A television adaptation,
The Wheel of Time, was announced by
Sony Pictures Television in April 2017, and a series order by
Amazon Prime Video was reported in October 2018. In May 2021, Amazon renewed the series for a second season ahead of the series premiere. Season one premiered in November 2021. The casting of
Natasha O'Keeffe in the role of Lanfear for season two was announced in October 2021. The second season premiered in September 2023, and O'Keeffe first appeared in the episode "
Strangers and Friends". The third season premiered on March 13, 2025, and the series was canceled in May 2025.
Character Michael Ahr of
Den of Geek called Lanfear's introduction "a storytelling upgrade from page to screen" that "gives added agency to an important character." Though the character is still motivated by her desire to win over
Rand al'Thor for herself and for the
Dark One, Ahr explained that in the series, "the means she uses to accomplish that goal communicate a lot about her depth of character". In the series,
Moiraine Damodred (
Rosamund Pike) calls Lanfear "the most dangerous of the Forsaken". In "
Daes Dae'mar", Lanfear is able to revive after her throat is slit by Moiraine, and she is subsequently depicted as more powerful than any of the
Aes Sedai, including their leader,
Siuan Sanche (
Sophie Okonedo), known as the
Amyrlin Seat. Lanfear is strong and ruthless, a master manipulator, and unhindered by the Three Oaths, which keep the Aes Sedai from lying, or using their powers to harm innocents. Initially posing as innkeeper Selene, Lanfear hopes to bind his loyalty and seduce him to the Shadow. Rand and Selene sneak into a high society party in "
What Might Be" and inadvertently meet
Anvaere Damodred (
Lindsay Duncan), the aristocrat sister of Moiraine Damodred, the Aes Sedai who picked Rand out of obscurity. Struggling to control the flow of the One Power through him, he accidentally burns down Selene's inn during the night. In "
Daughter of the Night", Moiraine has become aware that Ishamael and Lanfear, two of the most powerful of the Dark One's Forsaken, have been freed from their magical captivity. Rand and Selene are attacked by a
Fade, a horrifying, eyeless and deadly creature who serves the Dark One. Rand kills it with the One Power, and confesses his love for Selene. She chooses to stay with him despite his ability to channel, which is taboo for men. Just as Selene begins to reveal her own channeling abilities to Rand in bed, Moiraine arrives, given Rand's location by her sister Anvaere. She impales Selene and slits her throat, revealing to a shocked Rand that Selene is Lanfear. Rand and Moiraine flee as Lanfear begins to stir. Rand and Moiraine evade Lanfear in "
Damane", and take refuge with Anvaere. Ishamael, who is spearheading the efforts to free the Dark One from his prison, asks Lanfear if she will betray him, and she admits she probably will. Moiraine knows that Lanfear was in love with
Lews Therin Telamon, the original incarnation of the Dragon, and considering she has not killed him during the months they have been together, Rand believes that the connection between him and Lanfear is real. Rand falls asleep and enters ''Tel'aran'rhiod'', the World of Dreams, where Lanfear is all powerful, hoping to learn what she and Ishamael are planning. Upon entering, Rand finds himself immediately captured by a waiting Lanfear. In "
Eyes Without Pity", Lanfear tries to convince Rand to join her by promising to protect him from Ishamael, and showing him that his ex-lover,
Egwene al'Vere (
Madeleine Madden), is a captive of the
Seanchan in
Falme. She also threatens to kill Moiraine if she sees Rand with her. Rand is a captive of the Aes Sedai in "Daes Dae'mar", and persuades Lanfear to help him escape and get to Falme. She assaults the Foregate of
Cairhien as a distraction, allowing Moiraine and her
Warder Lan Mandragoran (
Daniel Henney) to escape with Rand. They are tracked by Siuan Sanche, the Aes Sedai's Amyrlin Seat, before they can leave the city, but Lanfear ambushes Siuan, easily overcomes her, and opens a
Waygate. In "
What Was Meant to Be", Lanfear and Rand arrive in Falme, where Rand confronts and kills the Seanchan
High Lord Turak (
Daniel Francis) and his men. This alerts Ishamael to Rand's presence, and the realization that Lanfear has betrayed him. After Rand destroys Ishamael, Lanfear moves to make sure the rest of the Forsaken cannot be freed, but is confronted by the Forsaken
Moghedien (
Laia Costa). Lanfear is shocked to learn that Ishamael anticipated her betrayal, and already freed all of the remaining Forsaken.
Season 3 In "
To Race the Shadow", both Moiraine and Lanfear urge Rand to travel to the
Stone of Tear to claim the sword
Callandor, a powerful artifact which amplifies the One Power. Surrounded by his friends, Rand resists, so Moiraine allows Lanfear to covertly launch a series of magical attacks on the group to spook them into separating. An unknown assassin nearly kills Nynaeve, and a shocked Lanfear explains that the undead killer, a
Gray Man, was sent by another Forsaken. It is later revealed that Moghedien possesses the unique power to create Gray Men. Lanfear continues to visit Rand in his dreams in "
A Question of Crimson", and creates nightmares for Egwene in which Lanfear physically attacks her in the form of her Seanchan torturer,
Renna, leaving wounds in the real world. In "
Seeds of Shadow", Lanfear meets with the Forsaken
Rahvin (
Nuno Lopes) and
Sammael (Cameron Jack) to suggest an alliance among them against the dangerous Moghedien. A sulky Lanfear reveals to Rand that she could potentially break her oaths to the Dark One if they can kill him, which she indicates is possible if she uses the female-aligned ''
sa'angreal Sakarnen
in tandem with Rand wielding the male-aligned Callandor''. In "
The Road to the Spear", Rand undergoes a supernatural trial in
Rhuidean to prove he is the
Aiel messiah. He relives the lives of his ancestors, including those of the Aiel man Charn, who was in the service of Mierin Eronaile and witnessed the destructive breaking of the seals to the Dark One's prison. Meanwhile, Moiraine undergoes her own trial in Rhuidean, and discovers
Sakarnen hidden there. In "''
Tel'aran'rhiod", Lanfear attacks Egwene again in her dreams, and then visits Rand. He tells her he sees the goodness of Mierin in her, and she confesses that she is in love with him. They kiss. Egwene visits the happy dreams of all of her friends, and is horrified to find Lanfear with Rand. With Ishamael dead, Lanfear asserts her dominance over Liandrin Guirale (Kate Fleetwood) in "The Shadow in the Night", and warns her that Rahvin has likely approached one of her fellow Black Ajah. Lanfear visits Moiraine, reminding her to keep Egwene away from Rand. Though the Wise Ones Bair (Nukâka Coster-Waldau) and Melaine (Salóme Gunnarsdóttir) try to teach her to resist Lanfear in Tel'aran'rhiod'', Egwene remains powerless against her. Lanfear lies to Egwene that Rand is aware she is assaulting Egwene. Having learned of Lanfear's torture of Egwene, Rand rejects Lanfear in "
He Who Comes with the Dawn", calling her power-hungry, jealous, petty and cruel. Enraged, she allies with Rahvin against him, and positions
Couladin (Set Sjöstrand), leader of the
Shaido Aiel, as a fake ''Car'a'carn'' to oppose Rand. Moiraine and Lan fight Lanfear, who is seriously wounded and flees.
Reception Jamie Parker of
Comic Book Resources noted that Lanfear has made a "huge impact" on the events of season two, and wrote that the series "has only further elevated an already spectacular character." He wrote that O'Keeffe "has truly captured the spirit of the character" adding that "Lanfear is supposed to be as terrifying as she is beautiful, and Prime Video have hit that mark perfectly." == References ==