Where He Goes Next In The Books

The Wheel of Time season 3’s ending officially recognized Rand al’Thor as the Car’a’carn, opening the door for a new chapter in his story. The third season of Prime Video’s adaptation of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time books has closely followed Rand’s efforts to gain the support of the Aiel clans as they decide whether or not to accept him as the Car’a’carn a.k.a. He Who Comes With The Dawn. The clues that Rand was the one the prophecy spoke of were there along, with both Rhuarc and a few of the Wise Ones seeing the writing on the wall. But now, there’s even less room for doubt.

The book that served as the foundation for season 3’s story, The Shadow Rising, culminated in Rand proclaiming himself the Car’a’carn and “destroying” the Aiel with the devastating revelation that they once followed the Way of the Leaf. Some Aiel couldn’t accept this and left, but most fell in line behind Rand, as his dragon tattoos and heritage made the reality that he was their Car’a’carn difficult to deny. The Wheel of Time season 3 finale provided a mostly book-accurate take on this development, indicating that what comes next will also be inspired by the source material – although there will have to be at least some differences.

Rand Goes To Both Cairhein And Caemlyn In The Fires Of Heaven

Rand Travels To Two Major Locations In The Shadow Rising’s Sequel

Rand’s next destination after The Shadow Rising was Cairhein. Seeking to bolster his forces, Rand led the Aiel in a somewhat easy takeover of Cairhein in the fifth installment in the series, The Fires of Heaven. His acquisition of Cairhein was a product of his conflict with Couladin, who brought the Aiel who had rejected Rand out of the Aiel Waste and into the city. After besting Couladin and his forces, Rand saved Cairhein and wound up with the nation under his control.

However, Rand taking Cairhein was far from The Fires of Heaven’s endgame. The book’s finale actually took place in Caemlyn, the capital of the kingdom of Andor. Rahvin completed his scheme to assume the position of Andor’s ruler, prompting Rand to make a journey to Caemlyn. The Fires of Heaven concluded with Rand engaging Rahvin in an epic, high-stakes showdown.

Rand Still Hasn’t Taken The Stone Of Tear

Going After Callandor Will Probably Be Rand’s Next Task

While The Fires of Heaven does offer a working blueprint for Rand’s season 4 story, it’s important to note that the changes to the sequence of events mean the show may not copy Rand’s path in the books. The show appears to be going in reverse order when it comes to Rand’s arcs in books 3 and 4, The Dragon Reborn and The Shadow Rising. The book version of Rand seized the Stone of Tear and claimed Callandor in The Dragon Reborn’s ending, where he encountered a group of Aiel. From there, he journeyed to the Aiel Waste to unite the other clans in The Shadow Rising.

Instead of going that route, the TV series had Rand begin his quest to become the Car’a’carn in Tar Valon, leaving him to go after Callandor later. But clearly, the show hasn’t forgotten about Tear altogether, as both Lanfear and Moiraine have already acknowledged the need for him to retrieve Callandor.

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The show offered a poignant reminder of the importance of Callandor in the season 3 finale. Moiraine admitted to Rand that he was right to prioritize an alliance with the Aiel over Callandor, as he now has an army he can use to properly take the Stone of Tear. This goes to show that getting his hands on Callandor is most likely the next objective on Rand’s agenda. The idea that the show will tackle this storyline next was further corroborated by Lanfear’s conversation with Rahvin in the finale when she suggested that he intercept Rand at Tear.

This comment offers another building block for an adaptation of The Dragon Reborn’s ending. Of course, Rand doesn’t get into a fight with Rahvin over Callandor, but a Forsaken guarding the Sword That Is Not A Sword is indeed a key part of the source material. Rand was beset by both Be’lal and Ishamael when he made his move on Callandor. With Ishamael dead and Be’lal possibly cut from The Wheel of Time’s Forsaken lineup, Rahvin could be the villain who tries to waylay Rand at the Stone of Tear.

Taking The Stone Of Tear Should Be Next For Rand, With Caemlyn Also On The Horizon

Rand Could Conquer Tear In The Beginning Of Season 4

Looking at the way things have been laid out for Rand in the TV show so far, the most plausible scenario at this point is that Rand heads to the Stone of Tear and one or both of the two locations he traveled to in The Fires of Heaven. Packing that much into one season may seem challenging, but not unfeasible. It shouldn’t be forgotten that most of The Dragon Reborn has either already been addressed or rendered irrelevant, meaning that all from that book that still needs to happen in the show is the ending. And that could be covered as quickly as one or two episodes.

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While this Whitecloak’s death has changed greatly in context from the books, it still remains a fitting end for a sadist of his caliber.

Rand claiming Callandor could be how The Wheel of Time opens its fourth season, which would then pave the way for it to move on to another book in the series. Since season 3 proved the show’s willingness to skip books, The Fires of Heaven isn’t definitively the basis of the story, but the current direction of the plot does heavily supports that notion. After all, The Wheel of Time’s Rahvin – the main villain of The Fires of Heaven – has been introduced and stands out as a lingering threat for Rand to deal with eventually.

There’s also the question of where Couladin and the Shaido stand in the bigger picture. They departed, but that’s not to say the matter has been settled. They were the focus of the conflict in Cairhein in The Fires of Heaven, so the setup for that storyline is in place in well. Alternatively, it could be moved to Caemlyn to consolidate plotlines. Either way, Couladin is in a good position to be an antagonist to Rand in the forthcoming season.

Not only that, but Elayne’s story may soon bring her to Caemlyn too, since she knows the truth about Gaebril being a Forsaken. The introduction of multiple characters tied to Caemlyn, including Queen Morgase Trakand, does lay the groundwork for it to play a significant role in the overarching narrative of The Wheel of Time season 4, with the Dragon Reborn likely at the center of it.

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