The Dragon banner
In the show: Moiraine creates an enormous dragon made out of fire and sends it to circle the tower where Rand and his friends defeated Ishamael, proclaiming him the Dragon Reborn before the city.
In the books: Perrin raises a Dragon banner so that the Heroes of the Horn will fight for Rand. It is made of cloth and is one of the leftover treasures from the Age of Legends that Rand and his friends discover at the Eye of the World. Rand tries to leave the banner behind early in the story, and Moiraine surreptitiously gives it to his Shienaran traveling party. So while Moiraine and Lan don’t arrive at Falme until after the battle in the books, she is still indirectly responsible for him having the banner.
Lanfear, Moghedien and the Forsaken
In the show: Lanfear essentially causes Ishamael’s downfall by manipulating events from the shadows. She is responsible for Moiraine being able to destroy the Seanchan fleet and lift the shield on Rand, as well as for Rand being there in the first place. She reveals that she is planning to dump the prisons of the rest of the Forsaken into the sea, ensuring that she is the last of their number still free in the world.
However, Ishamael predicted her betrayal and freed the rest of the Forsaken before his death at the hands of Rand. Moghedien confronts Lanfear, telling her not to interfere when the remaining six Forsaken go after Rand and his friends. There are eight Forsaken total.
In the books: Lanfear isn’t involved in the Battle of Falme. Ishamael also does not actively manipulate the Seanchan during the battle, instead only appearing to fight Rand in the sky. Lanfear doesn’t try to betray all of the Forsaken in this manner, though her actions here are in line with her self-serving motives as we come to know them later in the book series.
Moghedien does not appear to Lanfear in Falme. Instead, she first appears in Tanchico during the hunt for the Black Ajah in The Shadow Rising, which we’re expecting see in season 3. There are 13 Forsaken total in the books.
And so concludes our final page-to-screen episode breakdown for The Wheel of Time season 2. What did you think of the changes made in “What Was Meant To Be”? Were there any parts of The Great Hunt that you particularly missed, or changes the show made you loved? Let us know in the comments!
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels