59 Book-To-Film Differences In "The Wheel Of Time"
The Wheel of Time is a high fantasy series that explores the dualism of light and dark and the pursuit of the Dragon — the person fated to both save and destroy the world. Robert Jordan’s 15-book series (including a prequel) has attracted millions of fantasy fans throughout the years, but naturally, in a television adaptation rumored to span eight seasons, some changes are necessary. And based on ratings and viewing numbers for the wildly successful first season, a bit of change can be a good thing.
Warning! The list below contains spoilers for Season 1 of Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time as well as Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, especially the first book, The Eye of the World.
1.The book's prologue from The Eye of the World with Lews Therin and Ishamael has been left out of the show.
The first book of The Wheel of Time begins with a scene set in the Breaking of the World. It’s pretty confusing as the first entry to this fantasy land, and its exclusion from the first episode seems apt. If you are interested in the lore, there are always Prime Video’s animated shorts that accompany the first season.
2.The show starts with Red Ajah sisters hunting down a male channeller, something we never overtly witness in the books.
The Red Ajah, in both books and series, hunt down male channelers, but we don't get to see them actually do it in the books. In an original scene for the show, we see Liandrin lead one of these missions to gentle a man who is already going mad from channeling. It's a thrilling inclusion, and raises the stakes for fearing male channelers considerably.
3.In the books, Rand is the main point-of-view character. In the show, it shifts to Moiraine.
This means more screentime for Rosamund Pike, so I am very OK with this.
4.In the books, Aes Sedai's shawls show their Ajah. In the show, they are clad top-to-toe in their colors, and their rings show their Ajahs as well.
Why wear a mere shawl when you can wear your Ajah color with every garment you put on? Another difference in the Aes Sedai wardrobe is the inclusion of a large gem on their Great Serpent rings, again showing their Ajah. In the books, the ring is merely a serpent biting its own tail.
5.The show depicts a cliff-jumping initiation ritual to the Women's Circle, which is not included in the book.
The show depicts an exciting initiation ritual to the Women’s Circle of the Two Rivers that involves being pushed off a cliff into a raging rapid after getting a fresh hairdo (a braid). None of this happens in the books, but a braid is a sign of maturity for women from the Two Rivers. Some filmed scenes seem to have been cut (like Egwene emerging in a pool with multicolored paint on the surface, as we see in the trailer), so here's hoping we get a cache of cut footage at some stage. Or, you know, Amazon could give us 90-minute episodes with 10 episodes per season. Just saying.
6.In the show, Rand doesn't encounter a Myrddraal on the way into town, as he does in the book.
The show does a fantastic depiction of the Fades, the eyeless monstrosities that lead the Trolloc hordes. In the book, Rand encounters one on the way into town, a scene that was excluded in the show. In discussion with Perrin and Mat, we realize that Rand wasn't the only one who saw the Fade.
7.In the book, Moiraine hides her status as an Aes Sedai in the Two Rivers, whereas in the show, she indicates her station with pride.
In the show, Moiraine seems pretty brazen about being Aes Sedai. She’s far more covert in the first book, hiding both her identity (going by pseudonyms) and ring. I like the confidence.
8.In the show, Perrin is married and kills his wife accidentally. In the book, he's single.
Perrin got married! Laila Aybara is his fellow blacksmith. In a weird choice of fridging, she doesn’t survive the first episode after Perrin accidentally slaughters her in the Trolloc attack.
9.The show has given Mat a much darker background than his wholesome childhood in the books.
While Mat has retained his gambling proclivities in the show, there’s a darkness to his background. He cares for his neglected sisters, thanks to an alcoholic mother and philandering father — a far cry from the wholesome family fleshed out in the books.
10.In the books, Rand and Egwene are "promised" to each other, but in the show, their relationship is much more serious.
There’s more romance in Episode 1 between Rand and Egwene than readers got from all of the books and We. Are. Here. For. It.
11.In the books, Nynaeve is definitely from the Two Rivers, but the show has her as an outlander.
In the show, we are told Nynaeve was brought to the Two Rivers as an orphaned baby, whereas in the books she’s a Two Rivers girl, born and bred. There’s also an invented arc where her mentor, the previous Wisdom, was rejected by the White Tower when she was just a girl, fermenting Nynaeve’s hatred and mistrust of Aes Sedai.
12.The show has expanded Bel Tine to be more than a simple spring ceremony, as it was in the book. Now, it offers a glimpse into the lore of The Wheel of Time.
In the book, the festival is just food and dancing (our kind of party), but in the show, there’s a touching scene where lanterns are lit to guide the souls of loved ones back to Earth for reincarnation — an important aspect of the belief system of the characters of The Wheel of Time.
13.In the show, there is no talking Trolloc who tries to convince Rand to surrender, as there is the book.
In the book, we have a conversation (albeit stilted) with Narg, a named and talking Trolloc. It’s weird. In the show, the Trollocs remain snarling, roaring, squealing beasts incapable of speaking the Queen’s English. Thank the Light.
14.In the book, we don't get to see Moiraine and Lan defend the Two Rivers like we do in the show.
Onscreen, we get to witness every glorious second of Moiraine and Lan ripping apart the Trolloc horde. In the book, we just get told about how deadly the two were when Rand pulls into town but miss out on all the first-hand action.
15.In the book, Nynaeve doesn't get captured by a Trolloc like she does in the show.
Nynaeve escapes the Trolloc attack unscathed in the books. In the show, she is snatched by her braid and dragged away into the night, presumed dead until the end of Episode 2, where we realize she survived (and killed her kidnapping Trolloc too) like the badass she is.
16.Moiraine gets hurt in the show, whereas she is unscathed in the book.
While it’s epic to see Moiraine get speared in the shoulder and shrug it off in the show, she is completely unhurt in the book. Her injury proves to be a vital component of episodes 2 and 3, showing how even the powerful Aes Sedai can be vulnerable to a well-aimed weapon.
17.In the books, the Whitecloaks were annoying zealots. In the show, they are depicted as much, much deadlier.
The Whitecloaks are vile in the books, but in the show, they get a whole lot more evil — burning Aes Sedai at the stake and collecting their rings as trophies. Eamon Valda also seems to be a much bigger player much earlier, thanks to his Episode 2 appearance.
18.Master Hightower doesn't die in the book, whereas he dies a violent death in the show.
We meet the ferryman in the book, but he certainly doesn’t meet his end clinging to the ferry as it plunges into a power-constructed whirlpool, adding to the stakes of how seriously Moiraine wants to protect her charges.
19.Rat dreams from the book are changed to bat dreams in the show.
In their dreams, the Two Rivers folk see rats with their spines snapped and wake up to the corpses littered around the inn where they are staying in Baerlon. In the show, they pull bats out of their own throats, giving millennials everywhere a throwback to The Ring.
20.In the first book, only Egwene and Perrin meet the Whitecloaks. In the show, the whole gang gets the...pleasure.
In the show, we meet the Whitecloaks twice. First, the whole gang meets Whitecloaks on horseback shortly after leaving Taren Ferry, and we watch Moiriane use her creativity to speak with them while holding to her oath not to speak any word that isn’t true.
21.The show has made it much harder to figure out who the Dragon Reborn is. The book makes it pretty obvious.
Point-of-view in the first book makes it pretty clear which of the Two Rivers folk is the Dragon Reborn. In the show, it’s deliciously ambiguous. Is it Egwene, who can channel? Mat, who gets corrupted by an evil dagger? Rand, who mistrusts Moiraine the most? Perrin, who plays companion to wolves?
22.Elyas, Perrin's mentor, has been left out of the show (for now).
Without Elyas, poor Perrin has to kind of wing it when it comes to his wolf-communication abilities. We see this when he doesn’t freak out when a wolf (Hopper, is that you?) gives him a wound-licking that apparently sorts out sepsis.
23.In Shadar Logoth, we don't meet Mordeth, the Trollocs stay outside, and Mashadar looks different than in the book.
While the city is faithfully recreated, there are a bunch of changes from The Eye of the World. Mat finds the dagger in a beam of moonlight, Mordeth is nowhere to be found, Mashadar is like a spreading ink-spill instead of a fog, and Trollocs actually stay outside the gates. It's still one of the most thrilling sequences of the show, though.
24.Breen’s Spring in the show replaces the book's journey through Baerlon, Whitebridge, and Four Kings.
The traveling trajectory gets altered significantly. In the show, we skip Baerlon and Min (who we meet later). We also don’t go to Whitebridge or Four Kings, important stops on Mat and Rand's post-Shadar-Logoth trip. Instead, Mat and Rand find themselves in an invented town called Breen’s Spring. The omissions speed up the pace — a good thing when adapting a 15-book series.
25.There are (technically) no Aielmen, dead or otherwise, in the first book, whereas we see a corpse of one in the show.
A dead Aielman in a cage is the last thing we expected to see in Season 1, when the Aiel are only spoken of, but not seen in The Eye of the World.
26.Thom Merrilin is a total fox in the show, compared to his cute old grandfather vibes from the books.
Thom Merrilin is described in the books as being white-haired, old, and with drooping mustaches that he twirls when he’s not playing his harp. In the first book, we also meet him in the Two Rivers, and he follows the group until Whitebridge. In the show, he’s a whole lot younger, a whole lot hotter, plays guitar, and his voice is gravelly rather than whatever High Chant was meant to sound like. Frankly, this iteration of Thom makes a lot more sense when we consider that this man was Morgase's lover (here’s hoping subsequent seasons include that!).
27.Dana the darkfriend is an original character for the show.
There is a character named Dena, a protege (and romance) of Thom’s, in book two. In the show, we meet Dana, a charismatic barmaid who traps Rand and calls a Fade to get him and Mat. She’s so damn likable that we feel blindsided by her betrayal — an apt lesson to learn when it comes to darkfriends.
28.Logain is important in the books, but he is given a bigger role much earlier in the show.
We hear about Logain in the first few books, but we certainly don’t see him wrecking cities, getting captured, and busting out of his cage like we do in the show. It’s a show inclusion that seems geared toward pointing out what a male channeler can do (and it’s not good). It also gives us scenes with Alvaro Morte, and... Well, thank you, Rafe.
29.Ghealdan doesn't side with Logain in the books, whereas the show depicts the king as one of the Dragonsworn.
In the books, we don’t see Ghealdan supporting Logain with the king throwing his weight behind the man he initially fought. The change gives Logain far more credibility, seeing as he has the support of entire nations behind him.
30.In the book, Karene has been dead some 20 years when The Eye of the World takes place. In the show, she's alive and well, and then...not so alive or well.
Karene Nagashi dies in New Spring, Robert Jordan's prequel focused on Moiraine and Lan, after being drowned by the Black Ajah. In the show, she appears as a brave Green Ajah Aes Sedai who is killed by Logain, an act that gets him gentled. We also see how Stepin, her Warder, responds to her murder, giving us a clear idea of the far-reaching impact of the Aes Sedai/Warder bond.
31.The Grinwells suffer a grislier fate in the show compared to the book.
We meet the Grinwells in the books. Rand entertains them with a rousing flute performance while rejecting the advances of their eldest daughter. In the book, they certainly don’t get slaughtered like they do in the show. Was it Mat or the Fade? The ambiguity…
32.The show is open about Green Ajah's sexual openness compared to the books using innuendo.
In the show, Alanna and her two warders, Ihvon and Maksim, have a polyamorous relationship that’s overt, accepted, and really loving. Nynaeve is a bit taken aback (country bumpkin that she is), but everyone else is very chilled with it. The books imply as much, particularly with the Green Ajah, but it is never quite as overt as the show.
33.Logain's army showing up to rescue him was an original scene for the show.
While there are battles with Dragonsworn in the later books, in Season 1 of the show, we get an epic battle where they try to free Logain and get thumped by a team of Aes Sedai and their warders for their troubles. It is truly an epic battle sequence!
34.Nynaeve doesn't explode with power in The Eye of the World the way she does in the show.
In the first book, Moiraine can sense Nynaeve’s ability to channel and tells her as much while they sit around a campfire without much fanfare. She also has a block where she cannot channel unless she is enraged. In the show, there’s little inkling of her ability until she explodes with jaw-dropping power to save Lan’s life, and it's one of the best changes the show has made. Like a raging sun...
35.In the show, we travel to Tar Valon instead of Caemlyn as we do in the book.
In The Eye of the World, we don’t even go near Tar Valon. Instead, the group heads for Caemlyn to all meet back up before moving on to Fal Dara. In the show, we are given a front-row seat to the White Tower and its Aes Sedai inhabitants.
36.Rand hides from Moiraine in the show, but actively looks for her in the book.
In the book, the duo doesn’t hide from Moiraine in Caemlyn because it’s not implied that Mat can channel. In the show, Rand makes a concerted effort not to let Moiraine know that they are in Tar Valon.
37.The show has Liandrin as a political manipulator, whereas in the books she doesn't appear until the start of book two (and when she does, politics aren't her game).
Liandrin is a snake, but she doesn’t appear in The Eye of the World at all, and she certainly isn’t a political rival to both Moiraine and the Amyrlin Seat as she is onscreen. It’ll be interesting to see whether Elaida (a master political player) has been absorbed into her character in the show, and whether she is still a member of the insidious Black Ajah.
38.Perrin and Egwene escape the Whitecloaks on their own in the show, without Moiraine, Lan, and Nynaeve's help (like they do in the book).
And in a pretty integral part of the first book, Perrin murders Whitecloaks… It’s a grudge they don’t really let go of, which gets left out of the show. In the show, we also see Egwene stab Valda after they are tortured by the Questioner, and she steals back the Aes Sedai rings. Yay, Egwene!
39.Siuan's childhood scene was an original for the show.
In the books, we know Siuan is from a fishing village in Tear. In the show, we are treated to a magnificent sequence in which her childhood home is torched in a witch-hunt because she can channel. Her father sends her to Tar Valon, where she can be safe. It’s a tearjerker, and I am not being remotely melodramatic when I say I would die for Mr. Sanche.
40.In the books, Logain's trial happens offscreen. In the show, we witness every minute of it.
As mentioned, Logain isn’t really a factor in the first few books, never mind receiving an entire trial in the White Tower, where he really pisses the Aes Sedai off. Don’t talk about Kerene like that, dude. Just don’t.
41.Moiraine (seems to) heal Mat fully in the show, whereas in the books it takes a team of Aes Sedai to separate him from the dagger.
Moiraine single-handedly heals Mat in the show, whereas in the books, it takes a full circle of Aes Sedai to try to separate Mat from the power and evil of the ruby dagger. Is there anything Moiraine can't do? (Yes, I know Episode 8 answers this question but STILL.)
42.Moiraine and Siuan are in a relationship in the show, rather than the innuendo of "pillow-friends" in the books.
In the books, Moiraine and Siuan are pillow-friends, a term afforded to messing around in the Novice quarters after dark, a dalliance that one grows out of. In the show, it’s adapted as a beautiful, loving, and longstanding relationship, hidden from the public only because of their difference in status, and their secret knowledge of the Dragon Reborn, and not because they are queer. It’s the best ship in the show. On your knees.
43.Moiraine is not exiled like she is in the show, and she never returns to the White Tower in the books.
Siuan exiles Moiraine in the show, due to Moiraine being instructed to remain in the Tower by a Sitter of the Blue Ajah. Siuan and Moiraine are in kahoots about the Dragon Reborn, so she knows Moiraine needs to be free. In the books, Moiraine is never publicly questioned by the Amyrlin, and she isn’t involved in Logain’s capture either.
44.The Waygates look less like the stone doors from the books and more like stone gates in the show.
In the books, the Waygates are stone doorways kind of tucked away in basements and stuff. In the show, they’re monstrously large stone gateways that get channeled into in order to open, rather than the leafy access point of the books. Way more cinematic, way less covert.
45.In the book, Mat goes into the Ways and remains with the group unlike the show where he stays behind.
In a VERY big departure from the books, Episode 6 of the show ends with Mat refusing to enter the Ways, and the Waygate shuts with him outside of it. Mat, you wool-headed lummox! However, this likely had something to do with Barney Harris's departure from the main cast. It brings a whole other dimension to Egwene's line when she says, "We didn't leave him. He left us."
46.Machin Shin has been changed to invade the darkest parts of your mind in the show. In the books, it just wants to slurp your bone marrow.
In the books, the Black Wind in the Ways is vile, but it doesn’t seem to invade your mind. It talks about tearing flesh apart and cracking bones, but it doesn’t seek out your deepest insecurities and scream them at you, like it does in the show. I'd opt for the bone-breaking instead, so this was a really effective shift.
47.The show has Nynaeve save everyone (again) with another explosive display of the One Power, instead of the group conveniently leaving the Ways in the nick of time as they do in the book.
To escape the Ways in The Eye of the World, the group just manages to find their Waygate just in time, but the show’s interpretation has Nynaeve explode with the power once again when she is put under immense pressure. Machin Shin wouldn’t like her when she’s angry.
48.Lady Amalisa has trained at the White Tower in the show, whereas in the book she's just an Aes Sedai groupie.
Lady Amalisa is definitely deferential to the Aes Sedai in The Great Hunt, but in the show, she has trained at the White Tower and at least earned her ring as Accepted. This is a helpful bit of worldbuilding, as it prepares TV audiences for rulers sending their daughters to train at the Tower, while also showing that just because you can use the One Power doesn’t mean you’re strong enough to become Aes Sedai.
49.In the show, we meet Min in Fal Dara instead of Baerlon, as we do in the book.
Because the show had to ‘yadda-yadda’ a whole lot when it came to towns throughout Andor (see number 24 above!), we completely skipped Baerlon and Min’s introduction. Because Min is so central to the plot, however, the showrunners decided to add her to the mix when we arrive in Fal Dara. This makes sense, since the Borderlands often have to deal with strange things that may or may not have to do with the One Power (looking at you, Hurin, when you eventually show up).
50.Min's viewing of the Amyrlin Seat being Moiraine's downfall in the show is new. In the books, she has a lot of viewings, but the Amyrlin wrecking Moiraine ain't one of them.
Min has had some doozies over the books, but seeing Moiraine’s downfall at the hands of the Amyrlin herself was made for the show. As with all of Min’s viewings, this one is as open to interpretation as the rest: Will Siuan Sanche cause Moiraine’s downfall by accident? Will she betray Moiraine? Will a different Amyrlin cause it? If so, how?
51.There is no love triangle between Rand, Egwene, and Perrin in the books. In the show, Perrin has been burning a candle for Egwene all along.
The show sets Perrin up as pining over Egwene as a central part of his character: His crush on her causes a rift in the group the night before they head to the Eye of the World, and even Machin Shin calls him out for his unrequited love for a woman who wasn’t his wife. In the book, he's just a bit envious when Egwene dances with Aram, but that's about it.
52.Lan and Nynaeve have much more chemistry (and get much more physical early on) in the show when compared to the books.
Lan and Nynaeve's relationship in The Wheel of Time show is actually believable, unlike in The Eye of the World where they just seem to confess undying love out of nowhere. And in the show, things get steamy in Fal Dara! Probably the most accurate book-to-film comparison is that right after they decide to go for it, the scene cuts elsewhere so we don’t get the juicy bits. Classic Robert Jordan.
53.In the show, Moiraine and Rand head for the Eye of the World alone, instead of the whole group heading there, as they do in the book.
While Rand understands he can channel by the end of book one, it’s not really until the start of book three that he truly accepts his destiny as the Dragon Reborn. In the show, we see flashbacks of events from Rand’s perspective, and he finally comes to accept that he is the one who Moiraine has been looking for. Being the good friend that he is, he chooses to go with Moiraine alone, the two of them leaving behind their loved ones so they don’t get caught in the crossfire between the Dragon Reborn and the Dark One.
54.The show changes the original (and confusing) book ending by leaving out the Green Man, cannon-fodder Forsaken, and a pool of saidin.
If you look at The Eye of the World's ending and compare it to the show’s, you will find few similarities, except that Rand believes he fights and defeats the Dark One (spoiler: He doesn’t in either the book or the show!). The show has no Green Man, no Balthamel, no Aginor, no big pool of saidin, and no Rand going nuclear at Tarwin’s Gap. Honestly, the ending of book one left a lot to be desired, and Robert Jordan got better at endings as his books went on. That said, the ending of Season 1 of the show has proved to be the most divisive amongst fans. Although, since we are desperate to see where things go in Season 2, the showrunners did their job...
55.The Horn of Valere has been hidden under Agelmar's throne in the show, rather than at the Eye of the World as it is in the book.
At the climax of book one, after defeating the sundry Forsaken, the Eye of the World offers up a chest containing the Horn of Valere, which will call up the heroes of old from the grave to fight for whoever blows the Horn. High stakes indeed. In the show, it’s been hidden beneath Lord Agelmar’s throne all along. Both in the show and in the books, Padan Fain soon procures it… There’s a reason book two is called The Great Hunt.
56.In the show, Nynaeve, Egwene, and Amalisa's channeling circle kills the Trolloc army at Tarwin's Gap instead of Rand, who takes care of it in the book.
Instead of Rand going super-Saiyan at the Gap, the Trollocs are obliterated by five linked women, with the inexperienced Lady Amalisa leading the circle. It’s an awesome display of power, and shows us the danger of becoming overwhelmed by the sweetness of saidar. Amalisa is incapable of resisting its allure and dies for it. Meanwhile, it seems Egwene is capable of healing a woman who has almost burned out, as she brings Nynaeve back from the brink. It also might foreshadow Nynaeve's mistrust of her power.
57.Agelmar and Amalisa are killed off early in the show, whereas they survive in the books.
In a total departure from the books, both Lord Agelmar and Lady Amalisa don’t seem to survive the battle at Tarwin’s Gap — Agelmar, by becoming a human kebab, and Amalisa by burning herself to a crisp (and other women alongside her).
58.Loial is stabbed by the ruby dagger in the show, while he is far from harm in the book.
Loial, son of Arent, son of Halan, GLORY TO THE BUILDERS FOR HIS NAME SINGS IN OUR EARS, got freaking STABBED by Padan Fain and the ruby dagger, basically the evilest weapon you can get your murderous hands on. Uno was also hurt. In the books, Loial is just fine and makes it to the end of the series. However, both Loial and Uno's actors have been confirmed on the set of Season 2 (plus showrunner Rafe Judkins said Loial somehow makes it through, so we can breathe easy).
59.In the show, we see Moiraine's stilling/shielding and Rand's self-imposed exile. In the book, the core characters leave the Eye of the World intact.
In the book, Moiraine is never stilled, and this was a huge shock to fans when it happens in the show finale. Moiraine without her power? However, this could be really interesting for her character development. Moiraine’s power never rested in how much she could channel, but in her ability to guide the Dragon Reborn. Her capacity to do that is not dependent on her channeling — but her self-worth might be. Some say that she wasn't stilled, only shielded, with Ishamael tying off the knot (a gesture we see him make). If that's the case, he can untie the shield, or it will happen automatically with his death (but don't tell Rand because he's convinced he killed the Dark One). Speaking of, in the show, Rand asks Moiraine to tell the others that he died, sparing them the pain of watching him go mad as all male channelers do. It's exquisitely true to Rand's character.