Wheel of Time’s season 2 villains are like nothing else on TV proper now

The world in Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time sequence is luxurious and vivid. As based mostly on the novels of Robert Jordan, the World of the Wheel is stuffed with brilliant colours, beautiful surroundings, and acrobatic motion. The universe pulls from all types of religions and cultures in an effort to create a complete new form of fantasy world. Nowhere is that clearer than within the season 2 trailer Prime Video launched on Wednesday, and nowhere in there is it extra enjoyable than the transient glimpses we get of a number of the important antagonists for the second season.

Amid the glimpses of Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) and Rand (Josha Stradowski) struggling to make sense of their struggle towards the Darkish One on the finish of season 1, we get a glimpse of the Seanchan (who’re, sadly, additionally with the Darkish One).

Picture: Prime Video

First seen on the tail finish of season 1 — as they created an enormous tidal wave on the “Far Western shore” of the continent — the Seanchan are a part of The Nice Hunt, the Jordan ebook on which season 2 is partly based mostly. They’ve returned to retake the continent their ancestors got here from, having been amassing sources for years prematurely of what they name “the Return.” Meaning they’re coming armed and prepared, together with with enslaved channelers like those seen on the finish of season 1.

To place it fairly merely: In season 2, the Seanchan are the standouts to look at. Their drip, as you may see even in simply the transient glimpses of the trailer, is immaculate. Their monarch sits atop a horned pyramid. A lot of fantasy on TV proper now appears to be like the identical, however the Seanchan — with their flashy gold and their quiet, imposing air — really feel fully recent.

When it comes time to nut up or shut up, the Seanchan aren’t right here to play. They’re brutal warriors, and so they’re identified to kidnap Aes Sedai and use them as extra managed channelers. A part of their navy is named the “Deathwatch Guards,” which is only a depraved cool title. They’re a pressure to be reckoned with, one which performs by very completely different guidelines than our intrepid heroes, and finally forces every of them to remodel their protection. Particularly because the solely line we get from them comes from one Seanchan advisor, who states merely: “The entire world will likely be ours.”

After all they’re only one a part of the challenges dealing with Rand and his fellow ta’veran candidates. Vernon Sanders, Amazon Studios’ head of world TV, informed TV Line in December 2021 that he expects season 2 to be a “larger, bolder, and a extra expansive Wheel of Time.” And with season 3 already greenlit, it looks as if the Seanchan are cleared to make fairly a splash.

The Wheel of Time season 2 premieres on Prime Video on September 1.