This article contains spoilers for Wheel of Time episode 8.
The first season of Amazon's Wheel of Time has come to an end, and radically rewritten Robert Jordan's novel The Eye of the World in the process. In 1984, celebrated fantasy author Robert Jordan approached publisher Tor Books with a proposed trilogy he called Wheel of Time. Tor's editors knew Jordan tended to write long, and so instead they commissioned him for a series of six novels. In the end, the series spanned no less than 14 novels (plus one prequel), and it was only finished by Jordan's fellow writer Brandon Sanderson after the original author sadly died in 2007.
Many fans had assumed it would be impossible to create a live-action Wheel of Time. The success of Game of Thrones changed that, however, because it proved there was a real demand for long-form, high-budget fantasy drama. With Game of Thrones now at an end, networks, studios and streaming services are competing to find the next hit within that market. And so Amazon green-lit Wheel of Time, with the first season now complete and the second already in production. Reception has been mixed; there's been a backlash from some lovers of the books, while others have been rather more understanding that content has to change shape when it's being translated from one medium to another.
Adaptations are best viewed placed on a spectrum. At the one extreme there are adaptations that perfectly reproduce the source material - think Zack Snyder's Watchmen as the classic example. At the other are adaptations that honor the themes and concepts, but deviate from the details. Wheel of Time sits closer towards the thematic and conceptual end of the scale, with its characters aged up, its magic visually different to the One Power Jordan imagined, and its plot rushing through the narrative at speed. But Wheel of Time episode 8 is the ultimate example of a story that has changed shape considerably, to the extent that the end of Wheel of Time season 1 is almost unrecognizable.
The Eye of the World Has Been Changed Completely
The changes begin with the Eye of the World itself - the mystical location that gave Robert Jordan's first Wheel of Time novel its title. In the books, the Eye of the World is essentially a pool of pure saidin, the male half of the One Power. It was created after the Dark One corrupted saidin, with the intention it could be found by the Dragon Reborn ahead of the Last Battle. He could use this pure, untainted saidin, and thus avoid the Madness that affects male Channelers. But Amazon's TV series has taken a completely different approach; here, the Eye of the World was the site of the final battle between Lews Therin Telamon, the last Dragon, and the Dark One. Moiraine took Rand al'Thor there because she believed she could preempt this cycle's Last Battle, hoping Rand could tap into the One Power and defeat the Dark One at the Eye of the World once again.
This dramatic change naturally affects everything else that happens in Wheel of Time season 1, episode 8. In the Amazon series, Moiraine believes anyone who gets between the Dark One and the Dragon Reborn is destined to die. This leads her to leave Lan and the rest of the Emond's Field Five outside the Blight. She only accompanies Rand herself because she wants to be on hand in case he falls to the Dark One, and she planned to kill him should that happen. In contrast, in Robert Jordan's book The Eye of the World Moiraine took the whole group to battle against the Dark One, hoping the combination of three ta'veren and the vast pool of saidin would be enough to change the Pattern. There, they found themselves in a battle involving three major characters cut from Amazon's Wheel of Time, including two members of the Forsaken - the Dark One's closest allies.
How the Battle of Tarwin's Gap Ended
The Battle of Tarwin's Gap played out differently in Robert Jordan's books as well. There, Rand claimed the power of the pool of saidin at the Eye of the World and secured victory against the armies of the Dark One, although King Easar took the credit. As Lord Agelmar explained it, "The Halfmen and their Trollocs were destroyed to the last, but we barely fought. A miracle, my men call it. The earth swallowed them; the mountains buried them. Only a few Draghkar were left, too frightened to do else but fly north as fast as they could."
No such miracle took place in Amazon's Wheel of Time, with the defenders of Tarwin's Gap all but slaughtered and the Dark One's forces advancing on Fal Dara. They were intercepted by all the Channelers from the city, including Egwene and Nynaeve, whose power drove a lightning storm upon the Trollocs and obliterated them. Nynaeve paid a fearful price for this, her body almost consumed by the One Power, but she was resurrected by Egwene - an arc that never happened in the book.
It's easy to see why this particular change was made. The decision to split the party up naturally meant the rest of the Emond's Field group needed something to do as well, and logically it makes sense to throw them into the Battle of Tarwin's Gap. This may also signify further changes down the road, however, because it is still possible the Dragon is not a single person in this cycle; Egwene and Nynaeve seem remarkably powerful, more so than any other Aes Sedai.
Moiraine Is Stripped Of The One Power
Moiraine truly shines in Robert Jordan's The Eye of the World, demonstrating her own power as she too wages war against the Dark One and his forces. In contrast, in Amazon's Wheel of Time Moiraine is simply an observer - stripped of the One Power and apparently stilled. Speaking to Decider, showrunner Rafe Judkins admitted this storytelling decision is likely to be a controversial one - but insisted it has a purpose. "I think this will be one thing that has book fans talking a lot and thinking about..." he explained. "And a lot of it is to give this character more to do [in season 2].In Book 2 she really is in just one chapter, and she’s so limited in what she does." The writers apparently studied the single chapter in book 2, and extrapolated an entire character arc out of it. Moiraine losing the One Power is setup for that arc.
The Darkfriends Win A Terrible Victory - And Kill A Popular Character
Padan Fain makes his much-anticipated return in Wheel of Time season 1, episode 8, successfully stealing the Horn of Valere, a precious item that can be used to summon the heroes of old at the Last Battle. Again, this runs very differently to Robert Jordan's novels, where Padan Fain was actually exposed and captured. The Horn of Valere was found secreted at the Eye of the World, and thus wound up in the hands of the heroes. But the most striking change in this arc is seen when Padan Fain and his Darkfriends kill the Ogier, Loial, who plays a major role in Jordan's entire series. Hopefully Wheel of Time will find a way to reverse this, given it has already resurrected Nynaeve.
Wheel of Time season 1 is streaming on Amazon Prime.