a needlessly thorough review of the wheel of time (2021)

hello medium! after a very long hiatus, i am back at it again with another article. apologies for the break, i had a truly hellish 2021, which interfered with my ability to write these more longform pieces. and since i’ve basically decided that there will be absolutely no theme to this page, i thought it would be a perfect platform to dump my review of amazon’s new wheel of time show. if you knew me when i was in middle school, you probably remember me talking about the wheel of time book series all the time, because i apparently cannot like things in a chill way. these novels were definitely a commitment-the series spanned 14 books and outlived its creator, robert jordan. (fantasy giant brandon sanderson wrote the last 3 books, using jordan’s notes as a guide.) so when i saw that amazon was making a tv adaptation, i of course had to see if it lived up to thirteen-year-old-me’s exacting standards. so without further ado, here are my complete thoughts on this project.

*Spoilers for The Wheel of Time S1and the book series to follow.*

The Good:

• Rosamund Pike as Moiraine: Moiraine is a wonderful character, one of my all-time favorites, in fact, and I was wondering who possibly had the range to play her. She is at turns selfless and manipulative, ruthlessly competent but with a heart of gold, which becomes more evident as the series progresses. I honestly thought Rosamund Pike was an odd choice for this role, but she truly shines as Moiraine. We get to see the Aes Sedai in all of her complexity, and I like how she is able to lean into some of the darker aspects of Moiraine’s motivations. Unlike most traditional fantasy mentors (Gandalf comes to mind), Moiraine is quite flawed and does a lot of questionable things in the service of the greater good, which is part of what makes her such a compelling character. I was worried a TV adaptation might shy away from this in favor of a more streamlined good vs. evil story. However, I thought this was handled very well in the show, which is owed in no small part to Pike’s acting. In many ways she was allowed to be the main character of this season, which I really, truly loved. (No disrespect to the Two Rivers kids, but they are just not nearly as interesting).
• Representation: The Wheel of Time was written to span over an entire world, so people of color definitely always existed in Jordan’s universe. (The Sea Folk, people of Arad Doman, and the Seanchan are all described as being dark-skinned.) Plus, the series had a large number of powerful male and female characters, as well as a number of queer characters (this was expounded upon especially in Sanderson’s contribution), so it has never suffered from a lack of diversity. However, I had sort of expected that all of the main cast would be white, so it was a pleasant surprise to see our two main female characters (Nynaeve and Egwene) as well as Perrin, Lan, and Siuan being cast as nonwhite. Epic fantasy often suffers from a lack of diversity, where characters being described as “tan” is often translated to “brunette and white”. I’m so, so glad this series wasn’t given the Avatar treatment.
• Cinematography: Seriously, the locations for this series were AMAZING. Almost every shot was a literal work of art. I was worried that this series would look cheap, which would be a shame because oh my god, the worldbuilding that Jordan does is so intricate. Particular favorites of mine would be the scene from the Age of Legends with Lews Therin Telamon, Shienar, and Tar Valon, as well as all the locations where Perrin and Egwene travel to when they get split up from the group.
• Costume Design: I love some of these costumes so much it hurts. The uniforms of the Children of the Light, the Tinkers’ clothes, the outfits of Shienarin nobility, Siuan’s Amyrlin robes…I would wear in a HEARTBEAT if they were socially appropriate. They are really nice details that bring out the differences between cultures and social classes. Clothes and their meanings are a big motif in the series, so I’m excited to see what new Randland looks we get in season 2.
• Trollocs and Fades and Violence (oh my!): Let’s be honest, Trollocs are discount orcs, and Fades are pseudo-Dark Riders. It’s hard to make old character concepts interesting, but again, the design department on this series is doing the most. I love the horns on the Trollocs, as well as the goat hooves, and the Fades are genuinely kind of terrifying. Also, I appreciate how this series did not shy away from some truly brutal violence. While the books are not particularly gory, you always worry about getting high fantasy like this to be wildly sanitized, as it’s often seen as a “children’s” kind of entertainment. The violence in this, by the way, is at or around the same level as Netflix’s The Witcher (which you would probably also enjoy if you like this series), so do with that what you will. Also, I also weirdly was a fan of seeing the different “weaves” of the One Power-the CGI was better than I imagined it would be.
• The Warder/Aes Sedai relationship (specifically, Moiraine and Lan): Aes Sedai are the all-female order of magic users (called “channelers” in this world), and are mostly accompanied by non-magical, male, warrior companions called Warders. The Aes Sedai/Warder relationship is a bond created by the One Power, which allows the other to feel each other’s thoughts and feelings. Deeper than a friendship, but not necessarily a romantic relationship, this is one of the more interesting concepts in the series, and I was deeply, deeply concerned that the show would not be able to do it justice. We are introduced to this companionship through Moiraine and Lan, who are each other’s greatest strength and are fiercely devoted to each other, but are not “together” in any romantic sense. (I have to say I was very, very worried when I saw them get in that bathtub together, but it turns out this was a needless fear.) This relationship is further explored in one of my favorite episodes, “Blood Calls Blood” (the fifth of the season). After a battle where one of the Aes Sedai dies, her Warder goes into a deep depression caused by the severing of this bond. The show absolutely nailed this relationship, and I hope they continue to do so.
• Lan X Nynaeve: Okay, I’ll admit it. I don’t like Nynaeve very much, but I really like Lan, so the Lan/Nynaeve relationship is one that I’ve always been partial to. It is truly a partnership of equals and mutual fascination, further complicated by the fact that he is Moiraine’s Warder and so his chief duty will always be to her. And also, “I will hate the man you choose because he is not me, and love him if he makes you smile?” I mean, come on. I think Jordan is pretty awful at relationship build-up, but this one is really sweet and complex, and it’s done really well in the show.
• Rand X Egwene (jk…unless??): I hate Rand and Egwene together, as do much of the enlightened world, BUT that scene at the end where Rand knew that the dream sequence was false because the Egwene he knew would never give up on her dreams of becoming an Aes Sedai? *chef’s kiss* Adorable.
• Siuan X Moiraine: The Aes Sedai are very queer, and yes, I will die on this hill. This was made canon when Robert Jordan introduced the concept of “pillow friends” in the prequel novella New Spring. Basically, because the Tower is a woman-only space, when novices and Accepted are training to be Aes Sedai, it is not uncommon for them to get into very intense sexual relationships with each other. To quote Jordan, “Pillow friends are not just good friends. Oh, they are that, too, but they also get hot and sweaty together and muss up the sheets something fierce.” Because this series was written by a straight guy in the ’80s and ’90s, this essentially is all the overt conformation of queerness we get out of the series, but the series is filled with lots of little don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it hints that yes, the ladies are very bisexual. And who were the original pillow friends? Moiraine and Siuan Sanche (the Amyrlin Seat, the leader of the Aes Sedai). We never really get to see this element of their dynamic in the main series, but in a truly delightful twist a la The Priory of the Orange Tree, we learn that Siuan and Moiraine have continued their just-gals-being-pals relationship into adulthood. And yes, it’s as epic as my gay little thirteen-year-old heart ever could have desired. Cue the fireworks (and the fanfiction-I will be writing a fic, mark my words). I cannot wait to see where this goes.

Also, this:

I’m OBSESSED.

• No weird gender dynamics (yet): The Wheel of Time was a fairly progressive series in many ways, but one of the ways that it really showed its age was the truly strange dynamics between Men (TM) and Women (TM). Think the Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus trope, but dialed up to eleven. Both male and female characters seem to lose all common sense when interacting with people of the opposite sex, and are frequently seen to exclaim “Men!” or “Women!” I am pleased to announce that this has not yet made an appearance in the TV show, as it should. Some things really don’t need to be adapted faithfully.

Also peep women being allowed to fight in war at Fal Dara (not just with the One Power) which is something that Jordan and Rand take issue with in the books.

Lady Amalisa fights alongside her brother Lord Agelmar in the season finale.

• “Call me Child Valda”: Okay, this is very specific, and I doubt anyone else feels this way about this character, but I need to say it-I absolutely loved that one Child of the Light (Eamon Valda?) who kidnaps Perrin and Egwene. The Children of the Light are an organization that complicates the good-versus-evil dynamic present in The Wheel of Time-obsessed with serving good, but with a fanatical hatred for people who channel the One Power. Abdul Salis absolutely sold the shit out of this character, and he deserves all the props for it. (I love a good queer-coded villain, what can I say?) Also, when he said “Call me Child Valda,” he contributed to at least a month’s worth of jokes between me and my college roommate. Thank you for your service, sir.

The Bad

• What’s the Deal with Male Channelers?: If you’ve never read any Wheel of Time, I feel like you were probably confused by pretty much all of the content about male channelers, so let me explain. In the Age of Legends, the Aes Sedai were an organization of both male and female channelers. Aes Sedai derive their power from this force called the True Source, which is split into a male half (saidin) and a female half (saidar). (This series is very reliant on the gender binary; I think non-binary Aes Sedai would probably snap the Wheel of Time in half.) The previous Dragon (Lews Therin Telamon) was a super-powerful male channeler, who in a moment of extreme hubris, tried to destroy the Dark One (our big bad evil force) with only other male channelers. This allowed the Dark One to touch saidin, tainting it, which led all of the male channelers to go insane, including Lews Therin, who ended up murdering his entire family and killing himself. As a result, men who can channel in Rand’s time go insane unless they are “gentled” (have their power removed) by the Aes Sedai. That’s also one of the reasons that Moiraine cannot teach Rand how to channel-she derives her power from a different source than him and cannot even see his “weaves” as he uses the Power. This is just not well explained in the show at all, especially when Logain (a man who believes himself to be the Dragon Reborn) is introduced. The differences between male and female channeling make the show a lot more comprehensible and explain why being the Dragon Reborn is such a burden.
• The Dragon Reborn?: Which brings me to my biggest gripe with the show-the Dragon himself. We’re told at the beginning of the show that Moiraine believes any of the five Two Rivers kids could be the Dragon, and is trying to determine which of them it is. This does add an element of suspense to the story, but it fundamentally does not work with the setup of the world. The main issue with this is that the Dragon kind of has to be a male channeler. The prophecies of the Dragon, which Moiraine actually heard firsthand, spoke of a man, so it does not really make sense for her to tell Egwene and Nynaeve that they, too, could be the Dragon. Also, the introduction of Logain and the knowledge that there are other false Dragons, all of whom are male, and all who have gone insane, is further evidence that a female channeler cannot be the Dragon. The women of WOT are very powerful, but the Dragon has to be a man so he can restore order to the balance of saidin and saidar.
• Acting: With the exception of Pike as Moiraine, much of the acting from the main cast fell fairly flat. I think I’ll probably chalk this up to a lack of knowledge of these characters at this point, and the fact that they don’t have a whole lot to work with. Barney Harris (Mat) had a few bright moments, but he is getting recast for the second season. However, I feel that the acting can be improved in seasons to come, as the actors grow more comfortable in their roles.
• Costume Design: I know I had this as a good point, but there are a couple costumes that I am simply not a fan of. I know the Two Rivers kids are supposed to be simple farmers, but their outfits are truly revolting. Additionally, the Aes Sedai outfits (except Siuan’s) are much more militaristic than I would have liked, when actually, Aes Sedai are more likely to dress like ordinary women. Moiraine comes from a royal family, and her outfits are always described as being expensive and far more femme, while an Aes Sedai from a more humble background like Siuan may favor simpler, more practical clothes. The costume design department missed out on an opportunity to show individual Aes Sedai personalities-the pseudo-uniforms by Ajah are very weird and serve to dampen their individuality.
• Min: Min is introduced in Fal Dara, rather than Baerlon, which I’ll forgive for the sake of brevity. However, I do have real issue with Min’s viewings. She sees images, NOT the future, so she wouldn’t really be able to tell them what’s going to happen next unless she interprets the images correctly. And while some of her viewings are easy to interpret, others are much more abstract. Basically, Moiraine asking Min which one of the kids is the Dragon is…dumb.
• Strength in the Power: This is mostly an issue with Nynaeve, to be honest, but I think it speaks to a lack of understanding of how strength in the One Power works. At least in the novels, Nynaeve in particular struggles signficantly with opening herself up to saidar in order to channel unless she is very angry or under extreme stress. So even though she is more powerful than Egwene, she has a much harder time learning because she is more stubborn and has a harder time with change. In the show, Nynaeve is able to channel with no difficulty, and she and Egwene are easily able to join Lady Amalisa’s channeling circle, a fairly advanced technique in the One Power. It also does not make sense that Lady Amalisa, who is Tower-trained but does not possess much natural ability, would be able to form a circle. Additionally, raw strength in the Power does not mean much without proper training. Nynaeve and Egwene, though definitely stronger than Siuan, are not able to best her at first because of her superior training. This series seems to be going in the “innate ability beats skill and practice” in the Power direction, which is a shame.
• Perrin: Oh boy. Perrin’s arc was by far the weakest out of everyone’s. At the beginning of the series, we learn that Perrin is married to a woman (Laila) who he accidentally kills in the heat of the moment when the Trollocs attack Emond’s Field. (This character does not exist in the books.) We also sort of know that Perrin has a special skill involving wolves, but unlike in The Eye of the World (the first WOT novel), we do not get introduced to Elyas, who is sort of a mentor figure for him who helps him figure out his wolf powers. Additionally, he and Egwene fall in with the Tinkers (a traveling people analogous to the Romani) and he sort of becomes fascinated by the “Way of the Leaf,” their pacifist philosophy. This is interesting in the books, because Perrin has a really strong negative reaction to the idea that no violence is ever necessary, but Perrin in the show is traumatized by the accidental murder of his wife, so is slighly more tolerant of it. He ends the series by sort of staring blankly at all the corpses Padan Fain has left behind after making no move to stop him (because the Way of the Leaf, maybe? It’s very unclear.) And oh, let’s not forget to mention that he may have been cheating on his wife? And that Rand thinks that he and Egwene had a thing (when their dynamic is strictly platonic in the books)? This character just felt all over the place, and I hope he gets more fully realized in the second season.
• Mat: Poor Mat. Far from being the happy-go-lucky trickster that he is the books, this Mat is the wise-beyond-his-years guardian of his younger sisters, protecting them from the incompetence of their truly awful parents. Mat then proceeds to do the (ONE) thing he was asked not to do in Shadar Logoth and pick up the cursed dagger, which turns him into a very sick, possessed, asshole. Now, this would make some sense if show!Mat was more like book!Mat, who skews a little immature and impulsive. But show!Mat feels more competent and more mature than his book counterpart, which makes the dagger pick-up feel more out of character. Additionally, the fact that Mat is simply abandoned at the Waygate and only makes a brief appearance in the last episode didn’t feel quite fitting of an end for him. He’s never been my favorite, but he is one of the three main characters, and it sort of felt like after Harris quit the show, no one was quite sure what to do with Mat’s character. Hopefully, this is rectified in the second season.
• Loial: Is Loial a knockoff Ent? Yes. But did Loial deserve to look like that? No, he did not.
• Moiraine getting stilled?: God, this pissed me off. I hate “lost-your-powers-at-the-end-of-big-battle” as a trope. This also does not happen at any point in the series. I am praying that this is a temporary, shock-based reaction to the trauma at the Eye of the World, but otherwise, this is truly idiotic.

Predictions/Things to get excited about:

• The Seanchan: At the end of the final episode of the season, we see a huge fleet of ships, which appears to be powered by women who can channel. Those women look to be damane from the Seanchan empire, so I think we can safely surmise that the Seanchan will play a key role in next season. The Seanchan are very interesting, and their attitude towards women who can channel is pretty awful, so I’m excited to see how this goes. Also (and this is way down the line) Tuon, Mat’s eventual girlfriend, is Seanchan and is genuinely hilarious.
• The Caemlyn Crew: The story zig-zagged and completely missed Caemlyn, the capital of Andor, the queendom in which the Two Rivers is located. There is a small, but important subplot in The Eye of the World where Rand is introduced to Elayne (the princess), Morgase (her mother, the queen), Gawyn (her brother), Galad (her half-brother, who is extremely irritating), and Elaida (her mother’s creepy Aes Sedai advisor). This does little to advance the main story other than introduce us to these characters, all who play key roles in the story later on. Since we did not meet any of them in the story this time, I think it’s safe to say that Elayne at least will make an appearance, as she’s a pretty important character.
• Tel’aran’rhiod: The World of Dreams has been hinted at in this series, with many of our characters having very vivid, fantastical dreams. Egwene in particular becomes very gifted at dreamwalking, and Perrin as well. I predict that one, if not both of them, will definitely explore this talent next season. And if the sequences at the Eye of the World are any indication, they’ll probably be plenty disturbing.
• Thom Merrilin: We have definitely not seen the last of the gleeman. He’s a fairly important character, and I predict he will return, probably with a bone to pick with Moiraine, given his bias against Aes Sedai. (Though, after watching his nephew go mad because of them, who can really blame him?)
• Padan Fain: Everyone’s least favorite peddler will definitely be returning. In the books he becomes rabidly obsessed with Rand, and tracks him constantly. Honestly can’t wait for this subplot.
• Rand’s dreams and Lews Therin: As Rand uses more of the One Power, he descends further into madness. He is also able to tap into the consciousness of Lews Therin, the last man to call himself Dragon. Rand in later books shares memories with Lews Therin and even speaks as Lews Therin. In the second season, I think it’s likely that Rand will be able to have more of a bond with Lews Therin, even if he resists using the Power.
• The Horn of Valere: Given that the Horn has been found, I think it will likely play a role in the coming season. Because Mat, not Rand, is actually the person who uses it at the Last Battle, I feel like it will play some sort of role in Mat’s coming arc.
• The Forsaken: We haven’t quite gotten to know the Forsaken (the Aes Sedai who went over to the Shadow in the Age of Legends) but much of the subsequent books were devoted to hunting them down, as they have begun to escape from the Dark One’s prison. Rand currently believes he killed the Dark One, but he probably actually killed Ishamael (the most powerful of the Forsaken). The Forsaken have really interesting dynamics, both with each other and with Lews Therin/Rand, and so I’m excited to see what is done with them in the show. (My favorite is Sermirhage, because I am a neuroscience major. For legal reasons, this a joke.)
• Siuan and Moiraine: It pains me to say this, but I think it’s unlikely Siuan and Moiraine will meet again, at least if all goes well. We know that a prophecy exists that the Amyrlin will betray Moiraine. I frankly don’t think Siuan will betray Moiraine, but I do think a potential route for the next season could be the unrest within the Tower, which in the book ends with Siuan and Leane (who is stupid hot in this by the way) getting stilled and Elaida taking over as Amyrlin. Elaida is the worst, so I could definitely see her doing this, but we’ll see.
• Aiel: We saw Rand’s birth on the slopes of Dragonmount to an Aiel woman (which was, for lack of a better word, awesome) in this season. The Aiel are genuinely fascinating, but I don’t think we’ll see them next season, partly because Aiel culture is so interesting it probably deserves a whole season to itself. However, Rand will likely learn he is not the biological son of Tam al’Thor.
• Min: When we last saw Min, she was leaving Fal Dara with the other refugees. But given the usefulness of Min’s viewings, I think she’ll definitely be back. I think she’ll probably tell Rand about how he’s not actually going to end up with Egwene and will instead end up with his harem of three beautiful women. (Though whether she’ll share that she’s one of the women is iffy.)
• Faile: Perrin needs a break, to be completely honest. He’s had a terrible season, and what better way to make him feel better than to introduce his love interest? Faile is great, and such a strong character-I could definitely see her showing up in the next season.
• Training in the Tower: We know that Egwene is going to the White Tower to learn to be an Aes Sedai. The real (and very out of character) surprise was Nynaeve telling Lan she wanted to do the same. They’ll definitely make the journey next season, where they’ll probably meet Elayne.
• Pacing: The Wheel of Time is so long that it’s really anyone’s guess how they’ll pace the next season(s). My prediction is that like the last season, this next one will roughly or so cover the events of the second book in the series (The Great Hunt). However, it’s likely that the events of the notoriously difficult-to-get-through “slog books” in the series (books 6/7–10) will be combined into seasons.