The Wheel of Time’s Fares Fares on Ishamael’s Death and Lanfear

The Wheel of Time’s Fares Fares thinks that his character Ishamael wanted to die, which could explain the rather quick finish to his character at the end of the second season. Another season of Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time has come and gone, bringing with it plenty of speculation and debate among fans of the original book series. One of the more controversial moments of the season came when Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) quickly dispatched Ishamael at the end of the Season 2 finale, which was a major deviation from the books in which Rand and Ishamael have an epic battle in the sky. 

ComicBook.com recently had the chance to speak with Fares Fares, who played Ishamael in Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time, and we asked whether he felt the fight should have lasted longer. “Well, in a way, Ishamael wanted to end everything and wanted to die and truly die,” Fares said. “Maybe when he saw Rand just walking up to him with that sword, it meant that he was going to die. So I think it was deliberate, Ishamael just let it happen.” 

While the season came to a controversial end, fans were much more appreciative about how the series fleshed out the relationship between Ishamael and Lanfear (Natasha O’Keefe), with the two characters sharing an obvious kinship even as they schemed both with and against each other. “Unfortunately, I haven’t read any of the reactions,” Fares said when asked if he had read any of the online chatter about the two characters. “But those scenes were, for me, the most interesting and fun scenes to work on. First of all, I loved working with Natasha. She was great and we had a great chemistry together. Also, for me, it was someone that was equal to Ishamael that was on the same path, at least that’s what Ishamael might have thought. Lanfear was a true friend to Ishamael, someone he could lean into, someone that he had known for so long. And it was interesting to put in several layers in there and great scenes to work on. Love them.” 

When asked if he approached any of the scenes differently because of Ishamael’s understanding that Lanfear might be working against him, Fares likened the two character’s relationship to that of old friends who loved each other despite each other’s flaws. “Ultimately, they were going to work for the same cause, end goal, but at the same time, Ishamael knew that Lanfear couldn’t be trusted completely, but he just loved her so much and he would say, ‘It’s fine. She can do whatever she does. I’m in control anyways.’”

When asked if there was a chance that Ishamael would return for a third season, Fares seemed to indicate that the character’s story was finished. “I think it was a great death scene, and it was a really cool scene to do,” Fares said. “And I really enjoyed the last episode. He’s a complex character and you can always tell so much more. But for me, the way that we approached season two, I felt was a great scene to end the season with.”

The Wheel of Time Season 2 is available to stream now on Prime Video.