Warning: SPOILERS for The Wheel of Time season 3, episode 7!The Wheel of Timeseason 3, episode 7 successfully adapted one of the biggest moments from Robert Jordan’s fourth series novel,The Shadow Rising, finally shining a spotlight on Marcus Rutherford’s Perrin in the process. In the books and the show alike, The Battle of Emond’s Field facilitates Perrin’s reluctant acceptance of himself as a leader while firmly establishing his views of right and wrong in the eyes of the audience. The battle also further nourishes the bond between Perrin and his new love, Faile, who is played by Australian actor Isabella Bucceri in the series.
The latest episode ofThe Wheel of Timealso gave book readers a shock in the form of Loial’s sacrifice, whichScreenRant’sThe Wheel of Timeseason 3, episode 7 reviewdubbed“bold and emotional.”Added to the Two Rivers’ unlikely victory against Padan Fain and his Trolloc army and Faile’s vocal commitment to her love for Perrin, Loial’s death helped cement the episode as one of the most consequential of the entire Prime Video series. Plus, with Perrin’s surrender to the Whitecloaks in the episode’s final moments, the episode teed up big things for a potential season 4.
ScreenRantinterviewed Marcus Rutherford and Isabella Bucceri aboutThe Wheel of Timeseason 3, episode 7 ending. The actors also discussed the ways in which their characters bring out the best in one another and reflected on starring in what was essentially their own mini-movie withinThe Wheel of Time.Note: This piece has been constructed from two separate interviews.
“I Just Felt Like People Hadn’t Really Met Perrin”
Image via Prime Video
Despite being key to Robert Jordan’s book series, Perrin has not spent much time front and center onThe Wheel of Timeshow. In Marcus Rutherford’s words,“there [have been] moments with Perrin in previous seasons where it’s quite direct and it’s quite functional in terms of, ‘Are we going to go back home?’ or he’s grieving, or ‘What’s a wolfbrother?’ … and when you’re a character that doesn’t say as much, and on top of that, you have this new level of grief that’s been added into the TV show…"
I just felt like people hadn’t really met Perrin.
It makes sense.The Wheel of Timehas realized enough fantastic adaptations of book moments to make it clear that its biggest hurdle has always been the constraints imposed by an 8-episode season. Rutherford admitted that even with a sequence as consequential as the Battle of Emond’s Field, he“didn’t know if it would get its own episode.”He continued:“I think one of the hardest things about the show is [that] there are only eight episodes, and I think that’s probably what the fans feel, and the writers, and the actors. It’s such a task to get everything in.”
“If you focus on one storyline a bit, like Nynaeve in the Arches or [Egwene] with the damane stuff, it’s incredible because you really get to flesh out those scenes,”Rutherford said,“but it just means that everything else kind of has to fit around it.”
“You See This Reluctant Hero Leading In A Way That I Don’t Think He Even Realizes”
InThe Wheel of Timebook series, Perrin is a considerate, quiet, and thoughtful man–exactly the kind of person whose presence can be easily overshadowed by Dragons Reborn and flame-wielding Aes Sedai.“To have his own episode,” Rutherford said,“you just start to see more of his personality come through. You start to see more of the character.”And the more you see of Perrin, the more you come to realize he’s a leader–even if he himself would be loath to admit it.
“There’s a leadership aspect in terms of the fighting and all that stuff, but I think there’s [also] a level of leadership throughout the episode where he just knows how to talk to everyone in that setting,”Rutherford shared,“whether it be the Tuatha’an, Mat’s sisters, [or] Loial. You see this reluctant hero leading in a way that I don’t think he even realizes.”In Rutherford’s words,“There’s something about him that people are just drawn to, or they feel safe around, or they’d want to follow.”
“It’s Interesting How Polarizing Faile Can Be”
Judging by online reactions, Isabella Bucceri’s Faile has been one of the happiest surprises ofThe Wheel of Timeseason 3. For her most substantial acting role yet, Bucceri took on the challenge of playing a character manyThe Wheel of Timebook readers love to hate – though she didn’t know about that when she got the part.“I kind of found out for myself when I was doing a deep dive,”Bucceri shared,“but I was excited to dive right in. I think it is really interesting for an actor to get these roles that people are really passionate about.”
It’s interesting how polarizing Faile can be. I kind of love it.
If you hear Bucceri speak after watching her performance as Faile, you may be surprised to discover an Australian accent. It turns out Faile’s Saldean way of speaking was the result of plenty of preparation.“I worked with an accent coach,”Bucceri revealed, which the actor appreciated:“I think accents, as an actor, really step me into a character.”Bucceri also shared that Faile nearly had a UK accent:“When they told me I’d be doing this accent–I think it was this over a UK accent–I was excited.”
Bucceri explained more about how collaborative her process of working withThe Wheel of Time’s accent coaches actually was:“We have these amazing dialect coaches on set that are really there, and make the accent feel like your own. You don’t have that fear that you’re saying things and it’s not you … I was lucky in that.”
Rutherford’s Perrin Performance Has Been Building To Faile: “I Just Knew The Payoff Would Be There”
There was a moment inThe Wheel of Timeseason 2 in which Aviendha brazenly flirted with Perrin, and it was one of the first things Marcus Rutherford brought up when asked about finally bringing the Perrin/Faile dynamic to life.“There was a moment [where I was like], ‘Should he play it back?’,”Rutherford admitted, although his ultimate decision was that Perrin shouldn’t engage. In Rutherford’s words,“Even though I didn’t know if we’d have a season 3, there have been a lot of choices I’ve made not to go bigger.”
Essentially, Rutherford was gambling with the appetites of hungry Perrin fans:“I’m sure there are moments where you’re like, ‘These are the only scenes you have’,”he said,
I just kind of knew that the payoff would be there for some of those scenes that you see with Faile.
By many accounts, Rutherford was right, and both he and Isabella Bucceri have reveled in getting to explore the contrast between Perrin and Faile.“They’re such fascinating characters together,”Bucceri said,“they’re almost complete opposites, but they work so well [together].”In the actor’s eyes, the whole thing is very human:“We are sometimes attracted to our opposites, because there’s something magnetic about someone who sees the world completely differently.”
Rutherford knows exactly why Faile is good for Perrin, revealing,“You need someone who just doesn’t really have time for his mopes.” “She sees something in him that he can’t see himself,”he continued,“…for someone who’s very internal, very in his head, and quite slow and considerate in how he makes decisions, I think they balance each other out really well.”
Bucceri also praised the realness of the relationship between the two polar opposites, saying,“It’s not like that typical romantic trope where everything’s dreamy and effortless. It’s hard, it’s challenging, and they really push each other. I think that was the most compelling thing about these two characters: the way that they see what the other lacks. [They see] the weaknesses, but they can shift those weaknesses into their strengths.”
“There Needs To Be Someone Who Cuts In And Brings A Different Energy”
Faile and Perrin have one of the most compelling romances ofThe Wheel of Time, and it was crucial that both actors could live up to that dynamic. Because Rutherford had spent plenty of time with Perrin by this point, he was able to cast a vote for who his partner should be:“[Perrin and Faile] are yin and yang … and I was very clear about that during the chemistry test.”
If it’s too similar to other characters, or if it’s too similar to Perrin in any way, it won’t work.
“There were some incredible actors,”Rutherford shared,“but I thought there needs to be something that’s the opposite to [Perrin], and it just turned out that Isabella is this little ninja energetic character.”Bucceri does bring something to Faile unseen across the rest ofThe Wheel of Time’s world, which Rutherford picked up on:“We’ve got such a plethora of incredible actors and female parts on this show. There just needs to be someone who cuts in and brings a different energy, look, and vibe."
“I Imagined Her Really Trying To Reclaim Her Identity”
Isabella Bucceri called Faile“an actor’s dream”in the sense that she’s strong and guarded, but not without her own vulnerabilities.“I imagined her, in this time in her life, really trying to reclaim her identity, in a way,”Bucceri said, before sharing,“I had a similar experience just before I got the role. I was living in Australia, and I was feeling really comfortable, and it was just kind of eating at me. I didn’t think I was really living.”
“In a way,”Bucceri continued,“it’s similar to Faile. She’s trying to find who she is, and I think the Hunt for the Horn is kind of an excuse to do that.”But then, of course, there’s the Perrin of it all, which Bucceri can also relate to:“I know I’ve had moments where I’m like, ‘I’m going to be independent,’…"
Then someone great comes along, and they teach you probably more than you would’ve learned by yourself.
That said, Faile can certainly take care of herself–an aspect which Bucceri wanted to have a true hand in portraying.“I was really wanting to nail that physicality for Faile,”Bucceri said,“because she is one of the only characters who doesn’t have supernatural abilities. She needs to be 10 steps ahead of [everybody else] in the way she fights and the way she’s tactical.”
Bucceri worked with a stunt double who not only took over in tough situations but also helped the actor achieve many of Faile’s combat moments herself.“The first day, I’d be like, ‘There’s no way I’m doing that. My body will not contort in those ways,’”Bucceri shared, continuing,“but every day she eased me into it.”
Still, there was one stunt Bucceri had to give over to the team:“The only one I wasn’t able to do was when we were in the Whitecloak camp. It wasn’t happening because I was practicing on a gym floor, so it was flat and almost bouncy, and then we got to set, and it was sand. I’d slide straight in there [and] dig myself a hole. I was like, ‘It’s your turn.’ I don’t know how they do it.”
“Why Aren’t We Just Beating The Crap Out Of Each Other?”
One of the most interesting dynamics at play inThe Wheel of Timeseason 3, episode 7 is that between Perrin and Dain Bornhald, whose father the Wolfbrother killed at the end of season 2. Perrin’s request for Bornhald’s help in the Two Rivers-centric episode, then, turned out to be a challenge for the actors, Rutherford revealed:“Jay (Duffy) [and I], on the day, were struggling … we were just like, ‘Why aren’t we fighting? Why aren’t we just beating the crap out of each other?’”
“It’s turned out [to be] one of my favorite scenes, actually,”Rutherford added, praising the depth of character inherent toThe Wheel of Timeas a series:“The beautiful thing about The Wheel of Time and about these characters is that it isn’t good versus bad. Perrin has done stuff that’s terrible–he’s murdered [Dain’s] father–and Dain has done stuff that’s equally as bad."
There isn’t a moral superiority around our lead characters in that sense.
Perrin, after all, is the reason the Whitecloaks are in the Two Rivers in the first place. So, for Rutherford, Perrin’s appeal to Bornhald was about“two people who have duties and responsibilities to where they’re from, and they see themselves as doing the right thing.”Ultimately,“there’s something about Dain and Perrin,”Rutherford said,“[where] even though they’re the antithesis of each other in a way, there’s something very similar.”
“I Genuinely Don’t Know Where Faile’s Journey Goes From Here”
The mutual commitment to duty and honor shared by Dain Bornhald and Perrin Aybara ultimately led to Perrin’s surrender to the Whitecloaks at the end of the episode – which saw him leaving behind his newfound love. Rutherford revealed that he and Bucceri shot the episode chronologically, so“by the end, where they’re kissing at the end of the battle, we’ve gone on this journey as two actors.”And then Faile (and Bucceri) was left alone, although Bucceri’s reaction is not what you’d expect:“It was kind of hilarious,”she said.
“Her words were almost thrown back to her,”Bucceri continued,“She’s done all this, and then the guy that she loves is being so logical and stoic and everything she admires.”The moment is such a cliffhanger that it’s easy to imagine that it won’t be resolved by the end of the season – especially with so many other storylines to reckon with.“I genuinely don’t know where her journey goes from here,”Bucceri said about Faile’s future,“I hope something exciting. I hope, maybe, something with Bain and Chiad–maybe they take charge in the Two Rivers a little bit more.”
As hopeful as Bucceri sounded aboutThe Wheel of Timeseason 4, Rutherford was more reflective on his journey thus far.“Whatever happens next, my whole thing from starting this journey is that Perrin is described in the books as someone who appears to be slow of wits at the start …I always felt like we haven’t really met him to his full potential yet.”
The Wheel of Time’s latest episode changed that, said Rutherford:“[With] that last push-in shot on him, I feel like it was almost like, ‘This is the guy we would’ve met if everything didn’t kick off in the Two Rivers last time. It was amazing. It was a really nice way to tie up the season and to show Perrin laughing, flirting, and leading in ways I just don’t think we’ve seen.”
“It Broke Me”
But no discussion ofThe Wheel of Timeseason 3, episode 7 would be complete without a dive into the tragic death of Loial. Rutherford revealed that the scene where Perrin and Loial say goodbye to one another was his“favorite scene in the episode”, and revealed that, for his money,“Hammed [Animashun] is the best actor on the show.”
Rutherford quickly clarified that“you shouldn’t really talk like that,”but made a strong case for Animashun anyway:“What he does is unbelievable. He’s up earliest. He’s the last to leave the set. He’s not like the Trollocs. He has to deliver these almost Shakespearean sonnets, and he has to deliver the grounding premise of the books and their history while filming in 40-degree heat(104 degrees Fahrenheit) in Morocco, or wherever he is, in prosthetics.” When it comes to Loial’s death, Rutherford said,
You’ll have to take that up with the writers and the showrunners. But it broke me.
The effectiveness of the scene, in Rutherford’s eyes, was also a testament to the work of those behind the scenes:“There’s something about the prosthetics this season where you can see Hammed through it. In other seasons, they were trying to get the balance of what looks fantasy-like enough, but also what’s physically not too arduous and physically taxing for him to perform.”
“But there’s something about that last moment where he roars,”Rutherford added,“that’s so emotional. That scene where we say goodbye to each other–I could see Loial in Hammed through the performance, and I’m really glad he’s had some really beautiful moments before said ending.”
The Wheel of Timeseason 3 finale hits Prime Video on April 17.
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.
