‘The Wheel of Time’ TV Series Will Kill More Characters Than the Books for 1 Practical Reason
The Wheel of Time has quickly become one of Prime Video’s biggest TV series, and fans are eager to see where things go in season 2. The show has already made some changes from Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time books. And it seems viewers can anticipate more — particularly when it comes to how many characters survive.
How ‘The Wheel of Time’ TV series differs from the books
The Wheel of Time TV series has already altered the source material in a number of ways, making the main characters older than they are in the books and tweaking their journeys ever so slightly. Most of the changes are relatively minor — like dropping fewer hints about the identity of the Dragon Reborn, giving Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) a wife in the first episode, and embracing a quicker pace once the central characters leave the Two Rivers.
The later episodes of season 1 are when The Wheel of Time significantly moves away from the books. The Eye of the World business plays out very differently in the source material. For one, the series gives the location a different purpose than it had in the books, rendering it the Dark One’s prison.
As such, the show also alters Moiraine’s (Rosamund Pike) reasons for traveling there — as well as the party she goes with. In the novels, all of the kids from the Two Rivers accompany Moiraine to the Eye of the World. Even Mat (Barney Harris) is present for the whole ordeal.
As one might expect, longtime fans of Robert Jordan’s books weren’t thrilled with such massive changes. And it looks like more could be on the horizon, so they may not want to get attached to any specific characters.
More characters will die in ‘The Wheel of Time’ TV series
The Wheel of Time Season 2 is currently in production, and fans of the books can anticipate more changes in the TV series moving forward.
Speaking with TVLine, showrunner Rafe Judkins suggested the adaptation will have more casualties than the source material. And that’s not because they’re actively trying to shake things up. It actually has more to do with the amount of talent they can realistically maintain throughout the show’s run.
“More characters will die in the show than in the books,” Judkins explained, “because we cannot carry a cast of 2,000 actors for seven seasons!”
This isn’t the first time such decisions have been made for practical reasons, either. In fact, Judkins admitted the creatives behind the show are constantly evaluating how they can bring Robert Jordan’s 14-book saga to the small screen more smoothly.
Most changes from the books are for practical reasons
The creators of The Wheel of Time TV series have had to juggle accuracy and practicality since they started adapting the books.
In a separate interview with TVLine, Rafe Judkins emphasized the challenges that come with tackling such an enormous story. Naturally, a lot of thought goes into what to keep and what to cut:
“We’re always thinking about the long game. We are adapting 14 books. If we’re wildly lucky, we get eight- to 10-episode seasons. We will not have a lot of time to tell this story for how much story there is to tell, so we’re always thinking about that and building toward, ‘What is the series about as a whole? And how can we deliver on that?’ If we get stuck in the minutiae of trying to deliver every plot point from the books, we’ll fail miserably.”
With that in mind, reading the books and watching the show promise to be two very different experiences. It’ll be interesting to see what other changes await fans when season 2 finally arrives.
Season 1 of The Wheel of Time is currently streaming on Prime Video.
