The Wheel of Time season 3 addresses major book change in episode 1

As Rosamund Pike, who plays Moiraine and who served as an executive producer on the show, previously told RadioTimes.com, season 3 will show Rand (Josha Stradowski) go to the Aiel Waste before going to Tear to get Callandor, which marks a change in the chronology of Robert Jordan's novels.

In episode 1 of the new season, that change is explained, with Rand being told he must build up an army if he has any hope of retrieving Callandor.

While Moiraine and Lanfear (Natasha O'Keeffe) are both eager for the Dragon Reborn to retrieve the sword, it's Elayne's (Ceara Coveney) words that get through to him and encourage him to head to the Aiel Waste.

She tells him: "You need a loyal army. Who better than the Aiel? Make them believe in you and they will follow you to the ends of the earth - including Tear."

That, combined with Rand's reasoning that no one - not even the Forsaken - will think to look for him in the Aiel Waste, solidifies his decision.

By the end of the episode, joined by Moiraine, Lan (Daniel Henney), and Egwene (Madeleine Madden), he declares: "We’re not going to Tear. We’re going to the last place the Forsaken or anyone else would ever think to look for me. A place to find the army I need to fight the shadow. We’re going to the Aiel Waste."

Previously explaining the decision from a filmmaking point of view, Pike exclusively told RadioTimes.com: "We haven't neglected the Stone of Tear, we've just rearranged the order.

"There'll be debate about it, but instead of Rand, as you would expect, his next point on his journey would be to go and get Callandor from the Stone of Tear, we are going into the Aiel Waste first, because he needs to discover who he is.

"Obviously in the novels, there's loads of opportunity for the internal battles of Rand, coming to terms with being the Dragon Reborn - but we need to make that active.

"We can't do subjective thinking on film. So we need him to go and discover who he is by going to the land of where he comes from. So we're going to the Aiel Waste first, and I hope you'll understand and appreciate why."

Meanwhile, showrunner Rafe Judkins has assured fans that season 3 is the closest book adaptation so far.

The Wheel of Time season 3 airs weekly on Prime Video.

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