#i see your 'the wondergirls DON'T need to return to the Tower in s3' and raise you: 'siuan ALSO does not need to return to the Tower in s3'

[thewholedamnboulangerie]

There are so many directions the show could go in s3, and obviously with such a huge world to explore it makes sense that a lot of the theorising has revolved around which new locations the show might bring in! But I've also been wondering about the possibility of the existing locations being used in unexpected ways - in particular, Cairhien and Falme, given that nearly every single character we've met in the show so far was in one of these two locations the last time we saw them.

As of 2x07, almost all of the Aes Sedai we've met so far in the show are in Cairhien, and in some degree of disarray, with Rand, Moiraine and Lan having just escaped in very suspicious circumstances. Siuan, Leane, Verin and Alanna are all potentially vulnerable to accusations of conspiring to allow this (even if it was only the latter two and their Warders who are actually guilty of doing so). Liandrin's last appearance was also here, and she may be about to be unmasked as a Darkfriend along with Barthanes, thanks to Anvaere.

This means that Liandrin, Verin and Alanna all have very good reason to hightail it out of Cairhien as quickly as possible; the only one who might plausibly be able to fly under the radar is Alanna, since her role in the escape wasn't as obvious (though given that her actress has been posting pics of very Two Rivers-esque locations and selfies with the actress who plays Chiad, it looks like her plotline probably will follow the books and dovetail with Perrin's, and she'll certainly need some impetus to break away from the rest of the Aes Sedai if so - if Verin also joins that group, as in the books, it makes a lot of sense for them to leave Cairhien immediately, potentially by trying to follow Rand and Moiraine to Falme and somehow falling in with Perrin instead).

There's also a chance that Liandrin might head to Falme to regroup with Lanfear, since she's now one of her agents. Obviously Lanfear can communicate with her via Tel'aran'rhiod and Travel to her if absolutely necessary, but Liandrin will certainly need to head somewhere now that she's no longer able to work undercover in the Tower. And given that Elayne and Nynaeve's Black Ajah-hunting plotline is about to require a trigger, having Liandrin show up in Falme and be spotted by them would certainly set them on her tail quite neatly. Nynaeve and Elayne could even start out by hunting down the remnants of the Seanchan in Falme/trying to free the remaining damane, before being unexpectedly shunted onto the trail of the Black Ajah (and this could also provide a neat opportunity to bring in Egeanin, though her introduction could also be pushed back a few seasons quite easily).

From there, they easily could track Liandrin (plus any cronies she has with her) to Tanchico in the back half of the season - they're certainly on the right side of the continent! Or, alternatively, Falme could stand in for Tanchico entirely in the same way that it's already partly stood in for Tear as the site of the main prophecy regarding the place where the Dragon Reborn will be unveiled.

But we could also have significantly more early-season content in Cairhien than expected, given that it's not just the Aes Sedai who are almost all in Cairhien - Min and Logain are both there as well. Which means that the entirety of Siuan's bookverse post-coup travel party is conveniently assembled in the same place, right as Siuan's (and Leane's) credibility as leader of the Tower has just taken a massive, massive hit.

Of course, the show could contrive to bring Min and Logain back to Tar Valon as well at the start of the season. Plus, as s2 has amply demonstrated, there's no guarantee that the composition of the bookverse travel parties will remain identical.

But, well... isn't it awfully convenient that they're all neatly assembled in the same place already? And wouldn't Siuan be even more vulnerable to the prospect of being deposed if she was still away from her seat of power when the threat of a coup was raised?

In conclusion: I would not be at all surprised if one of the first scenes in s3 was Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan riding into Cairhien, possibly escorted by Gawyn Trakand, bringing urgent news of unrest in the Caemlyn court in one hand and preparing to unseat Siuan while she's at her weakest with the other.