A surprising decision by Min Farshaw supports a troubling theory about Siuan Sanche’s future role – or lack thereof – in The Wheel of Time. The third season of Prime Video’s adaptation of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time books is bringing to life the story of The Shadow Rising, the fourth installment in the series. The Shadow Rising is notable for multiple developments in the Dragon Reborn saga, including the downfall of Siuan Sanche. Though she enjoys a long and complex future in the series, the book marks a significant downturn in her life.

The events that play out in The Shadow Rising culminate in Siuan losing not only her highly coveted status as the Amyrlin Seat, but also her link to the One Power in The Wheel of Time. The machinations of Elaida rob her of both, and set up a whole new series of adventures for Siuan that play out in the books that follow. However, there’s been some uncertainty among fans as to whether the show intends to lean in this direction. And after what happened in season 3’s first three episodes, there’s now even greater cause to doubt that Siuan will share in the many stories experienced by her book counterpart.

How Min Going To Tanchico Changes The Wheel Of Time Books

This Makes Min Teaming Up With Siuan Unlikely

At the end of the third episode, Min Farsaw is seen following Mat Cauthon, who has decided to accompany Elaine Trakand and Nynaeve al’Meara in their hunt for the Black Ajah in Tanchico. This amounts to a major departure from the source material, as Min did not go to Tanchico in The Shadow Rising. Had the show followed along with the book, Min would have remained in the White Tower. In the novel, Min is still at the White Tower when Elaida begins stirring up trouble and getting her fellow Aes Sedai to turn against Siuan.

Min is on hand when Siuan is deposed, giving the latter an ally in her subsequent escape from the White Tower.

As a result, Min is on hand when Siuan is deposed, giving the latter an ally in her subsequent escape from the White Tower. Teaming up with Min and the imprisoned (and gentled) Logain, Siuan proceeds to escape from the White Tower, paving the way for the trio to travel together in The Fires of Heaven and beyond. Unless The Wheel of Time somehow brings Min back to the White Tower before Siuan is removed from power, it would seem that this journey isn’t in the cards for her character. As for why that would be the case, there are a couple of possible answers to this question.

Wheel Of Time May Cut Siuan Sanche’s Rebellion Storyline

An Easy Way To Cut The Rebellion Arc Is To Kill Off Siuan

One explanation for the change to Min’s story is that The Wheel of Time simply isn’t doing Siuan Sanche’s Aes Sedai rebellion storyline from Jordan’s books. What happens to Siuan in The Shadow Rising creates a new branching storyline, thus giving book readers one more subplot – complete with its own supporting cast of characters – to follow. The show already has a handful of storylines that it will need to cover from book to book, so balancing them all will naturally be made all the more challenging if Siuan and Min become the co-protagonists of a new arc.

With that in mind, it’s not unreasonable to speculate that The Wheel of Time might remove this particular narrative. But cutting it out could spell doom for Siuan, as it may mean that she dies instead of being imprisoned by Elaida in the White Tower. Despite her importance, Siuan dying isn’t completely unfeasible; after all, the whole point of Loial’s fake death scene in The Wheel of Time was to prepare viewers for unexpected character deaths in future seasons. Siuan may very well have been one of them.

Who Could Replace Min In Siuan Sanche’s White Tower Escape Story

Both Verin Mathwin & Morgase Trakand Are Potential Replacements For Min Farshaw

An alternative possibility is that The Wheel of Time still intends to do Siuan Sanche’s plotline, albeit without Min. The show could have elected to take this course for any number of reasons, one of which being the potential absence of Juilin Sandar in the Tanchico arc. Since Nynaeve and Elayne didn’t meet Juilin Sandar in Tear, the Tanchico storyline may have needed a replacement for his role in the narrative and that role could have gone to Min. If so, and Siuan’s story is slated to happen just as it did in the books, a new character may need to step up to take Min’s place.

One option for that is Verin Mathwin. She does wind up with the rebels eventually, so having her team up with Siuan sooner wouldn’t be a massive change. The option does appear to be on the table, especially since the TV show version of Verin didn’t take the path of the book character in The Shadow Rising, opting to stay in the White Tower. In the source material, she was among the characters to enter the Aiel Waste with Rand. It could be that this arc was avoided because Verin will help facilitate Siuan’s escape from the White Tower.

A less likely – but still possible – scenario is that Olivia Williams’ Queen Morgase winds up joining forces with Siuan. Queen Morgase and Siuan Sanche already have an interesting dynamic in Prime Video’s series, one that could be made even more compelling if they both find themselves on the run and without their respective authority.

What’s more, such a combination would be helpful in keeping things streamlined. In the books, both Siuan and Morgase have their own “escape” plotlines where they have to go on travels outside their comfort zones. Merging these stories into one would ease the challenge of juggling multiple narratives. The timing may also align, as it looks like Morgase’s ousting is being set up at the same time, since the character who plots against her in the books – Wheel of Time’s Rahvin – is clearly in the process of engineering his masterplan to take over Andor. If that happens, Morgase could find common ground with Siuan and see an advantage in helping her in The Wheel of Time season 3’s ending.