, Rand has not yet lost his sanity. Indeed, with the power of the Aiels behind him, he is preparing for the first war which has been brewing against him. The abrupt cut to black ensures that there is always some doubt as to if Rand can actually control his power and remain on the righteous path. More significantly, however, it captures Egwene’s doubts regarding him, and even some of them may come to be the next time. Read More: Is Loial Dead? Did Hammed Animashaun Leave The Wheel of Time?
