REVIEW: ‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 3 Episode 7: Wolfbrother at War
- Mira Jacobs
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
After spending most of its third season squeezing as many characters as possible into each episode, The Wheel of Time devotes its latest chapter, “Goldeneyes,” to a single arc. This is a spotlight on Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford), taking place entirely within the mountainous Two Rivers where he was born. It’s not often that a high-budget streaming series can risk interrupting its main story to focus on a one-shot, but in this case, it absolutely pays off.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for The Wheel of Time Season 3.
Alpha Wolf of the Two Rivers
The plot is simple: Perrin and his companions must defend his home from a horde of Trollocs and a suspicious battalion of Whitecloaks. Although he resists the mantle of leadership at first, Perrin is known and respected by the Two Rivers villagers, and once he takes charge, he truly comes into his own.
When battle breaks out, it’s reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings, complete with ranks of archers, spreading flames, and unearthly monsters. Many scenes are packed with full crowds of actors, giving the action a sense of grand scale. The sets and the choreography show real dedication in bringing the combat to life. There are moments when all seems to be lost, and there are moments focused on individuals whose courage and sacrifice bring a ray of hope.
Ogier, Aiel, Tinkers, and More
Perrin’s allies provide a few secret weapons as well as rounding out the adrenaline with their personal stories. Loial (Hammed Animashaun), whose steady and kind nature makes him prefer books to battle, goes on a side quest to close the Waygate that’s letting the Trollocs through. He’s accompanied by Bain (Ragga Ragnars) and Chiad (Maja Simonsen), two Maidens of the Spear who steal every scene they appear in, because they owe Loial their allegiance according to the esoteric Aiel customs of honor and obligation.
While Bain and Chiad’s brash condescension for “wetlanders” is sometimes played for laughs, there’s also a bleak contrast between them and the pacifistic Tu’atha’an who take shelter in the Two Rivers. Earlier this season, we saw the history of the two cultures and how both of them lost something by going to their respective extremes, but the characters don’t know that and won’t change their ways.
Meanwhile, Perrin’s love story with Faile (Isabella Bucceri) advances, and Alanna (Priyanka Bose) and Maksim (Taylor Napier) are back on their game and doing the work that only they can. This includes training some of the Two Rivers’ latent channelers, which may lead to some interesting developments down the line.
A Painful Loss
Another factor that makes “Goldeneyes” stand out in the series so far is a major character death, one which even book readers won’t have anticipated. Some genre shows, like Game of Thrones, gained a reputation for frequent, brutal death scenes, which in that case were generally faithful to the source material. The Wheel of Time books have the opposite reputation: it’s very rare for characters to be killed off once they’ve been firmly established.
That pattern leads to problems of its own, where the reader would too easily know what to expect, and some characters would tag along for lengthy stretches of the books without having much to do. With that in mind, it’s little surprise that the TV adaptation of The Wheel of Time is taking a different approach, but that won’t be much consolation to fans who have grown attached to a fictional somebody and now have to say a premature goodbye.
What does help is that the death is treated with care, honoring the character and allowing others some screen time to mourn. It’s also a sign that there may be more deaths coming, but if they follow suit, they won’t be gratuitous.
Next week’s episode of The Wheel of Time will be the Season 3 finale, and it’s likely that Perrin and his companions will be absent. That means a long wait until we find out what happens to him after the twist at the end of “Goldeneyes,” but as far as send-offs go, he couldn’t have had any better.
Rating: ★★★★★
About The Wheel of Time Season 3
Premiere Date: March 13, 2025
Episode Count: 8
Executive Producer/Showrunner: Rafe Judkins, Larry Mondragon, Rick Selvage, Ted Field, Mike Weber, Darren Lemke, Marigo Kehoe, Justine Juel Gillmer, Sanaa Hamri, Amanda Kate Shuman
Director: Ciaran Donnelly, Thomas Napper
Production: Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television
Distribution: Prime Video
Cast: Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Josha Stradowski, Zoë Robins, Madeleine Madden, Marcus Rutherford, Dónal Finn, Ceara Coveney, Kate Fleetwood, Natasha O’Keeffe, Ayoola Smart, Kae Alexander, Sophie Okonedo
Synopsis: After defeating Ishamael at the end of Season Two, Rand reunites with his friends at Falme and is declared the Dragon Reborn. But in Season Three, the threats against the Light are multiplying: the White Tower stands divided, the Black Ajah run free, old enemies return to the Two Rivers, and the remaining Forsaken are in hot pursuit of the Dragon… including Lanfear, whose relationship with Rand will mark a crucial choice between Light and Dark for them both. As the ties to his past begin to unravel, and his corrupted power grows stronger, Rand becomes increasingly unrecognizable to his closest allies, Moiraine and Egwene. These powerful women, who started the series as teacher and student, must now work together to prevent the Dragon from turning to the Dark…no matter the cost.