Summary
One of the many abilities inThe Wheel of Timeprovides a simple solution to the dilemma overThe Dragon Reborn. The third book inRobert Jordan’sWheel of Timeseries,The Dragon Rebornlooks to be the first book where the show will break away from its current format. For seasons 1 and 2, it adapted the corresponding books in the series,The Eye of the WorldandThe Great Hunt. Bur rather than keep that pace and bring The Dragon Reborn to the small screen in The Wheel of Time season 3, the show will skip ahead one book.
Book 4,The Shadow Rising, is confirmed to be the focus of the next season’s story. Not only has this been made clear by official remarks from those involved with the show, but it’s also apparent from the setup offered byTheWheel of Timeseason 2’s ending. It’s no secret at this point that Rand, Elayne, Nynaeve, and Perrin are all getting their arcs fromThe Shadow Rising. But while this holds a lot of promise for the show, it raises an important question about the events ofThe Dragon Reborn, especially since its ending is vital to Rand al’Thor’s story.
Traveling Could Be The Key To Bridging The Gap Between The Dragon Reborn & The Shadow Rising
The Setting Of The Dragon Reborn’s Ending Won’t Be An Issue If Traveling Is In Play
The root of the problem when it comes to adapting the most important parts of Rand’s next two stories from the source material is the setting. Rand is in the Aiel Waste in book 4, whereas the ending ofThe Dragon Reborn- where he claims Callandor from the Stone of Tear - takes place at a completely different location on the map.The Stone of Tear, a place that’s already confirmed to exist in the show’s canon, is nowhere near where he’ll be in season 3, which will make it difficult for the show to streamline the stories. However, it can overcome this issue with Traveling.
Traveling is one of the many One Power weaves that characters like Rand have access toin the books. Introduced as a lost ability that modern channelers typically don’t know how to use, Traveling is one of the most useful weaves inThe Wheel of Time’sworld. After all, Traveling is basically a form of teleportation. As for how it works, a channeler creates a gateway, which functions as a portal of sorts. Through this temporary gateway, the channeler can go where they please, and aren’t limited by distances. And while deep knowledge of the target location is important, having been there before is not necessarily a requirement.
Because of that, it’s technically possible for Rand to visit Tear and go on a long journey in the Aiel Waste all in one season. Normally, that would seem unfeasible, especially since season 2 clearly positions Rand to go to the Aiel Waste immediately. His endgame inThe Shadow Rising(Rhudiean) would take him even further away from Tear, but the show can circumvent this with Traveling.If Rand Travels, he can instantly wind up at the Stone of Tear,allowing the books to feature the climactic finales of both books together in season 3.
Why Rand Could Learn Traveling In Wheel of Time Season 3
Rand Learning Traveling Soon Makes Perfect Sense, Based On The Story
Reinforcing the notion that the show may use Traveling to fix the show’sDragon Rebornproblem is the timing and the characters it likely has on the horizon. In book 5,The Fires of Heaven, Traveling comes into play in a big way when Aviendha accidentally Travels with Rand in the midst of their adventure. Since this is an extension of an adventure that the two have been on sinceThe Shadow Rising, it’s not implausible that the books move this event up, letting it happen in season 3. Aviendha’s use of Traveling is an important step toward the power officially joining Rand’s arsenal.
Asmodean is the only viable choice for this role for multiple reasons; he’s old enough to know how to Travel, he’s a male channeler and therefore capable of teaching Rand the weave, and he’s the only male Forsaken who would even have a motive to help Rand.
Also integral to Rand learning Traveling is his alliance with Asmodean, one of the 13 Forsaken inThe Wheel of Timebooks. It shouldn’t be forgotten that since Traveling hasn’t been taught for thousands of years, Rand doesn’t have many options when it comes to learning it. Asmodean is the only viable choice for this role for multiple reasons; he’s old enough to know how to Travel, he’s a male channeler and therefore capable of teaching Rand the weave, and he’s the only male Forsaken who would even have a motive to help Rand.
A man can only learn One Power weaves from another male channeler because men and women access different halves of the True Source.
After Asmodean’s defeat, the character is forced to teach Rand how to make better use of the One Power.Among the things Rand learns from Asmodean is how Traveling works.As it stands, there’s no official confirmation of him having a role in the show, but there has beena hint toward Asmodean’s presence, making him an expected inclusion. And since he is the final foe for Rand to fight inThe Shadow Rising, he’s the most logical candidate for the character’s main season 3 villain.
If Rand and Asmodean’s showdown happens ahead of the season’s conclusion, the series would have an opportunity to send Rand to the Stone of Tear in the season 3 finale.If he gets Asmodean to become his teacher, he can learn Traveling from him, setting the stage for Rand to Travel to Tear for the final battle.
Wheel Of Time Already Teased Traveling In Season 2
Did Lanfear Already Use Traveling?
From the looks of things, the show already has the building blocks for Traveling to be officially introduced inThe Wheel of Time. In fact,it seems it’s already been used by one of its characters (twice). In season 2’s penultimate episode,Mat woke up Falme with Lanfear, despite being in Cairhien earlier. Later, after disposing of Lan and Moiraine through a Waygate, Lanfear disappeared with Rand, implying that Traveling - and not a Waygate - was used to get Rand to Falme.
WithThe Wheel of Timestrongly hinting at Traveling being a silent factor in the story, it’s not hard to imagine that the whole point of this was to set it up for season 3. If that’s the case, it could wind up being vital to the next chapter, with Rand gaining access to the weave and using it fulfill a major part of The Dragon Reborn prophecy. If this happens, The Wheel of Time can move on to the next book in the sequence without Callandor feeling like it’s been left behind.
The Wheel of Time
Cast
The Wheel of Time follows Moiraine, a member of the powerful all-female organization Aes Sedai, as she leads a perilous quest with five young individuals. Moiraine suspects one among them could be the prophesized reincarnation of a mighty figure destined to either save or doom humanity.
