2 subtle differences between the Wheel of Time books and series could have two big impacts on the show

Warning: this article contains spoilers for The Wheel of Time novels and season 2 on 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 grand climax, when Rand al’Thor killed the Forsaken Ishamael above the city of Falme and proclaimed himself the Dragon Reborn. However, the revelation that Ishamael freed Moghedein and the other Forsaken before his death means that season three will undoubtedly see Rand and his friends face even greater challenges.

The path that Rand and company took to Falme and their victory was largely the same as in the books, but there were some important changes in The Wheel of Time This means that the upcoming events of the Amazon series cannot be easily predicted. Some characters are dead and should be alive, some important characters Wheel of Time characters are still missing, and others – notably the Forsaken – are taking a very different approach to achieving their goals. Two of the books’ most subtle changes could have particularly far-reaching consequences for the Amazon series finale.

In the books, there is much less mystery about the identity of the reborn dragon

Moiraine’s decision is easier in the books, but the changes on the show have interesting implications

In the original books, it is clearly stated that the Dragon Reborn is male. As a consequence, Moiraine spends much less than the first book, The Eye of the Worlddeciding whether 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 beginning.

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

Although both the books and the series say that only men can channel he said and only women’s channel saythe show’s uncertainty about the Reborn Dragon’s gender means that the distinction may not apply to souls reincarnated as genders other than those from past lives. Lews Therin Telamon, the previous Dragon, was a man, but Moiraine clearly believes the new Dragon could be a woman. Therefore, souls in The Wheel of Time It cannot be said to have an innate genderand while this is unlikely to change anything for the heroes, it raises a huge number of questions for their greatest enemies.

We don’t know what we don’t already know about Amazon’s versions of The Forsaken

The Dark One’s chosen are master manipulators who hide in plain sight

The Abandoned in The Wheel of Timeor as they call themselves, the Chosen, are the Darkest’s most powerful servants. At this point in the show, we’ve only seen three of them (Ishamael, Lanfear and Moghedein) and knows 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 figurines 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 coming seasons.

Two of the Forsaken from the books, Balthamel and Aginor, were in 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 named Aran’gar. Interestingly, Aran’gar still channeled he said as she did before her first death, but with the show’s changes to how reincarnated souls interact with the One Power, this may very well not be the case. (if she appears on the show).

Changes to the Wheel of Time book will impact the program

Heroes and villains were affected

Even though Balthamel and Aginor are not among the show’s Forsaken, the question of how the Forsaken dead are resurrected still needs an answeras the climax of season 2 also changed things by killing off Ishamael. In the books, Ishamael fled Falme after Rand seriously injured him, and although he tried to even the score later in a fight at the Tearstone, Rand apparently killed him there for good. This death was not permanent, as Ishamael was later reincarnated and was renamed Moridin. However, the potential absence of Balthamel and Aginor means that Ishamael’s resurrection could play out differently than in the books.

Although the release of Season 3 is quickly approaching, the machinations of the Outsiders remain unclear. Moghedein and Lanfear are at odds, Graendal and Sammael remain in hiding, and the missing three are absolute enigmas. With the 3rd season of The Wheel of Time will likely take Rand to the Aiel Waste to learn the next chapter of his destiny as the Dragon Reborn, there is no doubt that the Forsaken will follow him closely. All of this means that both the protagonists and antagonists of the Amazon series have been changed in intriguing ways.