Warning: Spoilers for Wheel of Time season 3’s first three episodes
Courtesy of season 3,The Wheel of Timejust introduced a new weapon of the Shadow in the form of the Gray Men. The mysterious new enemy made its live-action debut as an assassin acting under the orders of Moghedien, one of the 13 Forsaken fromRobert Jordan’sWheel of Timebooks. The arrival of this threat adds yet another book concept to Prime Video’s interpretation of Jordan’s fantasy universe.
Moiraine and Lanfear’s secret plan to unleash the Bubble of Evil on Rand and his friends went awry when a creature nearly succeeded in killing Nynaeve. As it turned out, her assailant had nothing to do with Lanfear’s machinations; rather, he was a Gray Man, an evil force controlled by the Forsaken. The introduction of the Gray Man borrows directly from Jordan’s books, and offers a glimpse into howThe Wheel of Time’sMoghedienintends to combat the main characters as the season progresses.
The Gray Men Are Highly Capable Assassins
Image via Prime Video
The Gray Men function almost as zombies inThe Wheel of Time’sworld, appearing undead and seemingly having no personalities of their own. They attack ruthlessly, and seemingly exist only to kill the enemies of the Dark One. In the books, it’s established that Gray Men were once normal people, but agreed to undergo transformations in service to the Dark One. This is a step up from being a simple Darkfriend; whereas a Darkfriend is a person who obeys the will of the Dark One,a Gray Man is someone who has devoted their literal soulto the villain.
a big part of their functionality stems from their uncanny - and possibly supernatural - ability to avoid detection
Once making this pact, they are transformed into Gray Men aka The Soulless, making them mindless assassins of the Shadow for the rest of their lives. They can be recognized as Gray Men by their unnatural, ghoulish appearance. But that’s not to say that the Gray Men are easy to pick out, as a big part of their functionality stems from their uncanny - and possibly supernatural - ability to avoid detection. In spite of their zombie-like appearances, Gray Men are extraordinarily adept at blending in with crowds. InThe Dragon Reborn, it was stated that someone can even spot a Gray Man and still not notice their true identity.
The Wheel Of Time Made One Big Change To The Gray Men
The TV Show’s Gray Men Are Linked Directly To Moghedien
Immediately after introducing the Gray Men,The Wheel of Timemade a notable change to their origins. Throughout the books, the Gray Men are weaponized by variousmembers of the Forsaken, and in some situations, it’s not abundantly clear who the Gray Men are taking their orders from.The Wheel of Timeseason 3 premiere simplified this - and perhaps put a limit on how they’ll be used - by linking them to one Forsaken in particular. By Lanfear’s admission,it’s been confirmed that only one Forsaken can create them. Clearly, she was referring to Moghedien.
No single character was credited as the creator of the Gray Men inThe Wheel of Timebooks. Theoretically, any Forsaken could use them, but Lanfear had sworn them off.
This adjustment to the lore could permeate throughlater seasons ofThe Wheel of Time. Ifthe Gray Men are basically a calling card for Moghedien- which they never were in the source material - that could be a sign that they will cease appearing if and when Moghedien is defeated in the show. They would mean they won’t factor into future storylines involving the other members of the Forsaken. That could include a possible adaptation of book 6,Lord of Chaos, where Mazrim Taim kills a Gray Men sent by an unknown Forsaken.
How The Introduction Of The Gray Men Compares To The Books
The Dragon Reborn Inspired The Show’s Gray Man Scene
The debut of the Gray Man didn’t line up with the timeline ofThe Wheel of Timebooks, but the nature of their introduction was indeed inspired by the source material. The characters' first encounter with the Gray Men in Jordan’s novels took place in book 2,The Great Hunt, when the group was still in Fal Dara. A Gray Men made a failed attempt on Rand’s life and was subsequently killed by Ingtar. The TV show, on the other hand, skipped this development. Presumably, this decision relates toThe Wheel of Timemoving the story out of Fal Dara before season 2 even started.
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Instead,The Wheel of Timeused a scene from book 3,The Dragon Reborn, to introduce the Gray Men. The TV series cleverly combined the Bubble of Evil story with a Gray Men incident fromThe Dragon Reborn. In the book, a Gray Man attacked a Gray Man in the White Tower, but was struck down by a then-unknown party. Sheriam entered the room and discussed what happened with Elayne and Nynaeve, but didn’t ask who killed him.The Wheel of Time’sshow notably recreated that exchange, but replaced Sheriam with Verin.
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.
