All the biggest book changes in The Wheel of Time Episodes 201-203

At long last, the second season of Amazon Prime Video’s fantasy series The Wheel of Time is here! Based on the beloved book series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, The Wheel of Time is a sweeping saga with a broad ensemble cast of characters. The lot of them must come together to fight the Dark One, the embodiment of all evil who wants to recreate the world to their liking.

There are bound to be changes from the source material in any book-to-screen adaptation, and that’s especially true of one where the books are as dense as The Wheel of Time. Robert Jordan wrote 11 door-stopping novels in the series and one prequel before he died in 2007. Then Brandon Sanderson took over and wrote another three. Considering the show is only planned to run for about eight seasons, it was inevitable that it was going to cut some things.

Season 2 is primarily adapting the second Wheel of Time book, The Great Hunt, along with elements from the third, The Dragon Reborn, and even some bits from later books. Let’s go over these first three episodes of season 2 and talk about all the biggest changes from the source material.

Episode 1: “A Taste of Solitude”

The time jump and the party being scattered to the winds

In the show: Season 2 begins five months after the end of the battle at the Eye of the World and Fal Dara. Many of our characters are scattered in different places.

In the books: The Great Hunt begins right after the end of The Eye of the World, with all of our main cast still in Fal Dara. The Aes Sedai travel to the Borderlands, which is where we are introduced to the Amyrlin Seat as she assesses the Emond’s Field five following their miraculous victory. Padan Fain was captured at the end of book 1 as well; he then escapes and steals the Horn of Valere and Mat’s ruby-hilted dagger in the opening chapters of book 2. The Shienarans chase after him, with Mat, Perrin, Rand and Loial in tow.

Egwene and Nynaeve at the White Tower

In the show: Egwene and Nynaeve begin the season training at the White Tower. Both of them are Novices.

In the books: We actually follow Egwene and Nynaeve on their journey to the White Tower, seeing them interact with the Amyrlin Seat along the way. During the journey the Amyrlin and Nynaeve have a brief scuffle with the One Power (which the show gives to Nynaeve and Liandrin). As a result, Nynaeve is put through her Accepted trial as soon as they arrive at the Tower, instead of having to spend months as a Novice.

Mat Cauthon

In the show: Mat is imprisoned at the White Tower under the watchful eye of Liandrin. We find out he’s been there for months, unbeknownst to all his friends.

In the books: Mat is still bonded to the ruby-hilted dagger at this point in the story. He joins the Shienarans to hunt for Padan Fain largely because he can’t survive long without the dagger and needs to retrieve it. Following the events of The Great Hunt, Mat is then taken back to Tar Valon to be severed from the dagger’s power. The show pulls Mat’s plotline from the beginning of the third book, The Dragon Reborn, which sees him trapped in the care of the Aes Sedai at the White Tower. He’s not imprisoned by Liandrin specifically, though.

Rand al’Thor

In the show: Rand only appears for a brief moment in the city of Cairhien. As with Mat, the show is drawing a little bit from Rand’s plotline in book 3, The Dragon Reborn, which sees him go into self-imposed isolation for a long stretch of the novel.

In the books: Rand hunts for Padan Fain and the Horn of Valere along with the Shienarans.

Perrin Aybara

In the show: Perrin hunts for the Horn of Valere and Padan Fain with the Shienarans. Along the way they meet Elyas, a man with golden eyes similar to Perrin’s.

In the books: As in the show, Perrin hunts for the Horn of Valere with the Shienarans. Of the three male cast members of the Emond’s Field five, Perrin’s arc is the most in line with what happens in The Great Hunt. However, in the books, Elyas is introduced as a mentor for Perrin during the first novel, The Eye of the World. In the show, Elyas is introduced later. The television show combines Elyas with another character, Hurin, who serves as a tracker for the Shienarans in book 2.

Moiraine and Lan

In the show: Moiraine and Lan struggle to adjust to their new dynamic after Moiraine lost access to her magic at the end of season 1. They are on very rocky footing, and largely spend the episode hanging out at Adeleas’ manse as they try to cope. The vast majority of their material in this episode is invented for the show.

In the books: Moiraine never loses her power. She and Lan still end up at Adealas’ manse in Arafel, and they do still have some tension surrounding their bond, but it isn’t because Moiraine’s powers are gone. It’s because she’s considering the possibility of her own mortality given the escalating stakes of the conflict with the Dark One.

Also, Verin isn’t at Adealas’ manse; it’s another Aes Sedai named Vandene. In the novels, Verin is part of the Amyrlin Seat’s party that goes to Fal Dara, and ends up joining the Shienarans in their hunt for Padan Fain and the Horn of Valere.