The Wheel of Time on Prime Video received a ton of backlash for altering several fundamental plot points from Robert Jordan’s book series, but how far-reaching and lore-breaking were these changes, really?
These days, it seems like Hollywood is facing an adaptation conundrum, where most live-action takes on popular stories fail to live up to expectations. Fans would bring up the issue of faithfulness to the source material, even if it’s been proven time and again that you don’t necessarily have to follow a book to the letter (e.g., The Lord of the Rings) to turn it into a successful outing.
Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time is also heavily contentious in this regard. As one of the most influential and best-selling fantasy books of all time, the story of the Dragon Reborn and his struggle to save and destroy the world has a legion of gatekeepers, ready to point out the smallest deviation or flaw in the weave of the Pattern.
Now, regardless of whether people agree with these changes or not, I think you could break them down into several major divergences from the book plot, and we’ve decided to list them all here for you ahead of the season 2 premiere.
This can also serve as a wishlist for the upcoming run, especially since showrunner Rafe Judkins and his crew will have ample opportunity to rectify some of these changes — and dare we say, mistakes — when the Two Rivers folk embark on the great hunt for the horn of Valere.
10. The exclusion of saidin and saidar
The magic system in Robert Jordan’s world consists of two halves — saidin and saidar — which comprise the One Power, the force that turns the Wheel of Time itself. Saidin is the source that male channelers tap into to perform wondrous feats, while saidar belongs to the female Aes Sedai.
One of the strangest decisions in The Wheel of Time season 1 was the exclusion of this fundamental concept. Saidin and saidar make up the very fabric of this story, sitting at the heart of the plot twist that defines the main character Rand al’Thor. If there is no saidin, tainted by the Dark One’s touch, then how is the Dragon Reborn prophesied to destroy the world in his madness?
Much of the prophecies of the Dragon involve this duality, so we hope that season 2 finally gets around to discussing it, whether for the benefit of our characters or the viewers.
9. The Dragon Reborn being male or female
From a certain point of view, we get why the show opted to keep viewers in suspense so far as the Dragon Reborn’s identity was concerned, but the story’s insistence that the prophesied reincarnation of Lews Therin could be both male or female doesn’t make sense at all.
The whole point of The Wheel of Time is that while the Dragon Reborn will be there to fight the Dark One at the Last Battle, he’s going to be an insane person with the power to destroy the world. And why? Because saidin is tainted by the Dark One, and male channelers are destined to go mad from their connection to that corrupted source. If the Dragon Reborn is female and tapping into saidar, then there aren’t any hurdles, are there? We’re locked, loaded, and ready to bring the whole blasted valley of Thakan’dar down.
8. Caemlyn plotline
Near the middle of The Eye of the World, our protagonists slowly meander their way toward Caemlyn, the capital of Andor, where they wait to be reunited with the rest of the party. The road to that marvelous city is pervaded by dangers, betrayals, and many other threats in the form of Shadowspawn and darkfriends, and the events surrounding Rand’s stay in the city are also crucial for the future.
For one thing, this is the first time the wider world recognizes that a Ta’veren is loose, and it also marks the introduction of Elayne Trakand, one of the main characters in the series. The Amazon series is planning to introduce Elayne in season 2, but her first meeting with Rand al’Thor is among one of the more iconic scenes in the books, so it’s a bit of a shame that we won’t ever get to experience it in live-action.
7. Stepin and his Aes Sedai
The inclusion of Stepin and his character arc, dealing with the Aes Sedai and Warner bond, is a complete invention from showrunner Rafe Judkins and his writers. While we appreciate how the show got around to explaining this major worldbuilding facet, we can’t help but wonder if Stepin ultimately ended up stealing the attention away from the main cast, who never had the chance to truly shine or find their footing due to the limited runtime.
6. Moiraine and Siuan’s romantic relationship
Moiraine and Siuan’s overt relationship is something that Robert Jordan only hints at in the prequel book rather than The Eye of the World. In fact, in the books the party spends most of its time in Caemlyn, and doesn’t even get close to Tar Valon, the seat of the Aes Sedai. But as far as changes to the source material go, I actually think this one was a subtle and effective way of setting up Moiraine and Siuan’s secret mission to find and protect the Dragon Reborn.
5. Egwene and Rand’s romantic relationship
Speaking of romantic associations, The Eye of the World doesn’t exactly imply that Rand and Egwene are together. If anything, the village where they grew up only eyed them as a potential match for each other, one that never gets realized in the books due to their major differences. The Amazon series takes a different approach here, showing that Rand and Egwene are indeed together and fall apart as they journey through the world.
The fact that Egwene and Rand had a proper relationship and even consummated it at several points in season 1 could have major implications for the future of the series, especially for book fans who know how dissimilar their individual journeys are in the larger narrative.
4. Perrin killing his wife
One of the moments that raised eyebrows everywhere was in the very first episode when Perrin accidentally killed his wife Laila. This is problematic for two very crucial reasons. First, Perrin would never lose control like that and hurt a person he loved. Second, and perhaps more important than the first, is the fact that… well, Perrin doesn’t even have a wife in the books.
That’s right. The burly blacksmith is not married in the books, nor does he have any romantic interests in the Two Rivers. We can’t really get into Perrin’s journey without spoiling major plot points from future books, but giving Perrin a wife was probably the worst decision the writers could’ve made for the wolf brother whom we all adore and love.
3. Elyas not showing up
This one involves Perrin yet again. And in fact, the protagonist might just be the most underdeveloped character in season 1, made more disconcerting by the fact that he’s a very compelling presence in The Eye of the World.
Elyas Machera is a wolf brother like Perrin, and it is he who first guides the main character through this trial. Machera joins the story at a very crucial point. After the party suffers a lethal blow, becoming separated, the characters have no choice but to go on as best as they can until Moiraine and Lan Mandragoran can find them again. Elyas notices Perrin and Egwene in the wilderness and takes them in despite his general aversion to people, and helps them survive. He also gives Perrin his first look into his eventual fate as a wolf-brother, which is a major part of his character arc going forward.
2. Rand fighting at Tarwin’s Gap
The first time Rand al’Thor fulfills his duty as the Dragon Reborn happens at the end of the first book. Lord Agelmar’s outnumbered army of Shienaran warriors faces terrible odds at Tarwin’s Gap, where they’re going up against thousands upon thousands of Trollocs and other Shadowspawn. The army of the Light is sure to suffer a devastating defeat, but not if Rand has anything to say about it.
Unbeknownst to himself, Rand teleports from the titular Eye of the World to the middle of the battlefield and uses his newfound channeling abilities to send death and destruction hurtling toward the Shadowspawn ranks in the form of earthquakes and lightning. The Shienarans find their courage and prepare for a routing charge, while Rand portals away to the dreamworld to face Ba’alzamon again.
All of that is absent from the season 1 finale. The Battle of Tarwin’s Gap takes place under entirely different circumstances, with a few Aes Sedai channelers — bolstered by Nynaeve al’Meara and Egwene al’Vere — destroying the Trolloc army by linking together.
1. Aginor and Balthamel
Lastly, the most important change from the first book is the absence of Aginor and Balthamel, who are two of the thirteen Forsaken who serve the Dark One. In fact, most of the events from the Eye of the World (the location) have been cut from the Amazon show, so reading the book will give you an entirely different experience. There is no pool of saidin in the live-action adaptation, nor is there any sign of the Green Man and his grove. Rand and Moiraine don’t return to Shienar together, and there’s no saying where the show will pick up the story when we see our characters next.
While there’s no telling how much The Wheel of Time series is going to change books 2 and 3 in the upcoming season, we’re hoping against hope that it remains more faithful to the overall narrative, and doesn’t incorporate as many lore-breaking and reverberating changes as the first season.
The Wheel of Time is returning to Prime on September 1.