A surprising decision by Min Farshaw supports a troubling theory about Siuan Sanche’s future role - or lack thereof - inThe Wheel of Time. The third season of Prime Video’s adaptation ofRobert Jordan’sWheel of Timebooksis bringing to life the story ofThe Shadow Rising, the fourth installment in the series.The Shadow Risingis notable for multiple developments in the Dragon Reborn saga, including the downfall of Siuan Sanche. Though she enjoys a long and complex future in the series, the book marks a significant downturn in her life.
The events that play out inThe Shadow Risingculminate in Siuan losing not only her highly coveted status as the Amyrlin Seat, but also her link tothe One Power inThe Wheel of Time. The machinations of Elaida rob her of both, and set up a whole new series of adventures for Siuan that play out in the books that follow. However, there’s been some uncertainty among fans as to whether the show intends to lean in this direction. And after what happened in season 3’s first three episodes, there’s now even greater cause to doubt that Siuan will share in the many stories experienced by her book counterpart.
How Min Going To Tanchico Changes The Wheel Of Time Books
This Makes Min Teaming Up With Siuan Unlikely
At the end of the third episode, Min Farsaw is seen following Mat Cauthon, who has decided to accompany Elaine Trakand and Nynaeve al’Meara in their hunt for the Black Ajah in Tanchico. This amounts to a major departure from the source material, asMin did not go to Tanchico inThe Shadow Rising. Had the show followed along with the book, Min would have remained in the White Tower. In the novel, Min is still at the White Tower when Elaida begins stirring up trouble and getting her fellow Aes Sedai to turn against Siuan.
Min is on hand when Siuan is deposed, giving the latter an ally in her subsequent escape from the White Tower.
As a result, Min is on hand when Siuan is deposed, giving the latter an ally in her subsequent escape from the White Tower. Teaming up with Min and the imprisoned (and gentled) Logain, Siuan proceeds to escape from the White Tower, paving the way for the trio to travel together in The Fires of Heaven and beyond. Unless The Wheel of Time somehow brings Min back to the White Tower before Siuan is removed from power, it would seem that this journey isn’t in the cards for her character. As for why that would be the case, there are a couple of possible answers to this question.
Wheel Of Time May Cut Siuan Sanche’s Rebellion Storyline
An Easy Way To Cut The Rebellion Arc Is To Kill Off Siuan
One explanation for the change to Min’s story is thatThe Wheel of Timesimply isn’t doing Siuan Sanche’s Aes Sedai rebellion storyline from Jordan’s books. What happens to Siuan inThe Shadow Risingcreates a new branching storyline, thus giving book readers one more subplot - complete with its own supporting cast of characters - to follow. The show already has a handful of storylines that it will need to cover from book to book, so balancing them all will naturally be made all the more challenging if Siuan and Min become the co-protagonists of a new arc.
With that in mind, it’s not unreasonable to speculate thatThe Wheel of Timemight remove this particular narrative. But cutting it out could spell doom for Siuan, as it may mean that she dies instead of being imprisoned by Elaida in the White Tower. Despite her importance, Siuan dying isn’t completely unfeasible; after all,the whole point of Loial’s fake death scene inThe Wheel of Timewas to prepare viewers for unexpected character deaths in future seasons. Siuan may very well have been one of them.
Who Could Replace Min In Siuan Sanche’s White Tower Escape Story
Both Verin Mathwin & Morgase Trakand Are Potential Replacements For Min Farshaw
An alternative possibility is thatThe Wheel of Timestill intends to do Siuan Sanche’s plotline, albeit without Min. The show could have elected to take this course for any number of reasons, one of which being the potential absence of Juilin Sandar in the Tanchico arc. Since Nynaeve and Elayne didn’t meet Juilin Sandar in Tear, the Tanchico storyline may have needed a replacement for his role in the narrative and that role could have gone to Min. If so, and Siuan’s story is slated to happen just as it did in the books, a new character may need to step up to take Min’s place.
One option for that is Verin Mathwin. She does wind up with the rebels eventually, so having her team up with Siuan sooner wouldn’t be a massive change. The option does appear to be on the table, especially since the TV show version of Verin didn’t take the path of the book character inThe Shadow Rising,opting to stay in the White Tower. In the source material, she was among the characters to enter the Aiel Waste with Rand. It could be that this arc was avoided because Verin will help facilitate Siuan’s escape from the White Tower.
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A less likely - but still possible - scenario is thatOlivia Williams' Queen Morgasewinds up joining forces with Siuan. Queen Morgase and Siuan Sanche already have an interesting dynamic in Prime Video’s series, one that could be made even more compelling if they both find themselves on the run and without their respective authority.
What’s more, such a combination would be helpful in keeping things streamlined. In the books, both Siuan and Morgase have their own “escape” plotlines where they have to go on travels outside their comfort zones. Merging these stories into one would ease the challenge of juggling multiple narratives. The timing may also align, as it looks like Morgase’s ousting is being set up at the same time, since the character who plots against her in the books -Wheel of Time’sRahvin - is clearly in the process of engineering his masterplan to take over Andor. If that happens, Morgase could find common ground with Siuan and see an advantage in helping her inThe Wheel of Timeseason 3’s ending.
The Wheel of Time
Cast
The Wheel of Time follows Moiraine, a member of the powerful all-female organization Aes Sedai, as she leads a perilous quest with five young individuals. Moiraine suspects one among them could be the prophesized reincarnation of a mighty figure destined to either save or doom humanity.
