{"id":1147219,"date":"2026-02-07T08:03:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T08:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=538074"},"modified":"2026-02-07T08:03:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T08:03:13","slug":"wheel-of-times-latest-queer-relationship-has-been-a-long-time-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wheel-of-times-latest-queer-relationship-has-been-a-long-time-coming\/","title":{"rendered":"Wheel of Time\u2019s latest queer relationship has been a long time coming"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Aviendha
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prime Video\u2019s The Wheel of Time<\/em><\/a> series is no stranger to making bold calls about its source material<\/a>. While it more or less follows the same arc as the books<\/a>, the first episodes of season 1 alone opened up the world to a totally new interpretation of prophecy and character potential<\/a>. Since then, it has been introducing characters early and planting a firm flag in readings of author Robert Jordan\u2019s book series.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, season 3 is starting off with yet another clear interpretation \u2014 and a reimagining of two characters\u2019 relationship. <\/p>\n

[Ed. note: <\/strong>This post contains spoilers for an early scene in the season 3 premiere of The Wheel of Time<\/em>.]<\/p>\n

In the books, Aviendha and Elayne are drawn to Rand \u2014\u00a0by fate more so than circumstance. Both are bonded to him through the prophecy and, ultimately, fall in love with him, agreeing to share him. The situation is made harder and then easier by the fact that the two feel such devotion to each other; they eventually adopt each other as first-sisters, as is the custom in Aviendha\u2019s culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of course, many people read more into this closeness than just really good platonic friends. As Ayoola Smart, who plays Aviendha, told Polygon: \u201cTheir relationship has a very strong structure throughout the books, and is a very beautiful relationship. It\u2019s very much there on the page, and some people read into it and some people don\u2019t.\u201d <\/p>\n

That\u2019s what makes episode 1 of season 3 so important. The pair \u2014 in their very first scene on screen together \u2014\u00a0share a drink and then kiss. The show seems to suggest it\u2019s the first time anything clearly romantic has happened (Ceara Coveney\u2019s Elayne lets out a relieved \u201cfinally\u201d after they kiss). But the relationship is clearly and definitively romantic from here on out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe kind of agreed upon an initial immediate attraction and draw, and maybe this kind of playing coy almost, and waiting for that moment more on Elayne\u2019s side probably to get the confidence to approach and to explore what these feelings could be,\u201d Coveney said. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The change came from showrunner Rafe Judkins<\/a>, who saw it as part of a way to explore Elayne more deeply than they got to in season 2. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s one of the four POV characters that we see throughout the book series,\u201d Judkins says of fleshing out the world around Elayne. \u201c[In these early episodes] you start to see that Elayne is so much more than a princess in waiting. We always talk about the princess that is Elayne, and beneath that, the lion that is Elayne. And so I think you get to see that duality in her come forward more in this season.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear yet how this will impact the show\u2019s arc around romance, and in particular Rand\u2019s romance, just yet. Sure, Rand already had a tryst with the \u201cDaughter of the Night\u201d<\/a> and a sorta ongoing thing with Egwene. But for as much as the show futzed with gender norms in its first season<\/a>, Rand is still the prophetic Dragon Reborn at the end of it all. Will Aviendha and Elayne\u2019s love story be tied up into that fated polycule with Rand?\u00a0<\/p>\n

For now, the show has other things on its mind. In fact, across the opening episodes of Wheel of Time<\/em>\u2019s season 3, the first scene is more or less the limit of what we get of Elayne and Aviendha together. Still, regardless of where it goes, both actresses see it as an important way to set their characters apart from just his story.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think [the writers] were keen \u2014 and we were keen \u2014 to establish the throughline of what this relationship is, independently of Rand, and [to have that] not be the focus of why they\u2019re connected,\u201d Smart said. \u201cObviously it\u2019s an element, but to give it its own life \u2014 which is there! But to make that distinction, I think, was really nice to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The first three episodes of <\/em>The Wheel of Time are now streaming on Prime Video. New episodes drop every Thursday.<\/em><\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prime Video\u2019s The Wheel of Time series is no stranger to making bold calls about its source material. While it more or less follows the same arc as the books, the first episodes of season 1 alone opened up the world to a totally new interpretation of prophecy and character potential. Since then, it has been introducing characters early and planting a firm flag in readings of author Robert Jordan\u2019s book series.\u00a0 Now, season 3 is starting off with yet another clear interpretation \u2014 and a reimagining of two characters\u2019 relationship.  [Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for an early scene in the season 3 premiere of The Wheel of Time.] In the books, Aviendha and Elayne are drawn to Rand \u2014\u00a0by fate more so…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1147220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1147219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"\nWheel of Time\u2019s latest queer relationship has been a long time coming | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Prime Video\u2019s The Wheel of Time series is no stranger to making bold calls about its source material. 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