“[I] Very Quickly Resigned To My Fate Of Being Hated By The Entire Fandom”

Warning: the following contains minor spoilers for The Wheel of Time season 3, episode 2.

The Wheel of Time star Luke Fetherston reacts to playing a divisive character. The actor joined The Wheel of Time cast to portray Lord Gawyn of House Trakand, a character who has received criticism from book fans for making questionable decisions. Fetherston’s character was introduced in season 3, episode 2, “A Question of Crimson,” where the royal family of Andor visits the White Tower.

While talking to ScreenRant, Fetherston reacts to playing an unlikable Wheel of Time character. He reveals that at the time of his audition, he didn’t know which Trakand brother he was up for playing because the information had been under wraps. After he learned he was cast as Gawyn, he received the script that contained the “whole character arc up until the moment where he leads the final battle.” Fetherston further teased epic storylines involving Gawyn and shared that though he knew how the whole fandom felt about his character, he “gratefully accepted the challenge.” Check out his comments below:

Firstly, I didn’t know that I was auditioning for Gawyn and Galad. It was all kind of code names. We didn’t know officially, but I kind of suspected that it was The Wheel of Time, so I managed to watch season one before auditioning. I was Googling the names of these brothers. It was something like Gerron and Gorwig–they made up names–and I could not find these names anywhere.

Then, of course, I got the breakdown. I got the offer of Gawyn, and they kindly sent me a whole character arc, up until the moment where he leads the final battle. So, I had full visibility of roughly what was going to happen. They didn’t go into a huge amount of detail, but it was a page worth of information with some really great character traits in there. That was really helpful.

Then, of course, I Googled Gawyn and very quickly resigned to my fate of being hated by the entire fandom, and was like, “Oh, here we go,” before I’d even started. But I gratefully accepted the challenge and I’m absolutely thrilled to be playing Gawyn.

I quickly stopped reading, because I didn’t want to approach this role with the preconceptions of other people’s feelings of Gawyn. I guess it’s beneficial, in a way, that I hadn’t read the scripts. As an actor, it’s not my job to judge his motivations, but to approach them with as much nuance as they deserve. So, removing myself from the noise was a quite helpful tactic.

What This Means For Gawyn In The Wheel Of Time Season 3

Gawyn Has A Fully Developed Arc

In Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time books, Elayne’s brother, Gawyn Trakand, plays a crucial part in Egwene al-Vere’s life as her love interest after Rand. The character didn’t see eye to eye with Rand and is regarded as arrogant and proud, not known to make the best decisions. Gawyn’s actions not only led to his own destruction, but also Egwene’s. While in the source material, Egwene and Gawyn cross paths in The Great Hunt, the small-screen adaptation didn’t introduce the character until season 3, episode 2, which means that there will be changes to Gawyn’s journey.

Gawyn is on top of the list of the most hated characters. However, Fetherston’s comments also seem to hint that Gawyn, though he might still end up being hated by the fandom, has a complex arc in the show. While the actor may not agree with all the things Gawyn does, he is determined to approach the role with nuances. So far, Elayne’s brother has only had a few scenes in The Wheel of Time season 3, including a brief fight between Mat and Galad, but it sounds like there will be more from Fetherston in future episodes.

Our Take On Gawyn In The Wheel Of Time Season 3

Gawyn Might Be More Relatable Than Unlikable

Gawyn’s introduction in The Wheel of Time season 3 opening episodes is memorable for his pride, attitude, and physical build. Though during the fight scene with Matt, his pride becomes arrogance, it’s quickly glossed over. Gawyn does match up with some book descriptions of the character and certainly displays an unlikable trait. However, Fetherston’s performance definitely makes the character more difficult to hate.

Gawyn is far from perfect, and he’s bound to play a role in The Wheel of Time, but Fetherston brings out a likable side to the character that makes him more relatable than flawed. While book fans have a big reaction to Gawyn’s character in the books, Fetherston’s onscreen role hasn’t attracted any hate so far. It’s even possible that the on-screen version of Gawyn might not be as hated as the character is in the books.

New episodes of The Wheel of Time season 3 drop Thursdays at 12 A.M. P.T./3 A.M. E.T. on Prime Video.

TV Show

My Favorite TV Shows
My Watchlist

The Wheel of Time

6/10

Release Date

November 18, 2021

Network

Prime Video

Showrunner

Rafe Judkins

Directors

Sanaa Hamri, Ciaran Donnelly, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Thomas Napper, Maja Vrvilo, Wayne Che Yip

Writers

Amanda Kate Shuman, Dave Hill, Rohit Kumar, Justine Juel Gillmer, Celine Song, Rammy Park, The Clarksons Twins, Katherine B. McKenna