What To Expect in ‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 4, Based on the Books

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for The Wheel of Time Season 3 as well as The Wheel of Time book series.

After a thrilling Season 3, The Wheel of Time has yet to receive an official Season 4 renewal. However, with reception even more positive than the previous seasons and hopeful reports from several key cast members, the outlook is good. Plus, Season 3 has enough lingering questions to leave fans anxious for more. The latest finale ends with the Aes Sedai of the White Tower divided, Rand (Josha Stradowski) in the Aiel Waste, and Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) and Elayne (Ceara Coveney) still in pursuit of Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood) and Moghedien (Laia Costa), which already establishes when Season 4 will pick up. Assuming Prime Video orders a renewal, we may still have a wait before the show returns, but luckily, with 14 books of source material, it isn’t hard to guess what will come next in the story.

The Wheel of Time isn’t a direct adaptation because there are simply too many books for that. While Seasons 1 and 2 follow the first two books of the series relatively closely, Season 3 jumps to the storyline of Book 4, The Shadow Rising, while touching a little on the events of the third book, The Dragon Reborn. Viewers might then assume that Season 4 will follow the fifth book in Robert Jordan‘s series, but the order may not be that simple. When asked about a potential fourth season in an interview with EW, showrunner Rafe Judkins explained, “I can say that we’ve put a lot of pieces in place at the end of season 3 to tell some of the most iconic stories from book six, which is a really important book in the series, and some of the biggest moments from book five as well.” Judkins’ statement confirms that the series will still be moving at a faster pace than the novels, but it also narrows down the likely storylines that Season 4 will follow.

‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 3 Sets Up Storylines From ‘The Fires of Heaven’

A few key storylines from the fifth book, The Fires of Heaven, have already been alluded to in Season 3, which means that they are certainly going to show up in a potential Season 4. Season 3 leaves off with Rand declaring himself as the Car’a’carn, though the Shaido Aiel, particularly Couladin (Set Sjöstrand), are displeased. In The Fires of Heaven, Couladin leads the Shaido, who carve their own destructive past, while Rand and the rest of the Aiel follow, giving Rand an army in the “wetlands” as the prophecy predicted. This event is the natural continuation of Rand’s story now that some of the Aiel clans recognize him as their leader.

The Fires of Heaven will likely also serve as the inspiration for Nynaeve and Elayne’s continuing storyline, especially now that the Seanchan collar is in the possession of Moghedien and Liandrin. Though the events that play out are a little different in the book, they do lead to a confrontation between Nynaeve and Moghedien in Tel’aran’rhiod, making a new ally for her and Elayne. The pair also faces danger from the White Tower, with Elaida (Shohreh Aghdashloo) seeking Elayne.

The Fires of Heaven also more deeply explores Elayne’s mother, Queen Morgase (Olivia Williams), who is introduced in Season 3 along with her consort, Lord Gaebril (Nuno Lopes), who is really the Forsaken known as Rahvin. The Wheel of Time confirms that Rahvin has kept Morgase under compulsion and, in the finale, Thom Merrilin (Alexandre Willaume) urges Elayne to investigate. The Fires of Heaven includes major developments in this storyline, as Morgase faces threats against her throne and considers fleeing Caemlyn for her own safety.

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‘Lord of Chaos’ Will Also Play Into ‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 4

While The Fires of Heaven has much of the next part of the story, it is notable that Judkins references “iconic stories” from Lord of Chaos. While there are many things that this statement could allude to, one element of the show that suggests Lord of Chaos storylines are imminent is the White Tower’s division. After Elaida deposes and kills Siuan (Sophie Okonedo), she becomes the new Amyrlin Seat, with a keen interest in finding and controlling Rand. Now that she has resources, it will be one of her top priorities. Elaida pursuing Rand is a major part of Lord of Chaos, and it seems to be coming sooner rather than later — potentially setting up Season 4 to depict the climactic battle known as Dumai’s Wells.

Additionally, Elaida’s position is not universally accepted by the Aes Sedai. Lord of Chaos gives focus to a rebel group gathering in Salidar, who reject her authority. They are technically introduced in The Fires of Heaven, but in Book 6, the politics of the Salidar Aes Sedai become central as they choose an Amyrlin of their own. The Wheel of Time has already depicted distrust among the Aes Sedai, and with Elaida’s violent methods of gaining power, she has certainly alienated some within their number. The Salidar storyline will almost certainly feature in Season 4, even though it will look different due to certain character exits.

‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 4 May Take Inspiration From Other Books

While the bulk of the story is likely to come from Books 5 and 6, other pieces throughout the series will likely factor into Season 4. For one thing, The Wheel of Time Season 3 is careful to set up Callandor despite skipping Rand’s journey to Tear. Claiming the legendary sword is not only a way to fulfill another part of the Dragon Reborn prophecy, but the artifact itself is a huge asset. Callandor is not really a sword but a powerful ter’angreal that is important for Rand to wield. As this story takes place before his journey to the Aiel Waste in the books, it will require the series to backtrack to include this vital plot point from The Dragon Reborn.

However, The Wheel of Time will seemingly face the opposite problem for Perrin (Marcus Rutherford). Season 3 leaves him in the hands of the Whitecloak Dain Bornhald (Jay Duffy), who is taking him to face justice. Yet in The Shadow Rising, Perrin does not go with the Whitecloaks, because they do not fight beside the people of the Two Rivers. However, Perrin does find himself in Whitecloak custody much later in the thirteenth book in the series, Towers of Midnight. If The Wheel of Time chooses to borrow from this event, it will have to jump forward considerably. With so many stories already set up and more than enough source material, The Wheel of Time has plenty of ground to cover in Season 4 and for many subsequent seasons, should it have the opportunity.

The Wheel of Time is streaming on Prime Video in the U.S.

The Wheel of Time

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