The Wheel of Time season 3 premiered on Prime Video on Thursday, March 13, nearly a year and a half after the season 2 finale. As usual, Prime Video dropped the first three episodes of the season, followed by one episode per week through the season finale.
For The Wheel of Time season 3, we've seen the first six episodes of the season in less than a month on Prime Video. We have two episodes remaining, including The Wheel of Time season 3 finale, which will air on Thursday, April 17. So, in six weeks after the premiere, we'll have seen all eight episodes of the new season.
We've seen this strategy before with shows like The Boys and others. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't. With The Wheel of Time season 3, it definitely doesn't.
The Wheel of Time season 3 schedule
Here's what the release schedule looks like now:
- Episode 1 – “To Race the Shadow,” March 13
- Episode 2 – “A Question of Crimson,” March 13
- Episode 3 – “Seeds of Shadow,” March 13
- Episode 4 – “The Road to the Spear,” March 20
- Episode 5 – “Tel'aran'rhiod,” March 27
- Episode 6 – "The Shadow in the Night," April 3
- Episode 7 – April 10
- Episode 8 – April 17
I've never been a huge fan of the three-episode premiere, but it's especially bad for a show like The Wheel of Time for a few reasons.
First, this show isn't rolling out seasons every year. Devoted fans are waiting 18 months to two years between seasons. It's a lot of waiting. Prime Video could make that wait shorter by a few weeks by just releasing one episode per week, like HBO, Apple TV+ (usually), and other premium networks. Instead, Prime Video will drop all the episodes at one time, like Netflix, or they'll frequently do this 3-episode premiere followed by the weekly episodes.
I want Prime Video to draw this interest out as long as possible. Give us eight weeks in a row to watch, talk, analyze, and just have fun with this great show. It's an incredible effort to bring this show to life. It costs a lot of money, so let fans enjoy a few extra weeks of this great product.
So, that's the first point. The second point is that I think the three-episode drop takes away some of the punchiness of the season premiere, which usually ends on some epic cliffhanger or a big moment that sets the stage for the rest of the season.
The Wheel of Time season 3 premiere was a massive episode with lots of action and huge decisions. I don't feel like I got the chance to absorb and think about the story before the next episode just started right up. I love a binge-watch as much as anyone, but I don't think it works super well for a show like this. It's much more enjoyable to take some time and consider the possibilities and what we're watching unfold.
And, that leads into my next point. The Wheel of Time is a sprawling story. We don't need to see back-to-back-to-back episodes to start the season. The fans who already want to watch are invested. Just let Rafe Judkins and his team tell the story without the gimmicks of a three-episode premiere. It just doesn't work for this show.
I understand that Prime Video wants to get the episodes out there for fans to consume, talk about, and hype up to keep interest high. Maybe, Prime Video has some statistics that show if fans watch those first three episodes, they watch the full season at a higher rate than the normal one-episode-per-week model. I don't know.
To me, it does The Wheel of Time a disservice. We wait so long for these episodes, and I just want fans to experience them together. The season is too short as it is, which is the subject of another conversation. The least Prime Video can do is give fans two good months every couple of years to talk about and enjoy this show together. When that release window is only six weeks, it's just not as much fun!
Watch The Wheel of Time season 3 episode 7 and episode 8 on Thursday, April 10, and Thursday, April 17.