Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Wheel of Time Season 3, Episode 1, “To Race the Shadow.”
The Wheel of Time‘s third season premiere, “To Race the Shadow,” introduces a formidable – and mysterious – new breed of baddie: a Gray Man. So, what exactly is The Wheel of Time Season 3’s Gray Man, and who made him?
What Is the Gray Man in The Wheel of Time Season 3?
Towards the end of The Wheel of Time Season 2, Episode 1, “To Race the Shadow,” Rand and the rest of the Two Rivers gang are attacked. It later transpires that this actually a ruse cooked up by Moiraine, Lan, and Lanfear – well, almost all of it. The knife-wielding assassin who repeatedly stabbed Nynaeve, nearly killing her, wasn’t part of the plan.
Naturally, Moiraine and Lan immediately assume that Lanfear’s to blame, however, their Forsaken ally professes her innocence. Heck, she seems just as rattled by the attack as they are. When Moiraine describes Nynaeve’s would-be murderer – a man with gray eyes and blackened fingers, able to move unseen – Lanfear identifies him as a “Gray Man” sent by another of the Dark One’s lieutenants, and a sign that Rand and his pals should bail.
And that’s where the scene wraps up, leaving casual Wheel of Time fans none the wiser about the Gray Man. But if you haven’t read Robert Jordan’s books, you’re not really missing out on much. Jordan only supplies a small amount of additional Gray Man info in his original canon.
Specifically, Jordan is slightly more forthcoming about how The Wheel of Time‘s Gray Men obtained their supernatural abilities: they gave the Dark One their souls. Not in a metaphorical sense, as the Forsaken and other, lesser Dark Friends have done. These men (and less commonly, women) have literally handed over their spiritual essence to their evil master. That’s why they look the way they do, and why their targets don’t notice them until it’s too late!
Who Made The Wheel of Time Season 3’s Gray Man?
As noted above, technically the Dark One made the Gray Men. It’s possible one of the Forsaken came up with the concept, but if they did, it’s not mentioned in the Wheel of Time novels. That said, in the Prime Video adaptation, it’s strongly implied that Moghedien created the Gray Man and his brethren (although Lanfear never explicitly names the Forsaken responsible).
The Wheel of Time Season 3 is currently streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.