The Wheel of Time Season 3 ending explained: Is Rand accepted as Car'a'carn?

Well, the final episode certainly delivered on the action, with Rand (Josha Stradowski) attempting to unite the Aiel clan chiefs, while Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan (Shohreh Aghdashloo) made a deadly play for power.

The highly-anticipated season finale surprisingly doesn’t quite resolve several of the gripping threads in the series, leaving the show open-ended for the fourth season - which is yet to be announced.

Need a recap on all the major events that occurred in the action-packed finale? Read on for a deep dive into everything you need to know about the ending of The Wheel of Time season 3.

The Wheel of Time Season 3 ending explained: Is Rand accepted as Car'a'carn?

Entering the glass columns in Rhuidean and gaining the dragon markings on both of his arms was just the first part in becoming the Car'a'carn; Rand still needed to unite the rest of the Aiel clan chiefs in agreement that he’s truly He Who Comes with the Dawn.

He travelled to Alcair Dal with the wise ones and was presented to the rest of the clans, though he wasn’t the only one. Couladin (Set Sjöstrand) - with the help of a scorned Lanfear (Natasha O'Keeffe) - also declared himself with matching dragon markings.

To prove he is the rightful Car'a'carn, Rand revealed the secret history of the Aiel from the Age of Legends, which he discovered through his ancestors eyes in Ter'angreal. But the shocking knowledge that the Aiel once followed the Way of the Leaf and were Oathbreakers leads to violence erupting within the clans.

To quell the violence and prove his claim, Rand channels the One Power and brings rainfall to the desert waste, an event which hasn’t been seen since the Breaking of the World.

The season ends without confirming whether he's been accepted as the true Car'a'carn though, instead closing on a cliffhanger as Egwene (Madeleine Madden) begs Rand to "let go, please" as he’s channeling the One Power.

Do Moiraine's visions come true and does Lanfear murder her?

Following the visions she experienced of both her and Rand dying in the glass columns at Rhuidean, Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) is determined to protect the Dragon Reborn at Alcair Dal.

She knows they need the Aiel nation on their side for the Last Battle, so to keep Lanfear at bay, the two go head-to-head in the desert wasteland, as their uneasy alliance comes to an end.

At one point, Lanfear appears to almost kill the Aes Sedai by strangling her, but Moiraine - with the help of the Sakarnen and a strategic swing by Lan (Daniel Henney) - manages to get back into the fight.

However, Lanfear soon sends Lan reeling and uses his sword to stab Moiraine in the stomach, as witnessed in one of Moiraine’s visions.

But Moiraine channels the incredible power of the Sakarnen orb and rips the sword out of her stomach, slashing Lanfear in the neck with it before she escapes through a portal, with Moiraine escaping her fate.

Does Elaida's coup succeed at the White Tower?

Unfortunately, yes. After a whole season of political manoeuvring and shady power plays, the powerful Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah, Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan, manages to depose and overthrow Siuan Sanche (Sophie Okonedo) from the Amyrlin seat.

Using a decoy to lure Siuan Sanche’s remaining allies from the White Tower, she seized power, stating that the Siuan had been accused of being a dark friend, working in consort with the shadow to hide the dragon’s existence from the tower, preventing their ability to control him. For these crimes, she sentenced her to be stilled, brutally hurling arrows at her.

In a heartbreaking and shocking moment - and a twist for book readers - Elaida condemns Siuan to death for her crimes against the tower, working with Moiraine to hide the location of the Dragon Reborn from the Aes Sedai.

But not before she gives one of the most moving speeches of the series yet, with Sophie Okonedo shining in her final moment.

"The world is changing, we cannot stand behind these walls and pretend we have control, the only thing we have control over is what we do. So what will you do? Will you stand behind this woman who stands for nothing, who loves nothing but power? It’s not the tower or the seat which makes us, us.

"We are the power, the light shines through us, that is the truth. You hear my words and know that they are true. If you stay here, you will burn with this tower that you claim to love. But I will never burn, because I am Siuan Sanche, daughter of the river, water itself, and I defy you."

What happens to the collar in Tanchico?

Nynaeve (Zoë Robins), Elayne (Ceara Coveney), Thom Merrilin (Alexandre Willaume), Mat (Dónal Finn) and Min (Kae Alexander) are in a race against to locate the collar before Liandrin Guirale (Kate Fleetwood) and her remaining Black Ajah allies find it and use it against Rand.

The party splits up and Elayne and Tom manage to take out a Black Ajah with her balefire weapon, while Nyaeve finds the cuff and faces Liandrin. The villain takes the cuff from Nyaeve and chains her, sending her crashing into the sea.

However, just as it looks like Nyaeve is going to drown, she regains the power to channel and - in an incredible feat - manages to part the sea as she walks back to the shore.

Meanwhile, Matt and Min also successfully take out another Black Ajah, but Matt ends up entering a gateway which takes him to an Eelfinn creature, asking him what his needs are.

Unaware that he’s made three wishes (to fix his mind from all the memories, to be free of the One Power and to get out of the dimension), Matt ends up back in Tanchiko but in a noose, just like Min’s visions. (Unlike the book, where he’s hung on the tree of life in Rhuidean.)

Despite regaining their ability to channel and successfully adding the balefire weapon to their arsenal, the gang are unsuccessful in retaining the a'dam cuffs, as we see Moghedien taking them from Liandrin before she proposes they work together going forward. Eeek!

The full third season of The Wheel of Time is available to stream on Prime Video.

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