On Friday, November 19th 2021 Amazon is premiering the first three episodes of their adaptation of the epic fantasy series “The Wheel of Time”, written by Robert Jordan and finished posthumously by Brandon Sanderson of “Stormlight Archive” fame. You may have heard of this series even if you’re not a fan of the fantasy genre because its marketing has been everywhere and Jeff Bezos basically handed the show runners a huge cartoon bag of cash and told them to make him the next “Game of Thrones”. But what exactly is “The Wheel of Time”, and why should you care?
Primarily, the entire 14 book long (yes you read that correctly) series takes the idea of a “chosen one” and puts it through the wringer. What would it actually feel like to be the subject of a prophecy? How would containing vast and dangerous power in your own body affect your life? What sort of political maneuvering would people in power do to either gain your favor or stop your progress? How would you fit into a larger world already rife with conflict, alliances, and warfare?
The main plot of the series follows a group of friends from a village called Emond’s Field. Shortly after the first book begins, the village is ransacked by monsters and a mysterious woman named Moiraine and her companion, Lan show up to take away five young people: Rand, Mat, Perrin, Egwene, and Nynaeve. Moiraine works for an organization known as the Aes Sedai which is staffed by women who can “channel”, this story’s version of wielding magic. Channeling is very complicated, but all you need to know at the beginning is that men usually cannot channel. The vast majority of magic in this world is handled by women. Men who can channel are incredibly dangerous, and Moiraine believes one of the young men she takes from the village may be able to do just that.
Over the course of the story, we learn who this new channeler is, and what he’s capable of. He chafes at Moiraine’s efforts to control him, seeing as she’s an ambiguous character with her own motivations that don’t exactly line up with his. In some ways, Jordan breaks the typical “master and apprentice” formula common in the genre by adding more conflict and tension than is typical in this sort of relationship in fiction.
So what is the titular “Wheel of Time” anyways? Again, it’s a complicated subject, but Jordan set out to write a world that incorporated the idea of cyclical ages and history into his story, and that’s what the Wheel of Time represents. According to some characters in the story, all the events they are currently experiencing have happened before, and they will happen again. Whether or not characters can escape their fate is a major question that figures heavily into the plot and character development.
It’s not all chosen ones and magic societies and “time is a flat circle” stuff though. The five young men and women from Emond’s Field are genuinely interesting characters in their own right. Nynaeve is the “Wisdom” from her village, a sort of elder despite her young age because of her connection to magic. Mat and Perrin are both major actors in the story and their decisions have consequences that shape the world in huge ways. Rand and Egwene have an on and off relationship that feels realistic and grounded given that they’re both so young when the story begins, and for lack of a better term there’s a lot of “high school drama” between the five of them to break up the violence and politics and imminent destruction of the world.
All the Amazon money in Jeff's offshore bank accounts can’t buy a good show. That has to come from the passion and skill of the writers, actors, editors, and craftspeople that actually do the hard work of bringing the text to life, so it remains to be seen if this will be a faithful and solid adaptation. However, based on what I’ve seen from the marketing and everyone involved, this has the appearance of a passion project that got a big infusion of cash, and it could be quite good. I’ll be watching and reviewing the first three episodes when they premiere and giving my thoughts then, but I’d definitely recommend you give the series a try. It’s a natural evolution of the tone, themes, and archetypes that J. R. R. Tolkien pioneered in “Lord of the Rings”, and its impact on modern fantasy can’t be overstated.
Amazon Prime’s “The Wheel of Time” premieres Friday November 19th. The first three episodes will be available to stream as of the premiere, with weekly releases following. Watch the trailer below.
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