Fantasy fans rejoice! Amazon’s Wheel of Time adaptation has finally arrived on the streaming service. But, how does it measure up to the books and to other high-profile fantasy shows? Check out our review below. Spoilers ahead!
What is The Wheel of Time?
The Wheel of Time (WOT) is Amazon’s adaption of a bestselling series of fantasy books, written by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. The series includes 14 novels, along with a prequel. The first book in the series, The Eye of the World, was published in 1984, with the final novel, A Memory of Light, being released in 2013. Robert Jordan wrote the prequel and the first 11 novels and Sanderson finished the series with the final three novels, following Jordan’s death in 2007.
The series tells a sprawling story with a large cast of characters in a medieval world where magic and monsters exist. Magic comes from The One Power, which is split into male and female halves that work in both opposition and unity. Some humans are born with the ability to channel the One Power.
In the distant past, men and women both wielded the One Power as a part of an organization called the Aes Sedai. However, during a past battle with Dark One (basically the ultimate evil entity) the male half of the One Power was corrupted, meaning that now when men channel, they are eventually driven insane.
The world of WOT is based on the idea that people live and die, but are attached to The Wheel, which controls their fates and occasionally reincarnates people. In the beginning of the story, the Dark One is stirring again and a hero called the Dragon is prophesied to have been reborn to destroy the evil and save humanity.
However, the last Dragon, who defeated the Dark One in the past, was driven mad and also nearly destroyed the world. So, this new Dragon is both wished for and feared. The story then follows the revelation of the Dragon Reborn and his battles against the minions of the Dark One before their eventual final battle.
You can check out our full WOT primer article.
Amazon’s Adaptation
As with virtually any adaptation of a novel or series of novels, Amazon’s WOT is a combination of true adaptation with various liberties taken to change the story for the screen. Much like Game of Thrones, the story is both condensed and altered in various ways.
A Few of the Big Changes:
The main characters have all been aged up by 5+ years. In the novels, they began as teenagers, while in the show, they are all in their 20s. This does have an impact on the story, as it is a coming of age, hero’s journey. That is more typically told with younger characters, so we’ll see how this plays out in the show.
There is also a bit of a ‘love’ story of sorts in the book between Rand and Egwene, that changes in the show, as their relationship was a typical, young, unrequited love story in the books, but has already become a physical relationship in the show (yes, there’s a sex scene).
One of the main characters is married in the show. This is an odd change as his wife is killed in the first episode. Perin actually accidentally kills her during a battle with Trollocs (think a mix of orcs and trolls). I have no idea where this plot point is headed as it isn’t really discussed in episodes 2-3. But, we have to assume that Perin’s guilt is going to play a role somewhere down the line. Again, this is not at all from the books, so I can’t predict the purpose.
The Dragon could be a man or woman. In the books, the Dragon Reborn is male. So, there are initially 3 main characters who could be the Dragon (Rand, Perin, and Mat). In the show, they make it clear that the Dragon Reborn could be either a man or woman, so there are five possible characters (the three guys, along with Egwene and Nynaeve).
In the books, these two female characters end up being powerful women channelers who join the Aes Sedai. We can assume something similar is in store for them in the show. Could the show pull the ultimate change and make a different character the Dragon Reborn? I think that would anger the fans too much, so I’m assuming this change is simply to add to the drama and mystery for those watching the show who haven’t read the books. Honestly, in the books, it was obvious which character was the Dragon Reborn from the beginning, even if he wasn’t officially revealed until the end of the first novel. So the mystery itself is a new twist.
The Plot of Episodes 1-3
The first episode is really just to bring our main characters together and follows the beginning of the first book where we meet the cast in a small out-of-the-way town called the Two Rivers. Into the not really idyllic town rides Moraine (an Aes Sedai) and her warden Lan (a warrior).
They are searching for the Dragon Reborn and have determined that it is one of the 5 characters in the town. They are soon attacked by a company of the Dark One’s forces called Trollocs, who kill many people in town before Moiraine and Lan step in. Moraine convinces the main characters that they must flee with her because one of them is the Dragon Reborn and the Trollocs are really after them, so if they stay, the entire town will be destroyed.
The next two episodes show the group on the road toward the White Tower, the home of the Aes Sedai. They meet a bit of adventure, battle some Trollocs, and eventually get separated after taking refuge in a cursed city. The now 3 groups are all still heading toward the White Tower but will face challenges on their own along the way.
The plot is largely the same as the first part of the book, with some important side characters showing up sooner and others not showing up at all.
Watch it or Not?
As someone who has read the series (although, I have to admit I breezed through the final books quickly as I just wanted to reach the end by that point) I’m not entirely sure about this adaptation. Taking the books out of the equation, it’s a perfectly serviceable fantasy TV show. Not great, but not terrible.
However, I can’t really remove separate the show from the books. I loved the first half of the series and only began to lose a bit of interest when it seemed to stretch on longer than necessary (basically the plot slowed down a lot in later books). I’m not a huge fan of some of the big changes (Aging up the characters, Perin is married and then kills his wife? And the ‘mystery’ over who is the Dragon Reborn.)
Since I know who the Dragon is (or should be anyway) I’m paying more attention to this character and his behavior. I’m not that impressed to date. He’s a bit petulant, which would make more sense if he was a teenager and not in his 20s. Also, by making it a mystery, they aren’t spending time building up his character in greater detail, which the book had already begun doing.
At this point, I do plan to watch the entire series (which now releases one episode a week), but I’m a bit skeptical on how much I’m going to like it.
