Warning: This article contains spoilers for Wheel of Time episode 6, and will also reveal the identity of the Dragon Reborn in the Wheel of Time books.
A conversation between Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike) and Siuan Sanche (Sophie Okonedo) in Wheel of Time episode 6 hints at a massive change to the Dragon Reborn and the character’s identity. In Robert Jordan’s books, this character eventually stood revealed as Rand al’Thor. While the show has been expected to follow the same path, episode 6 just teased a major deviation from the source material.
Wheel of Time already made a significant change to the Dragon Reborn prophecy when it introduced Egwene (Madeleine Madden) and Nynaeve (Zoë Robins) as candidates. In the original books, Moiraine’s primary suspects were Rand, Mat Cauthon, and Perrin Aybara. The difference can be attributed to the show’s explanation that the Dragon can be reincarnated as a man or a woman. In the books, there was no mystery about the Dragon Reborn’s gender. Since the original Dragon (Lews Therin Telamon) was a man, it was generally understood that he would be male in his next life as well. Just the possibility alone of Egwene or Nynaeve being the Dragon Reborn in Amazon’s Wheel of Time show came as a surprise.
Wheel of Time episode 6 hinted at an even bigger change, and one that could alter the course of the entire story. When talking with Siuan about her confusion over the Dragon Reborn’s identity, she mentioned a gleeman’s story about “a many-headed Dragon”. Siuan, noting that the Dragon was only one man, asked “why would the Wheel split the Dragon’s soul into many?” Though they have no proof, there’s suddenly a concern that all five of Moiraine’s candidates could be the Dragon Reborn. This was never on the table in the books, but Wheel of Time is now suggesting that this outcome is possible.
If Moiraine is right, it would allow Wheel of Time to pick multiple characters to fill its Dragon Reborn role, rather than just Rand (Josha Stradowski). The idea of it being Nynaeve is still unlikely because of her age, but if Moiraine’s theory is correct, the Dragon Reborn could be Rand and perhaps Egwene. Wheel of Time has dropped big hints at Rand being the subject of the Dragon Reborn prophecy, but if the show follows through on this setup, viewers may be in store for another huge twist.
While there’s no denying that this plan would completely change Jordan’s Wheel of Time story, it would be consistent with the show’s decision to focus less on Rand, who was the books’ clear protagonist. That being said, this approach to the prophecy would be highly controversial. It would diminish his importance, and open up all sorts of other changes as well, especially since so much of the books is built around Rand being the Dragon Reborn. Of course, it’s important to note that nothing has been confirmed as of yet. Similar to how Wheel of Time has separately teased Dragon Reborn reveals for Nynaeve and Mat, this could be just another misdirect.