Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for The Wheel of Time Season 3 and minor spoilers for The Wheel of Time books.
The Wheel of TimeSeason 3 includes several untimely deaths that will have major fallout. Siuan Sanche (Sophie Okonedo) and Loial (Hammed Animashaun) are both beloved characters that the Prime Video series killed off shockingly early compared to the events of Robert Jordan‘s books. These twists serve as great shocks in the moment, but they will create waves for the adaptation in future seasons, which must either cut the rest of their stories or find a way to fill the gap they left behind. While I’m sad to see both of those characters go, there is one surprising death in The Wheel of Time Season 3 that I appreciated. Whitecloak Questioner Eamon Valda (Abdul Salis) gets a surprise death in Season 3, Episode 7, “Goldeneyes,” and he absolutely deserved his ending.
However, at this point in The Wheel of Time‘s story, Valda shouldn’t be dead yet. In fact, the character isn’t even introduced until Book 6,Lord of Chaos. Valda could have been relevant for several more seasons, but the series chooses not to use him in that way, and it’s ultimately for the best. The television version of Valda was already vastly different from his book counterpart, and because of his brutal ways, his death was karmic revenge that the series needed. Killing off Valda early may create some issues, especially pertaining to the character arcs of Morgase (Olivia Williams) and Galad (Callum Kerr), but, in my opinion, it’s worth the trouble to see justice delivered.
‘The Wheel of Time’s Valda Deserved Death
The Wheel of Time expands Valda’s role from the books, introducing him much earlier in Season 1 as a Whitecloak Questioner who tortures and kills women who can channel. This is itself a change from the books, where he is simply a Whitecloak who eventually rises through the ranks to be the Lord Captain Commander. The Children of the Light pursue Darkfriends and consider Aes Sedai their enemies, and the questioners are known to be ruthless at “getting confessions,” but Valda does not actively participate. By using Valda to introduce the Questioners, The Wheel of Time also introduces him by way of his sadism and cruelty, and I, like so many other watchers, quickly grew to hate him.
In the series, Valda’s ruthlessness and brutality are front and center as he kills a nameless Aes Sedai and tortures Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) and Egwene (Madeleine Madden) in Season 1, and he only gets worse from there. In Season 3, he tortures and kills Mat’s (Dónal Finn) mother, Natti Cauthon (Juliet Howland), who lies about having the ability to channel to protect her daughters. Before doing so, Valda pushes to be allowed to question her, leading to some reluctance from even his fellow Whitecloak, Dain Bornhald (Jay Duffy). Because The Wheel of Time makes Valda into an even more sadistic and villainous character from the beginning, the show also makes the smart choice not to delay his demise. After the pain he’d so enthusiastically caused, I was relieved to see him go, even though he had not fulfilled his book storyline.
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Valda’s Death Is the Perfect Twist for ‘The Wheel of Time’ Season 3
Season 3, Episode 7 is the right place for Valda to die; not only did the character deserve it, but the episode needed a definitive victory. There’s a lot of darkness in the episode, given its focus on the Battle of the Two Rivers. With destruction everywhere, Loial dying, Aram (Daryl McCormack) getting cast out from the Tuatha’an, Padan Fain (Johann Myers) being allowed to retreat, and the Whitecloaks arresting Perrin, the heroes needed a clear and decisive win that would not come back to hurt them later, and Valda filled that role, as his death takes a terrifying enemy out of play. Especially since these characters don’t reappear in the Season 3 finale, I’m glad that there was at least one positive thing to come out of the penultimate episode.
Not only is the timing perfect, but The Wheel of Time kills Valda off with a bit of dark irony that I appreciate. When he pursues Alanna (Priyanka Bose), the only Aes Sedai present in the Two Rivers, Valda encounters the Cauthon girls, Bode (Litiana Biutanaseva) and Eldrin (Lilibet Bituanaseva), whose mother he tortured to death just a few episodes prior. Mat’s sisters are the ones who can actually channel, and together, they light Valda on fire, burning him alive to avenge their mother. Not only is this glorious display of revenge well-deserved, but I especially love that the One Power kills him in the end. Valda spent his life hunting and killing people who could channel solely for their abilities, and for the thing that he violently hated and used to justify his brutality to be what kills him feels like the ultimate form of justice.
Future Seasons of ‘The Wheel of Time’ Will Have to Deal With the Consequences of Valda’s Death
While I was thrilled to see Valda meet a just end, The Wheel of Time will have to deal with the fallout of this choice in future seasons. In the books, Valda’s storyline features Queen Morgase Trakand, who, after fleeing her seat due to the plotting of the Forsaken Rahvin (Nuno Lopes), becomes a prisoner of the Whitecloaks when Valda comes to power. This is where Valda’s cruelty is on full display in the books, but that will not happen now, though Morgase’s storyline is likely already moving in that direction. In the end, Valda is not the only one to imprison Morgase, so a different Whitecloak can fill this task if The Wheel of Time chooses to go in that direction.
But Valda has a more specific impact on Galad’s story. Later on, Galad is seeking revenge on behalf of his mother, whom he believes died at the hands of Valda and the Whitecloaks. By this point, Galad has joined the Whitecloaks himself and challenges Valda to Trial Beneath the Light, which is a form of single combat. The fight that ensues is epic, as Valda is a blademaster and Galad is well-trained himself. Galad’s story will have to be altered if The Wheel of Time is renewed for Season 4, but even so, Valda’s death in Season 3 remains an immensely satisfying change that makes any future adjustments to the plot well worth it.
The Wheel of Time is streaming on Prime Video in the U.S.
- Release Date
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November 18, 2021
- Network
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Prime Video
- Showrunner
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Rafe Judkins
- Directors
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Sanaa Hamri, Ciaran Donnelly, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Thomas Napper, Maja Vrvilo, Wayne Che Yip
- Writers
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Amanda Kate Shuman, Dave Hill, Rohit Kumar, Justine Juel Gillmer, Celine Song, Rammy Park, The Clarksons Twins, Katherine B. McKenna
