After announcing the third season renewal of The Wheel of Time at San Diego Comic-Con, Prime Video couldn’t let New York Comic-Con pass without bringing some of the cast to the Empire Stage to talk about the second season and tease what fans can look forward to upon the return to the epic fantasy universe. The discussion began with a hilarious video of Rosamund Pike riffing on herself as Moiraine, hinting that the character may become more closed off and obstinate as her trip progresses. Questions about the new threats, how a’Lan is feeling after everything that happened with Moiraine, and how they’ve been combining the storylines from Robert Jordan’s expansive series because it’s impossible to adapt all fourteen novels were asked of showrunner and executive producer Rafe Judkins, who was joined by Madeleine Madden, Daniel Henney, and Marcus Rutherford to discuss the upcoming season.
Judkins also said that the Seanchan would be introduced in Season 2 and that they will “side-swipe” the season, hinting that Perrin and Egwene will encounter them. All of today’s panellists, plus Josha Stradowski and Zo Robins, will be back for Season 2, while Dónal Finn will take over as Mat Cauthon on his increasingly dark trip. As for new faces in season 2, we have Ayoola Smart, Ceara Coveney, Natasha O’Keeffe, Gregg Chillingirian, and Meera Syal. As the panel went on, it was revealed that Dónal Finn and Ceara Coveney were both waiting backstage to come out after they displayed a video showcasing their characters.
The first exclusive video was of Mat Cauthon’s incarceration by the Aes Sedai after he was caught with the ruby-hilted dagger of Shadar Logoth. In the excerpt, we see Liandrin Guirale (Kate Fleetwood) delivering some pastries to Mat in his cell; he suspects they’ve been poisoned, but she explains that if she wanted him dead, he’d already be dead. Finn brilliantly nails Mat’s sarcasm and humour while also highlighting his sense of disorientation in the absence of his social circle.
As soon as Liandrin left Mat to eat, Mat went back to trying to dig his way out of his confinement. In the second segment, we saw Elayne’s (Coveney) and Egwene’s (Madden) rocky first encounter in the White Tower. Elayne reminded Egewene that, as the Daughter-Heir of Andor, Egwene had once been her subject in the Two Rivers. Furthermore, the first teaser trailer for Season 2 was released, boasting far higher stakes than the previous season, which is saying a lot given all the tragedy, agony, drama, and epic fights that transpired in the first. The reel’s highlights included a lot of crying, an unclothed a’Lan training, Rand putting on what looks like a torture rack, and some hints that Mat would break out of his cell.