Editor's note: The below interview contains spoilers for Episode 4 of The Wheel of Time, "The Dragon Reborn."
The Wheel of Time, which finally premiered on Prime Video earlier this month, is adapted from the long-enduring fantasy novels by the late author Robert Jordan. The series takes place in a world where magic is ever-present, though it is typically wielded by an organization consisting of women known as the Aes Sedai. One among their ranks, Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), has been on a secret quest of her own for many years for someone called the Dragon Reborn, an overwhelmingly powerful individual who is prophesized to either save the world or lead it into destruction. Accompanied by her loyal Warder Lan Mandragoran (Daniel Henney), Moiraine travels to the region known as the Two Rivers, where it's possible that the reincarnation of the Dragon might exist from within a small group — sheepherder Rand al'Thor (Josha Stradowski), blacksmith Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford), innkeepers' daughter Egwene al'Vere (Madeleine Madden), gambler and thief Mat Cauthon (Barney Harris), and town Wisdom Nynaeve al'Meara (Zoë Robins). After the Two Rivers are attacked by a band of vicious creatures called Trollocs, the five find themselves on the run with one destination in mind — the city of Tar Valon, where the White Tower and the rest of the Aes Sedai might be able to help.
Ahead of this week's episode, Collider had the chance to chat with Robins about some of her character's most pivotal moments in "The Dragon Reborn," including what it was like to film that big battle scene between the Aes Sedai and their Warders against Logain's (Álvaro Morte) army, as well as Nynaeve's big channeling moment in the final scene. Robins also shared what it was like to wield a real sword against Henney in their first scene together, and the joy of exploring interactions between Nynaeve and Lan that aren't in the books.
Collider: There's so much to talk about with Episode 4. Nynaeve gets so many good things that I just want to jump right in.
ZOE ROBINS: Let's do it.
One of the first scenes we get in this episode for Nynaeve is her scene with Liandrin, where Liandrin comes up on her and it feels like she's definitely fishing for information, but then Nynaeve turns it back on her and uses it as a way to get dirt on Moiraine. Was that your first scene with Kate [Fleetwood], and what was that like to play through?
ROBINS: We might have had an ensemble group scene together. Actually, no, at the end of Episode 3, we had that moment with Logain arriving and Liandrin announcing that they've found someone who's calling themselves the Dragon Reborn. I think we may have shot that in sequence, but I could be wrong. That was two years ago, so my mind is all over the place.
But I do believe that was the first scene I had with Kate Fleetwood, who I adore, one-on-one like that. And she's just the perfect Liandrin, just so calculated and cunning and I had the best time filming with Kate, I love her to bits. But you're right, Nynaeve takes Liandrin by surprise where she, as you say, she flips the conversation back on her. And I think that's a really bold move, I don't know if many people do that to Liandrin, and Nynaeve is someone who certainly doesn't care who you are. She's going to do her thing.
The thing that I love about Nynaeve as a character is that she's very independent and she's going to speak her mind, obviously. But as we see in this episode, she's more embedded with the Aes Sedai and the Warders and getting a glimpse of that culture that she's never seen before — specifically, in the campfire scene. Is that the first time that she's having her preconceived notions really challenged in that way about that whole world?
ROBINS: Yeah, I think so. The Warders allow Nynaeve to have a gentle glimpse in a nice way into how the Aes Sedai operate and what drives them, really. I think that those conversations and being around them ultimately humanize them in a way that Nynaeve wasn't willing to let happen before. She's had her own preconceived notions about the Aes Sedai for the majority of her life.
So Nynaeve being the person she is, naturally she puts up a fight to maintain certain perspectives and opinions. But the more time she spends with the Aes Sedai and the Warders, and the more she speaks with the Warders about the Aes Sedai, means she has a difficult time maintaining her dislike of them. Disdain of them, I should say.
I definitely need to talk about the scene with you and Daniel this week, which is the "You're not exactly what I thought you were" scene. It feels like a softer moment between the two of them, which of course gets interrupted by Logain's army showing up and all that.
ROBINS: Rude, terrible timing.
Very rude and terrible timing. It was, I'm sure, a very long time ago when you filmed that, but was there anything that you wanted to make sure came through, in terms of Nynaeve starting to let her guard down a little more with Lan?
ROBINS: Yeah. I think I saw it as the first opportunity where the audience can see a softer side to Nynaeve. She's still inherently Nynaeve, she lets him know that her first impression of him was a lapdog with two legs. So right when there's a moment of tenderness, she's still Nynaeve, but that connection between the two characters is really important and it's just a lovely opportunity that we had as actors to bring that to life because I know that the books don't necessarily focus on the beginnings of that relationship. So to be able to bring that to screen was a real joy and it's a really beautifully written scene. I really enjoyed filming that.
The books definitely take place within a certain POV, so we're not always privy to the little moments. Let's put it this way: their first meeting with her putting the blade to his throat? I think fans are already very excited about that whole first interaction.
ROBINS: Yeah. That was quite fun, that was very fun. Though I watched that scene back and the scene after in Episode 3, where I've got the Trolloc blade that she's stolen to Lan's throat. And I laugh, because on the day we didn't have a soft blade or a blade made out of styrofoam or whatever. Sometimes they make different versions for safety or for comfort. But we had the real deal and it was so heavy, my hand is shaking throughout it and I can see it. Hopefully, maybe eagle-eyed fans will be able to see as well, but my hand and arm were so numb after all of that, so that probably helped the anger too.
In Episode 4, in terms of the battle scene and Nynaeve basically being in the middle of the fray, it feels like a scene in a war movie. You've got explosions going off, and some of those looked very real. What was it like to film that?
ROBINS: Yeah. I would say majority of those explosions were real, if not all of them. Which as an actor, only heightens our performances and helps inform our choices and our reactions to everything. Of course, that means that we're actually filming a scene with dust and explosives and that obviously took a toll on us, physically. We were just absolutely done by the end of that week, because we shot that over a good few days.
But it's a moment where Nynaeve is completely caught in the middle and she's not someone who naturally gravitates towards violence. We've seen her act in self-defense, but to be put in a position like that, she's petrified and incredibly uncomfortable. So we leave Episode 4 with her [where] she's got this immense power that she's just discovered and she's having to, I guess, reevaluate some of the actions and some of the experiences that she's just had because it's overwhelming for her.
You touched on it a little bit already, but that last scene where we learn that Nynaeve can channel happens in the most explosive fashion. What was the note for that moment, in terms of that scream that you have to do? How did you go to that place to channel that? Because it feels like such an explosion of emotion as well as magic.
ROBINS: The best way for me was to really believe the circumstances. Sometimes, if I'm not necessarily feeling it on that day, I have to go to a place where I put people from my real life in these circumstances, which is awful, but definitely informs and helps me get to certain emotional levels. Seeing my amazing co-stars on the floor writhing in pain and dying certainly helped. And obviously, there's the moment with Lan in Nynaeve's hands and there's blood pooling around him, and I think all of it, all of the beats leading up to that specific moment just helped.
Episodes 1 through 4 of The Wheel of Time are available to stream now on Prime Video, with new episodes releasing weekly every Friday.