Warning: This article contains spoilers for Wheel of Time season 1, episode 5.
Loial, who just made his first appearance in Wheel of Time episode 5, is one of the main characters in Robert Jordan’s books. Played by Hammed Animashaun, Loial encountered Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) for the first time during his stay at Tar Valon with Mat Cauthon (Barney Harris). Though his presence in the episode was limited, his future importance to the series was hinted at by the actor’s name being added to the intro.
Amazon’s Wheel of Time show is continuing to expand its cast of characters. The series added Alexandre Willaume’s Thom Merrilin to the mix in episode 3 by having him save Rand and Mat from a deceitful Darkfriend. The following episode featured the introductions of Liandrin (Kate Fleetwood) and Alanna (Priyanka Bose), two of the most important Aes Sedai in the books. Now, Wheel of Time has brought yet another major player into the fold in the form of Animashaun’s Loial. Loial’s casting and inclusion in Wheel of Time season 1 was never a secret, but exactly when he was going to appear and how the show was going to adapt him was carefully kept under wraps. Loial was noticeably absent from all the trailers as well.
Loial’s debut has given the series a key addition to the main cast and a representative of a major species in Wheel of Time’s world. In the books, Loial is a scholar that befriends Rand and accompanies him across several of his adventures. He’s also a companion to Perrin Aybara in some of his exploits as well. As he mentions in the show, Loial is an Ogier, which are monstrous yet highly intelligent beings. Ogiers primarily live in communities called steddings, and sometimes go off on their own to visit human cities. They are known for their academic interests and great architectural feats, and despite what their intimidating appearances might suggest, Ogiers aren’t warriors. For the most part, they avoid battle. However, some do have special abilities. Ogiers like Loial are "treesingers" who can literally sing to trees, thus healing them and helping them grow.
Wheel of Time episode 5 reveals how its take on Loial’s race compares to their book counterparts. In the Wheel of Time books, Loial is approximately ten feet tall, with his most defining physical characteristic being his tufted ears and eyebrows that hang down the sides of his face. The TV version is missing both of these, but still has the enormous fingers, deep voice, and nose of the character from the books. Plus, his very articulate and almost poetic manner of speech matches what’s expected of Loial. In fact, many of his lines were taken word-for-word from Wheel of Time’s first book, The Eye of the World. As for his height, Loial is about three feet shorter than he’s supposed to be, but that’s an understandable change, given that a ten-foot-tall character would require CGI.
Loial's knowledge made him a valuable ally to Rand and the others in the books. It was actually Loial who first realized that Rand and his friends were ta’veren, which are people who can shape the Pattern of the Wheel. Knowing this is what made Loial want to become a part of the group. It’s possible that the TV character will be driven by a similar motivation in Amazon’s Wheel of Time show as things continue to progress.