How Did Season Two Of 'The Wheel Of Time' Live Up To The Source Material?

TV & Film

Nov 11

Season two of Amazon Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time, adapted from Robert Jordan’s 14 book epic, has wrapped and in general was a step above the first season. Showrunner, Rafe Judkins, said he wanted to combine books two and three into season two so that he could get through book four in season three.

If you know anything about Jordan’s books, they are long, dense, and incredibly detailed. Adapting one of those into an eight episode television season is a feat in itself, so to pack two of them into one had to be incredibly difficult. Add to that the typical fantasy fan base being incredibly judgmental about their favorite books’ adaptation into film, and there’s a lot of pressure to deliver something that honors the source material.

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So how did Judkins do? On the whole, season two was well done, and the nature of book two and three lent themselves to a clever adaptation of the two into one season.

The overall plot of books two and three involve Rand growing into and accepting his destiny as the Dragon Reborn. In book two, The Great Hunt, he has trouble controlling his power and ends up meeting the mysterious woman Selene, and while separated from his friends for a time in an alternate realm, everyone ends up at Falme to get back the Horn of Valere and take on the Seanchan. The Seanchan are an invading force of people from across the ocean, descendent from the army of one of the world’s greatest heroes, Artur Hawkwing.

In book three, The Dragon Reborn, Rand spends much of it on his own, traveling east from Falme to Tear. His friends set off to follow him. Mat gets cured of his connection to the dagger and starts to exhibit signs of his past lives coming back to him. Everyone is moving toward Tear, the home of a famous fortress called the Stone of Tear. At the same time, Aiel warriors from the Aiel Waste are also heading to Tear, in search of their version of a messiah. Everything comes to a head in Tear, where Rand confronts Ishamael, but only manages to defeat him when Moiraine kills him. Rand is wounded in the side with a wound that will never heal, and he takes a legendary sword, Callandor. The Aiel see him do this and according to prophecy, that seals Rand as the Dragon Reborn.

Rafe Judkins takes elements of book three and sprinkles them throughout season two. Rand spends much of the season on his own, but falling in love with Selene. Selene rightly turns out to be Lanfear of the Forsaken, the closest and most powerful followers of the Dark One. The Aiel also show up as well, searching for the Car’a’carn. Mat, after not following his friends through the Way Gate in season one, is seen to have been brought to Tar Valon and is cured of his attachment to the dagger. One of the closest plot lines to the books is Egwene and Nynaeve going to the White Tower to train and meeting Elayne Trakand, the heir to the Kingdom of Andor. Of course, everyone ending up at Falme and taking on the Seanchan lines up with the books as well. Mat using the Horn of Valere to defeat the Seanchan was on point, and one of the best scenes in the season. Nynaeve’s struggle with accessing the One Power was on point as well.

But, as with any adaptation, there are alterations necessary to adapt for television, and when you’re combining two massive books into one season, even more so. Perrin, for example, meets Elyas Machera, who can talk to wolves like Perrin, while on the Hunt, when he actually meets Perrin in book one. He also notably does not meet Faile, a noblewoman looking to join the Hunt. The two will eventually marry. It’s understandable why she is not in the season, as the route Perrin takes with the rest of the Hunt didn’t serve her introduction. Perhaps she will be introduced in another season.

Mat’s time at Tar Valon, as happens in book three, is different as well. No one knows he’s there except Liandrin, who is his jailer, and keeping an eye on him to make sure he’s rid of his attachment. Mat’s attempt to escape introduces him to Min Farshaw, and together they leave. When he gets to Falme, he’s captured by the Seanchan, under the guidance of Ishamael. This is also a deviation from the books, as it’s a different Forsaken that guides the Seanchan. While captured, he is tempted with the dagger again, but he overcomes it by attaching it to a quarterstaff (his weapon of choice in the books) without touching it and escapes. While he does start to demonstrate his incredible skill with the staff, holding on to the dagger is different.

One of the most interesting developments is Moiraine’s separation from the One Power. It leads to two of the strongest character development arcs of the season. Lan loses his bond to her and goes on a journey of self discovery, while Moiraine tries to do the same while seeing if she can do the same as she did before but without her power. It could be Rafe’s take on Moiraine’s death later on in the books, but that remains to be seen as the series develops. Rafe also keeps Logain in the show by having him and Rand talk, and then teach Rand how to see male One Power threads. This allows Rand to break the shield that is keeping Moiraine’s power hidden. It was a good choice and plot repurposing, and hints at Rand and Logain’s relationship that develops later in the books as Rand learns more about his power.

Adaptation isn’t easy, especially when you are trying to adapt one of the longest and densest fantasy novel series of all time. Rafe Judkins has certainly demonstrated his ability to do so, and the remaining seasons should be only an improvement. Both seasons are now streaming on Prime Video.

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