All the book changes in the first three episodes of The Wheel of Time

Episode 3: “A Place of Safety”

Healing Herbs

In the show: At the end of Episode 2, it’s shown that Nynaeve is alive and well, and has been tracking Lan and Moiraine. After a heated engagement between Lan and Nynaeve, she agrees to help Moiraine — who was wounded during the attack on Emond’s Field and fading fast — and begins collecting ingredients to make a poultice, which should help restore Moiraine’s strength so she can survive long enough to reach another Aes Sedai.

In the books: After the events of Shadar Logoth, Nynaeve tracks Moiraine and Lan to a clearing where Moiraine and Lan are speaking about the attacking Trollocs. Hidden behind a tree, Nynaeve listens for a bit longer before Moiraine senses her and tells Nynaeve to come out. Lan, shocked that he’s been taken unaware, whirls around drawing his sword, to Nynaeve’s satisfaction.

Warder Bond

In the show: When Nynaeve treats Moiraine’s wound, she notices that Lan feels the pain thanks to the bond between Aes Sedai and Warder.

In the books: The Aes Sedai-Warder bond gives warders heightened abilities. They can go without food and water, sense emotional and physical danger or harm, and take wounds that would kill ordinary men. If an Aes Sedai or warder dies, the other will most likely go insane with grief and vengeance.

Tinkers

In the show: Herded towards the Tinkers by wolves, Egwene and Perrin meet Raen, Ila, and Aram of the Tuatha’an, a nomadic people traveling the world by carriage. Immediately, the two are asked if they know the song, which is an important greeting ritual for the Tinkers.

"“Do you know the song?” “Your welcome warms our spirit as your fire warms the flesh, but we do not know the song.”"

The Tuatha’an stand out by their colorful wagons and clothes. Perrin and Egwene are welcomed to join them as they travel.

In the books: After splitting from the rest of the group after fleeing Shadar Logoth, Egwene and Perrin meet a man named Elyas who does not appear on the show. They trek through the wilderness as wolves follow them. Eventually, they find themselves in a Tinker camp, full of music, dancing, and colorful clothes and wagons.

Egwene and Perrin meet Raen, the Seeker, his wife Ila and their grandson Aram. Among the Traveling People, they learn about the pacifist philosophy known as the Way of the Leaf and their ultimate goal of finding the Song. It is the main focus of Tuatha’an life and philosophy. They believe that when they finally find the song, peace and prosperity will return and things will be as they were in days of legend.

Aiel

In the show: After fleeing Shadar Logoth, Mat — not in possession of his new-found dagger — notices a strange gem on a corpse in a village. While contemplating stealing the trinket, he’s approached by the Gleeman Thom Merrilyn, who wants to bury the body. He tells Mat that the man was one of the Aiel from the Three-Fold Land. He describes their distinct clothes, like the veil they raise across their face when preparing to kill, and red hair color.

In the books: Although a caged Aiel does appear in the third book of The Wheel of Time, Thom, Mat, and Rand never come across one during their travels in The Eye of the World. Aiel usually remain in the Three-Fold Land out east beyond the mountains, which everyone calls the Aiel Waste. The companions, however, do learn about the Aiel people: they are fearsome warriors deadly with a spear, never a sword. As on the show, they can be recognized by their unique clothing and hair color.

Darkfriends

In the show: In a mountain village, Mat and Rand take refuge at an inn called the Four Kings. The innkeeper Dana lets the two work for their stay. After the job is done, Dana shows Rand to his room before locking him in and threatening him. Rand breaks down an immense ironwood door to escape and tries to flee with Mat before Dana catches them.

She reveals that she’s seen them both in her dreams, mentioning the name Ishamael before Thom Merrilyn’s kills her. Thom tells Rand and Mat that she was a Darkfriend, a “servant of the Dark One,” before the three of them depart east together.

In the books: Four Kings is a small town in Andor on the road from Whitebridge to Caemlyn. Mat and Rand, after being separated from the rest of the group in Shadar Logoth, retreat to the town for safety. Mat and Rand perform in the common room of an inn to earn food and shelter, but are uneasy about the shifty-looking innkeeper.

As night falls, a Darkfriend tries to break into their room. Darkfriends are people tempted with promises of immortality and power by the Dark One, or by other Darkfriends, so they submit to serve the Shadow. With no place to run, the boys start to panic before lightning suddenly crashes down and breaks open the wall of the room where they’re cornered, giving them a means of escape.

That’s all for now. Tune in next week for a breakdown of Episode 4 of Amazon’s The Wheel of Time!

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