The Wheel of Time Season 2 Review: Rosamund Pike’s Fantasy Series Weaves A More Engaging, Vastly Improved Second Season
For fans of the Robert Jordan high fantasy novel series by the same name, Rafe Lee Judkins’ The Wheel Of Time Season 1 on Prime Video wasn’t a pattern they endorsed much. A combination of changes, from the book’s arcs to the lack of intense stakes and lore-heavy writing, made it difficult for many to keep themselves engaged with its weekly episode release. But The Wheel weaves as The Wheel wills and looks like for Season 2, the series, produced by Rosamund Pike and headlined by her alongside Daniel Henney Zoë Robins, Josha Stradowski, Madeleine Madden, Marcus Rutherford, Dónal Finn, and Ceara Coveney, has spun some definite improvement on its predecessor.
At the time of writing this review, we were granted access to the first three episodes of the new season, which premiered on Friday, September 1, 2023. They are written by Amanda Kate Shuman, Katherine B. McKenna, and John McCutcheon, respectively. The first two episodes are directed by Thomas Napper and the third by Sanaa Hamri.
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But before we dive into Season 2, a quick recap of where we were at at the end of Season 1.
The Wheel Of Time Season 1 Recap
Moiraine leads the Ta’veren Rand al’Thor, who reveals himself as the Dragon Reborn to her, to The Eye Of The World, where they supposedly think they have defeated the Dark One, but in reality, they’ve cracked the seal that releases his most fierce lieutenant, Ishamael. Rand, who senses the madness taking over him, tells Moiraine to not tell anyone he survived and leaves. When the Warder Lan Mandragora, braving the Blight, finds Moiraine, she has been stilled, which means unable to channel the One Power because she cannot touch the Source. Lan can’t tell what she’s feeling because their bond was masked by Moiraine before she left.
Meanwhile, thousands of Trollocs attack on Far Dara. Lady Amalisa, the sister of the Lord of Fal Dara, channels the power of four other women, including Nynaeve and Egwene, to destroy the Trolloc army. Four of them, including Nyneave, perish because of too much channelling, but Egwene manages to revive Nynaeve. In the castle, Perrin and Loial try to protect the Horn Of Valere but are attacked by Trollocs, and the peddler Padan Fain, who reveals himself to Perrin as a Darkfriend AND tells him the Trolloc attack on Two Rivers on Bell Tine was orchestrated to bring the five of them to this very moment. Finally, after Moiraine’s message, the Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah are probably on the lookout for Mat Cauthon, who abandoned the others at The Ways and is shown as returning to Tar Valon in the end. (Read our The Wheel Of Time Season 1 review here.)
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The Wheel Of Time Season 2 Has Better Stakes And An Engaging Screenplay
This season gets bloodier, darker, and more engrossing, and delves deeper into the psyche of the characters and how the events of the Season 1 finale have altered them. While the stakes didn’t quite register in the first season, and the screenplay didn’t quite have you looking forward to the next episode, Season 2 changes that with its episode endings. The season begins with a sinister yet thought-provoking scene involving our mysterious baddie Ishamael and proceeds to show us a powerless Moiraine, grappling with the mistake that might just cost them the world. Even more heartbreaking is the cold distance between her and Lan, his frustration at not being let into what she is going through and her keeping secrets about what her agenda is.
At the White Tower, without Moiraine to guide them, Nynaeve and Egwene are novices smack in the middle of Aes Sedai power manoeuvres. Egwene keeps her head down and does the work, but not Nynaeve. We see in a clip released that she will be facing the arches this season, which is a test of sorts for novices to become the Accepted, and it really tells us so much more not just about her but also about who the Aes Sedai are, particularly Liandrin, the cruel price they must all pay to be these powerful women.
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Rand, who is still the Dragon Reborn but incognito and in exile, makes a couple of interesting new friends that I am particularly excited about because they’re definitely going to have an effect on who he, should we say, grows up to be. It’s Perrin, though, who seems to be having the more interesting adventure, because those wolf eyes clearly indicate there’s more power behind them than meets the eye. This reveal is taking its own sweet time, which could probably get boring, but then in Episode 3, he has an encounter that really does make you sit up and eager to see what happens next. Oh, and we do find out what happens with Mat Cauthon too, who is played by Dónal Finn this season. And yes, it is not… erm… fun, though he remains charmingly witty throughout it all.
The addition of new characters to an already-loaded ensemble comes with an air of engaging mystery, without feeling a bit too much. Apart from Ishamael, there’s also Elayne Trakand, the Daughter-Heir of the nation of Andor, who joins Egwene and Nynave as a novice at the White Tower. And remember that fancy ship in the waters in the final scene of Season 1? It bore the High Lady Suroth of Seanchan, who invokes fear and terror as her army of ruthless soldiers and sorceresses invade the Westlands. How she fits into the grand scheme of things will slowly be unveiled, but with Ishamael at her side, could it be good?
The Wheel Of Time Season 2 Is Unhurried As Ever
The thing about high fantasy is that it is steeped in lore, which is the basis of its appeal to the readers. To mount an adaptation then is an intricate dance of what to say and how to say it without alienating the non-readers and disappointing the readers. In both Prime Video shows, The Wheel Of Time and The Rings Of Power, this comes at the cost of pacing. The success of Game Of Thrones has spawned an audience that is hungry for fast-paced, slashy political powerplays that are high on the payoff. But a series like The Wheel Of Time, which weaves a complex fantasy saga that is also a political drama with heavy subtext about gender and human behaviour, cannot be rushed. Pay-offs will come, but first, we must build character. First, we must lay the lore.
Season 2 continues its predecessor’s unhurried pace, letting us marinate in the characters’ new lives in the wake of a changed world. And that’s really where all the juice is. The appeal of TWOT is in its human characters and their choices. In Season 1, it was perhaps the need for higher stakes and an unfamiliarity with these characters that inhibited any investment in their stories. In fact, in an exclusive interview with Hauterrfly, Daniel Henney spoke about “internal issues” that affected Season 1, which did feel like it was on an unsure footing for the most part.
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However, when we go into Season 2, it seems like the writing has a firm grasp of what it wants to say. It helps that we know these characters better now and feel for their situations. Rand, Moiraine and Lan, in particular, made me feel deeply for what they were going through as they’re the ones who feel powerless while being truly aware of just how close they are to The Last Battle, and how ill-equipped they are to fight it right now. And this in turn lends a sense of urgency that balances out the slow pacing. It needs to simmer a little before it comes to a boil, at the end of every episode.
With the characters getting a lot more to do this time around, the actors have also gotten the chance to display their range, Pike, Henney, Robins, and Stradowski continue to shine, but from what I’ve seen so far, I am mighty impressed by Kate Fleetwood as Liandrin, who cuts such a complex figure, with her radical ideologies and secrets. Fares Fares brings a cool, Lucifer vibe to his Ishamael that I like, but I’d love to see him crack up the dark a notch or two. The Wheel Of Time maintains its visual splendour, and I am kind of a sucker for the sweeping music that it fills every scene with (though some might find it intrusive). But my biggest complaint remains with its nighttime scenes. As a Lord Of The Rings fan, I have high standards for night battle scenes, and its a bit too dark out there for my taste.
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Verdict
From its first three episodes, it sure feels like The Wheel Of Time has worked out some of the kinks from Season 1 to deliver a vastly improved Season 2. Its biggest win is that it made me look forward to the next episode, and The Last Battle that we know is coming, which for an episodic release series, is like the loyalty of the Dragon Reborn—it could break the world, or save it. I’m leaning towards the latter right now.
The first three episodes of The Wheel Of Time Season 2 are currently on Prime Video, with five more episodes releasing weekly until October 6, 2023.
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