The Wheel of Time, the new epic fantasy series from Amazon, aims to remake the fantasy television landscape. Given that it is an epic story, the cast is quite large, comprised of men and women caught up in the coils of destiny and trying to fight back against the Dark One, who wants to remake time itself in his own image.
Though they have their own unique personalities, they also bear some striking similarities to the many characters that appear in another beloved fantasy epic, The Lord of the Rings.
Moiraine--Gandalf
When the series begins, the Aes Sedai Moiraine has headed to the Two Rivers, where she soon grabs up a group of youths and whisks them away, mostly for their own protection from the minions of the Dark One.
She has many similarities to the wizard Gandalf, including the fact that she is a member of an elite magical organization that is widely distrusted by the regular folk and because she is driven by a powerful and noble sense of purpose that structures all of her actions. And, just as Gandalf is one of the most powerful beings in Middle-earth, Moiraine has a formidable skill with the One Power.
Lan--Aragorn
If Moiraine is close to anyone, it would have to be her Warder, Lan, who is her personal protector. Lan is, like Aragorn, a man of few words, but he is also fiercely protective of those under his charge, especially Moiraine.
What’s more, he is like Aragorn is at the beginning of the story, quite shrouded in mystery, and he doesn’t speak much about his own origins or where he comes from, even though he does seem to know a lot about the world that they move through (including the dead city of Shadar Logoth). And, just as Aragorn is one of the most powerful heroes in Middle-earth, Lan is a swordsman second to none.
Nynaeve--Gimli
Nynaeve is one of the most enduringly popular of the characters of the books, mostly because she is a stubborn and very prickly person who nevertheless has a heart of gold. As she shows repeatedly, she is fiercely protective of the young people of the Two Rivers, and she will do whatever she can to protect them.
In both her stubbornness and her prickliness, as well as in her essentially good nature, she has a lot in common with Gimli, who is a very likable character but also notoriously irritable.
Rand al’Thor--Frodo
It’s very easy to see why Rand would match up with Frodo of The Lord of the Rings. Though he is significantly younger than Frodo is when he starts out on his journey to Mordor, Rand is still very much a reluctant hero, one who hasn’t really experienced much of the world outside of his small village.
As a result, he has to constantly deal with the challenges posed by this ominous new world, and, like Frodo, he will find himself sorely tested on his epic quest.
Mat Cauthon--Pippin
Mat Cauthon is one of the youths Moiraine takes out of the Two Rivers, and of the three men, he’s the most carefree, prone to gambling and to flirting with women. In other words, he doesn’t take things too seriously, and he doesn’t seem to be especially concerned about the fate that awaits them as they leave the only home they’ve ever known.
He is very similar to Pippin, who is also one of the less serious hobbits but who gradually grows and changes and becomes more mature as the story progresses, all while being one of the most likable members of the Fellowship.
Perrin Aybara--Merry
Perrin is the most somber of the three main male leads, mostly for reasons having to do with his tremendous physical strength and his actions during the Trolloc attack.
He is, in that sense, very similar to Merry who was the most studious and practical hobbit (apart from Frodo). Like Perrin, he was also something like the conscience of the others, and he would go on to play a major role in the events of the War of the Ring.
Thom Merrilin--Elrond
As a gleeman, the character Thom Merrilin is someone who knows a great deal about the lore of the world in which the story takes place, which he reveals when he sings a song about the Dragon. What’s more, as the events of the series unfold he shows that he has quite an interesting history, including interactions with some of the most powerful people in the kingdom of Andor.
In these respects, he is very similar to the character of Elrond, who had arguably the greatest knowledge about Middle-earth, its history, and its lore.
The Dark One--Sauron
Every epic fantasy needs its major villain, the great and powerful evil that wants to bring all of the world under its dominion. In The Wheel of Time that is the aptly titled Dark One, who wants to break the Wheel itself and remake all of time and space in his own image.
He clearly has a lot in common with Sauron of The Lord of the Rings, one of the most terrifying and powerful of fantasy villains. What’s more, both of them do an exemplary job of convincing their followers that he has their best interests at heart.
Tam al’Thor--Bilbo
As Rand’s father, Tam al’Thor plays a key role in his life, and as the series goes on he reveals that he had quite an extraordinary career before he settled down in the Two Rivers and Emond’s Field.
Like Bilbo, whose adventure to reclaim the treasures of Erebor from Smaug the dragon reshaped the entire fate of Middle-earth, Tam’s time as a soldier in the armies against the invading Aiel would also come to have consequences far greater than he could have imagined.
The Myrdraal--The Ringwraiths
Just as every epic fantasy has to have its major villain, it also has to have that villain’s servants, those charged with striking terror into the hearts of everyone. For Sauron, they are the Ringwraiths, men that he swayed into his service.
For the Dark One, however, they are beings that are in their way even more terrifying, the Myrdraal, which are quasi-human beings created from the bestial Trollocs. With their eyeless faces and mouths full of razor-sharp teeth, they are the things of which nightmares are made.