All the book changes in the fifth episode of The Wheel of Time
By John Fallon
At the White Tower
In the show: After surviving a deadly attack from the remnants of Logain’s army, several Warders and Aes Sedai are buried ceremoniously. Afterwards, they press on to Tar Valon with a gentled Logain in tow. They are taking him to the White Tower for judgement by the Amyrlin Seat, though they have already taken away his ability with the One Power.
The White Tower, which functions as a school and home for girls who can channel, appears under severe stress. Moiraine is warned by Alanna that the Amyrlin Seat is “out for blood,” looking for someone to blame for the mishandling of Logain. Nynaeve, after displaying her talent in the One Power last episode, has been brought to the Tower for safety, but sisters like Liandrin want to train her for their own purposes.
Meanwhile, the Warder Steppin struggles after Kerene Sedai’s death in the last episode. Their Aes Sedai-Warder bond is now broken, and he is at a loss. After smelting her serpent Aes Sedai ring –his last task — Stepin slips something into Lan’s drink to get a moment alone. Overwhelmed by the pain of loss, Steppin falls on his sword and the Tower holds a ceremony of death in his honor, led by Lan.
In the books: The story in the White Tower is a combination of different elements from the early books, although the particulars are all pretty different. This episode dives into the politics of the Tower as well as the complicated relationship between Aes Sedai and their Warders, but in The Eye of the World (the first book in the series), Moiraine, Lan and Nynaeve don’t even come to Tar Valor, but rather continue their search for the scattered Emond’s Fielders in the city of Caemlyn.
The trio track Perrin by means of a magical token. Moiraine senses that Perrin is being held in a nearby Whitecloak camp and they decide to rescue him. Nynaeve helps by cutting the ropes holding the Whitecloaks’ horses, making a distraction. She notices Bela, Egwene’s beloved horse, and also wolves running around the encampment.
Moiraine and Lan raid the camp, with the Aes Sedai calling down lightning to frighten the Whitecloaks. They rescue Perrin and find that Egwene was with him as well. Nynaeve realizes Perrin’s eyes have turned a golden-yellow before the group continues on their way to Caemlyn.