2 Subtle Differences Between The Wheel Of Time Books & Series Could Have 2 Big Impacts On The Show (2024)

Warning: this article contains spoilers for The Wheel of Time novels and season 2 of the Amazon Prime The Wheel of Time series.Amazon's adaptation of Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson's fantasy epic The Wheel of Time ended its second season with a major climax, as Rand al'Thor slew the Forsaken Ishamael above the city of Falme and proclaimed himself the Dragon Reborn. Yet the reveal that Ishamael freed Moghedein and the other Forsaken before his death means that season 3 will undoubtedly see Rand and his friends face even greater challenges.

The path Rand and company took to Falme and their victory there was for the most part the same as in the books, but there have been some major changes in The Wheel of Time that mean upcoming events for the Amazon series can't easily be predicted. Some characters are dead who should be alive, some major Wheel of Time characters are still missing, and others — namely the Forsaken — are taking a very different approach to achieving their goals. Two of the more subtle changes from the books may have particularly far-reaching consequences for the end of the Amazon series.

In The Books, There’s Much Less Mystery About The Identity Of The Dragon Reborn

Moiraine's Decision Is Easier In The Books But The Show's Changes Have Interesting Implications

In the original books, it is clearly stated that the Dragon Reborn is male. As a consequence, Moiraine spends far less of the first book, The Eye of the World, deciding if the Dragon is Mat, Rand, or Perrin before it becomes clear during the confrontation at the Eye of the World. The show changes this from the outset.

Moiraine openly states that just because the last Dragon was a man, there’s no reason the Dragon Reborn would be. This means that she spends season 1 considering Egwene or Nynaeve as potential Dragons, alongside the other candidates. While events still follow the same pattern as the books, with Rand al’Thor being the true Dragon Reborn, this small change could have huge ramifications for season 3 and beyond.

While both the books and the series say that only men can channel saidin and only women channel saidar, the show’s uncertainty about the Dragon Reborn’s gender means that distinction may not apply to souls reincarnated as different genders than in past lives. Lews Therin Telamon, the previous Dragon, was a man, but Moiraine clearly believes the new Dragon might be a woman. Therefore, souls in The Wheel of Time cannot be said to have an innate gender, and while that’s unlikely to change anything for the heroes, it raises a great number of questions for their greatest foes.

We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know Yet About Amazon’s Versions Of The Forsaken

The Dark One's Chosen Are Master Manipulators Who Hide In Plain Sight

The Forsaken in The Wheel of Time, or as they call themselves, the Chosen, are the most powerful servants of the Dark One. At this point in the show, we have only seen three of them (Ishamael, Lanfear, and Moghedein) and know the names of two others (Graendal and Sammael).

In the books, there are 13 Forsaken, but the second season of The Wheel of Time indicates that this turning of the Wheel may only have eight Forsaken, as indicated by the set of statuettes we saw in season 1, episode 5, the Forsaken temple in season 2, episode 6, and the number of seals in season 2, episodes 1 and 5. While not all 13 Forsaken from the books were directly involved in the events of the series, the identities of the remaining three will be very important in the seasons to come.

Two of the Forsaken in the books, Balthamel and Aginor, were at the Eye of the World, where they died fighting Rand and his friends. They were then resurrected by the Dark One to continue serving him — and Balthamel was reincarnated as a woman by the name of Aran'gar. Curiously, Aran'gar still channeled saidin as she did before her first death, but with the show’s changes in how reincarnated souls interface with the One Power, this may well not be the case (if she even appears in the show at all).

The Wheel Of Time's Book Changes Will Impact The Show

Both Heroes And Villains Have Been Affected

Even if Balthamel and Aginor aren’t among the Forsaken in the show, the question of how dead Forsaken are resurrected is still one that needs an answer, as season 2's climax also changed things by killing Ishamael. In the books, Ishamael fled Falme after Rand severely injured him, and though he attempted to even the score later in a fight at the Stone of Tear, Rand seemingly killed him there for good. That death wasn't permanent though, as Ishamael was reincarnated later and renamed Moridin. Yet Balthamel and Aginor's potential absence means that Ishamael's resurrection may happen differently from the books.

Although the release of season 3 is fast approaching, the machinations of the Forsaken remain clouded. Moghedein and Lanfear are at odds with each other, Graendal and Sammael remain hidden, and the missing three are absolute enigmas. With season 3 of The Wheel of Time likely to take Rand into the Aiel Waste to meet the next chapter of his destiny as the Dragon Reborn, there's no doubt the Forsaken will be following close behind him. All this means that both protagonists and antagonists in the Amazon series have been changed in intriguing ways.

The Wheel of Time

Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan's expansive fantasy series is brought to life in The Wheel of Time, a fantasy tv series created for Amazon Prime Video. The series follows a woman named Moiraine, a member of the all-female Aes Sedai group who can utilize a great power. Following an attack on a local village, Moiraine heads there to find a villager that may be the reincarnation of an all-powerful dragon that will either save or destroy the world.

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