This Wheel of Time Season 3 Character Was Supposed To Be The Real Villain Of Perrin’s Two Rivers Story

This article contains spoilers for The Wheel of Time season 3, episode 7. The Wheel of Time

season 3 essentially cut the real villain of Perrin’s Two Rivers story. The latest episode of The Wheel of Time was focused entirely on the Battle of Two Rivers, with Marcus Rutherford’s fantastic Perrin taking charge as a Trolloc army descend on his home. The Dark One has commissioned Padan Fain to destroy the Two Rivers, intended as a slight against Rand al’Thor, but Perrin refuses to give up.

The best action scenes are windows into the characters themselves, and The Wheel of Time season 3, episode 7 is undoubtedly one of the best examples. It’s a character study centered around Perrin, as he wrestles with the consequences of his choices, learns to take responsibility for them, and ultimately spots the opportunity Padan Fain presents him with. Oddly, though, the entire episode is missing the real villain of Robert Jordan’s original plot.

Lord Luc Is The Slayer In The Wheel Of Time Books

Michael Lindall plays the character of Lord Luc in The Wheel of Time season 3, and he’s something of a background character; another Hunter of the Horn who helped the villagers defend themselves against Trollocs and Whitecloaks. In the original books, though, he’s far more important. He’s Perrin’s main rival, two beings whose souls have been fused, and he’s secretly working against Perrin all along.

In Jordan’s story, Lord Luc is Slayer – a powerful being who’s able to slip in and out of Tel’aran’rhiod, the World of Dreams. Jordan’s Wolfbrothers are able to enter Tel’aran’rhiod as well, and Perrin and Slayer became sworn enemies, although Perrin initially has no idea what Slayer looks like in the physical world. Lord Luc uses this to undermine Perrin’s leadership, although it swiftly becomes clear he has his own agenda.

What Season 3’s Lord Luc Change Could Mean For The Show’s Future

The Wheel of Time season 3 has skipped that whole story, and appears to simply be treating Lord Luc as just another Hunter of the Horn. It’s a shocking change, reducing a significant villain to a background role, making Lord Luc unrecognizable as a character. But it’s tied with what appears to be another major change to The Wheel of Time, in that Perrin has yet to demonstrate any ability to enter Tel’aran’rhiod in the show.

The wolves refer to Tel’aran’rhiod as the Wolf Dream, and the power to enter it and manipulate the World of Dreams is central to the Wolfbrothers. Its apparent absence is rather shocking, not least because Tel’aran’rhiod has played a major role in this season; Egwene has unlocked her own powers of Dreamwalking. It’s possible the writers felt there was too much repetition here, and didn’t want to have two characters exploring the World of Dreams.

The Wheel of Time has made massive changes to the books, but the Lord Luc decision signifies what may be the biggest one to date. To be fair, Perrin is still something of a force of nature as a Wolfbrother, as proven when he cuts a brutal swathe through the Trollocs. But he’d be a very different character without the Wolf Dream, and Lord Luc is diminished as well.

How Lord Luc Could Still Be Revealed As The Slayer In Season 4

The interesting question, then, is whether The Wheel of Time will choose to revisit the Wolf Dream at a later stage – perhaps moving the Lord Luc plot to season 4. That possibility can’t be ruled out right now, because Lord Luc does seem to be allied with the Whitecloaks. The Wheel of Time‘s Perrin story appears to be ending with Perrin Goldeneyes now a prisoner of the Whitecloaks, so it would make sense for Luc to become a little more important.

Related

The Wheel Of Time Sets Up Perrin To Fight This Forsaken In Season 4

The ending of Perrin’s story in The Wheel of Time season 3 indicates that he may have his own Forsaken to fight in the show’s fourth season.

This decision is likely to be a controversial one, but it has to be noted that it has worked out well; the latest episode was one of the strongest in The Wheel of Time so far, an epic battle between humans and Trollocs (with a lot of heroism from Loial to boot). Lord Luc and the Wolf Dream would have served as a distraction from this relentless focus, and I can see why the showrunners made that choice. Still, Perrin really needs his full powers as a Wolfbrother, and it would be wonderful to see Lord Luc step forward as the major villain he deserves to be.

The Wheel of Time

6/10

Release Date

November 18, 2021

Network

Prime Video

Showrunner

Rafe Judkins

Directors

Sanaa Hamri, Ciaran Donnelly, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Thomas Napper, Maja Vrvilo, Wayne Che Yip

Writers

Amanda Kate Shuman, Dave Hill, Rohit Kumar, Justine Juel Gillmer, Celine Song, Rammy Park, The Clarksons Twins, Katherine B. McKenna