The identity of the Dragon Reborn in Amazon Prime's Wheel of Time is an interesting mystery that the show failed to fully capitalize on. The show sets up four characters to potentially be the Dragon Reborn, with Nynaeve al'Meara becoming the fifth potential candidate after she channels the One Power in the fourth episode. Wheel of Time ultimately did not change the identity of the Dragon Reborn because of how important it is to the main story of the series, but its half-hearted commitment to the mystery is full of unrealized potential.
In the very first episode of Wheel of Time, "Leavetaking," Moraine Damodred's (Rosamund Pike) search for the Dragon Reborn brings her to Emond's Field where she singles out five villagers who she believes could be the Dragon Reborn. This is already a change from The Wheel of Time books where there are only three possibilities, none of which are Nynaeve. Expanding the roster of candidates lays the groundwork for a more extensive and intriguing mystery, but it ended up being wasted due to the show failing to deliver an exciting payoff.
Wheel of Time needed a stronger commitment to the Dragon Reborn mystery, especially when it has so many options. The scenes with Zoë Robbins' Nynaeve channeling the One Power are great Dragon Reborn fakeout twists, and other characters could have had similar highlights had the show leaned into its mystery premise more. Egwene al'Vere (Madeleine Madden), Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford), and Mat Cauthon (Barney Harris) each had small moments of distinction, but none to rival Nynaeve's show accomplishments. Josha Stradowski's Rand al'Thor as the true Dragon Reborn should have been shown channeling in line with the False Dragon, Logain Ablar (Álvaro Morte).
While each of the possible Dragons were shown to have potential with the One Power in one way or another, the mystery and the season overall ended just as the characters were coming into their own. Mat's journey is cut short due to Barney Harris' unexplained exit from the show and the character doesn't appear in the final two episodes after refusing to enter the Ways with Moraine and company. Egwene healing Nynaeve after their defense of Tarwin's Gap, another change from the book original to the Wheel of Time show, and Perrin facing off against the Whitecloak Eamon Valda (Abdul Salis) are both instances of Wheel of Time just beginning to make viewers question who the real Dragon Reborn is. However, the mystery is rather short-lived, as these events happen toward the latter half of the season.
Logain's channeling of the One Power is shown through the manifestation of the tainted saidin, showing viewers the similarities and differences between male and female channelers. Rand receives no visible indications while channeling, leading to an inconsistency between male channelers. Rand should have been shown channeling just as Logain was, but the show masked how Rand channeled to break down the ironwood door at the Darkfriend's inn and all the other times he channeled, in favor of doing of a dramatic reveal of the Dragon Reborn's true identity in Wheel of Time that fell flat because of the half-hearted mystery supporting it.
Despite Wheel of Time failing its Dragon Reborn mystery, the first season still successfully adapted Robert Jordan's books for familiar readers and casual audiences alike. The second season of the Amazon Prime series was greenlit months before the first season even aired, so the show will have many more chances to develop its characters and do them justice. The success of the first season shows that any changes made in live action adaptations should be aligned with the source material.
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