Wheel Of Time's Surprise New Villain Hints Season 3 Is Secretly Covering A Future Book Story

Details regardingThe Wheel of Time season 3's cast indicate that the show is gearing up to tell a story once expected for a future season. It's no secret that the third season of Prime Video's live-action adaptation of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books will explore the events of The Shadow Rising, the fourth novel in the series. As The Wheel of Time season 2's ending made clear, that means making Moghedien an integral part of the episodes to come.

Given what happened in the season 2 finale and what took place in The Shadow Rising, Moghedien being the main villain of season 3 wouldn't really be surprising. Out of all the 13 Forsaken in The Wheel of Time, she is indeed the one who receives the most attention in that particular installment. But the casting of Nuno Lopes casts doubt on this idea. It's been confirmed that Lopes will be taking on the role of Lord Gaebril. Even though the character technically debuted before The Shadow Rising, the character's true identity and motives could be a sign that season 3 will push the timeline all the way into book 5.

Lord Gaebril's True Identity & Plan In The Wheel Of Time Explained

Lord Gaebril Is Rahvin, A Forsaken Rand Fights In Book 5

Cover art for the Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan.

In The Wheel of Time books, it's established that "Lord Gaebril" is the alter ego of Rahvin, one of the most devious members of the Forsaken. Posing as a distinguished nobleman, Rahvin was able to worm his way into the court of Andor, as well as the heart of Morgase Trakand, the queen of the kingdom and the mother of Elayne. But he didn't do this on his own merits; Rahvin used the One Power ability known as Compulsion to form a hold over Morgase, all so that he could manipulate her for his own ends. Unsurprisingly, his endgame was to kill the queen and take over Andor.

The first clues to Rahvin's scheme were uncovered in The Dragon Reborn, which saw Mat and Thom travel to Caemlyn to warn Morgase about a planned assassination attempt. At the center of the conspiracy was Rahvin. However, the storyline was not resolved in The Dragon Reborn, nor was it revisited in The Shadow Rising. Jordan circled back to it in the following book, The Fires of Heaven, where Rahvin served as one of the two main antagonists, alongside Moghedien. In the novel, Rahvin finally put his scheme into action, resulting in Morgase having to escape from Caemlyn.

While Nynaeve and Elayne are busy continuing their conflict with Moghedien from The Shadow Rising, Mat and Rand become key players in the Rahvin plotline. This famously culminates in Rand engaging the Forsaken in an epic showdown at the end of the novel, wherein Rand gets to unleash Balefire, one of the strongest One Power abilities.

What Lord Gaebril's Season 3 Introduction Could Mean For The Next Story

Rahvin Could Be Rand's Main Opponent In Season 3

A statue of the Forsaken Asmodean in The Wheel of Time.

Lord Gaebril being introduced in season 3 carries interesting implications for the show's adaptation of The Shadow Rising. Without his involvement, it'd be easy to assume that Moghedien will be season 3's main villain, but with Rahvin showing up, there's a good chance they'll be sharing the spotlight. That's in contrast to the formula of The Shadow Rising, but perfectly in line with the direction Jordan took with The Fires of Heaven. Since it too balanced the two as villains, it's possible that season 3 intends to take inspiration from its approach.

That being the case could call for Rahvin to emerge as a threat at an earlier point in The Wheel of Time's timeline. It's unclear how exactly that would work, considering that there's no clear opening for him to appear. Rand is going to the Aiel Waste, Elayne and Nynaeve will be in Tanchico, and Perrin will be in the Two Rivers. None of these storylines have an obvious place for Rahvin, but with Lord Gaebril and Morgase confirmed to be on hand, it's likely that a trip to Caemlyn is on the horizon regardless. In other words, one of these stories may very well veer off the course set by the books.

There's a few ways this could happen. One is that Rand doesn't spend all of season 3 in the Aiel Waste. Theoretically, Rand could follow the same journey as his book counterpart, albeit at a faster pace. That could see Rand leave the Aiel Waste - possibly near the middle of the season - head to Caemlyn, and have his showdown with Rand. Alternatively, The Wheel of Time could see Mat (and possibly Thom) deal with Rahvin's antics in Caemlyn. But, since official Wheel of Time season 3 images seem to place Mat in Tanchico, the show reserving the Rahvin story for Rand may be the more likely scenario.

Rahvin's Season 3 Role Creates Huge Questions For The Wheel of Time Season 4

Rahvin Being Defeated In Season 3 Could Pave The Way For Sammael In Season 4

The possibility of The Wheel of Time covering the main events of both The Shadow Rising and The Fires of Heaven in a single season could be of great benefit to the series, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it should go without saying that The Wheel of Time won't have enough seasons to correspond with each novel in the 14-book series. Some will have to be skipped, and book 3 won't be the only one to get that treatment. Getting book 5's villain out of the way in season 3 would help with that, as it would pave the way for the series to move on to book 6 (Lord of Chaos) and book 7 (A Crown of Swords) in season 4.

books 4 and 5 were presented in such a way that they came across as "part one" and "part two" of a larger story

The Wheel of Time advancing through the Rahvin story makes sense also because of how The Shadow Rising and The Fires of Heaven are connected. The three preceding books were all separate adventures, but books 4 and 5 were presented in such a way that they came across as "part one" and "part two" of a larger story. That's because The Shadow Rising doesn't conclude Rand's time in the Aiel Waste or the fight with Moghedien. With that in mind, covering both in one season would be a solid strategy.

Otherwise, it would stand to reason that Rahvin would be the villain of The Wheel of Time season 4. If he's already been beaten by this point, the books may be able to jump forward to Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne's journey to Ebou Dar, as well as the formation of the Black Tower, Rand's headquarters for male One Power channelers. If so, Sammael, who was namedropped in season 2, could be in position to take over as the main villain.