5 worst changes The Wheel of Time show has made from the books (so far)

2. The Battle of Tarwin's Gap is a mess

AT the end of the first season, our characters find themselves in Fal Dara, a cit on the edge of the Blight, where Trollocs and other shadowspawn monsters roam. The people of Fal Dara are living in a constant state of war against the forces of darkness, which attack while our heroes are staying there, because of course they do.

The Battle of Tarwin's Gap is a set piece from the end of the first book in The Wheel of Time series, The Eye of the World. It's when Rand al'Thor first reveals himself as the Dragon Reborn, a powerful Channeler destined to either save the world or destroy it. The show makes a big deal out of it, too, but it can't back up its promises.

To start, on the show, Rand is not involved in the battle. He's at the Eye of the World itself, trying to put a stop to the wicked Dark One once and for all. Instead, defense of Fal Dara falls mainly to any woman within the city who can channel even a trickle of the One Power (which essentially means any woman who can harness the power of magic). All of them are commanded to congregate at the gate and defend the city, making us think a whole mass of channelers is going to assemble. Instead, it's five people, including two of our lead characters: Egwene (Madeleine Madden) and Nynaeve (Zoë Robins). Of the Trollic army itself, and the men of Fal Dara who are fighting them, we see as little as possible.

The show wants this battle to feel epic, but what it shows us onscreen is puny. This may not entirely be the show's fault. These episodes were filmed during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when studios were carefully avoiding having too many people on set together all at once. But still, it all looks kinda pathetic.

Also, after the women have destroyed the army, all but Egwene die because they overused the One Power. Egwene uses the One Power to revive Nynaeve, which plays a bit too loose with the rules of life and death for my liking. Resurrections should be used sparingly, and this one felt tossed off.