Top 20 Differences Between The Wheel of Time Book and TV Show

#20: The Horn of Valere[a]

This magical object has the power to summon the warriors of history and is sought after by the villainous Dark One and his Darkfriends. Perrin finds it at the end of Season 1, only for Darkfriend Padan Fain to steal it from him. In the grand Season 2 finale, Mat blows the Horn to summon crucial aid at the Battle of Falme. In Robert Jordan’s series, however, the Horn is revealed to be at the Eye of the World. The quest for the magical object itself is the whole plot of the second book of the series, “The Great Hunt.” No doubt the TV series wanted to streamline some elements.

#19: Nynaeve[b] Is Kidnapped

In an unexpected development, Wisdom Nynaeve is abducted by a Trolloc at the Two Rivers, leaving Moiraine and the rest to assume the worst. But Nyanaeve not only escapes but kills the Trolloc who kidnapped her for good measure. She eventually reunites with the rest. We call this unexpected, because this never happened in the books. When Rand, Perrin, Mat, and Egwene leave the village with Moiraine, Nynaeve follows them to persuade them to return. When that fails, and upon discovering her own channeling abilities, Nynaeve decides to join them. Why the series decided to have Nynaeve be taken in the first place is strange, but it does up the drama.

#18: New Darkfriend Dana[c]

“A Place of Safety”
In this Season 1 episode, Rand and Mat stay at the Four Kings Inn for the night, where they encounter innkeeper Dana. She flirts with Rand and even tries to kiss him, but the latter is not having it. This is where the innkeeper reveals her fealty to the Dark One, foiled only at the timely arrival of gleeman Thom Merrilin. This antagonist is an original character of the TV series, as no Darkfriend named Dana appears in the book. She seems to be a composite of Darkfriend Mili Skane and Saml Hake, who owns the Four Kings Inn in Jordan’s series. It’s unfortunate the show didn’t use any of these book characters, but Dana is a Darkfriend, all right.

#17: Egwene Heals Nynaeve

As a Wisdom, the main healer is Nynaeve, which the TV adaptation retains. At the end of Season One, however, Nynaeve, Egwene, and three women channel together to defeat the Trollocs. The effort is too much for them, and they all collapse—except Egwene. In the aftermath, Egwene then heals Nynaeve. In the books, Egwene is Nynaeve’s apprentice. Healing is a very complex power in this world. Nynaeve is able to use all healing types, but Egwene is not. The show obviously wished to plump up Egwene’s role, but it’s odd to see such a skilled healer being the healed one.

#16: Thom Merrilin

This court-bard-turned-adventurer shows up in the TV series in the third episode of Season One, singing a ballad. He then gets hold of Mat’s gold and saves them from a Darkfriend. Get you a guy that can do both. In the books, however, we meet Thom at Emond’s Field[d] itself as part of the entertainment. When the village is attacked, he joins the group of travelers, though they lose him around Whitebridge. Book Thom is also less grungy than his TV show counterpart, with white hair and blue eyes. This merry man is a little less merry in the TV show.

#15: Moiraine Loses Her Ability to Channel

In the dramatic end to the first season, the Dark One cuts off Moiraine’s connection to the One Power. This leaves her unable to channel, a situation she struggles with all throughout Season 2, hiding it from the others. Fortunately, in Episode 7, Rand cuts the shield around Moiraine using the One Power, which restores her ability to channel. Moiraine never loses her power in the books, so this change is unusual, to say the least. It is more dramatic, though, an attempt to give Moiraine more of an inner conflict, which is par for the course for a TV series.

#14: Ishamael[e] is Gone For Good

“Wheel of Time” fans know this most powerful Forsaken lives on in “The Great Hunt” and is killed by Rand in the third book, “The Dragon Reborn.” He is later reincarnated as Moridin by the Dark One. In the series, however, Ishamael seems to be vanquished as early as Season 2. Once Moiraine frees Rand from the Forsaken’s shield, Rand successfully defeats him. We then see Ishamael disintegrate into dust. It may be the TV show is planning to have the Forsaken return in some form, but this is far from Book Ishamael’s habit of avoiding certain death.

#13: Machin Shin[f]

Also known as the Black Wind, this creature torments those it comes into contact with, eating their memories and even their souls. Although it does not serve the Dark One, it is an ancient malevolent force. In the show, the travelers come across it in the sixth episode of the first season. Nynaeve manages to repel it. The Black Wind’s corrosive nature is the same in both the books and the show, but it does manifest differently in each. In the show, Machin Shin is depicted as an insect-like swarm more than a wind, and it directly contacts the main characters, preying on their fears. Either way, it is a tormentor, all right.

#12: Mat’s Family

In the seventh episode, Mat is kidnapped and taken to Ishamael in Falme. When Mat drinks the proffered tea, he begins to have grisly hallucinations with his angry mother and himself committing murders. It turns out his parents were not the best role models, with his mother being a drunkard and his father a lecher. This is not the case in the books, where Mat’s corruption stems more from a cursed ruby dagger. Nor did Mat come from an abusive or dysfunctional family. This is not the only thing about Mat changed from the books, but it is still puzzling.

#11: The Battle of Falme

Where to start? There were many changes, significant and not, from page to screen. For one thing, the Seanchan[g] had already occupied Falme in the books, whereas in the series they are only beginning to do so. Selene’s identity as the Forsaken Lanfear is revealed much earlier in the second season, whereas in the books, Lanfear is revealed at the end of “The Great Hunt.” Mat wasn’t kidnapped by Ishamael in the books. In the show, Moiraine weaves a fire dragon above the city, whereas in the book, it’s Ishamael and Rand’s fight that is projected above the city. At least Mat got to blow the Horn of Valere in both media.

#10: The Ages of the Main Characters

The first books in “The Wheel of Time” tell something of a coming-of-age story, as the Emond’s Fielders journey from their remote village into a wider world of wonders, dangers, and new cultures. Showrunner Rafe Judkins decided to age the characters up to 20 however, stating that “shows with a bunch of 17 year olds as leads feel more like [Young Adult fiction.]” In fact, Rand, Mat, and Perrin are about 19 in the books; Egwene is two years younger. So, the show didn’t age the characters up much. It did, however, make them a bit less naive and more adult. Rand and Egwene are in a physical relationship, and Perrin is married and a blacksmith rather than an apprentice. More on that later.

#9: The Whitecloaks

You don’t want to cross the Children of the Light. Their zealous persecution of those they deem Darkfriends or, worse, “witches,” is brutal and merciless. However, in the books, they’re more of a nuisance than a threat to capable channelers. A Whitecloak might attack a lone Aes Sedai, but only from hiding. The TV adaptation portrays the Children as a more serious threat. Eamon Valda, now an Inquisitor rather than a Lord Captain, possesses a collection of Great Serpent rings to prove it. The show has Valda, rather than Geofram Bornhald, capture Perrin and Egwene. Valda claims he “knows” Egwene can channel, and expects her to demonstrate … without incapacitating him. Kinda makes you wonder how he even got those rings …

#8: Elyas & Other Side Characters

“The Wheel of Time” has a staggering 2,782 named characters. Of course, some side characters are much more important than others! In “The Eye of the World,” one of the most pivotal is Elyas Machera, a wolfbrother who mentors Perrin after his escape with Egwene from Shadar Logoth. Another do be Illianer ship captain Bayle Domon, who ferries Rand, Mat and Thom from Shadar Logoth to Whitebridge. Other, more central characters, appear later in the show than in the books, such as gleeman Thom Merrilin, and Min, who’s now at Fal Dara rather than Baerlon. We did eventually meet Elyas[h] and Bayle Domon in season two, and got to spend more time with Min.

#7: Moiraine’s Exile

In both the books and show, Moiraine and Siuan must hide their close relationship to prevent the wrong people learning about their search for the Dragon Reborn. To this end, Siuan does feign hostility towards Moiraine in the source material… but she doesn’t go so far as to exile her. Nor does she demand that Moiraine swear to obey her order on the Oath Rod. A romantic relationship is hinted at in the books; in the prequel novel “New Spring,” an Aes Sedai believes that Moiraine and Siuan were “pillow-friends” as girls. But true or not, it’s over by the time the books begin. They don’t have a ter’angreal that allows them to Travel to a secret hideaway, either.

#6: Mat Abandons His Friends

Robert Jordan once described Mat Cauthon as “the bad boy on a Harley.” In the books, he’s a merry prankster who provides comic relief - a loveable rogue and reluctant hero who’s nonetheless there for his friends when it counts. By comparison, the show offers a much grimmer take. As mentioned, Mat’s father Abell is now an impoverished lecher, and his mother Natti a drunk. Moiraine describes Mat as having an inherent darkness. When his friends travel to the Eye of the World, Mat abandons them - and Moiraine sends the Red Ajah after him. This turn of events may be due to the departure of actor Barney Harris during filming. He was replaced by Donal Finn. Either way, it’s quite a different Mat.

#5: Perrin’s Marriage

Perrin has a gentle nature, but as a wolfbrother, he struggles to walk the fine line between his human and animal sides. One of the main catalysts for this conflict comes in the first book when Whitecloaks kill the wolf Hopper and Perrin loses control, killing two men. While Moiraine, Lan, and Nynaeve rescue Perrin and Egwene, the event leads to a long-standing conflict between Perrin and the Children of the Light. The show, on the other hand, gives Perrin a wife, Laila, whom he accidentally kills in the first episode. It’s this trauma that instigates his internal struggle between peace and violence.

#4: The False Dragon

“The Wheel of Time” is an epic, sprawling series. And a lot of material was streamlined for the adaptation. However, the show also added a lot of new content - including much of the fourth episode. In the books, we first glimpse the False Dragon Logain when he’s paraded into Caemlyn in “The Eye of the World” and again in “The Great Hunt” after he’s been brought to Tar Valon and gentled. The show however has Moiraine, Lan, and Nynaeve encounter Logain and his captors, which now include Liandrin, Alanna, and Kerene. Kerene is actually from the prequel novel “New Spring,” where she’s killed by the Black Ajah. The fate of her Warder Stepin isn’t explored.

#3: Reunited at Tar Valon

In the books, Caemlyn is a milestone in the Emond’s Fielders’ journey, bringing the wide-eyed villagers to their country’s bustling capital. It’s also where we meet key characters such as Elayne Trakand (the Daughter-Heir of Andor) and Loial. However, the show has the characters reunite (and meet Loial) in Tar Valon instead, covering some of the action from “The Great Hunt.” That book introduces readers to the Amyrlin Seat Siuan Sanche, and has Nynaeve and Egwene inducted into the White Tower. The girls return there in the second season, which also introduces Elayne[i], played by Ceara Coveney.

#2: The Final Battle

Book One sees the heroes travel together to the Eye of the World - a pool of untainted saidin guarded by the Green Man. There they face the Forsaken Aginor and Balthamel. Rand goes on to defeat Ba’alzamon, and the Trollocs at Tarwin’s Gap. In the show however, Rand and Moiraine journey alone to the Eye, which is empty. Ba’alzamon cuts Moiraine off from the Source, seeming to Shield her and tie off the weaves. Rand chooses the Light by refusing to impose his will on Egwene, then blasts Ba’alzamon using a sa’angreal. It’s Nynaeve and Egwene who destroy the Trollocs, although Nynaeve seems to be burnt out or killed until Egwene miraculously Heals her. Meanwhile, Padan Fain stabs Loial, Ingtar and Uno, prompting Perrin to finally pick up an axe. This is all new, substantially changing elements of Robert Jordan’s story.

#1: The Dragon Reborn

After Trollocs attack Emond’s Field, the Moiraine of the books tells Rand, Perrin, and Mat that there’s something in one of them, or all three, that the Dark One fears. Only at the end of the first book is it revealed that one of them - Rand - is the Dragon Reborn. In the show however, Moiraine reveals the truth to the Emond’s Fielders from the get go. Moreover, the Dragon can be male or female - souls aren’t fundamentally one or the other. This dramatically reframes the narrative, leaving the characters and viewers guessing throughout subsequent episodes. The reveal that Rand was adopted comes much later, and he realizes he’s the Dragon before travelling to the Eye - prompting him to go without his friends. In other words, it’s a change that has far-reaching consequences.