Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for The Wheel of Time Season 3 Episodes 1-3.While the first two seasons of The Wheel of Time have already put our main characters through a lot, Season 3 doesn’t waste any time (no pun intended) before upping the dangers these heroes are facing at nearly every turn. In the three-episode premiere, what seems like a peaceful reunion between longtime friends is quickly shattered thanks to a coordinated attack from the Forsaken Lanfear (Natasha O’Keeffe), which, as we later learn, is all a plan to drive Rand’s (Josha Stradowski) friends away from him. It works, because after that, everyone decides they need to embrace different paths — including Nynaeve (Zoë Robins), who chooses to stay behind in Tar Valon. Yet the former Wisdom still has her hands full, now that she’s been tasked with rooting out the corruption that has infiltrated the White Tower alongside Elayne (Ceara Coveney). As these two put their heads together, their investigation is poised to take them to the coastal city of Tanchico, where law is practically an afterthought.
Ahead of the premiere of The Wheel of Time Season 3, Collider had the opportunity to speak with Robins about some of her character’s biggest moments over the first three episodes. Over the course of the interview, which you can watch above or read below, Robins discusses the very physical process of filming Nynaeve’s harrowing attack by that creepy Gray Man, the significance of that ring moment between Nynaeve and Lan (Daniel Henney), and why Nynaeve and Elayne trust each other now more than ever. She also teases her favorite Season 3 scene to film opposite one of the show’s most terrifying Forsaken, Moghedien (Laia Costa), explains why being in Tanchico leads to a “looser version of Nynaeve,” and more.
COLLIDER: There’s probably no better place to start than at the beginning, the incredible White Tower opening sequence, which a lot of fans have already gotten to see. I believe it’s something that Rafe [Judkins] described as “a bunch of women shredding each other,” which he’s not exaggerating. What was it like to be on set for filming part of that sequence? Nynaeve obviously can’t contribute too much because she’s still dealing with her block, but you got to be there for a little bit of it.
ZOË ROBINS: It was great. It’s not often that I’m working with those actresses all at the same time. Obviously, I’ve had specific scenes with Kate Fleetwood, who plays Liandrin, and then Sophie Okonedo’s character, and so on, but all together at once was magnificent. Also, just the costume detail, seeing everyone together was incredible.
This first episode is a really nice reunion of everyone together after they’ve all been split up from Season 2, but one thing I noted with some of your castmates is… the Two Rivers Gang, they really feel like they’re all weighted down by what they’ve been through, to the point where things just don’t feel the same with this group anymore. For you, what really serves as the biggest indicator for Nynaeve that every member of this group has been irreparably changed by what they’ve been through, and there’s really no going back to how things used to be?
ROBINS: That’s true. I think it’s also important to show the trauma and how it’s affected them. They have gone through so much since we first meet them in Episode 1, Season 1, many moons ago. It was important to show that journey and where they are now, and what they’re facing and how their relationships have changed with one another. For Nynaeve in particular, she’s having to reconcile with the fact that she can’t help in the way that she wants to, and that is essentially Nynaeve’s biggest fear. She’s dealing with a lot, but to see them all together but not quite the same, it’s really heartbreaking, but it’s also really important, and I think we can understand why they make the necessary choices that they make.
It’s a moment that sort of comes to a head that night that they’re enjoying that last, as Mat jokingly refers to it, “night of freedom.” But then, with Lanfear’s plan, they all basically get attacked, and Nynaeve gets attacked in a way that was not planned for but seems to have a connection to one of the other threats in the series. I wanted to ask about the experience of filming that very intense stunt sequence — because you’re having to do some wrestling with the Gray Man on-screen, which is the first time we’re getting that threat from the books in the show.
ROBINS: That was, to put it plainly, very intense. That was a good chunk of the day shooting that scene. I might have left that day with a few bruises because it was just so intense. I do think, in the end, that they had to maybe take out a few of the stabs, because I don’t think Nynaeve would have survived just how many we did on the day. But again, it’s integral to show the level of danger and threat that they’re experiencing. It’s pretty horrific. Everything that happens to each of them, all at the same time, it’s a lot to watch, and it was obviously quite harrowing to film, as well.
Zoë Robins Gives Her Interpretation of That Lan/Nynaeve Ring Scene in ‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 3

Image via Prime Video

Look, I’m never going to be mad about Lan basically going scorched earth on Nynaeve’s behalf, but it is a moment that really culminates in something really emotional and moving for the both of them, which is Lan gifting Nynaeve his mother’s ring. Watching that moment, it honestly feels like a marriage proposal, as much as he can offer her one right now. Did you have a similar interpretation of that scene, or did you have a different read on it?
ROBINS: No, I think so. I read it to be that way, as well. The Nynaeve and Lan relationship is so beautiful because it’s so pure and true, and it’s real love, but also, what’s great about them is that there’s this understanding of each other’s duty. There’s a real maturity that comes with that type of relationship. We had to essentially say, “I love you, but I know I have to let you go and lead your own life.” But yeah, I do think, essentially, that was a marriage proposal. [Laughs]
I feel like you don’t give a girl your mom’s ring if it’s not serious, right?
ROBINS: Very serious.

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“This Is My Favorite Season By Far”: ‘The Wheel of Time’s Daniel Henney and Sophie Okonedo Discuss That Thrilling Season 3 Opening

Henney also explains the significance of Lan giving Nynaeve that ring and Okonedo reflects on the love between Siuan and Moiraine.

In Episode 2, we get the beginnings of what is really going to be part of Nynaeve’s storyline this season, which is Siuan basically tasking her and Elayne to hunt down the Black Ajah and root out the source of the Shadow that’s threatening the Tower. Something that really struck me while watching this episode is the moment that Nynaeve and Elayne have after that meeting, where Nynaeve basically says that she doesn’t trust anyone other than herself and Elayne to really get the job done. How do you feel their experience together in Season 2 in Falme, trying to search for Egwene together and really being forced to bond, helped develop that friendship to the point where, now, the trust between them is that strong?
ROBINS: That’s a good point. I do think the trust that Nynaeve now has in Elayne came from their shared love of Egwene. I think that Nynaeve sees Egwene as her little sister, and to actually see that Elayne really cared for Egwene, as well, was a moment where Nynaeve started to respect Elayne a little bit. But now there is definitely a trust formed. I think Nynaeve sees Elayne for who she is, and I think that’s really important. It’s a big thing for Nynaeve to let someone into her circle, and to gain some of her respect, so it says a lot about Elayne.
I did want to ask, too, about how the blocked storyline continues this season, because it’s obviously something that’s in the books. It clearly has an impact on her ability to help her friends where possible, and we see that in the premiere when she can’t. I think she feels guilty for not being able to help Mat with the symptoms that he’s going through because of the Horn. I know you can’t say much, but are there certain circumstances this season that lead Nynaeve to really examine the block, or possibly come to understand what’s really causing it deep down?
ROBINS: Yes. [Laughs] Hmm, how do I word this? For Nynaeve’s journey this season, I think it continues to be one of acceptance, letting go of control, and learning to live with the power that she has. I think she’s been doing her darndest to run away from who she is and the gifts that she’s been given, but I do think this season is a lot about self-acceptance and, for her, walking in all that she is. That certainly takes some time.
Zoë Robins Reveals Her Favorite Scene in ‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 3

Image via Prime Video

That’s fair. I know book fans are aware of the Nynaeve/Moghedien dynamic. This is a character that was introduced at the end of last season, but I wanted to ask about your experience working with Laia Costa this season and what you can tease about how that conflict begins to unfold. We’ve already seen Moghedien touching Nynaeve with those terrifying black fingers in the trailer, so I’m wondering if you can tease anything about that whole dynamic.
ROBINS: Laia is incredible, and she really, really went for it. I do think book fans will be really delighted with their exchanges. I will say that a scene that they have together later on in the season was my favorite scene to shoot. I can’t wait to see where those characters’ stories develop and where their relationship goes. It was so much fun. She’s a brilliant, brilliant actress.
To wrap up with another looking-ahead question, the main group obviously is splitting up this season. A couple of characters are going to the Waste, some people are going back to the Two Rivers. We know that Nynaeve, Elayne, Mat, and Min end up in Tanchico based on pictures that were sent out as a pre-season tease. I wanted to ask about your experience filming in the new location and how this new setting challenges Nynaeve to rethink her perspective of the world around her, just being in a place that’s so different from anything we’ve ever seen in Wheel of Time before.
ROBINS: That was such a great experience, as you say, because we’ve not really seen a world like this before. For Nynaeve, she’s just continually pushed out of her comfort zone, and even more so in Tanchico. We see her being incredibly uncomfortable, but also, I think we see a looser version of Nynaeve, as well, in maybe some laughs and some smiles that we get, which is quite refreshing. All these new environments obviously mean that we get new flavors of the characters because they force them to shift and change. I think it’s really great to work with these specific actors and have this new group of characters relating. It brings a whole new dynamic, which is really fun.
New episodes of The Wheel of Time Season 3 premiere Thursdays on Prime Video.

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