How The Wheel of Time season 2 finale compares to the books

High Lord Turak

In the show: Rand crosses paths with High Lord Turak and a retinue of Seanchan warriors on his way to the tower where Egwene is being held. Turak notices Rand has a blademaster’s heron-marked sword and challenges him to a fight, but Rand unleashes the One Power and instantly slaughters Turak along with all his warriors.

In the books: Rand, Mat and Ingtar’s group sneaks into Turak’s room of curiosities and retrieves both the Horn of Valere and Mat’s ruby-hilted dagger. On their way out, Rand notices Egwene in the streets. This leads to Rand accidentally getting caught by Turak. Then they duel.

Turak’s line in the show, “Let us see what is required to earn the heron on this side of the ocean,” is taken directly from The Great Hunt. Throughout the novel, Rand spends time training with the sword using lessons he’s learned from Lan. That culminates in his fight with Turak, where Rand actually proves he has reached a level of skill comparable to a blademaster, “earning” his heron-mark sword by defeating Turak in single combat.

Ingtar’s last stand

In the show: Ingtar retrieves the Horn of Valere from the Seanchan. In the midst of the battle, he decides to stay behind and hold off the Seanchan to allow Perrin, Masema and the rest of the party time to get away. He is killed in the fight.

In the books: Ingtar reveals to Rand that he is a Darkfriend in an alleyway; the scene begins with him noting how one person could hold 50 there, just like he does with Perrin on the show. Ingtar and Rand discuss whether people can redeem themselves after following the Shadow, and then Ingtar does just that by sacrificing himself for his comrades.

While the show included some foreshadowing that Ingtar might be a Darkfriend, it was never confirmed before his death. As such, it’s unclear whether Ingtar was a Darkfriend or just a Shienaran who died a noble death. Even if he was secretly aligned with the Shadow, he never had his heart-to-heart revealing it to anyone, and instead dove straight into battle.

Aviendha, Bain and Chiad

In the show: The Aiel spear maidens Aviendha, Bain and Chiad go with Perrin to Falme and help him in the battle.

In the books: Aviendha, Bain and Chiad are not at Falme. They are first introduced when Nynaeve, Elayne and Egwene are traveling to Tear in The Dragon Reborn, the third book in the series.

Perrin, Hopper, and the Whitecloaks

In the show: Perrin leads a group of Aiel to Falme and fights to reunite with his Shienaran companions. During the battle, Perrin is attacked by Whitecloaks and his wolf friend Hopper is killed. Perrin’s eyes then seemingly turn permanently golden and he uses an axe to kill the Whitecloak commander who slew Hopper, Geofram Bornhald.

Bornhald’s son Dain witnesses Perrin kill his father. He shouts the only name he knows Perrin by, “Two Rivers,” as his fellow Whitecloaks drag him away from the fight. This sets up a major storyline in season 3.

In the books: Perrin is with Rand and Mat during the Battle of Falme and does not have a close encounter with the Whitecloaks. Hopper was killed during Perrin’s previous encounter with them when he and Egwene were captured after Shadar Logoth, in the first book. In The Great Hunt, Perrin’s biggest contribution to the Battle of Falme is raising the Dragon banner.

In the books, Geofram Bornhald dies during this battle with the Seanchan. However, the Whitecloaks blame Perrin for it since they saw that he was involved in the battle and knew him from their previous encounter near Shadar Logoth. Dain blaming Perrin for his father’s death is more complicated, because Perrin didn’t actually do it, while in the show Perrin really does kill Dain’s father. In the books, Perrin and Dain had not met by the time the Battle of Falme happens, whereas in the show they met briefly partway through season 2.

Mat, Padan Fain and the Heroes of the Horn

In the show: Mat is taken to Falme and held captive by Ishamael, who has his Darkfriend crony Padan Fain tempt Mat with the ruby-hilted dagger Mat took from the haunted city of Shadar Logoth in season 1. Instead of wielding it and succumbing to his inner darkness, Mat ties the dagger to a staff to form a makeshift spear. He then escapes captivity and eventually sounds the Horn of Valere when he is trapped by a group of Seanchan. The Heroes of the Horn fight with Mat against the Seanchan, turning the tide of the battle.

In the books: Mat goes to Falme along with Rand, Perrin and the Shienarans. He never encounters Ishamael there. At this point in the books, Mat is still bound to the ruby-hilted dagger from Shadar Logoth, and his main reason for going to Falme is to retrieve it after it was stolen by Padan Fain. Fain never outright tempts Mat with the dagger; in fact, he would much rather keep it for himself than let Mat get his hands on it.

Fain himself is hugely changed in the show. In the books, he is a Darkfriend who is then hit by the corruption at Shadar Logoth and turned into something of a rogue force of darkness, feared by heroes and villains alike.

Finally, while Mat does sound the Horn of Valere in the books, it is because he’s trapped between the warring Seanchan and Whitecloaks. However, the Heroes are only able to help once the Dragon banner is raised. Their line about fighting with Mat in past lives is delivered to Rand in the novels. Mat blows the Horn before Rand’s fight with Ishamael starts.

Rand’s duel with Ishamael

In the show: Rand and Ishamael face off on a tower in the middle of Falme. The Seanchan try to shield and gentle him, but Rand’s friends come to his aid. Rand takes a wound from Mat’s ruby-hilted dagger which is later healed by Elayne, but retains swirls of sickly darkness. Because of all of the help of his friends, Rand gets an opening to kill Ishamael.

In the books: Rand and Ishamael duel floating in the sky over Falme, and Rand faces him alone. At this point in the story, Rand and his friends still believe that Ishamael is the Dark One, operating under the alias Ba’alzamon. Rand defeats Ishamael by allowing the Forsaken to wound him, creating an opening to strike. The wound that Rand takes in this fight is unable to heal completely. Ba’alzamon does not die at Falme, but instead during his next duel with Rand at the Stone of Tear in The Dragon Reborn.