The meaning behind the title of Amazon's fantasy series The Wheel of Time can be found in the show's popular source material. Based on the best-selling books by Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time involves extensive lore and world-building. This explains the initially cryptic-sounding title and provides clues as to how the series will unfold.
The series will follow Rosamund Pike's Moiraine Damodred, a member of the Aes Sedai, The Wheel of Time's magical order comprised of women who can channel the One Power. Moiraine is searching for the prophesized Dragon Reborn, a man who can channel the One Power and stop the Dark One from breaking the world once again. Moiraine will search for the Dragon Reborn in Emond's Field, a small village in the Two Rivers, where she will cross paths with Rand, Perrin, Mat, Egwene, and Nynaeve, all pivotal figures in the events of the series. One of them is the Dragon Reborn and only one of them will be able to fulfill the prophecy that Moiraine hopes to bring to fruition. In the novels and the show, Moiraine can be heard saying, "The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills," and this only hints at the meaning behind The Wheel of Time.
The Wheel of Time takes place in the Third Age and the prophesized Dragon Reborn is part of an ever-repeating cycle brought about by this Wheel. The Wheel was crafted by the Creator and its energy comes from the True Source, saidar and saidin, the female and male halves of the One Power, respectively. As the Wheel turns, ages come and go, but one thing stays consistent - the presence of the Dark One and the prophesized Dragon Reborn, who comes back to fight against the evil forces in the hopes of preserving the World of the Wheel as it exists.
The way time works in The Wheel of Time makes it different from other fantasy shows in that the events of the series take place simultaneously in the distant past and the distant future, with no clear distinction of how long a turn of the Wheel lasts. Technically, the story being told in The Wheel of Time has happened many times before and will happen again in the future and this is the Pattern that the Wheel weaves. Certain people, dubbed Ta'veren, have the ability to influence the Wheel's weaving of the great Pattern, with mixed results.
Despite this playing with time, The Wheel of Time is firmly set within a fantasy world that will be familiar to those who love the genre. Still, the unique way in which the World of the Wheel operates sets the series apart from its counterparts. With such dense lore behind it, it's unclear how much The Wheel of Time will dive into the minutia of the Wheel, but this basic understanding of time in the series is important in both understanding the Dragon Reborn prophecy and the urgency with which Moiraine operates.