Courtesy of season 3, The Wheel of Time just 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 from Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time books. 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 how The Wheel of Time’s Moghedien intends to combat the main characters as the season progresses.

The Gray One Is An Undead Minion Of The Shadow In The Wheel Of Time

The Gray Men Are Highly Capable Assassins

Image via Prime Video

The Gray Men function almost as zombies in The Wheel of Time’s world, 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 soul to 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. In The 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 Time made a notable change to their origins. Throughout the books, the Gray Men are weaponized by various members of the Forsaken, and in some situations, it’s not abundantly clear who the Gray Men are taking their orders from. The Wheel of Time season 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 in The Wheel of Time books. Theoretically, any Forsaken could use them, but Lanfear had sworn them off.

This adjustment to the lore could permeate through later seasons of The Wheel of Time. If the 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 of The Wheel of Time books, 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 to The Wheel of Time moving the story out of Fal Dara before season 2 even started.

Instead, The Wheel of Time used 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 from The 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’s show notably recreated that exchange, but replaced Sheriam with Verin.